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Encouraging
Encouraging shoplifting shoplifting
prevention with prevention

quality relationships
A theory of planned behaviour perspective 49

Balkrushna Potdar, John Guthrie and Juergen Gnoth Received 25 December 2016
Revised 3 February 2017
Department of Marketing, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand 22 March 2017
19 April 2017
20 July 2017
Abstract Accepted 2 October 2017

Purpose – The cost to supermarkets from shoplifting is a growing problem. Despite huge investments in
formal security measures, supermarkets experience shrinkage and face heavy financial losses. Hence, this
paper explores an alternative approach to shoplifting prevention. The purpose of this paper is to propose that
quality relationships between a supermarket and its customers could be a viable strategy for shoplifting
prevention. A conceptual model is presented at the end of this paper for encouraging shoplifting prevention
using a theory of planned behaviour perspective.
Design/methodology/approach – A systematic search of literature on relationship quality was conducted.
Research papers were shortlisted from peer-reviewed journals published between 2007 and 2016. For the
convenience of readers, studies on relationship quality are presented in six cross-checked information
categories in a table.
Findings – This study produced two results. First, it finds three antecedents of supermarket-customer
relationship quality. These are as follows: a supermarket’s participation in corporate social responsibility and
cause-related marketing initiatives, a supermarket’s service quality, and a customer’s attachment to a
supermarket’s place/location. Second, there are three major effective dimensions of relationship quality.
These are as follows: satisfaction, trust, and commitment. The proposed model incorporates factors from both
findings, to measure a supermarket-customer relationship quality that may influence intention of customers
to engage in shoplifting preventive behaviour.
Originality/value – This research paper has reviewed the existing literature to utilise it in the context of
shoplifting prevention, and developed a novel model/framework for effective shoplifting prevention with a
theory of planned behaviour perspective.
Keywords Theory of planned behaviour, Relationship quality,
Corporate social responsibility and cause-related marketing, Place attachment and bonding,
Service quality at supermarkets, Shoplifting prevention
Paper type Literature review

Introduction
Retail crime continues to be a growing problem (Bamfield, 2016). It is particularly true in the
case of FMCG products sold at supermarkets (Smith, 2013). As supermarkets are an
essential part of society’s daily life, a reciprocal dependency exists in the relationship
between a supermarket and society (Razalan et al., 2017). Ironically, despite using expensive
high-tech surveillance equipment, supermarkets continue to face heavy financial, social, and
emotional losses from retail crime (Kennedy and Benson, 2016). Although CRAVED is a
pioneering and effective framework amongst various frameworks for prevention and
deterrence of shoplifting (Smith and Clarke, 2015), the increasing number of shoplifting
incidents invite an investigation of possible alternative situational crime prevention
strategies, for better deterrence of shoplifting which is the dominant retail crime at
supermarkets (Whitlock, 2016). A review of literature on situational crime prevention shows
International Journal of Retail &
that research on informal surveillance needs greater attention (Church, 2012). Distribution Management
Our initial thoughts on alternatives revolved around relationships rather than technology. Vol. 46 No. 1, 2018
pp. 49-69
Support for these thoughts was found in our literature scan where it showed that relationships © Emerald Publishing Limited
0959-0552
influence human emotions (Khodarahimi et al., 2012) stimulating feelings of reciprocity, DOI 10.1108/IJRDM-12-2016-0240
IJRDM responsibility, and involvement. Relationships based on communication are fundamental for
46,1 creation and maintenance of social systems (Luhmann, 1995). Bailey and Ngwenyama (2016)
argued that relationships create patterns of informal surveillance and may help in crime
prevention through community policing, further encouraging literature review on relationship
marketing to identify relevant relationship management techniques.
It has been found from the existing literature on relationship marketing that the
50 primary objective of a supermarket’s customer relationship management programmes is
to maintain formal business relationships with customers, and encourage their repeat
buying behaviour to earn profits (Telci, 2013). A dilemma therefore exists for building and
sustaining good informal business relationships, and receiving help from customers for
effective shoplifting prevention (Bonfanti, 2014). Thus, there is a need to explore
opportunities in the area of informal customer relationships, as investing in the
development of informal customer relationships could be a mutually beneficial and a
socially viable economical strategy (Mehta et al., 2013) for the effective deterrence of
shoplifting. A review of existing literature on retailer-customer relationships shows that
no such theory of implementing the concept of relationship to prevent shoplifting is found
in the existing literature, we analysed select literature on relationship quality to
understand the status quo of this concept. We found that outcomes such as satisfaction,
trust, and commitment are the effective and most frequently measured dimensions of
relationship quality. Yet, there is still a need of a good theory to predict whether or not
customer-retailer relationship quality will actually help predict customer’s integrity or
even customer intervention to prevent shoplifting. Integrity means “[…] being morally
trustworthy, honest, fully integrated and whole, true to oneself, and/or acting in
accordance with one’s statements” (Bauman, 2013, p. 414). Intervention means an
attempt by one or more people to save someone from a traumatic event or crisis. In our
case, intervention is a customer’s attempt to stop others from shoplifting by, for
example, informing supermarket staff. The theory of planned behaviour would predict
that the formation of relationships will create behavioural norms and expectations
that promote shoplifting prevention. The retailer-customer relationship helps predict
customers’ attitude, intention, and behaviour towards shoplifting prevention. At the end
of this paper, we suggested a conceptual model in theory of planned behaviour to the
concept of relationship quality.
This paper provides background information on shoplifting and the common
deterrence techniques. A literature review on relationship quality then discusses the
benefits of retailer-customer relationships. We offer a brief discussion on the antecedents
of positive relationships such as a retailer’s initiatives in corporate social responsibility
and cause-related marketing, efforts to improve service quality, and customers’ tendencies
of place bonding with supermarkets. Further, a discussion on the theory of planned
behaviour and its previous applications in different contexts follows. This includes a
clarification of the significant components of the theory of planned behaviour, which leads
to the development of a model and testable hypotheses regarding shoplifting prevention.
Finally, we propose a research methodology, theoretical implications, and managerial
implications for further research.

