Sam Dzever, Mohamed Merdji and Anne‐Laure Saives
Analyzes the nature of purchase decision making and buyer‐seller relationship development in the French food processing industry. It is the result of a detailed empirical study…
Abstract
Analyzes the nature of purchase decision making and buyer‐seller relationship development in the French food processing industry. It is the result of a detailed empirical study undertaken among 30 firms and international suppliers, and part of a larger research project. Intensive face‐to‐face interviews were carried out with purchasing executives drawn from 30 firms operating in the industry. Confirms the need for suppliers to understand in greater detail factors that buyers regard as decisive in their choice of a supplier as well as those that are pivotal in the development of long‐term relationships. A detailed understanding of these factors would aid suppliers in better formulating appropriate market entry and growth strategies in this increasingly competitive environment.
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This study aims to provide a contemporary, holistic and systematic review regarding the impact of country-of-origin on industrial purchase decision-making by ascertaining…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to provide a contemporary, holistic and systematic review regarding the impact of country-of-origin on industrial purchase decision-making by ascertaining, synthesizing and evaluating theoretical, methodological and empirical dimensions of studies on the subject.
Design/methodology/approach
After the collection and refinement of 43 studies that appeared in marketing, business and management literatures during 1970-2017, systematic review was applied to discover the current situation and future research directions on the subject.
Findings
The vast majority of the existing studies obtained data from a single source even though industrial purchase decisions are mainly made by a large group of decision-makers. Moreover, the existing literature contains few over-studied theoretical perspectives while lacking integration of the subject with the more contemporary ones. Additionally, in the literature, combination of developing countries as source countries, and developed ones as target countries, is under-examined, and the differentiation between country-of-design and country-of-assembly is mainly avoided during operationalization. Finally, majority of the studies lack investigation of antecedents and mainly investigated few over-examined constructs as outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides a conceptual synthesis of existing studies. A meta-analysis may be applied to empirical studies for providing a further detailed framework.
Originality/value
This study contributes to industrial marketing literature by providing a compiled and synthesized inventory of knowledge for scholars; deriving a comprehensive analysis of research designs, methodologies and findings addressed by researchers in the field; noticing various theoretical, methodological and other gaps to be examined; and providing future research directions.
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Jashim Uddin, Gregory Elliott and Shehely Parvin
To date, country-of-origin research has commonly explored structural relationships among country image (CI) constructs, together with attitudinal constructs, using a variety of…
Abstract
Purpose
To date, country-of-origin research has commonly explored structural relationships among country image (CI) constructs, together with attitudinal constructs, using a variety of halo, summary construct and flexible models, drawing on consumer samples. There has been no previous attempt to examine or synthesize these three models with respect to business-to-business (B2B) buying behavior. To fill this gap, this study reconceptualized these three models with B2B constructs using multi-cue settings and tested on B2B samples. This study aims to examine and estimate the relative impact of company- and country-specific images on B2B buyers’ evaluations of suppliers, and the direction of structural relationships with mediation among the constructs.
Design/methodology/approach
Data collection was administered through a web-based structured questionnaire. The final sample consisted of 276 purchasing managers. Structural equation modeling was used to test the study’s hypotheses.
Findings
Company image is significantly influenced by product country image (PCI) but not by overall CI. The existence of a significant relationship between PCI and perceived supplier performance in a multi-cue setting is an important new finding. In addition, company image significantly influences supplier performance and mediates the relationship between PCI and supplier performance. Among the three models that test structural relationships among CI and other constructs, the reconceptualized halo model fits the data best.
Practical implications
The study results revealed the contribution of company and country-related facets on B2B buyers’ perceptions of supplier performance while purchasing intermediate goods internationally. The significance of PCI on supplier performance emphasizes the strength of the industry sector within a country that may enable an industry to build a product-specific CI in international marketing.
Originality/value
This study advances the country-of-origin issue and debate concerning the strength of the country influence in the academic literature by addressing B2B buyers’ international purchasing behavior of intermediate goods. Additionally, the examination of multiple country facets, multi-cue settings and the CI influence structure in a single study, from a B2B perspective, offers a novel dimension to CI studies.
