Hazel Clark and William Milberg
This paper analyzes the role of fashion design in Chinese industrial development in light of the structural changes brought on by the global economic crisis. The Chinese textile…
Abstract
This paper analyzes the role of fashion design in Chinese industrial development in light of the structural changes brought on by the global economic crisis. The Chinese textile and apparel sector will rely less on exports to the US and EU and more on the domestic market. We analyze the capacity of Chinese fashion designers to shift their focus, from global brands to a distinctive Chinese look, with appeal at domestic Chinese markets for low, medium, and high fashion.
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The purpose of this paper is to pursue the dialogue on the global firms’ regulation vis-à-vis human rights and labor standards in developing countries.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to pursue the dialogue on the global firms’ regulation vis-à-vis human rights and labor standards in developing countries.
Design/methodology/approach
Locke’s book The Promise and Limits of Private Power is analyzed and discussed with respect to more recent global regulation literature and mechanisms.
Findings
Locke advocates that private voluntary regulation has to be combined with local laws in developing countries to fully enforce labor standards and workers’ rights. In light of recent changes, the interesting model proposed by Locke shows some weaknesses.
Originality/value
To enforce labor standards and workers’ rights in developing countries, the author argue that governments in developed countries need to be seen as major players in multinational corporations (MNCs) regulations. But above all, the economic model needs to be questioned.
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This article explores what is meant by social economics in a set of ten specific commentaries or interpretations which appear to be widely accepted by social economists. In brief…
Abstract
This article explores what is meant by social economics in a set of ten specific commentaries or interpretations which appear to be widely accepted by social economists. In brief those commentaries are organized and presented in the following manner. Social economics is: heterodox; evolutionary, revolutionary, and counter‐revolutionary; a social science; a moral science; social economics because it addresses the social question; recognizes that the invisible hand does not protect the common good; anthropocentric; teleological; has vision; and has a three‐part structure. This article tends toward simplicity and brevity, the better to set forth the essential nature of social economics. Social economics is more than just a subspecialty area within or a branch of the tree of conventional economic thought. Rather social economics is an entire body of thought, a different way of thinking about economic affairs. It resembles mainstream economics in the same way that one tree resembles another. But it is a separate tree, with its own life force supplied by the scholarly energies of those who identify with social economics.
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What do we mean by the term ‘megatrend’? A megatrend is a prominent feature of global politico‐economic change brought about by or against the recent thrust of capitalist…
Abstract
What do we mean by the term ‘megatrend’? A megatrend is a prominent feature of global politico‐economic change brought about by or against the recent thrust of capitalist globalization. A megatrend is also a pattern of thinking and action that is entrenched in a certain perception of historical change and capital‐worker ownership relationships. A megatrend is thus seen as a pattern of change that will profoundly impress the future of mankind in its relationship with others and with the full gamut of the ecological domain including markets and institutions (Heilbroner & Milberg, 1996). In this paper, the study of megatrends will also encompass the hidden forces that will powerfully influence, profoundly change and guide that momentum of change to an objective globalization in the future, even as the growthmanship agenda of global capitalism breathes its last in a post‐modern age.
Michael A. Merz, Dana L. Alden, Wayne D. Hoyer and Kalpesh Kaushik Desai
Michelle Childs, Byoungho Jin and William L. Tullar
Many apparel brands use growth strategies that involve extending a brand’s line horizontally (same price/quality) and/or vertically (different price/quality). While such…
Abstract
Purpose
Many apparel brands use growth strategies that involve extending a brand’s line horizontally (same price/quality) and/or vertically (different price/quality). While such opportunities for growth and profitability are enticing, pursuing them could dilute a highly profitable parent brand. Categorization theory’s bookkeeping model and the cue scope framework provide the theoretical framework for this study. The purpose of this study is to test whether specific attributes of a line extension (i.e. direction of extension, brand concept, price discount and perceived fit) make a parent brand more susceptible to dilution.
Design/methodology/approach
This experimental study manipulates brand concept (premium or value brand) and price level (horizontal or vertical: −20per cent, −80per cent) and measures perceived fit to test effects on parent brand dilution. ANOVA and t-tests are used for the analysis.
Findings
Vertical extensions dilute the parent brand, but horizontal extensions do not. Dilution is strongest for premium (vs value) brands and when line extensions are discounted (i.e. −20per cent or −80per cent lower than the parent brand), regardless of the perceived fit between brand concept and brand extension price. Overall, brand concept is the strongest predictor of parent brand dilution in the context of vertical-downward extensions.
Originality/value
This study establishes which factors emerge as important contributors to parent brand dilution. Although previous studies on brand dilution are abundant, few studies have compared the effects of horizontal and vertical extensions on brand dilution. This study offers strong theoretical as well as practical implications.
