Brands as cultural resources in children’s peer culture

This article examines how children collectively appropriate brands as cultural resources. From the New Childhood Studies perspective, an ethnographic study was conducted in schools to investigate the engagement of 10- to 11-year-old children in brand culture. The findings demonstrate that, through a process similar to Corsaro’s model of interpretive reproduction, children do not simply reproduce brand culture; instead, they actively use branding to fuel their peer culture. Mastering and manipulating brands are thus sources for integration or exclusion within the peer group and for differentiation from the adult world. We show the paradoxical impacts of branding on children’s well-being and participate in the debate on their vulnerability to marketing by highlighting how they deploy brand culture to interact in their social spheres, with the consequence being that their would-be empowerment remains entangled in the “brandscape.” Last, we contribute to a better understanding of the concept of culturally based brand literacy.     

Does Social Media Matter? Investigating the Effect of Social Media Features on Consumer Attitudes

The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of social media's features (i.e., entertainment, usefulness, informativeness and irritation) toward consumers’ attitude toward the brand. Subsequently, this study explores the impact of this attitude toward consumers’ brand loyalty, brand awareness and purchase intention. Data for this study was collected through a large public university in Australia. Paper surveys were distributed to students, their friends and members of their immediate families (N = 724). The findings show that entertainment feature has the strongest impact on consumers’ attitude toward the brand's social media use, followed by informativeness, usefulness and finally, irritation. Consumers’ attitude toward a brand's social media strongly influences consumer loyalty, awareness and purchase intention. The findings of this research provide some insights into the impact of different features of social media which will be useful for practitioners and academics interested in social media.     

The role of brand schemas,information transparency,and source of message on apparel brands' social responsibility communication

In today's complex business environment, apparel brands are communicating about their socially responsible (SR) practices through marketing messages to create a niche for themselves and show their SR efforts. However, SR aspects of products are difficult to verify by consumers. To help brands effectively communicate their SR efforts, this study assessed how consumers process an apparel brand's SR messages based on their prior experiences with that brand (brand schemas). Information transparency on messages and source of messages were tested as external cues to influence consumers' brand schemas and SR message evaluations in a mixed method repeated measures online experiment using a national US consumer sample. Results from regression-based conditional process analyses indicated that increased congruity of consumers' schemas to the fact that brands are SR led to more favorable attitude toward brands' SR messages. Also, presence of high information transparency on SR messages influenced consumers' schemas positively, and in turn, they evaluated messages more favorably. However, consumers were not influenced by whether messages were made by brands or third-party organizations. The study results show the importance of brand schemas and information transparency on apparel brand communications, helping both apparel brands and educators create effective SR-related marketing strategies.     

The Antecedents and Consequences of Travelers' Need for Uniqueness: An Empirical Study of Restaurant Experiences

Dining out at a restaurant is one of the most important parts of travelers' tourism experience. The purpose of this research was to examine the antecedents and consequences of travelers' need for uniqueness (CNFU) in their restaurant experiences. Based on a literature review, three theoretical antecedents (perceived firm innovativeness (PFI), perceived firm uniqueness, and brand prestige) and three theoretical consequences (utilitarian value, hedonic value, and behavioral intentions) were proposed. During this process, it was theorized that consumers' uniqueness-seeking behaviors can be strengthened and/or weakened by three psychological moderators: attention to social comparison information (ATSCI), face consciousness, and materialism. By integrating the theoretical arguments, a structural model was proposed. The proposed model was tested using data collected from 379 travelers who had dined out at a luxury restaurant in the past three months. According to the data analysis results, PFI, perceived firm uniqueness, and brand prestige were all confirmed to be important factors in enhancing CNFU. Furthermore, it was determined that CNFU bears a positive impact on behavioral intentions, an impact that is mediated by perceived value. Lastly, the moderating roles of ATSCI and materialism were found to be significant. In the latter part of this research, managerial implications derived from the data analysis results are discussed.     

国内旅游品牌研究综述

在中国旅游业迅速发展的背景下,旅游品牌对于旅游业发展具有重要指导意义。对近十年国内旅游品牌研究作了文献综述。国内对于旅游品牌研究主要集中在品牌构建、品牌创新、品牌营销、品牌竞争力提升、评价指标体系构建等方面;研究方法由定性描述走向定量评价;研究区域主要集中于东部、中部,以城市旅游为主,近年来也出现不少乡村旅游的文章。通过对国内旅游品牌的研究述评,以探明旅游品牌研究方向。     

Disentangling location-based advertising: the effects of location congruency and medium type on consumers' ad attention and brand choice

Research on location-based advertising (LBA) suggests that the merits of LBA lie in the fact that consumers can be targeted with location-congruent ads on their personal mobile devices. However, LBA consists of two underlying constructs: a mobile (vs. point-of-sales) advertising medium and location congruency (vs. location incongruency). This study aims to disentangle these underlying constructs by showing that they differentially affect the efficacy of an ad. Using a virtual reality lab experiment, this study shows that location-congruent ads result in increased choice for the target brand as compared to location-incongruent ads, independent of medium type. However, in location-incongruent situations, mobile ads attracted more attention than point-of-sales display ads. The advantages of LBA thus do not seem to emanate from medium type, but rather from the congruency between the ad and product location. When the ad is received at a different location than the product, the mobile medium is able to enhance consumers' ad attention.     

Transformation and Rebirth of Chinese Brands: A Case From the Hotel Industry

ABSTRACT

Chinese domestic brands have developed rapidly in recent years, and yet few of them have entered global competition as product or service brands brands with exceptions such as Huawei. In addition, the evolution of Chinese brands has hardly been understood or introduced properly by international business educators. In this article, we identify the development patterns of Chinese domestic brands by using a local hotel brand as an example. Particularly, we examine and discuss how a Chinese brand can be established with specific positioning, brand image, and product offering, as well as how the brand can grow by vertical and horizontal extensions based on balancing market opportunities and the brand’s own capabilities. Moreover, we expect this research to facilitate the understanding of Chinese brands among international business education.     

论物业管理企业"以人为本"的管理理念

物业管理企业管理的对象是物,但服务的对象却是人,即业主和使用人,因此,在实施物业管理的过程中,必须树立“以人为本”的经营理念,并且不断提高员工们的服务意识。只有这样才能在激烈的竞争中打败竞争对手,提高市场占有率,提高本企业的社会知名度。     

转型时期中国品牌崛起的制约因素研究

改革开放30多年来,中国实现了经济大国的崛起,但是,崛起过程中"中国品牌"成了短板。通过企业价值导向、政经环境、文化传承以及管理人才等角度分析后发现,机会主义的企业价值导向从目标设定上背离了品牌发展的方向,不成熟的政治经济环境是约束品牌成长的背景变量,实用主义的传统文化让中国品牌迷失了方向。此外,中国缺乏商界领袖等管理人才也是制约中国品牌崛起的重要因素。     

国内旅行社品牌化道路探析

走品牌化道路是参与市场竞争的必然要求,是旅行社自身发展的需要。随着我国旅游市场的逐渐规范,旅行社必须改变当前的低价营销手段,走品牌建设之路。我国旅行社在品牌建设方面缺乏长远眼光,忽视了对品牌忠诚度的培养,在员工的培养和管理方面存在不足。