Psychological and cultural insights into consumption of luxury western brands in India

India has always had wealthy elites such as the maharajas, upper class and royalty that consume luxury products throughout its consumption history. The relatively recent economic rise of the middle class with an increase in disposable income is leading to consumption of luxury en mass. This qualitative study examines why consumers buy luxury, what they believe luxury is and how their perception of luxury impacts buying behaviour in the context of India. The present study explores luxury constructs drawn from the literature and provides some explanation for luxury consumption behaviour in India. The findings reveal that psychological and cultural factors in Indian society play a major part in shaping luxury consumption. While the findings suggest little support for homogenous luxury preference, Indian consumers share cultural characteristics of lavish consumption of luxury and display of wealth in social functions. Luxury reflects conspicuous consumption and status, and signals wealth for individuals, and conveys social identity and status in Indian society

Brand origin and country of production congruity: Evidence from the UK and China

The process of manufacturing and marketing international products is increasingly complex and especially for multinational corporations that strive to lower production costs while adapting their products and services to match local preferences. Localization of international business has been shown to generate differing country of origin (COO) effects in terms of the brand origin and country of production (COP) congruity issue. Both country of production and brand origin may not be the same, which questions the effect of incongruity on a brand, consumer ethnocentrism and localization issues particularly when a well known brand are from a developed country and COP is in a developing country. This study extends past studies on the COO effect to examine whether a negative COP affects consumer product perception and consumer purchase decision of a well-known brand. Hypotheses are tested empirically against survey consumer data from the UK (developed country) and People's Republic of China (developing country) using Sony as a global brand. The main findings show that both brand origin and COP are particularly important for consumers in a developed country in their product evaluations while perceived brand image of a developing country and price are key factors for consumers in a developing country. In addition, knowledge of the extent of consumer ethnocentrism can be a major determinant for branding decisions related to using product information cues about country of production and/or an international brand image

Internal social capital and international firm performance in emerging market family firms: The mediating role of participative governance

Family firms benefit from internal social capital, which refers to resources related to structural, relational and cognitive aspects of family relationships. However, it is not clear if and how possession of internal social capital can enhance the international performance of emerging economy family firms. Based on the data collected from 192 small and medium sized family firms from Turkey, we show that family firms can improve their international firm performance by utilising the internal social capital of family relationships. Our findings also demonstrate that the relationship between internal social capital and international firm performance is mediated by participative governance capability. In participative governance, family members as well as board members have the capability to contribute to strategic decision-making and implementation. We also show that all structural, relational and cognitive aspects of internal social capital should be developed in order to improve international firm performance

Are incumbent banks bygones in the face of digital transformation?

Digital transformation has received considerable scholarly attention in areas of management, business, information systems, information technology, and marketing. In particular, retail banks have been at the forefront of technological revolution characterized by rapid deployment and innovation of digital services, exponential pace of change and innovative breakthroughs that alter conventional banking practice. However, the term digital transformation is often misunderstood as a straightforward deployment of latest information communication technologies. In practice, technological investments entail not only risk but also require an understanding of the relationship between technological, organizational culture and institutional change within certain boundaries of regulatory framework. Digital transformation is far from simple, certain or predictable and likely to be disruptive or transformative with immutable impacts upon associated organizational outcomes related to technical capabilities and behaviors. The present study attempts to explore and develop a framework for understanding digital transformation by examining the development, deployment and use of digital technologies in retail banking. Within a social informatics perspective, this study examines the effects of digital technologies on retail banks operations, structure and capabilities of those who deploy, implement and use it. Using a grounded theory approach the study explores theoretical constructs by reviewing the literature and analysing primary field data including data from retail banks and interviews with senior professionals. The findings provide the pitfalls and successful approaches towards the digital transformation journey. This includes the ordinary dilemmas that the managers face in order to deliver the projects at hand

Wireless information technology competency and transformational leadership in supply chain management: implications for innovative capability

Purpose The present study conceptualizes and examines the interplay of transformational leadership, ambidexterity and wireless information technology (IT) competency for enhancing innovative capability. Design/methodology/approach Drawing primarily on the knowledge-based and dynamic capabilities view theory, the present study explored supply chains of a large global apparel company and their effect on innovative capability through a mixed methods approach. Findings The results show that transformational leaders strongly influence the development of ambidexterity and enhance radical innovative capability through wireless IT competency. Research limitations/implications The results of this study suggest that supply chain integration through transformational leadership and wireless IT competency can promote simultaneous exploration and exploitation to enhance innovation. Practical implications The growth of cloud and/or virtual supply chains facilitated by digital wireless communications and Internet technology is advancing logistics and supply chain innovations. With increasing global competition, digitalized supply chains and ever-growing environmental uncertainty, leadership traits, especially transformational leadership and ambidextrous leaders, can be major contributing factors for successful development of wireless IT competency to support innovative capability. Originality/value Wireless IT competency facilitates knowledge integration particularly for combining prior internal knowledge of exploitative innovation with new external knowledge to develop explorative innovation

Development of international market information in emerging economy family SMEs: The role of participative governance

Emerging economy family SMEs pursuing internationalization have to develop international market information acquisition capability. However, there is limited knowledge about how to develop and utilize this capability. We investigate the role of participative governance and the extent to which participation of board and family members enhances this capability. We also examine the mediating role of this capability in the relationship of participative governance and international firm performance. Our analysis of 192 Turkish firms corroborates the role of participative governance. However, we find that this capability plays a mediating role only when family firms measure their performance subjectively but not objectively. Keywords: Dynamic capabilities, Turkey SMEs, International firm performance, Family firms, Participative governanc

International Social Entrepreneurship and Social Value Creation in Cause-Related Marketing through Personal Relationships and Accountability

Drawing on the resource based view (RBV) and literature on relational embeddedness and network ties, we examine how personal relationships of international social entrepreneurs and accountability of social enterprises influence social value creation in cause-related marketing (CRM) of three UK-based international charities. The study also explores how personal relationships of international social entrepreneurs affect accountability of social entrepreneurship for social value creation of non-profit organizations in the UK context. The findings revealed through the case study method highlight the importance of personal relationships between charity and commercial organizations across borders closely allying corporate social responsibility. In international social entrepreneurship, social value creation is facilitated by accountability of social goals while trust-based personal relationships assist access to commercial opportunities

Production, safety, health effects and applications of diacylglycerol functional oil in food systems: a review

Diacylglycerol (DAG) is a world leading anti-obesity functional cooking oil synthesized via structural modification of conventional fats and oils. DAG exits in three stereoisomers namely sn-1,2-DAG, sn-1,3-DAG, and sn-2,3-DAG. DAG particularly sn-1,3-DAG demonstrated to have the potential in suppressing body fat accumulation and lowering postprandial serum triacylglycerol, cholesterol and glucose level. DAG also showed to improve bone health. This is attributed to DAG structure itself that caused it to absorb and digest via different metabolic pathway than conventional fats and oils. With its purported health benefits, many studies attempt to enzymatically or chemically synthesis DAG through various routes. DAG has also received wide attention as low calorie fat substitute and has been incorporated into various food matrixes. Despite being claimed as healthy cooking oil the safety of DAG still remained uncertain. DAG was banned from sale as it was found to contain probable carcinogen glycidol fatty acid esters. The article aims to provide a comprehensive and latest review of DAG emphasizing on its structure and properties, safety and regulation, process developments, metabolism and beneficial health attributes as well as its applications in the food industry