What drives Gen Y loyalty? Understanding the mediated moderating roles of switching costs and alternative attractiveness in the value-satisfaction-loyalty chain

Generational theory presumes that generational cohorts develop similar attitudes and beliefs with regard to their market behaviors. This study examined the attitudes and beliefs of the Gen Y members towards mobile Internet service providers (MISPs). Gen Yers have the highest adoption of mobile Internet. They are also the most value-conscious, least satisfied and loyal customers compared with all other generations. This study therefore proposed a research model to elucidate the relationship between perceived value, satisfaction, switching costs (SC), alternative attractiveness (AA) and loyalty, and tested it using empirical data collected from 417 Gen Y mobile Internet subscribers. The results indicated that perceived value significantly influenced the satisfaction of Gen Y customers and, in turn, their loyalty towards MISPs. The results also confirmed the existence of mediators and moderators in the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty. Both SC and AA proved to be partial mediators, whereas AA was a moderator. Further, it was found that the moderating effect of AA on the association between customer satisfaction and loyalty was contingent upon the mediating effect of SC. Finally, the implications of these findings are delineated.     

Where does ESG pay? The role of national culture in moderating the relationship between ESG performance and financial performance

This study investigates the moderating role of a country’s culture as an external contingency factor in the relationship between a firm’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and financial performance. Using ESG performance data of 4978 firms from 48 countries for 17 years, we argue that the financial return from engaging in ESG varies depending on the countries’ cultural aspects because stakeholder evaluations and appreciations for a firm’s ESG performance differ across nations. We find that a country that espouses a culture of high individualism or masculinity tends to appreciate and reflect on this more explicitly, strengthening the relationship between a firm’s ESG performance and financial performance. Contrastingly, in a country with a culture of high power distance or uncertainty avoidance, firms’ ESG efforts are less likely to be associated with financial performance. Our findings have important implications for multinational enterprises facing various cultural environments when dealing with heterogeneous stakeholder demands across countries.     

The moderating roles of perceived complementarity and substitutability on the perceived manufacturing difficulty–extension attitude relationship

The extant brand extension literature shows a curvilinear relationship between consumers' perceived difficulty of manufacturing the brand extension and their attitude towards the extension. This paper advances this research area by investigating the moderating roles of consumption-fit dimensions. Specifically, this research examines how the perceptions of the product extension's complementarity and substitutability affect the relationship between perceived difficulty of manufacturing the extension and extension attitude. To test these relationships, the study uses a four-country sample comprising of both graduate and undergraduate students. Study results demonstrate that perceived complementarity helps easy-to-make extensions while hurting difficult-to-make extensions, but perceived substitutability hurts extension attitude. These findings advance theory and offer managerial implications. Product and brand managers need to consider the joint effects of consumption fit and extension difficulty while using brand extension strategies.     

Logistics service quality and buyer–customer relationships: the moderating role of technology in B2B and B2C contexts

Logistics service quality (LSQ) concentrates on the results of the company's performance in the process of bringing merchandise and information from the company's warehouse to customers' home. There is neither consensus about its dimensions nor on how it might be influenced by technological solutions. The present article aims at identifying the main antecedents of LSQ, examining the influence of technology and its effects in terms of customer commitment and loyalty in B2B and B2C contexts. As a result, similar patterns are observed in the relationships of LSQ–commitment–loyalty with mixed evidence about the moderating role of information technology.     

The entrepreneurial orientation–performance relationship in private family firms: the moderating role of socioemotional wealth

Drawing on socioemotional wealth (SEW) literature, this paper revisits the established entrepreneurial orientation (EO)–performance relationship in a family business context. The main idea in entrepreneurship literature is that EO leads to increased firm performance. We question this logic in a family business context because family related non-financial goals, like SEW, may prevent the firm to reap the fruits of their entrepreneurial efforts. Specifically, we argue that SEW engenders inefficiencies that place constraints on the realization of the benefits of entrepreneurship. Therefore, we propose that a high level of SEW preservation hinders the transmission of the family firm’s EO into positive performance effects. To test this hypothesis, an empirical study was developed using a sample of 232 Belgian private family firms. Robust linear regression analysis reveals that the positive effect of EO on financial performance decreases as the level of SEW preservation increases.     

