Ram Bezawada | University at Buffalo, State University of New York (original) (raw)

Papers by Ram Bezawada

Research paper thumbnail of The Strategic Role of Private Labels on Retail Competition

We investigate the strategic role of private labels in limiting retail competition. Private label... more We investigate the strategic role of private labels in limiting retail competition. Private labels are unique differentiators for retailers. By launching and credibly committing to a strong private label program, a strong retailer can limit the market potential for competing retailers. Consequently, weaker retailers may not be able to meet threshold profits and exit the market. We derive the private label shares needed to induce exit. A model implication is that the private label share required to induce exit increases with increasing national brand margins. We also conduct an empirical analysis and find evidence supporting the propositions. Combining Dominick's store level data with Zip Code Business Patterns data, we find that at the zip code level, the private label share affects the number of stores competing in the market.

Research paper thumbnail of SNPs, snobs and snouts: biological, experiential and sensory factors drive wine preference and consumption in North American consumers

Research paper thumbnail of The Effect of Customers' Social Media Participation on Customer Visit Frequency and Profitability: An Empirical Investigation

Information Systems Research, 2013

ABSTRACT In this study we examine the effect of customers’ participation in a firm’s social media... more ABSTRACT In this study we examine the effect of customers’ participation in a firm’s social media efforts on the intensity of the relationship between the firm and its customers as captured by customers’ visit frequency. We further hypothesize and test for the moderating roles of social media activity and customer characteristics on the link between social media participation and the intensity of customer-firm relationship. Importantly, we also quantify the impact of social media participation on customer profitability. We assemble a novel data set that combines customers’ social media participation data with individual customer level transaction data. To account for endogeneity that could arise because of customer self-selection, we utilize the propensity score matching technique in combination with difference in differences analysis. Our results suggest that customer participation in a firm’s social media efforts leads to an increase in the frequency of customer visits. We find that this participation effect is greater when there are high levels of activity in the social media site and for customers who exhibit a strong patronage with the firm, buy premium products, and exhibit lower levels of buying focus and deal sensitivity. We find that the above set of results holds for customer profitability as well. We discuss theoretical implications of our results and offer prescriptions for managers on how to engage customers via social media. Our study emphasizes the need for managers to integrate knowledge from customers’ transactional relationship with their social media participation to better serve customers and create sustainable business value.

Research paper thumbnail of From Social to Sale: The Effects of Firm Generated Content in Social Media on Customer Behavior

Journal of Marketing, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Taste phenotypes and wine behavior: What genes can tell us about consumer wine preferences

Research paper thumbnail of Segmentation and drivers of wine liking and consumption in US wine consumers

International Journal of Wine Research, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of A comparative analysis of differential consumer response across supermarket and specialty store in the candy category

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of An Investigation of Consumer Brand Choice Behavior Across Different Retail Formats

Journal of Marketing Channels, 2010

There has been a blurring with respect to the retail formats because of competition and prolifera... more There has been a blurring with respect to the retail formats because of competition and proliferation of different types of formats. In this research, we use a unique scanner panel dataset to investigate how brand choice behavior varies for the same consumer shopping for the same brand across different retail formats. We develop hypotheses pertaining to promotion sensitivity, price sensitivity, package size preference, and effects of demographic and shopping variables on consumer brand choice behavior and test them using a multi-format probit choice model that allows for the estimation of the cross-format differences with respect to the above. We find that consumers exhibit different promotion and price sensitivities in brand choice behavior between the mass merchandise format and supermarkets. Discussions and insights are provided.

Research paper thumbnail of Cross-Category Effects of Aisle and Display Placements: A Spatial Modeling Approach and Insights

Journal of Marketing, 2009

Amid growing competition, retailers are increasingly interested in more effective aisle and displ... more Amid growing competition, retailers are increasingly interested in more effective aisle and display management strategies. These strategies involve placements of product categories in aisles and displays within each store to facilitate greater sales affinity (demand attraction) between categories to improve the store's share of customer wallet. The authors investigate the effects of aisle and display placements on the sales affinities

Research paper thumbnail of Super-tasting gastronomes? Taste phenotype characterization of foodies and wine experts

