The Lost Art: A Qualitative Study on How Consumers with Non-Dominant Ethnicities Assess Welcome in Retail
(2024) BUSN39 20241Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- Title: The Lost Art: A Qualitative Study on How Consumers with Non-Dominant Ethnicities Assess Welcome in Retail
Course: BUSN39 – Degree Project in Global Marketing - Master Level
Keywords: Welcome, retail, ethnicity, non-dominant ethnicity, servicescape, multicultural conviviality, self-congruity, vulnerable consumers.
Purpose: The purpose of this explorative study is to gain insights into the potential aspects that consumers with non-dominant ethnicities use to assess welcome in the retail servicescape.
Methodology: The methodology used in this study is qualitative. The empirical material has been collected by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews, with elements of Critical Incident Technique (CIT). To prepare for... (More) - Title: The Lost Art: A Qualitative Study on How Consumers with Non-Dominant Ethnicities Assess Welcome in Retail
Course: BUSN39 – Degree Project in Global Marketing - Master Level
Keywords: Welcome, retail, ethnicity, non-dominant ethnicity, servicescape, multicultural conviviality, self-congruity, vulnerable consumers.
Purpose: The purpose of this explorative study is to gain insights into the potential aspects that consumers with non-dominant ethnicities use to assess welcome in the retail servicescape.
Methodology: The methodology used in this study is qualitative. The empirical material has been collected by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews, with elements of Critical Incident Technique (CIT). To prepare for these interviews, two prior interviews with representatives from IKEA were conducted.
Theoretical considerations: As the literature on the topic of welcoming/unwelcoming aspects of the servicescape is limited, this study focused on reviewing the literature on areas tangential to the topic, which included welcoming service encounters, welcoming places, self-congruity, servicescapes, and welcoming symbolism.
Empirical data: From the 13 interviews, empirical data on the interpretation of welcome, welcoming aspects non-related to ethnicity, welcoming aspects related to ethnicity, and perception of welcome at IKEA were gathered.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that people with non-dominant ethnicities assess welcome in a servicescape by evaluating the congruity between their self-image and the store image, by determining whether they have been included in the design/creation of the product assortment, as well as by responding to verbal and non-verbal social cues that signal welcome or unwelcome. However, this assessment process does not occur during every shopping experience; The significance of a customer’s ethnicity becomes relevant only when specific elements of the service environment either signal welcome or unwelcome. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9168674
- author
- Lundqvist, Sara LU and Bixo, Sofie LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- BUSN39 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Welcome, retail, ethnicity, non-dominant ethnicity, servicescape, multicultural conviviality, self-congruity, vulnerable consumers
- language
- English
- additional info
- Collaboration Statement: During the initial phase of this thesis, we were presented with the unique opportunity to collaborate with IKEA, specifically INGKA Group. INGKA Group has aided us with resources, contacts, and guidance throughout this project. However, it is important to note that this thesis focuses on the retail industry as a whole and not specifically on IKEA as a corporation. We affirm that our findings and conclusions have been developed independently, without any conflict of interest or influence from INGKA Group.
- id
- 9168674
- date added to LUP
- 2024-06-28 11:44:29
- date last changed
- 2024-06-28 11:44:29
@misc{9168674,
abstract = {{Title: The Lost Art: A Qualitative Study on How Consumers with Non-Dominant Ethnicities Assess Welcome in Retail
Course: BUSN39 – Degree Project in Global Marketing - Master Level
Keywords: Welcome, retail, ethnicity, non-dominant ethnicity, servicescape, multicultural conviviality, self-congruity, vulnerable consumers.
Purpose: The purpose of this explorative study is to gain insights into the potential aspects that consumers with non-dominant ethnicities use to assess welcome in the retail servicescape.
Methodology: The methodology used in this study is qualitative. The empirical material has been collected by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews, with elements of Critical Incident Technique (CIT). To prepare for these interviews, two prior interviews with representatives from IKEA were conducted.
Theoretical considerations: As the literature on the topic of welcoming/unwelcoming aspects of the servicescape is limited, this study focused on reviewing the literature on areas tangential to the topic, which included welcoming service encounters, welcoming places, self-congruity, servicescapes, and welcoming symbolism.
Empirical data: From the 13 interviews, empirical data on the interpretation of welcome, welcoming aspects non-related to ethnicity, welcoming aspects related to ethnicity, and perception of welcome at IKEA were gathered.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that people with non-dominant ethnicities assess welcome in a servicescape by evaluating the congruity between their self-image and the store image, by determining whether they have been included in the design/creation of the product assortment, as well as by responding to verbal and non-verbal social cues that signal welcome or unwelcome. However, this assessment process does not occur during every shopping experience; The significance of a customer’s ethnicity becomes relevant only when specific elements of the service environment either signal welcome or unwelcome.}},
author = {{Lundqvist, Sara and Bixo, Sofie}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The Lost Art: A Qualitative Study on How Consumers with Non-Dominant Ethnicities Assess Welcome in Retail}},
year = {{2024}},
}