International ethnic entrepreneurship: Antecedents, outcomes and environmental context

The paper presents an overview of articles on international ethnic entrepreneurship between 1936 and 2009 from 32 journals published in SSCI using content analysis. The insights gained from the studies are used to make recommendations for future studies on international ethnic entrepreneurship. The most important findings of this study are the crucial effects of transnationalism, mixed-embeddedness and the interaction among social, human and financial capital on ethnic entrepreneurship.     

A theory-based measure of acculturation: The shortened cultural life style inventory

This paper describes a model of acculturation for classifying minority consumers into distinct categories depending on their attitudes and behaviors toward their minority culture and toward the majority culture. These categories are assimilation, segregation, and integration. The model differs from previous models of acculturation in consumer research in that it does not assume a linear progression toward assimilation. The acculturation categories identified by the model can be used to segment minority markets. A reduced version of a previous scale based on that acculturation model is developed and validated in two empirical studies in a consumer research setting. Our scale can be used by managers to segment minority populations.     

Impacts of retail brand personality and self-congruity on store loyalty: The moderating role of gender

The present study was an effort to investigate the impacts of both retail brand personality and self-congruity, using them together in the same study, on store loyalty. Subsequently, this study explored the moderating role of gender in these relationships of retail brand personality and self-congruity with store loyalty. Questionnaire was used to collect data (n=355) using systematic sampling from department store shoppers of age 18 years and above in Kolkata, a metropolitan city of India. Multivariate data analysis techniques like exploratory factor analysis, structural equation modeling were used to analyse the data. Results revealed that both retail brand personality and self-congruity constructs have positive impacts on store loyalty and gender significantly moderates these impacts. Arguably, this paper is the first to examine the three constructs namely, retail brand personality, self-congruity and store loyalty using them together in the same model. Academic and managerial implications are further discussed.     

Triple acculturation: The role of African Americans in the consumer acculturation of Kenyan immigrants

The role of a subcultural group in the consumer acculturation of Kenyan immigrants is examined. Our findings demonstrate that particular immigrant consumer behaviors are influenced by triple acculturation forces: dominant; subcultural and original culture. We find that immigrants do not arrive in the United States aware of their need to acculturate to a subcultural group. Critical incidents alert the immigrants of the need to acculturate to the African American subculture in order to fulfill some basic consumer goals such as accessing hair care, nightclub entertainment and church services. Progressively, immigrants begin to incorporate triple acculturation forces in their consumer decision making. The immigrants learn to be innovative as well as to engage in satisficing as they navigate the new consumption environment. This research contributes to acculturation studies by extending the models of Berry (Berry JW. Acculturation as varieties of adaptation. In: Padilla AM, editor. Acculturation: theory, model and some new findings, Boulder, CO: Westview Press; 1980. pp. 9-25) as well as Penaloza (Penaloza L. Altravesando Fronteras/Border Crossings: a critical ethnographic exploration of the consumer acculturation of Mexican immigrants. J Consum Res 1994;2:32-54[June]) by incorporating the role of a subcultural group in this process.     

Antecedents and Consequences of Buying Center Leadership: An Emergent Perspective

ABSTRACT

This paper provides a new model of buying center leadership. It draws upon the theory of emergent leadership to explore the potential for a relatively low-ranked member of a buying center to rise in stature and emerge as the group's de facto leader. It provides a theoretically-based analysis of the antecedents to such a role including communications, negotiating skills, power, and procedural control. It also reviews how these elements may be used to provide the group with two essential leadership functions–relational support and task support. It then examines how these functions, in turn, provide the individual with enhanced influence within the buying center. In this way, this paper provides a new conceptual framework for understanding buying center behavior.     

The four faces of the Hispanic consumer: An acculturation-based segmentation

This article develops and tests a segmentation scheme for the U.S. Hispanic market based on the extent and nature of acculturation. Acculturation is conceptualized as driven by language preferences and two dimensions of cultural identification, Hispanic and American. Structural equation modeling develops and assesses the proposed scales, and a latent class clustering procedure (latent discriminant analysis) tests propositions on a sample of 403 U.S. Hispanics. Consistent with theory, four clusters of U.S. Hispanics emerge: retainers, biculturals, assimilators, and non-identifiers that vary according to language preference and cultural identification.     

