Search results

The research goal is to summarize the insights from an investigation of the higher education institutes (HEIs) and university's educational services promotion strategy, which incorporates social media as a medium for keeping in touch with important people throughout time. The study centered on the impact of promotional efforts done by higher education Institutes (HEIs) on social media on students’ decisions for their selection of HEIs and universities as well as the study focus factors that influence the students' decisions. In the third quarter of 2022, based on a carefully chosen sample, researchers used an internet questionnaire to conduct an empirical study. The assessment of the outcomes focused on identifying the significant aspects and their significance in the marketing endeavours conducted on social media platforms, which serve as predictors of student decision-making. Three important predictors Social Media Engagement, Content Contribution, and Stakeholders Review were identified and their significant impact on social media marketing by HEI are hypothesized and tested. All the study variables confirm the existence of a significant relationship with the dependent variable. The study concluded that these factors were identified as significant influences on the choice of study and higher education institution. Gaining new followers, prominence content display and stakeholders' feedback builds long-lasting linkages with the immediate environment. As a foundation for creating successful social media marketing strategies for higher education institutions, this research is useful for marketers since it elucidates the dynamics of the market and the habits of potential pupils.

Through the subject of business network dynamics, this study aims to examine how business network relationships impact company entry market and development within fast growing economies as China. The paper looks at business network relationships in a fast-growing economy and provides an understanding of the relational perspectives in internationalisation of three luxury fashion companies and their entry models affected by the China context-related variables.

The methodology is following a qualitative approach, based on multiple case-studies research, proposing three cases of companies entering the Chinese market in the luxury and fashion industry.

The research analyses the local business network paths and how they affect the entry strategy through the socio-cultural and political players. The paper adds knowledge to studies in market entry and business networks, in the fast-growing economies area, with its new norms and values.

This study tries to analyse how business networks and related relationships “with Chinese characteristics” affect the market entry strategy in the internationalisation path from the perspective of the luxury fashion industry sector. In so doing it tries to provide an original further development of business network models within the new Chinese context.

This study aims to explore challenges and opportunities in the digitalization of the business-to-business (B2B) customer journey in different buying situations. It also investigates where in the customer journey digital marketing is most efficient.

This research adopts a single case study approach to examine a B2B company that implemented digitalization in its customer journey in different buying situations. Data were collected through semistructured interviews, complemented by internal documents and information from the company’s website and social media, to identify reasons for and against the decision to digitalize the B2B customer journey.

Digitalization can offer firms a cost-effective and value-creating way to interact with customers in a B2B context. The B2B buying situation, however, plays a significant role in decisions on how to implement digitalization. Moreover, in the prepurchase phase, digital marketing is more effective in building awareness; in the purchase phase, personal selling is more effective in addressing customers’ needs.

The use of a single case study cannot produce results directly generalizable to other contexts. However, the findings are applicable to the digitalization of B2B customer journeys in similar industrial contexts.

To successfully implement digitalization in the customer journey, B2B firms should choose digital tools according to different buying situations and phases in the customer journey, segment buyers by their needs rather than individual characteristics and integrate the sales and marketing functions.

This study contradicts prior research that claims that digital marketing can be used in a similar way in both B2B and business-to-consumer contexts. It further shows that the relevant demarcation is not between personal sales and digitalization but between automated digital marketing and individualized personal sales, regardless of medium.

Subscription offerings are being hailed as the next service growth engine for companies in both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) markets. The study analyzes how a manufacturing firm can develop and implement a scalable service-based subscription business model for B2C and B2B customers alongside its existing product-centric model.

A longitudinal case study is conducted, drawing on 25 in-depth interviews with company executives and dealers in key European markets.

The study outlines an iterative process model for subscription business model innovation. It reveals key events and decisions taken in developing, implementing, and scaling the new business model and how internal and external tensions involving intermediaries arose and were mitigated during the four stages of the process.

