Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.15722/jds.19.2.202102.53

Spatial Distance Effect in Shaping Perceived Similarity of Products in the Online Store  

JANG, Jung Min (Management and Marketing, KIMEP University)
Publication Information
Journal of Distribution Science / v.19, no.2, 2021 , pp. 53-64 More about this Journal
Abstract
Purpose: Even though arranging images of products is a common practice in the online retail context, relatively little attention has been paid to the distance effect among alternatives, that is, how distance among displayed products can impact consumers' responses. Drawing on contagion theory, the primary goal of the current study is to investigate how spatial distance between two products in a product display can influence consumers' perceived similarity. Research design, data and methodology: This study used a 2(spatial distance: close vs. far) experimental design and collected data from undergraduate students in Korea through an online survey using Qualtrics. ANOVA was conducted to test the proposed effect, in which the dependent variables are the perceived similarity of usage occasion/purpose (Study 1) and the indexed differences of perceived brand statuses between two products (Study 2). Results: The results of both experiments indicated that the displayed products were perceived to be more similar to one another when products were presented close together (vs. far). Conclusions: The results help to fill a research gap and provide a better understanding of the role of physical distance in diverse marketing communications. This is especially useful when designing online shopping websites to form perceptions of brand images.
Keywords
Product Display; Spatial Distance; Perceived Similarity; Usage Occasion; Perceived Brand Status;
Citations & Related Records
연도 인용수 순위
  • Reference
1 Abou-Shouk, M. A., & Khalifa, G. S. (2017). The influence of website quality dimensions on e-purchasing behaviour and eloyalty: A comparative study of Egyptian travel agents and hotels. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 34(5), 608-623. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2016.1209151   DOI
2 Argo, J. J., Dahl, D. W., & Morales, A. C. (2006). Consumer contamination: How consumers react to products touched by others. Journal of Marketing, 70(2), 81-94. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.70.2.081   DOI
3 Argo, J. J., Dahl, D. W., & Morales, A. C. (2008). Positive consumer contagion: responses to attractive others in a retail context. Journal of Marketing Research, 45(6), 690-701. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.45.6.690   DOI
4 Hejmadi, A., Rozin, P., & Siegal, M. (2004). Once in contact, always in contact: Contagious essence and conceptions of purification in American and Hindu Indian children. Developmental Psychology, 40(4), 467-476. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.40.4.467   DOI
5 Kong, L. L., Ma, Z. Q., Ji, S. H., & Li, J. (2020). The mediating effect of empathy on the relationship between cultural intelligence and intercultural adaptation in intercultural service encounters. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics, and Business, 7(2), 169-180. https://doi.org/10.13106/JAFEB.2020.VOL7.NO2.169   DOI
6 Ban, J., & Lee, H. S. (2020). The role of empathy in crowdfunding channel platform. Journal of Distribution Science, 18(10), 15-23. https://doi.org/10.15722/JDS.18.10.202010.15   DOI
7 Kim, S., Baek, T. H., & Yoon, S. (2020). The effect of 360-degree rotatable product images on purchase intention. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 55, 102062. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102062   DOI
8 Kim, M. J., Park, C. J. & Park, J. S. (2017). Negative spillover effects of other-customer failure in airline context. Journal of Distribution Science, 15(1), 15-20. https://doi.org/10.15722/JDS.15.1.201701.15   DOI
9 Lai, I. S., Huang, Y. F., Siang, J. H., & Weng, M. W. (2020). Evaluation of key success factors for web design in Taiwan's bike case study. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics, and Business, 7(11), 927-937. https://doi.org/10.13106/JAFEB.2020.VOL7.NO11.927   DOI
10 Lee, J. S. & Kim, J. H. (2020). A study on brand personality and experience in early morning delivery as a new distribution service. Journal of Distribution Science, 18(10), 5-14. https://doi.org/10.15722/JDS.18.10.202010.5   DOI
11 Lim, M. S. (2020). The relationships between product quality cues and perceived values based on gender differences at a food select shop. Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business, 11(10), 59-73.   DOI
12 Maheswaran, D., & Sternthal, B. (1990). The effects of knowledge, motivation, and type of message on Ad processing and product judgments. Journal of Consumer Research, 17(1), 66-73. https://doi.org/10.1086/208537   DOI
13 Belk, R. W. (1988). Possessions and the extended self. Journal of Consumer Research, 15(2), 139-167. https://doi.org/10.1086/209154   DOI
14 Xu, J. & Cheng, C. (2021). Uncertainty avoidance, individualism and the readiness of Business-to-Consumer E-commerce. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics, and Business, 8(1), 791-801. https://doi.org/10.13106/JAFEB.2021.VOL8.NO1.791   DOI
15 Yzerbyt, V. Y., Rogier, A., & Fiske, S. T. (1998). Group entitativity and social attribution: On translating situational constraints into stereotypes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24(10), 1089-1103. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672982410006   DOI
16 Zhang, Y., Fiore, A.M., Zhang, L., & Liu, X. (2020). Impact of website design features on experiential value and patronage intention toward online mass customization sites, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-11-2019-0261   DOI
17 Mallapragada, G., Chandukala, S. R., & Liu, Q. (2016). Exploring the effects of "what" (Product) and "where" (Website) characteristics on online shopping behavior. Journal of Marketing, 80(2), 21-38. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.15.0138   DOI
18 Mishra, A. (2009). Influence of contagious versus noncontagious product groupings on consumer preferences. Journal of Consumer Research, 36(1), 73-82. https://doi.org/10.1086/595716   DOI
19 Morales, A. C., & Fitzsimons, G. (2007). Product contagion: Changing consumer evaluations through physical contact with 'disgusting' products. Journal of Marketing Research, 44(2), 272-283. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.44.2.272   DOI
20 Nemeroff, C. J., & Rozin, P. (1994). The contagion concept in adult thinking in the united states: Transmission of germs and of interpersonal influence. Ethos, 22(2), 158-186. http://www.jstor.org/stable/640495   DOI