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Pascale G. Quester, Sam Dzever and Sylvie Chetty
In a study involving a mail survey of Australian and New Zealand purchasing agents, a number of hypotheses relating to the potential influence of country‐of‐origin information…
Abstract
In a study involving a mail survey of Australian and New Zealand purchasing agents, a number of hypotheses relating to the potential influence of country‐of‐origin information were investigated. Country‐of‐assembly and country‐of‐design were both included in this study, which also examined the differences between higher risk purchases such as machine tools and more routine purchases such as component parts. A multi‐dimensional approach to product quality was adopted, based on earlier exploratory studies. Country‐of‐origin was found to influence product quality perceptions and similar patterns were observed in both national samples. Differences in absolute levels, however, were found, suggesting that caution is needed on the part of suppliers dealing in both markets in relation to the value of this type of information.
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Yolanda Polo Redondo and Jesús J. Cambra Fierro
Companies that are able to manage efficient relationships with their suppliers have a greater guarantee of success and profitability in their activity. Their products will achieve…
Abstract
Purpose
Companies that are able to manage efficient relationships with their suppliers have a greater guarantee of success and profitability in their activity. Their products will achieve the desired standards of quality. The amount of time and economic resources that firms need to build relationships is substantial and hence involves greater risk and uncertainty. Furthermore, smaller firms have fewer resources than larger ones and, therefore, the management of supply relationships can be more complicated. Therefore, this paper, by analysing a specific case, tries to identify those factors that a small to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) assesses when choosing and deciding on building a supply relationship with a specific supplier.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a real and practical case, considering the customer's point‐of‐view, this paper aims to offer a new model. It links to one group of some previously tested variables that illustrates the temporary evolution of supply relationships with present observations where both temporal extremes, the moment in which the relationship is in a latent state and its termination, are considered.
Findings
Finds that prior to terminating a relationship the company carries out a re‐evaluation of the supplier. The decision whether to continue the relationship after renegotiating some of its aspects, or terminate it altogether, will be made after analysing the results of that new evaluation. But firms are more demanding in this than in the initial assessment.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations could arise because we consider only one case study, although a set of relationships are analysed.
Originality/value
No previous researches analysing the dynamics of supply relationships have compared both initial assessment to possible reassessment processes.
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Bernhard Swoboda, Thomas Foscht, Cesar Maloles and Hanna Schramm‐Klein
The purpose of this paper is to explore how firms that do both sourcing and selling choose which countries to source from and to which countries to sell. It also looked at the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how firms that do both sourcing and selling choose which countries to source from and to which countries to sell. It also looked at the role of competitive strategy, vertical integration, and foreign involvement in the decision‐making.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey instrument that was designed based on personal interviews with 20 German garment industry executives was administered to 750 German, Austrian and Swiss garment manufacturers. In total, 93 questionnaires were usable. Factor analysis was employed in evaluating the data.
Findings
The results indicate that firms that both source and sell at the same time have more complex decision making than normative models suggest. These decisions tend not to be isolated decisions. The factors that are considered in sourcing are different in the decision as to where to sell. Foreign involvement, competitive strategy, and vertical integration influence the firms' decision making.
Research limitations/implications
The study is exploratory in nature and it is limited in its application. Moreover, the disproportionately large number of German respondents may skew the results. In addition, the total number of respondents is relatively small. The study may also suffer from any or all of the following deficiencies: lack of reliability and validity test, having only one executive per firm respond to the survey, not considering country‐specific characteristics, and lack of control for the market‐entry strategy and market size variables.
Originality/value
Most research in this area focuses on either the sourcing or the selling side. This study looks at how sourcing and selling decisions are made by firms engaged in both activities. Additionally, the roles of competitive strategy, vertical integration, and foreign involvement in relation to the decision making are investigated.
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Giovanna Pegan, James Reardon and Donata Vianelli
The purpose of this study is to seek to investigate whether and how country of origin (COO) cues – category-country image (CCI) and typicality – and importers’ domain-specific…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to seek to investigate whether and how country of origin (COO) cues – category-country image (CCI) and typicality – and importers’ domain-specific innovativeness (DSI) influence importers’ propensity to the trial new value and premium products. Moreover, it aims to understand whether and how the relationship between the COO effect and industrial purchase intentions is moderated by importers’ propensity to innovate (DSI).
