Purpose and object of anti-consumption

A counter movement of anti-consumption runs from the very beginning of mass-consumption societies. Four distinct types of anti-consumers, simplifiers, global impact consumers, market activists, and anti-loyal consumers, have emerged in recent years. The primary focus of anti-consumption research has been on market activists and anti-loyal consumers. This article focuses on the other two groups (i.e., the simplifiers and global impact consumers). The authors address the need for scale development to measure the general anti-consumption attitudes of these two groups. The goal is to improve the ability to identify anti-consumption attitudes and to gain a better understanding of how anti-consumption relates to other key constructs such as self-consciousness, self-actualization, and assertiveness.     

Entrepreneurial orientation and networking: Some Indian evidence

Research evidence indicates that entrepreneurs who exhibit a need for unique, path-breaking accomplishments (pioneering) and transforming the status quo (innovative) are quite different from other entrepreneurs. This is called the PI motive, which is found to be a constellation of policy commitments to pioneering novel outputs, technological sophistication and so on. The nature of these policy commitments underlines the need for and pattern of interpersonal networking behavior demonstrated by PI entrepreneurs. There is evidence to show that such networking is a means of raising required resources and thus plays an important role in the process of enterprise creation and growth. There are both active and latent networks, and those belonging to inner and outer circles.This paper discusses the findings of a study undertaken to see whether or not PI entrepreneurs showed greater networking behavior, and if so, to look at the nature of these networks and the purposes for which they were used. Sixty-seven cases of small-scale entrepreneurs published in two Indian business journals constituted the data. In order to know the pioneering innovative orientation of entrepreneurs covered, independent professionals rated the cases on the presence or absence of ten types of innovations including the Schumpeterian innovations.It was found that entrepreneurs with high PI scores resorted to networking to raise critical resources more than those with low PI scores. High PI entrepreneurs did not merely adopt the suggestions or ideas acquired from their networks but synthesized them in a way that resulted in substantial learning. Networks, especially with inner circle contacts, provided hard resources such as capital and technology. Family and friends formed the major sources of resources.The search for excellence of PI entrepreneurs goes beyond their firms into the large communities with which they deal. For them the goals/visions of their business do not seem to be limited to considerations of survival or even money making; they would like to be change agents and bring about transformations in the industry and economy. Because of their emphasis on new products, markets, technology and so on, PI entrepreneurs showed behaviors that build capabilities to manage uncertainty and risk and build credibility to attract favorable attention and support. Towards this end, they tended to scan the environment constantly, collaborated with customers and consultants, and focused on enhancing professionalism in organizations. Similarly, their goals to influence groups related to their business required them to provide leadership in addressing industry/community issues, and the development of a distinct identity. It is shown that the business and non-business goals of PI entrepreneurs support each other—the higher networking behavior is a common denominator underlying both the personal and business agenda of the PI entrepreneur.     

For brand alliance social or cause related marketing which one is better? A study in emerging markets

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships and the effectiveness of cause‐ related or social marketing on consumer perceptions, perceived brand motivations, and the direct and indirect effects that these factors have on brand alliance, attitude, and purchase intentions. A total of 425 participated who are users of soap and oil in the fast‐moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. Advertisements of three per brands are taken up for study. Dove soap, Parachute hair oil, and Dettol Soap (social marketing) and Fiama Di Wells beauty soap, Vatika hair oil, and Nihar hair oil (cause marketing) are selected for study. Both social and cause‐related marketing motivate the consumer to purchase products from the same company and likewise recommend to others. The present study findings clearly suggest that compared with social cause‐related marketing, social marketing is more preferred. People like watching advertisements incorporating social marketing more compared with cause‐related marketing. Both social and cause‐related marketing motivate the consumer to purchase products from the same company and also recommend to others. The takeaway from this study is how social and cause‐related marketing differ on brand alliance and subsequent effect on brand image, brand recommendation, brand loyalty, consumer perceptions, and purchase behaviour.     

