Search results
1 – 10 of over 50000Yue He, Zan Mo and Huijian Fu
Downward line extension is a valuable growth strategy that enables multiple products and services to meet diverse customer needs. However, downward extended products launched by…
Abstract
Purpose
Downward line extension is a valuable growth strategy that enables multiple products and services to meet diverse customer needs. However, downward extended products launched by high-status brands may be challenged by horizontal extended products launched by relatively low-status brands when these two types of products target similar consumers. This study aims to examine the impact of product type (horizontal extended versus downward extended) on consumers’ purchase intentions, the underlying mechanism and the moderating role of power distance belief.
Design/methodology/approach
Four scenario-based experiments were conducted to probe the research questions.
Findings
Consumers develop lower purchase intentions for downward (versus horizontal) extended products due to the reduction of perceived fit and self-congruity (Study 1). Beyond that, power distance belief moderates the impact of product type on consumers’ purchase intentions, as a low power distance belief reduces the negative effect of downward line extension (Studies 2a, 2b and 2c). Perceived fit and self-congruity mediate the interaction effect between product type and power distance belief on consumers’ purchase intentions (Study 2c).
Practical implications
This study provides marketing practitioners with guidance on implementing the strategy of downward line extension.
Originality/value
This study serves as a preliminary effort to compare consumers’ responses between downward and horizontal extended products, which deepens the understanding of downward line extension. It also contributes to the body of knowledge about line extension and power distance belief by demonstrating the moderating role of power distance belief in a line extension context.
Details
Keywords
Ying Zhang, Yuran Li, Mark Frost, Shiyu Rong, Rong Jiang and Edwin T.C. Cheng
This paper aims to examine the critical role played by cultural flow in fostering successful expatriate cross-border transitions.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the critical role played by cultural flow in fostering successful expatriate cross-border transitions.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors develop and test a model on the interplay among cultural intelligence, organizational position level, cultural flow direction and expatriate adaptation, using a data set of 387 expatriate on cross-border transitions along the Belt & Road area.
Findings
The authors find that both organizational position level and cultural flow moderate the relationship between cultural intelligence and expatriate adaptation, whereby the relationship is contingent on the interaction of organizational position status and assignment directions between high power distance and low power distance host environments.
Originality/value
Previous research has shown that higher levels of cultural intelligence are positively related to better expatriate adaptation. However, there is a lack of research on the effect of position difference and cultural flow on such relationship. Our study is among the first to examine how the interaction between cultural flow and organizational position level influences the cultural intelligence (CI) and cultural adjustment relationship in cross-cultural transitions.
Details
Keywords
Satyabhusan Dash, Ed Bruning and Manaswini Acharya
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between Canadian and Indian consumers' national cultural orientations and banking service quality expectations. Using…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between Canadian and Indian consumers' national cultural orientations and banking service quality expectations. Using two of Hofstede's five cultural dimensions operationalized at the individual level, and five dimensions of service quality from Parasuraman et al.'s SERVQUAL scale, the aim is to develop and test hypotheses relating national culture values to service quality expectations.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is quantitative in nature, using surveys (online and written) from respondents in Canada and India. Data were analyzed using dummy variable regression and structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results show that the importance of various SERVQUAL dimensions is related to Hofstede's power distance and individualism cultural dimensions both at the individual and national levels. More specifically, consumers low on power distance expect highly responsive and reliable service. High power distance customers attach higher importance to tangible service attributes. Consumers high on individualism expect lower empathy and assurance from service providers. Furthermore, Indian consumers attach higher importance to tangible attributes, whereas Canadian consumers find service reliability more important. However, differences in overall service quality expectations are not significantly different across the two countries.
Practical implications
The results suggest that managers must be aware of the cultural values of the buyer/client in order to fully understand the most effective means of establishing and nurturing the service delivery process and, consequently, establishing service quality expectations. Banks will be more successful when service delivery is in tune with cultural imperatives, particularly sub‐group cultural imperatives.
Originality/value
The study provides an original insight into the manner in which national culture impacts on service quality expectations. Furthermore, the study identifies individual sub‐cultural influences that shape service quality expectations.
