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Religious and peculiar beliefs are two of the factors affecting consumer behavior and may differentially affect individuals and societies. Therefore, this study aims to investigate them from the study of Iranian customers’ behavior.

These beliefs are sensitive issues, hence, to investigate them, the grounded theory method through 15 in-depth interviews was applied.

The results indicated that evil-eye effect, as a peculiar belief, affected the behavior of luxury cars’ consumers in the Iranian society while religion had no such effect on the consumers’ behavior, in spite of religious notions about luxury. Furthermore, the findings revealed that consumers may legitimize their inconsistent behaviors through a variety of tactics such as different interpretations of religious notions or dissembling their superstitious beliefs.

The present study will contribute to the literature on religion and customer behavior through taking advantage of the application of a qualitative research design. Besides, the originality of the study might be in the application of various tactics by the customers to legitimize their behaviors inconsistent with religion.

The purpose of this research is to explore the practical implications of brand management decisions, particularly those involving the combination of luxury and mass‐market brands within the same organization through merger or acquisition. The aim of the paper is to expand brand theory by linking it to administrative heritage in the context of the increasingly integrated global automobile industry.

Integrated case studies of Jaguar, Mercedes‐Benz, and Saab illustrate the effects of brand extension and dilution through the lenses of brand development, luxury brands, and administrative heritage theories. The recent history of acquisitions and mergers involving luxury automobile brands provides background to the in‐depth examination of these three specific instances. Conclusions are reached by comparing and contrasting the experiences of these firms relative to their mass‐market siblings.

The blending of luxury and mass‐market automobile brands in one corporate portfolio engages advantages of scale and scope economies, but induces potentially fatal brand corrosion. Consumer perceptions of luxury brands are influenced by the degree of commonality with the associated mass‐market brands, independent of whether the luxury brand or the mass‐market brand is the dominant corporate vehicle.

The paper provides insights useful to practitioners as well as academic researchers. The novel juxtapositioning of the concepts of luxury brands, administrative heritage, and global strategic management through mergers/acquisitions demonstrates the unintended consequences of complex interactions in a dynamic industry. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research.

This study aims to examine the customer’s perception of corporate social responsibility within the automotive market in Tehran, Iran, and whether it leads to a purchasing behavior directly or indirectly through support intention.

A total of 235 customers of luxury and mid-range-priced automobiles were surveyed and analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling method.

Regarding luxury car owners, the authors concluded that both economical and ethical perceptions are indirectly related to purchasing behavior. Concerning mid-range-priced car buyers, both philanthropic and economical perceptions have a direct relationship with purchasing behavior, while the legal perception has an indirect relationship with purchasing behavior. The results show that Iranian car manufacturers and foreign car dealerships for both luxury and mid-range customers should focus on their economical responsibilities. The results show that luxury car manufacturers and dealerships should act ethically. With the importance of the philanthropic dimension for customers of mid-range cars, car dealerships dealing with mid-range-priced cars should focus more on their philanthropic activities. This study can help companies find better solutions to adjust their corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies to the consumers’ beliefs, gain a competitive advantage in the market and fill the knowledge gap regarding Iranian consumers.

Although some research has been conducted on consumer perception and response regarding CSR in both developed and developing countries, no studies on consumer perception toward CSR have been carried out in Iran.

George Mortimer Pullman (1831-1897), nineteenth century US luxury rail car entrepreneur, divides opinion. Some commemorate Pullman as a brilliant industrialist, innovator and self-made man. Others view him as a loathsome robber baron, union buster, racist and affront to democracy. This paper aims to demonstrate Pullman’s significant contribution to marketing.

Historical accounts of Pullman are re-examined to highlight his company’s unique adaptation of numerous marketing techniques (consumer research, brand strategy, public relations, product launch, fashion cycle, advertising, product placement and customer service marketing).