Environmental,social and governance initiatives and wealth creation for firms: An empirical examination

This study examines the effect of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities on firm performance of 4,887 global companies. Mean difference test shows that firms with a high level of ESG activities are different from their low-ESG counterparts. The two-stage least square results suggest that ESG activities on (a) the welfare for internal stakeholders and best corporate governance practices are beneficial for firm performance and (b) antitakeover mechanisms (pollution control) adopted by firms are negatively (positively) valued by market players. Overall, this is the first study to examine the effects of ESG on the market-based and accounting-based performance of global firms.     

Motion Picture-Induced Visual,Vocal and Celebrity Effects on Tourism Motivation: Stimulus Organism Response Model

Motion pictures play a predominant role in enhancing the consumers' awareness of tourism destinations and inspiring their motivation to visit destinations. “Hallyu” (Korean Wave), a platform of Korean cultural exports, has altered the Korean tourism industry and now attracts travelers from around the world. Utilizing the popularity of the Korean Wave, the Korean Tourism Organization promotes Korean tourism attractions through motions pictures, including Korean films, television drama series, music and K-pop. The visual, vocal and celebrity effects which emanate from Korean motion pictures are expected to influence travelers' intent to visit and actual visitation. A questionnaire was distributed to Thai travelers and a total of 191 valid questionnaires were analyzed using regression analysis. The results indicate that visual and vocal effects emanating from Korean motion pictures fueled travelers' intention to visit Korea and explore Korean culture and tourism attractions. However, the results indicate no significant effect of celebrity endorsements on travelers' intentions.     

Pragmatism versus Idealism: Understanding the Negotiating Practices in China and India

China and India are now emerging as major players in the new international economic order. Their economies are growing at a rapid pace, and increasingly foreign investors are flocking to these countries to capitalize on the emerging opportunities. Although economic and social transformation is under way in these societies, this transformation is occurring within a backdrop of an institutional context that is rather different from what is present in Western societies. We draw upon an institutional theory framework to compare and contrast China and India along the dimensions of the regulatory, normative, and the cognitive dimensions. The regulatory dimension refers to the restrictions or lack thereof that might impact foreign investors and/or the manner in which they are implemented. Normative dimension refers to the dominant cultural norms and values present in a given society, while cognitive dimension pertains to the acceptance or the lack thereof of foreign investment. These dimensions are then posited to impact on the negotiating processes that are characteristic of that society. We compare and contrast the negotiating practices in China with that of India and outline strategies through which foreign investors may manage the negotiating process in these countries more effectively. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Value: Disaggregating the Effects on Cash Flow,Risk and Growth

This paper investigates the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firm value and seeks to identify the source of that value, by disaggregating the effects on forecasted profitability, long-term growth and the cost of capital. The study explores the possible risk (reducing) effects of CSR and their implications for financial measures of performance. For individual dimensions of CSR, in general strengths are positively valued and concerns are negatively valued, although the effect is not universal across all dimensions of CSR. We show that these valuation effects are principally driven by CSR performance associated with better long run growth prospects, with an additional minor contribution made by a lower cost of equity capital.     

Currency equivalent monetary aggregates as leading indicators of inflation

This study examines whether the Currency Equivalent (CE) Monetary Aggregates proposed by [Hutt, 1963] and [Rotemberg et al., 1995] can perform better in predicting inflation as compared to their simple sum counterparts. The components of four official measures of monetary constructs - M1, M2, M3 and L1 - are used to construct monthly CE monetary aggregates for the period from April 1993 to June 2009. The empirical evidence indicates that the growth rate of CE aggregates has an edge over their sum counterparts in predicting inflation. Moreover, the predictive power of the growth rates of CE aggregates improves as the level of aggregation increases. These evidences suggest that observing the movements in the growth rates of weighted monetary aggregates can be a better option within the “multiple indicator approach” which is being currently practiced by the Reserve Bank of India.