Jean-Claude Usunier

International and cross-cultural management research

Introduction The Role of Language and Intellectual Styles in Cross-Cultural Comparisons Design and Implementation of Cross-Cultural Research in Management Methodological Issues in Cross-Cultural Management Research Strategies for Improving the Relevance of Cross-Cultural Research in Management

A comparison of trust and reciprocity between France and Germany: Experimental investigation based on the investment game

Abstract We compare the results of a one-shot investment game, studied earlier by Berg et al. [Games and Economic Behavior 10 (1995) 122], for France and Germany. In this game, player A is the trustor and player B the trustee. The average level of investment is significantly larger in Germany, but the level of reciprocity is not significantly different between the two countries. This implies that German B-players earned significantly more than French B-players. Furthermore, in both countries B-players earned significantly more than A-players. Our results support Fukuyama’s conjecture that the level of trust is higher in Germany than in France, a situation which can explain a higher rate of investment and a higher level of performance. However, our results also show that the increased revenue which is attributable to the higher level of trust, is not shared in a more equitable way, but essentially increases B-players’ payoffs. Finally, based on an intercultural trust experiment, we show that French A subjects did not find German B subjects less trustworthy and German A subjects did not find French B subjects less trustworthy.

Product Ethnicity: Revisiting the Match Between Products and Countries

Consumers make stereotypical associations between products and countries based on their perceptions of a countrys know-how and reputation relative to the design, manufacturing, or branding of particular generic goods. When such associations are shared globally, they reflect product ethnicity, a concept that the authors empirically explore in this article. Operationalization of product ethnicity is based on country–product associations that consumers make with either a product or a country as the initial stimulus, resulting in a combined two-way measurement. The authors first investigate product ethnicity at an exploratory level across five survey countries for a large set of products and countries (Study 1). They identify what they term “context-centered association tendencies” because respondents tend to associate goods more closely with their own country. The authors then relate product ethnicity and context-centered association tendencies to the country-of-origin literature and test research hypotheses with a new set of countries (Study 2), comprising two collectivist cultures (China and Mexico) and two individualist cultures (Germany and the United States). Finally, Study 3 shows that consumers are more willing to buy product offerings that are congruent rather than noncongruent with product ethnicity.

The shift from manufacturing to brand origin: suggestions for improving COO relevance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to comment on Magnusson et al.s paper. Rather than entering into the COO (country of origin) relevance debate, the author observes the shift from manufacturing to brand origin and outline consequences for future COO research by taking into account linguistic aspects of brand names.Design/methodology/approach – This paper documents the issue of brand origin recognition accuracy (BORA, a central theme in Magnusson et al.s paper) and the progressive replacement of COO and COM (country of manufacture) by COB (country of brand). Linguistic cues lead to both incorrect and correct classification of brands in terms of their national origin, which the author subsumes in four ideal‐typical situations, by taking into account company intention to manipulate origin information or not. The author then outlines factors which cause and moderate incorrect versus correct classification, especially brand size, corporate vs product names, and linguistic devices.Findings – A framework ...

Corporate Branding: An Interdisciplinary Literature Review

Purpose – This paper aims to examine how scholarly research on corporate branding has evolved using bibliometric author co‐citation analysis of articles published between 1969 and 2008 on corporate branding.Design/methodology/approach – The bibliography was compiled using the ISI Web of Science database. The authors searched articles published between 1969 and 2008 that used terms in their title related to their research scope. Then they used citation mapping to visualize the relationships between and among key works in the field.Findings – The search resulted in 264 papers by 412 authors in 150 journals. The field is notably interdisciplinary, with articles published mainly in business, management, architecture, arts and communications disciplines. The authors found three main approaches to corporate branding research (internal, transactional, external) with seven core research streams: product, service and sponsorship evaluation; corporate and visual identity; employment image and application; corporate...

Time Styles and the Waiting Experience: An Exploratory Study

In this exploratory research, the authors try to relate the actual duration of waiting and consumers’“time styles” to the way they experience waiting, especially in terms of passive and active impatience. These variables are linked to waiting acceptability and to satisfaction with the service. The resulting model has been tested with a structural equations method based on public transportation data. Significant relationships have appeared, especially a direct link between actual waiting time and waiting acceptability, whereas time styles (mostly economic time orientation) influence perceived time pressure and active impatience but not waiting acceptability.

The Time Styles Scale: A review of developments and replications over 15 years

This article builds on previous research that has led to the development of a psychometric scale designed for capturing individual time orientations over a 15-year period. The time styles scale was initially developed in France. Cross-cultural replications of the scale were undertaken in several countries (Germany, Hong Kong, Tunisia, Vietnam), with particular emphasis on the influence of language on psychometric measurement. We demonstrate the nomological validity of the scale by reviewing research that has assessed its ability to predict values, individual activity planning, attitudes towards waiting time, as well as buying and consumption behaviour.

Using linguistics for creating better international brand names

International product sales are increasingly important for most companies. As a result, cross-border brand naming is becoming a significant marketing issue. This article describes linguistic assets such as phonetics (sounds), etymology (roots of words) and rhetoric (persuasive discourse) and proposes a comprehensive framework for analysing how these linguistic assets transfer (or do not transfer) to a number of target linguistic contexts. Using this analysis, managers should follow the ‘Joyce principle’ and attempt to build meaningful brand names across languages, thus adding value to their global brand names.

The Influence of High- and Low-Context Communication Styles On the Design, Content, and Language of Business-To-Business Web Sites

Language and communication, especially high- versus low-context communication styles, have been shown to lead to differences in Web sites. Low-context communication provides the lowest common denominator for intercultural communication through the Internet by making messages linear, articulated, explicit, and therefore easier to understand in the absence of contextual clues. Based on theories of intercultural business communication and recent empirical studies, this article investigates how communication styles influence Web site design and content. It is hypothesized that, for the global audience, Web sites from low-context communication countries are easier to find, use colors and graphics more effectively, make navigation more user-friendly, contain more corporate and product information cues, and offer more contract- and relationship-related content than Web sites from high-context communication countries. This article also contributes to international business communication by investigating the choice of languages in business-to-business (B2B) Web sites. Empirical findings confirm the influence of high- versus low-context communication styles through systematic content analysis of 597 B2B Web sites in 57 countries. High-context communication style may be detrimental to the design of global Web sites, making them less readable, less effective in their use of colors and graphics, and less interactive for the globally dispersed users.

Business models for music distribution after the P2P revolution

The goal of this paper is to sketch the value chain and the business models of the online distribution of music. The perspective of the online digital music market is rather deceiving but the opportunities seem to remain high. Considering the rise of the P2P networks of free music digital files, it seems reasonable to assume this new way to distribute music meets consumer needs. Based on a review of the literature and executive interviews, the paper presents the traditional distribution models; then it addresses how P2P piracy deals with the copyright issues, and describes some emergent business models that could be an answer to illegal digital music distribution.