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This study links ethnic identity and global identity with perceptions of brand globalness (BG) and brand local iconness (BLI) regarding home country brands. Identity Theory considers consumer behavior as driven by multiple identities concurrently and interactively.

Samples from two populations, Mexicans living in Mexico and Mexican Americans in the United States, were exposed to eight randomly presented real-world Mexican brands, followed by existing measures for several constructs. Comparing such populations is uniquely appealing for studies of immigrants’ home country brands. Data is analyzed via linear regression.

Ethnic and global identities have an interactive effect on BG, BLI, and purchase intention even after controlling for ethnocentrism and cosmopolitanism. With the interaction term between ethnic identity and global identity included in the model, (a) global identity exhibits more efficacy than ethnic identity in explaining purchase intention; and (b) relationships involving BLI grow stronger while those involving BG become weaker. The direction of the effect of global identity depends on whether BG or BLI serves as the mediator. Ethnic identity has a significant effect on purchase intention through BLI among Mexican Americans.

Simultaneous focus on two interacting identities is novel in the international branding space. This approach is useful for illuminating the effects of brand attributes including BG and BLI as well as studying branding effects where self-symbolizing is of interest.

This study aims to examine the factors that influence the increase in purchase intention toward green batik products with religiosity as an intervening variable.

The study used a survey method that involved a sample size of 185 participants selected through purposive and accidental sampling techniques. The analysis was conducted by using IBM SPSS AMOS 21 software. The collected data were subjected to path analysis using multiple linear regression models.

The result indicated that religiosity plays a mediating role in the association between factors and the intention to purchase green product (GPd) of the Indonesian natural dye batik product. This finding is in accordance with the construction of theory of planned behavior in understanding consumer purchase intentions. GPd, green brand and green price exhibited a positive correlation with green purchase intention (GPI). Interestingly, the price was found to no longer serve as the primary factor in GPI.

The analysis would have been more compelling if it had used a mixed-method approach by introducing the variables of customer satisfaction and promotion.

This research postulates that increased prices are no longer a deterrent to the purchase of GPd. Instead, consumer consciousness regarding GPd plays a pivotal role in driving GPI. GPd have revolutionized individuals’ consumption patterns to contribute to environmental preservation. The use of green batik products is seen as advantageous in helping mitigate environmental degradation.

The present research assesses the impact of religiosity, as an intervening variable, on the augmentation of GPI by gauging its significance in enhancing ecological consciousness and moral values.

Joint advertising is an emerging strategy where marketers promote both brands in the same marketing communication. This research determines how the domestic, foreign, or global nature of the partner impacts important brand-related outcomes and identifies underlying psychological process mechanisms and contextual variables that affect this relationship.

Across three experiments, we investigate how the type of joint advertising partner impacts consumer attitudes and behaviors. We establish the number of similarities between the partners and perceived cognitive fit as the mediating process mechanisms underlying this relationship, with holistic processing moderating the effect.

We find that when consumers are exposed to joint advertisements between domestic or global [foreign] brands, they will be able to generate more [fewer] similarities between the partners and perceive a stronger [weaker] cognitive fit. Moreover, these similarities interact with consumer cultural traits related to holistic processing style to differentially influence perceived cognitive fit and downstream consumer attitudes and behaviors.

Partnering for mutually beneficial, joint advertisements is a growing phenomenon that redefines traditional thinking about advertising, but the success of the joint advertisement is contingent upon the characteristics and compatibility of the partners.

A key challenge for exporters and international marketing/purchasing managers is formulating strategic responses to deal with geopolitical disruptions during a trade war between superpowers. While past studies provide insightful analysis of the influence of changes in the institutional environment (regulatory pressures) on national and firm-level trade activities, they tend to ignore the association between inward (sourcing) or outward (export) international activities of firms during a trade war. In this study, we aim to explore various strategic options employed by third-party SME exporters in response to geopolitical disruptions, institutional pressures and constraints during a trade war.

We adopted a qualitative methodology and applied a hermeneutical approach in collecting, analysing and theorising interview findings. We conducted interviews with 15 owners or senior managers from 12 Australian and New Zealand exporters that exported or sourced significantly from at least one party of the trade war, the USA or China, between 2018 and 2020.

Our study developed a typology of fencing vs. balancing for explaining third-party SME exporters’ response strategies in terms of export market and international sourcing locations during a trade war. Fencing strategy centres on location choice decisions based on a fence or a secure buffer zone. Balancing strategy focuses on leveraging opportunities outside the conflict zone, i.e. third-party countries. Our study finds that exporters’ location choice decisions are influenced by a number of institutional factors during the trade war.

Firstly, our study examined only the early phase of the trade war under the “Trump” era. Future research may consider a longitudinal study design that examines exporters’ responses to global political uncertainty over a longer term. Secondly, we chose Australia and New Zealand as the focal context of this study. Future research could investigate exporters from other third-party countries that have different institutional conditions during the US-China trade war.

