Ameet Pandit

Why resist? examining the impact of technological Advancement and perceived usefulness on Malaysians' switching intentions: The moderators

The adoption of new technology represents a critical issue that firms need to confront when an improved product version is introduced to customers. Although prior research has established the benefits of technological improvements, it is still unclear why customers are typically slow to accepting new technology despite extensive marketing efforts. The main purpose of this paper is to examine how specific components of switching barrier, namely, lack of service facilities, switching costs, and adoption difficulty, moderate the effects of technological advancement and perceived value on switching intentions. A survey was conducted among highway commuters with alternative technological improvements, particularly an upgraded mobile devise in electronic toll collection (ETC) services. Results indicate that both technological advancement and its perceived value have a positive impact on customers’ intention to switch products. Nevertheless, high levels of perceived switching barriers mitigate the technological advancement–and perceived value–switching intention relationships. Based on the study findings, practical implications are discussed.

A quadripartite approach to analysing young British South Asian adults’ dual cultural identity

ABSTRACT Adopting an acculturation perspective, this article explicates the duality of young British South Asian adults’ cultural dispositions. In so doing, it examines the complex dialectic processes that influence their acculturation strategies. By using a maximum variation sampling method, respondents from six major cities in Great Britain were interviewed for this study. The findings show that young British South Asian adults exhibit attributes of both of their ancestral and host cultures. Their dual cultural identity is constituted due to four major reasons: consonances with ancestral culture, situational constraints, contextual requirements and conveniences. This quadripartite perspective informs a non-context-specific theoretical model of acculturation. Marketing managers seeking to serve this diaspora market (and others) can utilise this theoretical framework in order to more fully comprehend diaspora members’ religiosity, social, communal and familial bonding and other cultural dispositions and, moreover, their manifestations in their day-to-day lives.

Psychological Tendencies in an Emerging Capital Market: A Study of Individual Investors in India

Recent findings in the finance and consumer behaviour literature have shown that investors’ investment decisions are likely to be affected by their psychological tendencies. The focus of this paper is to understand how investors’ psychological tendencies influence purchase postponement of shares. Furthermore, the moderating effects of product involvement on the relationship between psychological tendencies and also purchase postponement are examined. Using a survey research design, data was collected from Indian investors to empirically test the model using moderated regression analysis. Our findings show that investor’s psychological tendencies do significantly impact purchase postponement. Furthermore, a profile of Indian retail investors is presented in the paper. Our findings documents another distinct phenomenon of investors’ persistent departures from rationality as posited by behavioural finance and also provides a better understanding of the nature of individual investor participation in the Indian capital market.

Selfie appropriation by young British South Asian adults

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how young British South Asian adults’ dual cultural identity is exhibited and reaffirmed through the appropriation of selfies. Design/methodology/approach The research adopts a qualitative perspective and utilises a combination of in-depth interviews and netnographic data. Findings The appropriation of the selfie phenomenon by young British South Asian adults reifies, endorses and reinforces their dual cultural identity. As such, their dual cultural identity is influenced by four factors: consonance between host and ancestral cultures, situational constraints, contextual requirements and convenience. Research limitations/implications In terms of the selfie phenomenon, the study makes two major contributions: first, it analyses young British South Asian adults’ cultural dualism. Second, it explicates how their acculturation and their dual cultural identity are expressed through the appropriation of the selfie phenomenon. Practical implications Since young British South Asians represent a significant, and distinct, market, organisations serving this market can marshal insights from this research. As such, managers who apprise themselves of the selfie phenomenon of this group are better placed to meet their consumer needs. Account, therefore, should be taken of their twofold cultural identity and dual British/Asian identification. In particular, consideration should be given to their distinct and demonstrable traits apropos religiosity and social, communal, and familial bonding. The characteristics were clearly evident via their interactions within social media. Consequently, senior marketing managers can utilise the aforementioned in positioning their organisations, their brands and their products and services. Originality/value The study details a new quadripartite framework for analysing young British South Asian adults’ acculturation that leads to the formation of their dual cultural identity and presents a dynamic model that explicates how cultural identity is expressed through the use and appropriation of technology.

Black or green? Exploring the drivers and roadblocks behind renewable electricity consumption

ABSTRACT This article explores the nature of the green power market (households) in Australia and identifies the motivations behind the household purchase of green electricity. Attribution theory has shed new light on consumer processes and the interpretation of information that informs brand and service development strategies. Our study highlights how organisational image and perception of prices plays a significant role in either assisting or impeding sustainable consumption behaviours. This article uses survey data to improve understanding of Australian household norms and attitudes that drive green electricity purchase behaviours. In doing so, it presents the options that would be available to renewable electricity providers to increase their appeal to the consumer. The study suggests that the government should be clear in disseminating relevant and factual information information to consumers, while organisations should focus on product differentiation, value-added services and customer orientation to increase the adoption level of renewable electricity. We leverage off attribution theory and attitudinal frameworks to understand these insights. These are imperative to inform appropriate sustainable brands and innovations in the renewable power sector, and government environmental policy.

Gradual or rapid global product rollouts?: A review of concepts, propositions, and future directions

Numerous studies in mainstream product commercialization research have focused on the three main aspects; order of entry, relative product advantages, and firm competitiveness. However, the emphasis of the extant research base has not completely found it’s way to investigating the concerns of speed of new product rollouts from a global launch perspective. Specifically, little attention has been given to study the details of the nature of sequential launch and simultaneous launch strategies. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of the concepts of sequential and simultaneous international product rollouts through a review of the literature and theory-building endeavours. Although there is evidence of interest pertaining to the launch concepts and their consequences on product success, little research has employed a strong theoretical foundation that integrates both launch strategies in a single framework. Consequently, academics and practitioners are left with limited guidelines for determining the appropriate launch approach when introducing a new product to the global marketplace. To fill the knowledge gap, the authors develop a contextualized model that compares and contrasts the effectiveness of the respective launch strategies along varying degrees of environmental hostility, dynamism, and complexity. The authors highlight conceptual and methodological issues that are imperative for future empirical investigation. We draw on contingency theory and adopt a strategic alignment perspective to develop our conceptual model. Contingency theory has been established as a tool to identify a viable match between organizational strategies and environmental conditions to exploit opportunities and threats. .” There are a number of empirical studies that have used contingency theory and shown that environmental-strategy fit relates positively to performance. Firms, therefore, need to implement different launch strategies according to specific environmental setting (e.g., global customer preference, general competitive reactions, foreign regulation standards, economic conditions) when launching new products beyond national borders. Research propositions are introduced to describe potential contingency effects on the launch strategy–performance link. It is crucial, however, that the decision for employing a specific approach should not be determined solely on the basis of direct advantages (or disadvantages) of launch strategies. This study views that neither sequential nor simultaneous launch strategy, in isolation, is sufficient in explaining the overall outcome of launch strategies. Export managers should therefore take into account the contingency perspective for optimizing launch performance. The selection of a particular launch strategy will be a key determinant of the success of a new product’s introduction into the market.