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Cultural understanding, next to language competence, is critical for effective (international) communication. As nations are not necessarily homogeneous in terms of cultural characteristics, it is recommended to shift the (cross-) cultural research focus from nations to smaller units. The authors explain how a selection was made from 11 cultural dimensions, based on extensive literature research, in order to enable a cross-cultural research in a cross-border region; in this case a Euregion.

In this study, the cultures of the five border subregions of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine (EMR) were measured and compared by means of a survey research. The results indicate that the subregions differ most in terms of the (in)formal way of their business interactions. Furthermore, discrepancies were found for the cultural dimensions ‘externalism-internalism’, ‘masculinity-femininity’ and ‘monochonism-polychronism’. The results, and more specifically the observed cultural differences, allowed a first exploration of possible effects on professional verbal and non-verbal business communication. This study also shows the importance of cultural research at sub-regional level.

Most previous studies on store atmospherics have focused on their impact on positive emotional customer responses. However, less pleasurable shopping experiences may also generate negative affective responses. This research investigates the effect of shopping environment on customers' irritation level and satisfaction across three retail sectors varying in terms of involvement and shopping motives. Our results demonstrate that design and social aspects of the store are the most irritating. Customers' irritation decreases their satisfaction. However, these effects depend on involvement and shopping motives.

Les études précédentes portant sur l'atmosphère du point de vente se sont intéressées aux réponses émotionnelles positives. Cependant, des expériences de shopping moins plaisantes peuvent également engendrer des réponses affectives négatives. Cette recherche se penche sur l'effet de l'environnement du magasin sur le niveau d'irritation et la satisfaction parmi trois secteurs d'activités variant selon l'implication et les motivations d'achat. Nos résultats montrent que les facteurs les plus irritants sont l'aménagement et les facteurs sociaux. L'irritation diminue la satisfaction du client. Cependant, ces résultats varient en fonction de l'implication et des motivations., Most previous studies on store atmospherics have focused on their impact on positive emotional customer responses. However, less pleasurable shopping experiences may also generate negative affective responses. This research investigates the effect of shopping environment on customers' irritation level and satisfaction across three retail sectors varying in terms of involvement and shopping motives. Our results demonstrate that design and social aspects of the store are the most irritating. Customers' irritation decreases their satisfaction. However, these effects depend on involvement and shopping motives.

Although some important conceptual and empirical studies have been published with regard to retailer differentiation (e.g. Rudolph and Becker, 2003), a comprehensive framework regarding the design and implementation of a successful differentiation strategy, integrating antecedents, consequences and possible moderating and/or mediating factors is still lacking. Therefore, this doctoral research aims to analyse retail differentiation mainly from a consumer perspective, namely how consumers process these retail efforts and how their reactions can be quantified in the concept of ‘store equity’.

This paper presents the results from a multivariate (factor and cluster) analysis of the variation in innovation processes of manufacturing and service firms. Using data from the third Community Innovation Survey for Flanders (Belgium), a set of seven clusters of firms that are to be interpreted as ‘innovation patterns’ or ‘innovation strategies’ is identified. Two major findings emerge: (i) the ‘sectoral determinism’ of innovation does not hold true for Flemish firms, since multiple innovation strategies seem to co-exist within the same industry; (ii) firms in the service industry seem to form a separate, ‘low-profile’ innovation cluster. The latter finding may, however, raise some issues about the ‘technological bias’ of CIS-3. In conclusion, we point to some important implications for the design of adequate innovation-policy measures.

This paper presents the results from a multivariate (factor and cluster) analysis of the variation in innovation processes of manufacturing and service firms. Using data from the third Community Innovation Survey for Flanders (Belgium), a set of seven clusters of firms that are to be interpreted as “innovation patterns” or “innovation strategies” is identified. Two major findings emerge: (i) the “sectoral determinism” of innovation does not hold true for Flemish firms; (ii) firms in the service industry seem to form a separate, “low-profile” innovation cluster. In conclusion, we point to some important implications for the design of adequate innovation-policy measures.

Previous research in the field of data mining has demonstrated that the technique of association rules is very well suited to find patterns in the purchase behaviour of customers. However, practitioners occasionally criticize that it is not straightforward to adopt the discovered knowledge for concrete retail marketing decision-making. This is partially due to the difficult integration of retail domain knowledge into the mining process which sometimes causes the discovered knowledge to be sterile. This paper makes an attempt at integrating category management knowledge into the knowledge discovery process in order to obtain more useful results, i.e. results that can better be used for concrete decision-making in retailing. More specifically, an integer programming model for product selection is proposed which takes into account cross-selling effects between products and also enables the retailer to integrate category management knowledge into the model. First results on real-world retail data demonstrate the success of the approach.

