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1 – 10 of over 235000The purpose of this paper is to examine how developing country brand name and brand origin affect the customer’s evaluation of the brand in radically new high-tech products. Using…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how developing country brand name and brand origin affect the customer’s evaluation of the brand in radically new high-tech products. Using processing fluency as a theoretical underpinning, this study can answer the following questions: first, does foreign brand name (developed vs developing Asian brand name) affect the customer’s attitude toward the brand? Second, does the brand origin (developed vs developing country) moderate the effect of foreign brand name on attitude toward the brand? Third, does the individual difference (knowledge and technological sophistication) matter in determining the brand origin and fit effect on willingness to buy?
Design/methodology/approach
A 2×2 between subject experiment was conducted in which two factors were manipulated: foreign brand name (developed: Japan vs developing: China) and brand origin (developed: Japan vs developing: China).
Findings
The fit between brand origin and brand name leads to better evaluation of the brand than no fit. On the other hand, for developing country brand origin (e.g. China), the brand naming effect is mitigated by enhanced processing fluency caused by fit, which leads to better evaluation of developing country brand. Fit effect is more pronounced for more knowledgeable consumers. Technologically more sophisticated consumers are more willing to buy the developing country brand origin than technologically less sophisticated consumers due to the processing fluency effect.
Originality/value
This paper introduces the two dimensions of foreign brand name (developed vs developing) and examines the interaction with the brand origin. This research fills the gap of under-researched area in brand naming literature, which is the effect of developing country brand naming on attitude toward the brand of radically new high-tech products. This research extends the previous literature by applying linguistic mechanism, processing fluency to examine the Asian brand naming including emerging market. This research makes an important theoretical contribution by identifying an underlying individual-level construct, “knowledge” and “technological sophistication,” which explains and influences the effects of brand name and brand origin on willingness to buy the brand.
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Marzanna Katarzyna Witek-Hajduk and Anna Grudecka
This study aims to investigate how brand name (home-emerging-country vs foreign-developed-country brand name) applied by emerging market company in conjunction with revealing the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how brand name (home-emerging-country vs foreign-developed-country brand name) applied by emerging market company in conjunction with revealing the actual country-of-brand-origin (COBO) (revealed vs non-revealed origin from developed vs emerging country) affects purchase intensions of durable goods.
Design/methodology/approach
An experimental conjoint analysis and multilevel linear models were applied.
Findings
Results demonstrate that brand name differentiates consumers’ purchase intentions. However, not every foreign-developed-country brand name may lead to the increase of purchase intentions. Revealing the actual emerging market’s COBO for brands with developed-country brand name may lead to lowering purchase intentions. Moreover, consumer ethnocentrism and materialism moderate the relationship between the brand type in terms of brand name and purchase intentions.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the international marketing literature by simultaneous examination of the impact of brand name type and revealing actual COBO on purchase intentions and the moderating effects of ethnocentrism and materialism, in emerging markets’ context. It also offers novel insights for brand managers regarding the influence of emerging markets’ companies branding strategies on consumer purchase intentions.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the performance implications of internationalization strategies for Chinese multinational corporations (MNCs). Specifically, the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the performance implications of internationalization strategies for Chinese multinational corporations (MNCs). Specifically, the authors examine the individual and joint effects of speed of internationalization in developed and developing countries and age on Chinese MNCs’ performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors constructed a unique and comprehensive database on the internationalization strategies of 206 Chinese firms over 14 years and deployed random-effect regressions to assess the effects of age, speed of expansion in terms of number of subsidiaries and countries, and the types of destination (developed vs developing country) on firm performance.
Findings
The analyses show that age is negatively related to performance but rapid expansion of subsidiaries in developing countries and geographic scope in developed countries are positively related to performance. In addition, the impacts of young age and two types of expansion, fast expansion of subsidiaries in developing countries and fast expansion of geographic scope in developed countries, are cumulative.