Food Quality and Preference, 2013

Responsiveness to the bitterant 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) contributes to differences between in... more Responsiveness to the bitterant 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) contributes to differences between individuals in orosensory sensation and hedonic responses to food and beverages, and is used as a general proxy for 'taste' response. Greater PROP responsiveness has also been linked to more acute discrimination between oral stimuli. These observations have led to speculation that foodies and food professionals are over-represented as PROP super-tasters, consistent with the recent hypothesis that individuals may self-select for some interests or professions based on an innate taste advantage -an example of an active gene-environment correlation (rGE) for taste. Some evidence for such a relationship has recently been found for wine expertise. The main objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that individuals with high liking of and involvement with food and wine -foodies and wine experts, respectively -differ from other individuals in their PROP responsiveness. 1, 011 individuals were recruited from the Northeast, United States for a mail survey, and phenotyped for PROP bitterness via filter paper disk. They also rated their liking for a range of 64 food and 14 non-food items using individual generalized degree of liking scales, and self-rated their level of wine expertise, which was used to classify them as wine experts (n = 130) or wine novices (n = 289). DL values -the difference in average liking scores between food and non-food items -were calculated for each individual, and participants were then classified as foodies (n = 240) or non-foodies (n = 240) based on whether their DL scores were within the upper or lower quartiles, respectively. Overall, PROP responsiveness (n = 954) declined with age, and females rated PROP bitterness 43% higher than males. The higher ratings by females were observed across all age groups. PROP responsiveness was not correlated with DL (r = À0.01; p = 0.77), and no differences were observed in PROP bitterness ([F(1) = 0.17; p = 0.68]) or distribution between foodies and non-foodies. In contrast, wine experts rated PROP as significantly more bitter than wine novices ([F(1) = 4.8; p = 0.03]), and conditional distribution functions showed they were more likely to be super-tasters or medium-tasters, although the finding was not observed in respondents aged over 60 yrs. These results add modest support to an rGE for taste with wine experts, but not with foodies.

Research paper thumbnail of The Strategic Role of Private Labels on Retail Competition

Bogazici Journal

We investigate the strategic role of private labels in limiting retail competition. Private label... more We investigate the strategic role of private labels in limiting retail competition. Private labels are unique differentiators for retailers. By launching and credibly committing to a strong private label program, a strong retailer can limit the market potential for competing retailers. Consequently, weaker retailers may not be able to meet threshold profits and exit the market. We derive the private label shares needed to induce exit. A model implication is that the private label share required to induce exit increases with increasing national brand margins. We also conduct an empirical analysis and find evidence supporting the propositions. Combining Dominick's store level data with Zip Code Business Patterns data, we find that at the zip code level, the private label share affects the number of stores competing in the market.

Research paper thumbnail of The Strategic Role of Private Labels on Retail Competition

We investigate the strategic role of private labels in limiting retail competition. Private label... more We investigate the strategic role of private labels in limiting retail competition. Private labels are unique differentiators for retailers. By launching and credibly committing to a strong private label program, a strong retailer can limit the market potential for competing retailers. Consequently, weaker retailers may not be able to meet threshold profits and exit the market. We derive the private label shares needed to induce exit. A model implication is that the private label share required to induce exit increases with increasing national brand margins. We also conduct an empirical analysis and find evidence supporting the propositions. Combining Dominick's store level data with Zip Code Business Patterns data, we find that at the zip code level, the private label share affects the number of stores competing in the market.

Research paper thumbnail of SNPs, snobs and snouts: biological, experiential and sensory factors drive wine preference and consumption in North American consumers

Research paper thumbnail of The Effect of Customers' Social Media Participation on Customer Visit Frequency and Profitability: An Empirical Investigation

Information Systems Research, 2013

ABSTRACT In this study we examine the effect of customers’ participation in a firm’s social media... more ABSTRACT In this study we examine the effect of customers’ participation in a firm’s social media efforts on the intensity of the relationship between the firm and its customers as captured by customers’ visit frequency. We further hypothesize and test for the moderating roles of social media activity and customer characteristics on the link between social media participation and the intensity of customer-firm relationship. Importantly, we also quantify the impact of social media participation on customer profitability. We assemble a novel data set that combines customers’ social media participation data with individual customer level transaction data. To account for endogeneity that could arise because of customer self-selection, we utilize the propensity score matching technique in combination with difference in differences analysis. Our results suggest that customer participation in a firm’s social media efforts leads to an increase in the frequency of customer visits. We find that this participation effect is greater when there are high levels of activity in the social media site and for customers who exhibit a strong patronage with the firm, buy premium products, and exhibit lower levels of buying focus and deal sensitivity. We find that the above set of results holds for customer profitability as well. We discuss theoretical implications of our results and offer prescriptions for managers on how to engage customers via social media. Our study emphasizes the need for managers to integrate knowledge from customers’ transactional relationship with their social media participation to better serve customers and create sustainable business value.

