An investigation into the perceptions of Chinese consumers towards the country‐of‐origin of dairy products

The dairy incident in 2008 influenced Chinese residents’ attitudes towards domestic and foreign brands in the market. This paper highlights the strong consumer perceptions existing in the Chinese dairy market towards the country of origin of dairy products. Chinese residents generally believe dairy products from foreign countries are superior than those from China. A new theoretical framework is developed to explore the driving factors of country‐of‐effects and its corresponding impacts. Consumers’ image of different countries and national stereotypes, consumer ethnocentrism and animosity, product familiarity and experience, product involvement and some cultural value differences were found to drive country‐of‐origin effects. These effects directly impact on consumer's perceived quality, brand awareness, brand association and loyalty towards the related goods in the market, then influence the brand equity of products from different countries. This study provides a better understanding of country‐of‐origin effects on consumer behaviour, and will help relevant domestic and foreign firms improve their business strategies in China.     

Abundant rarity: The key to luxury growth

Although Western economies have not yet transitioned out of crisis, the luxury sector is growing again, especially at the high end. In emerging countries, the luxury sector's expansion has reached double digits. However, as luxury products continue to penetrate global markets, the prestige of brands like Louis Vuitton has not declined at all. This seems at odds with the concept of luxury being tied to rarity and exclusivity. Thus, how can we reconcile these facts with theory? In order to capture mounting demands—not only from extraordinary people, but also from ordinary individuals—luxury brands enact virtual rarity tactics, construct themselves as art, and adopt a fashion business model while deemphasizing exceptional quality and country of origin. Rarity of ingredients or craft has been replaced by qualitative rarity. Further, the cult of the designer is a potent tool in building emotional connections with a vast number of clients. Today, brands in the luxury sector are actually selling symbolic and magic power to the masses. There exists a culture gap between Asia and the West; namely, Asian consumers feel safer buying prestigious Western brands with which individuals around them are familiar. The insights offered herein provide clues for entrepreneurs attempting to launch luxury brands.     

Counterfeiting: Friend or Foe of Luxury Brands? An Examination of Chinese Consumers’ Attitudes Toward Counterfeit Luxury Brands

ABSTRACT

While the Chinese luxury industry is enjoying rapid growth, the market for counterfeit luxury brands is growing equally fast. There are contradictory views regarding the role counterfeit luxury brands play in the marketplace. Luxury brand owners denounce counterfeit luxury products for harming the reputation of luxury brands and reducing their profitability. Others believe that the availability of counterfeit luxury products may help increase the brand awareness of luxury names and thereby make authentic products more sought after. In this study, we examine the impact of counterfeit luxury products from the consumers’ standpoint. Specifically, the authors investigate whether and how Chinese consumers with different luxury consumption experiences view counterfeit luxury products differently. The study contributes to a better understanding of Chinese consumers’ attitudes toward counterfeit luxury products and thus helps marketers and policy makers develop more effective strategies for dealing with the issue.     

Country of Origin Association in Retail and Wholesale Branding

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to consider country of origin in terms of its association with brand heritage and its implications in fashion branding, thus providing a new perspective within the context of retail and wholesale brands. This qualitative study demonstrates how country of origin is widely used as a communicative tool by retail and wholesale brands, associated with brand heritage. However, the way country of origin is manifested and/or associated (e.g., brand name, color, etc.) varies depending on a brand's history, positioning, brand value, and the type of market sector that the retail and wholesale brands are targeting.     

Visual strategies of luxury and fast fashion brands on Instagram and their effects on user engagement

This study aims to examine what makes the image content of fashion brands successful on Instagram, while comparing between luxury and fast fashion brands. A quantitative analysis of a massive collection of fashion photos posted by notable luxury and fast fashion brands was therefore conducted to identify specific patterns in these images based on four important visual content variables: the use of a brand name, brand logo, text, and hashtag. This study also examined how user engagement levels vary depending on each visual content variable. This study made several interesting findings: (1) luxury brand images with logos and brand names had higher user engagement whereas fast fashion brand images did not show this same trend; (2) the size of the brand name and logo in an image was negatively related to the user engagement or had no effect, regardless of the brand category; and (3) the use of embedded text within an image positively influenced user engagement for luxury brands whereas it negatively influenced user engagement for fast fashion brands.     