Background
A supermarket is a store engaged in retailing a broad selection of items that cater for daily
household needs of society (Drewnowski et al., 2012). We consider supermarkets as large
retailers supplying circadian needs of society (Luo et al., 2015). Among all retail types,
supermarkets are the most frequently visited places that experience shoplifting (RetailNZ, 2017).
The act of stealing from supermarkets by customers is known as “shoplifting”(Daunt and
Greer, 2015) and it is considered as an aberrant consumer behaviour (Altuna et al., 2016).
Yearly, it accounts for approximately $1.2 billion (i.e. 4 per cent of annual turnover) financial loss Encouraging
in New Zealand (RetailNZ, 2017). According to the Deyle and Cube (2015), retail FMCG products shoplifting
witnessed the highest number of thefts, followed by clothing, shoes, electronics, and liquor prevention
products (Powell, 2016). As per a retail survey, 90 per cent of retail crime is due to shoplifting by
customers, 6 per cent is due to dishonest employees, and 4 per cent is due to cargo theft either at
suppliers’ ends or during navigation of products (Doyle, 2016). Typically, each incident of
shoplifting represents a small financial loss compared to the overall turnover of the retail 51
business but the whole volume of shoplifting for a full year presents a major financial loss to
retailers (Hirtenlehner et al., 2014). Shoplifting also has significant negative effects on sales-tax
revenues from retailers that the government can utilise for the betterment of the society
(Guthrie et al., 2016). Therefore, it is beneficial to address the problem of shoplifting to encourage
loss prevention of resources in retail settings.

Review of literature
Primarily, there are two dominant categories of shoplifting research, criminology (which
includes situational-prevention strategies) and sociology (social/psychological prevention
and deterrence) (Farmer and Dawson, 2017).

Literature from criminology

A group of situational-prevention strategies is the first pillar of shoplifting prevention.
These strategies are related to the economics of shoplifting, improved security, and target
hardening (e.g. keeping valuable items behind locked glass shelves). The theoretical origins
of this research consist of “Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design” proposed by
Jeffery (1971) and “Defensible Space Theory” proposed by Newman (1973). Kugel (2003)
designed a security plan containing surveillance, alarms, and video monitoring for
New York City bodegas (Mom and Pop convenient stores). Mishra and Prasad (2006)
suggested that the use of internal control systems and random inspections may help reduce
employee shoplifting. Chen et al. (2010) suggested use of the Six Sigma management model
for effective lighting and display of retail items and training of employees to improve
deterrence of shoplifting. Bressler (2011) recommended that mirrors, locks, and security
guards are supplementary but important measures for shoplifting prevention. Kajalo and
Lindblom (2011) suggested closed-circuit televisions, a clean and well-lit store, visible guard
patrols, and motion detection devices as (possibly not effective) preferred measures of
security. Further, Perlman and Ozinci (2014) proposed a model projecting expenditure on
effective reduction of retail shrinkage. In summary, these approaches favour tangible and
visible instruments for the deterrence of shoplifting.

Literature from sociology

The social/psychological prevention and deterrence is the second pillar of shoplifting
prevention. The very first reference to shoplifting prevention in sociology literature was by
Cameron (1964) who focussed on apprehended shoplifters in Chicago’s Marshall Field’s
departmental store. Cox et al. (1993) discussed attachment between juveniles and parents as
well as other social influences ( from friends and peers) on their behaviour. Babin and
Babin (1996) suggested a need to encourage moral development in young children. Teevan
and Dryburgh (2000) proposed use of first person accounts by male high school students to
determine strain and control theory which are parts of delinquency paradigms. Forney and
Crutsinger (2001) suggested that socialisation, age, and gender influence decision of a
perpetrator to shoplift. Cornish and Clarke (2003) held that shoplifters apply a rational
choice approach to determine costs and benefits of their actions and make rational decisions
of shoplifting accordingly. The conduct disorder traits of impulsivity and hopelessness in
IJRDM adolescence were studied by Castellanos-Ryan and Conrod (2011) and it was suggested that
46,1 proper training should be given to control these traits. Adib and El-Bassiouny (2012)
recommended that the media should be more careful in its reporting that parents should
monitor entertainment shows for children and parents should try harder to inculcate
socialisation of materialist values in their children. Fraser (2013) observed various social
factors that undermine deterrence of shoplifting, such as general acceptance of rule
52 breaking as well as the lack of police interest pursuing apprehensions, prosecutions, and
convictions. In summary, these approaches favour development of social and psychological
sensitivities towards deterrence of shoplifting.
Beyond criminology and sociology, we introduce exploring marketing literature as
building customer relationships is one of the most prominent tasks carried out through
marketing initiatives at supermarkets.

