The internet has provided fertile ground for turning the traditional niche activity of second-hand shopping into a mass phenomenon. Various successful consumer-to-consumer-platforms such as eBay.de facilitate the exchange of second-hand goods for both resellers and buyers, with branded products being especially popu-lar. This development has fostered concerns from brand manufacturers. They fear that second-hand offerings pose a threat to brand perceptions. However, this assumption has yet not been verified empirically and constitutes a research gap in the marketing literature. The research aim of this thesis is thus to investigate whether the degree of availability of second-hand products affects consumer brand perceptions while taking into account the possible moderator effects of product type and price. Specifically, the effects on brand image, perceived quality, and perceived prestige are examined.Our conceptual framework is based on a combination of theoretical findings relating to second-hand products, brand perceptions and limited product availability. Moreover, it is supplemented through insights from related fields such as price promotions and counterfeits. After having pre-tested the stimuli for product type and price, a final quantitative online survey was carried out that yielded a total of 561 usable responses. Due to the study’s experimental design and existence of multiple dependent variables, multivariate and univariate analysis of variance were employed to analyze the data. Our findings suggest that....
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Conceptual Background
2.1 Definition of Second-Hand Products
2.2 Characteristics of Second-Hand Products
2.3 Empirical Findings Related to Second-Hand Products
2.4 Consumer Brand Perceptions
2.4.1 Brand Image
2.4.2 Perceived Quality
2.4.3 Perceived Prestige
2.5 Product Availability
2.6 Theories on Scarcity Effects
2.7 Evaluation of Scarcity Theories regarding Applicability to Research Context
3 Development of Hypotheses
3.1 Main Effect
3.2 Moderating Effect of Product Type
3.3 Moderating Effect of Price
3.4 Interactive Moderating Effects of Product Type and Price
3.5 Control Variables
3.6 Descriptive Variables
3.7 Conceptual Framework
4 Empirical Study
4.1 Pre-Test
4.1.1 Stimuli Selection
4.1.2 Pre-Test Design and Results
4.2 Experimental Design
4.3 Procedure
4.4 Operationalization of Variables and Scenario Description
4.5 Data Cleaning and Sample Characteristics
4.6 Scale Assessment
4.7 Statistical Technique and Testing of Assumptions
5 Results
5.1 Manipulation and Realism Check
5.2 Testing of Hypotheses
5.3 Discussion of Results
6 Conclusion
6.1 Summary
6.2 Theoretical Contribution and Managerial Implications
6.3 Limitations and Further Research
Research Objective and Core Topics
This thesis investigates whether the degree of availability of second-hand products significantly affects consumer brand perceptions, specifically brand image, perceived quality, and perceived prestige, while considering the moderating roles of product type and price.
- The influence of second-hand product availability on brand perceptions.
- Application of scarcity theories within a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) market context.
- Moderating effects of product type (hedonic vs. utilitarian) on brand perception.
- Moderating effects of price segments on brand prestige and quality.
- Strategic recommendations for brand manufacturers to manage second-hand market presence.
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1 Introduction
Not long ago, browsing at flea markets and shopping at the corner second-hand store was considered as ‘curious’ niche activity (Guiot and Roux 2010; Sherry 1990a). However, the character of shopping for used goods has changed over the past years (Behrendt, Blättel-Mink, and Clausen 2011, p. 1). Due to recent technological and societal developments, second-hand shopping has become a mass phenomenon (Guiot and Roux 2010; Hennig-Thurau et al. 2010). Although there is a lack of official statistics that measure the second-hand phenomena in terms of value and volume, various convergent estimations and recent surveys demonstrate that consumers are exhibiting a preference for second-hand products in ever-increasing numbers (Roux and Guiot 2011, p. 430; Sempora Consulting 2012).
The internet can be considered as major driver in this regard. Today, it seems that every product – however unique – can be found online anytime at an affordable price. This is the starting point of the long tail concept (Anderson 2004), which argues that when choice becomes apparently unlimited, demand moves from mass markets to millions of niches. The internet’s low search and transaction costs (Ghose, Smith, and Telang 2006) have also facilitated consumer-to-consumer (C2C) transactions. The biggest C2C platform eBay, where many second-hand products are traded, reports 124 million active users worldwide with 18 million users in Germany (eBay 2013a, eBay 2013b).
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Introduces the rise of second-hand shopping as a mass phenomenon driven by the internet and outlines the research objective regarding its impact on brand perceptions.
2 Conceptual Background: Defines key terms like second-hand products, reviews existing empirical research, and explores theoretical frameworks concerning consumer brand perceptions and scarcity effects.
3 Development of Hypotheses: Formulates five specific hypotheses based on established marketing and psychology theories, focusing on the main effect of availability and the moderators of product type and price.
4 Empirical Study: Details the pre-test, experimental design, procedure, data cleaning, and the statistical techniques (MANOVA) used to validate the proposed hypotheses.
5 Results: Presents the findings of the empirical study, including manipulation checks and the results of the hypothesis testing based on the multivariate analysis.
6 Conclusion: Summarizes the study's outcomes, discusses theoretical and managerial implications, and identifies limitations alongside avenues for future research.
Keywords
Second-hand shopping, Brand image, Perceived quality, Perceived prestige, Product availability, Scarcity, Consumer-to-consumer (C2C), Brand perception, Commodity theory, Attribution theory, Hedonic goods, Utilitarian goods, Price moderation, Online marketing, Brand dilution.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this thesis?
The thesis examines the relationship between the degree of availability of second-hand products on the internet and the resulting consumer perceptions of those brands.
What are the primary research areas explored?
It integrates concepts from second-hand shopping trends, consumer brand perceptions (image, quality, prestige), and scarcity theories from economic and psychological literature.
What is the main objective or research question?
The primary aim is to investigate whether the degree of second-hand product availability influences consumer brand perceptions while accounting for the potential moderating effects of product type and price.
Which scientific method is utilized?
The research employs a quantitative approach, specifically a laboratory experiment based on a 3x2x2 factorial between-subjects design, followed by a Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA).
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main part encompasses the development of a conceptual framework, the derivation of five hypotheses, and a rigorous empirical study involving 561 usable survey responses to test these predictions.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include second-hand shopping, brand image, product availability, scarcity, and consumer perceptions.
What is the specific finding regarding brand image?
The study found a significant negative impact of a high degree of second-hand product availability on brand image, supporting the hypothesis that such mass availability dilutes brand perception.
Did the proposed moderators (product type and price) show significant effects?
The results provided no empirical evidence for the hypothesized moderating effects of product type or price on the dependent variables, which the author discusses as potentially due to sample characteristics or specific stimuli choices.
- Quote paper
- Daria Brake (Author), 2014, Online Second-Hand Shopping. Threat or Opportunity for Branded Products?, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/278444