Details
Keywords
Nancy Chen, Mike Chen-ho Chao, Henry Xie and Dean Tjosvold
Scholarly research provides few insights into how integrating the western values of individualism and low power distance with the eastern values of collectivism and high power…
Abstract
Purpose
Scholarly research provides few insights into how integrating the western values of individualism and low power distance with the eastern values of collectivism and high power distance may influence cross-cultural conflict management. Following the framework of the theory of cooperation and competition, the purpose of this paper is to directly examine the impacts of organization-level collectivism and individualism, as well as high and low power distance, to determine the interactive effects of these four factors on cross-cultural conflict management.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a 2×2 experiment study. Data were collected from a US laboratory experiment with 80 participants.
Findings
American managers working in a company embracing western low power distance and eastern collectivism values were able to manage conflict cooperatively with their Chinese workers. Moreover, American managers working in a company valuing collectivism developed more trust with Chinese workers, and those in a company culture with high power distance were more interested in their workers’ viewpoints and more able to reach integrated solutions.
Originality/value
This study is an interdisciplinary research applying the social psychology field’s theory of cooperation and competition to the research on employee-manager, cross-cultural conflict management (which are industrial relations and organizational behavior topics, respectively), with an eye to the role of cultural adaptation. Furthermore, this study included an experiment to directly investigate the interactions between American managers and Chinese workers discussing work distribution conflict in four different organizational cultures.
Details
Keywords
William W. Stammerjohan, Maria A. Leach and Claire Allison Stammerjohan
This study extends the budgetary participation–performance/cultural effects literature by isolating and examining the moderating effect of one cultural dimension, power distance…
Abstract
Purpose
This study extends the budgetary participation–performance/cultural effects literature by isolating and examining the moderating effect of one cultural dimension, power distance, on the budgetary participation–performance relationship. Isolating the impact of power distance is important to this literature because of the fact that participative budgeting remains a possibly underutilized management tool in high power distance countries.
Methodology/approach
We regroup our multinational sample of managers by power distance level, and employ multigroup structural equation modeling (SEM) and a set of nonparametric bootstrap tests to triangulate our findings.
Findings
We find that the majority of our managers from three high power distance countries (Mexico, Korea, and China) score in the lower half of the power distance scale, that there is significant correlation between participation and performance in both the high and low power distance subsamples, but that the mechanisms connecting participation to performance are quite different. While job satisfaction plays a role in connecting budgetary participation and performance among low power distance managers, job relevant information alone connects budgetary participation and performance among their high power distance counterparts.
Originality/value
The primary contribution of our work is that we not only demonstrate that budget participation can improve the performance of subordinate managers in high power distance cultures, but also provide evidence of how and why this is plausible. First managers may not share the same high power distance tendencies of their countrymen, and second, the communication aspect of budget participation appears to be more important for increased performance among those with high power distance tendencies.
Details
Keywords
Country of origin (COO) effect refers to the influence of COO on consumers' perception and evaluation of a product. This research explores the impact of consumers' power distance…
Abstract
Purpose
Country of origin (COO) effect refers to the influence of COO on consumers' perception and evaluation of a product. This research explores the impact of consumers' power distance on COO effect.
Design/methodology/approach
We conducted two experiments to test the relevant hypotheses.
Findings
The results indicate that power distance has a polarizing influence on COO effect. That means, for products from countries with good images, the higher the consumers' power distance, the better their evaluation of the products; while for products from countries with poor images, the higher the power distance, the worse their evaluation of the products. The research also finds the moderating effect of consumers' competence–related country-related affect (CRA). When holding positive competence–related CRA, for products from countries with good images, the higher the consumers' power distance, the better their evaluation of the products; for products from countries with poor images, consumers' power distance has no effect. When having negative competence–related CRA, for products from countries with poor images, the higher the consumers' power distance, the worse their evaluation of the products; for products from countries with good images, power distance has no effect.
Originality/value
This study finds that depending on the perception of COO image, power distance not only improves the evaluation of products but also lows such evaluation, reflecting a two-way polarizing feature.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating effects of power distance and collectivistic orientations on the effectiveness of intrinsic, extrinsic and reciprocal…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating effects of power distance and collectivistic orientations on the effectiveness of intrinsic, extrinsic and reciprocal motivators in promoting employees’ willingness to cooperate for organizational interest. An integrated theoretical framework which incorporated cultural influence on need priority and on legitimacy of social exchange was established to develop the hypotheses.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used the methodology of information-integration theory to test the research hypotheses.
