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Purpose – To provide marketing and managerial insights to western companies selling denim jeans in China, specifically in Shanghai. Understanding consumers' perceptions of Western‐branded jeans in a cultural‐specific marketplace is the primary focus. Design/methodology/approach – Combined methods included observation of shoppers wearing jeans in two malls in Shanghai and an anonymous survey. A total of 219 surveys were analyzed and consumer‐perceived jeans attributes or related concepts were tabulated. Findings – About one third of the observed shoppers were wearing jeans, which signified a relatively high popularity of jeans as casual wear in Shanghai. The design and fashion of jeans were deemed highly critical but were superseded by comfort and fit. Shanghai consumers distinguished brand origins only between the West and the East instead of by specific countries. Dissatisfaction with price and fit were identified. Research limitations/implications – Questions were designed to screen out respondents who had not purchased and had no desire to purchase western denim jeans brands. Limiting the sample in this way offered some control for behavioral patterns, but conclusions are limited. Practical implications – Content analysis of an open‐ended question about consumers' perceptions of western‐branded jeans helped discern attributes of jeans that consumers deemed most important. Marketers of western jeans can develop effective marketing strategies in tune with consumer preferences. Originality/value – This paper researched consumers' perceptions of western denim jeans, a type of world dress, in a booming but foreign market in western eyes. The open‐ended question solicited consumers' free responses, which in turn helped pin‐point attributes of jeans that Chinese consumers value the most.

The present study compared Indian consumers' attitude (AT) toward and purchase intention (PI) from Western apparel brands, as a function of their Western acculturation (WA), consumer ethnocentrism (CE) in apparel consumption, consumer cosmopolitanism (CC) and country of residence (India vs the USA).

The sample included Indians residing in India and the USA, who were 19 years or older, and visited online or brick-and-mortar apparel stores. An online survey was administered through Amazon Mechanical Turk to collect the data. The data was analyzed through multi-group structural equation modeling.

WA engenders CE among Indian consumers, especially among Indians residing in India. WA and CC positively influence AT. CE did not have a significant negative influence on AT. Although a high CE lowers the PI, a high WA, CC and positive AT can translate into high PI.

The study did not use an experimental design. Therefore, causal relationships between the research variables could not be explained. Majority of the respondents were male. This might have confounded the findings with potential gendered effects.

Western apparel brands targeting Indian consumers in India and the USA should focus on projecting their cosmopolitan and pro-Indian image to target this population's cosmopolitan and ethnocentric outlook, thereby enhancing PI.

The study proposed and empirically tested a conceptual model indicating the relationship between some of the important predictors of Indian consumers' PI in the context of Indians residing in the USA and India.

Developing countries engaged in apparel value chain are going global, seeking opportunities to upgrade the industry through providing higher value-added products and services. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how Sri Lankan apparel industry designers interact with the western fashion world in the apparel value chain process, and how they acquire, adapt and apply the knowledge needed to develop high-value fashion products in their fashion design practice.

The study adopts a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews conducted with fashion design and product development professionals in the Sri Lankan apparel industry. An inductive thematic analysis is used in identifying participants’ experience of the western fashion world within their fashion design practice.

The study proposes a “fashion knowledge bridge” illustrating the ways in which Sri Lankan designers acquire and merge high-value fashion consumer culture and lifestyle knowledge with the manufacturing industry, through multisensory and virtual experience, termed “exposure”, in their interactions with the western fashion world as well as the manufacturing culture of the Sri Lankan apparel industry. Designers’ exposure improves the feasibility and reliability of their apparel products, aligning to the end-consumer needs. The study also proposes a “designers’ exposure framework” that illustrates gains made by the Sri Lankan apparel industry resulting from knowledge enhancement through the designers’ exposure.

The study is based on a qualitative methodology that has potential subjective biases on the part of the researchers; in this case only the Sri Lankan designers’ perspectives were used in synthesising the findings.

The findings propose frameworks with theoretical and managerial implications for developing designers’ capabilities in apparel manufacturing countries that seek industrial upgrading through value-added fashion design practice.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the key attributes that drive Muslim consumer purchase behavior in the context of imported Western food in Pakistan.

