Let’s Be Friends: National Homophily in Multicultural Newcomer Student Networks

Understanding the relational and network dynamics among newcomer networks is important to devising appropriate strategies that will maximize the productivity of the incoming workforce. Nevertheless, there are limited empirical contributions on newcomer networks with few studies examining newcomer networks in international environments. This study focuses on national homophily and examines whether ethnic identity salience, self-efficacy, individualism and ethnocentrism are associated with the occurrence of national homophily in newcomers networks. Using a multicultural student sample drawn from newly formed networks, the study found that ethnic identity salience and academic self-efficacy are associated with national homophily positively and negatively, respectively. Individualism is not found to be related to homophily while, contrary to our hypothesis, ethnocentrism is found to be negatively related to homophily. Through its examination of the effect of attitudinal variables on homophily, this study contributes to the broader literature on homophily and provides implications for managers and researchers

Making SENS: exploring the antecedents and impact of store environmental stewardship climate

Retailers increasingly recognize that environmental responsibility is a strategic imperative. However, little research has investigated or identified the factors that facilitate the successful implementation of environmentally responsible strategies across a network of customer-facing sales units (stores). We propose that a store manager’s ability to lead by example facilitates this process by fostering a supportive climate for store environmental stewardship (SENS-climate). By examining the influence of store managers’ actions on sales associates’ perceptions of the SENS-climate, as well as the subsequent impact on their performance—measured by margins, as well as sales of green and regular products—this study demonstrates that store managers can foster a SENS-climate by articulating their prioritization of environmental responsibility in their operational decisions. These positive effects are sustained by relational factors, such as the moderating effect of the store manager–sales associate dyadic tenure. In contrast, when store managers display high variability in their environmental orientation, it hinders the development of SENS-climate perceptions among sales associates. If sales associates perceive an enabling SENS-climate, they achieve higher margins and more green but fewer regular sales

Research into environmental marketing/management: a bibliographic analysis

Purpose This study seeks to identify, synthesize, and evaluate extant research on environmental marketing and management, with the ultimate aim of unveiling trends in this field. Specifically, it aims to focus on: the characteristics of authors and manuscripts written on the subject; the methodological aspects of empirical studies, in terms of design, scope and methodology; and the thematic areas tackled, as well as the specific issues raised within each area. Design/methodology/approach Relevant articles were identified using both electronic and manual bibliographic search methods. Altogether, 530 articles were identified in 119 academic journals published during the period 1969‐2008. Each article was content‐analyzed along six major dimensions, namely authorship profile, manuscript characteristics, research design, scope of research, research methodology, and topical area. Findings Overall, it was revealed that this body of research has undergone a serious transformation, moving from an early stage of identification and exploration to a more advanced phase characterized by greater maturity and rigour. This is demonstrated by: the tendency for more multi‐authored, cross‐cultural, and inter‐disciplinary collaborative efforts; the increasing length in manuscript size and number of references over time; the growing sophistication of research designs, gradually placing emphasis on formalized and causal structures; the expanded scope of research, covering a wide range of countries, industries, and products, as well as firms of different status, size, and geographic focus; the tendency to use probability sampling designs, obtain high response rates, secure large sample sizes, and apply advanced statistical analysis; and the great diversity and in‐depth coverage of the topics examined. Research limitations/implications Although a meta‐analytical or bibliometric assessment could yield more quantitative insights, the fragmented nature of this type of research made the adoption of a bibliographic analysis a more appropriate approach. Various conceptual, methodological, and empirical implications are extracted from the study findings, while certain streams of research requiring further attention in the future were identified. Originality/value Although research on environmental marketing/management has experienced an exponential growth in the last decades, as a result of intensifying government, public, and company concern, it has been criticised for being too fragmented, widely diverse, and non‐programmatic to yield an all‐round picture of trends in the subject. This study provides one of the few attempts to identify, consolidate, and evaluate extant knowledge on the subject in a systematic and integrative manner. In doing so, it would provide a reference point that could stimulate and guide future research on the subject, helping in this way the discipline's theoretical advancement and practical development

