LITERATURE REVIEW

1] Author:
Mark S. Rosenbaum
(Department of Marketing, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA)

Citation:
(2005) "Loyalty programs and a sense of community", Journal of Services Marketing, Vol.
19 Iss: 4, pp.222 233

A digital object identifier (DOI):

http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/08876040510605253

Purpose
Previous research has explored the impact of customer participation in organizational
sponsored loyalty programs on customer loyalty; however, the findings are mixed. Other
research, outside the loyalty program literature, reveals that customers who socially
interact with other customers, via participation in brand communities, often exhibit an
intense loyalty to the sponsoring brands. Proposes to investigate the following questions:
Can loyalty programs be differentiated based on whether or not members perceive a
sense of community? and Does a perception of a sense of community impact member
loyalty to sponsoring organizations?

Design/methodology/approach
Qtechnique factor analysis is utilized analysing statements from loyalty program
participants. Principal component factor and cluster analyses confirm a twotiered
classification schema distinguishing loyalty programs based on perceptions of communal
benefits. Differences between the two factors are explored. A survey developed from the
Qsort analysis was then administered to 153 loyalty program participants, providing
evidence that consumers are more loyal to communal programs.

Findings
Loyalty programs can be distinguished based on the sense of community which
members perceive. Furthermore, consumers are more loyal to communal programs than
to programs that simply use financial incentives. Communal programs elicit stronger
emotional connections and participants are significantly less predisposed to competitor
switching.

Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Copyright: Emerald Group Publishing Limited 2005
Published by Emerald Group Publishing Limited
2] Authors:
Lars Meyer-Waarden
(Department of Management and Cognition Sciences (EA 2043, Laboratories Gestion
& Cognition) University Toulouse III Paul Sabatier Toulouse France)
Christophe Benavent
(University Paris 10NanterreFrance)
Citation:
Grocery retail loyalty program effects: self-selection or purchase behavior change?

Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science

September 2009, Volume 37, Issue 3, pp 345358

Abstract

In the retail sector, consumers typically patronize multiple outlets for a variety of products,
which raises the important issue of how outlets can gain a greater share of consumer
expenditures. One such way is to increase repeat purchases through loyalty programs. This
article examines the impact of loyalty programs, which target existing customers, on
repurchase behaviour in grocery stores. It finds that heavier, more frequent customers of a
store enrol in the loyalty program earlier; that buying behaviour changes only slightly after
buyers join the program; and that small changes in loyalty appear to erode 69 months after
buyers join.

Copyright: Academy of Marketing Science 2008

3] Authors:

Arthur W Allaway
David Berkowitz
Giles DSouza

Citation: Spatial diffusion of a new loyalty program through a retail market

Journal of Retailing Volume 79, Issue 3, 2003, Pages 137151

Abstract:

Retailers who wish to launch new innovations into their markets can be much more effective
if they understand the geographic forces which affect consumer adoption of those
innovations. A research field which studies this process is spatial diffusion. This paper
explores and models the processes and driving forces of spatial diffusion across a market area
following the launch of a new loyalty card program by a national retailer. Event history
modelling is used to estimate the effects of distance, the impact of the firms marketing
efforts, and the role of previous adopters in influencing the speed and spatial pattern of the
adoption process. The results, in addition to yielding new insights into the processes involved
in spatial diffusion, support previous findings on the importance of targeting the Innovator
adopter group in a new product launch.

A digital object identifier (DOI):

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4359(03)00037-X

Published by: Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright: 2003 New York University