Unenlightened Economism: The Antecedents of Bad Corporate Governance and Ethical Decline

The paper expands on Goshal’s criticism of what management as a scientific discipline teaches and the effects on managerial and societal ethics. The main argument put forward is that the economisation of management has a detrimental effect on the practice of management and on society in large. The ideology of economism is described and analysed from an epistemological perspective. The paper argues that the economisation of management not only introduces the problems of economics (three are identified and discussed) but destroys the very essence of management because economics is focused on efficiency and management should be focused on effectiveness. What is more, the basic axioms of mainstream economics stand in stark contrast to the philosophy of the Enlightenment and therefore endanger the foundations of Western societies. Management theory (via corporate governance) is the Trojan horse carrying economism into society.     

Environmentally conscious consumption: The role of retailers and peers as external influences

Environmentally conscious consumption is one of the key concerns in modern society generally, and increasingly among the consumer population. However, consumers often overstate their willingness to purchase environmentally conscious products, with global purchasing of these products relatively low. Much research has considered the role of drivers internal to an individual in making such consumption choices; however there is less knowledge as to how external influences may impact environmentally conscious consumption behaviour. As retailers increasingly strive to adopt and communicate their environmentally sustainable business practices, and encourage parallel consumer behavior, the question arises: what role do retailers play in influencing consumers’ environmentally conscious consumption? In this paper we investigate this notion, specifically how external influences (the retailer and peers) impact environmentally conscious behavior. We investigate this behavior in terms of two outcomes; sustainable consumption (direct costs) and willingness to accept environmental taxes (indirect costs). Our research demonstrates that retailers can influence consumers to be more environmentally conscious in their consumption, with retailer influence a stronger mediator than peers in this relationship. One important implication of this research is that retailers have the opportunity to shape environmentally conscious consumption if they adopt sustainable business practices.     

Characteristics and influences of multinational subsidiary entrepreneurial culture: The case of the advertising sector

This paper undertakes an exploratory study into the characteristics of entrepreneurial culture of the multinational subsidiary; and, into the associated influences and manifestations linked to multinational corporation (MNC) and environmental contexts. The theme of multinational subsidiary entrepreneurial culture is an unexplored theme in the literature, and has considerable research and managerial significance. This qualitative research is based on eight multinational subsidiaries in the advertising sector in the UK. The evidence suggests that the constituents of multinational subsidiary entrepreneurial culture include global vision, entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial MNC network management. The related influences and manifestations refer to subsidiary autonomy, target market servicing and responsiveness to local environmental conditions. In addition, the findings show that while entrepreneurial behaviour was evident in all investigated subsidiaries, its locus varied significantly. Specifically, entrepreneurship in multinational subsidiaries can be subsidiary-, headquarters-, or jointly-driven.     

The effects of family structure and socialization influences on compulsive consumption: a life course study in France

Compulsive consumption is regarded as a global phenomenon that can adversely affect consumer well‐being. Although the topic has been studied in different cultural settings, we have seen relatively little theory development and explanations of compulsive behaviour. Nearly all previous empirical studies attempt to explain this behaviour by correlating measures of compulsive behaviour with independent variables taken within the same time frame. However, recent developments in social sciences suggest that such a phenomenon may best understood in the context of the person's earlier‐in‐life experiences. Using the life course paradigm as an overarching framework, the present research extends previous work on this topic. Hypotheses derived from life course perspectives are formulated, and a survey of young adults in France is used to test them. The findings have implications for theory development and suggest directions for further research.     

The role of experiential and non-experiential knowledge in cross-border acquisitions: The case of Indian multinational enterprises

This paper investigates the antecedents of the internationalization of emerging economy multinational enterprises (EMNEs) through cross-border acquisitions. Using a panel data set of 1138 cross-border acquisitions made by 515 Indian multinational enterprises (MNEs) during 2000–2013, it examines interactions of in-house resources with experiential and non-experiential knowledge to explore how EMNEs manage and exploit their knowledge base when internationalizing. The results show that Indian multinational enterprises have ‘interface competence’. They combine in-house resources with experiential market and externally sourced technological knowledge for undertaking cross-border acquisitions. The Uppsala model provides insights in analyzing the role of market knowledge and the Global Factory model helps in analyzing the role of technology in cross-border acquisitions by EMNEs.     

