The brand equity: evidence on marketing investment

The author presents a model of the brand equity dimensions and how the model behaves if there are different marketing investments in the value of the brand. The goal of this research is to establish which dimensions and how they influence the brand equity performance in the researched industry in order to help development of more effective business strategies. The author studies an aggregate data set for 85 enriched juice brands in the Italian market. The enriched juice industry covers a broad category of healthy products, such as dietary, organic, functional and conventional juices with added value, etc. He found out that marketing investment, price, packaging and perceived quality were highly associated with the brand equity when it was analyzed from different approaches: as brand functional characteristics, brand name and producer name. The author discusses the managerial implication of the presented models as well as possible future research enhancements.brand management, marketing investment in brand, juice industry

The brand equity: evidence on marketing investment

The author presents a model of the brand equity dimensions and how the model behaves if there are different marketing investments in the value of the brand. The goal of this research is to establish which dimensions and how they influence the brand equity performance in the researched industry in order to help development of more effective business strategies. The author studies an aggregate data set for 85 enriched juice brands in the Italian market. The enriched juice industry covers a broad category of healthy products, such as dietary, organic, functional and conventional juices with added value, etc. He found out that marketing investment, price, packaging and perceived quality were highly associated with the brand equity when it was analyzed from different approaches: as brand functional characteristics, brand name and producer name. The author discusses the managerial implication of the presented models as well as possible future research enhancements

The brand equity: evidence on marketing investment

The author presents a model of the brand equity dimensions and how the model behaves if there are different marketing investments in the value of the brand. The goal of this research is to establish which dimensions and how they influence the brand equity performance in the researched industry in order to help development of more effective business strategies. The author studies an aggregate data set for 85 enriched juice brands in the Italian market. The enriched juice industry covers a broad category of healthy products, such as dietary, organic, functional and conventional juices with added value, etc. He found out that marketing investment, price, packaging and perceived quality were highly associated with the brand equity when it was analyzed from different approaches: as brand functional characteristics, brand name and producer name. The author discusses the managerial implication of the presented models as well as possible future research enhancements

Cultural differences in deliberate counterfeit purchase behavior

Purpose This paper explores the moderating effects of four personal cultural orientations or PCOs (independence, interdependence, risk aversion and ambiguity intolerance) on the relationships among counterfeit proneness, subjective norms, ethical judgments, product evaluation and purchase intentions for counterfeit products. Design/methodology/approach A field study with 840 consumers in Hong Kong using a self-administered structured questionnaire is used to test all the hypotheses. Finding Consumers with high (low) scores on interdependence (independence) show stronger positive effects of counterfeit proneness on subjective norms and its effects on the counterfeit evaluation and purchase intentions. In contrast, consumers with high (low) scores on independence (interdependence) show stronger positive effects of counterfeit proneness on ethical judgments and its effects on counterfeit evaluation and purchase intentions. Consumers with higher scores on risk aversion and ambiguity intolerance show negative moderating effects on most of the relationships in the unified conceptual framework. Research limitations/implications The authors collected data in Hong Kong, which is predominantly Chinese in culture. Hence, future research in other parts of the world with more diverse cultural values would help test the validity and generalizability of the results. Practical implications The findings would be useful for managers of genuine brands to learn more about the process that explains deliberate counterfeit purchase behavior. Originality/value The authors extend the unified conceptual framework for deliberate counterfeit purchase behavior by incorporating four PCOs to explore cultural differences in the socio-psychological decision-making process underlying this behavior

Product innovation as a mediator in the impact of R&D expenditure and brand equity on marketing performance

This study combines the signaling theory and dynamic marketing capabilities perspective to investigate the mediating role of product innovation in the influence of R&D expenditure and brand equity on marketing performance. The study shows that MNC firms are able to use R&D expenditure to improve their product innovation and market share to a greater extent compared to SME and retailer firms. However, the stronger brand equity of MNC firms may actually hurt the performance of their new products by inhibiting product innovation. The authors use regression and probit analysis to study a panel data for 1356 food brands. Overall, this research provides fresh insights into the process by which R&D expenditure and brand equity affect product innovation and marketing performance in highly competitive product categories

Interactive impact of ethnic distance and cultural familiarity on the perceived effects of free trade agreements

Past research on free trade agreements (FTAs) mostly uses an economic perspective to assess their impact on the level of trade and investments between nations. As a result, there is a distinct paucity of research on the perceptions of employees and managers in organizations affected by FTAs, towards the likely outcomes of those FTAs. We address this gap by using the context of recently signed China-Australia free trade agreement (ChAFTA) to develop a multidimensional scale for the perceived advantages and disadvantages of FTAs. Drawing on social identity theory and the similarly-attraction paradigm we also show direct and interactive effects of perceived ethnic distance (between home and partner country) and cultural familiarity (with the FTA partner country) on these perceived outcomes of FTAs. Our findings highlight the need to look beyond the economic perspective and consider a much broader range of perceived outcomes of FTAs

The use and misuse of structural equation modeling in management research

Purpose – The research practice in management research is dominantly based on structural equation modeling (SEM), but almost exclusively, and often misguidedly, on covariance-based SEM. The purpose of this paper is to question the current research myopia in management research, because the paper adumbrates theoretical foundations and guidance for the two SEM streams: covariance-based and variance-based SEM; and improves the conceptual knowledge by comparing the most important procedures and elements in the SEM study, using different theoretical criteria. Design/methodology/approach – The study thoroughly analyzes, reviews and presents two streams using common methodological background. The conceptual framework discusses the two streams by analysis of theory, measurement model specification, sample and goodness-of-fit. Findings – The paper identifies and discusses the use and misuse of covariance-based and variance-based SEM utilizing common topics such as: first, theory (theory background, relation to theory and research orientation); second, measurement model specification (type of latent construct, type of study, reliability measures, etc.); third, sample (sample size and data distribution assumption); and fourth, goodness-of-fit (measurement of the model fit and residual co/variance). Originality/value – The paper questions the usefulness of Cronbach's α research paradigm and discusses alternatives that are well established in social science, but not well known in the management research community. The author presents short research illustration in which analyzes the four recently published papers using common methodological background. The paper concludes with discussion of some open questions in management research practice that remain under-investigated and unutilized

Belt and Road Initiative – Challenges and Opportunities for Europe

China’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) is an ambitious global infrastructure development strategy that covers 152 countries around the world. Despite strong support from the Chinese government, public response to BRI has been quite mixed in Europe, because people are still not sure about how this would benefit or harm their individual and national interests. We address this uncertainty about the potential outcomes of BRI by exploring how it is perceived by the managers working in professional services firms in the partner countries in Europe. We also introduce a new construct, ‘BRI-Readiness’, the ability of managers and organizations to face the challenges and tap the opportunities offered by BRI. We also plan to develop a scale to operationalize BRI-Readiness. Finally, we explore the impact of psychic distance (in terms of their cultural values and business practices) and cultural familiarity on the acceptance of BRI by the managers in professional services firms in Europe