Corporate Identity Modelling: A Review and Presentation of a New Multi-dimensional Model

We put forward the six station model of corporate identity. This is done by reviewing the corporate identity literature to appreciate the limitations of existing models. Ten criteria are suggested as important for robust models. Based on this, the six station model is presented. To gauge its usefulness and managerial applicability 28 depth interviews were conducted with corporate identity consultants and business managers. The model was regarded as useful and has managerial applicability, albeit business managers would prefer more training and systems to use the model.     

Word Power: The Impact of Negative Media Coverage on Disciplining Corporate Pollution

Globalization is multifaceted and involves the interaction among businesses, services, governments, and societies beyond national borders. As a result, the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI), international trade in goods and services, and the economic interdependence of the nations of the world have been increasing. At the same time, much attention has been paid to the effect of corruption prevalent within many cultures and societies, and its impact on the economies, especially developing economies. This paper examines the relationship between human capital investment, the level of national corruption, and the global economic integration (GEI) of a nation in developing countries. Based on the data collected from over 60 countries, and building on the FDI and human capital theories, it was found that human capital investment and corruption are related to GEI. It was also found that the level of corruption moderates the relationship between human capital investment and GEI of developing economies. The findings of the study can help to deepen our understanding of GEI and have practical implications for developing countries in terms developing human capital, which plays a critical role in today’s knowledge-based economy.     

Brand Actions on Social Media: Direct Effects on Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) and Moderating Effects of Brand Loyalty and Social Media Usage Intensity

Most existing social media research has been user focused. This study looks at social media from the brand's perspective by testing (1) theoretical links between brand-action antecedents and positive electronic word of mouth (eWOM); and (2) how brand loyalty and social media usage intensity moderate the relationships between the antecedents and eWOM. Using structural equational modelling from 290 Facebook users, we find empirical support for three brand action constructs (personalization, responsiveness, and transparency) to eWOM. We also find the moderating effects of social media usage intensity and brand loyalty on the relationship between responsiveness and eWOM. Theoretical and managerial implications for these findings are discussed.     

The Role of Identity Salience in the Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility on Consumer Behavior

Based on the assumption that consumers will reward firms for their support of social programs, many organizations have adopted corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. Drawing on social identity theory, a model of influence of CSR on loyalty is developed and tested using a sample of real consumers. Results demonstrate that CSR initiatives are linked to stronger loyalty both because the consumer develops a more positive company evaluation, and because one identifies more strongly with the company. Moreover, identity salience is shown to play a crucial role in the influence of CSR initiatives on consumer loyalty when this influence occurs through consumer-company identification. A strong identifier is not necessarily in a constant state of salience, but activating identity salience of a particular consumer social identity (a company) will affect consumer reactions to product stimuli, increasing consumer loyalty.     

多学科视角下的企业家口碑的形成机理研究

企业家作为社会的精英群体,其言行一直是社会关注的焦点。通过文献回顾和理论阐述,界定了企业家口碑的涵义,并从多学科角度阐明了企业家口碑的形成机理。本研究认为,企业家卓越的经济人功能是企业家口碑形成的理性机制;利他行为的社会人功能催生了企业家口碑;企业家口碑是企业家自我实现的需要;消费者的选择性注意是企业家口碑形成的重要心理机制。     

Negative Affect and Counterproductive Workplace Behavior: The Moderating Role of Moral Disengagement and Gender

There has been growing scholarly interest in understanding individual-level antecedents of counterproductive workplace behavior (CWB). While researchers have found a positive relationship between individuals’ negative affect and engagement in CWB, to date, our understanding of the factors which may affect this relationship is limited. In this study, we investigate the moderating roles of moral disengagement and gender in this relationship. Consistent with our hypotheses, we found that individuals with a greater tendency to experience negative emotions were more likely to engage in CWB when they had a higher propensity to morally disengage. Moreover, we found that this interacting relationship varied across men and women. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings and offer avenues for future research.     