Co-creating value for luxury brands

The global market for luxury brands has witnessed dramatic growth over the last two decades but the current challenging economic environment contributes to the difficulty brand owners experience in ensuring that customers perceive sufficient value in their luxury brands to compensate for the high prices. According to recent service-oriented research, customers and suppliers co-create value as a result of a shift from a firm- and product-centric view of value creation to one that focuses on personalized brand experiences. In this paper, the authors develop a theoretical framework of types of value for luxury brands, and use case study research to identify processes of value creation in this particular setting. The findings highlight the variety of interactions taking place between luxury brand owners, their customers and members of their respective networks, which help to differentiate luxury brands and co-create a superior value proposition.     

Collaborating for success: managerial perspectives on co-branding strategies in the fashion industry

Abstract

This article investigates the nature of co-branded relationships within the fashion industry. Existing co-branding literature focuses heavily on consumer evaluations, and many studies explore FMCG and electronics markets, within which ingredient co-branding is common. When two brands from the fashion industry collaborate, both brands exist independently and do not rely on ‘ingredients’ for developing a new product and, therefore, presenting an opportunity for exploring the drivers and types of relationships that could exist. This study adopts an interpretive method of investigation using in-depth interviews with brand managers. Findings provide empirical support for value creation through different relationship levels (such as brand/awareness co-branding, values endorsement and complementary competence co-branding) while highlighting some challenges and risks for co-branding in practice. This article discusses implications for theory development and practice and highlights avenues for future research.     

Enhancing brand coolness through perceived luxury values: Insight from luxury fashion brands

Consumers of luxury brands have been described as seekers of products that can offer a signaling value to present to others but also a value for their self-concepts in an existentialist spirit potentially linked to being “cool or not.” Prior studies have conceptualized brand coolness and evaluated its impact on consumer responses to brands. However, few studies have contextualized the construct of brand coolness concerning luxury brand realism. We assessed the semiotic tension that luxury brand consumers feel between self-concept and self-presentation to others via a theoretical consideration of four antecedents of brand coolness: individual, social, financial, and functional luxury values; and one intentional outcome such as consumers' passionate desire to use luxury fashion brands. Our findings indicated that luxury values positively influence brand coolness, and brand coolness positively influences passionate desire. We further confirmed that brand coolness plays a complementary mediating role between luxury values and passionate desire. A final contribution is to invite brand managers to consider how luxury values and brand coolness might be used proactively to drive consumers' passionate desires in the relationships with luxury fashion brands.     

Dimensions of Luxury Brand Personality: Scale Development and Validation

Both the marketing industry and academia have been paying more attention to the growth and potential of the luxury market. This research developed a theoretical framework for understanding the dimensions of luxury brand personality and a reliable and valid scale that measures these dimensions. When 30 luxury brands, ranging from fashion to automobile and retail, were assessed on a set of diverse personality attributes, six dimensions representing luxury brand personality were identified: Excitement, Sincerity, Sophistication, Professionalism, Attractiveness, and Materialism. Findings indicate that while three dimensions, Sincerity, Excitement, and Sophistication, share similar qualities with those identified in Aaker's (1997) scale for general brand personality, the other three dimensions, Professionalism, Attractiveness, and Materialism, reflect meanings unique and specific to luxury brands. Altogether, the results of this research hold the notion that luxury brands serving as consumption symbols provide both utilitarian benefits and symbolic meanings to contemporary consumers.     

The effect of distribution channel diversification of foreign luxury fashion brands on consumers’ brand value and loyalty in the Korean market

The purpose of this research is to examine South Korean consumers’ brand value and brand loyalty toward foreign luxury fashion brands and current distribution channels for those brands (i.e., Department stores/Specialty stores, Factory outlet, Internet retailing, TV home shopping). Furthermore, this research examines the impact of channel diversification on consumers’ brand value and brand loyalty toward foreign luxury fashion brands. This study employed a quantitative research method. Factor analysis, ANOVA, Duncan test, and multiple regression analysis were employed to test the hypotheses. When testing brand values for each channel diversification case, participants evaluated brand value differently depending on the type of distribution channel. Participants did not show significantly different brand loyalty depending on distribution diversification cases. When the influence of brand value on brand loyalty was tested, different brand values affected brand loyalty depending on the type of distribution channel. Also, this research could suggest possible distribution channel options for foreign luxury brands to be successful in the Korean market and values they need to put an importance depending on the retail types. In addition, foreign luxury brands could apply the results of this study to their own markets.     

