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This study aims to address a heretofore neglected area in research, nation branding, for the purpose of attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). It compares and contrasts the well-established literature on decision-making and location choice in FDI with studies in the nascent field of nation branding, with a view to developing directions for future research that result from the identification of research gaps at the intersection point between the two areas.

The study is based on a systematic and integrative review of several streams within the relevant literatures, from the theory of decision-making in FDI to the similarities and differences between advertising, promotion, branding and marketing for investment on the part of nations and sub- or supra-national places.

Each of the two areas is characterized by lack of consensus as to the principal factors that affect investor and nation decisions and actions, resulting in several knowledge gaps that need to be addressed by new research along the lines suggested in the study.

A large number of avenues for potential future research are identified, from assessing the importance of target country image in location choice to the adverse effects arising from the emphasis on “promotion” rather than “marketing” on the part of places engaged in nation branding efforts.

The study examines several problems that affect the practice of nation branding for FDI and points to alternative approaches that may enhance place marketers’ effectiveness in their efforts to attract foreign capital.

Notwithstanding the global growth of FDI in volume and importance, and the omnipresence of nation branding campaigns to promote exports or attract tourism and investment, there has been virtually no research to date on the core issue, nation branding for FDI. The study uses a strategic perspective that highlights key nation branding issues related to FDI, and FDI issues related to nation branding, and suggests a comprehensive agenda for research in the future.

The purpose of this paper is to comment on the article “Consumer cultural identity: Local and global cultural identities and measurement implications” by Yuliya Strizhakova and Robin Coulter.

The commentary summarizes the main characteristics of the authors’ study, positions it in the context of globalization, and suggests additional directions for potential future research.

The article by Strizhakova and Coulter has many strengths and provides a good base for new studies on consumer cultural identities and their global, local or glocal orientations.

This paper adds four points on the theme of “what else” might additional research in this area contribute: The need for further investigations into the cultural orientations of consumers in less developed countries; whether and how practitioners use the findings of academic research; the difficulties in absorbing and using the existing voluminous literature when designing new studies; and the benefits to be gained by introducing more granular perspectives in research about consumers’ cultural identities and their effects on their marketplace behaviour.

This study focuses on an inventory and typology of consumer dispositions towards “place” and relates it to the underlying theories, inputs and outcomes of place images and attitudes, aiming to unclutter a crowded research landscape by providing a holistic perspective of product/brand place associations.

The paper draws on extant literature to identify, analyze and discuss the consumer dispositions, theories and other elements related to place.

In total, 32 dispositions, 10 inputs to image formation, 28 permutations that complicate the understanding of place images, and 18 outcomes are discussed, providing a comprehensive perspective of the images of, and behaviours towards, various types of places from neighbourhoods to countries and beyond.

Of the large number of constructs and combinations among them that are discussed, some have been studied fairly extensively, but most comprise “the road(s) less travelled”. The paper identifies relevant research gaps and numerous opportunities for new research.

Managers are aware and act upon some of the inventoried dispositions but can benefit by considering the complete array of constructs and concepts that are discussed.

Individuals’ dispositions towards various places help to shape their self and social identities and are important in their daily life and consumption behaviour.

The study brings together for the first time a complete inventory of place-related dispositions alongside a wide range of related theories and concepts, thus advancing our knowledge of the nature and role of the country and other place-related images of products and brands.

The purpose of this paper is to extend international marketing theory by examining country image effects simultaneously from the perspectives of Product-Country Image (PCI), Tourism Destination Image (TDI), and General Country Image (GCI), and by using tourism satisfaction as the central construct in a comprehensive model that investigates post-visit effects in both the product and tourism domains.

International tourists from multiple countries were intercepted at the end of a tourism trip and interviewed in-person using a structured questionnaire, resulting in 498 usable responses for data analysis. The model comprised seven constructs measured with 28 variables and was tested with structural equation modelling.

The study uncovers a number of cross-effects between a country as destination and as producer, and establishes tourism satisfaction as a core construct that is relevant to both the tourism and product facets of place image.

Above all, the study’s findings argue strongly in favour of greater coordination between the “product” and “tourism” sides of place marketing.

The study is original in its integrative analysis of GCI, PCI, and TDI constructs as antecedents and consequences of the tourism experience and, among other original contributions, is the first to investigate the direct link between product beliefs, tourism satisfaction, and post-visit product-related intentions.

This paper aims to critically review and integrate the literature available on Uppsala (incremental) and Born Global (rapid) internationalization models and propose an integrative model that applies to both the initial and subsequent stages in internationalization.

This study draws on a systematic review and analysis of the relevant literature, using 87 articles from 28 journals which deal with the Uppsala and/or Born Global conceptualizations.

To date, the two views of internationalization have been presented as competing and fundamentally different explanations, as past research focuses mostly on the original 1977 Uppsala model without accounting for its five subsequent extensions (1990-2013) and not considering in sufficient depth the critical role of the knowledge construct in both models.

The study focuses on English-only publications dealing expressly with the Born Global and Uppsala models; while some studies which address the focal theme tangentially may have been missed, the systematic approach to identifying the key studies of interest and the focus on a carefully delineated research domain provides confidence that the main studies relevant to the theme have been captured.

