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Drawing on the brand alliance, cause marketing and corporate social responsibility literatures, the authors introduce the notion of international cause alliances. The authors conceptualize international cause alliances as strategic partnerships between international causes and for-profit companies with the stated purpose of raising funds for the cause. Beyond signaling that companies are socially responsible, international cause alliances may also help companies increase brand awareness or expand into new markets. Because international cause alliances take many forms and differ in the extent to which the brands are integrated, they have very different strategic implications. The purpose of this paper is to discuss these implications in a framework as well as providing managerial direction for both for-profit companies and causes when forming such alliances.

Using literature on brand alliances, cause marketing, and corporate social responsibility as a foundation, the authors introduce the notion of international cause alliances. The authors review literature to understand the many forms of alliances and investigate the extent to which brands are integrated. The authors then use these implications to develop a framework that can guide managerial decision-making for both for-profit companies and causes when forming such alliances.

The research suggests that to effectively develop international cause alliances, the organization involved must be aware of the challenges and potential benefits that these partnerships produce. For instance, while highly integrated alliances involve large resource commitments they also facilitate brand image spillover. As such, these alliances are a great way for companies to alter customers’ perceptions of their brands. Alternatively, low integration alliances require fewer resources and facilitate market expansion.

This research identifies strategies that companies and causes can use to either expand their markets or alter customers’ perceptions of their brands.

This paper presents a framework that companies and causes can use when forming international cause alliances.

Some consumers are engaged in online curation, a type of user-generated content, in ways that can be impactful for brands. An example of online curation includes organizing themed collections of product images on Pinterest. The purpose of this paper is to present a framework of online consumer curation, introducing this topic to the marketing literature.

Through the analysis of the business and academic literature, as well as a careful study of many examples of online consumer curation, the authors present a framework for understanding online consumer curation.

The actions taken by online consumer curators are similar to those of museum or art gallery curators: acquiring, selecting, organizing and displaying content for an audience. The motivations for consumers to engage in online curation include building/displaying their identities and making social connections with their online audience. One outcome possible for the audience that views the curation is gaining access to carefully selected and recommended content.

As online consumer curation is a new area of research, the authors suggest several marketing- and brand-relevant propositions that can be addressed in future research.

As consumers are frequently using product images and brand symbols in their online curation, it is important for marketing academics and practitioners to understand their actions.

The aim of the paper is to present a thorough introduction to the idea of online consumer curation by outlining relevant examples, providing a framework for understanding this activity and its implications for brand management, and listing ideas for future research.

Algunos consumidores se dedican a la “curación” en línea, un tipo de contenido generado por el usuario (UGC), de manera que pueden ser impactantes para las marcas. Un ejemplo de “curación” en línea incluye la organización de colecciones temáticas de imágenes de productos en Pinterest. El propósito de esta investigación es presentar un marco sobre la “curación” del consumidor en línea, introduciendo este tema en la literatura de marketing.

A través de nuestro análisis de la literatura académica y empresarial, así como del estudio cuidadoso de muchos ejemplos de “curación” de los consumidores en línea, presentamos un marco para comprender la “curación” de los consumidores en línea.

Las acciones realizadas por los “curadores” son similares a las de sus homólogos en museos o galerías de arte: adquirir, seleccionar, organizar y mostrar contenido para una audiencia. Las motivaciones para que los consumidores participen en la “curación” en línea incluyen construir/mostrar sus identidades y establecer conexiones sociales con su audiencia en línea. Un resultado posible para la audiencia que ve la “curación” es obtener acceso a contenido cuidadosamente seleccionado y recomendado.

Como la “curación” en línea es una nueva área de investigación, sugerimos varias propuestas relevantes de marketing y marca que pueden abordarse en futuras investigaciones.

Como los consumidores utilizan con frecuencia imágenes de productos y símbolos de marca en su “curación” en línea, es importante que los académicos y profesionales de marketing comprendan sus acciones.

La investigación presenta una introducción exhaustiva a la idea de la “curación” del consumidor en línea describiendo ejemplos relevantes, proporcionando un marco para comprender esta actividad y sus implicaciones para la gestión de la marca, y enumerando ideas para futuras investigaciones.

“Curación” del consumidor en línea, Comportamiento del consumidor en línea, Contenido generado por el usuario, Gestión de marca

This paper studies how Chinese consumers respond to foreign goods in the post‐WTO era. Specifically, it examines brand sensitivity as a mediator and product cues as moderator of purchase intention. Additionally, it examines consumer preferences for different products and consumption plans for the subsequent five years. The survey sample is drawn from a population of foreign product users from 34 cities in 18 provinces in China. Results provide evidence that brand sensitivity mediates the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and purchase intention; product cues moderate the effect of ethnocentrism on purchase intention. As the first study to link consumer ethnocentrism directly to brand sensitivity and purchase intention, this research provides some managerial implications. Global marketers can offset the negative effect of ethnocentrism by emphasizing brand image of its products, taking advantage of specific product cues, or by providing more comprehensive after‐sale service to reduce the perceived risk of purchasing imports. Also, price is still a hurdle that prevents Chinese consumers from mass consumption of foreign products. Global firms should not overestimate the purchasing power of Chinese consumers. This study represents a “snapshot” of Chinese consumers’ decision making at a time when their economic system is undergoing rapid change.

For more than a decade, bankers and others outside the financial services community such as hardware manufacturers have sought to solidify the place of smart card technology as a viable retail point‐of‐sale alternative and, more boldly, as an outright replacement for cash in everyday consumption situations around the globe. Despite strong development efforts and numerous fact‐finding market trials, many banks have found smart card technology to be a losing proposition. This article presents a detailed case study of both consumer and merchant adoption of one smart card‐based retail point‐of‐sale system. The system, called “Exact”, was test marketed for a full year in the Canadian market. Various perceptual and demographic data from consumers as well as firm‐level data from retailers are both presented and assessed. The ensuing discussion offers pragmatic suggestions for those in the financial services community as to how the apparent difficulties and shortcomings of smart card technology may be overcome.

The most significant event for the School has been the announcement of the creation of the National Centre for Management Research and Development. The Centre is due to open in 1986 and will provide research facilities for up to 20 major projects designed to improve the competitiveness of Canadian business practices.