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1 – 10 of over 45000Michael A. Merz, Yi He and Dana L. Alden
Given the ongoing globalization debate and lack of agreement about whether consumer cultures are predominantly globalizing, glocalizing, or localizing, the purpose of this paper…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the ongoing globalization debate and lack of agreement about whether consumer cultures are predominantly globalizing, glocalizing, or localizing, the purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework designed to help clarify discussion and facilitate theoretical progress.
Design/methodology/approach
By integrating Rosch's categorization theory into the discussion of whether consumer cultures globalize, glocalize, or localize, several propositions can be formulated that help structure this discussion systematically.
Findings
It is demonstrated that arguments for global consumer culture (GCC) are most easily made at the superordinate level. However, their strength (versus glocal and local consumer culture) at the basic and subordinate levels is moderated by whether meanings associated with the consumption factor are primarily functional or symbolic.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should empirically validate this initial effort. In addition, scholars should examine from a non‐western centric perspective whether GCC is emerging across the different category levels and meaning systems. Furthermore, emic research is needed to examine the emic meanings of the categories herein.
Practical implications
This proposed framework is also designed for marketing managers as a new tool to facilitate their global strategic planning.
Originality/value
This paper moves the GCC culture debate forward by integrating, for the first time, categorization theory into the discussion. This is of value for both academics and practitioners.
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Angela Gracia B. Cruz and Margo Buchanan-Oliver
The consumer acculturation literature argues that reconstituting familiar embodied practices from the culture of origin leads to a comforting sense of home for consumers who move…
Abstract
Purpose
The consumer acculturation literature argues that reconstituting familiar embodied practices from the culture of origin leads to a comforting sense of home for consumers who move from one cultural context to another. This paper aims to extend this thesis by examining further dimensions in migrant consumers’ experiences of home culture consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper analyses data gathered through multi-modal depth interviews with Southeast Asian skilled migrants in New Zealand through the conceptual lens of embodiment.
Findings
Building on Dion et al.’s (2011) framework of ethnic embodiment, the analysis uncovers home culture consumption as multi-layered experiences of anchoring, de-stabilisation and estrangement, characterised by convergence and divergence between the embodied dimensions of being-in-the-world, being-in-the-world with others and remembering being-in-the-world.
Research limitations/implications
This paper underscores home culture consumption in migration as an ambivalent embodied experience. Further research should investigate how other types of acculturating consumers experience and negotiate the changing meanings of home.
Practical implications
Marketers in migrant-receiving and migrant-sending cultural contexts should be sensitised to disjunctures in migrants’ embodied experience of consuming home and their role in heightening or mitigating these disjunctures.
Originality/value
This paper helps contribute to consumer acculturation theory in two ways. First, the authors show how migrants experience not only comfort and connection but also displacement, in practices of home culture consumption. Second, the authors show how migrant communities do not only encourage cultural maintenance and gatekeeping but also contribute to cultural identity de-stabilisation.
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The psychological foundations of consumers’ reasons for product choices are analyzed in the field of marketing. The purpose of this research is to identify the implicit reasons…
Abstract
Purpose
The psychological foundations of consumers’ reasons for product choices are analyzed in the field of marketing. The purpose of this research is to identify the implicit reasons for white meat consumption in the UK and Turkey.
Design/methodology/approach
In the scope of the means-end chain theory, in-depth interviews were conducted with individuals, and the reasons for consumers’ product preferences were revealed by moving from concrete to abstract.
Findings
It has been determined that the white meat consumption of Muslims in the UK is primarily shaped by their religious approach. In Turkey, on the contrary, both consumption patterns and reasons for preference are changing. It has been found that white meat consumption is associated with values such as security needs, satisfaction with life, self-fulfillment and happiness.
Research limitations/implications
This research has contributed to the marketing literature by examining consumers’ implicit consumption reasons for white meat in the context of religion and culture.
Practical implications
Marketing strategies should focus on building trust in halal certification, particularly in the UK. Brands should associate their promotion strategies with feelings of security and happiness, which are associated in the minds of consumers.
Originality/value
This study is a new study in terms of revealing the connotations of consumers about consuming chicken and fish and showing the implicit needs that the brands can emotionally associate with.
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Bashar S. Gammoh, Anthony C. Koh and Sam C. Okoroafo
This study aims to extend current research efforts by utilizing the institutional theory to propose cross-cultural-based asymmetrical moderating effects of ethnocentrism and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to extend current research efforts by utilizing the institutional theory to propose cross-cultural-based asymmetrical moderating effects of ethnocentrism and cultural openness on the effectiveness of global, foreign and local consumer culture brand positioning strategies of high-tech products.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used an experimental design in the USA (developed country) and India (developing country). Print advertisements across the two countries were used to explore the proposed moderating effects of ethnocentrism and cultural openness on consumer brand evaluations of a high-tech product under the three different consumer culture brand positioning strategies.
