Asif Ali Safeer, Muhammad Abrar, Hancheng Liu and He Yuanqiong
This study examined the effects of perceived brand localness (PBL) and perceived brand globalness (PBG) on consumer behavioral intentions (CBIs) (PI – purchase intentions, PP �…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examined the effects of perceived brand localness (PBL) and perceived brand globalness (PBG) on consumer behavioral intentions (CBIs) (PI – purchase intentions, PP – price premium and WOM – word of mouth) via brand authenticity (BA). Additionally, this study considered the moderating impact of uncertainty avoidance (UA) and the control variable brand familiarity (BF) in emerging markets (EMs), specifically from China and Pakistan contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
This study scrutinized 1,638 responses (China, n = 804 and Pakistan, n = 834) from consumers who used discussed local and global brands. The proposed hypotheses were evaluated using the PLS-SEM technique.
Findings
The findings indicated that the PBL and PBG favorably impacted BA, which significantly affected CBIs in both EMs. Specifically, PBL strongly influenced BA in China, whereas PBG strongly affected BA in Pakistan. The direct effects of PBL and PBG supported CBIs (PI, PP and WOM) in Pakistan. Likewise, PBL was significant on PP and WOM, whereas PBG was significant on PP in China. In Pakistan, UA had a significant moderating impact on PBL and BA. Similarly, UA acted as a positive moderator between BA and CBIs (PI and WOM) in Pakistan but was not supported in China.
Research limitations/implications
This study examined only two EMs. Future studies may examine emerging vs developed markets. Theoretically, PBL and PBG are important brand signals associated with brand authenticity that communicate to mitigate information asymmetry in EMs. Likewise, brand authenticity was recognized as a positive signal that effectively corresponds to CBIs (in terms of their PI, PP, WOM) by fulfilling brand promises in both EMs. Additionally, UA was proved an effective moderator, improving consumer perceptions of brand authenticity about local brands and increasing PI and WOM toward perceived authentic brands in Pakistan.
Practical implications
This research revealed important recommendations to help local and global managers in developing and executing several branding strategies in EMs (China and Pakistan). Practically, by improving the brand's localness and globalness, local and global managers may successfully position their brands to influence consumers' perceptions in EMs. Similarly, brand authenticity is a vital positioning tool for managers that favorably influence consumer behavior. Additionally, managers can segment and target their markets by classifying high and low UA consumers, particularly in Pakistan.
Originality/value
Following signaling theory, this is the first study that contributes toward CBIs in EMs via brand authenticity and considering cultural factors (uncertainty avoidance) from the domestic and international branding perspectives.
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Asif Ali Safeer and Hancheng Liu
Authenticity has become increasingly dominant in business practices, particularly in branding and corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, as consumers want it in all…
Abstract
Purpose
Authenticity has become increasingly dominant in business practices, particularly in branding and corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, as consumers want it in all aspects of their lives. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the role of perceived CSR authenticity in predicting perceived brand loyalty (i.e. brand trust, positive word of mouth [PWOM]) via perceived brand authenticity by considering the moderating effects of brand image on perceived brand authenticity and loyalty to determine its influence in the global branding context.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a non-probability convenience sampling technique, this study received 817 responses from consumers who regularly used global brands. Finally, this research examined 734 responses to test the proposed hypotheses using structural equation modeling.
Findings
This study discovered that perceived CSR authenticity strengthened perceived brand authenticity, which fostered perceived brand loyalty by enhancing brand trust and motivating consumers to spread PWOM about global brands. Similarly, perceived CSR authenticity directly influenced perceived brand loyalty by enhancing brand trust but did not affect PWOM. Likewise, the moderating effect of brand image was significant in fostering perceived brand loyalty by enhancing brand trust, but it had no effect on PWOM. In contrast, the brand image had a significant negative effect on perceived brand authenticity.
Practical implications
This research offered many insightful suggestions to global managers in the manufacturing and service industries that might assist them in designing and implementing several branding strategies to achieve corporate objectives.
