Alexander Jakubanecs

Slavic Brothers or Rivals

Abstract Since the advent of the market economy in the former Soviet Union, the trade between old union members has developed gradually. However, the scant market research from this area has focused exclusively on the trade between Western countries and selected former members of the Union, typically Russia. Very little is known about the nature and dynamics of the trade within the old Union area, between the new independent countries. This study addresses the role of consumer ethnocentrism in the trade between Russia and Ukraine, the two largest countries of the former Union. Due to their common historical background, consumers in the two countries could be expected to define each other as part of their “national in-groups.” If this were the case, consumer ethnocentrism would have a positive effect on evaluations of imports from one country to the other. However, there are also historical reasons to expect the opposite effect. To some extent there are different ethnicities in the two countries, and due to the historical dominance of Russia, Ukrainian consumers might perceive Russians as imperialistic and paternalistic, whereas Russians might consider Ukrainians as provincial and less sophisticated. Such attitudes would lead to national “out-group” perceptions and negative effects of consumer ethnocentrism on the trade between the two countries. These rival hypotheses on the effects of consumer ethnocentrism were tested on data from a survey of University students in St. Petersburg (Russia) and Kiev (Ukraine). This study is the first to present empirical evidence on the existence and nature of consumer ethnocentrism in trade relationships within the former Soviet Union.

The Consumer as a Co-Producer and Prosumer: Convenience Food Marketing

The history of the Toro brand and Rieber and Son can be traced back to 1839 when Paul Gottlieb Rieber founded a vinegar factory in Bergen, Norway. Since then, the Rieber and Son group has grown into a major food corporation nationally and internationally. The company now owns 25 brands, employs 1 200 employees in Norway and 2 400 internationally with manufacturing facilities in Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic and Russia.

Brand Positioning Strategies in Russia: Regional Differences in the Importance of Corporate Endorsement and Symbolic Brand Attributes

This research examines the regional differences in optimal brand positioning strategies in the emerging market of Russia and offers several important contributions. First, it shows that corporate endorsement of a product category brand has more positive effects on brand attitudes and perceived quality for consumers in St. Petersburg than for Muscovites. Second, the symbolic positioning concept focusing on a brands international success is more effective in Moscow than in St. Petersburg. Third, certain types of functional positioning concepts are more effective in St. Petersburg than in Moscow. However, the differential effects of functional positioning concepts are likely to depend on the type of functionality involved. The authors hypothesize that these regional differences are due to the discrepancies in economic and consumer culture development between the two cities. Finally, this research provides significant theoretical and practical implications for brand positioning strategies in Russia and more generally in emerging markets.

Crisis Management Across Borders: Effects of a Crisis Event on Consumer Responses and Communication Strategies in Norway and Russia

ABSTRACT This research examined the impact of a crisis on product attitudes and emotions of consumers in Norway and Russia, and the effectiveness of crisis marketing communication using authority endorsement across and within the two countries. Our research shows that not only are different communication strategies effective in the two markets, but also that those that work well in one country may actually worsen the crisis and lead to more negative attitudes and emotions in the other country. We conclude that research needs to incorporate country-level, individual-level dimensions of culture and consumer emotions in order to develop optimal marketing communication strategies.

Cultural Embeddedness of Products: A New Measurement of Culture and its Effects

This paper develops a measurement of culture on the product category level, called the cultural embeddedness of products (CEP) scale, and progresses the scale in accordance with standard procedures. It defines CEP as the degree to which a product is connected with ethnic/national culture. The centrality of national/ethnic identity and culture, and its meanings for individuals, lead us to propose CEP as predictive of consumer attitudes and intentions. In particular, we posit that CEP plays a role for local products and potential brands, similar to that played by perceived brand globalness for global brands. We validate a two-dimensional CEP scale in two cultures – American and Norwegian – and find that the scale exhibits good psychometric qualities in both. We also present the particularly consistent effects of the ethnic identity relevance dimension of CEP on attitudes and purchase intentions through perceived product quality. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for marketing research theory and practice.