Literature from marketing

Supermarkets make significant investments in personnel training (Taylor, 2016) and
surveillance equipment (Koistinen and Järvinen, 2016). Nonetheless, the effectiveness of
these devices is questionable (Zhou and Piramuthu, 2015) as despite their presence,
supermarkets consistently experience shoplifting (Amasiatu and Shah, 2014). This means
that formal surveillance equipment is not 100 per cent effective in shoplifting prevention
and therefore we need to explore the existing literature on informal surveillance. Informal or
natural surveillance includes store design and customers, to limit the opportunities for crime
by increasing people’s perception that they can be seen. Using physical features and
activities may maximise visibility and foster positive social interaction and control. It has
also been found that relationships influence informal surveillance (Tenbrunsel et al., 2003)
and help crime prevention (Land, 2015). Relationship marketing seeks business
improvement by developing long-term customer relationships (Gummesson, 1987; Guthrie
et al., 2017; Payne et al., 2005). Relationship quality is therefore an important aspect of
relationship marketing that measures customer relationships to be discussed in terms of
crime prevention.

Relationship quality at a glance

A relationship is “the way in which two or more people or things are connected”
(Hamida et al., 2016, p. 5). A positive relationship is important for a healthy and long-term
retailer-customer relationship. Improving relationship quality has the potential of transforming
existing, unconcerned customer relationships into loyal relationships (Su et al., 2016).
It is important for retailers to maintain genuine, energetic, humanised, and personalised
relationships with their customers (Simbolon, 2016). Relationship quality is defined as “[…] a
set of transactions through which trust, commitment, bonding, satisfaction, and other factors
are built” (Obal et al., 2016, p. 138). If a business’ relationship quality is positive, its relationships
are more likely to be successful (Niko et al., 2015). Given this background, the current research
paper addresses two research questions to examine relationship quality as an additional tool
for shoplifting prevention, these are as follows:
RQ1. What are the primary antecedents and dimensions of a positive retailer-customer
relationship?
RQ2. Does a positive retailer-customer relationship encourage customer’s integrity
and/or intervention to prevent shoplifting?
Building on Athanasopoulou (2009), Table I lists selected studies on relationship quality in
the retailing domain. We systematically searched and shortlisted research papers for this
review. The selection criteria were as follows: first, it must be an academic paper published
 Findings
Context/Theoretical
Author (year) positioning and country Methodology/Sample RQ antecedents RQ dimensions RQ consequences

Adjei and Retail customer of Survey, 158-respondents, 7-point Consumer innovativeness, Satisfaction, trust, Quality customer-firm
Clark (2010) clothing stores, USA scale, confirmatory factor analysis variety seeking, and relationship commitment relationships
(CFA) proneness
Al-Alak (2014) Banking sector, Survey, 1,190 respondents, LISREL Client orientation, relational Satisfaction, trust, Loyalty, WOM, promotion
Malaysia orientation, mutual disclosure, commitment
service provider attributes
Arya and Online retailers, India
Survey, SEM, regression, LOGIT , E-service quality E-trust, Effective e-loyalty
Srivastava ANOVA, MANOVA (analyse linkage (responsiveness, convenience, e-satisfaction,
(2015) between independent and dependent customisation, contact e-perceived value
variables) EFA, CFA interactivity)
Aurier (2011) Super-hypermarkets (ice Survey, structural equation In-store presentation, in-store Satisfaction, trust Attitudinal loyalty
cream, frozen meals, modelling, 304 consumers brand image expression, commitment
intimate apparel), closeness to store image,
FMCG, France perceived value
Bobot (2011) Retailers, France Interview, 131 respondents, two-step Conflict ( functional, Satisfaction, trust Enhanced customer loyalty
approach with LISREL dysfunctional) commitment
Françoise and Supermarkets, Qualitative approach, direct mail, TA Familiar value, planned value Direct mail Improved brand commitment
Andrews Australia attachment, reading
(2015) amount, reading,
brand gratitude
Gelbrich (2011) Customers of a retail, Online survey, 367 university Price unfairness, advantaged Trust, satisfaction, Happiness, pride, loyalty
outlet, Germany student respondents price inequality, emotions, commitment
dynamic pricing
Grace and Franchisees, Australia Online survey, 263 respondents, Social value, emotional value, Perceived quality, Significant effect
Weaven (2011) PERVAL scale and 7-point Likert quality value, monetary value perceived value,
scale risk, satisfaction
Hennigs et al. Luxury brands, Survey, partial least square (PLS) Financial value, functional Satisfaction, trust Positive purchase intention,
(2015) Germany path modelling approach used to value, social value commitment WOM, price premium
estimate complex cause-effect
relationship model

