Kylie McMullan, Pinder Rehal, Katy Read, Judy Luo, Ashley Huating Wu, Leyland Pitt, Lisa Papania and Colin Campbell
This purpose of this paper is to facilitate the exploration of marketing strategy in general and branding strategy in particular for a non‐profit, governmental institution.
Abstract
Purpose
This purpose of this paper is to facilitate the exploration of marketing strategy in general and branding strategy in particular for a non‐profit, governmental institution.
Design/methodology/approach
Students are taken to 2005 when the Canadian Forces needed to increase recruitment. Canada's ageing population and the war in Afghanistan were just two of the many reasons driving an immediate focus on signing up new young Canadians. However, the task was proving more difficult than anticipated.
Findings
A particular challenge lay in that the army's brand – always conservatively constructed to reflect the more peaceful side of military life – had served to alienate many would‐be soldiers who interpreted this portrayal as patronizing and boring. However, a new campaign focused on the more militaristic realities of war might have served only to put off the families of potential recruits to whom these youths turned for advice and support. With the face of the military presented largely through its recruitment campaigns, the Canadian Forces' marketing department needed to do some introspection in order to determine how to proceed.
Originality/value
This case serves to highlight the importance of branding and marketing strategy in a non‐traditional setting and related prompt discussion and learning. This case is intended for classroom use only. It is not intended to demonstrate effective or ineffective handling of a business situation.
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Sherry L. Avery, Judy Y. Sun, Patricia M. Swafford and Edmund L. Prater
The purpose of this study is to promote Chinese indigenous research by examining a case in which adopting social capital (SC) scales developed in the Western context for Chinese…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to promote Chinese indigenous research by examining a case in which adopting social capital (SC) scales developed in the Western context for Chinese samples can decontextualize inter-firm guanxi management in the Chinese context.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting the existing Western scales to measure SC, we collected data from Chinese executives participating in executive master of business administration programs on buyer–supplier relationship. Using the same items and data source, we identified post hoc factors representing guanxi dimensions. Ordinary least squared regressions were used for both guanxi and SC dimensions to test the hypotheses.
Findings
Our analysis showed that Chinese natives responded to the Western SC items according to their understanding and mindsets rooted in guanxi. This was evidenced by the results from the post hoc-derived guanxi dimensions with the same data, which show better regression results for the hypotheses tested, although the construct validity was comparable. Adopting Western SC measurement scales deconceptualized the intricate Chinese context and inter-firm interactions.
Research limitations/implications
It is inappropriate to borrow Western-developed scales for Chinese HRM research due to intricate differences in contexts. Doing so may run the risk of ignoring the Chinese context regarding the mechanisms and processes of complex human interactions, although it may produce superficial results consistent with the Western literature. Developing indigenous measurement scales should be considered not only as a preference but also as a requirement for Chinese management research.
Originality/value
We empirically compared the difference between Western-developed measurement scales and a Chinese indigenous construct, as well as their impact on relationship management in relation to indigenous Chinese management research.
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Chin Lung Hsu and Judy Chuan-Chuan Lin
This study combines uses and gratifications theory and flow theory to create an integrated model that predicts continuance intention to use and satisfaction with livestreaming…
Abstract
Purpose
This study combines uses and gratifications theory and flow theory to create an integrated model that predicts continuance intention to use and satisfaction with livestreaming services.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed model was empirically evaluated using survey data collected from 304 users about their perceptions of livestream services.
Findings
The results indicate that gratifications such as entertainment, informativeness and sociability were all positively related to satisfaction. The authors find that flow mediates the impact of interactivity and telepresence on satisfaction. Notably, sociability gratification and satisfaction had a significant impact on a user's intention to continue to use livestreaming services and accounted for 77% of the variance.
Originality/value
The study adds to the body of knowledge by demonstrating the uses and gratifications theory and flow theory in live stream services. In addition, the findings may provide useful insights for live stream services streamers and marketers.
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Nivea Blackburn, Val Hooper, Russell Abratt and Judy Brown
The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which organisations engage with stakeholders about social and environmental issues. The authors establish where the designers…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which organisations engage with stakeholders about social and environmental issues. The authors establish where the designers of these reports source the information reported.
Design/methodology/approach
This was an exploratory study that employed a qualitative research design. Interviews with 24 individuals from 15 organisations in New Zealand that are involved with the writing of sustainability reports were conducted. In addition documents were analysed from a number of organisations to allow for triangulation.
Findings
Findings indicate that engagement with stakeholders was important and one of the main purposes was to have a licence to stay in business. It was also found that managers do prioritise the saliency of issues. Generally, stakeholders do not get involved in the decision making pertaining to environmental issues in organisations.
Research limitations/implications
The sample investigated in this study was relatively small so generalisation of the results would be difficult. However, these in depth interviews did provide insights that can be used in further study using large samples and in different countries.
Originality/value
This is the first time that the designers of annual reports were interviewed. They have knowledge of the extent of stakeholder engagement with firms.
