g-Hao Steve Chen

Luxury fashion brands: factors influencing young female consumers’ luxury fashion purchasing in Taiwan

Purpose – This paper offers insights into the consumption motives and purchasing behaviour of that market segment in Taiwan against the background of increasing consumption of luxury fashion brands by young female consumers in Asian countries. Design/methodology/approach – Analysis of data collected using face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 23 fashion-conscious females aged 18-32 years was completed and new empirical insights are offered. Findings – The study found a high level of involvement in the world of luxury fashion retailing. Asian consumers devoured media commentary, drew inspiration from female celebrities and treated information-seeking and discussion of luxury fashion brands with friends as a serious and enjoyable pursuit. The social status conferred by expensive fashion wear motivated them to spend on luxury brands even if their discretionary income was limited. Potential guilt in so doing was assuaged by rationalising that the quality was good and the purchase would be long lasting....

Reverse teaching: Exploring student perceptions of “flip teaching”

The concept of reverse teaching, considered by some as the education model of the future due to increasing technological availability in the classroom, has received great attention in education research lately. However, the focus of these studies has mainly been on the understanding of reverse teaching in terms of its application rather than exploring the students’ perceptions of reverse teaching itself. This study explores the students’ perceptions of reverse teaching. Based on 28 in-depth interviews, this study submits a conceptualization of reverse teaching from the students’ point-of-view. The concept of reverse teaching constitutes three dimensions, expanding our knowledge of the construct. The study posits a crucial link between preparation, interaction, outcomes, and the understanding of reverse teaching. Guidelines are proposed for reverse teaching, extending existing literatures, with insights and implications for educators.

Electronic CRM and perceptions of unfairness

Electronic customer relationship management (eCRM) aims to fulfill customers’ individual needs in order to increase the value for both the customers and firms alike. However, this individual treatment has potential negative effects for the firm. As it seemingly neglects other customers deemed less worthy, it provokes customer perceptions of unfairness and unethical concerns towards the firm. Despite these damaging consequences, few studies have examined the role of fairness in eCRM. The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to investigate how differential treatment of customers may affect their perceptions of fairness in a firm and its personalized eCRM activities; (2) to develop an integrated model of fairness in eCRM that incorporates four key variables internal to the firm—service quality, price, communication efforts, and differential treatment.

Responsible brands vs active brands? An examination of brand personality on brand awareness, brand trust, and brand loyalty

Purpose There is a rise in interest on the topic of consumer-brand relationships (CBRs) among practitioners and academics. Consumers are said to build relationships with brands that have a personality congruent with their own. The purpose of this paper is to investigate two types of brand personality traits, namely, responsible brands and active brands to predict prominent CBR constructs, including brand awareness, brand trust, and brand loyalty. Design/methodology/approach This study was based on an electronic survey of 339 respondents. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings The results show that brand personality positively affects the three CBR constructs. Specifically, the focus is shifted to the two major personality dimensions, responsible and active, respectively. The results indicate that an active brand is a stronger predictor of brand awareness compared to a responsible brand. However, a responsible brand is a stronger predictor of brand trust as well as brand loyalty compared to an active brand. Surprisingly, the results display that active brands lower brand trust and brand loyalty. Practical implications This finding informs brand managers that projecting active brand personality leads to higher awareness. However, projecting more responsible brand leads to greater trust and loyalty. The study highlights that having one personality may not be sufficient to develop an enduring CBR, but a brand personality must “evolve” and progress as the relationship develops over time. Such dynamic brand personality may provide a more long-lasting brand strategy and a greater source of competitive advantage. Originality/value The present study contributes to the marketing literature in three different ways. First, this study adds to the body of knowledge on the relationship between brand personality and CBR constructs using the new measure of BPS. Second, this study assesses the individual level of the new BPS, particularly responsibility and activity, on the three CBR constructs, and in doing so, the study responds to previous studies’ calls to assess the individual capacity of the brand personality dimensions to get consumer preference or loyalty. Third, the study displays which ones of the two dimensions in the new BPS (i.e. responsible and active) may be better predictors to the three CBR constructs.

