Unfolding practices with unfolding objects: standardization work in global branding

Although significant efforts have focused on the question how the standardization of global branding works, very little research concerns standardization work i.e. how actors, objects and practices come together in the development and control of standards (see Chabowski et al. 2013). Yet, the development and control of standards involves power relations, negotiation and conflicts between competing visions and outcomes (Lyytinen and King 2006; Nickerson and Muehlen 2006). The complex standardization practice revolves around objects (D'Adderio 2011). Surprisingly, tools and are technologies of standardization are also absent from marketing literature. The current study focuses on the entanglement of global branding and digital artifacts. The project explores how digital objects are co-instituted and co-implicated in the generation, stabilization and control of international marketing practice. Our specific focus is on brand standards; we examine how digital affordances mesh with practices to enable and constrain standardization work

Understanding eINVs through the lens of prior research in entrepreneurship, international business and international entrepreneurship

In this chapter we examine the growing phenomenon of internet-based international new ventures, which we label “eINVS,” through the lens of previous research in the fields of entre- preneurship, international business and international entrepreneurship. Our purpose is to iden- tify where these existing bodies of research help us to understand eINVs, and where there are gaps that constitute important questions for future research. We define an eINV by adapting a widely used definition of international new ventures (INV) (Oviatt and McDougall 2005: 5): an eINV is a venture whose business model is enabled by a digital platform and that, from incep- tion, seeks to derive significant competitive advantage from international growth. With a focus explicitly on how extant research helps us understand eINVs, this review differs from that of Reuber and Fischer (2011b), who focus on firm-level internet-related resources that are related to the internationalization of ventures in general; that of Pezderka and Sinkovics (2011), who focus on risk and the online foreign market entry decisions of small and medium-sized enter- prises (SMEs); and that of Chandra and Coviello (2010), who focus on consumers using the internet to pursue international opportunities

Unfolding practices with unfolding objects: standardization work in global branding

Although significant efforts have focused on the question how the standardization of global branding works, very little research concerns standardization work i.e. how actors, objects and practices come together in the development and control of standards (see Chabowski et al. 2013). Yet, the development and control of standards involves power relations, negotiation and conflicts between competing visions and outcomes (Lyytinen and King 2006; Nickerson and Muehlen 2006). The complex standardization practice revolves around objects (D'Adderio 2011). Surprisingly, tools and are technologies of standardization are also absent from marketing literature. The current study focuses on the entanglement of global branding and digital artifacts. The project explores how digital objects are co-instituted and co-implicated in the generation, stabilization and control of international marketing practice. Our specific focus is on brand standards; we examine how digital affordances mesh with practices to enable and constrain standardization work

Digital Materialities and Incompatible Institutional Logics

No abstract available

Schatzki and techno-organizational practice

This chapter explores a possibility of an activity-based view of sociomateriality. It argues that the treatment of sociomaterial practices and the corresponding debates have tended to prioritize epistemology over ontology and scarce emphasis has been paid to metaphysical assumptions; and that sociomaterial studies have tended not to recognize the differences in metaphysical assumptions between the practice theories of actions and theories of arrangements. In extending Schatzki’s practice theory to the study of techno-organizational phenomena, the specific objectives here are to examine the ontological status of practice in sociomateriality research and to offer an activity-based conceptualization of sociomaterial practice. The key argument advanced is that a theory of actions may address sociomaterial ‘doing’ and account more fully for the role of technology in organizing

Of possums, hogs and horses: capturing duality of student engagement in eLearning

The current preoccupation with activity and interactivity in pedagogical research on eLearning dangerously elevates the importance of students’ behavioural engagement, and insufficiently accounts for other forms of productive involvement in learning. We argue that theoretical developments on the concept of student engagement offer a critical opportunity to revise this stance and problematize online activity. Through the lens of engagement, we depict online engagement as a multi-dimensional concept that encompasses behaviour, emotion and cognition. We further argue that the focus of online engagement may be dual in nature: engagement with online pedagogies and, separately, with the substantive knowledge being acquired. This study draws on qualitative data from postgraduate management research students in an online research methods course. To tease out the complexity of engagement, we use evidence of online activity to categorize learners into three distinct types: hogs, possums and horses. We juxtapose these behavioural categories against narrative accounts of engagement in eLearning to reveal a rich set of textures of productive involvement in online learning as well as misalignment among behaviour, emotion and cognition. The findings challenge the privileged status of interactivity in online learning and open the possibility for disengagement that is not detrimental to learning

