Man Lai Cheung, Guilherme D. Pires, Philip J. Rosenberger III and Mauro Jose De Oliveira
This study aims to examine the impact of social media marketing (SMM) efforts, including entertainment, customisation, interaction and trendiness via WeChat, on consumers' online…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the impact of social media marketing (SMM) efforts, including entertainment, customisation, interaction and trendiness via WeChat, on consumers' online brand-related activities (COBRAs) and their related outcomes, including on-going search behaviour and repurchase intention.
Design/methodology/approach
The theoretical framework is tested for luxury cosmetics brands. Data were collected in China from 433 WeChat users utilising a self-administered online survey. Data analysis uses partial least squares–structural equation modelling.
Findings
Entertainment and interaction drive consumers' consuming, contributing and creating behaviours, whilst trendiness drives creating behaviour only. Inconsistent with previous research findings, customisation has a non-significant impact on consumers' consuming, contributing and creating behaviours. Consuming and creating behaviours assist in driving on-going search behaviour and repurchase intention. Contributing behaviours assist in driving on-going search behaviour only.
Research limitations/implications
Cross-sectional in nature, this research adds to the marketing literature by explaining how to use SMM to drive COBRAs for luxury cosmetics in China using WeChat. To enhance the generalisability of the findings, future research might consider a longitudinal design, including comparisons between countries with diverse cultures as well as other industries and product types.
Practical implications
COBRAs may be heightened by using entertaining and trendy content. Incorporating interactive content on social media platforms encourages consumers to consume, contribute and create content on social media brand communities, further driving their on-going search behaviour and repurchase intention.
Originality/value
Examination of SMM's role in the marketing literature largely overlooks the impact of SMM elements on COBRAs. This study contributes to the SMM research by empirically testing a theoretical model, confirming that specific SMM elements – including entertainment and interaction – are key factors in driving consumers' consuming, contributing and creating behaviour on social media brand communities, influencing consumers' on-going search behaviour and repurchase intention.
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Reyaz Jeffrey, Guilherme Pires and Philip J. Rosenberger III
This study aims to investigate how Australian Muslims make consumption-related decisions regarding the purchase of home loan products.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how Australian Muslims make consumption-related decisions regarding the purchase of home loan products.
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory research used in-depth semistructured interviews with community leaders from leading Muslim ethnic communities. Seventeen community leaders from the six largest Muslim community groups by country of birth and living in Melbourne and Sydney were selected for the interviews. The interview data was analyzed using NVivo 12.
Findings
The findings suggest that despite knowledge of and concern for Islamic tenets regarding the consumption of banking and financial products, including home loans, most Muslims viewed conventional home loans (CHL) as being permitted, essential or innocuous. Reasons for such views include the interpretation of Islamic tenets, limited awareness of available Islamic home loan offerings, convenience factors related to accessing CHL offerings, service quality levels, availability of technology-based services such as internet banking, and the influence of social groups and communities.
Research limitations/implications
This research helps marketers understand the attitudes, subjective norms (SN) and behavioral factors related to the Muslim consumption of home loans.
Practical implications
The findings of this research can facilitate the development of financial products and marketing strategies that better appeal to Muslims. Such loan products can improve the uptake of home loans (and, in effect, homeowners) by Muslims, potentially improving social and financial inclusion.
Social implications
This research helps marketers understand the attitudes, SNs and behavioral factors related to the Muslim consumption of home loans, which can facilitate the development of financial products and marketing strategies that better appeal to Muslims. Such loan products can improve the uptake of home loans (and, in effect, homeowners) by Muslims, potentially improving social and financial inclusion.
Originality/value
This qualitative study explores the drivers of Muslim consumers’ uptake of home loans in Australia. Drawing upon the theory of planned behavior and the literature, antecedents to attitude, SNs and perceived behavioral control that influence intention and behavior were investigated. It identifies factors influencing decision-making related to home loans by Australian Muslims, contributing to a theoretical framework to investigate Muslims’ consumption of financial products.
