Brand Tracking on Social Media: The Role of Country of Origin Perceptions

Marketers are now almost a decade into using social media as another outlet in developing brand relationships with consumers. Yet an understanding of how consumers interact with brands online is still in its infancy. This paper compares the social media and brand-tracking habits of consumers in three parts of the world: Asia, the Middle East and the USA. In addition, the study attempts to explain what motivates consumers to follow brands on social media, focusing on the role of products’ country of origin in explaining the relationship. The results show that US consumers spent the most time on social media and tracked the most brands, while Thai respondents did the least of both. Four dimensions of social media brand tracking were identified and ratings compared across groups. Significant differences among groups were found for one of the four factors, ‘brand experience’, with US consumers experiencing significantly more positive ‘brand experiences’ than Thai consumers, and Egyptian consumers falling somewhere in between. The results also indicate that the country of product origin can have some effects on brand tracking

CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN ONLINE PRICE ELASTICITY

This study empirically derives price elasticity estimates in fashion e-commerce in six European countries and explores their relationship within the given cultural context using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory. The authors use a novel data set consisting of more than two million actual sales transactions provided by a leading European fashion e-commerce company for regression analysis and find considerable cross-country differences in price elasticity. Furthermore, cultural dimensions power distance, individualism, and masculinity relate to a less distinct price elasticity whereas long-term orientation pertains to the opposite. Lastly, the study analyzes profit implications for multinational corporations employing cross-country price discrimination

Conceptualizing the Electronic Word-of-Mouth Process: What We Know and Need to Know About eWOM Creation, Exposure, and Evaluation

Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) is a prevalent consumer practice that has undeniable effects on the company bottom line, yet it remains an over-labeled and under-theorized concept. Thus, marketers could benefit from a practical, science-based roadmap to maximize its business value. Building on the consumer motivation–opportunity–ability framework, this study conceptualizes three distinct stages in the eWOM process: eWOM creation, eWOM exposure, and eWOM evaluation. For each stage, we adopt a dual lens—from the perspective of the consumer (who sends and receives eWOM) and that of the marketer (who amplifies and manages eWOM for business results)—to synthesize key research insights and propose a research agenda based on a multidisciplinary systematic review of 1050 academic publications on eWOM published between 1996 and 2019. We conclude with a discussion of the future of eWOM research and practice

Using big data for customer centric marketing

This chapter deliberates on “big data” and provides a short overview of business intelligence and emerging analytics. It underlines the importance of data for customer-centricity in marketing. This contribution contends that businesses ought to engage in marketing automation tools and apply them to create relevant, targeted customer experiences. Today’s business increasingly rely on digital media and mobile technologies as on-demand, real-time marketing has become more personalised than ever. Therefore, companies and brands are striving to nurture fruitful and long lasting relationships with customers. In a nutshell, this chapter explains why companies should recognise the value of data analysis and mobile applications as tools that drive consumer insights and engagement. It suggests that a strategic approach to big data could drive consumer preferences and may also help to improve the organisational performance.peer-reviewe

