Editorial

Citation

Whitelock, J. (2010), "Editorial", International Marketing Review, Vol. 27 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/imr.2010.03627aaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Marketing Review, Volume 27, Issue 1

Welcome to our first issue of Volume 27. In this issue, the papers demonstrate the wide range of topics which contribute to our discipline of international marketing, with papers on new product development, importer trust, beliefs, and attitudes in (online) advertising and consumption, as well as the fundamental concept of market orientation. They also demonstrate the truly international scope of research, with foci on international studies incorporating developed countries (Norway, Denmark and Japan, and the UK), the developing countries of Chile and Bangladesh and emerging markets such as Romania, Korea, and India.

Our first paper by Klaus G. Grunert, Torbjørn Trondsen, Emilio Gonzalo Campos, and James A. Young considers the essential marketing concept of market orientation in the context of international marketing and specifically in relation to the mental models of decision-makers in cross-border value chains. Using the laddering method to elicit the mental models of actors in two value chains, the authors concentrate their analysis on potential overlaps and linkages between actors, including elements that may relate to market orientation. Klaus G. Grunert, Torbjørn Trondsen, Emilio Gonzalo Campos, and James A. Young find that, in both value chains, decision-makers exhibit overlap in what they believe drives their business. The results also generate new insights into the role relational governance in promoting market orientation in value chains.

Using a contingency perspective to examine the relationships between antecedents and online completion (timeliness) of NPD and international new product rollout (INPR), Keon Bong Lee and Veronica Wong test a conceptual model on over 200 NPD projects undertaken by Korean firms. Their results show that NPD proficiencies mediate the effects of key antecedents on timeliness in NPD and INPR. The study also contributes to our knowledge of the role of overseas subsidiaries or agents in helping to build the technical proficiencies of emerging country companies.

Our third paper offers a contribution to an aspect of international marketing that continues to receive limited attention from IM researchers, the issue of importing. In their paper, Constanza Bianchi and Abu Saleh argue that relationship trust and commitment are two key dimensions of international exchanges which have been extensively researched in an exporter and developed country context, but less so in an importer and developing country context. The study develops a model of antecedents and outcomes of importer trust and commitment, introducing two new antecedents (importer knowledge and experience and supplier resource competency) and tests this model in Chile and Bangladesh. The results show that trust and commitment are essential for enhancing importer relationship performance in these, quite different, developing countries.

Ying Wang and Shaojing Sun examine the role of beliefs about and attitudes towards online advertising (ATOA) and consumer responses to online advertising in a comparative study of internet users in the USA and Romania. Their findings show that belief factors were significant predictors of ATOA, while ATOA was itself a significant predictor of consumer responses to online advertising. However, Romanians tended to be more positive towards online advertising, while Americans were more likely to purchase online.

Our final paper by Paurav Shukla concludes this issue by considering another fundamental concept within marketing, that of consumption behavior. Although there has been extensive research into status consumption, this has been little considered in the international context. This study addresses this gap by examining status consumption among British and Indian consumers, focusing on socio-psychological, brand and situational antecedents. The findings show that these antecedents significantly influence status consumption, supporting the notion that some key status consumption characteristics may be common internationally, although their degree of influence may differ between countries and cultures.

It continues to be a pleasure to edit International Marketing Review (IMR) and to present papers such as these to our readers. We are sure you will find them interesting, relevant and stimulating and look forward to our future issues and, with your support, to the continuing growth of IMR's significance and influence in the field of international marketing.

Jeryl Whitelock