Originality/value
The authors combine the arguments of the learning advantages of newness and fast movers and model the simultaneous effects of age and speed of two types of international expansion (in terms of number of subsidiaries and countries) in both developed and developing countries on performance. The strong empirical support for the hypotheses based on analyses of a unique data set of Chinese MNCs’ internationalization patterns lends credence to the proposed model.
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While an increasing number of global brands are of emerging country origin, research about emerging global brands remains scare. The purpose of this paper is to provide the first…
Abstract
Purpose
While an increasing number of global brands are of emerging country origin, research about emerging global brands remains scare. The purpose of this paper is to provide the first theoretical effort to understand how consumers in the developed regions evaluate global brands from emerging countries. Building on globalization and social identity theory, the paper aims to shed light on the effect of global identity on consumer attitude toward emerging global brands, the process of such effect, and the boundary condition for it as well.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used two non-student surveys in the USA and UK in which respondents’ global identity was measured and two laboratory experiments in which respondents’ global identity was primed. The operationalization of dependent variables is also divergent, either directly measuring attitude toward the global brands from developing countries or measuring consumer relative evaluation. Convergent results were reported from four studies.
Findings
The results show that when consumers’ global (vs local) identity is accessible, those from developed regions will show more favorable evaluations of global brands from emerging countries. And this effect is mediated by the positive association between global identity and globalization. Further, this effect emerged when consumers view global and local cultures as compatible with each other but disappeared when consumers view global and local cultures as oppositional to each other.
Practical implications
The findings have practical implications for global brand marketers from emerging economies to enter developed country markets, and to make their brands real global. Specifically, global identity consumers should be targeted and the compatible view of global and local cultures should be pronounced.
Originality/value
Focusing on global brands from emerging countries, this paper examines the global identity effect in developed country markets for the first time. The finding add new knowledge to the literature of globalization, global branding, and assimilation effect of global identity, and help to reconcile the heated debate on whether country of origin is still relevant to the globalized world.
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Dina El-Bassiouny and Noha El-Bassiouny
Taken from an institutional theory perspective, the purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of organizational-level factors, specifically diversity and corporate…
Abstract
Purpose
Taken from an institutional theory perspective, the purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of organizational-level factors, specifically diversity and corporate governance structure, on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting practices of corporations operating in developing and developed country contexts, namely, Egypt, Germany and the USA. Since developed countries are exposed to different settings, the paper argues that there is likely to be a difference in the organizational-level drivers of CSR reporting in developed vs developing countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consists of companies listed on the Egyptian EGX 30 index, the German DAX 30 index and the US Dow Jones 30 index. Governance- and diversity-related data are gathered from multiple sources including the BoardEx and Orbis databases. Content analysis is used to analyze the CSR information of sample companies using the software package MAXQDA. To examine the relationship between the explanatory variables of the study and CSR disclosures, multiple regression analysis is used.
Findings
The results are mostly consistent with institutional theory where the effects of diversity and governance structure, observed mainly by foreign BOD, board independence and institutional ownership, are found to be significant on the CSR disclosure levels of sample Egyptian companies only. On the other hand, no significant influence of tested factors was observed on the level of CSR reporting in the USA and Germany. The results thus indicate that the influence of organizational-level factors on CSR is highly dependent on the institutional context where companies operate.
Originality/value
The influence of diversity and corporate governance on CSR has been separately studied in the management literature. Yet, the potential effects of both variables on CSR have received limited attention. In addition, no study combining such explanatory variables of CSR was carried out in the specific context of developing Middle Eastern countries. Also, illustrating how institutional contexts can influence the dynamics of interaction between organizational-level variables and CSR is still understudied. This kind of multi-level research can help broaden the understanding of the drivers and practices of CSR in developing vs developed countries that have distinct institutional environments.