21 Bloom, P. (2010). How pleasure works: The new science of why we like what we like. New York, US: Norton.
22 Byun, S. (2018). Evaluating information technology systems using consumer surveys: The role of personal product knowledge. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics, and Business, 5(4), 117-125. https://doi.org/10.13106/JAFEB.2018.VOL5.NO4.117   DOI
23 Byun, S., & Kyung, M. S. (2020). Effects of the attributes of mobile shopping apps on purchase intention of fashion products. Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business, 11(1), 49-57. https://doi.org/10.13106/JIDB.2020.VOL11.NO1.49   DOI
24 Chae, B., Li, X., & Zhu, R. (2013). Judging product effectiveness from perceived spatial proximity. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(2), 317-335. https://doi.org/10.1086/670393   DOI
25 Rozin, P., & Nemeroff, C. (2002). Sympathetic magical thinking: The contagion and similarity 'Heuristics,' in heuristics and biases. In T. Gilovich, D. Griffin, & D. Kahneman, The psychology of intuitive judgment (pp. 201-216), Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
26 Newman, G. E., & Dhar, R. (2014). Authenticity is contagious: Brand essence and the original source of production. Journal of Marketing Research, 51(3), 371-386. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.11.0022   DOI
27 Newman, G. E., Diesendruck, G., & Bloom, P. (2011). Celebrity contagion and the value of objects. Journal of Consumer Research, 38(2), 215-228. https://doi.org/10.1086/658999   DOI
28 Orus, C., Gurrea, R., & Flavian, C. (2017). Facilitating imaginations through online product presentation videos: effects on imagery fluency, product attitude and purchase intention. Electronic Commerce Research, 17(4), 661-700. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-016-9250-7   DOI
29 Rozin, P., Millman, L., & Nemeroff, C. (1986). Operation of the laws of sympathetic magic in disgust and other domains. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50(4), 703-712. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.50.4.703   DOI
30 Rozin, P., Nemeroff, C. J., Wane, M., & Sherrod, A. (1989). Operation of the sympathetic magical law of contagion in interpersonal attitudes among Americans. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 27(4), 367-70. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334630   DOI
31 Segev, S., Wang, W., & Fernandes, J. (2014). The effects of ad-context congruency on responses to advertising in blogs. International Journal of Advertising, 33(1), 17-36. https://doi.org/10.2501/IJA-33-1-017-036   DOI
32 Shneiderman, B. (1992). Designing the user interface: Strategies for effective human-computer interaction (2nd ed.). Reading, MA, US: Addison-Wesley Publishers Co.
33 White, K., Lin, L., Dahl, D. W., & Ritchie, R. J. B. (2016). When do consumers avoid imperfections? Superficial packaging damage as a contamination cue. Journal of Marketing Research, 53(1),110-123. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.12.0388   DOI
34 Spencer-Rodgers, J., Hamilton, D. L., & Sherman, S. J. (2007). The central role of entitativity in stereotypes of social categories and task groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(3), 369-388. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.92.3.369   DOI
35 Tylor, E. B. (1974). Primitive culture: Researches into the development of mythology, philosophy, religion, art, and custom. New York, US: Gordon Press. (Original work published 1871)
36 WANG, X. & ZHANG, J. (2020). Factors influencing Chinese online shopping distributions of fresh agricultural products. Journal of Distribution Science, 18(10), 53-63. https://doi.org/10.15722/JDS.18.10.202010.5   DOI
37 Dai, W., & Lee, J. H. (2018). Effects of website characteristics and delivery service quality on repurchase intention. Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business, 9(5), 17-24. https://doi.org/10.13106/IJIDB.2018.VOL9.NO5.17   DOI
38 Choi, J. W., Yoo, H. G., Kwon, Y. E., & Kwon, L. S. (2019). Women's skin care factors affecting Korean women's skin and beauty industry market. Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business, 10(8), 25-32. https://doi.org/10.13106/IJIDB.2019.VOL10.NO8.25.   DOI
39 Fishbach, A., & Zhang, Y. (2008). Together or apart: When goals and temptations complement versus compete. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94(4), 547-559. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.94.4.547   DOI
40 Frazer, J. G. (1890). The new golden bough: A study in magic and religion, In T. H. Gaster, abridged, ed., New York, US: Macmillan.
41 Grose, E., Forsythe, C., & Ratner, J. (1998). Using web and traditional style guides to design web interfaces. In Human Factors and Web Development (pp. 121-131), New Jersey, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
42 Crawford, M. T., Sherman, S. J., & Hamilton, D. L. (2002). Perceived entitativity, stereotype formation, and the interchangeability of group members. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(5), 1076-1094. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.83.5.1076\   DOI
43 Fajardo, T. M., & Townsend, C. (2016). Where you say it matters: Why packages are a more believable source of product claims than advertisements. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 26(3), 426-434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2015.11.002.   DOI