Socially responsible international business: review, synthesis, and directions

Acting in a socially-responsible manner has become a crucial success factor for many international firms due to the highly complex, competitive, and volatile global environment in which they operate. This book will contribute new ideas, contemporary knowledge, and original research to the area of socially-responsible international business, and offers challenging directions for future research. Topic covered range from global environmental influences on acting in a socially-responsible way; foreign buyer reactions to responsible business and international market targeting to development of socially-responsible international business strategies

Gray Shades of Green: Causes and Consequences of Green Skepticism

Consumer skepticism of corporate environmental activities is on the rise. Yet research on this timely, intriguing, and important topic is scarce for both academics and practitioners. Building on attribution theory, we develop and test a theoretically anchored model that explains the sources and consequences of green skepticism. The study findings reveal that consumers’ perceptions of industry norms, corporate social responsibility, and corporate history are important factors that explain why consumers assign different motives to corporate environmental actions. In addition, the results show that while intrinsic motives exert a strong negative effect on green skepticism, extrinsic motives have no discernible effect. Furthermore, the findings indicate that green skepticism prompts consumers to seek more information about the products, sparks negative word of mouth to friends and acquaintances, and forestalls purchase intentions. The study offers several implications for corporate and public policy makers and presents fruitful research directions

Global marketing in business-to-business contexts: Challenges, developments, and opportunities

This article introduces the special issue on global marketing in business-to-business contexts. The aim is to advance knowledge on the subject that can stimulate further research in this important and emerging area of industrial marketing. The twelve contributions selected for this special issue bring together high quality contemporary research that address challenges and recent developments. The articles specifically offer unique insights that progress understanding in the area, provide interesting managerial implications, and present intriguing opportunities for future researchers. These contributions reflect the variety of current work in global marketing in the business-to-business context. While most of the contributions in this special issue focus on the development and deployment of unique resources and capabilities to enhance international competitiveness and performance success, insights are also offered on international relationships and/or relationship marketing within the business-to-business context, country of origin effects, and knowledge transfer between international partners in subsidiaries. The article concludes with a summary of important avenues for further research

When consumers doubt, watch out! The role of CSR skepticism

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a hot topic in management today. More than ever before, companies engage in CSR initiatives to make a positive contribution to society or support their strategic goals. Yet, in the face of a plethora of CSR claims and numerous reported incidents of corporate misconduct, many people doubt the extent to which companies live up to their professed standards, and consumer skepticism toward corporate social involvement is on the rise. Drawing on attribution theory, this study proposes and tests a model that explains both how consumer skepticism toward the CSR of grocery retailers develops and its influence on important consumer-related outcomes. The findings reveal that attributions of egoistic- and stakeholder-driven motives elicit consumer skepticism toward CSR, while values-driven attributions inhibit skepticism. The results also indicate that CSR skepticism hurts retailer equity, decreases resistance to negative information about the retailer, and stimulates unfavorable word of mouth

Consumers’ Environmental Sustainability Beliefs and Activism: A Cross-Cultural Examination

Environmental sustainability research suffers from a paucity of comprehensive, cross-cultural investigations and lacks insight into the interplay of human values and environmental beliefs and behaviors. In addition, despite the importance of understanding why consumers engage in active attempts to protect the environment, studies looking at the role of environmental sustainability activism remain scarce, poorly integrated, and ill-defined. Against this backdrop, this research captures the links of specific human values with environmental sustainability beliefs and their subsequent relationships with individuals’ environmental sustainability activism and quality of life. Using data from the United States and China, the authors show that religiosity and interdependence are consistently related to environmental sustainability beliefs while, contrary to previous studies, materialism has no significant relationship. In addition, generativity is positively linked with environmental sustainability beliefs only in the U.S. sample, while family values are significant only in the China sample. The results show that environmental sustainability beliefs influence environmental sustainability activities, which in turn are linked with individual perceptions of superior quality of life. The study discusses several implications for practice and identifies fruitful future research directions