Originality/value
This novel research contributes to the attribution theory by examining consumers’ perceptions of CSR authenticity, brand image, brand authenticity and brand loyalty from the global branding perspective.
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Peiyu Wang, Qian Zhang, Zhimin Li, Fang Wang and Ying Shi
The study aims to devise a comprehensive evaluation model (CEM) for evaluating spatial equity in the layout of elderly service facilities (ESFs) to address the inequity in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to devise a comprehensive evaluation model (CEM) for evaluating spatial equity in the layout of elderly service facilities (ESFs) to address the inequity in the layout of ESFs within city center communities characterized by limited land resources and a dense elderly population.
Design/methodology/approach
The CEM incorporates a suite of analytical tools, including accessibility assessment, Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient evaluations and spatial autocorrelation analysis. Utilizing this model, the study scrutinized the distributional equity of three distinct categories of ESFs in the city center of Xi’an and proposed targeted optimization strategies.
Findings
The findings reveal that (1) there are disparities in ESFs’ accessibility among different categories and communities, manifesting a distinct center (high) and periphery (low) distribution pattern; (2) there exists inequality in ESFs distribution, with nearly 50% of older adults accessing only 18% of elderly services, and these inequalities are more pronounced in urban areas with lower accessibility, and (3) approximately 14.7% of communities experience a supply-demand disequilibrium, with demand surpassing supply as a predominant issue in the ongoing development of ESFs.
Originality/value
The CEM formulated in this study offers policymakers, urban planners and service providers a scientific foundation and guidance for decision-making or policy amendment by promptly assessing and pinpointing areas of spatial inequity in ESFs and identifying deficiencies in their development.
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Xuan Zhao, Hancheng Yu, Mingkui Feng and Gang Sun
Robot automatic grasping has important application value in industrial applications. Recent works have explored on the performance of deep learning for robotic grasp detection…
Abstract
Purpose
Robot automatic grasping has important application value in industrial applications. Recent works have explored on the performance of deep learning for robotic grasp detection. They usually use oriented anchor boxes (OABs) as detection prior and achieve better performance than previous works. However, the parameters of their loss belong to different coordinates, this may affect the regression accuracy. This paper aims to propose an oriented regression loss to solve the problem of inconsistency among the loss parameters.
Design/methodology/approach
In the oriented loss, the center coordinates errors between the ground truth grasp rectangle and the predicted grasp rectangle rotate to the vertical and horizontal of the OAB. And then the direction error is used as an orientation factor, combining with the errors of the rotated center coordinates, width and height of the predicted grasp rectangle.
Findings
The proposed oriented regression loss is evaluated on the YOLO-v3 framework to the grasp detection task. It yields state-of-the-art performance with an accuracy of 98.8% and a speed of 71 frames per second with GTX 1080Ti on Cornell datasets.
Originality/value
This paper proposes an oriented loss to improve the regression accuracy of deep learning for grasp detection. The authors apply the proposed deep grasp network to the visual servo intelligent crane. The experimental result indicates that the approach is accurate and robust enough for real-time grasping applications.
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Han-Cheng Chiu and Pin-Hua Chiang
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between managers’ and supervisors’ trust in subordinates and team cooperation and to suggest that the downward flow of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between managers’ and supervisors’ trust in subordinates and team cooperation and to suggest that the downward flow of trust affects team employees.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from supervisor-employee dyads from a multisource field study.
Findings
Feeling trusted by managers has an indirect effect on team cooperation through feeling trusted by supervisors. In addition, there was a strong positive relation between feeling trusted by supervisors and team cooperation when team size was smaller, but a weak positive relation when team size was larger.
Practical implications
In order for subordinates to feel trusted, management leaders must implement actions that include: delegation and empowerment, participative decision-making and listening with respect and full attention. It is also suggested that the team size should not be too large.
Originality/value
We integrate theories of social exchange, social information processing, social learning and attraction-selection-attrition to test a trickle-down model of how trust in subordinates cascades down through management levels and ultimately affects team cooperation.