Editorial

Citation

Crosier, K. and Pickton, D. (2006), "Editorial", Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 24 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/mip.2006.02024daa.001

Editorial

For the second issue in a row, no Viewpoint to engage you and perhaps enrage you. But it is back in the second part of this double issue, where the author of the “Right-to-reply” in the issue before last will take up the baton himself.

The absence from the issue before this was because that was a guest-edited Special Issue on a single theme, in which the guest editor’s Editorial itself presented an absorbing point of view on an important issue. The reason is almost the same this time, but not quite. All the papers in this issue are likewise on a single theme, bar one, but there is no guest editor and no formal designation as a special issue. In fact, the common thread emerged spontaneously and relatively late from the subject matter of submissions reaching the pre-screening stage of the review process, and the affiliations of their authors. Eleven dealt with marketing in, to or from China or its near neighbours in the Far East, while eight were on more general topics but having strong connections with that part of the world. (Three more have arrived since.)

In response to such critical mass, we did not quite say to ourselves “if you cannot beat them, join them”. But we were well aware of the massive interest in China across the marketing literature – one might almost say alarm, in many cases – so a “themed issue” seemed a sensible solution. Twelve of those nineteen submissions progressed from pre-screening to double-blind review, and the seven that you see here were in due course accepted. They cover an eclectic variety of sub-topics.

But first, the odd one out

Inés Küster and Natalia Vila of the University of València report a comparative study of approaches to the teaching of marketing students, the next generation of practitioners and planners. Data were collected by e-mail questionnaire from the membership of the Academy of Marketing Science working in North America and Europe. With the proviso that some answer-options had been translated from a Spanish prototype and would not have corresponded to respondents’ normal vocabulary, they found that American academics embraced learning technology more readily than their European counterparts, but aimed to preserve an interactive and interpersonal ethos in so doing. Europeans leant towards traditional teaching methods, but seemed to place more emphasis on those that could most nearly reproduce the real world. Curriculum planners will be intrigued to note the dislocation between the learning methods favoured in the academic and business environments. Scope for further research, and food for thought.

In the previous paragraph, we anglicised the name of the researchers’ university. If we had wanted to be cosmopolitan, we would probably have written Universidad de València. But its own web site prefers Universitat de València, because it is located in the Generalitat de Catalunya, in Espanya, rather than Catalonia in España. Against this background, and considering the editor’s home base in Scotland, in the UK, we found it interesting that Küster and Vila seem to treat “Europe” as an entity comparable with “North America”. That opens a cultural and geopolitical debate beyond the scope of this journal, let alone this Editorial, but it does suggest a potentially fruitful direction for future research: to unbundle the European data by country, and augment the sample.

As we write this Editorial, the Assistant Editor is by coincidence in Taiwan, which presents an unanticipated opportunity to filter our own reading of the next six papers through the lens of local experience.

The next six papers do, indeed, present interesting marketing perspectives based on Far Eastern experiences; largely, but not solely, Chinese. They offer a combination of conceptual thinking, case study, experimentation and empirical investigation. The first of these papers by Ian Bathgate, Omar Maktoba, Sonny Nwankwo and Yinan Zhang (a collaboration between the University of East London and Napier University) offers a Chinese/non-western contextual perspective on the much written about and hotly debated (at least by some) topic of market orientation. And please allow me to take this opportunity to add a personal preference and refer to this as marketing orientation. I recall a Kohli and Jaworski paper commenting on their decision to identify such orientation as “market” rather than “marketing” as they found some resistance from non-marketers to the apparent edifying of “marketing” as a business function – concerns over the claim for (or at least the appearance of) superiority of marketing over other functions. This, I still maintain, is very unfortunate as (putting aside petty “turf-squabbles”) marketing orientation is a far more accurate expression than the now accepted “market” orientation. As a lone voice, unless others would wish to join in a crusade, I bow to received “wisdom” for the sake of convenience, if not commitment, and proceed to adopt (with reluctance) the norm terminology. (Apologies for this interlude.)

Returning to the paper, Bathgate et al. present an investigation into China’s transition to a market economy. Their small scale study is centred on the experiences of medium and large light manufacturing companies (food, textile, paper, tobacco and chemical production) in He Bei province, one of northern China’s major political divisions close to the capital, Beijing. Using Kohli et al.’s MARKOR instrument, the researchers discover only minimal incidence of market orientation among the companies investigated. What is of greater relevance, however, is the researchers’ discussion of the context specific and cultural issues of orientation. While not contesting the value of a market orientation, they do question (as do other authors in other contexts) an unthinking application of law-like generalisations. China is an economy and a marketing environment in transition and the authors warn of the complications and dangers of a simplistic transposition of western norms and expectations to an eastern culture. As the authors note, there are “contradictions inherent in implanting western marketing in non-western contexts”. With these issues in mind, they comment on management systems and structure. They explore managers’ opinions of, and emphasis on, market orientation. Interestingly, their results suggest that while the concepts and imperatives of consumer-driven economies and market orientation were understood, there were still reservations regarding their value despite the economic liberalisation taking place in China. When responding to the statement, “Market orientation can improve business performance” only 20 per cent agreed with an equal number disagreeing and 60 per cent taking a neutral position. The scale of change in China may well be a new catalyst to challenge the mores of marketing organisation the likes of which have not been seen before. Perhaps Chinese companies should be watched closely to track their management and marketing development. New models may yet ensue!

