Word-of-mouth communications in marketing: a meta-analytic review of the antecedents and moderators

Although word-of-mouth (WOM) activity has been studied as an outcome variable of other constructs such as satisfaction, less attention has been given to the antecedents and moderators of WOM when considering WOM as a central construct. Hence, we propose a model of WOM antecedents and moderators using a meta-analytic review. The results show that all antecedents have significant effects on WOM activity, with customer commitment showing the strongest effect. The following hypotheses are also supported: (1) WOM valence is a significant moderator, (2) cross-sectional studies show a stronger influence of satisfaction and loyalty on WOM activity than longitudinal studies, and (3) studies of WOM behavior show a weaker link between loyalty and WOM activity than studies of WOM intentions. In addition, we show that satisfaction has a stronger relationship with positive WOM than loyalty, whereas (dis)loyalty has a stronger relationship with negative WOM than does (dis)satisfaction. We discuss this finding based on the different natures of positive and negative WOM. This article is based on the first author’s dissertation.     

Antecedents and outcomes of emotional labour in hospitality and tourism: A meta-analysis

This paper meta-analytically investigates a theoretical framework of emotional labour and its antecedents and outcomes in the hospitality and tourism literature with 57 correlation matrices from published journal papers. Adopting the psychometric meta-analytical methods and meta-structural equation modelling (meta-SEM) methods, the study finds that emotional labour is related to antecedents including personality, emotional intelligence, customer orientation, social support and display rules, as well as related to attitudinal, behavioural, and customer-related outcomes. In addition, strain mediates the relations between emotional labour and its outcomes. This paper is the first meta-analysis on the relations between emotional labour and the antecedents and outcomes in hospitality and tourism management.     

International involvement of established SMEs: A systematic review of antecedents,outcomes and moderators

This article seeks to review the present state of research on established SME's international involvement. Based on a literature review of 121 articles, we develop an integrative framework that examines the antecedents, outcomes and moderators of SME international involvement. We critically assess and examine how the literature has evolved over the last three decades. Particular attention is paid to discussing the main findings, theoretical and methodological inconsistencies, and to providing suggestions for future research. The review reveals that while international involvement research has made considerable progress over the last few years, its advances have been uneven and leave important areas of research unexplored.     

Investigating the impact of brand vs cause interaction on cause related advertisements

Cause-related Marketing (CRM) strategies have been widely implemented by numerous brands in their communication with customers through advertisements. This research employs four quasi-experimental studies to understand how brands and cause related variables interact to impact attitude towards advertisements and brands. Study I (n = 623) seek to understand the influence of brand related variables, namely, brand familiarity, brand importance, and brand association on the attitude towards advertisements and brands. Study II (n = 722) shows the moderating effect of advertisement type (CRM vs non-CRM) on the relationships connecting branding variables to advertisement and brand attitude. In Study III (n = 637), the effect of cause related dimension, namely, cause familiarity, cause importance, and cause brand fit on the attitude towards advertisement and brands is studied. Finally, study IV (n = 549) shows the interaction effect of brand and cause related dimensions on the attitude towards advertisements and brands. Results indicate cause brand fit to be the most significant variable affecting attitudes followed by brand association, brand importance, and cause importance. Cause importance also interacted with brand importance and brand association to cause a positive and negative magnifying effect on the advertisement attitudes respectively.     

Antecedents of satisfaction in a marketing channel

Because of the importance of satisfaction to inter-firm relationship quality and thus inter-firm relationship continuity, this research investigates previously unstudied antecedents of satisfaction in a marketing channel. These antecedents include the attractiveness of alternative relationships, relationship investment, and switching cost. The research also tests reciprocal relationships between satisfaction and alternative attractiveness, and between satisfaction and voice. This helps suggest answers to questions such as, does satisfaction reduce alternative attractiveness as it is generally believed, or does alternative attractiveness reduce satisfaction? Many of the study variables were antecedents of satisfaction in the study context. Together they explained almost half of the variation in satisfaction. Nevertheless, alternative attractiveness, relationship investment, and voice were the most important antecedents of satisfaction in the study. The paper concludes with suggestions for the cultivation of customer satisfaction in the study context.     