Pullman’s distinct flair for understanding his market enabled him to develop marketing strategies intertwined with broader cultural changes in ideals and practices. Pullman’s construction of destination tourism met an expanding white middle class desire for recreation and escape from the economic and racial inequality of the city. Pullman’s creed that beauty acted as a civilizing agent spoke to the social norms of leisure class femininity. Constant release of ever-grander rail cars shaped a fashion cycle around which wealthy men’s status competition turned. Pullman pioneered the leasing of luxury to control his best asset: the service of black Porters’.

First, this paper provides a new perspective on George Pullman, a significant figure in US history. Second, it addresses a common bias in nineteenth century historical accounts that privilege the contribution of men, industrial labor and production and shadow the role of consumption, women and leisure. Third, it challenges the idea of a clean divide between industrial and post-industrial economies by tracing contemporary consumer culture practices to their nineteenth century roots (marketing, destination tourism, brand stories, democratization of fashion, tipping and service with a smile).

The automobile industry is a key contributor to the GDP in most developed countries. Whilst studies have mainly focused on new car markets, this research aims to investigate how consumers' socio-demographic profile impacts on the decision to buy used or new cars across different automobile segments.

The study focuses on a major car market in Europe, France. The data were obtained from the French Institute of Statistics (INSEE), consisting of a representative sample of 1,967 French households who bought a new or used car within a year of this study. The paper is based on random utility theory and applies multinomial logit modeling.

The findings suggest that economic, individual, household characteristics impact on car segment choice, as well as the decision of whether to buy a new or a used car.

This is one of the few studies investigating the demand for new and used cars in conjunction across car segments in a European context. It provides important insights into consumer choice in a mature market.

This teaching case aims to encourage reflection on the formulation of the strategic repositioning of an automotive dealership.

Built on the teaching case method, it portrays the situation of the Premium Motors automotive dealership in the face of a strategic repositioning. Management and the board discuss ways to minimize the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on sales figures. The situation presents the possibility of entering a new product segment.

How to make consumers correctly understand the new positioning? The case is structured to enable reflection and teaching of marketing strategies, with each student having the possibility of putting themselves in the role of company managers. The environment and trajectory are also portrayed, broadening the perception of the studied company and providing devices for solving the emerging problems of the case.

The case becomes a tool to promote knowledge, from the implementation to the management of strategic repositioning. Thus, the teaching notes offer directions on how professors can use the teaching case with their undergraduate and graduate students in disciplines related to strategy and marketing.

Set in the newly emerging hybrid product research stream, and reflecting trends towards multi‐national production and sourcing, this paper aims to present a three‐country study on perceived quality and image of automobiles “made in and for” Southeast Asia.

The authors used a multiple cue design in the stimulus definition, reflecting assembly and component origin plus warranty level. Actual car owners were targeted, thereby adding to a relatively low number of studies requiring actual prior purchase. The related face‐to‐face interviews in the local languages resulted in 720 usable questionnaires.

Country‐of‐assembly is shown to affect perceived quality as well as perceived image. Warranty extension can moderate the quality effects to some extent, whilst buyers of luxury models display a smaller positive home bias in terms of perceived image than those of non‐luxury models. Such home region bias is not demonstrated to be significant for country‐of‐components.

The paper contributes towards ongoing theory‐building, especially with regards to an optimum level of origin cue decomposition. It also establishes the importance of adding image perception measurement to the arsenal of origin researchers normally focused on quality effects.

Managers need to make strategic decisions on the decomposition of product origin cues, reflecting consumers' abilities to notice several such cues. The selected product origin cues must then be supported with appropriate communications strategies.

For the first time, origin effects are demonstrated for the Southeast Asia region. The paper establishes the significance of country‐of‐target and contributes to research on the ever more complex product origin construct.

The purpose of this paper is to re-evaluate the sustainable attitude-behavior gap by reconsidering the cognitive-rational aspects of consumer purchase behavior. We aim to show how companies can benefit from focusing on hedonic aspects of consumption in their marketing of sustainable products. We claim that consumer culture research needs to examine the link between hedonic, aesthetic, and cognitive-rational aspects of sustainable consumption.

