Brand image,cultural association and marketing: ‘New Zealand’ butter and lamb exports to Britain,c. 1920–1938

Abstract

This article examines the branding and marketing strategies of New Zealand Producers Boards which were established in the early 1920s to coordinate the export of butter and lamb to Britain. The brand ‘New Zealand’ featured prominently in the promotion of lamb exports to Britain, whereas much more emphasis was placed on the ‘Anchor’ brand for butter. Because the ‘Mother Country’ was by far the biggest single export market for New Zealand butter and lamb, the branding and marketing activities of the Boards emphasised the strong cultural affinity that existed between Britain and New Zealand. Drawing on the relevant branding and marketing literature, the Boards’ annual reports, and reports by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, we show that ‘New Zealand’ and ‘Anchor’ conveyed the fundamental message of a shared British identity.     

Self-concept,individual characteristics,and counterfeit consumption: Evidence from an emerging market

The study draws on a sample of over 350 consumers from 10 department stores in an emerging market where counterfeit products are available in abundance and there is a huge demand for such goods. The findings reveal that interdependent and independent self traits significantly affect individual characteristics, that is, susceptibility to normative influence, readiness to take social risk, and status acquisition (SA), which in turn influences counterfeit purchase intention. It was discovered that such individual characteristics play a mediating effect on the self-concept—purchase intention relationship and that high degrees of interdependent self traits positively affect consumers' purchase intention. The study adds to the theory of reasoned action (TRA) by incorporating SA variables into the TRA framework and discovers their significant influence on purchase intention. Some novel insights surrounding counterfeit consumption in an emerging economy context are presented and several implications are extracted to help practitioners appeal to such individual characteristics for combating counterfeit consumption.     

The value of Namibia's forest resources: Preliminary economic asset and flow accounts

A national forest inventory completed in 2004 enabled the development of preliminary forest resource accounts for Namibia. The total woody resources volume was estimated at 257 million m³. Forest products used for fuel, poles, timber and non-timber were included in the accounts, but charcoal production on private land was excluded. Forest use directly contributed some 3 per cent of the gross national product, N$1 billion (US$160 million), and the total direct and indirect economic impact of forest use in the broader economy was some N$1.8 billion (US$288 million). The standing forest assets had an estimated capital value of N$19 billion (US$304 million), comparable with the values for fish, minerals and wildlife. On a national level, stocks are underused. However, some localised over-harvesting occurs, which might be ameliorated through community forest management and trade in products, but capture of resource rent by government should be restricted to commercial forest use.     

A literature review of decision-making models and approaches for partner selection in agile supply chains

The paper reviews the literature on supply partner decision-making published between 2001 and 2011, a period that has seen a significant increase in work published in this field. The progress made in developing new models and methods that can be applied to this task is assessed in the context of the previous literature. Particular attention is given to those methods that are especially relevant for use in agile supply chains. The paper uses a classification framework that enables models intended for similar purposes to be compared and tracked over time. It is also used to identify a number of gaps in the literature. The findings highlight an on-going need to develop methods that are able to meet the combination of qualitative and quantitative objectives that are typically found in partner selection problems in practice.     

Inequity in poverty: the emerging public health challenge in Johannesburg

In 2005, in recognition of the role of social factors in increasing health inequities, the World Health Organisation established the Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. South Africa is among the most unequal societies in the world. It faces serious public health challenges, including an elevated burden of chronic disease, and high levels of violence. This paper presents data from a cross-sectional study of socio-economic and health status conducted in five Johannesburg housing settlements in 2006. The findings paint a picture of health inequities across and within the study sites, and socio-environmental conditions that undermine the prospects of protecting and promoting health. The authors suggest the need for a new approach to public health in areas of urban impoverishment in Johannesburg and elsewhere.     

Predicting total health care costs of medicaid recipients: An artificial neural systems approach

Although medical treatment costs have escalated beyond the reach of many Americans, a thorough total cost model is essential before implementing cost containment strategies. This study offers a prediction model of the total treatment cost for a Mississippi Medicaid patient. Artificial neural systems (ANS) are proposed as a methodology for the prediction of health care costs of postmenopausal women who are Medicaid recipients. The results of the neural networks along with traditional regression analysis are presented. Artificial neural systems overcome many of the problems associated with the estimation of this model, such as the identification of the appropriate functional form and dealing with both qualitative and quantitative aspects of these large claims databases. Neural networks are shown to provide superior forecasts. In addition preliminary results for the presentation of significance tests of individual causal variables using neural networks is presented.     

Book review

Evaluating Health and Social Care By C. Phillips, C. Palfrey and P. Thomas (Macmillan, Basingstoke, 1994). Hardback £35.00; paperback £11.99. ISBN 0 333 59185 2 (hardback); 0333 59186 0 (paperback).     

Word-of-mouth Communication in Low-risk Product Decisions

Word-of-mouth communication is an elusive but powerful market force. While past studies of word of mouth have concentrated on high-risk products, this study demonstrates the power of word of mouth in influencing low-risk purchase decisions. The results indicate that word of mouth does not operate in isolation but in conjunction with media information sources. They also show that word-of-mouth behaviour is not random but is reinforced by needs of both informers and informees.     

Discounting in International Markets and the Face Value Effect: A Double‐ Edged Sword?

Consumer response to price is often subjective and prone to systematic perceptual biases, such as the “face value” effect, whereby consumer perceptions of willingness to pay are systematically biased by the nominal value of a new currency. That is, prices presented in higher denomination currencies are perceived to be more expensive and prices presented in lower denomination currencies are perceived to be less expensive. The results from two separate experiments suggest that for high‐price products, when a substantial enough discount is invoked, the face value effect can reverse and becomes a double‐edged sword. While existing research implies that the face value effect becomes stronger for high‐price products, the findings from this research suggest this is the case only when the product is not being promoted. The findings also reveal that the face value effect is robust for low‐price products, even when there is a discount, providing further evidence of the effect in new contexts. Consistent with earlier research, this is because in real terms the discount for a low‐price product is not perceived as substantial enough. The experiments also suggest that for high‐price products, discounts framed as absolute amounts in higher denomination currencies are perceived to be more substantial than discounts framed as percentage amounts. These findings extend existing theory on the face value effect and have several important managerial implications for pricing management in international markets.