The purpose of this paper is to examine how political/authoritarian regionalism affects foreign direct investment (FDI) in sub-national states in South Korea.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how political/authoritarian regionalism affects foreign direct investment (FDI) in sub-national states in South Korea.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper employs statistical analysis to examine the relationship between regionalism and FDI, along with historical description of regionalism in South Korea.
Findings
The analyses suggest that not only authoritarian regionalism influence foreign investment to the region but also political regionalism matters. Sub-national states with higher authoritarian regionalism receive less foreign investment while sub-national states with high political regionalism, which imply political stability, receive more FDI than others.
Originality/value
The paper examined how local politics influence foreign investments in South Korea, and suggests stronger decentralization will positively influence FDI in the future.
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Keywords
Soon-Ho Kim, Min-Seong Kim and Dong Hun Lee
Coffee shops are becoming more aware that brand loyalty can be an effective strategy for securing a competitive edge in business. To supplement current understanding of the…
Abstract
Coffee shops are becoming more aware that brand loyalty can be an effective strategy for securing a competitive edge in business. To supplement current understanding of the importance of coffee shop branding, this study investigates the role of personality traits and congruity in the formation of brand loyalty. This study finds that personality traits have direct effects on congruity and customer satisfaction, the two defining factors of brand loyalty. Overall, our results suggest that the interaction of personality traits, congruity, and satisfaction is essential to the process of influencing coffee shop customers’ brand loyalty.
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Myungwoo Lee, Dong Hun Lee, Michael Cottingham and Billy Hawkins
This study comprehensively explains how sports consumers evaluate athletes’ post-transgression philanthropic activities. We specifically focus on the congruence effect between the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study comprehensively explains how sports consumers evaluate athletes’ post-transgression philanthropic activities. We specifically focus on the congruence effect between the pre-transgression philanthropic endeavors and the transgression issue, shedding light on the effectiveness of these strategies in reinstating the positive image of athletes and associated entities.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed a rigorous research design, replicating two studies using sports-related (n = 409) and non-sports-related (n = 404) transgression cases. Data were collected by the Amazon Mechanical Turk platform. A series of experimental studies aimed to investigate the congruence mechanism underlying athletes’ post-transgression philanthropic efforts.
Findings
When the post-transgression philanthropic initiative is related to the transgression, sport consumers are less likely to view it skeptically and are more inclined to positively evaluate the brand attitude and purchase intention, especially when the transgression is unrelated to the pre-transgression philanthropic efforts.
Research limitations/implications
As is the case with most research, this study has a limitation. This study used a fictitious athlete name to prevent any prior biases or preconceived notions about the athletes and to avoid any unforeseen influences of personal attitudes toward the athlete. However, designing this study around a fictitious athlete may pose construct validity issues because it may not reflect real-life interactions with the athletes. To increase the validity of findings, future research should aim to replicate the current findings using the names of actual athletes.
Originality/value
This unique approach provides valuable insights and equips sports marketers and brand managers with effective strategies to restore the positive image of athletes and associated entities after a transgression has been made public, empowering them to make informed decisions in challenging situations.
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Georgios Tsimonis and Sergios Dimitriadis
The purpose of this paper is to: first, examine why companies create brand pages in social media, how they use them, what policies and strategies they follow, and what outcomes do…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to: first, examine why companies create brand pages in social media, how they use them, what policies and strategies they follow, and what outcomes do they expect; and second – from firms’ point of view – how users are benefited from such pages.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative study approach was employed for this study. Data were collected from personal interviews with 14 marketing managers responsible for the social media activity of their company, providing preliminary evidence about the actions firms take, the motivations that led them to getting involved, and the derived outcomes.
Findings
The main actions of the firm are making prize competitions, announcing new products/services, interacting with fans, providing advice and useful information, and handling customer service issues. The basic motivations are the increasing popularity of social media, competitors’ presence, headquarters’ strategy, and cost reduction pressure. Interact with customers, create/enhance relationships with customers, brand awareness, customer engagement, promote products/increase of sales, and the more targeted acquisition of new customers, were referred to as the main expected outcomes for companies.
Research limitations/implications
Given the qualitative nature of the study and the emerging field of research about social media, findings should be considered as preliminary and exploratory. Interviews with companies from more sectors and also with social media users will provide a more comprehensive view of the topic.
Practical implications
The paper identifies several opportunities for company managers, suggesting practices for effective social media handling.
Originality/value
Considering the rapid development of social media and their penetration in business marketing actions, this paper is an exploratory step toward the ways firms utilize social media channels.