Latin American franchise internationalization: The impact of institutional environment

We analyze the internationalization of Brazilian franchise chains in Latin America. A total of 119 observations verify international commitment in each country in relation to institutional environment factors and how they are moderated by chain size and industry. The results show that despite all institutional aspects having a significant effect, their explanatory power depends on chain size. Larger franchise chains usually choose countries with better institutional aspects in terms of contract compliance and business freedom, even if the efficiency of business conditions in these countries are not the best in Latin America. In this study, were used public data from international organizations that report on the ease of doing business, level of corruption, political risk, and legal regulations. Specifically, it contributes by using institutional theory in franchising in order to understand the process of chain internationalization originating from emerging markets. Our results, in part, contradict the idea that the origin disadvantage is always an advantage of internationalization.     

Subverting sustainability: market maintenance work and the reproduction of corporate irresponsibility

ABSTRACT

While marketing’s potential to foster environmental sustainability has been acknowledged in sustainability marketing thinking, we still know little about the forms of organisational conduct through which sustainability recurrently fails to gain traction as a serious agenda in markets. Drawing on recent discussions on corporate irresponsibility and institutional work in markets, this article employs a discourse analysis to examine marketing managers’ strategies to legitimise food waste generation in the organisation of retail. The study highlights three interlinked strategies of institutional work for the subversion of sustainability and thus the reproduction of unsustainable excess production and consumption: the framing of environmental responsibility as risk, cost and consumer choice.     

Social and personal factors influencing green customer citizenship behaviours: The role of subjective norm,internal values and attitudes

Several models have previously been proposed, suggesting factors influencing customers’ citizenship behaviours against the background of the need to care for the environment. The current research sets out to contribute to the conversation by providing an integrated understanding of the extent to which the social factor, subjective norm and the personal factors internal values and attitudes, framed by VABH, may influence green customer citizenship behaviours. A sample of 444 green customers provided insight into these phenomena. The findings indicate that internal values influence green attitudes, which motivate green customer citizenship behaviours. Subjective norm influences both green attitudes and green customer citizenship behaviours and contributed to the largest portion of the variance in green customer citizenship behaviours. Ultimately, the findings present a novel solution for promoting actual green customer citizenship behaviours, through the VABH and additionally advance understanding of the important role other customers perform in influencing green customer citizenship behaviours.     

The impact of internal,external, and competitor factors on marketing strategy performance

ABSTRACT

Strategy formulation is commonly understood as the match between a firm’s internal resources and skills and its external environment. Marketing strategy performance is the function of a dynamic, interactive process incorporating internal firm resources, external environmental factors, and competitive actions. The study aims to assess the impact of competitor actions on marketing strategy performance. We develop a model that accommodates the effects of 29 variables (comprising internal marketing strategy variables, external environmental factors and competitors’ marketing mix variables) on business performance. We empirically test the model using simultaneous equation modelling of time-series data on UK car manufacturers collected from publically available resources and annual reports. The results show that external factors, in particular competitors’ marketing mix elements, have a greater influence on a company’s business performance than internal (marketing and non-marketing) strategy variables. Implications for marketing theory and management are discussed.     

Pro-environmental behaviors for thee but not for me: Green giants,green Gods,and external environmental locus of control

Understanding consumers' allocation of environmental responsibility to external forces (i.e., those perceived to be beyond their direct control) is important yet under-researched. This paper examines how these external attributions affect consumers' pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs). A model of external environmental locus of control (i.e., external-ELOC) is tested, consisting of two superordinate dimensions: powerful-others (encapsulating corporate and government responsibility facets) and chance/fate (incorporating God/higher-power and natural earth-cycle facets). The two higher-order factors negatively associate; such that consumers ascribing environmental responsibility to powerful-others engage in PEBs; whereas those attributing environmental change to chance/fate typically do not. The results inform practical and public policy implications; pinpointing ways for corporations and governments to target their pro-environmental efforts and to sway consumers who share in the ecological burden.     