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Evrim Hilal Kahya, Hüseyin Yiğit Ersen, Cumhur Ekinci, Oktay Taş and Koray D. Simsek
The paper aims to identify the differences between developed and developing country firms with respect to firm-specific and country-level determinants of their capital structure…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to identify the differences between developed and developing country firms with respect to firm-specific and country-level determinants of their capital structure. For this purpose, all constituent firms in one of the oldest Islamic equity indices, Dow Jones Islamic Market World Index (DJIM), are considered and the Muslim-majority status of each firm's domicile country is recognized.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs Hausman–Taylor random effects regression with endogenous covariates to explain the debt ratios of firms in DJIM by separating them into developed and developing country subsamples in an unbalanced panel data setting. Developing country subsample is further split into two based on the Muslim-majority status of each firm's domicile country.
Findings
Consistent with the previous literature, this study finds that firm-specific characteristics are the main determinants of their capital structure. Additionally, the paper shows that country-level characteristics have an impact on the debt ratio, however, the types of factors vary across developed and developing countries. Debt ratios in developing country firms are lower than those in developed country firms, largely due to the significantly smaller leverage ratios of firms in Muslim-majority countries. Although the debt ratios of DJIM firms are higher in “non-Muslim” countries, the set of firm-level capital structure determinants are not statistically explained by operating in a “Muslim” country. The study also documents that, before the global financial crisis of 2008, companies in developing countries have gradually become less leveraged worldwide.
Originality/value
This paper provides a new perspective into the differences between developed and developing country firms' capital structures by focusing on a relatively homogeneous data set restricted by leverage screening rules of an Islamic equity index and recognizing the Muslim-majority status of each firm's domicile country.
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Morteza Khojastehpour and Dima Jamali
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a new trend that has swept the world of business by storm. With globalization proceeding unabated and CSR acquiring global interest and…
Abstract
Purpose
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a new trend that has swept the world of business by storm. With globalization proceeding unabated and CSR acquiring global interest and resonance, examining how companies can make adaptations to their CSR in an international context becomes a timely and important issue.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on institutional theory, this study aims to identify three types of host country institutional complexity that accompany the internationalization process, namely, cultural, regulatory and economic, hence necessitating nuanced CSR adaptations in context and as illustrated in this paper requiring different tailoring and adaptation of CSR programs and interventions between developed and developing countries.
Findings
The authors propose a series of research propositions for exploration toward broadening and deepening the understanding of the above institutional complexities and the necessity of CSR tailoring and adaptation to accompany the internationalization process.
Originality/value
The paper is one of the first to highlight the necessity of CSR tailoring in the context of the internationalization process while considering host country institutional complexity highlighting nuanced differences between developed and developing country landscapes and implications for how multinational corporations should approach CSR in these differentiated environments.
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Jun Wu, Anshu Saxena Arora and Amit Arora
Ambient advertising is a unique, intimate and non-traditional form of communication between the product and the consumer; and uses all physical and environmental elements leading…
Abstract
Purpose
Ambient advertising is a unique, intimate and non-traditional form of communication between the product and the consumer; and uses all physical and environmental elements leading to stronger customer engagement. The purpose of this paper is to explore the innovations in ambient advertising including flash mob dancing, use of structures, posters, props, bus tickets, supermarket floors, shopping carts, bank receipts, animals, and other strange and unusual venues in developed economies (e.g. the USA) vs emerging economies (e.g. India).
Design/methodology/approach
The research proposes relationship strength (R)-inherent drama (I)-prodigious execution (P) or R-I-P conceptual framework to measure ambient advertising and delves into the R-I-P constructs of ambient advertising.
Findings
The results of Study 1 demonstrate that consumers’ global consumption orientation positively influences their attitudes toward ambient advertising. Results from Studies 2 and 3 exhibit interesting comparisons of innovations in ambient advertising between the USA and India; which improves understanding of globalization of ambient advertising in both developed and emerging economies. Relationship strength (R) between the product and the customer strengthens ad believability in both developed and emerging economies; while inherent dramatic surprise (I) displays contrasting results for developed and emerging economies. Prodigious execution (P) results in ad irritation for developed economies while it has no impact for emerging economies.