The findings highlight the dynamics of business model innovation processes and underscore the importance of organizational learning, collaborative relationships with channel partners, and strategic talent acquisition during business model innovation.

The findings suggest how product-centric firms can implement new service business models alongside existing product models and what this means for partner and customer journey management.

While servitization research predominantly concerns B2B manufacturers, B2C research focuses on digital subscription contexts. The study bridges this divide by investigating the move to subscriptions in both markets.

The aim of this study is to review the literature on how intellectual capital (IC) contributes to the decarbonization efforts of firms. It explores how carbon accounting can measure the components of IC in decarbonization efforts to balance profitability with environmental and social goals, particularly in promoting decent work and economic growth (Sustainable Development Goal [SDG] 8 and its targets [2, 5, 6, 8]). Moreover, it emphasises the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships for sharing knowledge, expertise, technology, and financial resources (SDG17-Target 17.G) to meet SDG8.

As a consolidated methodological approach, a systematic literature review (SLR) was used in this study to fill the existing research gaps in sustainability accounting. To consolidate and clarify scholarly research on IC towards decarbonization, 149 English articles published in the Scopus database and Google Scholar between 1990 and 2024 were reviewed.

The results highlight that the current research does not sufficiently cover the intersection of carbon accounting and IC in the analysis of decarbonization practices. Stakeholders and regulatory bodies are increasingly pressuring firms to implement development-focused policies in line with SDG8 and its targets, requiring the integration of IC and its measures in decarbonization processes, supported by SDG17-Target 17.G. This integration is useful for creating business models that balance profitability and social and environmental responsibilities.

The integration of social dimension to design sustainable business models for emission reduction and provide a decent work environment by focusing on SDG17-Target 17.G has rarely been investigated in terms of theory and practice. Through carbon accounting, IC can be a key source of SDG8-Targets 8.[2, 5, 6, 8] and SDG17-Target 17.G. Historically, these major issues are not easily aligned with accounting research or decarbonization processes.

Given the contradictory findings of standardization/adaptation of marketing strategy in explaining export performance in the extant research, this study aims to examine the contingent effects of managerial ties and born global orientation in the standardized advertising-export performance conceptualization.

The study used two-respondent method in the survey research by a sample of 155 exporting firms operating in the industrial marketing based in Australia and New Zealand and applied hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses.

The findings demonstrate that standardized advertising has a significant effect on export performance and this relationship is positively moderated by business ties. Such effect is particularly enhanced for born global firms (than nonborn global firms). However, political ties negatively influence the impact of standardized advertising on performance and such effect is stronger for born global firms.

A broader perspective of contingent variables should be included to examine the underlying relationship between standardized advertising and export performance in capturing the dynamism in international marketing contexts, such as institutional frameworks or sociocultural environments in host countries.

Standardized advertising is critical for born global firms’ export performance as it can increase efficiency and speed up internationalization processes. Such positive impact of standardized advertising on export performance is further enhanced if born global firms allocate resources to develop strong business ties with host country partners instead of building political ties with host country governments, because smooth business networking can facilitate standardized advertising on industrial marketing, yet justifiable political relations require intricate negotiations that often prolong internationalization progress.

This study incorporates managerial ties and born global orientation as contingent factors in fixing the theoretic interlock between standardization advertising strategy and export firm performance.

The research applied service-dominant logic of marketing theory, a customer-centered and relational that principally grounded in service relationships and actor networks. In actor networks, salespeople provide their skills and knowledge, such as expertise, service quality, ethics and shared value to cocreate value for buyers. Therefore, this study explores the attributes of salespeople that influence the quality of the relationship (trust and satisfaction) and, as a result, loyalty in the context of the business-to-business (B2B) relationship in the Taiwan market.

A causal relationship and survey research design are applied. The study collected 266 valid responses from B2B account managers representing various companies and industries. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to test the hypotheses.

