Store image has long been recognized as a determinant of business success and has been used as a positioning and differentiation tool. Over the years, the retail image research stream has witnessed numerous conceptual and operational definitions, However, despite the long‐term fascination of researchers with this construct, substantial “noise” is evident in store image research. Provides an overview of the store image literature and illustrates the usefulness of an attribute‐anchored conjoint methodology for operationalizing this construct.

Throughout the history of science scholars working independently have often arrived at virtually identical theories or discoveries[1]. Instances of simultaneous but independent discovery include: the Periodic Table for classifying elements by Dmitri Mendeleev in Russia and Lothar Meyer in Germany in 1869, the development of differential calculus by Newton and Leibniz, the theory of evolution by Darwin and Wallace, and the postulation of the existence of Neptune based on observations of perturbations in the orbit of Uranus by John Adams in England and Le Verrier in France in 1846[2]. In economics, both Chamberlin[3] and Robinson[4] are credited with independently developing the theory of imperfect competition. Kuhn[5]similarly describes the discovery of the principle of energy conservation by as many as twelve different scientists in the years 1830-1850, and explains this case of independent multiple discovery as resulting from the extant structure of scientific ideas as well as other aspects of cultural tradition.Another instance of independent theory formulation may have occurred much more recently. Wroe Alderson's[6] concept of the transvection and Michael Porter's[7] concept of the value system are remarkably similar. Both are at the macro (i.e., business system) level of analysis. Both the value system and the transvection are conceptualized as the activities required to move from raw materials in their natural state to finished goods in the hands of consumers. Both conceptual schemes are suggested as useful planning tools for achieving sustainable competitive advantage [6,7]. The development of each was also influenced by economic theory. Alderson[6], for example, acknowledges the influence of Chamberlin's[3] theory of imperfect competition on the The authors wish to thank Ken Bahn, Roger Dickinson, and Chuck Lamb for helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper.

Offering higher quality is a strategy which has been demonstrated to be instrumental in improving performance for many firms. Retail service customers, at the decision-making stage, tend to form expectations about the service quality they will receive from cues which are available to them. Presents a methodology for identifying service quality cues, isolating the cues most important to consumers, helping retailers to segment customers on the basis of quality cues, and determining which cues should be promoted to lure competitors' customers.

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