(continued )
prevention

53
shoplifting
Encouraging

Select studies on

(RQ): literature review

relationship quality
Table I.
 54
46,1

Table I.
IJRDM

Findings
Context/Theoretical
Author (year) positioning and country Methodology/Sample RQ antecedents RQ dimensions RQ consequences

Jin et al. (2015) Luxury restaurants, Survey, CFA, SEM Brand prestige Perceived risk, trust, Enhanced loyalty
USA satisfaction
Kim and Kim Dining restaurants, Survey, customers, 510 respondents, Identification, switching costs, Satisfaction, Increased share of purchases,
(2014) USA CFA satisfaction commitment positive WOM
Kim et al. B2B, retail, China Survey, 301 retailers, 227 supplier, Cooperative, synergistic, Satisfaction, trust, Efficiency improvement
(2013) face-to-face interviews, CFA competitive dimensions commitment
Lauren Retailing informants, Online survey, 300 respondents; Internal operant resources Satisfaction, trust, Higher market performance
Skinner et al. USA hierarchical regression (customer orientation, service commitment
(2012) culture), external operant
resources (collaborative
communication, governance
mechanism)
Meng and Restaurants, USA Survey, 404 customers, convenience Physical environment, food Trust, satisfaction, Strong influence on
Elliott (2008) sampling technique, 5-point Likert- quality, customer orientation, loyalty relationship
scale, LISREL communication, relationship
benefits, price fairness
Nikbin et al. Restaurants, Malaysia 164 customers, convenience Perceived service fairness (price, Trust, commitment Lower switching intentions
(2013) sampling, survey, descriptive procedural, interactional,
statistics outcome)
Omar and Department stores and EFA; pilot survey of 255 Reward, tangibility, policy, Satisfaction, trust Improved customer loyalty
Musa (2011) super stores, Malaysia respondents, information usefulness, commitment
5-point Likert scale to test LPSQual courteousness/helpfulness,
designed on the basis of an extensive personalisation and
literature review and qualitative communication
method, and 2.CFA; survey of 400/
460 respondents
Park and Kim Brand communities, Facebook pages qualitative analysis Perceived RQ, brand social Satisfaction, trust, Brand social network, WOM,
(2014) USA of 22 apparel brands, 10-restaurant/ network RQ commitment price premium
coffeehouse brands

(continued )
 Findings
Context/Theoretical
Author (year) positioning and country Methodology/Sample RQ antecedents RQ dimensions RQ consequences

Patrick and Customers of a green Two waves telephonic survey, 416 Emotional commitment, Combined construct Positive influence
Vesna (2010) product company, respondents, seven-point Likert calculative commitment of trust and
Central-East Europe Scale, t-test satisfaction
Qin et al. (2009) Retailing customers, Survey, 295 customers, 5-point Likert Attitude, behaviour, expertise, Satisfaction, trust, Loyalty
China scale ambience, pricing policy, commitment
warranty
Rauyruen and B2B (SMEs) courier and Mail-survey, 52 SMEs; followed by Composite loyalty and Trust, commitment, Enhancement in purchase
Miller (2007) freight delivery service, an online survey, 254 respondents; attitudinal loyalty satisfaction, intentions and attitudinal
Australia two step, perceived service loyalty
i.e. measurement model and quality
structural model approach
Shahin Sharifi Cell phone brands, Iran 305 users, validity of questionnaire, Communication Satisfaction, trust Behavioural loyalty, attitudinal
and Rahim common method variance, commitment loyalty
Esfidani (2014) exploratory factor analysis, CFA
Simon (2013) Retail chain, France Survey, student customers, 148, CFA Empathy and gratitude in Trust, commitment, Repurchase intention
with AMOS complaint handling satisfaction
So et al. (2016) Brand communities, 7-point Likert scale, survey, 151 Involvement, customer Trust, satisfaction, Increased brand loyalty
Australia respondents engagement (identification, commitment
enthusiasm, attention,
absorption, interaction)
Tareque and B2B, i.e. retailer-supplier , 30 respondents, survey, factor Termination cost, switching Satisfaction, trust Effective cost of operational
Nor (2013) focussing on retailers analysis and multiple regression cost, operational cost commitment marketing strategies
only, Bangladesh analysis, RELQUAL
Zhang and Consumers of clothing Structural equation modelling, 1,037 Value congruence Satisfaction, trust, Value congruence has significant,
Bloemer (2008) stores and banks in respondents affective direct, positive effects on the key
the Netherlands commitment and components of RQ, i.e.
loyalty satisfaction, trust, affective
commitment and loyalty
prevention

55
shoplifting
Encouraging

Table I.
IJRDM in a peer-reviewed journal; and second, it makes a contribution to the argument. This means,
46,1 papers were included that directly or indirectly discuss factors useful in deterring crime.
We searched literature in online databases such as Scopus, ProQuest, Web of Science, and
Emerald; using the keywords, “relationship quality”, “RQ”, “quality of relationship” along
with “*retailing”. After applying the first selection criteria, we found a total of 125 research
papers, of which a total of 80 relevant research papers fulfilled the second selection criterion.
56 Finally, we shortlisted a total of 25 papers based on the depth analysis summarised and
presented in Table I.