The Nature and Management of Ethical Corporate Identity: A Commentary on Corporate Identity,Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics

In this paper we open up the topic of ethical corporate identity: what we believe to be a new, as well as highly salient, field of inquiry for scholarship in ethics and corporate social responsibility. Taking as our starting point Balmer’s (in Balmer and Greyser, 2002) AC²ID test model of corporate identity – a pragmatic tool of identity management – we explore the specificities of an ethical form of corporate identity. We draw key insights from conceptualizations of corporate social responsibility and stakeholder theory. We argue ethical identity potentially takes us beyond the personification of the corporation. Instead, ethical identity is seen to be formed relationally, between parties, within a community of business and social exchange. Extending the AC²ID test model, we suggest the management of ethical identity requires a more socially, dialogically embedded kind of corporate practice and greater levels of critical reflexivity. John M. T. Balmer is Professor of Corporate Brand/Identity Management at Bradford University School of Management. His research focuses on a range of corporate-level marketing issues and has a particular interest in the management of corporate brands and identities. His work has been published in leading journals such as California Management Review and Long Range Planning. With Stephen Greyser he co-authored Revealing the Corporation (Routledge, 2003). Kyoko Fukukawa is a lecturer in marketing at Bradford University School of Management and holds a Ph.D. from University of Nottingham, UK. Her research interests include ethical decision-making in consumption and business practices; corporate social responsibility (CSR) of MNCs concerning their policies and strategic communication; and CSR and corporate branding. Her publications appear in Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Corporate Citizenship and others. Edmund R. Gray is Professor and Chair in the Department of Management at Loyola Marymount University. He is author or co-author of five textbooks and numerous scholarly articles. He holds a Ph.D. from UCLA. His research interests centre around issues of corporate identity, corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability. Currently, he is conducting research on entrepreneurial firms with environmental/social goals that are an integral part of their mission.     

Understanding Purchase Intention During Product-Harm Crises: Moderating Effects of Perceived Corporate Ability and Corporate Social Responsibility

A company’s product-harm crises often lead to negative publicity which substantially affects purchase intention. This study attempts to examine the purchase intention and its antecedents (e.g., perceived negative publicity) during product-harm crises by simultaneously including perceived corporate ability (CA) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) as moderators. In the study’s proposed model, purchase intention is indirectly affected by perceived CA, negative publicity, and CSR via the mediation of trust and affective identification. At the same time, the influences of perceived negative publicity on trust and affective identification are moderated by perceived CA and CSR, respectively. Empirical testing using a survey of car users from 477 working professionals confirms most of our hypothesized effects except the insignificant moderating effects of perceived CA. Finally, managerial implications and limitations of our findings are discussed.     

Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Fraud: The Moderating Effects of Governance and Religiosity

Journal of Business Ethics - This study investigates how managers in firms that have committed fraud strategically use socially responsible activities in coordination with their fraudulent...     

Drivers and Outcomes of Green Tourist Attitudes and Behavior: Sociodemographic Moderating Effects

This article reports the findings of a study, conducted among 234 foreign tourists who visited Cyprus, that aimed to identify the drivers and outcomes of eco‐friendly attitudes and behavior. Using structural equation modeling, the authors confirmed that deontological status, law obedience, and political action of tourists positively influence the adoption of an environmentally friendly attitude. In turn, these effects are conducive to eco‐friendly behavior, which ultimately enhances tourist satisfaction. Certain sociodemographic characteristics of tourists—namely, gender, age, education, and income—had a moderating effect on the link between deontological status, law obedience, and political action on the one hand and eco‐friendly attitudes on the other hand. Tourist nationality also had a control effect on tourist eco‐friendly attitudes.     

The Effect of Workplace Negative Gossip on Employee Proactive Behavior in China: The Moderating Role of Traditionality

In this study, we examined the relationship between workplace negative gossip, as perceived by the targets, and proactive behavior by focusing on the mediating role of the target’s emotional exhaustion and the moderating role of the target’s traditionality. Our results from dyadic data on 234 supervisor–subordinate relationships in China revealed that (1) workplace negative gossip was negatively related to proactive behavior; (2) emotional exhaustion mediated this relationship; and (3) traditionality strengthened both the relationship between workplace negative gossip and emotional exhaustion and the indirect effect of workplace negative gossip on proactive behavior via emotional exhaustion. Our findings have a number of theoretical and practical implications for the research on mistreatment and proactive behavior.     

Consumer Reactions to Corporate Tax Strategies: Effects on Corporate Reputation and Purchasing Behavior

On the basis of an interdisciplinary approach linking taxation, marketing, and corporate social responsibility, the present research investigates the effects of media reports on aggressive and responsible corporate tax strategies (CTSs) on corporate success with consumers. By means of two laboratory experiments (N = 150, 360), we analyze the effects of the CTSs on corporate reputation, consumer purchase intention, and the consumer’s willingness to pay. Our results suggest that aggressive CTSs diminish corporate success with consumers, whereas responsible CTSs enhance it. Nevertheless, consumers are not willing to pay a price premium for products sold by responsible tax-planning companies, but rather punish aggressive tax-planning companies through a slightly lower willingness to pay. Finally, consumers’ tax morale and their attitude toward tax avoidance are important moderating variables. Given the growing level of media interest in taxation, our findings are crucial for assessing consumer-related non-tax costs and the benefits of different CTSs.     

