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The country-of-origin effect (COO) has, as a research domain, suffered from several theoretical and methodological problems and tendencies including an incomplete conceptualization of its constituent components. The purpose of this study is to first problematize the concept in extant literature and to consequently propose a reconceptualization of the concept.

As part of lateral promulgation, the authors use theoretical and methodological ideas from other disciplines such as psychology, ethnography and geography to problematize the present conceptualization of COO in extant literature to reveal research possibilities relevant to, but underrepresented or absent in, COO research.

This study identifies several central theoretical and methodological problems and reveals that (1) COO is not necessarily linear and alternative modes of engagement with consumption need to be considered; (2) many of these problems can be addressed by alternative methodologies; and (3) COO operates at the level of symbolic orders that require a further engagement with the role of place in human experience.

The findings suggest that in future research, field experiments be considered to resolve some of the methodological artefacts that have hampered past research; qualitative methods be applied to uncover unexpected uses of place association beyond being mere quality proxies; and alternative areas of relevance, such as macro-level trade and exports from emerging economies, be entertained.

The study’s approach to problematizing and refining extant knowledge enable it to promulgate new knowledge and research directions for a research area that has historically suffered from a tendency to be self-referential.

This study aims to integrate social embeddedness with learning society philosophy to explore how grassroots associations of Indigenous women tourism entrepreneurs can leverage their social network to co-create value.

A critical feminist perspective considers the intersectional experiences of Indigenous women tourism entrepreneurs from the rural Manasalu region of Nepal. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews with local tourism stakeholders were carried out. Hermeneutics in tandem with Indigenous methods of analysis ensured consideration of Indigenous ontologies and social locations beyond being merely theoretically driven.

A paradox of Indigenous women’s empowerment emerged where several efforts for empowerment presented themselves as a double-edged sword. Individuals’ social capital and social support for the sustenance and stability of grassroots associations ensure collective and continuous learning through a value-creation framework.

Collective self-reflection and self-determination for knowledge creation and sharing amongst social ties shed new light on the role of an Indigenous standpoint on value creation.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that captures how the intersectionality of Indigenous women entrepreneurs in grassroots associations use their social capital through contesting, leveraging and learning to transform their social network into a value network.

Recent research has shown that the country-of-origin (COO) effect – the influence on consumers’ attitudes and purchase behavior derived from a brand’s perceived association with a country – is inextricably linked to consumer perception. The purpose of this paper is to examine this shift by considering origin as a characteristic derived from perceived association and also by proposing that this association varies by degree, rather than simply acting as a binary attribute in its effect on consumer attitudes.

Data from a test series in which respondents (n=100) rated 38 brand-country pairs were put to split-half multi-group analysis tests to capture the moderating influence of association strength (AS) on several facets of country image (CI) simultaneously.

AS is a variable that exerts a moderating influence on how different dimensions of CI influence consumers’ evaluation of brands.

The findings indicate that origin, as a characteristic, should be considered an association that is variable by degree and not as dichotomous. The implications of such a shift are broad, not only for the theoretical understanding of the COO effect but also for marketing and brand management practice. Accounting for AS allows for more accurate prediction of how consumers will react to COO.

The paper explicitly demonstrates that the strength of country-brand association moderates COO’s influence on brand equity. Such a relationship had previously only been theoretically implied but had not been empirically tested across multiple categories of products on multiple levels of CI.

This chapter presents two cases in which the coupling between products and destinations generates distinct variations of possibilities for on-site consumption of mythologies of product implacement. Product–place dyads represent significant enabling potential to convey experiential authenticity in the form of enacted narratives, which are in turn based on product myths and the role of a place on the continuum of a productionscape–consumptionscape. Through the illustrative use of cases, a symbolic order of product geography is revealed. Destinations that leverage product associations are invariably engaged in a struggle to claim symbolic authority produce an authentic product–origin narrative. This chapter bridges critical tourism and international marketing literatures and proposes product geography as the mythomoteur of worldmaking.

While it is recognised that the involvement of children in sustainable tourism change and development is crucial the fact remains that information on their worldviews and sustainable tourism behaviour is scarcely available. One long-term empowerment strategy countries and governments around the world can implement is by promoting children's rights through responsible education. This chapter articulates one tactic of that strategy at the local action level of school excursions, which is seen as an instrument that can be made most effective when it is initiated with the assumption that it is needed to help our younger generation acquire an environmental worldview, is harnessed in coalition with collaborators and, applied around the ‘moral’ obligation of educational institutions to provide agency to students' voice. Of the 17 Goals of Sustainable Development, SDG4 (Quality) Education can make a critically important contribution to progress. A series of activities and initiatives undertaken in informal educational environments such as field trips and school excursions can contribute to educating children, building their awareness about responsible and sustainable tourism practices, and developing an environmental sensitivity. Excursion activities and destinations such as museum exhibits have the opportunity to shape identities—through access to objects, information and knowledge. Visitors can see themselves and their culture reflected in ways that encourage new connections, meaning making and learning. Upon looking into transformational experiences in museums it was found that students were easily able to articulate that ‘aha’ moment, particularly around thinking differently about issues and taking action for environmental and sustainable changes.

The definition of value adopted by the current service perspective on marketing theory is value as value-in-use. Surprisingly, however, little attention has been given to the question of what constitutes value-in-use for customers in service contexts? Therefore, the aim of this study is to provide an empirical account of value-in-use from service customers' point of view.

To capture and analyze customers' experiences of value-in-use in the typical service context of retail banking, this study employed a narrative-based critical incident technique (CIT) and a graphical tool called the value chart.

The study identified seven empirical dimensions of positive and negative value-in-use: solution, attitude, convenience, expertise, speed of service, flexibility and monetary costs. Interestingly, these value-in-use dimensions overlap considerably with previously identified dimensions of service quality.

The concepts of service quality and value-in-use in service contexts seem to represent the same empirical phenomenon despite their different theoretical traditions. Measuring customer-perceived service quality might therefore be a good proxy for assessing value-in-use in service contexts.

As the findings indicate that service quality is the way in which service customers experience value-in-use, service managers are recommended to focus on continuous quality management to facilitate the creation of value-in-use.

This study is the first to explicitly raise the notion that in the minds of service customers, value defined as value-in-use and service quality may represent the same empirical phenomenon.

Grounded in categorization theory, this study examines the impact of luxury parent brand status signaling on brand extension authenticity and consumer attitudes in two international luxury markets.

Using samples of luxury consumers from France and the United States, the study's hypotheses are tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), structural equation modelling (SEM) and multi-groups comparisons.

Findings demonstrate that luxury parent brand (PB) status signaling, familiarity and perceived quality impact luxury extension authenticity, and authenticity has a significant effect on consumer attitudes toward the extension. The relationship between PB status signaling and extension authenticity is stronger for French consumers compared to their American counterparts. The effect of luxury PB perceived quality and familiarity on PB status signaling is similar for both American and French consumers. However, the effect of PB familiarity on luxury brand extension authenticity is stronger in France than the United States.

Results provide researchers and managers with insights on how to design marketing programs for luxury line extensions in a cross-national context.

The authors contribute to existing literature examining factors related to the parent brand and the relationship between the parent brand and the extension by examining the effect of PB status signaling and extension authenticity on extension attitudes in two international luxury markets.