Exploring consumers’ purchase intention towards green products in an emerging market: The role of consumers’ perceived readiness

Consumers’ awareness of green products has increased in the last few years, but studies show that the demand for green products has been stagnant. The purpose of this study is to explore the roles of consumers’ perceived readiness to be green and subsequently, how readiness to be green affects consumers’ purchase intention towards green products in an emerging market, Indonesia. A total of 916 survey responses were collected in three universities, two major shopping malls and several housing areas in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The findings reveal that consumers’ attitude (ATT), subjective norm, perceived behavioural control (PBC), pro‐environmental self‐identity (PEI), ethical obligation and consumers’ readiness to be green are the determinants of intention to purchase green products. Consumers’ readiness to be green mediates the effects of ATT, PBC, PEI and perceived sense of responsibility on purchase intention. The study provides further insights into the discrepancy between professed positive attitudes towards the environment and the slow uptake of green behaviour in an emerging market.     

The influence of green brand innovativeness and value perception on brand loyalty: the moderating role of green knowledge

Building on arguments relating to the differences between innovation and innovativeness and their influences on brand loyalty, this study investigates how green brand innovativeness and value perception influence green brand loyalty. In addition, the influences of a mediating variable green perceived value (GPV) and a moderating variable (consumer green knowledge) on the development process of green brand loyalty are examined. Data were collected using an online survey administered to a consumer panel in China, and structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the conceptual model with a sample of 826 Chinese respondents. The results demonstrate that green brand innovativeness was directly associated with brand loyalty and indirectly influenced brand loyalty via GPV. Moreover, green knowledge significantly moderated the relationship between green brand innovativeness and GPV. Therefore, to promote green brand loyalty, organizations must allocate resources into enhancing consumers’ perceptions of green brand innovativeness and green value, and improving their environmental knowledge.     

Gender differences in Egyptian consumers’ green purchase behaviour: the effects of environmental knowledge,concern and attitude

This study investigates the influence of three cognitive and attitudinal factors on gender differences in green purchase behaviour. Using a large sample size (n = 1093), a survey has been developed and administered across Egypt. The findings from the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) confirm the influence of consumers’ ecological knowledge, concern and attitude on gender differences in green purchase behaviour. Consistent with previous studies, this study found that women appeared to be less aware of environmental issues compared with men. However, contrary to other studies conducted in the West, men showed more environmental concern and more positive outlook towards green purchase compared with women. The study discusses how the present findings may help policy makers and marketers alike to fine‐tune their environmental and marketing programmes.     

Strategic and institutional effects on foreign IPO performance: Examining the impact of country of origin,corporate governance,and host country effects

Integrating signaling and institutional perspectives, we develop and test hypotheses relating institutions and corporate governance to foreign IPO success. Our investigation highlights the importance of three important drivers of foreign IPO success: home country legal institutions, corporate governance, and host capital market choice. This research demonstrates that board independence and country of origin effects are powerful signals. However, these factors do not have a universal impact on foreign IPO success. Instead, the value of home country institutions along with corporate governance signals are contingent upon the institutional environment in which international entrepreneurs choose to seek capital resources.     

The effect of institutional isomorphic pressure on the internationalization of firms in an emerging economy: evidence from China

This study uses institutional theory to explore the driving force for internationalization of firms in emerging economies. It posits that the internationalization practices of firms are driven not only by efficiency consideration, but also by the desire to conform to institutional isomorphic pressures exerted by the social environment. The impact of three types of institutional isomorphic pressures – coercive pressure, mimetic pressure and normative pressure – on the intensity of internationalization is investigated. Analysis using survey data collected from 174 Chinese firms shows that all three institutional pressures have positive and significant effects on the intensity of internationalization. We also examine the interaction between institutional pressure and firm capability. Results suggest that firm capabilities enhance the effect of coercive pressure on internationalization, and weaken the effect of normative pressure on internationalization.     

