Journal article
Friends or Enemies? The impact of partial competitor referral on consumer purchase
Journal of retailing, Vol.101(1), pp.86-102
04/2025
DOI: 10.1016/j.jretai.2025.01.001
Abstract
Partial competitor referral is a common sales influence tactic used to increase consumers’ likelihood of purchasing a focal product (e.g., a painting or table) by referring consumers to a competitor that offers a non-focal product (e.g., a frame or chairs). This study examines the impact of two types of partial competitor referrals, i.e., recommending a competitor with strategic vs. tactical advantages, and their impact on consumers’ purchase intention. Five studies showed that recommending a competitor with strategic (vs. tactical) advantages on a non-focal product increases consumers’ purchase intention of the focal product. Credibility of the referral signal and trust of the seller (e.g. goodwill, integrity, and competence trust) mediate the effects. Skepticism toward salespeople, the presence of monetary incentives for referrals, and seller-competitor product assortment overlap moderate the effects. Additionally, we found that recommending a competitor with strategic (vs. tactical) advantages on a non-focal product decreases consumers' future purchase intention for the non-focal product. Theoretical contributions and practical implications of our research are discussed.
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Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Friends or Enemies? The impact of partial competitor referral on consumer purchase
- Creators
- Haichuan Zhao - Shandong UniversityMingyue Zhang - East China Normal UniversityHaipeng (Allan) Chen - Department of Marketing, Tippie College of Business, University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of retailing, Vol.101(1), pp.86-102
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jretai.2025.01.001
- ISSN
- 0022-4359
- eISSN
- 1873-3271
- Grant note
- National Natural Science Foundation of China: 72372091, 71902104, 72102074 Funds of Qilu Young ScholarFunds of Taishan Young Scholar: tsqn202306011
The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.: 72372091; 71902104; 72102074) , Funds of Qilu Young Scholar, and Funds of Taishan Young Scholar (Grant No.: tsqn202306011) .
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 01/2025
- Date published
- 04/2025
- Academic Unit
- Marketing
- Record Identifier
- 9984786441602771
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