Atmospheric elements such as lights, music, and scents make up the physical environment of a store and can have an impact on consumers’ shopping behavior. This doctoral dissertation aims to provide a better understanding of the effects of ambient scent in the store environment on consumer reactions. Specifically, the moderating role of individual differences (chapter 2 and 3), product congruency (chapter 4 and 5) and congruency with other atmospheric elements (chapter 6 and 7) on scent effects as well as the effect of scent on memory and assortment perceptions of a whole product category (chapter 8), are examined. In chapter 1, olfactory marketing is first positioned in a broader field of retailing, customer experience and retail design. Next, the academic literature on sensory marketing and olfactory marketing is discussed. Finally, an overview of the research objectives and the remainder of the dissertation is given. In chapter 2, the moderating role of individual differences on scent effects is examined. Not every consumer is influenced equally by the presence of a scent. We study whether affect intensity (i.e., the degree to which people respond to emotional stimuli) and hedonic shopping motivation (i.e., shopping because of the shopping experience) influence the relationship between ambient scent and consumer reactions. A field experiment shows that consumers who scored high on affect intensity and consumers who score low on hedonic shopping motivation are more sensitive to the presence of a scent in the shopping environment, which leads to enhanced positive affect, evaluations, and approach behaviors. Chapter 3 continues the research on the moderating role of individual differences on scent effects; in this chapter, scent expertise is studied. Previous research found that an ambient scent only leads to positive reactions when it is congruent with the product under evaluation. However, we demonstrate that this congruency effect may be influenced by the consumers’ ability to recognize a scent. Specifically, findings indicate that in the presence of an ambient scent, scent experts (i.e., people who have learned to identify scents) evaluate a product incongruent with the ambient scent less positively than laymen. The relationship between ambient scent and consumer responses can also be influenced by the congruency of the scent with the product sold in the store. In chapter 4, the effect of thematic congruency between a scent and products without direct scent properties is investigated. A field experiment in a bookstore shows that a pleasant ambient scent positively influences approach and buying behavior toward thematically congruent books and negatively influences approach and buying behavior toward incongruent books. However, chapter 5 demonstrates that, in certain well-defined cases, product-scent incongruity can have a positive effect on consumer reactions. This positive effect of product-scent incongruity was found in a men's and women's clothing store where a gender-(in)congruent ambient perfume was dispersed. The congruency between scent and other atmospheric elements in the store environment can also affect the impact of an ambient scent on consumer responses. Chapter 6 studies the combined effects of ambient scent and overall light. Scent and light are (mis)matched with each other based on semantic associations (i.e., warm/cold and dim/bright). Results indicate that matching scent and light leads to enhanced consumer reactions than mismatching these atmospheric cues. In chapter 7, the combined effects of ambient scent and store neatness are examined. In particular, we study the effect of pleasant scents (not) associated with neatness on consumer evaluations of a tidy versus a messy store and demonstrate that a pleasant ambient scent cannot overcome a negative store element like store messiness. In a messy store, the pleasant scent even has a negative effect on product evaluations, unless the scent is associated with the negative element the retailer is trying to cover up. Chapter 8 explores the effect of an ambient scent on consumers’ memory and assortment evaluations of scent-congruent and scent-incongruent products when exposed to a large assortment. Additionally, the moderating role of product category familiarity is examined. However, findings suggest that an ambient scent does not influence consumers’ memory and their assortment perceptions when they are exposed to a lot of products at the same time. In chapter 9, a summary of our findings and the managerial implications are presented. Moreover, the cost of scent marketing and some ethical reflections of diffusing scents in a store are discussed. Finally, an overview of interesting opportunities for future research is provided. The work in this dissertation was supported by a grant from the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO Vlaanderen).

Retailers worden steeds vaker als 'merken' aanschouwd en zijn dus ook zeer afhankelijk van wat consumenten er van vinden. Een "goed merk" zal waarschijnlijk positievere reacties teweegbrengen dan een "slecht merk". De vraag is dan natuurlijk: "Hoe creëer je een goed merk?". Maatschappelijk verantwoord ondernemen (MVO) kan hier een antwoord op bieden! MVO wordt door de Interdepartementale Commissie Duurzame Ontwikkeling omschreven als "een proces waarbij ondernemingen vrijwillig streven naar verbetering op bedrijfs- en maatschappelijk vlak door op systematische wijze economische, milieu- en sociale overwegingen op een geïntegreerde en coherente manier in de gehele bedrijfsvoering op te nemen, waarbij overleg met de belanghebbenden van de onderneming deel uitmaakt van dit proces." In deze eindverhandeling zouden wij graag willen nagaan in welke mate consumenten de winkelpersoonlijkheid van maatschappelijk verantwoorde retailers evalueren. En wat is hierbij het effect op retailer equity?

Het streven naar een vermindering van broeikasgassen en bevordering van de overgang naar het gebruik van hernieuwbare energie, blijkt in de 21ste eeuw een moeilijke, doch noodzakelijke evolutie te zijn. Uiteraard gaat het hier om een proces op lange termijn waarvoor de huidige jeugd, studenten, in de toekomst verantwoordelijkheden zullen moeten dragen, zoniet zullen ze in het slechtste geval mogelijk de slachtoffers zijn. In dit studieproject over biomassa werd via een enquête nagegaan wat het verband is tussen drie variabelen: kennis, perceptie en houding t.o.v het gebruik ervan voor bio-energiewinning. Uit de verwerking van de antwoorden op de vragen blijkt dat er een duidelijk verband is tussen kennis en attitude, vooral wat de factor betrokkenheid betreft. Volgens de resultaten vormt kennis enkel een antecedent voor betrokkenheid indien een Limburgse student voorafgaand nog geen les over energie heeft gehad. Het geven van een les vooraf over bio-energie had een duidelijke invloed en toont aan dat er op kennisniveau nog veel te verbeteren valt.