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Clyde A. Warden, Stephen Chi-Tsun Huang, Wan-Hsuan Yen and Judy F. Chen
Collectivism in service research is so bound with Asian cultures as to risk being overly deterministic. Contesting this stereotype, this paper surfaces the individualistic…
Abstract
Purpose
Collectivism in service research is so bound with Asian cultures as to risk being overly deterministic. Contesting this stereotype, this paper surfaces the individualistic consumption facets of consumers within a collectivist cultural setting, describing the compensating role servicescapes may play and the service marketing opportunities they present.
Design/methodology/approach
Within a Chinese cultural research frame, a qualitative grounded approach is adopted that surfaces subconscious metaphors of private consumption through photo elicitation, deep psychological metaphor elicitation and triangulated with field observation.
Findings
Individuals within a collectivist culture do actively seek private psychic space to regenerate the self and prepare for social obligations heavily influenced by Confucian norms. Servicescapes play an important role in private consumption as they provide both a physical and mental oasis of privacy not easily obtainable in regular life and work.
Practical implications
Service providers could offer East Asian consumers a package that includes the individual aspect of their value system, whenever and however they see suitable. More specifically, servicescapes can be designed to provide services that facilitate consumer restoration by implementing the mental metaphors consumers of have this process.
Social implications
A stereotype of a consumption has grown around Chinese consumers that while not totally false, misses a vital aspect of human values and risks missing profitable market niches. Consideration of the whole person's collective-individualistic cycle benefits both the consumer and the business.
Originality/value
Moving beyond a one-dimensional description of East Asian consumer behavior, focused on collective values, we show the key role servicescapes play in private consumption. A psychological renewal of the self, in preparation to re-enter the collective, show the multiple aspects of Asian consumers.
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Brenda Sternquist, Carol A. Finnegan and Zhengyi Chen
China’s economy is transforming at a brisk pace. A partially dismantled command economy and introduction of competition have fueled consumer demand for a greater selection of…
Abstract
China’s economy is transforming at a brisk pace. A partially dismantled command economy and introduction of competition have fueled consumer demand for a greater selection of innovative new products in the retail market. The challenge for retail buyers is to adjust their procurement processes to respond to consumer needs in an efficient and effective manner. This study examines factors influencing buyer‐supplier relationships in a transition economy. We present a model to explain the factors driving retail buyer dependence on suppliers. We find that retailer evaluation of supplier credibility mediates the relationship between retailer perceptions of a supplier ability to add value to its business and the ability to achieve its desired goals. In part, this is due to the supplier’s market orientation. Interestingly, guanxi ties have no impact on the retailer perceptions of the supplier credibility, but have a positive affect on retailer dependence on its supplier partners.
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In spite of the increasing awareness that standardized performance appraisal practices must fit in varied local contexts, limited research and mixed findings still cloud our…
Abstract
Purpose
In spite of the increasing awareness that standardized performance appraisal practices must fit in varied local contexts, limited research and mixed findings still cloud our understanding about how those appraisal practices are perceived and implemented in the subsidiaries of multinational corporations (MNCs). The purpose of this paper is to examine this issue, aiming to clarify the contextual and cultural boundary of standardized appraisal practices in China.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study was conducted in an MNC subsidiary located in Southern China. Organizational performance appraisal documents were collected, and in‐depth interviews were conducted.
Findings
It has been found that the implementation of a Western standardized appraisal system was far from attaining an optimistic effect in a Chinese business setting: employees were nowhere near being able to be involved in setting objectives and developmental plans; the appraisal system was not perceived be fair enough due to the influence of a seniority‐based rewards system; and managers hesitated to take ownership of performance reviews.
Practical implications
When designing and delivering standardized appraisal system to subsidiaries, foreign investors and global human resource practitioners are expected to be more context focused. Distinct cultural values and norms in local contexts should be carefully taken into consideration.
Originality/value
The paper fills in the literature gap by providing an in‐depth study of employees' perceptions towards the actual implementation of a standardized performance appraisal system in an MNC subsidiary in China.
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Mark N. Wexler and Judy Oberlander
The purpose of this paper is to investigate COVID-19 as a super crisis in the design and management of places.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate COVID-19 as a super crisis in the design and management of places.
Design/methodology/approach
This theory-driven work outlines why and how, by treating COVID-19 as a super crisis, the immunological view rises in priority and swiftly ushers in short- and long-term implications for space design and place management.
Findings
First, this paper looks at the short-term impact of COVID-19 upon space and place management in addressing how porous bubbling, stippling and flexible curtaining respond to immediate retrofitting needs during the pandemic. Using the concept of COVID-19-induced collective trauma, this paper draws attention to health-care facilities, schools, workplaces, commercial buildings and public outdoor spaces. These sites require short-term improvisation in place and space design and will, where the collective trauma of COVID-19 leaves strong traces, require long-term redesign and rethinking.
Social implications
As a super crisis, COVID-19 generates contradictions in the existing trend in space and place studies from the notion of space and place as a container to one focusing on “flow.” A focus on flow highlights a focus on space and place as adaptable to changes in flow, especially as augmented and mediated by technology.
Originality/value
This treatment of COVID-19 as a super crisis is intended to stimulate the design and management of spaces and places in the post-COVID-19 period.