The transformation of global luxury brands: The case of the Swiss watch company Longines, 1880–2010

Abstract

This article discusses the transformation of global brands between the 1880s and the early twenty-first century, through the example of the Swiss watch company Longines. It shows that the concept of ‘global brand’ changed over time and was related to the nature of the product. Until the 1970s, luxury was linked to precision. Manufacturers focused on the production of movements and adapted the design of end products to each market. Yet the paradigm shift brought about by electronics led to a new definition of luxury during the 1990s, a change which led to a new generation of global brands.     

Servbrand Framework: A Business-To-Business Services Brand Equity Framework

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The research reported on here set out to develop a tailored branding model for business to business (B-to-B) services by applying the brand resonance pyramid to a selected B-to-B services context.

The brand resonance pyramid was developed based on research that was predominantly consumer product or individual brand oriented, though one of the objectives when the model was developed was that “the model had to be versatile and applicable to all possible kinds of brands and industry settings. As more diverse applications of branding continued to emerge for products, services, organizations, people, places, and so forth, the model needed to have far-ranging relevance”. The brand resonance pyramid therefore had to be applicable to any context, including B-to-B services contexts. However, consumer goods branding strategies are not directly transferable to B-to-B or services markets and there are documented differences between the B-to-B and business-to-consumer (B2C) markets and products and services contexts. There is also doubt regarding the validity of the contention that the brand resonance pyramid should be applicable to the B-to-B sector.

Methodology: Using an interpretivist qualitative research approach and an exploratory research strategy, the Servbrand framework was developed empirically by applying the brand resonance pyramid to a selected B-to-B services context. Fourteen useful in-depth interviews were obtained from appropriate and information rich participants that represented more than 14 of the 89 organization that were included in the selection frame. Some of the participants were responsible for the relevant decisions of more than one organization.

Findings: The results from the study reported on here (summarized as Figure 5) prompted the inclusion of a people dimension and elevated the importance of relationships in an amended B-to-B services brand equity framework. The people brand-building block includes the dimensions of attitude and demeanor, personality and values, personableness, product knowledge and client knowledge. Relationships, as the ultimate aim of the framework, concern both interpersonal relationships and partnerships.

The article presents a conceptual framework to guide effective brand building strategies in a selected B-to-B services context. Researchers can use the framework to test its applicability in other contexts, which will contribute to the amendment of a significant brand equity management framework.

The Servbrand framework can assist marketing practitioners to improve the effectiveness of strategic brand management for B-to-B services.

Contribution: The empirical research contributes to three areas of brand equity research, namely: 1) the offering type – by investigating service offerings rather than product offerings; 2) the brand level – by investigating organization-level brands rather than product-level brands; and 3) context – by investigating a B-to-B context rather than a B2C context. A revised brand resonance pyramid is proposed and called the Servbrand framework.     

When luxury brands meet China: The effect of localized celebrity endorsements in social media marketing

In social media marketing, celebrity endorsement is a widely used strategy. Luxury brands use their social media accounts to post pictures of celebrities using their products. However, they would be confronted with the dilemma of whether to standardize or localize their celebrity endorsers for different markets. This dilemma of whether to standardize or adapt their advertisements to the local market has been haunting luxury brands for a long time. This paper examines the effectiveness of localized celebrity endorsements for luxury brands on Chinese social media. We analyze whether Chinese celebrity endorsers could trigger more social media interactions and enhance perceived brand luxury than Western celebrity endorsers, based on an analysis of online big data and two experiments. We also explore when localized celebrity endorsement is most effective, focusing on the moderating role of patriotism. The results suggest that localized (vs. standardized) celebrity endorsements lead to more social media interactions. Using localized (standardized) celebrity endorsements enhance the perceived brand luxury for people with high (low) patriotism.     

