Following brands on Twitter: an extension of theory of planned behavior

Due to its immediacy and efficiency, Twitter has recently emerged as a form of marketing communication tool that offers unique advantages for two-way communication between marketers and consumers. This study examines brand-following behavior on Twitter using the Ajzen's model of theory of planned behavior (TPB). Results show that attitude toward brand following, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and brand attachment are positively associated with intention to follow brands on Twitter. Consumers’ intention to create (i.e., intention to tweet at brands) and disseminate (i.e., intention to retweet the links of brands) brand-related information, as well as purchase intention, are the outcomes of intention to follow brands on Twitter. Overall findings suggest that TPB model can be used to predict Twitter users’ brand-following behavior. More importantly, our finding that brand attachment drives consumer intention to follow brands on Twitter extends the TPB framework. This study provides both theoretical and managerial implications.     

Leadership marketing: an exploratory study

In an era when collaboration is the key to business prosperity, the ability to develop one truly coherent and agile brand lived by its employees and delivered to external stakeholders has become extremely challenging. Unity between the internal brand and a company’s external image, when change is the only constant, has almost ceased to exist. The marketing function is frequently underemphasised at board level and its role is often devalued in leading organisational change. This paper concerns how marketing can partner with organisational leadership for a mutually beneficial exchange of skills and capabilities to be able to reinvent organisations rapidly enough to cope with shifts in the external business environment and create a sustainable future for the business. This paper explores the concept of “leadership marketing” from an interpretivist perspective which challenges the conventional view of marketing and leadership as two separate fields and offers a holistic approach for business management and brand alignment.     

Predictors and effects of retail brand equity – A cross-sectoral analysis

Although retailers increasingly seek to position themselves as strong, attractive, and unique brands, little is known about differences in retail branding among different retail sectors. This study analyzes the importance of perceived retail attributes for consumer-based retail brand equity (RBE), particularly the varying roles of these attributes in important retail sectors, and the effects of RBE on intentional loyalty. The authors examine empirical data on 2112 consumer evaluations of retail firms in the grocery, fashion, electronics, and DIY sectors and apply multi-group structural equation modeling. The results indicate that the importance of retail attributes for RBE varies among the different sectors, but a strong and stable link between RBE and consumers' intentional loyalty is evident across retail sectors. The sector-specific and cross-sectoral observations in this study provide managers with specific knowledge on the main levers of RBE in different retail contexts.     

Factors influencing theme park visitor brand-switching behaviour as based on visitor perception

With the development of theme parks, which represent a multi-million-pound industry worldwide, research investigating the factors affecting theme park visitor brand-switching behaviour is an important method for improving theme park competitiveness. In the present work, models and research hypothesis are constructed based on visitor perception, and the survey data are collected and analysed to assess the hypothesis and to revise the conceptual model in this paper. The results indicate that there are seven factors influencing visitor brand-switching behaviour: ‘visitor variety-seeking', ‘visitor satisfaction', ‘switching cost', ‘perceived value', ‘competitor attraction', ‘theme park image' and ‘visitor involvement'. The perceived value and visitor satisfaction strongly influence brand-switching behaviour as intermediate variables. Visitor variety-seeking and competitor attraction are positively related to visitor brand switching behaviour, whereas the other five factors are negatively related to visitor brand-switching behaviour.     

Brand personality and culture: The role of cultural differences on the impact of brand personality perceptions on tourists' visit intentions

Tourism destinations increasingly use brand-personification strategies to evoke favorable consumer reactions. These reactions, however, may hinge on cultural differences. This paper investigates the relationships among nation brand personality perceptions, consumer brand-self congruity, and the visit intention of a country as a tourism destination. Brand-self congruity is examined as a mediator of the relationship between brand personality perception and visit intention. Of Hofstede's cultural dimensions, individualism and uncertainty avoidance are the most relevant dimensions for brand-self congruity. Based on representative samples of consumers from five countries (Italy, the UK, Czech Republic, Poland, and Russia) and using Slovakia as a sample tourism destination, the effect of individualism and uncertainty avoidance on the relationship between brand self-congruity and visit intention is studied. Individualism and uncertainty avoidance moderate the congruity – visit intention relationship – but in a negative way, contrary to our expectations. Important implications are derived for both tourism research and destination management.     

Social Interaction and Beer Consumption

The aim of this article is to describe young consumers’ attitudes and conduct regarding beer consumption, analyzing the consumer as an individual (addressing internal factors) and in a collective (external factors). The research was designed in Brazil involving 52 participants, divided into 16 focus groups, and the respective data was transcribed and analyzed. The findings show three distinct types of consumers were identified. The authors termed these the Inductor, the Induced, and the Sophisticated. The article details how each type of consumer can be distinguished through different attitudes and factors. The results suggest that, rather than thinking of beer consumption as an individual item, beer consumption should be thought of as different types, involving different behavior, attitudes, and social interaction. The article demonstrates originality and value to put forward the notion that beer consumption should not be defined as an individual item. The framework offered in this article will assist future researchers to consider consumption of different types and brands of beer, based on social interaction.     

品牌背书传播策略的原因分析

文章通过对品牌背书传播策略的描述,提出采用该策略需要深入考虑的因素,如产品组合相关性、品牌发展周期、品牌并购等。     

企业应对劳动力成本增加的品牌战略研究

我国城乡居民人均收入将于2020年翻一番，由此引发的问题是劳动力成本的快速提高。文章在品牌经济学的框架下，分析指出通过品牌战略建设提高产品溢价能力，是企业应对劳动力成本上升的有效手段。通过构建引入选择成本的需求函数，证明了品牌溢价能力与其品牌信用度呈正比关系。在理论分析的基础上，文章提出了应对收入倍增的品牌战略路径，主要包括自主品牌-自主品牌、自主品牌-他人品牌、他人品牌-自主品牌、他人品牌-他人品牌等四种方式。企业可根据实际情况，选择合适路径实现从无品牌到弱势品牌，再到强势品牌的转变。     

基于逆向选择视角下的快递企业品牌建设研究

基于信息不对称性产生的逆向选择一直是微观经济学、信息经济学研究的重点。随着电子商务的蓬勃兴起，我国快递行业发展进入快车道。但是，多数快递企业竞争手段单一，服务单一，不注重品牌建设，集中于低端市场，顾客忠诚度低。本文利用逆向选择模型分析快递市场，指出品牌建设有助于缓解和改善信息不对称性对于企业和消费者的伤害，明确品牌建设对于快递企业的意义和作用。     

基于城市品牌构建的旅游城市竞争力提升研究——以内蒙古旅游城市为例

旅游城市不仅是旅游目的地建设的重点,也是我国旅游业发展和世界旅游强国建设的关键.随着旅游城市之间的竞争不断升级,城市品牌在旅游城市竞争力构成因素中的地位日显重要,城市品牌可以为城市吸引优质竞争资源,获取差异化的竞争优势,为城市发展提供持续的竞争动力.内蒙古的优秀旅游城市也应走品牌化的道路,结合城市自身独特的资源优势,塑造自己的城市品牌,提升旅游城市的竞争力.