Business Cultural Intelligence Quotient: A Five‐Country Study

Cultural intelligence (CI) has often been linked to performance at the individual, team, and firm levels as a key factor in international business success. Using a new measure of CI, the business cultural intelligence quotient (BCIQ), our study provides empirical evidence on several key antecedents of CI using data on business professionals across five diverse countries (Austria, Colombia, Greece, Spain, and the United States). The findings suggest that the most important factors leading to cultural intelligence, in order of importance, are the number of countries that business practitioners have lived in for more than six months, their level of education, and the number of languages spoken. We find that cultural intelligence varies across countries, suggesting that some countries have a higher propensity for cross‐cultural business interactions. By teasing out the common antecedents of BCIQ among professionals, our findings may help with screening and training professionals for international assignments. Future research may examine the environmental (country‐specific) factors associated with a higher propensity for cultural intelligence (such as immigration, cultural diversity, languages spoken, and international trade) to explain the effect of country of origin on cultural intelligence in the professional community. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Taking stock of foreign divestment: Insights and recommendations from three decades of contemporary literature

Despite garnering an increasing amount of scholarly attention in the past three decades, the literature on foreign divestment is characterised by inconsistent theoretical arguments and mixed findings. In the present paper we review 53 articles on foreign divestment using the content analysis technique. Our aim is to compare and consolidate the main findings of the 53 articles, and provide suggestions for future research. The review suggests that there are several overlapping arguments provided by different theoretical frameworks. We also observed a great degree of discrepancy in the empirical design, particularly concerning the operationalisation of variables, sample sizes, and sample location. Moreover, we identified that there is a dearth of literature on exit modes, exit barriers, and post-divestment strategies. We conclude by providing recommendations and proposing a framework for future research.     

Analytic collaboration in virtual innovation projects

Researchers attend to innovation and collaboration issues. Yet, the relevant literature devotes scant attention to the relationship between collaboration effectiveness and virtual innovation team context, while there are clear indications that both subjects relate with growing concerns in today's business setting. This article reviews extant literature and state-of-the art collaboration systems, and elucidate dynamic contextual factors among virtual innovation team members. The results show the antecedents and interrelationship among these factors, suggesting an optimal collaboration model for virtual innovation project teams. This paper documents the empirical observations of a virtual innovation project for advanced textile manufacturing technologies, and examines the due collaboration taking place among different project participants. Understanding the set of contextual factors emerging from virtual innovation projects can help managers classify, and employ the most effective collaboration mechanism for enhancing the corresponding project performance and effectiveness pragmatically.     

Competing in an emerging market: antecedents and consequences of market orientation and the role of environmental factors

Adoption of market orientation is an investment decision involved with benefit and cost considerations. How environmental factors influence the adoption of market orientation has received scant attention in the literature. This study fills the void by investigating the environmental antecedents to market orientation. In addition, the research explores the role market orientation and customer satisfaction play for firms operating in an emerging market in search of growth and prosperity. Based on data collected from India, one of the BRIC nations and an important emerging market, results show that turbulent and dynamic market conditions foster an adoption of market orientation, which leads to high levels of customer satisfaction, and in turn leads to customer loyalty. Managerial implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Turnover intention in the hospitality industry: A meta-analysis

This study meta-analytically examined 35 antecedents of turnover intention in the hospitality industry. Results based on 391 correlations from 144 independent studies indicated that work attitudes, job strains, and role stressors/interrole conflicts showed relatively large effects on turnover intention. Compared to the findings from previous meta-analyses in other industry contexts, burnout, role stressors/interrole conflicts, coworker support had stronger relationships with hospitality employees’ turnover intention. The results also showed some evidence of national cultures and job levels being the potential moderators of the relationships between turnover intention and its antecedents.