Findings
Overall, this study provided empirical evidence in support of the proposed cross-cultural asymmetrical effects. The study findings indicate that consumer ethnocentrism seems to be more important in influencing a subject’s brand evaluations across the positioning strategies in a developed country like the USA, while consumer cultural openness will be more important in influencing a subject’s brand evaluations across the positioning strategies in a developing country like India.
Originality/value
Despite existing research efforts on the potential benefits of positioning brands using global, foreign or local consumer cultures, there is a lack of empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of these positioning strategies across different cultures. Theoretically, this research draws on the institutional theory to investigate the asymmetrical cross-cultural moderating effects of ethnocentrism and cultural openness on the effectiveness of the three-consumer culture brand positioning strategies. Managerially, this study provides empirically based suggestions for brand managers attempting to position their brands with different segments of consumers while highlighting the importance of cultural differences between developed and developing markets.
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Ewelina Lacka and Nick K.T. Yip
The popularity of e-commerce has increased significantly over recent years. However, this growth is not shared by all European Union states. One reason for this discrepancy is…
Abstract
Purpose
The popularity of e-commerce has increased significantly over recent years. However, this growth is not shared by all European Union states. One reason for this discrepancy is culture which impacts on e-commerce acceptance. The purpose of this paper is to reveal the effect of acculturation process on e-commerce acceptance.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural equation modelling is employed to test three research models: technology acceptance model, theory of planned behaviour model and motivational model.
Findings
The findings show that attitudes towards e-commerce change in relation to the perception of control and the influence of subjective norms, which impact intentions to use e-commerce before movement to a host country’s culture. However, its effect diminishes after the exposure to the influence of a host culture.
Originality/value
This is the first study to demonstrate the existence of the effect of acculturation process on mingling and migrating consumers and their changing attitudes towards e-commerce acceptance.
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Thanaseelen Rajasakran, Santhidran Sinnappan, Thinavan Periyayya and Sridevi Balakrishnan
The purpose of this paper is to propose and develop a distinct perspective from the consumer culture theory in the context of Muslim consumers, marketing and the feminist theory.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose and develop a distinct perspective from the consumer culture theory in the context of Muslim consumers, marketing and the feminist theory.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a critical review of the literature for insights into the consumer culture theory in the context of Muslim consumers, Islamic marketing paradigm and the feminist theory.
Findings
The study suggests that scholars in the area of marketing may consider drawing on the theory of Islamic consumer culture, film and feminist theory. This theory can be used as a platform to understand the Muslim mind and the related cultural traits to create greater engagement and interest in Malaysian horror genres among local and international audience. The Malaysian local horror genres currently have an interesting blend of Islam, local culture and gender biases addressing the universal concept of good against the evil forces, and this has the potential of offering new experiences to especially international audiences.
Research limitations/implications
This study is purely theory-based and is aimed at knowledge development in this field of Islamic consumer culture. It also invites academics to engage in scholarly activities toward theory building in this area.
Practical implications
The study provides directions for areas of possible future research in Islamic marketing, consumer culture and film studies.
Social implications
This study intends to broaden the research efforts in Islamic consumer culture marketing in terms of innovative ways to serve this growing Muslim market.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the discipline by providing new perspectives in Islamic consumer culture inquiry in the context of film studies.
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Soonkwan Hong and Chang‐Ho Kim
The purpose of this study is to present a theoretical framework to demythologize Asian consumers' cultural and ideological narratives in relation to the newly emerging popular…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to present a theoretical framework to demythologize Asian consumers' cultural and ideological narratives in relation to the newly emerging popular culture developed in Korea, widely known as “Korean wave.” In addition, methodological considerations for the understudied consumption phenomenon are also discussed.
Design/methodology/approach
From the extant literature on popular culture and globalization, a theoretical overview of Korean popular culture (KPC) is provided. Subsequently, a condensed presentation of netnography employing critical discourse analysis (CDA) is provided.
Findings
A netnography fused with CDA suggests a reflexive process in which a range of sociocultural tensions in the globalization process of KPC dynamically hybridize and transform into new cultural tastes in respective cultures.
Research limitations/implications
Cultural branding can be revisited, as the new discourse generated in Asia envisions new entries into the global brandscape. Moreover, this endeavor helps explicate how a globalized trend is replaced with another through a paradoxical discursive process.
Originality/value
As this article discusses popular culture as a product to be consumed just as are other tangible products, it assists researchers in visualizing and theorizing about the globalization process of incorporeal, cultural products. The application of discursively enriched netnography facilitates pertinent analysis and ultimately theory‐building.
