Examining the relationships between brand authenticity, perceived value, and brand forgiveness: The role of cross-cultural happiness

Brand authenticity has attracted the growing attention of academics and practitioners for two decades. This study contributes to brand management literature by empirically investigating the impact of brand authenticity on purchase intentions through perceived value (functional, emotional, and social) and brand forgiveness using a 2 × 2 between- subjects experimental design with a sample of consumers from the UK and Turkey. The moderating role of cross-cultural happiness on the link between perceived value and brand forgiveness is also examined. Moderated mediation results demonstrate that brand authenticity positively affects brand forgiveness, and this effect is mediated by perceived value. In addition, cross-cultural happiness positively moderates the impact of perceived value on brand forgiveness. Findings further reveal a serial mediating effect of brand authenticity on purchase intentions via perceived value and brand forgiveness. This study has important theoretical implications and offers international brand and marketing managers practical insights

Developing and utilizing coopetitive relationships: Evidence from small and medium-sized enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa

The study proposes the notion of coopetition capability as an ability to cooperate and compete with rival firms simultaneously. We draw on the tenets of the resource-based and dynamic capability theories as well as insights from in-depth qualitative studies of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in two Sub-Saharan African markets – Kenya and Zambia – to explore the conceptual domain of the coopetitive capability phenomenon. We further examine how external and internal environmental forces trigger the development of coopetition capability, and how coopetitive capability contributes to firm success outcomes. Findings from the study indicate that coopetitive capability is manifested in SMEs’ ability to proactively develop, coordinate, and learn from portfolios of inter-firm relationships with competitors. The study further finds that interactivities between regulatory requirements, customer demands, and firm-specific learning processes are major triggers of SMEs’ propensities to develop and benefit from coopetition capability. The study extends the literature on inter-organizational relationships by highlighting the conceptual domain and drivers of coopetition capability

Retail returns management strategy: An alignment perspective

This research aims to shed light on the formulation of returns management strategies and to identify key returns management components in developing more effective returns management strategies. Anchored in supply chain orientation and supply chain alignment research, we use a multiple confirmatory case study of six retailers operating in online commerce. Interviews with fifteen managers provided the primary empirical data source for the study. The results confirm the presence of alignment in establishing effective strategies for managing product returns and suggest a return policy. The findings provide detailed insights into seven existing misalignments that curb the strength of alignment. These serve as strategic elements for managers to consider in formulating returns management strategies and goals. The results may assist retail and supply chain professionals in their quest to develop effective strategies for managing product returns. Research on returns management strategy is scarce. This study offers a conceptual framework and provides new empirical insights into returns management strategy formulation and, in particular, potential misalignments

Effects of ethical ideologies and perceptions of CSR on consumer behavior

The mutual dependence of businesses and society has emphasized the growing importance of the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Despite the fact that CSR has emerged as one of the leading management concerns worldwide, both businesses and academia have largely ignored its application in developing countries. This study aims to fill these gaps by examining consumer perceptions of CSR and their role in the relationships between consumers' ethical ideologies (i.e., idealism and egoism) and evaluations of a company's product offerings. An empirical study among Vietnamese consumers shows that consumers perceive CSR in four dimensions-economic, ethical, philosophical, and legal. Different ethical ideologies have different effects on consumer perceptions of CSR; for example, idealism positively affects these perceptions, whereas egoism's effect is negative. Furthermore, the perceptions of CSR fully mediate the relationships between idealism/egoism and product evaluation

International Entrepreneurial Orientation and Regional Expansion

This study examines how behavioral elements of international entrepreneurial orientation (i.e., product innovativeness, risk-taking, proactiveness, competitive aggressiveness, and autonomy) increase variability in scope of regional market expansion, and the international marketing channel management conditions under which this occurs. Results from an empirical study in a developing market show that not all behavioral elements of international entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) increase scope of regional expansion. The study specifically finds that scope of regional expansion is fostered when high levels of product innovation intensity, risk-taking, competitive aggressiveness, and autonomous behaviors are aligned with a stronger channel management capability. Conversely, the regional expansion values of product innovation novelty and proactiveness are cancelled out when channel management capability levels are high