Reviewing the reviewers: The impact of individual film critics on box office performance

Critics and their opinions or critical reviews play a major role in many markets. Marketing research on how critics impact product performance has so far examined an aggregate critic effect. An obstacle in studies examining the relationship of aggregate critical opinion and product sales is the close association between the intrinsic quality of a product and the aggregate opinion regarding the product. Our analysis parses out these two effects, allowing us to distinguish individual critics who are simply good at identifying products with popular appeal from those who act as opinion leaders and engender early product sales. The role of critics is especially prominent in the film business, in which one finds multiple expert opinions about each movie and where critics’ endorsements are used in advertising. In the context of the motion picture industry, our research investigates the impact of individual film critics on the market performance of movies, where specific key critics and reviewers may serve as market gatekeepers, and where various critics may have different types of impacts on product performance.

Stakeholder theory and internal marketing communications: a framework for analysing the influence of new media

Effective two‐way communication is widely viewed as an essential component of successful internal marketing strategies, yet little research has so far been conducted on the relative merits of different communication media in an internal marketing context. Since the mid‐1990s Internet technologies have revolutionized internal communications in many organizations. However, the impact of these new forms of electronic media on internal marketing communication remains relatively unexamined. This paper draws on stakeholder and communication theories to provide a framework for understanding the dimensions of effective internal marketing communications and presents the results of an empirical study on the relationship between these dimensions and the use of new media in the workplace.     

Advances in strategic marketing and the advancement of the marketing discipline: the promise of theory

ABSTRACT

Hunt (2018, Advancing marketing strategy in the marketing discipline and beyond: From promise, to neglect, to prominence, to fragment, (to promise?). Journal of Marketing Management, 34, 16–51. doi:10.1080/0267257X.2017.1326973) provides a synthesis and critical review of over 100 years of marketing literature organised into four eras. In his prognosis of the outlook for Era V, Hunt notes that there are reasons to be optimistic about the prospects for both the marketing discipline, broadly, and the field of strategic marketing, specifically. However, he also draws attention to the concerns voiced by a number of marketing scholars regarding the current state of the field and the future outlook for the field. Hunt argues that the prospects for the marketing discipline and the field of strategic marketing are closely intertwined, and that the health of the latter contributes significantly to that of the former. Against this backdrop, this commentary focuses on the promise of theory for advances in strategic marketing and the advancement of the marketing discipline.     

The institutional environment and the number of bank relationships: an empirical analysis of European SMEs

This article examines the association between creditor protection, as measured by the nature of legal rules and the quality of law enforcement, and multiple bank relationships using a unique survey sample of SMEs from 19 European countries. We find that the likelihood of multiple banking is the highest for SMEs in French-civil-law countries, next highest for German-civil-law countries, and the lowest in Scandinavian-civil-law and English-common-law countries. We also find that SMEs in countries with low legal efficiency are more likely to establish multiple bank relationships. These results seems to confirm the underlying idea in the law and finance literature that relevant loan risk for banks also arises from low quality of laws and institutions and not just from firm-specific characteristics. Banks in countries where protection of creditor rights is poor may resort to multiple banking to share this additional risk. Policy makers can use our findings to justify the necessity of improving their institutions by reducing legal formalisms and thereby, lowering the enforcement costs in the courts. This would lead to better loan contracting and enhance the flow of debt capital, which is required for a healthy and dynamic economy.     

Costco and the Aussie Shopper: a case study of the market entry of an international retailer

Retailing is a globalised industry, yet retailers must respond to local shopping habits if they are to be perceived as legitimate by the host country customers. However, some retailers may be unable or unwilling to respond to all customer requirements. Costco, the membership warehouse club retailer, has been successful in its international expansion efforts, establishing its first Australian store in Melbourne in 2009. In the first 12 months of operation, the store became one of Costco's top five stores in the world. We investigated this success by focussing on the customer and used institutional theory to analyse what concessions were made by the customer and the company. Data were collected from consumer interviews, site visits and secondary media and industry sources. Analysis revealed negotiations based on the rejection, acceptance or adaptation of the regulative, normative and cultural cognitive aspects of the Australian shopper and the Costco business model. Customers made concessions to accommodate the new business model, and Costco responded to entrenched Australian shopping habits. This case is the first to explore the outcome of retail internationalisation from the customers' perspective, revealing the concept of mutual concessions. The interaction and subsequent adaptation by both customer and retailer have resulted in the institutionalisation of new shopping norms in the host country and success for the international retailer.     

