Ilkka A. Ronkainen

Cognitive and Affective Reactions of U.S. Consumers to Global Brands

The authors find that U.S. consumers hold contradictory notions of what characterizes a global brand beyond its wide recognition, availability, and standardization across markets. In particular, they find that the association of brand globality with higher quality is not as strong as the literature has proposed and that affect directly influences how people perceive global brands. The initial results imply that previous research on globality effects may have confounded brand globality and brand strength and that the latter is responsible for the quality effect. A follow-up study shows that for most consumers, brand globality is associated with positive affect and that this affect is also reflected among consumers who are explicitly against global brands. The authors conclude that response to global brands is driven more by affect and less by cognition.

How Serious Is Nonresponse Bias in Advertising Conversion Research

The results from three advertising conversion studies are presented. Mail questionnaires were sent to advertising coupon inquirers in each study. Nonrespon dents of first and second questionnaire mailings were less likely to visit compared to the respondents of the first questionnaire mailings. Respondents from second and third compared to first mailings who did convert into visitors had different travel behavior patterns.

Criteria changes across product development stages

Abstract This paper analyzes the criteria used at making go/no-go decisions at major points in the product-development process, taking each phase separately. First, the variation in the sets (market, product, and financial) criteria used from one phase to another is studied. Second, the specific criteria deployed are analyzed. The results of the decision-systems interviews conducted show shifts in weights among the three sets of criteria as the development cycle progresses. In terms of criteria, the product-development process can be summarized using the following three questions in this specific order: 1) “Is there a market for the concept?” 2) Can the concept be transformed into a concrete product?” and 3) “Can the concrete product be manufactured and marketed profitably?” The analysis of specific criteria reveals that the use of some criteria is restricted to one particular phase, whereas some are used at every decision-making point. Also, the orientation of the company in question will cause variation among specific criteria use and weighting. Some factors, however, are quite universally applicable.

The conference on security and cooperation in Europe: Its impact on tourism

Abstract The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe adopted principles which have both direct and indirect impact on travel and tourism. The data for the paper include documentary material, a survey sent to the national travel and tourism bureaus of the participating states, and personal interviews. It is evident that most of the problems encountered in implementing the final act are political, not technical. A separate section is devoted to the discussion of the impact on travel for professional reasons. The overall result of this study points to the fact that progress has been slow and tangible results have been limited.

Tourism Strategy: A Campground Case Example

A survey of 316 travel parties who visited the Lake Arrowhead campground in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, revealed ways in which tourism research data can be used in planning for tourism strategy. A series of strategic and tactical questions are answered using response data, and specific recommendations as to courses of action are presented.

Implementing global marketing strategy

Whirpool Corporation is the world’s leading marketer of major appliances. Its growth in the last ten years from a mostly domestic manufacturer to a global player is the result of a customer‐driven strategy adopted in which the company’s strengths are leveraged for growth around the world. Ivan Menezes, vice president, group marketing, Whirlpool Europe, talks about strategies and approaches that have made Whirlpool succeed not only in the fragmented European market but also in the emerging markets of central Europe, Latin America, and Asia. The key is to combine talent and best practice across borders to provide customers with value.

Risk in product development stages

Abstract Risk perceptions have an important bearing on the product-development process. The product-development literature reports risk-level and cost increases as a project advances in the R&D pipeline, but no quantification of these concepts is available. Data are provided on how people involved in the product-development process view the relationship between cost and risk escalation. The results are discussed in terms of how companies manage risk and uncertainty in product development.

Emerging Trends, Threats and Opportunities in International Marketing: What Executives Need to Know

The context of international business has evolved over the years and has always reflected the climate of the time. Three major changes that have taken place in the last decade or so should be noted. First, the landscape of the global economy changed drastically in the last decade or so. The Asian and Latin American financial crises, the further expansion of the European Union (EU), and the emergence of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) as economic powerhouses have occurred during this period. And most recently, the global financial and economic crisis caused primarily by the U.S. subprime mortgage loan crisis since late 2008 is ravaging the integrity of the global economy with unprecedented severity. Second, the explosive growth of information technology tools, including the Internet and electronic commerce (e-commerce), has had a significant effect on the way we do business internationally. On one hand, everyone seems to agree that business transactions will be faster and more global early on. And it is very true. As a result, the nature of the global supply chain and global trade as managed by multinational firms has fundamentally changed. However, on the other hand, the more deeply we have examined this issue, the more convinced we have become that certain things would not change or could even become more local as a result of globalization that the Internet and e-commerce bestow on us. Third, it is an underlying human tendency to desire to be different when there are economic and political forces of convergence (often referred to as globalization). When the globalization argument (and movement) became fashionable in the 1980s and 1990s, many of us believed that globalization would make global business easier. Doing business beyond national borders, indeed, has become easier, but this does not necessarily mean that customers want the same products in countries around the world. For example, many more peoples around the world than ever before are trying to emphasize cultural and ethnic differences as well as accepting those differences. Just think about many new countries being born as well as regional unifications taking place at the same time. Indeed, these global changes we have observed in recent years are more than extraordinary. As a result, business practitioners are facing enormous challenges to cope with those changes in an uncertain world. This book is constitutes a timely compilation of work addressing marketing in an uncertain world, competition from emerging and reemerging markets, global sourcing, and meeting old and new global challenges.

United States' Travel and Tourism Policy:

This article summarizes present governmental policy and activities regarding travel and tourism, and makes recommendations for increasing the competitive position of the United States with respect to the world market for tourism.

The Globalization of the U.S. Economy: Consumer Market Implications

This article presents an overview of the sweeping changes which have taken place in the global economy. Subsequently, the effects of these changes on U.S. consumer goods marketers are discussed. By linking together the implications of growing competitiveness, larger financial flows, and increasing foreign direct investment, the authors then suggest possible scenarios for future developments in consumer goods trade.