J. Brad McBride

The impact of country-of-origin cues on consumer perceptions of product quality: A binational test of the decomposed country-of-origin construct

Abstract In light of the conflicting findings in previous research on the effect of country-of-origin (COO) on consumer product perceptions, this paper extends previous research by testing a decomposition of the construct (country of product design (COD), assembly (COA) and parts (COP) manufacture) on Mexican and US consumers. Additionally, several moderators are tested for the first time within the framework of this model. Test results on the three products (television, athletic shoes and mountain bike) indicate that design, assembly and parts origins do have different effects on product evaluations with the COP exhibiting the strongest influence. Furthermore, COO effects vary between US and Mexican consumers—most notably related to product design, introducing the issue of whether fashion and functionality of products, which may vary between societies, cause different COO effects. Finally, age exhibited a strikingly different moderating effect in the two countries.

Globalization, biculturalism and cosmopolitanism: The acculturation status of Mexicans in upper management

Globalization forces many managers to increasingly interact with new cultures, even if these managers remain in their home countries. This may be particularly true of managers in emerging markets, many of whom experience an encroaching US culture due to media, migration, and trade, as well as the importation of US-style business education. This study explores the possibility of applying acculturation insights developed in the immigrant and sojourner contexts to the context of local managers in emerging markets. By exploring the acculturation of Mexican managers in Mexico, we help to redress what has been identified as a key omission in prior acculturation research — the acculturation of a majority population. Our results suggest that Mexican managers who are bicultural or culturally independent (cosmopolitan) are more likely to be in upper management positions in Mexico. Our study supplements earlier work supporting the efficacy of biculturalism in minority populations. It also supports a growing body of research that conceptualizes individuals who rate themselves low on similarity to two cultures as being cosmopolitans and not marginalized individuals who experience difficulty in life. Mondialisation, biculturalisme et cosmopolitisme : l’acculturation des cadres supérieurs mexicains (Kate Gillespie, J. Brad McBride and Liesl Riddle) La mondialisation oblige de plus en plus les managers à interagir avec de nouvelles cultures, même si ceux-ci demeurent dans leurs pays d’origine. Ceci est sans doute le cas des managers issus des marchés émergents, la majorité d’entre eux étant confrontée à une culture américaine envahissante, que ce soit du fait des médias, de la migration, du commerce ou de l’importation d’une éducation en management à l’américaine. L’étude explore la possibilité d’appliquer certains résultats de la recherche sur l’acculturation dans des contextes d’immigrants et de séjourneurs aux contextes des managers locaux dans les marchés émergents. En explorant l’acculturation des managers mexicains au Mexique, nous redressons ce qui a été identifié comme une grave omission de la recherche sur l’acculturation jusqu’à aujourd’hui, à savoir l’acculturation de la population majoritaire. Nos résultats suggèrent que les managers mexicains biculturels ou culturellement indépendants (cosmopolites) ont plus de chances d’occuper des postes de cadres supérieurs au Mexique. Notre étude complète des précédents travaux appuyant l’efficacité du biculturalisme chez les populations minoritaires. Elle vient en appui à une recherche de plus en plus importante qui conceptualise les individus qui se classent en bas de l’échelle en termes de similitude à deux cultures de cosmopolites et non d’individus marginalisés faisant l’expérience d’une vie difficile.

Smuggling in emerging markets: Global implications

Abstract Economists and policymakers have lauded the adoption of liberal trade policies in many of the emerging markets. From the outside it may appear that governments in these countries have cemented a new set of rules governing economic behavior within their borders. Yet the authors have found that these countries are likely to see the emergence or resurgence of smuggling and contraband distribution in response to trade liberalization. In order to survive under trade liberalization, smugglers will rely on cost savings associated with the circumventing of legal import channels. In addition they may employ violence to bolster a diminished competitive advantage and may seek new illegal sources, both local and international, for the consumer products they distribute. In a market environment in which organized crime competes alongside more legitimate channels of distribution, U.S. multinationals will face new challenges relating to strategic planning, maintaining alliance relationships and corporate control of global brands and pricing.

Communicating charity successes across cultures: Highlighting individual or collective achievement?

Purpose – This paper aims to examine how different ways in which a charitable organization communicates successes (highlighting individual or collective achievement) can influence potential future donors, and to determine whether the effectiveness of the communication strategy is contingent on the cultural context.Design/methodology/approach – Experiments were conducted in the USA and Mexico.Findings – The findings of the study demonstrate that the effectiveness of communications with the public regarding a charitable organizations success stories depends on the type of message used in relation to the cultural context. When the message was congruent with the cultural dimension of individualism‐collectivism, the public was more likely to consider making a contribution to the charity.Research limitations/implications – The study examined the impact of conveying a message congruent with the cultural context in the context of charitable contributions. Further research is needed to examine whether one would e...

The privatization of the Mexican banking sector in the 1990s: from debacle to disappointment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the two‐step process of bank privatization in Mexico in the 1990s that necessitated a government bailout quite costly to Mexican taxpayers, and which has become emblematic as a cause of resentment against market liberalization among the Mexican public in recent years. This paper seeks to identify lessons to be learned from bank privatization in an important emerging market.Design/methodology/approach – Information was collected through secondary sources and field research in Mexico and abroad.Findings – The findings in this paper indicate that the bank privatization process was characterized by inadequate regulatory and financial controls which permitted large‐scale corruption and fraud resulting in a subsequent bank bailout by the Mexican Government. This created a major transfer of wealth from Mexican taxpayers to some of Mexicos wealthiest citizens, who owned or operated banks after the first wave of privatization. The subsequent sale of Mexican banks ...

Consumer Innovativeness Among Street Vendors in Mexico City

Abstract This study relates innovative consumer behavior to informal economic activity within the urban lower middle class of one of the worlds major emerging markets, with focus on product innovations in the areas of retail and consumer goods and services. of prime interest are the innovation adoption habits of street vendors, a group hypothesized to possess greater innovative tendency than those of similar social background employed as formal sector wage earners. Results indicate that street vendors report higher income and lower levels of education than their formal sector neighbors and these two groups show distinct product acquisition/patronage patterns, as well. However, the street vendors do not always demonstrate more innovative behavior, as adoption appears product specific.