Marketing through Instagram influencers: the impact of number of followers and product divergence on brand attitude

ABSTRACT

Findings of two experimental studies show that Instagram influencers with high numbers of followers are found more likeable, partly because they are considered more popular. Important, only in limited cases, perceptions of popularity induced by the influencer's number of followers increase the influencer's perceived opinion leadership. However, if the influencer follows very few accounts him-/herself, this can negatively impact popular influencers’ likeability. Also, cooperating with influencers with high numbers of followers might not be the best marketing choice for promoting divergent products, as this decreases the brand's perceived uniqueness and consequently brand attitudes.     

The impact of formal and informal institutional distances on MNE corporate social performance

Can host country selection affect the corporate social performance (CSP) of multinational enterprises (MNEs)? Using institutional distance as our theoretical lens, we propose and empirically examine the notion that greater institutional diversity can have disparate influences on the social performance of different types of MNEs. We conceptualize each MNE as a unique portfolio of locations and use that “footprint” to examine the impact of formal and informal institutional distances on CSP. We hypothesize and find (1) a moderating influence of greater formal institutional distance in the MNE portfolio that slows the rate of increased benefits associated with greater international scope; and (2) a direct influence of greater informal institutional distance that lowers the overall levels of CSP independent of the international scope of the MNE. Managerial implications for international location selection are discussed.     

A processual theory of green identity formation: the case of young environmentalists in Australia

Using image‐elicited, depth interviews, this qualitative study explores green consumption practices among 20 young environmentalists, aged between 18 and 25 years, in an Australian city with a view to examine how various identity formations reside in their narratives. The study's findings strongly support the applicability of Cherrier and Murray's four‐stage processual theory of identity (sensitization, separation, socialization, striving) to understand young environmentalist's formation of a green identity. The study also develops an emergent processual theory of green identity formation, which encompasses four main stages of control, create, compromise and customize. Each stage corresponds to how the young environmentalists position and negotiate their formative green identities, including first enacting control about their identity; creating their new identity in relation to existing green identity projects; compromising their new identity as it is practiced and socialized in their lives; and finally, customizing their identity as they frame, situate and align personal, social and cultural influences about consumption and their identity. The findings inform green policy makers and institutions working towards building a green consumer society involving young consumers.     

The impact of individual and managerial factors on salespeople's contribution to marketing intelligence activities

Although salespersons represent a unique and important channel of information, few of them contribute efficiently to marketing intelligence. This research aims to understand how salespeople's motivation and effort to gather and transmit marketing intelligence to management may be influenced by individual (organizational commitment, desire for upward mobility) and managerial (control system, participation in decision making, feedback, recognition) factors. The test of the proposed model shows that desire for upward mobility is the only individual determinant of behavior. Other than participation in decision making, all the managerial factors play influential roles in structuring both motivation and behavioral effort toward marketing intelligence by salespeople. The authors also discuss the limits of the model, some managerial implications, and future research opportunities.     

The impact of technology on the Arab communication style and culture: Implications for marketing

‘Culture is communication and communication is culture,’ as Hall (1976, Beyond culture, Garden City, NY: Anchor Books, Doubleday) reminds us. The main purpose of this paper was to assess the impact of technology on the Arab communication style. The Internet is a unique environment with particular characteristics that might cause shifts in people's communication styles. The setting/context of online communication is very different from face-to-face communication and thus assumptions about communication styles need to be reexamined. The data analysis indicates that significant changes to the Arab culture are taking place and these changes are likely to have an impact on marketing practices in the region.