Results from Table I

The studies listed in Table I were conducted in Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, and
North America. There is a focus on the business-to-business context in 3 (12 per cent) studies
whereas, 22 (88 per cent) out of 25 studies primarily focussed on the business-to-customer
context. This shows that researchers are keen to understand effects of relationship quality,
especially in the consumer context. A total of 24 (96 per cent) studies were conducted in a
single country and just 1 study (4 per cent) was conducted in 2 Central European countries.
A total of 21 (84 per cent) studies employed a quantitative/survey method for data collection.
Overall 23 (92 per cent) studies employed satisfaction, trust, and commitment to measure
relationship quality.
Furthermore, satisfaction and trust are vital elements in the success of supermarkets’
customer relationship management campaigns (Gadman, 2013). Satisfaction and trust lead to
customer commitment towards the supermarket and give long-term financial benefits
(Mafumbate, 2013). The underpinning factors discussed in the reviewed literature lead to the
identification that satisfaction, trust, and commitment are based on the following elements.
These include a retailer’s involvement in corporate social responsibility and cause-related
marketing, a retailer’s service quality, and a customer’s bond with retailer’s place (i.e. retail shop/
supermarket). This means these are the prevalent forerunners of a sound retailer-customer
relationship quality and hence we consider them as primary antecedents of relationship quality
in our research study. Now we briefly discuss these antecedents.

Corporate social responsibility and cause-related marketing

Corporate social responsibility initiatives are important when assessing and understanding
an organisation’s respect for ethical values, people, community, and the environment
(Mimouni Chaabane and Parguel, 2016). The practice of supporting, advocating, and
encouraging corporate social responsibility in marketing communication endeavours is
known as cause-related marketing (Ferreira and Ribeiro, 2017). Cause-related marketing is
considered as the practice of expressing and applying marketing undertakings that are
characterised by funding a specific amount to a nominated charitable effort, in turn, causes
customers to engage in revenue-providing exchanges. In everyday life, customers have
opportunities to demonstrate their moral views by purchasing products from retailers
who engage in social welfare activities (Sahi et al., 2016). Even when perceived as
awkward but genuine, such activities are beneficial to retailers’ social image development
(Mukasa et al., 2015). They positively influence customers’ purchase intentions by
providing safe platforms to contribute to a particular social cause (Ladero et al., 2015;
Razalan et al., 2017). This is an example of how corporate social responsibility and cause-
related marketing activities initiate, build, and develop strong associations with customers
and enhance retailers’ corporate image in society (Pérez and Del Bosque, 2015). Further, we
found that moral emotions influence customer decisions to purchase products at
supermarkets that are attached to corporate social responsibility and cause-related
marketing activities (Campbell and Fairhurst, 2016; Gray and Wegner, 2011). Hence, Savas
(2016) suggested prevalent factors to assess whether or not retailers’ corporate social
responsibility and cause-related marketing initiatives are customer supportable. These factors Encouraging
are as follows: retailers’ social image as being altruistic; retailers’ social value and credibility; shoplifting
retailers’ social or interpersonal ties with customers; retailers’ company culture; and retailers’ prevention
commitment to the cause. Hence, with respect to corporate social responsibility and
cause-related marketing, we propose to employ these factors as antecedents of relationship
quality since they can be assessed to understand the nature of retailer-customer relationships.
The next antecedent of relationship quality is retailers’ service quality. 57
Service quality
Service quality is an important factor of retail business performance (de Waal et al., 2017)
that measures retailers’ delivered service matching their customers’ expectations
(Sweeney et al., 2016). Often salespeople are regarded as a critical nexus between retailer
and customers (Lee and Dubinsky, 2017). Material, facilities, and personnel are three major
dimensions of service quality (Chen and Li, 2017). Customers’ perceived value of service is
contextual and subjective in nature as it varies from one person to another (El-Adly and
Eid, 2017). Also, perception of service fairness has an impact on trust and commitment
(Shaikh et al., 2017) and the primary objective of providing quality service to customers is to
achieve high levels of customer satisfaction. Hence, we consider that service quality is
another antecedent that decides the nature of retailer-customer relationships.
Similarly, place bonding is another significant factor that has an impact on retailer-customer
relationships. Hence, the next section discusses place bonding as another antecedent of
relationship quality.

