Brand Extension Management: Analysis of Industry Trends

Incumbent traditional brands have an initial advantage over new entrants to a market. With traditional brands, marketers have spent many dollars and many years to establish brand awareness and build equity. Building and managing strong brands is considered to be one of the key drivers of success in the hospitality industry. A brand extension strategy is followed when a company uses an established brand name to introduce a new product. This practice has been widely used by a variety of firms to introduce new products. This study views the brand extension from the hotel industry by conducting qualitative research and contributes to research and theory on brand extensions by developing a model in the hotel industry

The Effects of Uncertainties on Network Embeddedness and the Mediating Effect of Information Sharing

Conceptual model that both technology and volume uncertainty promote exchange partners to rely on the network norm of information sharing which is the necessary ingredient of the network embeddedness. Data was collected from the 143 manufacturers in high-tech market in which triadic relationships among the manufacturers (seller), their first vendors (first buyers), and the second vendors (customers of the first buyers) in high-tech markets were particularly focused. Results from the structural equation model and multiple regression analysis reveal that while the technological uncertainty has a positive effect on the network norm of information sharing, the volume uncertainty is not statistically significant. In addition, we find that there existsthe mediator effect of the network norm of information sharing in the relation between the uncertainties and the network embeddedness

Factors Influencing Consumer's Intention to Buy Counterfeit Products

There are several factors which influence consumers to buy counterfeit products. Today, any product in any nation is vulnerable to this malady. Counterfeits are packaged and labeled to resemble the original brand-name and generic products. Therefore, fake products often illusion the consumers to thinking that they are buying authentic goods. Counterfeits are a real and looming threat to all manufacturers. Counterfeit policing measures are yet to mature and become omnipresent. With this background information, it is noteworthy to observe how the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) could help identify the factors responsible for influencing behavioral intentions of a consumer towards purchasing counterfeit products. The present study reviews existing literature on counterfeit products, identifies potential improvements, and provides further insight into consumer motives behind the purchase of counterfeits. Six primary factors that influence counterfeit purchase have been identified and the TRA has been applied to investigate the impact of these factors on consumer behavioral patterns. The factors are (1) social motivation, (2) personal gratification, (3) perception, (4) value, (5) brand loyalty, and (6) ethics. The ‘influence of society’ and ‘value for money’ have been identified as the top two reasons that motivate consumers to buy fake products based on a survey conducted. A mathematical ‘covariate interactions’ analysis as well as a Chi-square regression analysis corroborated the same finding- identifying the top two factors that most strongly influence a customer’s ‘Intent to purchase’. A logistic regression analysis was run on the survey results that yielded a mathematical expression which can predict how likely a customer is to buy a counterfeit [p(Y)]. The proposed correlation matches the obtained survey data very well

Corruption Perceptions in the Caucasus: Impediments to Business Activity in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia

Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia were bound together under Soviet direction for most of the twentieth century. When the veneer of centralized control was wiped away in the 1990’s, political, economic, and ethnic differences re-emerged after decades of being suppressed. This paper utilizes the Business Environmental and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) data from 2002, 2005, and 2009 studies gathered by a joint initiative of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank to assess the environment for private enterprise and business development in transitioning economies. Crime and Corruption categories of the BEEPS studies were examined teasing out the shades of similarities and differences between and among the three countries. A series of BEEPS questions about “informal gift/payment expectations or requests” for a variety of business services or requirements reveals some of the impediments to conducting business as these countries moved away from a command economy. The paper shows the shifting importance in the 2002-2009 time period of these subtle and not so subtle extraction of payments for businesses both within these three countries and among the three countries. Changes were often not in a consistent pattern; explanations for the inconsistencies are beyond the scope of this paper.The general trend for the three countries showed Georgian firms perceive fewer informal gift/payment expectations or requests than Armenian firms. Armenian firms perceive fewer informal gift/payment expectations or requests than Azerbaijan firms. For example, in 2009 no Georgian firms, 15% of Armenian firms, and 52% of Azerbaijan firms reported an informal gift/payment expectation or request for permit applications. In addition, no Georgian firms, 10% of Armenian firms, and 21% of Azerbaijan firms stated an informal gift/payment was expected or requested when applying for an operating license. Another trend revealed fewer informal gift/payment expectations or requests in 2009 than in 2002. However, occasionally firms reporting such expectations or requests spiked in 2005. For example, in 2002 18% of firms, in 2005 21% of firms, and in 2009 eight percent of firms revealed informal gift/payment expectations or requests for an electrical connection. During tax inspections 53% of firms in 2002, 62% of firms in 2005, and 15% of firms in 2009 received informal gift/payment expectations or requests. Firms considering exporting to these countries should be aware informal gift/payment expectations or requests may be experienced when importing to or setting up joint ventures in these countries. The prudent firm will conduct their own research on local business conditions before doing business in a country. For many issues it appears these corrupt practices may be declining so the outlook in the future is positive

Brand extension in the upscale hotel industry; conceptual model, industry trends and consumer perceptions

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore three autonomous but interrelated areas of brand extension in the hospitality industry. While brand extension strategies are widely used, relatively few studies have focused on how consumers evaluate brand extensions in the hospitality industry. The initial study provided insight into the scholarly support available to academic professionals by conducting a comprehensive contents analysis of brand extension literature. It also developed a conceptual model about brand extension. The second study\u27s purpose was to explore the perception toward brand extension from the industry perspective. The third study sampled 414 consumers to test a model from study 1 and revised the model. The first study examined current brand extension research via content analysis. That methodology provided seven subjects used in the literature. A conceptual model of brand extension evaluation was suggested by using four subjects (variables) among those seven subjects. In the second study, current marketing trends and brand extension techniques in hospitality industry were examined. From this qualitative study, telephone interview was conducted for 21 hotel managers. The third study then examined consumers perception toward brand extension in the hospitality industry. The model developed from study 1 was tested and confirmed

Customers’ Perceived Experiential Value: Case of Social Commerce Context

Recently, variety of mobile devices and services are being spread based on a smartphones and SC (social commerce). In particular, the SC services play an important role in building consumer’s shopping experience as well as online shopping mall. Thus, this study examines the effect of perceived experiential value (utilitarian and hedonic value) on emotion, memory, and attitude and loyalty in SC context. In order to achieve these purposes, the author developed several hypotheses. The data was collected from 300 customers who have purchased the products or services in SC and it will be analyzed with SPSS and AMO