The get big fast as a business model in e-commerce : a case study of Zalando

The purpose of this thesis is to identify the properties of the internet that help e-commerce companies to growth so much and so fast, along with the analysis of the Get Big Fast strategy. Such strategy exploits online business activities based on first mover advantage, allowing incumbents to preempt competition by gaining market share as fast as possible and generate positive feedbacks. This qualitative research is a case-study of Zalando, an online fashion retailer. Though initially specialized in footwear, the firm quickly broadened its product portfolio, expanded into new markets and acquired millions of clients, becoming the Europe’s market leader. Hence, this study investigates to what extent Zalando has followed the Get Big Fast principles, based on data provenient from five interviews and multiple secondary sources. The findings indicate that certain properties of the internet stimulate the scalability of business operations, such as: 1) Mediating Technology 2) Information Density 3) Universal Standards 4) Distribution Channel 5) Infinite Virtual Capacity and 6) Global Reach. Moreover, it was found that Zalando has actually pursued the Get Big Fast strategy by being an early mover in the market, applying three out of four common tactics to gain market share (capacity expansion, heavy advertising and formation of strategic alliances), following product and market development strategies and generating four positive feedbacks (economies of scale, learning effects, network effects and accumulation of complementary assets). Nevertheless, some limitations exist, including an extensive scope of research, limited amount of interviews conducted via Skype and a generalization problem.O propósito desta tese é indentificar as propriedades da Internet que ajudam as empresas de comércio electrónico a crescer tanto e tão rápido, juntamente com a análise da estratégia Get Big Fast. Esta estratégia explora a actividade económica online baseada em first mover advantage, permindo aos incumbentes antecipar os seus rivais através da rápida conquista de quota de mercado e da produção de feedbacks positivos. Este estudo qualitativo é um caso de estudo sobre a Zalando, uma loja virtual de moda. Apesar de ser inicialmente especializada em calçado, a empresa alargou rapidamente o seu portofolio de produtos, expandiu-se para novos mercados e adquiriu milhões de clientes, tornando-se no líder de mercado Europeu. Portanto, esta tese investiga em que medida a Zalando segiu os princípios Get Big Fast, de acordo com informação recolhida em cinco entrevistas e múltiplas fontes secundárias. Os resultados indicam que certas propriedades da Internet estimulam a expansibilidade do comércio online, tais como: 1) Tecnologia Mediadora 2) Densidade de Informação 3) Normas Universais 4) Canal de Distribuição 5) Capacidade Virtual Infinita 6) Alcance Global. Além disso, verificou-se que a Zalando seguiu efectivamente uma estratégia Get Big Fast por ser pioneira no mercado, aplicar três de quatro tácticas comuns destinadas à conquista de quota de mercado (expansão de capacidade, forte investimento publicitário e formação de alianças estratégicas), seguir estratégias de desenvolvimento de produtos e mercados e gerar quatro feedbacks positivos (economias de escala, efeitos de aprendizagem, efeitos de rede e acumulação de activos complementares). Contudo, existem algumas limitações, tais como o extenso âmbito de investigação, o número limitado de entrevistas realizadas por Skype e um problema de generelização

The International Market: Designing an e-commerce experience to promote different cultures

Learning different cultures and promoting international trade can be implemented through web design and marketing. Most e-commerce websites implement design and marketing strategies in an efficient way, however none of them implement the idea of exploring international cultures through purchasing experiences. This thesis project implements a complex brand identity and determines how to effectively create an e-commerce website employing the ideas of shopping as an online trip (“out shopping”), providing several categories of products for particular user segments. A significant part of the project focuses on determining which graphic elements are applicable for a specific design situation

How footwear companies can use online CX to WOW customers

Purpose: E-commerce has become an essential and highly competitive channel for e-retailers, who have felt the need to invest in the experience delivered to customers. Therefore, it becomes necessary to unveil the online customer experience so that brands can improve their offerings. In this study, the authors proposed a model that explores customer experience on websites, namely, what concerns the use of the latest technological developments such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual reality. Design/methodology/approach: The study offers a model to explore and compare the online consumer experience in e-commerce websites, considering eight dimensions that cover recent technological advances. A multiple case study that evaluated companies in the footwear industry was used to assess the model's applicability. The case study methodology considered two distinct segments, the high-price and low-price segments. Findings: The data collected by the websites' examination enabled us to confirm part of the suggested propositions. However, propositions concerning new technologies were not proved. Opportunities for improvement were identified, especially for high-price segment companies, since the results showed that these companies provide a less pleasant consumer experience than those of the opposing segment. Originality/value: This study extends the scope of the online consumer experience by introducing more contemporary dimensions. Additionally, the model allows an evaluation and comparison of the knowledge delivered by several online retailers, using the Portuguese footwear industry as a reference.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio