How consumer's cognitive maps influence their online-shopping behavior : Store- versus web-based orientation styles

With cross-channel management retailers try to create a competitive advantage against pure online-players by coordinating their online-shop in alignment with their stores. Resources to build on can be classified according to retail mix instruments (Zhang et al. 2010). Known synergy potentials arise from the assortment which can be experienced on- and offline, or seamless service experiences on both channels involving options to reserve, pick-up and return merchandise in stationary branches (Verhoef et al. 2007). Another instrument in the retail mix, to be investigated in this paper, concerns the layout/presentation/atmosphere associated with the stationary channel: Is it transferable to the online-surroundings so that retailers gain advantages because customers value a corresponding and known online environment?