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Global versus Localized Positioning Strategies in Base of the Pyramid Markets: The Roles of Admiration and Animosity.
(AIB Insights, Vol. 23 Issue 4)
This article explores two contrasting psychological constructs unique to base of the pyramid consumers (admiration for economically developed countries and animosity toward developed countries), and how MNEs could use insight on these two constructs effectively when faced with the decision to elect either global or local brand positioning strategies. A three-step model is proposed for MNEs faced with such tasks. This article not only advances the importance of understanding the complexities of base of the pyramid consumers, dispelling the notion that such consumer groups are a monolith, but also provides guidance for expansion into such markets.
Synergy Versus Trade-Off: The Influence of National Philanthropic Environment and Industry on the Relationship between Research and Development and Corporate Social Responsibility. (Journal of International Marketing, Volume 30, Issue 1 – co-authored with Dr. Alexey Semenov)
International marketing research has demonstrated that research and development (R&D) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are firm capabilities that can lead to competitive advantages in the international marketplace. A synergy versus trade-off dilemma on the R&D–CSR relationship has emerged as an important topic in the literature. The synergy approach suggests a positive link between R&D and CSR, whereas the trade off approach suggests a negative link. The authors employ the resource-, institution-, and industry-based views to clarify this dilemma by examining two moderators at the country and industry levels. The authors envision that home- country national philanthropic environment (NPE) influences whether managers should take synergy or trade-off approach because NPE reflects the institutional pressures for firms to be more philanthropic. Further, because research finds that CSR differs between manufacturing and service firms, this industry categorization is hypothesized to moderate the effects of NPE on the R&D–CSR relationship. Estimating a hierarchical linear model with a sample of 888 firms across 15 countries, the authors show that in high-NPE countries, there is an R&D–CSR synergy, and in low-NPE countries, there is a trade-off. Furthermore, these relationships are relevant only within service industries rather than manufacturing industries.
Employing Enviropreneurial Marketing Strategies to Gain Legitimacy. (Journal of Global Marketing, Volume 34, Issue 2)
Within the current global landscape, internationalizing organizations are increasingly seeking ways to gain legitimacy, or social acceptance, within the foreign markets they exist in. This current article proposes that enviropreneurial marketing strategies can be placed in the arsenal of tools firms may employ to gain organizational legitimacy. Across two studies, this article hypothesizes and empirically tests the mediating roles that pragmatic and moral legitimacy play in the relationships between enviropreneurial marketing and outcomes on firm constituents such as consumers and employees. The results show that while pragmatic legitimacy is a significant mediator of such relationships, moral legitimacy is not.
Consumer Legitimacy: Conceptualization and Measurement Scales. (Journal of Consumer Marketing, Volume 37, Issue 4 – co-authored with Dr. Mark Arnold)
This paper aims to propose the concept of consumer legitimacy, develops scales to measure this concept and shows its utility and relevance in the international marketing field. A four-step deductive approach (construct definition, item generation, scale purification and scale validation) is used to develop scales for three dimensions of consumer legitimacy, then a structural model of antecedents and outcomes of the construct provides validity for the developed scales. Results validate the developed scales with different multinational enterprise contexts across two countries. It is found that perception of social responsibility influences three dimensions of consumer legitimacy, both moral and cognitive legitimacy influence willingness to buy firm products, and moral legitimacy influences attitudes toward the firm. As a crucial resource, legitimacy can offer firms comparative advantages that lead to competitive advantages. The findings of this research provide a new perspective on how firms may measure, acquire and/or increase this resource.
Advertising Intensity and Firm Performance: The Influences of Firm Age and Cultural Communication Styles. (International Marketing Review, Volume 40, Issue 2 – co-authored with Dr. Alexey Semenov)
Advertising intensity is treated either as a resource that allows firms to create competitive advantages (intangible asset view) or as an investment to build advertising resource (investment expense view). This current research supports the investment expense view. The authors do so by examining the moderating role of firm age (a proxy for knowledge) in the relationship between advertising intensity and performance as well as the influence of cultural communication styles on this moderation. A majority of the studies that examine the advertising intensity/performance link rely solely on the resource-based view. The authors utilize a multi-theoretical perspective to provide a fine-grained understanding of this relationship. Moreover, the authors apply the investment expense view to examine advertising intensity as an investment to build advertising resources, rather than a resource. This investment must be incorporated with the knowledge to properly employ the investment to develop advertising resources. Further, the authors find that firms expanding into high-context cultures must devote more effort into developing advertising capabilities to properly employ advertising resources than firms in low-context cultures.
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