Research limitations/implications
Overall R-I-P constructs of ambient advertising strengthen brand and ad attitudes and purchase intentions. The research has strong implications for advertising innovations in the USA vis-à-vis India, and demonstrates stronger implications of advertising internationalization across developed and emerging economies.
Originality/value
The research is valuable in the context of emerging and developed economies of the world with respect to ambient advertising. The research explores the trends in ambient advertising and develops measures for testing perceptions of consumers in various world markets toward ambient advertising. The world economies exhibit varying levels of acceptance and appreciation to the global emerging advertising trends, and this presents a huge challenge to the companies worldwide.
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Bashar S. Gammoh, Anthony C. Koh and Sam C. Okoroafo
This study aims to extend current research efforts by utilizing the institutional theory to propose cross-cultural-based asymmetrical moderating effects of ethnocentrism and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to extend current research efforts by utilizing the institutional theory to propose cross-cultural-based asymmetrical moderating effects of ethnocentrism and cultural openness on the effectiveness of global, foreign and local consumer culture brand positioning strategies of high-tech products.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used an experimental design in the USA (developed country) and India (developing country). Print advertisements across the two countries were used to explore the proposed moderating effects of ethnocentrism and cultural openness on consumer brand evaluations of a high-tech product under the three different consumer culture brand positioning strategies.
Findings
Overall, this study provided empirical evidence in support of the proposed cross-cultural asymmetrical effects. The study findings indicate that consumer ethnocentrism seems to be more important in influencing a subject’s brand evaluations across the positioning strategies in a developed country like the USA, while consumer cultural openness will be more important in influencing a subject’s brand evaluations across the positioning strategies in a developing country like India.
Originality/value
Despite existing research efforts on the potential benefits of positioning brands using global, foreign or local consumer cultures, there is a lack of empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of these positioning strategies across different cultures. Theoretically, this research draws on the institutional theory to investigate the asymmetrical cross-cultural moderating effects of ethnocentrism and cultural openness on the effectiveness of the three-consumer culture brand positioning strategies. Managerially, this study provides empirically based suggestions for brand managers attempting to position their brands with different segments of consumers while highlighting the importance of cultural differences between developed and developing markets.
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Tatiana Iakovleva, Lars Kolvereid and Ute Stephan
This study proposes to use the Theory of Planned Behaviour to predict entrepreneurial intentions among students in five developing and nine developed countries. The purpose is to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study proposes to use the Theory of Planned Behaviour to predict entrepreneurial intentions among students in five developing and nine developed countries. The purpose is to investigate whether entrepreneurial intention and its antecedents differ between developing and developed countries, and to test the theory in the two groups of countries.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 2,225 students in 13 countries participated in this study by responding to a structured questionnaire in classrooms. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data.
Findings
The findings indicate that respondents from developing countries have stronger entrepreneurial intentions than those from developed countries. Moreover, the respondents from developing countries also score higher on the theory's antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions – attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control – than respondents from developed countries. The findings support the Theory of Planned Behaviour in both developing and developed countries.
Research limitations/implications
The findings strongly support the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The measure of subjective norms used, a multiple‐item index encompassing the views of other people and motivation to comply with these, seems to have advantages over other measures of this concept.
Practical implications
Developing countries need to focus on the development of institutions that can support entrepreneurial efforts. At the same time, developed economies may need to accept that entrepreneurial intentions are dependent on the dynamism of an economic environment and possibly on risk‐perceiving behaviours.
Originality/value
While multiple‐country studies on entrepreneurship in developing and developed countries have been called for, no previous study has compared entrepreneurial intentions between developing and developed countries. The inclusion of developing countries provides a unique quasi‐experimental setting in which to test the theory.
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