Religion,humanism, marketing,and the consumption of socially responsible products,services, and ideas: Introduction to a special topic section

This introduction to the special issue provides an overview and brief summary of the eight articles that follow and take up the issue's theme. Despite the fact that religion and religious world views exert considerable influence on consumer attitudes and behavior, mainstream business journals have presented little research that explores the relationship between religion and marketing. Articles featured in this special issue examine three themes of interest: (1) the influence of strongly held religious or non-religious world views on the marketing of socially responsible behaviors; (2) how religious world views influence the conduct of marketing; and (3) what marketing scholars can learn from the marketing practices of various religious organizations. The authors extend a note of appreciation to the reviewers of the many papers submitted to the issue and to the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Business Research, Arch Woodside.     

Deans’ Forum on the Globalization of Business Education and Development: Reflections and Directions for the Future

In this special issue of the Journal of Teaching in International Business, a number of deans reflect on the growth and development in global business education and development. The objective of the special issue is to provide insight into where the field originated and where it needs to move to continue advancement. Seven articles, written by current and former business school deans and their colleagues, are presented from a strategic perspective that cover the curricular, research, and business community outreach issues as they relate to international business academic and professional development programs. Through the presentation and discussion of these related issues, a dialogue will be started to set the agenda for continued advancement and sustainability of international business education across the globe.     

Market entry into Africa: Acquisitions and international joint ventures. Studies of foreign firms' market entry strategies,challenges, and performance in Africa

While the interest in investing in Africa is rising, the know‐how of business on the continent is very limited. There have been only recently few special issues focusing on sub‐Saharan Africa in the top international business journals: “Sub‐Saharan Africa at a key inflection point” (Thunderbird International Business Review 2009); “Contemporary developments in the management of human resources in Africa” (Journal of World Business 2011); “Contemporary challenges and opportunities of doing business in Africa” (Journal of Technological Forecasting and Social Change 2016); “Critical perspectives on international business in Africa (Critical Perspectives on International Business 2016); “Strategic Management in Africa (Global Strategy Journal, 2017); and “The internationalization of African firms (Thunderbird International Business Review 2016). The aim of this special issue is to advance understanding of international business in Africa and specifically focus on how foreign firms enter African markets via acquisitions and international joint ventures and extend knowledge of these market entry strategies and performance in Africa for research and for foreign firms intending to, or currently doing business in Africa. This guest editorial provides a summary of the five articles and one book review in this special issue categorized into three broad thematic issues: International joint ventures and acquisitions as market entry strategies in Africa; cross‐border investments of African firms; and theoretical underpinnings.     

An overview of Web 2.0 social capital: a cross-cultural approach

This is an introductory paper for this Special Issue on Web 2.0 Social Capital. We present a general discussion of motivations for and barriers to applying an Enterprise 2.0 approach. Focus then shifts to the specific fields of knowledge sharing and e-commerce. The article continues with an examination of social capital 2.0 issues. Discussion centers on the employee’s perspective of using Web 2.0 applications and on the adoption of corporate Web 2.0 tools for collaboration. Finally, the paper presents a brief background for each of the topics covered in the five articles selected for this special issue on Web 2.0 social capital.     

Trademarks in branding: Legal issues and commercial practices

Abstract

The call for a special symposium on ‘The Brand and Its History’ has led to two journal issues that focus on trademarks and brands, respectively. This issue is devoted to trademarks, the more concrete, well-documented, and measurable aspect of brands. This editorial introduces trademark studies; summarises previous contributions from economic, legal, business, and historical literature; provides a short overview of the topics and findings of the seven articles included in this issue; and reflects on further research.     

Beer,brewing, and business history

Abstract

This editorial introduces the eight articles in the special issue on ‘Beer, brewing and business history’. Following the BEERONOMICS conference held at the University of York, 2013, and the subsequent approval of the editorial board of Business History, we received many submissions discussing beer, brewing, and their importance to business history (broadly defined). In this editorial we provide a brief overview of the historical development of beer and brewing; explain the appeal to business historians of the principal themes which have emerged in the historiography of this industry, and provide a short introduction to the articles accepted for publication in this special issue.     

