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This paper aims to introduce the concept of consumer-based brand value (CBBV), a change in the perspective of brand-equity and brand value from one where the brand is considered separately from other brands. The purpose of this paper is threefold: highlighting the theoretical difference between brand equity and brand value (Raggio and Leone, 2007); conceptually linking brand equity with brand value and then with brand competitiveness; and demonstrating a straightforward method for scholars and practitioners to measure brand value and then to forecast and simulate brand competitiveness.

On a sample of 190 postgraduate students, the authors apply the conjoint analysis and best-worst scaling to illustrate our CBBV model. Following Keller (1993), the authors operationalise brand equity as the outcome of consumers’ internal mental processes, in the form of brand preference, and show how preferences data can be transformed into estimates of brand value in the form of price premium. Finally, the model allows market share simulation based on manipulation of branding and brand features.

The paper is more a conceptual piece, highlighting the distinction between brand equity and brand value. It also demonstrates a relatively new measurement technique for transforming measures of brand equity, in the form of brand preferences, into estimates of brand value. The paper used airlines as a service-provider example, but the technique can be applied to many hospitality and service environments.

The study demonstrates how brand equity drives brand value via consumer utility, and proposes a CBBV–competitiveness chain. The authors convert individual consumer preference data to brand value with subsequent preference-based market segmentation, and estimate competitiveness in two ways: market share ceteris paribus and price premium for brand indifference. They also demonstrate how market simulation can be performed so that it allows forecasting of competitiveness (market share) based on product attributes that affect brand value.

The CBBV–competitiveness chain constitutes a (new) mindset in the marketing of hospitality, tourism and other services. The study provides a method to measure and test the components of this model and determine brand competitiveness. It used airlines in the example, but the method can be applied to many different settings such as, for example, hotel management group (Starwood, Accor, Intercontinental, Hilton). The authors show how the method allows for benefit-based market segmentation, market-share forecasting and estimation of price premium.

The CBBV chain provides a conceptual link between brand equity, brand value and brand competitiveness. When equity and related constructs are often conceptualised as relative to competition, they are rarely actually measured in that manner. The study shows how brand equity measured as preferences can be transformed into brand value and competitiveness relative to the competition. The combination of conjoint analysis and best–worst scaling is relatively new to the hospitality and services industries. The authors show that these tools can be applied to these industries without depending on costly software or high-priced consultants.

The purpose of this paper is to review and extend previous work involving branding and website performance and aesthetics by applying a best-worst scaling (BWS) approach. Respondents were tasked with choosing the best and worst from 16-brand attribute statements representing website communications and aesthetics, a more effective understanding of consumer segmentation is revealed between the offline facility to the online retail experience.

A research design utilising BWS was deployed to provide an alternate perspective of consumer choice in an omni-channel retail environment.

Findings indicate a bifurcated audience with one-half reliant on communication and the other half on aesthetics is most important in the online environment when generating a positive relationship towards the retail brand.

This study was conducted within a single retail format category (sportswear and apparel) so future studies need to estimate cross-category implications. The authors also suggest online experimental designs for consumers to compare traditional retail brand images. Finally as this study utilised Australian responses only the authors suggest cross-cultural comparisons to better understand the universal nature of website functionality and its link with traditional retail formats.

Retail executives will find the results from this study useful in two ways. To ensure consistency of brand image across channels managers must communicate efficiently and effectively. Brand managers must mediate between customer segments with some preferring clear concise website communications and others well established aesthetics.

This study adopts a BWS approach to better understand consumer choices in an online/offline branding environment.

This paper reconsiders the approaches to measuring Confucian values, and tests their association with workforce performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine how such values and performances are prioritized across three East Asian societies, but more importantly, identifies how variations across societies might result from the way in which Confucianism has been transformed/appropriated differently across history.

A Best-Worst experimental design is used to measure three aspects of Confucianism (relational, pedagogical, and transformative), and three aspects of workforce performance (mindset, organization, and process) to capture the trade-offs by respondents from three East Asian societies: China (n=274), Taiwan (n=264), and South Korea (n=254). The study employs analysis of variance with post-hoc tests to examine differences between societies. A hierarchical cluster analysis using Ward’s method is utilized to identify clusters based on similarities within the data. And last, multiple regression analysis is applied to determine the explanatory power of Confucian values on workforce performance.

Findings confirm the prioritization of three aspects of Confucianism (relational, pedagogical, and transformative) to differ between Mainland Chinese, Taiwan Chinese, and Korean respondents – producing five distinct clusters based on similarities across three societies. Overall, between 7 and 27 percent of the variance in workforce performance could be explained by the Confucian values included in this study.

This study highlights the “different shades of Confucianism” across East Asian societies, which we coin as Confucian Origin, Preservation, and Pragmatism, and demonstrates the need to take a multifaceted perspective in the measurement of Confucian culture. The study provides empirical support for the link between Confucianism and performance at the micro-level, as originally proposed by Baumann and Winzar (2017), and identifies specific antecedents of behavior for research moving forward.