In-depth, semi-structured interviews were used as a data collection tool. In this research, the in-depth interview data were analysed by using the manual content analysis (MCA) technique. Moreover, Leximancer software was used to reanalyse the data to enhance the trustworthiness of the MCA results. A total sample of 43 Muslim consumers from three metropolitan cities in Pakistan participated in the research. The sample comprises professionals, housewives and both college and university students.

Muslim consumers in Pakistan look at both the intrinsic and extrinsic attributes when purchasing imported Western food. The ruling factors explored were product taste, ingredients, freshness, hygiene, brand name and overall product quality. However, product packaging and labeling also play a significant role. Participants were of the view that imported Western food provides a better, unique consumption experience and an opportunity to choose from a wide variety of food options. Interestingly, interview findings reveal that Western food product attributes surpass the Islamic concept of moderate spending, thus convincing Muslim consumers to engage in the consumption of imported Western food.

The presence of imported Western food may improve quality of life by having more opportunities and healthier options for the nation. If the Western food products are stamped Halal or made with Halal ingredients the product has a fair chance of adoption and penetration in the society. Further, it may result in overall health improvements within the society, which is already a major concern in the Pakistani consumer market. Also, food products coming from the Western world induces mindfulness; people are more aware about innovative and useful ingredients that can satisfy their taste buds.

This paper found that Pakistani Muslim consumers are not really concerned about the Islamic concept of moderate spending, and thus, established that Pakistani Muslim consumers are more concerned about product value rather than their Islamic teaching of moderate spending. From a population, with 97 per cent Muslim majority, product packaging and labeling were found to be a dominant and deciding factor, which, in itself, is an interesting finding. Further, established Western brand names help Muslim consumers to recognize products and plays a vital role in their purchase decisions. However, within product labeling, the element of halal ingredients was found to be a deciding factor, but not a leading factor, in purchase decisions.

The common market practice by foreign marketers is to sell their brands in standard or localised packaging or sometimes both in the context of Pakistan. By examining the differential influence of standard (Western) and local (Urdu) packaging on Pakistani consumers’ perceptions and choice under conspicuous and inconspicuous situations, this study aims to examine whether the localisation strategy is effective or even necessary.

A pre-test first identified suitable products and brands. The main survey was conducted using convenience sampling in popular shopping precincts of the Lahore district in 2015. Participants first rated the packaging of hedonic and utilitarian products. After rating the packaging likeability, the respondents were asked to assume the two consumption situations. Their choice of standard versus local packaging under conspicuous and inconspicuous consumption situations for the same brand was recorded.

Overall, findings suggest that for hedonic products, localisation is not an effective strategy particularly for well-known Western brands such as M&M’s. For utilitarian products, packaging localisation does not render a Western brand more competitive as consumers did not like one packaging type over the other. Mode of consumption did not change the preference for standard packaging in case of hedonic products, whereas in case of utilitarian products, the mode of consumption did moderate the results for the choice of packaging; standard packaging is chosen more often under conspicuous a situation but not under an inconspicuous situation.

The findings of this research show that indiscriminately localising the packaging of any products as they enter foreign markets may not be the most effective strategy for international marketers.

This is first study to question the common market practice of packaging localisation and investigate the differential effects of standard versus local packaging of foreign products on consumers’ perceptions and choice under varying consumption modes.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how selected fast‐moving consumer goods markets in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have developed since the opening of CEE and what market structures have emerged since then. Particular attention is paid to the role of Western multinational corporations (MNCs) as drivers of globalization in this market‐reshaping process.

Based on household panel data the dissemination of international brands is analyzed in four product categories and four countries of the region. In addition, the question of whether the level of economic development of countries or the product character has an impact on the penetration levels of international brand is examined.

The outcomes of this retrospective study furnish evidence for the globalization of fast‐moving consumer goods markets in CEE. Although the level of diffusion of international brands varies by product category and country, the strong influence of Western MNCs in the shaping of market structures can be documented. The findings also mirror the predominantly‐employed marketing and brand strategies of foreign MNCs in CEE, namely internationally‐integrated as well as multi‐tier brand strategies.

The data provides only a snapshot of the situation in selected consumer goods markets in the region. In order to obtain a fuller picture of the extent of market globalization, the market share of international brands should be complemented by additional data on purchase and usage behavior.

The paper contributes to the current discussion of the market globalization thesis.

