Corporate Name Change and the Market Valuation of Firms: Evidence from an Emerging Market

Investors’ responses to a firm’s name change and the determinants of their response are scantly explored areas in the field of behavioral finance. Based on a sample of 415 Indian firms from 2005 to 2014, this study suggests that investors respond positively to the announcement of firm name changes. Furthermore, the study indicates that when firms do not indicate geographical specificity in the name and have a specific rather than generic name, then the firm will experience greater abnormal returns. Also, when firm names are fluent and are associated with the owner’s family name, again, abnormal returns generated are positive. Nevertheless, as a firm ages and investors gain more information about it, then abnormal returns due to name change decrease.     

Online Review Helpfulness: Role of Qualitative Factors

Consumers are increasingly reading online reviews before making any purchasing decisions. The significance of online reviews has only grown over the years. Though in the past, scholars have emphasized the impact of quantitative factors (e.g., review ratings) on online reviews, only recently have they begun to explore the role of qualitative aspects of online reviews. Content readability and associated sentiments in text provide two important qualitative cues that influence the helpfulness of online reviews. However, the extant literature has overemphasized the linear association between these aspects and the helpfulness of reviews. Using the elaboration likelihood model and the classic ideal point concept, the current work asserts that after an ideal point is attained, lucid and sentimental reviews diminish in utility (i.e., helpfulness of an online review for consumers decreases). This may happen because consumers are wary of fraudulent reviews. This study proposes that if experienced reviewers give such extreme reviews, then consumers might still draw utility from these reviews. In other words, this study explains the moderating role of reviewer experience, which heuristically influences consumers’ trust of online reviews, thus making even too simplistic or extremely sentimental reviews helpful.     

The Assimilative and Contrastive Effects of Word-of-Mouth Volume: An Experimental Examination of Online Consumer Ratings

The popularity of online rate-and-review websites has increased the importance of word-of-mouth (WOM) volume (number of ratings) yet the retail literature has not paid adequate attention to understanding its impact. This paper highlights WOM volume as a high-scope, decision-making cue upon which the influence of other WOM-relevant characteristics on a WOM message's persuability depends. We begin, via a pretest, by demonstrating the intuitive expectation that high volume, relative to low volume, accentuates or assimilates perceptions of positivity or negativity of WOM targets. Then, through two experimental studies, we show that depending upon how high volume interacts with WOM consensus and consumer decision precommitment, it can contrast preference away from the valence of a target also. In our third and final experimental study, we demonstrate that consumers differ in their susceptibility to the influence of high volume. Those with a higher desire to be different from others, compared to those with a higher desire to be similar, are resistant to high volume's assimilative sway and do not show the valence-accentuating effects demonstrated in the pretest. Retail managers and researchers should find these insights about the different roles of WOM volume beneficial.     

Matching a cause with self‐schema: The moderating effect on brand preferences

The moderating roles of consumer brand involvement type and product type on the effect of a match between consumers' self‐schema and the cause a brand supports on consumers' preference for the cause‐supporting brand is investigated. The authors show that a schema–cause match enhances consumer preference for a brand engaging in cause‐related marketing when (1) consumers' involvement with the brand is of the impression‐relevant type (vs. outcome‐relevant type) and (2) when the branded product is functional (vs. hedonic). © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Credit Card Use and Compulsive Buying Behavior

ABSTRACT

Compulsive buying behavior is a negative form of behavior that leads to overspending. In the current study, the author examines the applicability of a compulsive buying behavior scale developed by Valence et al. (1988) with Indian consumers. Compulsive buyers are likely to relate money to power, success, and status. Compulsive buyers perceive their purchases as a way of overcoming negative self-esteem and anxiety. The influence of consumers’ attitude toward credit cards, demographic factors, and credit card use on compulsive buying was studied. The findings suggest the compulsive behavior scale should be modified in the Indian context. Age, income, education, and marital status influence compulsive buying. Consumers’ attitude toward credit cards did not affect compulsive buying.     

Money Attitudes,Materialism, and Compulsiveness: Scale Development and Validation

ABSTRACT

Compulsive buying behavior is a chronic shopping disorder. Compulsive buyers purchase products to quell feelings of anxiety and depression. Past research suggests positive relationship between money attitudes, materialism, and compulsiveness. Money attitude, materialism, and compulsiveness scales have been adapted by researchers to validate their applicability in different countries. Results have revealed new factors. These scales were used to check their validity and applicability on Indian sample. CFA findings revealed that original factors and model could not be confirmed completely on the Indian sample. The study identified new factors: three money attitude factors (power-prestige, anxiety, and price sensitivity), five materialism factors (success, status, centrality, achievement, and happiness), and compulsiveness (one factor).     

Gender as a moderator of the relationship between materialism and fashion clothing involvement among Indian youth

The research examines the role of gender in moderating the relationship between materialism and product involvement with fashion clothing among the Indian youth. The Richins materialism scale and the product involvement and purchase involvement scales developed by O'Cass were used to understand the behaviour of Indian youth towards fashion clothing. The sample (n = 254) comprised of university students from different parts of India. The findings indicate that Indian youth do not possess a high level of materialistic tendencies. Gender has a moderating influence on the relationship between materialism and involvement with fashion clothing. Young men and women differ with respect to their involvement with fashion clothing and even more with regard to their involvement with the purchase of fashion clothing, with women reporting a higher level of involvement in both cases.     

Communicating CSR practices – Role of internationalization of emerging market firms

Emerging markets suffer from institutional voids, and in such resource deficient economies, corporate social responsibility is given scant attention. However, when firms from emerging markets globalize, international stakeholders become suspicious about firms’ products, services, and business practices. Grounded in the liability of emergingness and legitimacy theory and using a sample of 134 manufacturing firms from one emerging market, India, this study explores how firms’ international diversification intent and market-seeking motives influence emerging markets’ firms communication of socially responsible activities as an attempt to eliminate illegitimacy. Furthermore, the study reveals that business group affiliation enhances the influence of internationalization on firms’ communication of socially responsible activities.     

The impact of national culture and type of entrepreneurs on outsourcing

In this paper, we seek to address two important questions. First, why do companies outsource to countries with intensive entrepreneurial activities? Second, we examine the relationship between entrepreneurs and outsourcing success. We argue that national cultures determine the types of entrepreneurs that are more common in a country. We contend that the type of entrepreneurs, promoters versus trustees, influences outsourcing success. Specifically, we propose that promoters tend to outsource more and find an exit strategy faster, but are also more likely to select the wrong vendor than trustees.     

An examination of sustainable development of supply chain using foreignness perspective

This multidisciplinary paper examines the sustainability of supply chain partners from a foreignness perspective. The arguments draw from the research on institutional theory to explain the underlying mechanisms. We propose and discuss a comprehensive conceptual framework evaluating the relationships of foreignness to economic, social, and environmental sustainability. In addition, we consider contingent factors such as the level of development of supplier's nation, level of global integration of buyer, and type of industry, on sustainable development of focal firms. The direct and contingency frameworks introduced in this paper are presented along with research propositions that provide valuable insight into the sustainable supply chain management from the international business perspective.