Place bonding
It is noted that attachments can be formed between humans and physical entities such as
homes, buildings, neighbourhoods, towns, cities, objects, landscapes, and environments
(Cresswell, 2014). Assessment of relationship quality between a retailer and customer
through place bonding may be possible as the experiences encountered in an environment
can be physical and social in nature (Loureiro, 2014). Therefore, place is a vital element in
building harmonious relationships since it is a physical location where social and
environmental transformations take place (Schultz et al., 2016). A person’s sense of place
signifies his/her bond or attachment with that place (Shaw and Sullivan, 2013). Hence, the
fundamental dimensions of place bonding are an individual’s personal experiences and
social interactions in a place (Debenedetti et al., 2014). Based on these factors, individuals
attach meanings to a place and eventually the place becomes part of their identity
(Arrigo, 2015). Therefore, place bonding is considered as an individual’s emotional,
cognitive, and functional bond with a place (Chubchuwong and Speece, 2016).
Supermarkets are viewed as places for informal meetings (Tombs and Mccoll-Kennedy,
2013) which provide an opportunity for supermarkets to build long-term customer
relationships. This is possible if supermarkets provide an excellent place experience.
We consider place bonding as an antecedent of relationship quality which may encourage
shoplifting prevention. Existing literature showed that the following factors are important
to form place bonding. These are association, experience, nostalgia, and remembrance
(Shaw and Sullivan, 2013) and we adopt them in our study to assess customer-retailer
relationship quality on the basis of their bonding with retailer’s place.
As satisfaction, trust, and commitment encourage relationship quality, we argue that
these factors also have potential to encourage shoplifting prevention. However, the
reviewed research studies do not discuss moral responsibility or integrity, and
intervention for shoplifting prevention. These studies primarily used surveys as the
method of data collection.
IJRDM The next step is to evaluate and predict customer’s intentions to practice loyalty with
46,1 retailers and/or intervening for deterrence of shoplifting by applying the theory of planned
behaviour based on their relationship quality with retailers.

The theory of planned behaviour

The theory of planned behaviour has been used for years to understand and predict
58 behaviours in various contexts. In this context, we use the theory of planned behaviour to
predict shoplifting preventive behaviour of customers.
It is believed that motivation is the key element to engage in a certain behaviour
(Dörnyei et al., 2015). Motivation drives intentions, which in turn indicate the willingness to
act. Intention acts as the primary predictor of that behaviour (Ajzen, 1991). There are three
conceptually independent principal determinants or predictors of intention to perform a given
behaviour proposed in theory of planned behaviour (Moser, 2015). The first determinant or
predictor is attitude towards performing a certain form of behaviour. Attitude is known as a
person’s positive or negative feelings towards a certain behaviour (Spaid and Flint, 2014).
The second predictor is subjective norm. It is known as a person’s perception of social
pressure to perform a certain behaviour (Park and Cho, 2012). The third predictor is perceived
behavioural control. It is known as a person’s perception of easiness or difficulty in
performing a certain behaviour (Zhong et al., 2015). These predictors should be measured to
understand customer’s intentions to help retailers in increasing customer’s integrity and their
shoplifting preventive behaviour.
Further, expectancy and value determine the actual performance of a certain form of
behaviour (Pappas et al., 2014). For example, a customer’s attitude towards helping a retailer
to prevent shoplifting can be to help control rising prices of commodities due to shoplifting
(expectancy); also the belief that this would be the moral responsibility of the customer as even
the retailer has always been fair with its customers and society at large (value).
These composites of expectancy and value are known as the belief-based measures of the
primary determinants of intention to perform a certain form of behaviour in a specific
situation (Gagné and Godin, 2000). There are guidelines for developing and measuring all the
previously mentioned constructs and this approach has been used in various studies to
predict diverse forms of behaviours such as online banking, mobile banking, online tax filling
as well as e-governance, alcohol consumption, start or quit cigarette smoking, organic food
purchase and consumption, academic misconduct or cheating, shoplifting, theft, online
behaviour, etc. To the best knowledge of the authors, the theory of planned behaviour has
never been used to investigate customers’ intentions to practice integrity and intervene for
shoplifting prevention. Therefore, we plan to employ the theory of planned behaviour to
predict their shoplifting preventive behaviour by assessing their intentions based on the
relationship quality they share with retailers. This part highlighted the relevance ;and
usability of the theory of planned behaviour and a model is proposed (Figure 1) for predicting
customers’ integrity and willingness to demonstrate shoplifting preventive behaviour.

Expected consequences of relationship quality

We expect 2Is for effective shoplifting prevention. The first “I” denotes “Integrity” and the
second “I” denotes “Intervention”. In this context, we consider integrity as one of the
consequences of good relationships that encourages customers to be truthful so that they
refrain from shoplifting. Further, since customers share a positive relationship with a
retailer, we expect that these customers who witness shoplifting might either inform
a staff member of the supermarket or personally stop the offender from shoplifting.
The combined effect of these antecedents and consequences needs an assessment of
retailer-customer relationship quality to understand whether customers are truly willing
to practice integrity and intervene whenever needed for shoplifting prevention.
 Attitude towards
Perceived
Encouraging
CSR and
CrM
Service
quality
Place
bond
practicing integrity
and intervention for
Subjective
norms
behavioural shoplifting
control
shoplifting prevention
prevention

59
Satisfaction
Intention Actually
towards practicing
practicing integrity
integrity and/or
and/or intervening to
Trust intervention to prevent
prevent shoplifting
shoplifting