Brand and religion, although seemingly irrelevant, are sometimes considered as competitors in satisfying certain consumer needs. The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between religious commitment and purchase of self-expressive (SE) brand products in the context of the Iranian consumer market. Furthermore, this paper investigates the effect of religious commitment on consumers’ brand recall for Western versus local brand products.

Distributing questionnaires was used to collect primary data. Use of statistical techniques, specifically inferential and descriptive statistics were used through SPSS software.

Study 1 findings support that there is a strong link between religious commitment and purchase of SE brand products; the more the consumers’ religiosity, the less their preference for SE brand products. The results of Study 2 illustrate that there is no meaningful link between the religious commitment of individuals and their brand recall for Western products. Furthermore, there are key correlations between religious commitment and gender and also between brand purchase and age and brand purchase and income.

The results help domestic and international marketers form a better understanding of consumers’ behavior regarding SE brand products and brand recall depending on consumers’ religious commitment. The findings also assist marketers and brand managers in designing more effective advertisements and branding strategies based on their chosen target consumer market.

Little research has examined the relationship between religiosity and its effect on the purchase of brand products; this is the first academic study analyzing the effect of commitment to Islam on purchase behavior of SE brand products in the context of the Islamic consumer market.

The objectives of this study are to examine the impacts of CSR on purchase intentions either directly or indirectly and to investigate the moderating effects of consumer ethnocentrism on the relationship between CSR and purchase intentions.

This study utilized an online self-administered survey for data collection. All the measurement items were adopted or adapted from prior research concerning international marketing (Churchill, 1979). Concerning rating scales, the items of CSR, brand attitudes, and consumer ethnocentrism were measured from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree), and the items of purchase intentions were measured from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

The empirical findings suggest that CSR significantly influences purchase intentions directly and indirectly via brand attitudes. Besides, consumer ethnocentrism strengthens the positive effects of CSR on brand attitudes and purchase intentions.

This research sheds light on young Chinese consumers' purchase behaviors, which could facilitate Western brands implementing effective and efficient marketing strategies in the Chinese market.

This paper aims to present a visually documented brand history of Winchester Repeating Arms through a cultural analysis of iconic Western images featuring its lever action rifles.

The study applies visual culture perspectives and methods to the research and writing of brand history. Iconic Western images featuring Winchester rifles have been selected, examined, and used as points of departure for gathering and interpreting additional data about the brand. The primary sources consist chiefly of photographs from the nineteenth century and films and television shows from the twentieth century. Most visual source materials were obtained from the US Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West and the Internet Movie Firearms Database. These have been augmented by written sources.

Within a few years of the launch of the Winchester brand in 1866, visual images outside company control associated its repeating rifles with the settlement of the American West and with the colorful people involved. Some of these images were reproduced in books and others sold to consumers in the form of cartes de visite, cabinet cards and stereographs made from albumen prints. Starting in the 1880s, the live Wild West shows of William F. Cody and his stars entertained audiences with a heroic narrative of the period that included numerous Winchesters. During the twentieth century and into the present, Winchesters have been featured in motion pictures and television series with Western themes.

Historical research is an ongoing process. The discovery of new primary data, both written and visual, may lead to a revised interpretation of the selected images.

Based largely on images as primary data sources, this study approaches brand history from the perspective of visual culture theory and data. The research shows how brands acquire meaning not just from the companies that own them but also from consumers, the media and other producers of popular culture.

The paper discusses networking through brand affiliation/endorsement as an increasing mode of internationalisation. Brand affiliation or brand endorsement involves a form of franchising, whereby local services take on a global reach. Whereas conventional theories on the internationalisation process explicitly or implicitly assume that internationalisation is a matter of tapping a new geographical market, mired with risk and uncertainty due to its “foreignness”, brand affiliation means that the offerings of a local business take on the global features associated with the global brand. The global brand endorses or vouches for the locally bound business, thereby providing it with a global recognition and reach. In spite of the global explosion in the practice of affiliation and franchising, there has been little concern with this form of internationalisation, or with the issues and the challenges posed for the franchisees, which are most often SMEs, in managing two brands, two identities and two cultures. The present paper seeks to explore this business relationship and its inherent contradictions, mainly from the franchisee's perspective, and asks whether the dictates of global requirements for efficiency, functionality and consistency can be reconciled with social and cultural values associated with localisation, and what the theoretical and practical implications of this internationalisation process are.