Firstly, an exporting firm should monitor and assess closely the wider changes in international relations between their home country’s major security partner and major trading partner, and the impact of these changes on the political risks of operating in international locations. Secondly, as the trade war intensifies, the fencing option needs to be given a greater weight than the balancing option in the strategic decision making of an exporter from a third-party country. Lastly, we encourage marketers and managers to reflect on and differentiate short-term and long-term benefits in strategic market-sourcing location decisions.

Our study makes a pioneering effort to theorise the linkages between institutional factors and the combined evaluation of export market selection and sourcing location selection choices under global political uncertainty based on the institution-based view. We present a conceptual framework highlighting the importance of institutional avoidance, embeddedness, comparative institutional advantages and multiple institutional logics for SME exporters’ international location selections during the trade war. Furthermore, we combine these institutional factors into two overarching constructs namely institutional buffer and institutional pluralism.

This paper aims to investigate the factors that influence millennial purchase behaviour, brand choice and distribution channel selection in an evolving technology-driven environment.

The study was exploratory, using qualitative methods of personal interviews and some ethnographic observations to collect data from 585 millennials from ten cities in nine African countries.

Findings from the study confirm and support the critical role of e-commerce in facilitating millennials engagement with brands, highlighting how brand purchases are integral to their lifestyle choices. There is an overwhelming confirmation of the importance of influencer marketing and social media in shaping purchase decisions, with new insights into the role of local micro-influencers and social networks. The findings from the study highlight the pivotal role of a brand’s country of origin in influencing millennials’ brand preferences. The study supports and advances insights into the importance of online shopping and diverse factors influencing millennials’ selection of distribution channels.

There is an opportunity to leverage the growing mobile telephone penetration and social media usage to develop innovative integrated marketing communications strategies. There are opportunities for co-creating marketing communication campaigns with millennials in different settings. These are outlined in the practical implications section.

The paper is based on original empirical data collected from ten countries and explores the behaviour of a growing but under-researched segment of millennials in Africa.

The paper delves into the international expansion of luxury SMEs to investigate their internationalization pathways, namely how the internationalization process unfolds in terms of timing of entry into foreign markets, the geographic scope of operations and the scale. The paper examines also the determinants of the internationalization pathways as a set of factors that contribute to developing an asset of foreignness.

The paper adopts a multiple case study approach and reports findings from four cases of Italian SMEs operating in the luxury fashion industry.

SMEs’ specific characteristics at the firm and entrepreneurial levels (i.e. craftsmanship, quality, product creativity, entrepreneurial mindset), country of origin attributes (e.g. Italy’s positive image) and the inherently global nature of the luxury industry, can turn foreignness into an asset of foreignness that allows luxury fashion SMEs to pursue internationalization pathways of born globals.

The paper highlights that the global luxury market is not the exclusive domain of MNEs and sheds light on luxury SMEs, overlooked by extant literature. The paper also contributes to understanding early internationalization by highlighting a potential link between internationalization pathways and foreignness and discussed the asset of foreignness by extending it to SMEs.

This paper aims to explore the relationship between strategic internationalization decisions and dynamic capabilities deployment for the internationally growing firm (IGF). Dynamic capabilities refer to a firm’s ability to adapt proactively to a changing business environment, emphasizing the importance of “doing the right things” rather than just “doing things right.

Literature-based, this paper proposes a model that links internationalization decisions and dynamic capabilities deployment, offering valuable insights for both research and practical application.

The study highlights that the IGF – focused on expansion and growth abroad – faces unique complexities that demand “doing the right things” in terms of strategic internationalization decisions. Three critical organizational capabilities – knowledge transfer, knowledge recombination and learning capabilities – are mechanisms linking strategic internationalization decisions to dynamic capability deployment in the IGF. These organizational capabilities enable the IGF to act entrepreneurially and deploy dynamic capabilities across borders.

The model provides a practical framework illustrating the interconnectedness of strategic internationalization decisions and their combined effects on the ability of IGF to deploy dynamic capabilities to adapt to a changing global environment.

This research addresses a gap in the literature, challenging the conventional assumption that dynamic capabilities precede firms’ decisions to internationalize and that these dynamic capabilities can only be enhanced abroad.

This study elucidated the connections among the influence of Singaporean hawkers, local gastronomy involvement, and the three dimensions of authenticity (objective, constructive, and existential). Furthermore, it investigates how personal nostalgia affects the cultural identity of hawkers.

A self-administered questionnaire was created to assess hawker influence, gastronomy involvement, authenticity, personal nostalgia, and hawker cultural identity. Survey data was gathered from 401 Singapore residents aged 18 and older.