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Sérgio Moro, Guilherme Pires, Paulo Rita, Paulo Cortez and Ricardo F. Ramos
This study aims to unveil within the current academic literature the principal directions in the ethnic entrepreneurship and small business marketing research context.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to unveil within the current academic literature the principal directions in the ethnic entrepreneurship and small business marketing research context.
Design/methodology/approach
An automated literature analysis procedure was undertaken, attempting to cover all literature published on the subject since 1962. A total of 188 articles were analysed using text mining and topic modelling.
Findings
The results show a lack of framing of ethnic entrepreneurship literature outside the narrower scope of migration. Some core themes were found (e.g. network, diversity) around which several other themes orbit, including both related issues to the ethnic factor (e.g. barriers and minorities) and managerial issues (e.g. marketing and production).
Originality/value
Ethnic minority business and small business marketing research has seen a growing number of publications. However, a careful review of existing work is missing.
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Man Lai Cheung, Guilherme Pires, Philip J. Rosenberger III, Wilson K.S. Leung and Man Kit Chang
The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a research model examining the impact of five social media marketing (SMM) elements–entertainment, customization…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a research model examining the impact of five social media marketing (SMM) elements–entertainment, customization, interactivity, electronic-word-of-mouth (eWOM) and trendiness–on consumers' intent to participate in value co-creation and on consumer–brand engagement (CBE) and perceived brand value in turn.
Design/methodology/approach
The research model is tested for wearable healthcare technology, a smart-technology product. Data were collected in China from 294 users using a self-administered online survey. Data analysis uses partial least squares – structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).
Findings
Entertainment, customization and eWOM are the key predictors in driving consumers' value co-creation intention, thereby strengthening the value co-creation process, CBE and perceived brand value. In contrast with previous studies in the area of value co-creation and CBE, the impact of interactivity and trendiness on value co-creation intention is non-significant.
Research limitations/implications
The research contributes to the literature by providing an understanding of how to use SMM dimensions to drive consumers' value co-creation intention for smart-technology products, such as healthcare-wearable technology. However, this study is cross-sectional in nature and its focus is solely on wearable healthcare technology in China. To enhance the generalizability of the findings, future research might consider a longitudinal design and include comparisons between countries with diverse cultures, along with other types of smart-technology products.
Practical implications
The findings provide guidance for marketers to enhance CBE and perceived brand value by strengthening consumers' value co-creation intention, using SMM with entertaining and customized content and encouraging positive referrals on social-media platforms.
Originality/value
Scholarly attention on the importance of SMM in strengthening consumers' value co-creation intention and CBE is limited, and the question of which SMM elements are effective in driving value co-creation and its link to perceived brand value has not been examined. This paper contributes to the marketing literature by developing and empirically testing a research model, revealing entertainment, customization and eWOM as key SMM elements driving value co-creation intention and CBE for a smart-technology product in China.
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Guilherme Pires, John Stanton and Bruce Cheek
The potential for segmenting and targeting consumers, using ethnicity as a segmenting variable, is widely recognised in the marketing literature. However, attention to the…
Abstract
The potential for segmenting and targeting consumers, using ethnicity as a segmenting variable, is widely recognised in the marketing literature. However, attention to the problems of identifying and reaching a single, often relatively small, ethnic group, as opposed to some aggregate of groups, has been minimal. This paper proposes a framework for ethnic marketing research that is currently lacking. A method for conducting exploratory qualitative research of an ethnic group, for which little published information is available, is discussed with particular attention given to the sampling process. The proposed methodology, involving a symbiosis of symbolic interaction with phenomenological description, yields rich information about the group.
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Man Lai Cheung, Guilherme D. Pires and Philip J. Rosenberger III
This paper aims to investigate the causal relationships between constructs related to consumer–brand engagement (CBE), including consumers’ enduring involvement, ongoing…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the causal relationships between constructs related to consumer–brand engagement (CBE), including consumers’ enduring involvement, ongoing information search behaviour, online engagement behaviour and brand attitude in Hong Kong.