An investigation of the corporate identity construct in China:managerial evidence from the high technology industry

Abstract The study develops and extends existing frameworks of corporate identity and investigates what organisations in China perceive as essential components of the corporate identity concept including their dimensions and contents. The study adopted a qualitative approach and the method of research was a case study. Using the soft-laddering approach, and a multidisciplinary categorisation of analyses of corporate literature and websites, a systematic analysis of the corporate identity was carried out. Different from previous studies, the study reveals new dimensions on the basis of the industry practitioners’ views. The context of China has shown to influence a different focus, more significantly around the ‘impression’ that corporate identity can contribute with commercially. It is suggested that new high-tech firms in China may not have enough experience and capacity to engage in a more holistic corporate identity concept provided. The lack of such experience is particularly likely for new firms, which are still in their early stage of development. Implications for management of corporate identity in China are presented along with directions for further research in the marketing communications literature.

Ethical marketing in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand

Using a country-branding framework, this chapter aims to enable readers to comprehend how firms organise and manage ethical marketing in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Specifically, the chapter examines the differences in issues addressed by ethical marketing campaigns and presents examples of both branding and ethical marketing cases and research in relation to this interesting and diversified region. Furthermore, the chapter presents important aspects of both consumers’ and firms’ decision-making processes, influencing ethical marketing. Theories on ethical marketing are reviewed and extant research is presented.

Luxury brand purchases and the extended self: a cross-cultural comparison of young female consumers in Taiwan and the UK

Purpose – It is generally agreed that marketing campaigns developed for western markets may not be appropriate for consumers living in eastern cultures, particularly with respect to strategies for promoting luxury brands. While consultancy reports and media commentaries show that rising levels of disposable income are driving increasing demand for luxury goods in China and Taiwan, for example, the academic literature offers very few consumer research findings clearly elucidating the different luxury purchasing behaviour of eastern and western consumers. The purpose of this paper is to compare the consumption of luxury products and luxury fashion purchasing habits in Taiwan and the UK, with particular reference to the fashion sector, focusing on a strategically important emerging market segment: young consumers of luxury brands. Design/methodology/approach – To achieve the study’s objectives, questionnaires were administered online in each of the two countries to females aged 18-26 years, who had made more...

Luxury brand purchases and the extended self

Purpose – It is generally agreed that marketing campaigns developed for western markets may not be appropriate for consumers living in eastern cultures, particularly with respect to strategies for promoting luxury brands. While consultancy reports and media commentaries show that rising levels of disposable income are driving increasing demand for luxury goods in China and Taiwan, for example, the academic literature offers very few consumer research findings clearly elucidating the different luxury purchasing behaviour of eastern and western consumers. The purpose of this paper is to compare the consumption of luxury products and luxury fashion purchasing habits in Taiwan and the UK, with particular reference to the fashion sector, focusing on a strategically important emerging market segment: young consumers of luxury brands. Design/methodology/approach – To achieve the study’s objectives, questionnaires were administered online in each of the two countries to females aged 18-26 years, who had made more...

Size does matter: Effects of in-game advertising stimuli on brand recall and brand recognition

Abstract Rapid growth in the global gaming industry has created substantial opportunities for marketers. The potential and effectiveness of in-game advertising have attracted increasing attention from academics. Drawing on product placement literature, this study explores the influence of size (small, large), order (primacy, recency) and level of absorption (low, high) on consumer memory (brand recall and recognition) of well-known brands placed in a racing game. Using a controlled experiment, 285 participants were recruited to play the sports video game Trackmania 2 Canyon. Results indicate a positive effect of size, but order and level of absorption had no effect on brand recall and brand recognition. In particular, large size brands are recalled and recognised significantly better. Findings offer important implications for marketers in a global gaming industry that is steadily growing.

How Does Self-concept and Brand Personality Affect Luxury Consumers’ Purchasing Decisions?

This chapter reviews the major theories on self-concept and brand personality in the luxury consumption context. The self-concept is the cognitive or thinking aspect of self, referring to learned beliefs, attitudes, and opinions that each person holds about his or her personal existence. Brand personality is defined as a set of human characteristics associated with a brand, in which a brand may be considered as an active relationship partner rather than a passive exchange object. Linking these two concepts in the luxury context, the chapter considers how person-specific, internal or external attributes, interact to form an individual’s self-concept and how the self links with the brand’s personality. Understanding consumers’ self-concept is particularly important for luxury products and brands due to its the wider implications for consumer psychology and behavior and marketing practice. Hence, theoretical and managerial implications are discussed arising from the self-concept and brand personality (SCBP) framework.