The results showed that salespeople’s expertise demonstrated the most significant influence on both trust and satisfaction, followed by ethics, service quality and share value, in a descending order of impact. Consequently, trust and satisfaction had a significant impact on customer loyalty.

The four attributes of salespeople play a pivotal role in establishing lasting relationships and maximizing the customer lifetime value. To achieve long-term success in customer interactions and relationships, a well-rounded salesperson should diligently strive to excel in all these attributes.

The novelty and contribution of this study are twofold. First, investigating the quality of the relationship in the context of Taiwanese manufacturers in a B2B setting is still rare, and this is the study first to explore the Taiwanese B2B relationship with its global customers. As Taiwanese manufacturers play a pivotal role in the global supply chain, the research findings have symbolic meaning and practical implications for global business partners. Second, drawing from service-dominant logic theory, this research takes an integrative view by examining the attributes (expertise, service quality, shared value and ethics) that influence and establish a quality trusting relationship and consumer loyalty in the B2B context.

This study aims to investigate the role of marketing agencies in aligning brand purpose with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the post-pandemic era. This study explores whether and how marketing agencies delineate and execute brand purpose in a way that supports sustainable consumption and marketing models.

Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with 35 senior managers at UK-based marketing agencies. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using NVivo software for inductive coding.

The study reveals that brand purpose in the post-pandemic era is increasingly aligned with the SDGs. Marketing agencies play a pivotal role in this alignment, as they not only help to delineate and execute the brand purpose but also do so in a way that amplifies perceived authenticity in the eyes of the brand stakeholders.

This research underscores the significance of marketing agencies in delineating and executing brand purpose that aligns with the SDGs. It enriches the literature by illustrating how agency expertise contributes to the evolution of brand purpose, guiding businesses towards responsible marketing practices and consumption patterns that support a sustainable future.

This paper has a dual purpose. The first is to provide a thorough analysis of developments in international marketing in relation to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic; the second is to capitalize on these developments to set an agenda for future research in the field of international marketing.

This paper zooms in on and reviews the 18 papers published in International Marketing Review’s (IMR) Special Issue on “Covid 19: advancing international marketing theory and guiding practice” (2023, volume 40, issue 5). It also integrates recent research at the intersection of international marketing and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The paper highlights five areas that embody significant contemporaneous changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and affect international marketing practice. These include (1) shifts in consumer behavior, (2) digitalization and artificial intelligence, (3) disruptions in supply chains, (4) communication and corporate social responsibility (CSR), and (5) international dynamic marketing capabilities. In order to advance international marketing theory in relation to pandemics and other external crises, the paper establishes research directions for each of these areas.

The paper provides a novel and comprehensive categorization of fundamental shifts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and lays out a research roadmap to advance research in the field of International Marketing (IM). Important implications for practice are also discussed.

Although intellectual capital (IC) and human dynamic capabilities (HDCs) play a significant role in decarbonization processes, their measurement and reporting is under-researched. Hence, this study aims to identify the link between HDCs, carbon accounting and integrated reporting (IR) in the transition processes, investigating IC and HDCs in decarbonization processes to achieve net-zero business models (n-ZBMs).

A systematic literature review with a concise bibliometric analysis is conducted on 229 articles, published from 1990 to 2023 in Scopus database and Google Scholar. Reviewing data on publications, journals, authors and citations and analysing the article content, this study identifies the main search trends, providing a new conceptual model and future research propositions.

The results reveal that the literature has rarely focussed on carbon accounting in terms of IC and HDCs. Additionally, firms face pressure from institutions and stakeholders regarding legitimacy and transparency, necessitating a response considering IR and requiring n-ZBMs to be developed through IC and HDCs to meet social and environmental requirements.

Not only does this study link IC with HDCs to address carbon emissions through decarbonization practices, which has never been addressed in the literature to date, but also provides novel recommendations and propositions through which firms can sustainably transition to being net-zero emission firms, thereby gaining competitive advantage and contributing to the nation’s sustainability goals.