We use the electric vehicle marketing strategy in the United States as an example of an approach to bridge the attitude-behavior gap. More specifically, we focus on the car manufacturer Tesla as an example of marketing a sustainable product.

We find that Tesla’s marketing strategy focuses on aesthetics and hedonics-ludic performance. Similarly to other luxury cars, Tesla markets itself with a full compliment of consumer benefits. Compared to economical electric vehicles, sustainability is not the primary focus of Tesla’s marketing communication strategy.

Sustainable consumption theory benefits from examining the interlinking of hedonic, aesthetic and cognitive-rational aspects product purchasing and use. Future research in the development of sustainable consumption theory in additional complex product categories is needed.

Greater regard for consumer experience in sustainable consumption offers the potential for additional strategies to bridge the attitude-behavior gap and marketing of sustainable goods.

We move beyond the attitude-behavior gap by not only focusing on expressed attitudes of sustainability, but also focusing on the hedonic aspects at play in sustainable consumption.

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to bridge a gap in literature by defining and operationalizing specific brand equity constructs, and testing the relationships between customer‐based brand equity and brand market performance. Current literature has focused on building and conceptualizing brand equity, there is no consensus on how it should be measured and what constructs should be included in the measurement process.

This study was conducted in two phases: a consumer‐level analysis; and a brand‐level analysis. A total of 6,410 observations have been identified (sample size consists of 5,598 usable observations). The second phase involved analyzing the data at the aggregate brand level. Analysis included testing hypotheses on the correlations between customer‐based brand equity constructs and brand market performance. finally, detailed market and country‐of‐origin analyses are presented for managerial considerations.

Results from the consumer dataset have been averaged by brand (a total of 17 brands covering 76 percent and 75 percent of market shares in both economy and luxury markets). At the consumer‐level, structural equation modeling was conducted to test research hypotheses. Results varied according to consumer usage. Attitudinal loyalty and satisfaction were found the strongest predictors of brand preference and intention to purchase. At the aggregate brand level, correlation analyses supported the hypothesis that customer‐based brand equity constructs are correlated with brand market performance.

Analyses at the consumer and brand levels revealed interesting results about the US automotive market and suggested important managerial considerations. Specific recommendations are offered in order to help companies prioritize their resource utilization and improve their performance in the market.

This study offers a new model that links customer‐based brand equity with brand market performance. It advances both academic and practical findings, and opens the door for new streams of research that link academic models with practical applications. It advances specific practical recommendations to companies and at the same time offers a reliable and valid academic model that could be applied on other industries and countries.

Upon completion of this case study analysis in class, students should be able to distinguish the different steps and actions involved in the entrepreneurial venture creation; evaluate the extent to which an entrepreneurial idea represents a commercial success or practical failure; apply relevant strategy frameworks to estimate the complexities associated with the management of a small startup; and debate about the pros and cons of different strategic options and offer viable advice for decision-making.

This case follows the entrepreneurial beginnings of a college student, Mohsen Shahin, whose early initiation into the world of business commenced from a serendipitous win of a small fortune in a raffle in London, UK. The case study illustrates the protagonist’s dilemma of whether to spend the winning on everyday pleasures of his life as a teenager or to venture in an entrepreneurial undertaking. Following his father’s advice, Mohsen ultimately decides to exchange his prize for money and use it for launching Speedways, a luxurious car servicing garage in London’s downtown. The case further elaborates on some initial struggles he faced as a young entrepreneur and continues with his decision to pursue higher education in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which forced him to handle his managerial responsibilities from a country thousands of miles away from his garage. Eventually, Mohsen makes the hard decision to sell Speedways and realize his grown ambition of exploiting his prior business experience to embark on new adventures in his life. The case culminates with Mohsen having to choose between either opening his own company in the premium car care industry in Dubai or pursuing his post-graduate studies at a prestigious university in the USA – a critical decision he has to make promptly, as he is short on time.

Upper-level undergraduate courses.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS: 11 Strategy.