Commitment

Relationship quality
Figure 1.
Model for predicting
shoplifting preventive
Notes: CSR, corporate social responsibility; CrM, cause-related marketing behaviour
Sources: Ajzen (1991) and Guthrie et al. (2006)

The proposed model and hypotheses

The above section discussed the significant antecedents which now require
integration into the model to be tested. Hence, Figure 1 explains the application
of the theory of planned behaviour perspective to predict a customer’s integrity
and/or likely intervention to prevent shoplifting. This model posits that customer’s
intention to engage in integrity and shoplifting prevention is predictive of the
actual behaviour. The customer’s attitude towards prevention of shoplifting, subjective
norms, and perceived ease or difficulty towards shoplifting prevention will have an impact
on intentions. The theory of planned behaviour sanctions the assimilation of additional
variables in the model (Ajzen, 1991; Guthrie et al., 2006). Therefore, in this case,
a customer-retailer relationship quality is considered as an extra variable. It is an
individual difference factor based on customers’ individual experiences with the retailer
with respect to retailer’s corporate social responsibility and cause-related marketing
initiatives, service quality, and customers’ place bonding with the retailer’s space.
Here, these factors are proposed to impact customers’ attitudes towards, and the
intentions to engage in, shoplifting preventive behaviour. The next section integrates
these factors into the model.

Attitude towards practicing integrity and prevention of shoplifting

According to the theory of planned behaviour, a person’s attitude towards a behaviour can
project the person’s intention to engage in that particular behaviour. Attitude denotes the
extent to which the person recognises the behaviour is good or bad for him/her.
The greater a person’s positive or negative attitude is towards a particular behaviour,
respectively, the higher or lower the likelihood that the person will participate in
that behaviour:
H1. Customer’s attitude towards integrity and shoplifting prevention predicts the
customer’s practice of integrity and engagement in shoplifting preventive behaviour.
IJRDM Subjective norms
46,1 Subjective norms suggest that people have certain expectations regarding perceptions of
their significant others such as family, friends, neighbours, etc., to engage in the behaviour
in question. In this case, the significant others include known retail staff, the retailer, and
known fellow customers. Recent research studies have supported the influence of subjective
norms on customer decision making (Kim and James, 2016). We expect that subjective
60 norms will prove as predictor of intentions to show integrity and engage in shoplifting
preventive behaviour:
H2. Customer’s set of subjective norms towards integrity and shoplifting prevention
predicts the customer’s intention to practice integrity and engagement in shoplifting
preventive behaviour.

Perceived behavioural control

Perceived behavioural control refers to a person’s perceptions of the simplicity or difficulty
of performing certain behaviour (Campbell and Fairhurst, 2016). Hence, our expectation is
that a customer is more likely to practice integrity and engage in shoplifting preventive
behaviour if he or she perceives that it is relatively easy to do so:
H3. A customer’s perceived behavioural control towards integrity and shoplifting
prevention predicts the customer’s intention to practice integrity and engagement in
shoplifting preventive behaviour.
As mentioned earlier, to evaluate the impact of positive retailer-customer relationship on
customers’ engagements in shoplifting preventive behaviour, we added additional variables in
the model. In this case, we believe that a customer’s relationship quality with the retailer
depends upon the retailer’s participation in corporate social responsibility and cause-related
marketing activities, and his/her service quality. The customers’ attachment with the retailer’s
place will further influence their intentions to engage in shoplifting preventive behaviour.

Retailer’s participation in corporate social responsibility and cause-related marketing activities

Corporate social responsibility enhances customer loyalty (Sun and Price, 2016). Therefore,
we are expecting that a retailer’s participation in corporate social responsibility and
cause-related marketing activities positively influences retailer-customer relationship which
ultimately stimulates customer’s integrity and shoplifting preventive behaviour.

Retailer’s service quality

Further, the second variable of relationship quality is a retailer’s service quality. There are
various factors affecting customers’ shopping experience that impact relationship quality
and loyalty with the retailer (Wakefield and Blodgett, 2016). Therefore, we expect that a
retailer’s service quality positively influences retailer-customer relationship which
ultimately stimulates customer’s integrity and shoplifting preventive behaviour.

Customer’s bond with retailer’s place

Finally, the third and last variable of relationship quality is a customer’s bond or attachment
to a retailer’s place. Apart from affecting a customer’s attachment with a retailer’s place,
recent studies show that place bonding also brings customer repeat buying behaviour
(Su and Swanson, 2017). Now, we combine all three variables of relationship quality to
design relevant hypotheses:
H4. Retailer-customer relationship quality has a positive effect on customers’ attitude
towards practicing integrity and engagement in shoplifting preventive behaviour.
 H5. Retailer-customer relationship quality has a positive effect on customers’ intention Encouraging
towards practicing integrity and engagement in shoplifting preventive behaviour. shoplifting
H6. The higher the level of retailer-customer relationship quality the greater is the likelihood prevention
that a customer practices integrity and engages in shoplifting preventive behaviour.