The Antecedents and Moderators of Offline Information Search: A Meta-Analysis

An examination of consumer information search literature reveals that the effects of several antecedents (cost, price dispersion, knowledge, prior experience) on offline information search vary greatly in terms of the directions and magnitudes of the determinants’ effect sizes, particularly indicating the possibility of inverted-U shaped relationships. Also, despite a wide range of studies undertaken, there remains a need for identifying an overarching framework for consumer information search. This article synthesizes previous empirical studies on offline information search literature, and attempts to provide and test a framework that advances our understanding of the current state of this literature. The review identifies significant antecedents to offline information search, and also tests the moderating effects of demographic variables and study conditions on the direct effects. In the context of the main effects, findings suggest that the nature of relationships of several antecedents with the central construct is indeed inverted-U shaped. Further, moderator analyses identify the boundary conditions under which specific theories hold. The closing section provides future research directions.     

Antecedents of growth through mergers and acquisitions: Empirical results from Belgium

This paper empirically investigates the antecedents of growth through mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in a typical continental European country, Belgium. The article reports on a study using data on 484 private and listed bidders engaging in 990 M&As during 1997-2007, and matches this sample with companies that did not pursue any external growth. By analyzing firm characteristics, industry, and aggregate financial market variables, the study can also discern the motives that are important in the decision to acquire. The results show that neither the firm's cash position nor its cash-generating abilities influence its choice to grow externally. Yet, intangible assets affect the M&A decision positively, whereas ownership concentration and bank loans have a negative effect. In industries where incumbents are operating at a lower scale and in more highly concentrated industries, the odds of firms participating in M&As are larger. Industry deregulation, industry growth, and financial market conditions have no influence. These findings are largely comparable across listed and private firms. Yet, the data do reveal that the operating scale of industry incumbents and industry concentration matter only in horizontal and domestic takeover decisions.     

The role of independent intermediaries: The case of small and medium-sized exporters

The article examines how small and medium-sized exporters collaborate with intermediaries in foreign markets by studying the level of control, i.e. the delegation of decisions rights and task solution. It goes one step further than previous research, since it examines degrees of control and participation rather than just discrete types of intermediary modes (agents, importers, dealers, etc.). Associations with performance as well as the role of product and distributor characteristics are analyzed.Empirical data based on a sample of product-market ventures in 227 small and medium-sized Norwegian export firms are analyzed by a structural equation modelling approach. The article provides empirical evidence that managers keep control of decision making to an extent that may have a negative impact on export performance. The empirical study indicates that firms should participate more in task solution but less in decision making in their collaboration with foreign intermediaries.     

The influences of governance quality on equity-based entry mode choice: The strengthening role of family control

This study examines the possible heterogeneity of governance quality's influence on entry mode decisions made by firms with different degrees of family control. When entering a country with low governance quality, ceding control of the subsidiary in exchange for local partners’ help enables foreign firms to tackle institutional flaws. However, such a motivation diminishes as governance quality increases. This study thus hypothesizes that firms tend to choose WOSs over JVs when entering a host country with high governance quality.Firms controlled by family members, due to concerns regarding the preservation of socioemotional wealth, prefer to maintain high ownership levels of their affiliates. This study thus hypothesizes that firms with a higher degree of family control are even more likely to choose WOSs when entering a country with high governance quality. The results support the hypotheses.     

Effects of ethnic advertising on consumers of minority and majority groups: the moderating effect of humor

The effects of portrayals of ethnic endorsers in advertising are ambiguous. These portrayals strengthen the ethnic identity of ethnic minority groups, thus leading to positive responses toward the ad. They can lead to negative responses, because these portrayals can be perceived as stereotyped. Humor is a tool that can increase positive effects of identity-building and reduce negative effects of stereotyping. In this study, we investigate how humor moderates the effects of ethnic advertising on consumers from ethnic minority and majority groups. We find that humor supports the effects of traditional portrayals for both groups. Moreover, the effect of traditional portrayals combined with humor is strongest for the minority group. These findings provide evidence for the positive effects of humor in ethnic advertising and thus provide new insights to the stereotyping, ethnic advertising, and humor literature. The findings have practical implications for advertising using ethnic endorsers, humor, or targeted at ethnic minority groups.     