The second paper of the six is by HenryYu Xie and David Boggs of Charleston and Illinois, respectively, and it is, perhaps, best read in conjunction with the third paper by Ying Fan. They both address the issue of Branding. The former, not confined to Chinese experiences, is a conceptual paper that considers the implications of multi-national corporate branding versus product branding in emerging markets, a subject that they refer to as being “conspicuously missing from the marketing literature”. The authors raise the questions, “Which branding strategy, corporate branding or product branding, do firms prefer to use in their initial entry in the emerging markets?” and “What factors influence the choice of branding strategy in emerging markets?” From my experiences of China, mainland and beyond, the answers to these questions are likely to vary from emerging market to emerging market and I would (as do the authors of this paper) urge caution in over-generalisation. For example, such matters as political affiliation and tolerance and country-of-origin effects are likely to have impact. Beyond these, presumably the multi-national context of many companies also presents further complications arising out of their strategic intent to pursue either standardisation or adaptation/localisation in the different markets entered. As a consequence of their deliberations, Yu Xie and Boggs have developed a conceptual framework built around stakeholder interests, corporate image and responsibility, market complexity, marketing costs, and product characteristics (mediated by the firm’s current characteristics) and a series of propositions which they offer as a foundation for further research and testing.

The paper by Ying Fan from Brunel University, also addressing branding, presents the rather intriguing, and possibly disconcerting to some, notion of the globalisation of Chinese brands. China is already producing the goods; the next obvious step is to make this clear through the branding process. Chinese companies have for a number of years been among the world’s largest producers and whether knowingly or not, we have already accepted their ability to produce good quality, reliable products. This paper sets out a brief historical account that highlights China’s dominance in manufacture and some companies’ previous attempts to develop their own brand identities further encouraged by government initiatives through the State Commission for Brand Promotion set-up in 2002 to push forward a national branding strategy. A similar government and enterprise funded initiative also has recently started in Taiwan.

Ying Fan notes that “as the world’s factory, China has yet to create a single brand that is recognised worldwide”. Some may contest this assertion as Chinese brands are known outside of China although their popularity and level of consumer awareness does vary from country to country. While the author’s findings suggest that Chinese manufacturers may still remain uncertain of the relative merits of global branding (not least as the strategic development of choice has previously been manufacturing diversification rather than brand development), it seems only a question of time before emphasis placed by such enterprises shifts from production for others’ brands to production for the sake of their own global brand dominance. Many of the Chinese world-dominating manufacturing companies have risen to their position from points of non or bare existence in as few as 20 or so years. Their growth has been staggering! Of the six case histories which are the focus of this paper, Ying Fan reports that Galanz was established in 1978 and is now responsible for 40 per cent of the world microwave ovens. Haier, he describes as being incorporated in 1984 and has become the world’s largest manufacturer of domestic appliances and fifth largest overall in the electronics industry. He also reports that TCL is the world’s largest manufacturer in the television sector. These are names that few consumers in the West would recognise. While the impact of Chinese companies to date may well have been confined to manufacturing output it seems incongruous to me that such impact should stop there. Beware the West! Chinese brands, unashamed of their point of origin, will be among the global top brands in the foreseeable future (my claim, not Ying Fan’s), and it is for this reason that his paper should be read with interest. And for those with such an interest, further insightful case histories are those of the Korean electronics firms Samsung, who have turned around their brand awareness and appreciation on a world stage, and LG, which has grown to brand dominance worldwide, at first in the East and now in the West in a few short years. Relating this back to the preceding paper, a question may arise regarding the branding strategy of choice and the extent to which corporate versus product-based branding may be used – in this instance as a reversed situation – branding strategies adopted when entering mature rather than emergent markets. (As a word of note when reading this paper and by way of emphasising what is stated by the author, various sections of the paper refer to the Kotler Marketing Group. This group is entirely unconnected with Philip Kotler. How coincidental or purposeful the naming is, readers may wish to ponder.)

The internet is the focus of the next two papers in the series. The first of the two is written by Jun Yu of the University of Illinois who considers the prospects for internet marketing in China by investigating Chinese consumers’ internet usage and the consequent marketing implications based on an analysis of published longitudinal data and consideration of a number of factors that inhibit the use of the internet in China for consumer purchases. The longitudinal data were collected as a series of biennial surveys published over a period of eight years by the China Internet Information Centre (CNNIC) which was founded as a non-profit organisation operating under the guidance of the Chinese government. Jun Yu identifies a number of distinctions between western and Chinese environments to highlight a variety of reasons why the adoption of the internet as a medium for commercial transactions may be very different. These include the Chinese preference for face-to-face transactions, limited use of credit cards in China as a payment method, limited distribution systems to facilitate delivery of purchases in China, and low level of internet penetration in China.