Institutional distance and the quality of the headquarters–subsidiary relationship: The moderating role of the institutionalization of headquarters’ practices in subsidiaries

Through the lens of the institutional theory, we developed and empirically tested a contingency theoretical framework that examines the effects of formal and informal institutional distances on the quality of the headquarters–subsidiary relationship, and how such effects are contextualized by internal institutionalization of headquarters’ practices in subsidiaries of Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs). Data were collected from both the headquarters of 297 Chinese MNEs and their respective subsidiaries. The results show that regulative and cultural distances are positively associated with the quality of the headquarters–subsidiary relationship, and that these positive relationships are stronger when subsidiaries institutionalize headquarters’ practices to a higher degree. Theoretical and practical implications are highlighted in the paper.     

A double-edged sword? The moderating effects of control on firm capabilities and institutional distance in explaining foreign affiliate performance

By drawing from the internalisation and institutional theories, as well as the organisational capability perspective, the paper analyses the moderating effects of parent control over foreign affiliates in relation to firm capabilities and institutional distance and their performance effects. These relationships are explored in the context of new MNEs from Poland as a mid-range emerging economy, for which ownership choices constitute critical decisions given their early stage of internationalisation. Our findings show that while firm capabilities drive foreign affiliate performance, the increase of parent control limits this beneficial effect, suggesting the potential occurrence of organisational inertia and reduction of learning in foreign markets. On the contrary, we also find partial evidence that the increase of parent control reduces the negative effect of institutional distance computed based on the Mahalanobis formula. Accordingly, the study suggests a certain ambiguity of parent control in affecting affiliate performance.     

How does R&D internationalization in multinational firms affect their innovative performance? The moderating role of international collaboration in the energy industry

This paper examines the effects of the degree and geographic diversification of a firm’s R&D internationalization on its innovative performance. We use an unbalanced panel dataset of 401 observations from 110 multinational firms operating in the energy industry over a period of six years to support the argument that both the degree and the geographic diversification of a firm’s R&D internationalization have an inverted U-shaped relationship with a firm’s innovative performance. Our results also show that collaboration among R&D units located in different countries moderates this relationship by reducing both the positive effects and the challenges of the degree of R&D internationalization. This paper extends the emerging innovation focus in the headquarters–subsidiary literature by contributing to our understanding of the implications of the international R&D activities of firms and supports the utilization of social exchange theory in order to identify the moderating influence of the collaboration among a firm’s R&D units located in different countries.     

Strategic policy revisited: The origins of mass production in the motor industry of Argentina,Korea and Spain, 1945–87

During the postwar ‘golden age’ of economic growth, Argentina, Korea and Spain promoted the development of their motor industries by restricting imports, licensing investment, imposing a high level of local sourcing for parts, and supporting their own national champions. These strategic policies took advantage of economies of scale, achieving significant increases in output, and creating dynamic competitive advantage. Sudden liberalisation or the high volatility of the macroeconomic environment could jeopardise the process of structural change. Gradual evolution of policy-making and the cumulative learning of capabilities by the national champions were crucial for long-term success. The present research supports both List's classical defence of protection for infant industries in medium–large economies and more recent claims in favour of strategic policy.     

Do as the large enterprises do?: Expatriate selection and overseas performance in emerging markets: The case of Taiwan SMEs

This study investigated the less explored expatriation practices of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets. Data for 133 Taiwan SMEs operating in Malaysia and Vietnam revealed that four personality traits of expatriates, i.e., control ability, independence, openness and social ability exert significant influences on overseas performance given that different types of performance require different of expatriate competency. Analytical results also indicated that the widely perceived influence of the favorable evaluation of the expatriate by top managers does not impact the overseas performance of expatriates. Further, the expatriate practices of Taiwan SMEs vary depending on cultural differences between the home country and host countries. Taken together, the findings of this study have valuable implications for both academicians and practitioners in international management.     

Customer-perceived value and loyalty: how do key service quality dimensions matter in the context of B2C e-commerce?

This paper develops a research model to examine the effect of e-service quality dimensions on customer-perceived value and customer loyalty. Based on a survey of 235 online customers, we identify five key e-service quality dimensions: care, reliability, products portfolio, ease of use, and security. Our empirical results show that all the five dimensions have significant and positive impacts on customer-perceived value which, in turn, increases customer loyalty. We further examine the mediating role of customer-perceived value in the relationship between each e-service quality and customer loyalty. The results suggest that customer-perceived value plays a partially mediating role in the effect of ease of use, care, product portfolio, and reliability on customer loyalty, and a fully mediating role in the relationship between security and customer loyalty. Managers may be in a position to benefit by employing the model presented in this study in an effort to improve service performance and, hence, retain customers.