Google,Human Rights,and Moral Compromise

International business faces a host of difficult moral conflicts. It is tempting to think that these conflicts can be morally resolved if we gained full knowledge of the situations, were rational enough, and were sufficiently objective. This paper explores the view that there are situations in which people in business must confront the possibility that they must compromise some of their important principles or values in order to protect other ones. One particularly interesting case that captures this kind of situation is that of Google and its operations in China. In this paper, I examine the situation Google faces as part of the larger issue of moral compromise and integrity in business. Though I look at Google, this paper is just as much about the underlying or background views Google faces that are at work in business ethics. In the process, I argue the following: First, the framework Google has used to respond to criticisms of its actions does not successfully or obviously address the important ethical issues it faces. Second, an alternative ethical account can be presented that better addresses these ethical and human rights questions. However, this different framework brings the issue of moral compromise to the fore. This is an approach filled with dangers, particularly since it is widely held that one ought never to compromise one’s moral principles. Nevertheless, I wish to propose that there may be a place for moral compromise in business under certain conditions, which I attempt to specify.     

International business,innovation and ambidexterity: A micro-foundational perspective

Research on international business and innovation has accumulated a vast body of knowledge which has assisted in comprehending complex international management issues in diverse international settings. Yet, the existing studies have not paid sufficient attention to the multifaceted aspects of innovation and ambidexterity. We join the conversation with international business and innovation by suggesting that investigating the micro-foundations from a multidisciplinary perspective situated in varying international contexts can advance our collective understandings of the phenomena in important ways. This paper has three general objectives. First, we show that innovation and ambidexterity has been a long-standing issue in international management and business studies and provide an overview of the puzzles that underpin and trigger this special issue. Second, we highlight the key insights and contributions of the papers included in this special issue by reviewing their theoretical underpinnings, methodological approaches and findings. Finally, we outline a future research agenda that can help advance on international business and innovation research.     

Corporate Moral Agency: Review and Implications

The debate concerning corporate moral agency is normally conducted through philosophical arguments in articles which argue from only one point of view. This paper summarises both the arguments for and against corporate moral agency and concludes from this that the arguments in favour have more weight. The paper also addresses the way in which the law in the U.K. and the U.S.A. currently views this issue and shows how it is supportive of the concept of corporate moral agency. The paper concludes by considering the implications of the debate for business ethics in general, and stakeholder theory and virtue ethics in particular.     

Managing cross-border knowledge transfer for innovation: An introduction to the special issue

This introduction to the special issue maps the extant research on managing crossborder knowledge for innovation and classifies it into four clusters: knowledge spillovers and location, international alliances and R&D networks, knowledge transfer and absorptive capacity, and learning organization and capabilities. The eleven articles that compose the special issue are introduced, and a future agenda for international business research is proposed.     

Introduction to the special issue of the 3rd International Colloquium on design,branding and marketing

Following the inaugural 1st International Colloquium on Global Design and Marketing that took place in 2011, the organisers wrote that ‘Notwithstanding the centrality of design to the practical world of marketing, …empirical studies of design issues are rare in marketing journals’ (Melewar, Dennis and Kent, 2014, p2241 citing (e.g.) Bloch, 2011; and Luchs & Swan, 2011). Since then, iterations of the Colloquium with associated journal special issues and books have been addressing this issue and developing the new sub-discipline of design | branding | marketing. This special issue of the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services contains a set of four articles that were selected after several rounds of evaluations and were presented during the 3rd International Colloquium on Design, Branding and Marketing. The symposium was hosted by Bournemouth University from 5 to 6 April 2017. The articles cover topics that deal with retail design, retail strategy, and adoption of innovation and retail education, while contributing to the theoretical perspectives of design, branding and marketing.     

A Challenge in Our Time: Issues of Race in Supply Chain Management

This editorial addresses one of the greatest challenges of our time—racial inequality. Logistics and supply chain management (SCM) factor prominently in people’s everyday experiences, as consumers of products and logistics services as well as through participation in logistics and supply chain workforces. These everyday experiences can be quite disparate depending on one’s race. As academics, we have a responsibility to peel back the layers of how these issues of race and diversity impact and interact with supply chain phenomena. This editorial is intended to bolster conversation around these issues. We identify compelling themes that merit consideration and, perhaps, deeper investigation, including race as an individual difference variable in our research, race in SCM talent and leadership, and race and racism in SCM execution. We also call for more research that addresses racial inclusion and equal access in other aspects of SCM in light of its far-reaching influence in the realms of business and society. The time has come to address these pervasive issues affecting organizations and individuals. We also introduce the articles appearing in the current issue of the journal.     

Advances in internet consumer behavior and marketing strategy: Introduction to the special issue

This second special issue of the Journal of Business Research on Internet consumer behavior features twelve articles selected from the papers submitted following a call for submissions issued in January 2008. They cover topics related to advances in internet consumer behavior and marketing strategy, and the contributions are regrouped into four broad categories: influence of trust and role of virtual communities; understanding the role of electronic word-of-mouth; understanding consumer reactions to pricing on the internet; consumer issues in marketing strategy. It concludes with future research directions.     