Design/methodology/approach
The theoretical framework is tested using data from 302 customers of a durable technology product, a smartphone, in Hong Kong, collected using a self-administered online survey. Partial least squares-structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data.
Findings
The results reveal that consumers’ enduring involvement and ongoing information search behaviour are key drivers of CBE, ultimately enhancing customers’ brand attitude. The importance of enduring involvement in strengthening ongoing search behaviour, online engagement behaviour and CBE is confirmed, together with the importance of ongoing search behaviour in strengthening CBE. Further analysis demonstrated the full mediating role of ongoing search behaviour in the relationship between enduring involvement and online engagement behaviour, such that CBE fully mediates the impact of ongoing search behaviour on brand attitude.
Research limitations/implications
The research contributes to the extant literature by providing an understanding of how to strengthen CBE for durable technology products, such as smartphones. However, this study is cross-sectional in nature, focusing on smartphones in Hong Kong only. Thus, future research should consider comparisons between countries with diverse cultures as well as other industries, such as the service sector, to enhance the generalisability of the study’s findings.
Practical implications
Marketers should seek to heighten customers’ involvement levels by encouraging customer–brand interactions, which is not only useful in encouraging customers’ ongoing search and online engagement behaviour but also critical in strengthening CBE. Additionally, marketers are recommended to encourage customers’ ongoing search behaviour (at the category level), which is useful in encouraging consumers’ online engagement behaviour as well as strengthening CBE.
Originality/value
The role of ongoing search behaviour in brand building has received little attention in the branding literature. This paper makes a noteworthy contribution to CBE research by empirically testing a holistic framework, confirming that enduring involvement and ongoing search behaviour are critical drivers in the process of strengthening CBE. This paper also demonstrates the mediation roles of ongoing search behaviour and CBE in the holistic framework.
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Man Lai Cheung, Guilherme D. Pires, Philip J. Rosenberger and Mauro Jose De Oliveira
This paper investigates the impact of brand interactivity within social media on consumer–brand engagement and its related outcomes, including consumers' intention of co-creating…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the impact of brand interactivity within social media on consumer–brand engagement and its related outcomes, including consumers' intention of co-creating brand value and future repurchase of the same brand.
Design/methodology/approach
The theoretical framework is tested for a durable technology product, a smartphone. Data was collected in Brazil from 408 users utilizing a self-administered online survey. Data analysis uses partial least squares–structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).
Findings
Entertainment interactivity, cognitive information-transfer interaction and cognitive up-to-date information interactivity are the key elements directly influencing consumer–brand engagement, enhancing consumers' intention to co-create brand value and to repurchase the brand. Importantly, the impact of interactivity ease of use and customization interactivity on consumer–brand engagement and its related outcomes is non-significant. This is inconsistent with previous studies on consumer–brand engagement.
Research limitations/implications
The research contributes to the literature by providing an understanding of how to use brand interactivity elements on social-media platforms to strengthen consumer–brand engagement for durable technology products, such as smartphones in Brazil. However, this study is cross-sectional in nature and focus is solely on smartphones in Brazil. Future research might consider a longitudinal design and include comparisons between countries with diverse cultures as well as other industries and product types to enhance the generalizability of the findings.
Practical implications
Marketers may heighten consumer–brand engagement by using content that is entertaining, current and trendy. Incorporating positive referrals on social-media platforms encourages consumers to co-create brand value and to repurchase the same brand in the future.
Originality/value
Examination of the role of social-media marketing in the marketing literature largely overlooks the impact of elements of brand interactivity within social media on consumer–brand engagement. This article contributes to social-media marketing and consumer–brand engagement research by empirically testing a theoretical model, confirming that specific elements of brand interactivity within social media – including entertainment interactivity, cognitive information-transfer interaction and cognitive up-to-date information interactivity – are critical drivers in the process of strengthening consumer–brand engagement in Brazil.