Findings
This study found that power distance orientation enhanced the effectiveness of extrinsic motivator but mitigated that of intrinsic motivator, and was irrelevant to that of reciprocal motivator. In contrast, collectivistic orientation mitigated the effectiveness of extrinsic motivator but enhanced that of reciprocal motivator, and was irrelevant to that of intrinsic motivator.
Practical implications
Managers may use reciprocal motivators for employees with high collectivism in order to increase their willingness to cooperate for the interest of the organization. Meanwhile, extrinsic motivators may be utilized for employees with high power distance but may not be as effective for those with low power distance. However, managers should not expect intrinsic motivators to be as attractive to those with high power distance as to those with low power distance.
Originality/value
By integrating multiple cultural orientations and multiple work motivators in one study, this research clarified the differential moderating effects of power distance and collectivistic orientations on the effectiveness of intrinsic, extrinsic and reciprocal motivators in promoting employees’ willingness to cooperate. Potential confounding problems in prior studies derived from the correlation between cultural values and coexistence of multiple motivators were discussed.
Details
Keywords
Michael A. Merz, Dana L. Alden, Wayne D. Hoyer and Kalpesh Kaushik Desai
Chanki Moon and Ángel Sánchez‐Rodríguez
Antecedents and influences of workplace incivility have recently been studied in many areas of research but there is still a lack of consideration for the impact of culture…
Abstract
Purpose
Antecedents and influences of workplace incivility have recently been studied in many areas of research but there is still a lack of consideration for the impact of culture. Theoretical considerations for the present research are based on the cultural dimensions of power distance and tightness/looseness because the collective levels of power distance are similar between Korea and Spain, but the collective levels of tightness/looseness are different between the two countries. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether individuals’ occupational position affects their normative reactions to incivility differently.
Design/methodology/approach
Participant (victim)’s (those who react to uncivil behaviors) social power (low vs high) and perpetrator’s (those who exhibit uncivil behaviors) social power (low vs high) were experimentally manipulated; all participants were randomly assigned to one of four perpetrator × victim conditions in relation to hierarchical positions (Ntot = 467).
Findings
The results suggest that the level of social and personal acceptability was greater either among Koreans than Spanish at a collective level or among people who endorsed higher power distance and tightness values. All in all, the findings highlight cultural influences on the importance of social hierarchy as a factor that can impact the people’s normative reactions to incivility.
Originality/value
The findings broaden our understanding of the psychology of employees in relation to incivility, by simultaneously considering the influences of culture (power distance and tightness/looseness) and social power.
Details
Keywords
Sumaia Farzana and Peerayuth Charoensukmongkol
This research study investigated the relationship between participative decision-making and innovative work behavior by considering the moderating role of power distance…
Abstract
Purpose
This research study investigated the relationship between participative decision-making and innovative work behavior by considering the moderating role of power distance orientation of individuals. Grounded in the approach-inhibition theory of power, the authors proposed that participative decision-making could mitigate perceived power gap and motivate individuals with high power distance orientation to engage more in innovative work behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were collected from 243 faculty members from 2 universities located at Dhaka, Bangladesh. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for data analysis.
Findings
The results from the model estimation showed that the positive relationship between participative decision-making and innovative work behavior was stronger among faculty members with high power distance orientation than those with low power distance orientation. The simple slope analysis also clarified the fact that faculty members with high power distance orientation could increase their innovative work behavior to be at the same level as that of faculty members with low power distance orientation when the members were involved highly in participative decision-making.
Practical implications
Participative decision-making is a management practice that should be implemented in order to motivate faculty members to actively engage in innovative work behavior. Particularly for faculty members who are sensitive towards the power status of other members in the workplace, this management practice is highly recommended to lessen the perceived social barrier that discourages these faculty members from engaging in innovative work behavior.
Originality/value
The authors' research advanced knowledge from prior studies by offering new theoretical insight into the role of empowerment practice that could motivate individuals with high power distance orientation to engage more in innovative practices.
Details