Measuring moral judgment: The Moral Judgment Interview or the Defining Issues Test?

This paper compares and contrasts two distinct techniques for measuring moral judgment: The Moral Judgment Interview and the Defining Issues Test. The theoretical foundations, accompanying advantages and limitations, as well as appropriate usage of these methodologies are discussed. Adaptation and use of the instruments for business ethics research is given special attention.Dawn Elm is currently an Assistant Professor of Management at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dr. Elm has written and published articles on ethical decision-making, moral reasoning, defining and measuring honesty, and women's studies and ethics. She also has research interests in socialization to work, gender bias imagery in teaching business, and parental leave policies.James Weber is currently an Assistant Professor of Management at Marquette University. He has published articles focusing on managerial values and moral reasoning, teaching of ethics, and methodological issues in business ethics research inResearch in Corporate Social Performance and Policy, Human Relations, Business Ethics Quarterly, and Journal of Business Ethics.     

Free samples, profits, and welfare: The effect of market structures and behavioral modes

This paper addresses an important and underresearched issue in the economics and marketing literatures: what are the managerial and social consequences when firms use business models that are based on the dissemination of free samples? We develop an analytical model of free samples for both digital and physical goods that addresses three fundamental managerial and social questions. First, what is the effect of different market structures (i.e., monopoly and oligopoly) and cost structures on optimal marketing policy and prices? Second, what is the effect of different behavioral modes on prices and free samples? Third, how do different market structures and behavioral modes affect social welfare?The main conclusion is that a number of standard results do not hold when firms have the option of selling products and of distributing free samples. For example, the optimal strategy for oligopolists who produce homogeneous goods and coordinate their marketing policies is to increase - not decrease - the quantity of sold output. Similarly, under well-defined cost and demand conditions, monopoly can lead to a socially inferior outcome to competition. From a policy viewpoint, the managerial and social welfare implications of free samples depend on the type of market structure (monopoly or oligopoly) and the behavioral modes chosen by the firms in an industry (e.g., whether to coordinate their free sample policies or to behave non-cooperatively).     

Advancing the country image construct: Reply to Samiee's (2009) commentary

This article responds to the issues Samiee (2010-this issue) raises in his recent comment on Roth and Diamantopoulos (2009). The overall focus of the criticism (Samiee, 2010-this issue) on the missing critical considerations of the study is somewhat surprising. Samiee (2010-this issue) criticizes Roth and Diamantopoulos (2009) not on what they did but on what they did not do. Such criticism would, at least in principle, be justifiable if directed at omissions that are directly relevant to the core construct of Roth and Diamantopoulos' (2009) paper, namely the country image (CoI) construct. However, most of the critical issues Samiee (2010-this issue) raises apply to research on country-of-origin (CoO) effects in general and not to Roth and Diamantopoulos' (2009) study that provides concrete guidelines on how to conceptualize and operationalize CoI in future research. This response first highlights how Roth and Diamantopoulos' (2009) study, centering on the CoI construct, differs from studies on the CoO effect. The article then directly addresses the specific critical issues Samiee (2010-this issue) raises and also discusses the relevance of CoI and CoO research. The paper concludes by suggesting that, while demanding rigor in CoO and CoI research is indeed timely and important, completely rejecting this research stream is both premature and unwise.     

Introduction: Special issue on advances in brand management

This special issue of the Journal of Business Research contains 13 articles presented at the Spring 2007 Thought Leaders International Conference on Brand Management. Following a blind reviewing process 69 papers were presented at the conference then authors were invited to revise their papers for inclusion consideration for this special issue. A further round of blind reviewing resulted in the selection of those 13 articles. This introduction presents a review of the research into brand management.     

International entrepreneurship in universities: Context,emergence and actors

This special issue presents an opportunity to explore the international aspects of academic and university based international entrepreneurship. Over the last decades much research attention has been focused on university spin-off firms (USOs) on issues such as, creation, risk, strategies and performance (see Druilhe and Garnsey, 2004; Link and Scott, 2005; Lockett and Wright, 2005; Walter et al, 2006; Wright et al., 2006). There has been a dearth of studies that have examined the international dimensions and aspects of university-based spin-off firms. The six articles presented in this special issue point towards interesting future research agendas at the interface between academic and international entrepreneurship. Three core themes emerge from this special issue: Context, Emergence and Actors. In sum, this special issue pinpoints: firstly, specific features of universities and research organizations as contexts for international technology entrepreneurship; secondly, the process of organizational emergence and entrepreneurial cognition; and thirdly, insight into learning processes of USOs and the role of non-academic actors. Our article concludes by identifying future avenues of research.