Editorial

Citation

Phau, I. (2014), "Editorial", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 26 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-11-2013-0127

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Volume 26, Issue 1

The first issue of 2014 opens with a series of high impact papers covering topics such as counterfeits, new product development, consumer communications and ethnocentrism, online purchasing behaviours, mobile communications, and new research methodologies.

Opening this issue, Felix Tang, Vane-Ing Tian and Judy Zaichkowsky delve into an understanding of consumer motivations to purchase and consumer counterfeit products and how these motivations can be circumvented to reduce counterfeit purchases. This exploratory study conducted in Hong Kong qualitatively examined the counterfeit consumption habits of young adults across 15 product categories. They found that the most common motivation to purchase and consume counterfeits was the utility derived from the goods over the genuine article. This was followed by negative motivations of perceived risk involved in the purchase; either physical or social risk. The second paper by Mehmet Haluk Koksal discusses the success factors influencing the export performance of new products by Turkish manufacturing export companies. Koksal combined knowledge from two different streams – new product success factors and international marketing; and examined 116 different companies covering a variety of industries. His findings showed that pre-development and development activities and the effectiveness of advertising activities for the new product were among the key factors differentiating successful from unsuccessful new products.

Continuing the theme of consumer behaviour, Boon Chong Lim and Cindy M.Y. Chung investigate how brand familiarity influences consumers’ motivations to use the expertise heuristic in a word-of-mouth (WOM) context to evaluate the brand. This study, conducted in Singapore, found that consumers may rely on WOM to evaluate unfamiliar brands, but not familiar brands. This, they reason could be due to the difference in attitude certainty of consumers in relation to their familiarity of the brand. Next, Hamin Hamin, Chris Baumann and Rosalie L. Tung survey the role of ethnocentrism in alleviating negative country of origin effects and latecomer brands in emerging markets. Using a choice-based conjoint analysis, this study examined consumers’ willingness to purchase cars in three emerging markets China, India and Russia and compared them to three developed markets – the USA, the UK and Germany. They found support for ethnocentrism in emerging markets with consumers preferring their own latecomer brands; this is in contrast to consumers in developed markets who were more sceptical of these brands. Despite this, they also found strong potential for latecomer brands from emerging markets to find favour with consumers in developed markets who had prior experience with such latecomer brands.

Moving into the digital realm, Hilal Ozen and Nil Engizek next discuss, in the context of an emerging market, the role of hedonic motivations on impulse buying tendencies (IBT) in online shopping. Conducted in Turkey, their findings revealed that three dimensions of hedonic shopping motivation – adventure, relaxation and value positively influence online IBT. Conversely, there was a negative relationship between social shopping and online IBT; with idea shopping having no significant influence on online IBT. Xuehua Wang, Wing Chi Chow, Zhilin Yang and Jennifer Y.M. Lai then examine the role of reputational beliefs and its mediating effects on market signals and searchers’ online purchase intentions. They further investigate the moderating effects of consumers’ personality type on the relationships between reputational beliefs and online purchase intentions. Conducted in China, they found that two significant market signals – market investment and statements about physical store presence positively influence reputational beliefs and in turn online purchase intentions. They also find that online purchase intentions of aggressive searchers are contingent on their ability belief rather than truthfulness belief; the converse was true of non-aggressive searchers. Moving on to perceptions of service quality in global mobile communications, Michael Daniel Clemes, Xin Shu and Christopher Gan then investigate a hierarchical and multidimensional model using six key constructs. They also evaluate its influence on the retail functions of a major mobile communications provider. The findings support their proposed model and show that service quality is an important determinant of consumer perceived value, customer satisfaction, corporate image, and perceived switching costs.

Closing this issue of the APJML is a paper by Gerald Albaum, Catherine A. Roster and Scott M. Smith. They provide an insight into the influence of topic sensitivity and research design on respondents’ motivation to participate in surveys. They found that respondents’ motivations to participate are indeed influenced by topic sensitivity and research design, and that there are differences in retrospective reports of motives for survey participation.

I hope this issue has provided interesting insights to stimulate future research. I would like to acknowledge the reviewers and EAB for their timely reviews and contribution the APJML. I also thank the authors for submitting manuscripts of exceptional calibre. Once again, I hope this issue marks the start of a good year and a prosperous one for all researchers and practitioners alike.

Ian Phau