Design/methodology/approach
International importers completed a quantitative online survey. Factor analysis was used to summarize the latent constructs into orthogonal scores. General linear modeling was applied to the scores to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results indicate that importers’ propensity to trial value products is directly influenced by CCI and importers’ DSI. For premium products, typicality has a positive effect on their propensity to trial. Also, CCI and DSI have positive effects on the trial of value products, and the effect is more pronounced than for premium products. Importers’ DSI positively moderates CCI in premium product trials, while it negatively moderates typicality in value products.
Practical implications
This research provides important managerial implications for practitioners seeking to increase foreign sales, strengthening importers’ product perceived value through COO cues. Exporters should distinguish between value and premium products and, in the selection of international channel partners, they must be attentive to importers’ personal characteristics, such as their propensity to innovate. Exporters selling value products should communicate CCI more clearly and, when targeting innovative importers, opt for atypical products instead of traditional ones. For premium products, which require more complex decisions, exporters should especially underscore product typicality and, with innovative importers, emphasize positive CCI.
Originality/value
By focusing on the two critical issues of product selection and price levels, this study’s original contribution is to emphasize that, for the same product category, in industrial purchasing decisions of value versus premium products, the COO effect can be different. It also highlights the importance of investigating the COO effect by concentrating on industrial buyers’ personal characteristics, here the DSI of importers, as moderating variables.
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Michel Laroche, Nicolas Papadopoulos, Louise A. Heslop and Mehdi Mourali
This study was designed to extend knowledge of cognitive processing of country of origin cues by refining the concept of country image and investigating its role in product…
Abstract
Purpose
This study was designed to extend knowledge of cognitive processing of country of origin cues by refining the concept of country image and investigating its role in product evaluations.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from residents of a large North American metropolitan. A total of 436 usable questionnaires were returned. Data analysis was conducted using the EQS structural equation modeling software
Findings
We found that country image is a three‐dimensional concept consisting of cognitive, affective, and conative components. We modeled the relationships among country image, product beliefs, and product evaluations, and found that country image and product beliefs affect product evaluations simultaneously regardless of consumers' level of familiarity with a country's products. Findings also indicated that the structure of country image influences product evaluations both directly and indirectly through product beliefs. Consistent with affect transfer theory, the results showed that when a country's image has a strong affective component, its direct influence on product evaluations is stronger than its influence on product beliefs. Alternatively, when a country's image has a strong cognitive component, its direct influence on product evaluations was smaller than its influence on product beliefs.
Research limitations/implications
One limitation pertains to the relatively poor psychometric properties of some items. Future research will benefit from further improvements in the measures of country image that tap into the various facets of the construct.
Originality/value
The major contributions of the study consist of the full operationalization of country image as a three‐dimensional concept, and the findings on the impact of country image structure on consumers' evaluation processes.
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A. Seetharaman, A. Ali Khatibi and Wu Swee Ting
Explains the linkage of vendor development and control as an integral factor of value on demand chain logistics. Presents a comparison of the traditional purchasing function with…
Abstract
Explains the linkage of vendor development and control as an integral factor of value on demand chain logistics. Presents a comparison of the traditional purchasing function with vendor development in. Provides the missing link of value chain by demand chain. Describes the supplier integration approach as a competitive corporate strategy in a conceptual synthesis by linking demand chain with order management, marketing, sales, channel management, pricing, service, etc. Analyses the vendor development strategy from three key dimensions. Further discusses the advantages of vendor development in the short run, bottom line performance increase, and long run revenue enhancing the value of an organisation. Also discusses the impact on demand chain from the costing point of view with elaboration on cost and pricing activities involving total cost of ownership, understanding supplier costs and target costing with target pricing commensurate with expectations of customers. Concludes with an emphasis on the importance of providing e‐learning and upgrading the skills of staff in order to expedite the adoption of vendor integration strategy in its demand chain logistics management.