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Nina Michaelidou, Milena Micevski and Georgios Halkias
The present paper explores how advertisers use consumer culture positioning (CCP) strategies in advertising across countries and product categories.
Abstract
Purpose
The present paper explores how advertisers use consumer culture positioning (CCP) strategies in advertising across countries and product categories.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs a content analysis approach to investigate usage of CCP strategies and symbols across different CCP strategies, countries and product categories. The authors focussed on country of origin (COO) cues as symbols of CCP. The authors collected printed advertisements from countries at different levels of economic development and communication orientation for the content analysis, namely, Austria (n = 182), Hungary (n = 199) and Turkey (n = 120) and products with high- vs low-involvement levels.
Findings
Findings of this study indicated that global consumer culture positioning (GCCP) and local consumer culture positioning (LCCP) advertisements relied more on implicit symbols, while foreign consumer culture positioning (FCCP) advertisements predominantly employed explicit ones. Types of symbols and their utilisation varied across countries and product categories, with language, tag lines/logos and brand names being key components across different advertisements.
Practical implications
The results document the practices of CCP-based advertising, offering important insights on whether and how symbolism can be effectively used for communicating different CCPs across markets.
Originality/value
Little is known in terms of how specific symbols are used to communicate consumers’ culture. In this study, the authors analysed the content of 501 real-print advertisements across multiple countries and product categories. This study contributes to the theory and practice by revealing how consumers’ culture manifests through diverse COO symbols in advertising imagery and by facilitating the application of such manifestations across market contexts.
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Dong Ling Xu‐Priour and Gérard Cliquet
The purpose of this paper is to examine the hypotheses about whether the effects of consumer enjoyment shopping experience, derived from seven aspects of recreational shopping…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the hypotheses about whether the effects of consumer enjoyment shopping experience, derived from seven aspects of recreational shopping (i.e. social aspects of retail environment, service quality, browsing, bargain hunting, social interaction, enduring involvement and brand experience) on consumer attitude towards stores channels are comparable between France and Chinese cosmetic shoppers.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve this objective, a questionnaire of 500 French and 480 Chinese working females were conducted. Both the convergence and habituation theories were applied.
Findings
Results of the multiple regression analysis support the above assumptions and suggest that customer enjoyment shopping experience and its relation with consumer attitudes towards store channels in China tends to be more in line with those in developed countries.
Research limitations/implications
The findings presented are the views of women's in‐store enjoyment shopping experiences in two cities in French and Chinese cosmetic markets. To ensure the generalizability of the findings, other products, consumer groups and regions (i.e. Indian etc.) can be envisaged.
Practical implications
Multinational retailers and cosmetics vendors have to recognize these customer enjoyment shopping experiences in both retail settings. In particular in the Chinese retail market, to improve these experiences so as to achieve positive consumer attitude towards retail outlets and finally strike the deal in this numerous market.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to employ convergent and habituation theory to examine the stability or change of the aforesaid relation between China and France. Hence, it adds to international marketing theory concerning the usefulness of these growing important theories in explaining the comparability between developed countries and developing ones in relation between constructs.
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Cinzia Pinello, Pasquale Massimo Picone and Arabella Mocciaro Li Destri
The motivations behind co-branding alliances, the differences in performance between the paired brands and the emergence of “spillover effects” have been pillars of the marketing…
Abstract
Purpose
The motivations behind co-branding alliances, the differences in performance between the paired brands and the emergence of “spillover effects” have been pillars of the marketing research agenda for almost three decades. We observe an extensive number of studies on co-branding alliances, combined with multiple theoretical perspectives and empirical approaches informing extant literature. The purpose of this paper is to summarize of the state of the art of this research.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors offer a systematic literature review of 190 papers on co-branding alliances. The authors portray a picture of the theories informing co-branding research and build a conceptual framework that summarizes the concepts and variables used in this literature. Finally, 11 interviews with managers and consultants of European firms help to reveal potential problems in practice and needs that are not captured by previous studies.
Findings
The authors develop a map of theories used to investigate co-branding alliances and build a conceptual framework linking motivations, co-branding alliance implementation and outputs. Finally, the authors propose a structured research agenda.
Research limitations/implications
The main implication relies on the structured research agenda.
Practical implications
Practical implications include the identification of the variables and dimensions involved in a brand alliance to exploit the strengths and moderate the weaknesses of a brand.
Originality/value
This paper highlights how co-branding is embedded in different contexts and dimensions regarding both firms and consumers. The two maps presented in this study underscore the interdependence among such dimensions. The authors interview marketing experts to validate the conceptual framework and to help us extract the managerial implications that stem from it.
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