The Moderating Role of Country of Origin on Brand Equity,Repeat Purchase Intentions,and Word of Mouth in Trinidad and Tobago

Brand equity has emerged as a critical aspect of marketing, but its effect on consumer behavioral intentions from a developing country perspective has not been sufficiently examined. This study proposes that country of origin and product type will moderate the relationships between brand equity, consumer repeat purchase intentions, and word of mouth. Data were collected from 157 customers and analyzed with regression analysis. Our results confirm the moderating role of COO such that favorable COO weakens the impact of brand equity on consumers' behavioral intentions. Product type was not significant. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are presented as well as the limitations, and future research opportunities are discussed.     

Consumption‐Focused Self‐Expression Word of Mouth: A New Scale and Its Role in Consumer Research

This research represents the first systematic empirical examination of the motivation to spread word of mouth about consumption activities in order to self‐express, a phenomenon that has been observed in both the academic literature and the popular press. Consumption‐focused self‐expression is a motivation to engage in word‐of‐mouth communication that is distinct from other word‐of‐mouth motivations that have been discussed in the literature. This work defines consumption‐focused self‐expression word of mouth as communication about one's consumption activities for the purpose of expressing one's self‐concept and attracting attention to oneself. A scale to measure consumption‐focused self‐expression word of mouth is developed and shown to exhibit a consistent scale structure, acceptable reliability, and convergent, discriminant, nomological, and predictive validity. Scores on the consumption‐focused self‐expression word‐of‐mouth scale are shown to predict differences in the quantity and nature of consumers’ actual word‐of‐mouth communications via the social networking Web site Facebook.     

企业经营者行为:基于公司治理模式的比较研究

公司治理作为规范企业经营者行为的正式制度安排,直接影响经营者在企业决策制定与执行中的行为表现.本文在解析公司治理与企业经营者行为关系的基础上,以企业契约对经营者的绩效要求和时间结构两个维度,划分了企业经营者的四种行为模式;通过对不同公司治理模式下企业经营者行为特征的比较分析,从中国究竟应该选择怎样的公司治理模式、如何在公司治理中发挥文化对企业经营者的塑造和行为引导作用以及现有的治理框架下如何评判企业经营者的行为效率三个方面,提出完善公司治理、提升企业经营者行为效率的若干值得思考的问题.     

Consumer Response to Unethical Corporate Behavior: A Re-Examination and Extension of the Moral Decoupling Model

This research replicates Bhattacharjee et al. (J Consum Res 39(4):1167–1184, 2013) moral decoupling model and extends the original along the dimensions of theory, method, and context. Adopting a branding perspective and focusing on the corporate domain rather than the public figures investigated by Bhattacharjee and colleagues, this research examines the proposition that consumers dissociate judgments of morality from judgments of performance to justify purchasing from companies deemed to act immorally. The original study is further extended by applying the model in a different cultural context and employing a more realistic stimulus to establish external and ecological validity. The results of the replication generally support the original findings, in particular, under conditions of higher product involvement, a theoretical extension.     

网络口碑在旅游景区营销中的应用研究综述

由于旅游产品的无形性,游客在购买之前存在高风险,因此口碑成为影响游客购买行为的一个重要因素。随着互联网的发展,网络口碑(e Wo M)越来越重要。本文综述了网络口碑产生的背景、对旅游景区的影响以及传播机制,综述了专家学者在分析网络口碑传播途径的基础上针对旅游景区网络口碑营销提出了相应对策。     

生产性服务进口与制造业全球价值链升级模式——影响机制与调节效应

本文首先分析生产性服务进口对制造业在全球价值链中产品升级和功能升级影响的机制,并考察了贸易自由化在生产性服务进口影响制造业企业功能升级中的调节效应。之后实证检验生产性服务进口对中国制造业产品升级和功能升级的影响机制,并区分不同类型生产性服务进口的影响差异,最后建立门槛模型考察贸易自由化在其中的调节效应。研究发现:第一,生产性服务进口促进了中国制造业企业在全球价值链中的产品升级。第二,由于生产性服务进口的成本增加效应大于技术创新效应,生产性服务进口抑制了我国制造业企业在全球价值链中的功能升级。第三,不同类型生产性服务进口贸易对制造业企业在全球价值链中升级模式的影响存在明显差异。第四,贸易自由化在生产性服务进口影响制造业企业功能升级中发挥着重要作用,具有显著的贸易自由化门槛效应。     

Correction to: Corporate Essence and Identity in Criminal Law

Journal of Business Ethics - A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04827-y