Future of research in marketing in emerging economies

Citation

Malhotra, N. and Dash, S. (2013), "Future of research in marketing in emerging economies", Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 31 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/mip.2013.02031baa.001

Future of research in marketing in emerging economies

Article Type: Guest editorial From: Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Volume 31, Issue 2.

Welcome to this special issue on marketing in emerging economies (EMEs). This special issue of Marketing Intelligence & Planning is dedicated to the International Conference in Marketing on shaping the future of research in marketing in EMEs: looking ahead. The conference was held in IIM Lucknow, Noida campus during January 13-14, 2012, and was attended by 300 registrants from 22 countries. A historic shift is taking place today in global marketplace because of the growing influence of EMEs in the world economic scenario. Marketing scholars have historically conducted extensive research studies in the developed economies. As EMEs differ radically from mature developed economies, they pose new strategic questions that traditional marketing frameworks do not answer. Leading marketing scholars and journal editors have repeatedly urged the study of marketing issues in the context of EMEs. A major objective of this conference was to bring distinguished panel of marketing experts, thought leaders across world to debate and deliberate the relevant research issues facing the theory and practice of marketing in EMEs context. There is increased realization by marketing research practitioners and academicians that concepts and frameworks based on empirical findings of developed economies, grounded in their socio-economic environmental contexts, need to be empirically validated in EMEs context.

It's been three decades since the Marketing Intelligence & Planning journal was launched. This long journey was eventful for not only for developed countries but also for EMEs, which saw fast paced economic development. The approach in this special issue has been to publish papers that, though scholarly in nature, have a very practical orientation toward emerging marketing management practices and are well suited to the needs of the emerging market business environment. This special issue had been advertised prior to the conference in the journal web site, and, as a result, it received 26 full paper submissions from the conference attendees. After the initial screening by the guest editors, 12 of them went through the double-blind review process, and five manuscripts have been accepted for publication.

The paper by Suraksha Gupta and Naresh K. Malhotra conceptualizes a model for fostering innovation in marketing by virtue of competitiveness that is an outcome of collaboration between international and local firms that collaborate for operating in emerging markets. This study uses resourced-based view to explain the relationship between an international brand and its resellers. Their work draws on managerial practices and existing literature to develop a conceptual framework that explains how a resource-based association drives individual competitiveness and how integration of competitiveness of both facilitates innovation in marketing in emerging markets. Their framework is supported by a case study of a well-known international brand and a local firm in an emerging economy. They contribute to the marketing literature on innovation by explaining the benefits gained by both international firms and local firms as partners in association for business purposes and by extending the frontier of knowledge on this subject.

The paper by Jaeil Kim, Woong Hee Han, Dong Tae Kim and Widya Paramita tries to investigate how differently consumers from two countries, Indonesia and Korea, respond to advertisement with kkot minam male models. The authors investigate whether cultural dimensions and religious backgrounds affect consumers’ evaluations toward cosmetics advertisement with kkot minam models. The results of this study have several practical implications for companies in emerging markets. Companies in emerging markets that try to use Korean celebrities such as movie stars or singers should examine whether the Korean wave and kkot minam are acceptable to consumers in their markets before making decisions about employing kkot minam in their advertisements and brand strategy. It is recommended that companies in emerging markets use decorative male models in advertising, once the social and economic status of women reaches a certain level in their countries. Global companies entering emerging markets should take into account the religious tradition and environments surrounding these markets as well as subtle differences in cultures and values derived from the popularity of a particular religion when building marketing strategies for these countries.

The paper by Ravi Shekhar Kumar, Satyabhusan Dash and Prem Chandra Purwar aims to examine the effect of brand experience on hospital brand equity. The study also assesses the effects of different brand equity dimensions on overall hospital brand equity. The distinctive contribution of this research is that it examines the effect of brand experience on customer-based brand equity in the context of a credence-based service sector in an emerging economy. Such a work is essential in understanding the importance of experiential marketing in an emerging economy for building a strong service brand. The study found that brand experience is an important factor influencing hospital brand equity. It provides evidence that the brand experience dimensions (sensory, affective, behavioral and intellectual) positively influence the five brand equity dimensions (brand awareness, brand association, perceived quality, brand trust and brand loyalty). The paper by Shashi Shekhar Mishra and K.B. Saji explain the rationale for marketer's efforts toward dominant design and network externalities. Also, the new high-tech product development teams should be cautious about project duration as uncertainty associated with longer project duration reduces the technology acquisition intent and thereby inhibits the successful new product commercialization. By empirically investigating the influence of institutional variables on firm's TAI, the study significantly contributes to extant theories on NPD. Also, the study results have significant implications to high-tech product marketing theory and practice in the context of emerging market economies.

The last paper identified fundamental business practice differences between the West and China and examined if fundamental Chinese values co-exist in the business context through a series of one-on-one interview and FGDs with Chinese business people who are doing business with the USA. Although this paper was submitted for a regular issue of the journal, we have included it in this special issue because of its practical orientation toward understanding interesting fundamental business practice differences between one prominent emerging economies country, i.e. China, and the USA.

We want to thank each one of the authors for their outstanding contribution to this special issue on marketing in EMEs. EMEs may continue to find their prominent position in the business world by strengthening not only their position in the marketplace but also the discipline of marketing. By focussing on research in EMEs, we not only are able to develop contemporary marketing theory but also we may enable a more insightful understanding of marketing in the dynamic business environment. Of course, we also want to thank each one of the reviewers for their punctual and valuable comments.

Finally, we express our gratitude to Gillian Wright and the Marketing Intelligence & Planning editorial board for the opportunity to manage this special issue.

Naresh Malhotra and Satyabhusan DashGuest Editors