The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, the paper demonstrates how inter-ocular testing (looking at the data) of Schwartz values from world values study (WVS) provides a surprisingly different picture to what the authors would expect from traditional mean comparison testing (t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA)). Second, the authors suggest that the ReVaMB model can be applied to an East Asian philosophical perspective. Relativity, the authors argue, is a factor when East Asian wisdom, philosophies and ideologies (Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Legalism) “drive” outcomes such as work ethic. Third, the paper serves as an editorial to a special issue in CCSM on East Asian wisdom and its impact on business culture and performance in a cross-cultural context. Common themes are Yin Yang, how different cultures deal with paradox, and Zhong Yong, with accompanying concerns of how to conceptualise and deal with balance of opposites.

The authors adopted ten variables of the Schwartz values scales used in the WVS and subjected them to principle components analysis to reduce the number of variables. The authors found a two-factor solution: one relating to personal material success and adventure and excitement; another relating to success and personal recognition. The authors labelled these factors as Altruism and Hedonism. The analysis is based on an overall sample of 84,692 respondents in 60 countries. In addition to traditional statistical testing, the authors conduct inter-ocular testing. The authors also suggest that the ReVaMB model can be applied to East Asian wisdom.

Three recommendations help to arrive at more accurate conclusions when comparing groups: the authors recommend to aspire to “consistent look and statistic”. If the data distribution does not agree with the statistics, then the researcher should take a closer look. To avoid misinterpreting statistics and other analysis, the authors recommend inter-ocular testing, i.e. eyeballing data in a scientific fashion. The authors provide specific examples how to do that. The authors recommend to test for common-language effect size (CLE), and also recommend a new rule of thumb, i.e. a split of 60/40 as minimum difference to make any generalisation; 70/30 is worth considering. The rule of thumb contributes to better differentiation between real and “not real” differences.

The authors introduce two concepts: the “inter-ocular test”, which simply means to “look at your data”, and the Chinese word, 错觉 (Cuòjué) which roughly translates to “illusion”, “wrong impression”, or “misconception”. This study argues against accepting simplistic averages for data analysis. The authors provide evidence that an inter-ocular test provides a more comprehensive picture of data when comparing groups rather than simply relying on traditional statistical mean comparison testing. The “word of caution” is to avoid premature conclusions on group comparisons with statistical testing alone. The authors also propose an extension of the original ReVaMB model from a confucian orientation to a broad East Asian philosophical perspective. Culture does determine attitudes and behaviour which in turn contribute to the shaping of cultures, depending on situation, context, location and time. The “context” for a situation to occur should be tested as moderators, for example, between East Asian wisdom (Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Legalism) and behavioural or attitudinal dimensions such as work ethic.

The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of sports sponsorship on brand equity using two managerially related outcomes: price premium and market share.

This study uses a best–worst discrete choice experiment (BWDCE) and compares the outcome with that of the purchase intention scale, an established probabilistic measure of purchase intention. The total sample consists of 409 fans of three soccer teams sponsored by three different competing brands: Nike, Adidas and Puma.

With sports sponsorship, fans were willing to pay more for the sponsor’s product, with the sponsoring brand obtaining the highest market share. Prominent brands generally performed better than less prominent brands. The best–worst scaling method was also 35% more accurate in predicting brand choice than a purchase intention scale.

Future research could use the same method to study other types of sponsors, such as title sponsors or other product categories.

Sponsorship managers can use this methodology to assess the return on investment in sponsorship engagement.

Prior sponsorship studies on brand equity tend to ignore market share or fans’ willingness to pay a price premium for a sponsor’s goods and services. However, these two measures are crucial in assessing the effectiveness of sponsorship. This study demonstrates how to conduct such an assessment using the BWDCE method. It provides a clearer picture of sponsorship in terms of its economic value, which is more managerially useful.

The divergent interests of franchisor and franchisee give rise to significant ex-post conflict following the purchase of a franchise. Australian regulators have sought to assist transparency in franchising decision making by legislating for disclosure documents that expose key variables that theoretically determine choice on the part of prospective franchisees. The purpose of this paper is to explore the value proposition of the disclosure document and tests its normative effectiveness using a signal-theoretic perspective.

Potential investors were asked to consider selected attributes through a choice-based survey, consistent with consumer theory, and focussing on an attribute-based determination of value. However, complex decision making in general and choice modeling can place severe cognitive burdens on respondents and induce satisficing rather than maximizing behavioral patterns. Best-worst scaling (BWS) provided a means for potential purchasers to respond coherently.

Findings indicate limited capacity for potential investors to rationalize the simplistic choices presented, suggesting that franchise choice is determined to a large degree by non-rational factors.

This research is embryonic (exploratory) in nature with the findings providing an imperative for further investigation into workable attributes of franchise systems. Analysis is limited to prospective franchisees’ perceptions and needs to be triangulated with franchisor and policy-makers perspectives.

Both franchisors and policy makers can utilize this research to improve transparency in the disclosure document. Prospective franchisees should then be able to make more effective decisions about the franchise systems of choice.

A reduction in conflict within the franchising sector (no matter how trivial) will improve the business operations, franchisee and employee welfare throughout the sector. Progress on this topic will improve the sustainability and overall attractiveness of the sector.

Conjoint analysis has not been used previously in franchising research. The use of BWS on prospective franchisee perceptions is innovative providing a basis for much research to be done in this field of research.