Unique but integrated: The role of individuation and assimilation processes in teen opinion leadership

Opinion leaders propel the diffusion of innovation and exert a significant influence on the marketplace. This influence is especially pronounced during adolescence, a period marked by increasing reliance on peers and the emergence of a tension between two countervailing needs: assimilation and individuation. A survey of 1142 adolescents reveals that these developmental needs affect adolescent opinion leadership in the critical clothing market. Adolescent opinion leadership relies on a balance between desires for assimilation (i.e., centrality within the peer network) and individuation (i.e., need for uniqueness); adolescents' susceptibility to peers' normative influence and gender moderate these relationships. Adolescents who occupy central positions within their peer network tend to be opinion leaders, though only if they are not susceptible to normative influence. Position within the peer network is a key for girls, whereas need for uniqueness is a key for boys. These differences implicate different approaches for managers targeting adolescent males and females.     

Keeping anger in check: The role of personal and organizational characteristics on behavioral outcomes

ABSTRACT

The food and beverage sector of the hospitality industry is known for being an emotionally labor-intensive environment. The events that transpire over the course of a shift lead to various emotions, which ultimately dictate the behaviors of the employees working in this industry. Of particular interest to this study was the interplay between environmental antecedents (power and distributive justice) and their influence on a negative emotion (anger) and a positive emotion (affective organizational commitment). Additionally, this study sought to understand how anger and affective organizational commitment influenced positive (organizational citizenship behavior) and negative (counterproductive work behavior) workplace behaviors using the lens of the affective events theory. The results of this study revealed that anger had the strongest effect on counterproductive work behavior and that all of the relationships were significant except from anger to affective organizational commitment and affective organizational commitment to counterproductive work behavior.     

Exploring antecedents and consequences of consumer ethnocentrism: evidence from Asian immigrants in the US

The US is a multicultural society due to its growing number of ethnic minorities. These ethnic populations have made intracultural studies more difficult because of the different senses of identity and degrees of acculturation the varied groups possess. The current study examined the impact of perceived ethnicity (Asian vs. Asian American) and acculturation level (low vs. high) on consumer ethnocentrism towards the country of immigration (the US) and its consequences with respect to Asian immigrants, the fastest growing minority in the US. One hundred and eighty‐five responses from Asian immigrants were collected through a convenience sample from a university campus located in the southwest US as well as a snowball sampling technique. Results revealed that perceived ethnicity and acculturation play an important role in influencing Asian immigrants' ethnocentrism towards the US, which in turn affects their attitudes and behavioural intentions towards products made in the US. Implications and future research directions are suggested.     

Outward foreign investment and export structure: a case study of Taiwan's FDI in Malaysia

As Taiwan's outward FDI was primarily motivated by the relatively lower costs of land and labour in the host countries, one tends to expect that the structure of production and exports in Taiwan would shift toward higher capital and skill intensity. The structure of Taiwan's exports to the ASEAN-4 was concentrated more in higher human and physical capital intensities than Taiwan's total exports to the world. Moreover, Taiwan's exports to the ASEAN-4 were more concentrated on intermediate goods and machinery. A case study of Taiwan's outward FDI in Malaysia indicated that three of the five leading industries that accounted for a large shares of changes on FDI stocks and corresponding export commodities were the same. Pooling estimates also show that FDI has a small but positive impact on Taiwan's exports to the host country. The study further showed that Taiwan's FDI in Malaysia includes mixed tactics of ‘defensive’ and ‘aggressive’ strategies in various industries. In terms of the influence of the presence and economic role of ethnic Chinese on Taiwan's outward FDI, the study showed that the ‘Chinese connection’ has not been a significant factor in determining the industrial distribution of Taiwan's FDI in Malaysia.