Results of the structural equation modeling revealed various significant aspects of hawker influence, including physical and social environments, uniqueness and cultural significance, and hygiene and food safety. Hawker influence and local gastronomy contributed to objective authenticity, which, in turn, affected constructive and existential authenticity, ultimately shaping personal nostalgia and hawker cultural identity.

The study offers guidance for stakeholders in sustaining hawker culture, emphasizing authenticity’s role and the importance of nostalgia in identity formation. By aligning with the progressive nature of Singapore, these implications aim to ensure the continued thriving of this invaluable legacy for generations to come.

The study affirms relationships between hawker influence, local gastronomy involvement, and authenticity constructs. It emphasizes the hawker’s role and gastronomy involvement in influencing individuals’ perceived authenticity and accentuates the potential for authenticity in strengthening national branding.

This paper explores how a firm that is established in an environment characterized by uncertainty can engage with weak regulative institutions by developing operational and institutional capabilities.

We employ a multiple case study approach with seven leading multinational firms in Brazil in industries that vary in industry concentration.

Firms choose among alternative strategies for engaging with regulative institutions as an ongoing process, based on their assessment of four characteristics of the uncertainty they face and their capabilities. Strategies that require a firm to exert greater effort to adapt to institutions or influence institutions have a greater potential to catalyze for developing operational capabilities. Although firms in industries with different concentrations behave similarly in individually adapting to regulative institutions, firms in decentralized industries are more likely to collaborate to influence institutions, which enables them to both access public agents through network partners and better negotiate their own interests.

This research guides managers in developing institutional engagement strategies to reduce the potential consequences of institutional uncertainty in their supply chain. It also suggests types of institutional capability aligned with decentralized vs concentrated industries.

We extend the construct of institutional engagement strategies from the context of entrance to a new international market to an ongoing process in firms that are established in an environment characterized by weak regulative institutions. We also examine the role of industry concentration in the application of institutional engagement strategies.

The study aims to explore the theoretical framework of Halal B2B marketing in the metaverse, develop a conceptual framework for future research, identify challenges and opportunities, including technological, cultural and compliance aspects, and provide insights for the effective integration of the metaverse into Halal B2B marketing practices.

The research employs a comprehensive literature review, examining works on halal marketing, Islamic business ethics and technology adoption in Islamic markets. The study also identifies key stakeholders in Halal B2B marketing within the metaverse, such as Halal businesses, Muslim buyers, technology developers, regulatory bodies and others, and discusses their unique challenges and contributions.

The study presents a conceptual framework depicting the interaction among various stakeholders in Halal B2B marketing within the metaverse. It identifies opportunities such as enhanced customer engagement, global market expansion and innovative branding, and discusses challenges including technological disparities, cultural sensitivities and Halal compliance.

The conceptual framework delineated in this paper succinctly outlines the potential challenges confronted by diverse stakeholders in building the digital Halal market ecosystem within the metaverse. These frameworks augment the understanding of the metaverse as an evolving digital technology for brands operating within this digital space. This contributes to both theoretical and practical insights into the integration of the metaverse into business operations. While the metaverse holds promise for immersive and interconnected digital experiences, it also comes with several limitations and challenges that need to be taken into account.

The research introduces a framework that elucidates the professional relationships among key entities: Halal B2B brands aiming to enter the metaverse for brand promotion, buyers seeking business opportunities within the metaverse, and technology developers responsible for establishing the required infrastructure. This framework offers a succinct portrayal of the stakeholders' positions, delves into potential opportunities within the metaverse, and scrutinises the inherent challenges associated with these possibilities.

The metaverse empowers Halal enterprises to provide tailor-made experiences that resonate with the preferences of Muslim consumers. It offers scope for personalised marketing, emphasising its potential as a pivotal element in the triumph of Halal B2B marketing within the metaverse. In the realm of Halal marketing, cultural and ethical alignment holds paramount importance. The metaverse provides opportunities for devising marketing approaches that are attuned to Islamic cultural and ethical values.

The study results in several recommendations that could help Halal B2B brands effectively leverage the metaverse's potential and cater to Muslim consumers' needs innovatively. These are: (a) Invest in Metaverse Infrastructure by partnering with technology developers or invest in virtual spaces tailored to Halal products; (b) Tailor Marketing Experiences through creating immersive experiences aligned with Muslim consumers' preferences; (c) Ensure Cultural and Ethical Alignment by consulting religious scholars to ensure marketing respects Islamic values; (d) Foster Business Opportunities by facilitating virtual trade shows and marketplaces for Halal products; (e) Educate Stakeholders by organising workshops to introduce the metaverse's potential benefits; (f) Address Challenges Proactively by tackling privacy, accessibility and regulatory issues head-on; (g) Collaborate with Industry Partners and work with other Halal brands and tech partners to drive innovation.