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Tommy Lau, Man Lai Cheung, Guilherme D. Pires and Carol Chan
The abolishment of the wine tax in Hong Kong has led to increased wine consumption and increased demand for wine-related professionals, such as sommeliers. Yet the importance of…
Abstract
Purpose
The abolishment of the wine tax in Hong Kong has led to increased wine consumption and increased demand for wine-related professionals, such as sommeliers. Yet the importance of sommeliers’ value-adding performance in the context of upscale Chinese restaurants has not been examined. To address this gap, the SERVQUAL framework is adopted to examine the influence of sommeliers’ service quality (SQ) on customer satisfaction (CS) and loyalty in the context of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey method is used to collect data from 302 units of the population of interest, partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is used to test the links between constructs.
Findings
Four of the seven dimensions of sommeliers’ service quality, namely, empathy, tangibles, credibility and assurance, have a significant positive impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, whereas the impact of perceived value and responsiveness on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty is positive but only marginally significant. Reliability has a weak and non-significant impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
Research limitations/implications
Examining a small number of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong limits generalisation of the findings to other contexts. Replication of the research in different contexts will enhance generalizability. In terms of implications, the discussion highlights the importance of sommeliers’ service performance on customers’ SQ perceptions SQ, CS and loyalty, all of which are important variables for restaurateurs.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of the influence of the quality of sommelier’s SQ on CS and loyalty in upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. Given the lack of attention to this service role in the literature, the study contributes theory from which further understanding can develop.
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Man Lai Cheung, Guilherme Pires and Philip J. Rosenberger
This paper investigates the impact of social-media marketing elements, namely entertainment, customisation, interaction, electronic word-of-mouth (EWOM) and trendiness, on…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the impact of social-media marketing elements, namely entertainment, customisation, interaction, electronic word-of-mouth (EWOM) and trendiness, on consumer–brand engagement and brand knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
Using an online survey, the study collects data in Hong Kong from 214 experienced social-media users, as indicated by their consumption of a durable technology product, a smartphone. We used partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS–SEM) to test the links between social-media marketing elements, consumer–brand engagement and brand knowledge.
Findings
The results reveal that interaction, electronic word-of-mouth and trendiness are the key elements directly influencing consumer brand engagement, then strengthening brand awareness and brand knowledge. This contrasts with the non-significant results found for the influence of entertainment and customisation on consumer–brand engagement.
Research limitations/implications
Having cross-sectional nature, the study focuses on one single product, smartphones, at one location, Hong Kong. Future research may enhance the generalisability of the findings by replication in other countries with diverse cultures, such as countries in Latin America and Africa and examine other industries and other products, such as the service sector and convenience products with a low involvement level.
Practical implications
Marketers may strengthen consumer–brand engagement by using content that is trendy, along with encouraging interaction and positive EWOM on social-media platforms, in order to build strong and positive brand knowledge in consumers' minds.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the branding literature by providing an understanding of the role of social-media marketing elements in the brand-building process. Social media is a marketing channel recognised by its effectiveness in communicating brand-related information and its role as a means to stimulate consumers' brand engagement and brand knowledge. However, how effective these elements are for these purposes remains to be established. By empirically testing a theoretical model, this study confirms that specific social-media marketing elements, namely interaction, EWOM and trendiness, are critical drivers in the brand-building process in Hong Kong.
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Guilherme Pires and John Stanton
Ethnic consumers arriving in an ethnically diverse nation such as Australia are likely to have a limited knowledge of the marketplace. Combined with possible communication…
Abstract
Ethnic consumers arriving in an ethnically diverse nation such as Australia are likely to have a limited knowledge of the marketplace. Combined with possible communication difficulties, constrained decision making may result when selecting both products and suppliers. Services are significantly different from tangible products to warrant a distinct marketing literature but within it marketing to ethnic consumers is not distinguished. This paper argues that the marketing of services to ethnic consumers in culturally diverse markets requires this focus. A review of the literature identifies service selection difficulties that are likely to be endemic to minority ethnic groups residing in a culturally diverse society. The task of inexperienced ethnic consumers in selecting a service provider is used to identify potential constraints in the decision‐making process, to explain how membership of an ethnic group can reduce selection difficulties and to discuss how group recommendation influences an individual’s behaviour and vice versa.