Communicating moral legitimacy in controversial industries: the trade in human tissue

Globally active companies are involved in the discursive construction of moral legitimacy. Establishing normative conformance is problematic given the plurality of norms and values worldwide, and is particularly difficult for companies operating in morally controversial industries. In this paper, we investigate how organizations publicly legitimize the trade of human tissue for private profit when this practice runs counter to deep-seated and widespread moral beliefs. To do so, we use inductive, qualitative methods to analyze the website discourse of three types of organizations that trade in human tissue and are associated with different degrees of moral controversy with respect to tissue procurement and use. Our analysis reveals an object-oriented approach to moral legitimizing centered on the human tissue as a morally disputed good. We find that the website discourse translates human tissue into technology, constructs normative meaning around a dominant instrumental value associated with human-tissue-as-technology, and reproduces and stabilizes this meaning by six discursive mechanisms that amplify and anchor it. Moreover, the use of amplifying and anchoring discourse was greater in organizations associated with greater controversy. The results are consistent with an object-oriented sociality

Self-presentation, privacy and electronic word-of-mouth in social media

Purpose: Focusing on electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in the context of social media communications, the study explores the nature of eWOM and the key drivers of this consumer-generated brand communication. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs inductive qualitative design, and the data has been collected via 22 semi-structured interviews with individuals who follow brands on Facebook. Findings: Building on interview data, the paper advances a conception of eWOM in the social media context and highlights that eWOM consists of a broad range of brand-related communications, which include such activities as consuming, commenting, posting, and forwarding information. The study also uncovers two major antecedents of eWOM, which are one’s concern for self-presentation and privacy. Research limitations/implications: Further research could examine additional drivers of brand-related eWOM in the context of Facebook brand pages, and investigate eWOM in other social media platforms. Practical implications: The findings have two important implications for brand management. Firstly, considering the importance of self-presentation, brands are advised to develop an in-depth understanding of the types of self-image pursued by their target audience. Secondly, given the concerns about privacy on social media, brands may carefully consider and manage the levels of privacy that should apply when communicating with their followers. Originality/value: The novel insights centre on the individual differences in eWOM activity, and the importance of one’s perceptions of self-image and privacy in explaining these differences. It seems that the propensity to engage in eWOM and the form that this communication takes are the reflections of one’s self-presentation and privacy preferences

Data Collection Procedures Equivalence in International Business Research

Following the work undertaken by Hult el al., (2008) on data equivalence in cross-cultural international business research, this study examines mail survey administration procedures equivalence within 94 studies published in the Journal of International Business Studies from 2000-2008.The results show that, despite the existence of a well established theoretical frameworks for mail survey data collection by Don Dillman (1978, 1999), international business researchers have not been inspired to adopt and report the data collection procedures adequately in their work. We hope this work will bring to an end continuance of this neglect.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133057/1/wp977.pd

I hate what you love: brand polarization and negativity towards brands as an opportunity for brand management

Purpose: Negativity towards a brand is typically conceived as a significant problem for brand managers. This paper aims to show that negativity towards a brand can represent an opportunity for companies when brand polarization occurs. To this end, the paper offers a new conception of the brand polarization phenomenon and reports exploratory findings on the benefits of consumers’ negativity towards brands in the context of brand polarization. Design/methodology/approach: To develop a conception of brand polarization, the paper builds on research on polarizing brands and extends it by integrating insights from systematic literature reviews in three bodies of literature: scholarship on brand rivalry and, separately, polarization in political science and social psychology. Using qualitative data from 22 semi-structured interviews, the paper explores possible advantages of brand polarization. Findings: This paper defines the brand polarization phenomenon and identifies multiple perspectives on brand polarization. Specifically, the findings highlight three distinct parties that can benefit from brand polarization: the polarizing brand as an independent entity; the brand team behind the polarizing brand; and the passionate consumers involved with the polarizing brand. The data reveal specific advantages of brand polarization associated with the three parties involved. Practical implications: Managers of brands with a polarizing nature could benefit from having identified a group of lovers and a group of haters, as this could allow them to improve their focus when developing and implementing the brands’ strategies. Originality/value: This exploratory study is the first explicitly focusing on the brand polarization phenomenon and approaches negativity towards brands as a potential opportunity