The impact of brand communities on public and private brand loyalty: A field study in professional sports

This research examines the role that brand community plays in the relationship between brand identification and brand loyalty. A theoretical framework was developed and tested using an online survey in the brand community of a UK professional basketball team. Study results reveal that consumers’ brand community identification has a significant direct relationship on both public and private brand loyalty. It also shows that brand community identification fully mediates the relationship between brand identification and consumer behavior towards the brand, which is enacted both publicly and privately. The study adds to academic understanding of brand identification, brand community theory, and the importance of the differentiation of public and private brand loyalty, whilst providing guidance for branding practitioners

Less speed more haste: the effect of crisis response speed and information strategy on the consumer-brand relationship

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.This paper investigates the relationship between firm crisis behavior and the resulting consumer–brand relationship (CBR) response. Drawing from theoretical traditions in brand transgressions, service failure, and crisis communications, we use longitudinal survey data combined with archival social media data to empirically test the effect of crisis response speed and crisis information strategy on the short-term consumer crisis response evaluations (1 month after crisis response), and the long-term CBR (1 year after crisis response). Results show that, contrary to intuitive expectations, a faster firm response is not always better, as a slower response was found to result in higher crisis response evaluations. We also show that this effect depends on the consistency of the communication strategy with the first active response. Specifically, when a firm prioritizes safety information (instructing strategy), a faster response is better. Whereas, when the firm prioritizes well-being information (adjusting strategy), a slower response is better. We argue the counterintuitive finding that a slower response is better implies that reacting too quickly may signal rashness and unpreparedness to the customer, leading to more negative evaluations. We term this distinction the difference between being responsive (fast but considered) and reactive (faster but rash).Peer reviewe

The role of destination personality fit in destination branding: antecedents and outcomes

Drawing from fit research in strategic management, this study develops and investigates a model predicting destination attitude and (re)visit intention. The study introduces the concept of destination personality fit on the basis of how well consumer perceptions of a tourist destination's brand personality fits that of what the destination brand manager wishes to convey. A model incorporating destination advertising awareness as an antecedent of destination personality and consumer-manager destination personality fit is tested on international consumers with the destination personality of Switzerland as the study setting. Structural equation modeling results reveal that destination advertising awareness does indeed relate positively to both stronger perceived destination personality and destination personality fit in consumers’ minds. Interestingly, the subsequent destination personality–destination attitude relationship is moderated by consumer–manager destination personality fit in such a way that the link grows stronger in cases where fit is high. The results have important implications for destination brand managers in that they reinforce the importance of strong and distinct destination personalities. The findings also show the importance of actively communicating the destination brand to consumers since the positive outcomes of a strong destination personality increase in magnitude when successfully communicated, and the vision of the destination brand manager has been adopted by the consumer

Branding the hotel industry: the effect of step-up versus step-down brand extensions

The study investigates how customer perceptions of parent brands influence the perceived value of brand extensions in the hotel industry and how these relationships are moderated by the nature of the brand extension in question. Drawing on brand equity logic, the study proposes that perceived positive brand attributes, awareness, attitudes, and loyalty toward the parent brand positively relate to higher perceived value of the brand extension, and that these positive relationships grow stronger in cases of step-down extensions rather than step-up extensions. Survey results from UK hotel customers reveal that only perceived parent brand attributes and attitudes seem to have a positive impact on perceived value of the extension and subsequent (re)visit intentions. The moderation results further reveal that the positive relationships turn stronger in cases of step-down extensions and insignificant during step-up extensions. Managers are therefore cautioned to apply step-up extensions too frivolously, as such extensions seem largely ineffective in generating consumer value and subsequent behavioral intentions, whereas the effectiveness is heightened in cases of step-down extensions