James Agarwal

Dimensions of service quality in developed and developing economies: multi‐country cross‐cultural comparisons

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Internationalization and Entry Modes: A Multitheoretical Framework and Research Propositions

Although several aspects of the internationalization process have been addressed in the literature, there is a lack of a unified theoretical framework that explains the internationalization process, entry modes, and timing strategies. This article synthesizes several foundational theories on modes of global entry and offers a conceptual framework of the internationalization process. Throughout the article, the authors identify several propositions based on the proposed theoretical framework.

A Cross-National and Cross-Cultural Approach to Global Market Segmentation: An Application Using Consumers' Perceived Service Quality.

The spread of global culture is being facilitated by the proliferation of transnational corporations, the rise of global capitalism, widespread aspiration for material possessions, and the homogenization of global consumption. The extent of convergence of cultural values across nations has been debated by international marketing researchers. However, from a practical standpoint, transnational firms require a cross-national, cross-cultural approach to market segmentation that can be used to guide the development of global marketing strategies. In this study, the authors investigate the application of cross-national versus cross-cultural approaches to market segmentation through a rigorous empirical investigation in the context of banking services. Although services constitute the fastest growing sector of the world economy, few studies have examined global market segmentation strategies for them. The authors develop theory-based cross-national hypotheses and test them by estimating a structural model of consumers’ perceived service quality using survey data from two countries: the United States and India. They test cross-cultural hypotheses by estimating the same model on culture-based clusters. They demonstrate that there are distinctive differences between cross-national and cross-cultural models of perceived service quality and highlight the growing relevance of cross-cultural research approaches. More generally, the cross-national, cross-cultural approach to market segmentation can guide the development of global marketing strategies for services and improve business performance.

International Services Marketing

Discusses and applies a general framework for services quality to make a comparative evaluation of ten dimensions of service quality between developed and developing countries. Derives specific hypotheses for each of the service quality dimensions based on the relevant environmental factors characterizing developed and developing economies. Discusses managerial implications of the hypotheses that are derived, and proposes the empirical investigation of these hypotheses as a direction for future research.

China's entry to WTO: global marketing issues, impact, and implications for China

The transition from a command economy to a market‐based economy has been remarkably successful in China. After 15 years of negotiations, China finally joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December 2001. Because of trade and investment liberalization under the WTO, there will be greater competition between Chinese and foreign firms, both inside China and outside China. While there is a great deal of economic literature on Chinas entry to the WTO, there has been no research on the global marketing impact and implications of Chinas membership of the WTO. This paper is an attempt to fill this gap. The objective of this study is to examine the general impact of Chinas entry to the WTO and to assess the global marketing implications of specific trade‐related policy issues within the WTO framework for China. Eleven specific WTO policy issues are examined and several global marketing propositions offered in terms of the WTOs impact on and implications for China.

Quality performance of SMEs in a developing economy: direct and indirect effects of service innovation and entrepreneurial orientation

Article deposited according to publisher policy posted on SHERPA/ROMEO, Oct. 31, 2014.Publisher doi 10.1108/JBIM-07-2013-0146

Toward Resolving the Reflective-Formative Measurement Debate: Theoretical Framework and an Empirical Investigation—An Abstract

Acknowledging the ontological and epistemological differences inherent between formative and reflective measurement paradigms, we advocate an information processing approach in explaining the efficacy of these approaches in conceptualizing attitudinal constructs. Specifically, we focus on the measurement of corporate reputation, examining two competing measurement conceptualizations: second-order reflective model versus second-order formative model. Drawing from dual-processing theories we explain the underlying theoretical mechanisms at play in the activation of reflective versus formative conceptualizations of corporate reputation contingent upon an individual’s level of “need for cognition” trait. Using mobile phone customers in two countries, we provide empirical validation to both conceptualizations, and thus both reflective and formative models are plausible. However, their model fit varies across the levels of individuals’ “need for cognition.” As a methodological contribution, we propose a novel “jackknifing” methodology in structural equation modeling to conduct statistical tests of our proposed cognitive contingency model. By this means, the study brings us one step closer in an attempt to reconcile the validity of both measurement paradigms.

A Thematic Exploration of the Changing Trends in Political Risk and Global Marketing Scholarship in the Last Three Decades (1986–2015): Implications and Future Research

This chapter analyzes temporal patterns in political risk across the globe and in global marketing scholarship in 1986–2015 to offer perspectives on emerging political risk issues for current and future research. We offer a novel measure of political risk based on exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to identify the most influential sources of political risk and its latent structure within a country in three time periods, 1986–1995, 1996–2005, and 2006–2015. This EFA-based measure provides a more nuanced way of analyzing global-, regional-, and country-level political risk dynamics compared to the existing indices based on the observable characteristics of political environment. We synthesize global marketing scholarship to examine the evolution of various research topics/themes within global marketing and identify potential future research directions on the impact of political risk on global marketing activities abroad.

The Changing Nature of Global Marketing: A New Perspective

There have been significant changes in the global marketing landscape that is presenting contemporary threats and opportunities in markets, institutions, and technology for global marketers. Much of the mainstream research on global marketing has focused on the traditional marketing strategy combined with the traditional paradigms to analyze international markets. Global companies need to challenge traditional assumptions in global marketing in an era of shifting political, cultural, economic, and technological changes. Given scant research attention on the emerging issues in global marketing for the twenty-first century, there is a critical need for a new research direction to shed new insights into emerging and cutting-edge issues in global marketing. This book examines emerging theories and frameworks of global marketing and discusses how global marketing strategies are evolving and being re-calibrated in a globalized and digital economy that is fast changing.

Does Country or Culture Matter in Global Marketing? An Empirical Investigation of Service Quality and Satisfaction Model with Moderators in Three Countries

The increased importance and acceleration of service globalization during the first decade and a half of the twenty-first century has resulted in multinational firms serving customers with divergent needs and expectations shaped by different cultural background and values. This divergence in consumer perceptions across countries may be attributed to cultural differences. Yet, several cross-cultural studies in services marketing have assumed cultural homogeneity within countries, i.e., country and culture are assumed to be synonymous. In this study, we investigate the influence of cultural values in shaping consumers’ perception of service quality and satisfaction through cross-national vs. cross-cultural analysis. We also analyze the moderating role of the cultural values of individualism/collectivism and uncertainty avoidance on service quality dimensions and the relationship between perceived service quality and satisfaction. We present the conceptual background on service quality, customer satisfaction, and cultural values and develop our hypotheses by integrating these domains. Both cross-national vs. cross-cultural models are empirically tested using customer survey data in three countries. We discuss our SEM-based methodology, present our results, and discuss research implications. Our study makes a number of theoretical, methodological, and managerial contributions that highlight the shifting paradigm in global marketing.