The study highlights the important role of knowledge in the internationalization of firms, and it addresses the current divide between the “incremental” and “rapid” conceptualizations which have impeded the development of theory, by positing six research propositions and an integrative model that accounts for both the incremental and rapid approaches.

This paper studies the sociocultural drivers of materialism cross-culturally. Research in this area is scarce, even though rapid social transformations worldwide, fueled by globalization, make it imperative to identify the conditions under which commonalities and differences in materialistic tendencies are most likely to evidence among consumers as they seek to assert, restore, or enhance their self-concept and status in the context of global consumption trends.

The psychographic determinants of materialism were rigorously validated across a diverse set of eight countries, by investigating which facets of acculturation to global consumer culture and national ethnic identity, along with consumer ethnocentrism, encourage or repel materialism. Using multigroup SEM and other analyses, the authors confirmed construct dimensionality and ascertained the stability of the relationships.

The most consistent positive drivers of materialism were self-identification with global consumer culture and exposure to American-based global mass media. The results demonstrated the compatibility of national identity and traditions with materialistic tendencies. Materialism was positively related to or independent of consumer ethnocentrism.

The findings offer consequential insights for both research and practice, although the cross-sectional character of survey research and certain sampling characteristics limit their generalizability.

The results pinpoint segments that spill over national boundaries, and those that remain geographically constrained, thus providing guidance for marketing and communication strategies to practitioners.

The authors shed light on two widely held yet insufficiently researched assumptions: that the homogenizing effect of global consumer culture may be fomenting materialism worldwide, and that nationalistic, parochially oriented consumers may be more capable of resisting materialistic values.

The study design addresses several shortcomings of prior research, and its findings advance the understanding of materialism and its antecedents by identifying the conditions driving materialistic tendencies.

The purpose of this paper is to test the cross-cultural validity of the Technology Readiness Index (TRI) (Parasuraman, 2000) and explore how demographics and attitudinal variables may help to explain adoption and use of technology-based products and services.

The study is based on surveys conducted with probabilistic samples from two culturally distant countries, the USA and Chile.

Results support the TRI’s cross-cultural validity. They also suggest that demographic variables do matter when explaining people’s willingness to adopt new technology, with education being the most consistent predictor. Moreover, some of the findings seem to challenge the attitude-behavior consistency implied by conventional theory – while attitudinal variables are better predictors of pro-technological behavior in the USA, with technology-related insecurity being the most important of four attitudinal dimensions included in the analysis, demographic variables perform as better predictors in Chile, with educational level outperforming age and gender.

This is the first-ever cross-cultural test of the TRI using actual consumer samples from two culturally very different countries.

This paper has two overall goals. The first is to serve as a broad overview of the literature on the subject theme, with three main objectives in mind: to highlight the complexities of international market selection or segmentation as a field of study and as a strategic decision by international firms; to explore the various ways and perspectives from which this area has been studied; and to suggest areas for future research by drawing on the preceding discussion. The second goal of the paper is to act as an introduction to the IMR special issue on the title theme, by outlining the special issue's objectives and the contributions to it.

Drawing on the relevant literatures, the paper begins by outlining the factors that make the field complex in both theoretical and applied terms, moves to consider the research streams that comprise its main components, and concludes by drawing conclusions and implications for future research.

A large part of the complexity characterizing this field arises from the fact that it is closely intertwined with the broader area of internationalization and a number of other decisions related to it, such as the “go/no‐go” decision and the firm's choice of mode of entry. From the research perspective, theory development has been impeded by a high degree of fragmentation, which has resulted in various different streams studying the same general issues from widely different perspectives.

The paper identifies a large number of directions for potential future research, not the least of which is the need for integrative research that addresses the fragmentation identified in the study.

Although this is primarily a theoretical paper directed at researchers, practitioners can gain useful insights from it by examining the various factors that have a bearing on their internationalization decisions.

The objectives of the main part of the paper will have been met if it succeeds in stimulating interest in further research and discussion on the core issues. The second part summarizes the contributions to the special issue and draws attention to the main message that each aims to convey.

Country image (CI) has been one of the most studied topics in international business, marketing, and consumer behaviour of the past five decades. Nevertheless, there has been no critical assessment of this field of research. The purpose of this paper is to understand the status and evolution of CI research.

The authors review 554 articles published in academic journals over 35 years. The authors examine publication, authorship, and research procedure trends in these articles as an empirical and quantitative assessment of the field. The authors identify weaknesses and strengths, and the authors address disconcerting and encouraging trends.

The authors find a number of laudatory trends: CI research is becoming less US-centric, more theory driven, more sophisticated in methodology, evaluating more diverse product categories, and making use of multiple cue studies. There are, however, two major methodological concerns: poor replication and questionable generalizability of findings. The authors also noted the influence of CI articles has been decreasing, as well as their rate of publication in top tier journals.

Since the authors present data that reflect actual practices in the field and how such practices have changed across time, the authors believe the study is of substantial value to CI researchers, journal editors, and instructors whose curriculum includes CI. The critical assessment and subsequent recommendations are accordingly empirically justified.