But let us stop to reflect a while to emphasise why we need to be cautious in translating our conventional analyses to the Chinese. China is a scale apart from other countries around the globe. Even though the penetration of the internet in China might not equal that of western countries, it is growing fast and, given the size of China, even lower penetration still equates to larger numbers of users than in many other high-penetration economies. As Jun Yu points out, whilst internet penetration in China may be a meagre 7 per cent, this still equates to a massive 87 million users and is set to grow rapidly. The annual growth rate has been over 30 per cent and at this rate, penetration is likely to be the largest in the world by 2010. Even if this is not achieved, the actual numbers of users involved is so huge, the commercial opportunities are similarly enormous. Furthermore, attitudes to face-to-face transactions are changing with 40 per cent of internet users being online shoppers. Payment by credit cards is also showing what is increasingly becoming a characteristic of the Chinese, their propensity to adopt change. With these changes in mind, Jun Yu then goes on to identify a number of management and marketing implications for the future – presumably creating opportunities not only for Chinese companies, but given the global character of the internet, opportunities for other international companies to enter the Chinese market.

Maintaining the internet focus, the following paper by Chu Ting Cheung of Hong Kong Polytechnic University is a case study of one web site’s use of internet advertising (yes.com.hk) as evaluated by Hong Kong teenagers. The site is specifically targeted towards teenagers so analysis of their views is particularly appropriate (as opposed to the sample merely being convenient). In particular, the aim of the study was to highlight factors that most contribute to effective banner advertising in terms of the audience targeted and, thus, those factors that might lead to advertising success. The implications are as relevant to advertisers as they are to site owners. As part of the research, consideration is given to appropriate performance measures which include exposure-based cost-per-thousand, interaction-based click-through rates, and outcome-based measures. Having highlighted some of the arguments for and against various measures identified in the literature, much of them either contradictory or at least non-confirmatory, Chu Ting Cheung argues for the use of objective click-through combined with a subjective assessment of advertising outcomes by the client. The analysis for this paper includes the use of clementine data-mining as part of the analysis of banner content that may be of interest to many readers. Referring to Ferle et al.’s (2000) study of internet use by teenagers and the A.C. Nielsen New GenerAsians youth survey, Chu Ting Cheung contrasts their findings with those of his own applied to Hong Kong youth. Among the findings, factors which influence advertising effectiveness include aspects which, while not surprising, are central. Media-rich design is important to attract teenagers to click on a banner. Time of year/seasonal effects have an impact on use and relevance. And Advergaming included in banner content (offering an interactive element to the banner ads) adds interest as well as engagement – and also creates opportunities to gather valuable consumer information.

The final paper is experimental in nature. Investigation is undertaken of price discounting in South Korea in which both expected and unexpected discounts were offered to test hypotheses based on what the authors, Hwan Ho Ha (Jinju National University, Korea), Jung Suk Hyan (Cheju National University, Korea) and Jae H. Pae (Hong Kong Polytechnic University) refer to as mental accounting theory and how the savings from such discounts were subsequently spent. Their sample consisted of 240 university students and justification is provided of the appropriateness of this group given the products and topic under investigation. However, the authors do advise caution in extending the findings to other groups of consumers even if the findings are somewhat more generalisable to other ages and to other countries. What is significant in this study is the researchers’ interest in the effects of discounting on what is done with the savings accrued rather than an investigation of the effect of discounting on the likelihood of purchasing the main item per se. It is this aspect that makes the paper of particular interest, that and the fact that it addresses what many marketers (academic and practitioner) are likely to consider an under-investigated element of the marketing mix, that of pricing. As pointed out in the introduction to this paper, unexpected discounts as opposed to savings anticipated through active search and price comparisons, are likely to have different consequences on purchase behaviour – in this instance resulting in a greater likelihood of shoppers spending their unexpected windfall more readily in-store at the same time rather than saving it for later. This phenomenon adds weight to the value of the authors’ research interest and the use of mental accounting theory as an analytical framework. Management implications for marketing planners and retailers are considered towards the end of the paper.

I, for one, have always questioned the actual value of unadvertised discounts and special offers, reasoning that the purchases might well have been made anyway at the non-discounted rates. If discounts are there to attract customers, lack of awareness of said discounts must have a deleterious effect. If discounts were unknown, their attractive power is somewhat diminished although I recognise that the longer term implications are not taken into account in such reasoning nor the effects on sales by those serendipitously wooed by the chance price reduction. This paper has caused me to re-evaluate my views although in modern western retailing (and maybe increasingly in eastern experience) the phenomenon of discounting is so rife that even if the specifics are not known, the expectation is that there will always be discounts to be had in-store. If this is the case, what meaning does the unexpected discount or saving have? And in societies in which bartering and negotiation is a way of retail life, when is a discount, a discount?

We hope you will be as stimulated as we were by this selection of marketing intelligence insights from or about Asia, and by their implications for the principles and practice of global marketing planning.

Keith CrosierEditorDavid PicktonAssistant Editor