Social media led co-creation of knowledge in developing societies: SME’s roles in the adoption, use and appropriation of smartphones in South Asia

Social media supports the creative economy through its involvement in the adoption and appropriation of new innovation and accelerates economic growth. The current paper expands on this notion by identifying and analysing the interaction between social media-based communities and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as it examines how social media contributes to the knowledge co-creation and supports the adoption, use and appropriation of smartphones in South Asian countries, which are inhabited by approximately 1.6 billion people. The findings obtained through virtual ethnography (VE) provide insights into the dynamics and kinetics of knowledge co-creation and how that benefits large multinationals, small local businesses and consumers in developing societies. As such, we advance the knowledge management scholarship by presenting a holistic model of co-creation of knowledge involving multiple stakeholders

A quadripartite approach to analysing young British South Asian adults’ dual cultural identity

Adopting an acculturation perspective, this article explicates the duality of young British South Asian adults’ cultural dispositions. In so doing, it examines the complex dialectic processes that influence their acculturation strategies. By using a maximum variation sampling method, respondents from six major cities in Great Britain were interviewed for this study. The findings show that young British South Asian adults exhibit attributes of both of their ancestral and host cultures. Their dual cultural identity is constituted due to four major reasons: consonances with ancestral culture, situational constraints, contextual requirements, and conveniences. This quadripartite perspective informs a non-context specific theoretical model of acculturation. Marketing managers seeking to serve this diaspora market (and others) can utilise this theoretical framework in order to more-fully comprehend diaspora members’ religiosity, social, communal and familial bonding and other cultural dispositions and, moreover, their manifestations in their day-to-day lives

Co-creation of value at the bottom of the pyramid: Analysing Bangladeshi farmers' use of mobile telephony

Existing literature offers scant evidence of how BoP (bottom of the pyramid) consumers with limited product knowledge and interaction with product designers and marketers can co-create value. The current paper addresses this issue by analysing Bangladeshi farmers’ use of mobile telephony. The findings suggest the value-in-use is facilitated or inhibited by product features, socio-economic practices, individuals’ capabilities and the appropriation of mobile telephony. The paper demonstrates how BoP customers can co-create value with or without direct support from marketers and offers a theoretical framework for the co-creation of value and contributes to the current understanding of BoP market dynamics

Risks and drivers of hybrid car adoption: A cross-cultural segmentation analysis

Throughout the developed world, consumers are increasingly being encouraged to adopt cleaner, more eco-friendly behaviours. However, hybrid car adoption remains low, which impedes the move towards a lower carbon economy. In this paper, we examine the risks and drivers of hybrid car purchases, drawing on consumer behaviour and cultural dimensions theory to account for the heterogeneous, segmented nature of the market. As risk perceptions differ across cultures, and in order to address the lack of cross cultural research on eco-friendly cars, we focus on Australian, South Korean, and Japanese consumers. Based on a survey of 817 respondents we examine how five types of risk (social, psychological, time, financial, and network externalities) and three factors that drive purchasing behaviour (product advantages, product attractiveness, and product superiority) influence consumers perceptions of hybrid cars. Four segments of consumers are identified (pessimists, realists, optimists, and casualists) that also vary according to their environmental selfimage, and underlying cultural values. Our results extend theory by incorporating self-image and cultural dimension theories into a multi-country analysis of the risks and drivers of hybrid car adoption. Our findings have practical implications in terms of marketing strategies and potential policy interventions aimed at mitigating risk perceptions and promoting the factors that drive hybrid car adoption

Competing on service and branding in the renewable electricity sector

Green marketing research has traditionally analysed the effect of attitudes and norms on purchase intentions and behaviours. While we are aware of research examining attitudes and behaviours towards green tangible products (e.g., Paladino, 2005), there is no understanding regarding how these factors apply to intangible renewable power services. Similarly, branding and its effects are scant in a contemporary green marketing context. Of this research, most has evaluated the product and not service brands. Some have researched the extent of green branding and its effects on attitudes (e.g., Hartman et al., 2005). Despite this, research evaluating the role of renewable electricity retailer brands and their characteristics is limited. This study works towards understanding this and seeks to bind the existing branding, services marketing and consumer behaviour literatures to understand the motivators behind renewable electricity purchase in Australia. With the introduction of contestable customers and the increase in importance of renewable energy around the world, it is imperative that renewableelectricity retailers attract consumer interest and attain their consideration. Using focus group research and in-depth interviews from consumers in Australia, this paper analyses the strategic options available to the power provider to increase their appeal to the consumer. Theoretical and managerial implications are reviewed

Psychological tendencies in an emerging capital market: a study of individual investors in India

Recent findings in the finance and consumer behaviour literature have shown that investors’ investment decisions are likely to be affected by their psychological tendencies. The focus of this paper is to understand how investors’ psychological tendencies influence purchase postponement of shares. Furthermore, the moderating effects of product involvement on the relationship between psychological tendencies and also purchase postponement are examined. Using a survey research design, data was collected from Indian investors to empirically test the model using moderated regression analysis. Our findings show that investor’s psychological tendencies do significantly impact purchase postponement. Furthermore, a profile of Indian retail investors is presented in the paper. Our findings documents another distinct phenomenon of investors’ persistent departures from rationality as posited by behavioural finance and also provides a better understanding of the nature of individual investor participation in the Indian capital market