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Smart card-based E-payment systems are receiving increasing attention as the number of implementations is witnessed on the rise globally. Understanding of user adoption behavior…
Abstract
Smart card-based E-payment systems are receiving increasing attention as the number of implementations is witnessed on the rise globally. Understanding of user adoption behavior of E-payment systems that employ smart card technology becomes a research area that is of particular value and interest to both IS researchers and professionals. However, research interest focuses mostly on why a smart card-based E-payment system results in a failure or how the system could have grown into a success. This signals the fact that researchers have not had much opportunity to critically review a smart card-based E-payment system that has gained wide support and overcome the hurdle of critical mass adoption. The Octopus in Hong Kong has provided a rare opportunity for investigating smart card-based E-payment system because of its unprecedented success. This research seeks to thoroughly analyze the Octopus from technology adoption behavior perspectives.
Cultural impacts on adoption behavior are one of the key areas that this research posits to investigate. Since the present research is conducted in Hong Kong where a majority of population is Chinese ethnicity and yet is westernized in a number of aspects, assuming that users in Hong Kong are characterized by eastern or western culture is less useful. Explicit cultural characteristics at individual level are tapped into here instead of applying generalization of cultural beliefs to users to more accurately reflect cultural bias. In this vein, the technology acceptance model (TAM) is adapted, extended, and tested for its applicability cross-culturally in Hong Kong on the Octopus. Four cultural dimensions developed by Hofstede are included in this study, namely uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, individualism, and Confucian Dynamism (long-term orientation), to explore their influence on usage behavior through the mediation of perceived usefulness.
TAM is also integrated with the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) to borrow two constructs in relation to innovative characteristics, namely relative advantage and compatibility, in order to enhance the explanatory power of the proposed research model. Besides, the normative accountability of the research model is strengthened by embracing two social influences, namely subjective norm and image. As the last antecedent to perceived usefulness, prior experience serves to bring in the time variation factor to allow level of prior experience to exert both direct and moderating effects on perceived usefulness.
The resulting research model is analyzed by partial least squares (PLS)-based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. The research findings reveal that all cultural dimensions demonstrate direct effect on perceived usefulness though the influence of uncertainty avoidance is found marginally significant. Other constructs on innovative characteristics and social influences are validated to be significant as hypothesized. Prior experience does indeed significantly moderate the two influences that perceived usefulness receives from relative advantage and compatibility, respectively. The research model has demonstrated convincing explanatory power and so may be employed for further studies in other contexts. In particular, cultural effects play a key role in contributing to the uniqueness of the model, enabling it to be an effective tool to help critically understand increasingly internationalized IS system development and implementation efforts. This research also suggests several practical implications in view of the findings that could better inform managerial decisions for designing, implementing, or promoting smart card-based E-payment system.
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Aric Rindfleisch and Matthew O’Hern
To identify, conceptualize, and analyze a newly emerging form of consumer-initiated, brand-altering activity that we term “brand remixing.”
Abstract
Purpose
To identify, conceptualize, and analyze a newly emerging form of consumer-initiated, brand-altering activity that we term “brand remixing.”
Methodology
A content analysis of 92 remixes of the Nokia Lumia 820 smartphone case.
Findings
We find that nearly 40% of the remixed versions of Nokia’s case retained at least one element of its standard template. The remixed cases contained considerable congruency with the design elements in the standard template, a high degree of personalization, and no negative brand imagery.
Implications
Our research is the one of the first examinations of the role of 3D printing upon marketing activities. It has important implications for marketing scholarship by showing that 3D printing empowers consumers to physically alter the brands they consume. Our research also suggests that practitioners interested in using this technology to develop and enhance their brands should accept the notion that firms are no longer fully in control of their brand assets. Hence, we believe that brand managers should develop co-creation platforms that allow customers to easily modify, remix, and share various aspects of their brands with their peers.
Originality
We identify and label an important emerging branding practice (i.e., brand remixing). This practice has the potential to dramatically alter the branding landscape.
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Eda Sayin and Zeynep Gürhan-Canlı
We propose that brands with strong associations and dedicated customers may be vulnerable if customers perceive them as exploiting their relationship.
Abstract
Purpose
We propose that brands with strong associations and dedicated customers may be vulnerable if customers perceive them as exploiting their relationship.
Methodology/approach
We start by reviewing the literature on brand meaning, brand attachment, brand relationships, and brand transgressions. The extant literature implies that as a result of their willingness to sustain their brand relationship, highly attached consumers will either discount negative information about a brand or attribute the responsibility for the negative information to some external factors. We propose, on the other hand, that when negative information dilutes the reason for brand attachment, the norm of the consumer–brand relationship is violated (brand transgression). Then we argue that highly attached consumers of that brand will react more negatively (when compared to consumers not feeling highly attached) toward the brand.
Findings
We introduce a typology of brand transgressions against the (1) expressive, (2) exclusive, (3) expert, and (4) empathic nature of brands. We discuss the possible effects of attachment levels on consumers’ reactions after such brand transgressions. Additionally, we articulate the moderating effects of four consumer motives (need for self-enhancement, need for uniqueness, need for risk avoidance, and need for justice) on consumer reactions.
Originality/value
Our reasoning counters the literature suggesting that highly attached consumers of a brand will engage in relationship-sustaining behaviors. We contribute to the brand-transgression literature by providing a more structured and detailed definition of brand transgressions by classifying them under four distinct types.