Anthony Grimes

Exploring the Relationships Between Colour and International Branding: A Cross Cultural Comparison of the UK and Taiwan

Non-verbal cues have taken on an increasingly prominent role in international brand strategy as companies strive to reach consumers on a deeper psychological level. This paper explores the relationships between colour and international branding in a cross-cultural context. Throughout a series of semi-structured focus group discussions the findings indicate that while perceptions of colour are in fact very similar across cultures, perceptions of international brands are often very different. Colour is found to be a useful and powerful tool in the creation of international brand identity and awareness, but to play only a very small, supporting role in the development of international brand image. These concepts are discussed with reference to the literature on the subject and conclusions are generated in the form of hypotheses.

Towards an integrated model of low attention advertising effects: A perceptual‐conceptual framework

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is draw together the different explanations of low attention advertising effects in the related, yet traditionally separate, paradigms of low involvement processing and mere exposure effects. Further to this, the paper aims to integrate these perspectives into a more holistic theoretical framework for researching and explaining low attention advertising effects.Design/methodology/approach – A critical review of the consumer literature in the related areas of low involvement processing and mere exposure effects is undertaken. This reveals very different explanations of the psychological processes that underpin research within these paradigms, and gives rise to a conceptual problem in the understanding of how advertising creates effects under conditions of low attention.Findings – This paper argues that these two streams of research should not be seen as competing theories, however, but that collectively they explain the different routes by which advertising creates effec...

Profiling the capabilities of SMEs to compete internationally

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to detail the rationale for, and development of, the Export Marketing Profiling System; a methodology for profiling and benchmarking the capabilities of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) to compete internationally.Design/methodology/approach – It is the outcome of four years of research, incorporating quantitative, qualitative and longitudinal studies into the international activities of SMEs.Findings – The findings of this research are utilised in the development of a system that recognises key themes and distils them into the specific characteristics, competencies, capabilities and activities that contribute to successful performance in international markets.Originality/value – The value of this system lies in the population of a large database of SMEs that have been profiled using in‐depth interviews. This enables users to profile and benchmark a companys export capabilities against other SMEs. It has been piloted successfully in the Yorkshire and The Hum...

Impact bias in student evaluations of higher education

In the context of higher education, this study examines the extent to which affective evaluations of the student experience are influenced by the point at which they are made (i.e. before the experience begins, whilst it is happening and after it has ended). It adopts a between-groups quantitative analysis of the affective evaluations made by 360 future, current and past postgraduate students of a UK business school. The study validates the proposition that affective forecasts and memories of the student experience are considerably inflated in prospect and retrospect; a finding that implies a significant impact bias. It is concluded that the impact bias may have important implications for influencing the effectiveness of student decision-making, the timing and comparability of student course evaluations, and understanding the nature and effects of word-of-mouth communication regarding the student experience.

How Claim Specificity Can Improve Claim Credibility in Green Advertising: Measures that Can Boost Outcomes From Environmental Product Claims

ABSTRACT This study establishes claim specificity as a conceptually distinct message characteristic and a robust antecedent of claim credibility. The relationship between the specificity and the credibility of green claims is examined by way of a 2 × 2 online experiment, with a broad sample of consumers. The results show that being specific increased the perceived credibility of green claims across a range of products, regardless of their perceived environmental relevance. Theoretical, practical, and research implications are discussed.