PurposeThe hottest trend in retailing is the emergence of “premium” store brands. Though store brands are treated as important players in grocery store strategies, many retailers prefer price over quality and often prefer to invest in store promotion, while neglecting brand advertising. This paper's aims are to propose a conceptual framework, integrating advertising‐related psychographic factors which will be empirically tested.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through a survey of 206 participants randomly recruited among adult grocery shoppers. The study employs a factor analysis method following path analysis using AMOS 17 and structural equation modeling (SEM), based on the maximum likelihood approach.FindingsThe results show the salience of creating a strong and sustainable store brand through advertising and innovation. A store brand's perceived quality was found to be the most important factor in predicting store brand purchase intention, and advertising was found to have an indirect effect on perceived quality, shaped through extrinsic cues and novelty lovers' tendency variables.Practical implicationsRetailers are advised to change their promotional budget's allocation. Along with their in‐store promotions, retailers should invest more heavily in advertising their store brand and offering innovation, in order to build a strong and sustainable brand. The costs of advertising could be compensated by a growth of the total store sales and the store's gross margin.Originality/valueThe originality of this study lies in the conceptual framework proposed to examine the importance of building a strong store brand through advertising and innovation from a psychographic point of view.

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of private label brand (PLB) products’ negative publicity (NP) events on PLB general image and retailer’s store image, because of the suggested interdependency between retailer’s store image and PLB image. Design/methodology/approach Three empirical studies were conducted to test the NP effect – Studies 1 and 2, respectively; and test the occurrence of moderate and extreme NP events regarding the functional PLB product category. Study 3 replicates prior studies conducted on the hedonic product category. In these studies, participants were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. The studies use factor analysis methods following t-tests and paths analyses, using structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings Findings show that both moderate and extreme NP have an influence on the PLB’s image dimensions. These effects “spilled over” to the entire range of PLB products, regardless of the category of the damaged product. Regarding retailer’s store image, the effect of NP was retained in the product-related image context and did not exceed that of the store-related image. However, in relation to functional products, when NP is very extreme, the effect on PLB image exceeds that of retailer’s store image. Practical implications Retailers should invest more efforts in their PLB product selection, quality maintenance and supervision to eliminate potential damage from events related to their PLB products. Originality/value The originality of this study is in the association of two streams of research: NP effects and the relationship between PLB image and retailer’s store image.

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Purpose -This study's aim is to apply the personal involvement approach to store brand products' buying proneness. With respect to the conflicting perspectives of narrow "latitudes of acceptance" and "extensive search", are presumed different levels and different types of personal involvement. The aim is to formulate a conceptual framework integrating three types of relevant consumer values: functional involvement, symbolic involvement and economic involvement, along with two well established mediating variables, and two consumer characteristics as exogenous variables. Design/methodology/approach -Data were collected through a survey of 914 shoppers randomly recruited from 11 grocery stores. The study employs an exploratory factor analysis method following path analysis, using structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings -The results show the significance of a multifaceted perspective of consumers' personal involvement in grocery shopping conditions. This perspective leads to the possibility of high personal involvement in grocery products shopping. Regarding consumers' store brand buying intention, personal involvement facets have only a marginal effect, while the direct substantial effects are derived from familiarity and value for money. Practical implications -Retailers are advised to go beyond their efforts to persuade consumers that their products have economic value; they should encourage consumers to compare and evaluate the functional attributes of their store brands. For the social-symbolic consumer, they should employ different products' quality layers and different appealing brand names. Originality/value -The originality of this study lies in the multifaceted alternative approach of consumers' personal involvement in grocery shopping processes, and the conceptual framework proposed to examine the effect of personal involvement facets on store brand buying intentions.

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