Research paper thumbnail of From Social to Sale: The Effects of Firm Generated Content in Social Media on Customer Behavior

Journal of Marketing, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Taste phenotypes and wine behavior: What genes can tell us about consumer wine preferences

Research paper thumbnail of Segmentation and drivers of wine liking and consumption in US wine consumers

International Journal of Wine Research, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of A comparative analysis of differential consumer response across supermarket and specialty store in the candy category

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of An Investigation of Consumer Brand Choice Behavior Across Different Retail Formats

Journal of Marketing Channels, 2010

There has been a blurring with respect to the retail formats because of competition and prolifera... more There has been a blurring with respect to the retail formats because of competition and proliferation of different types of formats. In this research, we use a unique scanner panel dataset to investigate how brand choice behavior varies for the same consumer shopping for the same brand across different retail formats. We develop hypotheses pertaining to promotion sensitivity, price sensitivity, package size preference, and effects of demographic and shopping variables on consumer brand choice behavior and test them using a multi-format probit choice model that allows for the estimation of the cross-format differences with respect to the above. We find that consumers exhibit different promotion and price sensitivities in brand choice behavior between the mass merchandise format and supermarkets. Discussions and insights are provided.

Research paper thumbnail of Cross-Category Effects of Aisle and Display Placements: A Spatial Modeling Approach and Insights

Journal of Marketing, 2009

Amid growing competition, retailers are increasingly interested in more effective aisle and displ... more Amid growing competition, retailers are increasingly interested in more effective aisle and display management strategies. These strategies involve placements of product categories in aisles and displays within each store to facilitate greater sales affinity (demand attraction) between categories to improve the store's share of customer wallet. The authors investigate the effects of aisle and display placements on the sales affinities

Research paper thumbnail of Super-tasting gastronomes? Taste phenotype characterization of foodies and wine experts

Food Quality and Preference, 2013

Responsiveness to the bitterant 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) contributes to differences between in... more Responsiveness to the bitterant 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) contributes to differences between individuals in orosensory sensation and hedonic responses to food and beverages, and is used as a general proxy for 'taste' response. Greater PROP responsiveness has also been linked to more acute discrimination between oral stimuli. These observations have led to speculation that foodies and food professionals are over-represented as PROP super-tasters, consistent with the recent hypothesis that individuals may self-select for some interests or professions based on an innate taste advantage -an example of an active gene-environment correlation (rGE) for taste. Some evidence for such a relationship has recently been found for wine expertise. The main objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that individuals with high liking of and involvement with food and wine -foodies and wine experts, respectively -differ from other individuals in their PROP responsiveness. 1, 011 individuals were recruited from the Northeast, United States for a mail survey, and phenotyped for PROP bitterness via filter paper disk. They also rated their liking for a range of 64 food and 14 non-food items using individual generalized degree of liking scales, and self-rated their level of wine expertise, which was used to classify them as wine experts (n = 130) or wine novices (n = 289). DL values -the difference in average liking scores between food and non-food items -were calculated for each individual, and participants were then classified as foodies (n = 240) or non-foodies (n = 240) based on whether their DL scores were within the upper or lower quartiles, respectively. Overall, PROP responsiveness (n = 954) declined with age, and females rated PROP bitterness 43% higher than males. The higher ratings by females were observed across all age groups. PROP responsiveness was not correlated with DL (r = À0.01; p = 0.77), and no differences were observed in PROP bitterness ([F(1) = 0.17; p = 0.68]) or distribution between foodies and non-foodies. In contrast, wine experts rated PROP as significantly more bitter than wine novices ([F(1) = 4.8; p = 0.03]), and conditional distribution functions showed they were more likely to be super-tasters or medium-tasters, although the finding was not observed in respondents aged over 60 yrs. These results add modest support to an rGE for taste with wine experts, but not with foodies.

Research paper thumbnail of The Strategic Role of Private Labels on Retail Competition

Bogazici Journal

We investigate the strategic role of private labels in limiting retail competition. Private label... more We investigate the strategic role of private labels in limiting retail competition. Private labels are unique differentiators for retailers. By launching and credibly committing to a strong private label program, a strong retailer can limit the market potential for competing retailers. Consequently, weaker retailers may not be able to meet threshold profits and exit the market. We derive the private label shares needed to induce exit. A model implication is that the private label share required to induce exit increases with increasing national brand margins. We also conduct an empirical analysis and find evidence supporting the propositions. Combining Dominick's store level data with Zip Code Business Patterns data, we find that at the zip code level, the private label share affects the number of stores competing in the market.