Celebrity endorsement in the world of luxury fashion – when controversy can be beneficial

ABSTRACT

Can a negatively publicised celebrity endorser ever lead to favourable brand attitudes toward a luxury fashion product (i.e. a perfume)? An online experiment was conducted with a sample of 260 target-relevant female consumers where two factors were manipulated: the brand’s positioning objective (image reinforcement versus revitalisation) and the type of celebrity endorser (naturally versus incidentally controversial). Consumer attitudes towards the luxury fashion brand were generally more positive when the type of celebrity endorser was consistent with the brand’s positioning strategy, that is, when a naturally controversial celebrity endorses a brand with a reinforcement strategy and when an incidentally controversial celebrity endorses a brand with a revitalisation strategy. Furthermore, this effect was mediated by consumers’ appreciation of the celebrity-positioning match-up (i.e. the consistency between the celebrity’s persona and the brand’s strategy) but not by their perceptions of appropriateness (i.e. the traditional match-up hypothesis). Several implications suggested by these findings are developed.     

Brand addiction in the contexts of luxury and fast-fashion brands

Although research on consumer-brand relationship has gained increasing interest among scholars, little is known to date about its most intense form – brand addiction. This research explores the main motives and outcomes of this phenomenon in the two brand categories: luxury and fast-fashion brands. The authors conducted 21 in-depth interviews in the U.S. to tap into the respondents' addictive experiences with luxury and fast-fashion brands. Different themes emerged regarding the motivations for luxury and fast-fashion brand addiction. Self-expressiveness, status consumption and perceived quality are motivators for luxury fashion brand addiction while continuous update of fashion-led items, perceived value, and product assortments are motivators for fast-fashion brand addiction. As for the consequences, interpersonal relationships and financial issues emerged as common themes for addiction to certain luxury and fast-fashion brands while selectivity of style and motivation to work harder surfaced as themes for addiction to particular luxury brands. The results also show that brand addiction may cause both positive and negative effects on consumers’ well-being. This research provides important implications for consumer-brand relationships and ethical considerations for brand managers.     

Desire,need, and obligation: Examining commitment to luxury brands in emerging markets

The availability of a wide variety of luxury brands has resulted in declining commitment toward a single brand. Enhancing brand commitment has, therefore, become a significant challenge for international businesses and marketing managers. We develop a multi–dimensional brand commitment framework underpinned by marketing, organizational, and social psychology literature streams. The simultaneous examination of brand–commitment dimensions based on consumer desire, need, and obligation in our framework offers a novel perspective that advances research on brand commitment. Our findings demonstrate stability of the framework in important emerging markets for luxury brands, namely China, India, Russia, Turkey, and Thailand. The framework, incorporating affective, continuance, and normative brand commitment dimensions, offers a conceptually robust fit. We demonstrate that each brand commitment dimension is influenced by distinct antecedents, and we show the direct and interactional impact of consumers’ emotional attachment, economic motivations, and normative pressures on purchase intentions. Supported by well-established theories in organizational and social psychology, our study offers new insights on how consumers commit to brands. We provide international brand managers with a blueprint for strengthening brand commitment across countries.     

Weakening the Effect of Unfavorable Country of Origin: A Process- and Parameter-Associated Theoretical Framework

ABSTRACT

The consequence of strategic decisions of Western brands to source their products from offshore countries, largely from the Far East, has added a lot of unfavorable origin countries to their products' labels. Thus, scholars and marketing practitioners are becoming aware of the negative downstream consequences of unfavorable countries of origin in consumers' product evaluation. This research work suggests that, depending on the parameters (cues) that consumers consider along with the country of origin cue, their product evaluation can follow either cognitive, affective, or normative processing. This research study offers a unique framework associated with process-specific parameters that are manifested in weakening the effect of unfavorable country of origin in previous research.     

Exciting on Facebook or competent in the newspaper? Media effects on consumers’ perceptions of brands in the fashion category

Abstract

Media investments are continuously shifting from traditional media like newspapers to digital alternatives like websites and social media. This study investigated if and how media choice between the two rival channels can influence consumers’ perceptions of a novel brand. 504 Swedish retail fashion customers participated in an experiment to evaluate the identical advertisement placed either in a national newspaper or on Facebook. The results revealed that advertising in a newspaper can have a positive effect on brand equity facets and purchase intention through brand personality perceptions of being competent, while advertising on Facebook have similar effects but through perceptions of being exciting. Besides some evidence that choice between traditional and new media affects brand personality this study is one of the first attempts to incorporate media channel choice into the broader customer-based brand equity framework. The results from this particular study suggest that media channel choice should be considered from a brand equity building perspective at least in the fashion category. This study shows that different media channels could complement each other strategically, as traditional media channels still can have valuable and unique contributions to brand building through brand personality perceptions, especially for brands striving to be perceived as competent.