Proposed methodology 61
Given the highly personal nature of our enquiry, there is a need to choose the most effective
methodology for data collection. In case of qualitative methodology, interview is the
dominant data collection method. However, this is a “participant-driven” data collection
method. Therefore, it may not be precise and may lead to a participant’s highly personal
responses that might not be generalised to the entire population. On the other hand, in
quantitative methodology, survey is the dominant data collection method. However, this
method is considered as “research-driven” rather than “participant-driven” data collection
method since it contains the only options that are defined by the researcher who has
designed it. So, the respondents cannot express their views on a particular question and are
bound to choose one of the given options which will have a negative effect on the reliability
and validity of the collected data and to the outcome of research. Hence, to overcome
weaknesses of both survey and interview methods, we propose to employ a mixed-
methodology approach in the future research study on shoplifting prevention.
A mixed-methodology design, i.e. a combination of qualitative and quantitative
methodologies seems to be a perfect fit in this case. At the first stage, we propose to collect
data using an “in-depth semi-structured interview” methodology. We expect to learn various
dimensions of relationship quality for deterrence of shoplifting from these interviews to
further specify the context of attitudes, beliefs, and norms (Ajzen, 1991). At the next stage,
we propose to employ a “customer survey” which should incorporate all required questions
along with demographic variables such as gender, age, education, occupation, ethnicity,
income levels, and number of years of association with the retailer. The proposed population
of interest is supermarket customers. The sample size should holistically represent general
characteristics of the population.

Theoretical implication
The primary aim of this paper is to build a viable relationship model that may predict
customers’ intention to prevent shoplifting. We apply the theory of planned behaviour and
design a conceptual model for effective shoplifting prevention. Also, we develop a series of
testable hypotheses for future research. These hypotheses are subject to an empirical test to
determine the extent to which the theory of planned behaviour does an effective or
ineffective job in explaining a retail customer’s intentions to practice integrity and engage in
shoplifting preventive behaviour. This study uses a relationship quality approach as an
additional measure to shoplifting prevention and makes a theoretical contribution to
literature on Situational crime prevention.

Managerial implication
The persistent problem of shoplifting requires new managerial tools and we here suggest
that there is a need for greater relationship quality. This means retailers should make
genuine efforts to understand relationship quality and its positive effects on shoplifting
prevention. Figure 2 shows customers as patrons since they can make effective informal
surveillance agents. Therefore, for shoplifting prevention, the retail managers may consider
improving relationship quality with customers that will benefit retailers to strengthen their
relationships to safeguard their retail premises from shoplifting.
IJRDM
46,1 Prominence to
retail loss prevention Patron
and seven market
clusters
Highlight towards Safeguard
retail customer Client marketing
retention and six
62 market domains
Relationship
Customer marketing
Focus on
acquisition of
Transaction
customers
marketing
Functional Cross-functional Multi-functional
marketing marketing marketing

Figure 2.
Evolution of
safeguard marketing
Source: Potdar et al. (2016)

Conclusion
Thus far, research studies on situational crime prevention have relied on improvement of
formal surveillance measures such as installing contemporary surveillance equipment and
staff training. Also, research studies on the relationship marketing perspective discussed
just the financial benefits of relationship quality. There is a scarcity of studies in situational
crime prevention and relationship marketing literature that could advise on improving
relationship quality for shoplifting prevention. To fill this research gap, the conceptual
model proposed in this paper has introduced a symbiosis of various significant independent
concepts for positive retailer-customer relationship quality. We found effective measures of
retailer-customer relationship quality, to improve existing relationship quality, and utilise
relationship quality for shoplifting prevention from this study. The focus of this study was
just on the retailer-customer relationship quality. However, there is scope to evaluate a
retailer’s relationship quality with other stakeholders, including employees, suppliers,
police, security providers, insurance providers, etc., for better shoplifting prevention.
Also, the factors proposed in the model may be assessed in future research studies for
prevention of burglary, employee theft, and supplier fraud. In conclusion, the conceptual
framework, hypotheses, and research methodology proposed in this study need empirical
testing for practical implementation.

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Further reading
Anne Wiese, A.P.S.Z., Waldemar Toporowski, D., Schramm-Klein, H., Morschett, D. and Swoboda, B.
69
(2015), “Retailer corporate social responsibility: shedding light on CSR’s impact on profit of
intermediaries in marketing channels”, International Journal of Retail & Distribution
Management, Vol. 43 Nos 4/5, pp. 403-431.
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research on customer misbehavior”, paper presented at the 2012 International Joint Conference
on Service Sciences, Shanghai.
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paper presented at the International Conference on Globe Unified: Role of Information and
Communication Technology, Pune.
Potdar, B. (2015b), “Misbehavior by student consumers at supermarkets & malls in PMC and PCMC
areas of Pune city”, Chronicle of the Neville Wadia Institute of Management Studies and Research,
Vol. 4, pp. 130-137.
Potdar, B. (2016), “Quality stakeholder relationships and retail crime prevention”, paper presented at
the 2016 ANZMAC Doctoral Colloquium, Christchurch.

Corresponding author
Balkrushna Potdar can be contacted at: balkrushna.potdar@postgrad.otago.ac.nz

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