John Hadjimarcou

Consumer concern, knowledge, belief, and attitude toward renewable energy: An application of the reasoned action theory

As conventional energy resources dry up and pollution increases, utility companies and policy makers seek to develop new energy programs that are more environmentally sound and replenishable. Renewable energy has emerged as an alternative energy resource, but its marketing has not been successful despite widespread consumer concern about the environment. Using the theory of reasoned action as a theoretical framework, the current research investigates the relationship of three variables (concern with the environment, knowledge about renewable energy, and beliefs about salient consequences of using renewable energy) with consumer attitude toward paying a premium for renewable energy. As predicted by the theory of reasoned action, a positive relationship between beliefs about salient consequences and attitudes toward paying more for renewable energy was found. Overall concern levels were quite high for consumers in the sample, whereas knowledge levels were relatively low. Interestingly, it was found that consumer concern failed to translate into heightened knowledge about renewable energy. The study suggests that the consumers environmental concern and beliefs about renewable energy to date are more emotionally charged than fact- or knowledge-based. Implications for marketing strategies and consumer education are provided.

Key Factors for Successful Export Performance for Small Firms

What key factors result in superior export performance for small firms from small countries? Drawing on the internationalization process model and organizational learning theory, the authors hypothesize and find that (1) emphasizing international sales while (2) restricting exports to a few foreign markets results in superior perceived export performance for the sample of small firms from Greece and several Caribbean countries. Emphasizing international sales while focusing on a few markets enables small firms to develop expertise in those markets, build strong distribution networks, and manage export activities effectively.

Building Successful Export Business Relationships: A Behavioral Perspective

Although the United States has been one of the leading actors in international trade, limited evidence exists as to individual U.S. company relationships with overseas customers. On the basis of a sample of 201 U.S. exporting manufacturers, the authors draw a comparison between harmonious and problematic foreign business relationships. The findings reveal that, as opposed to problematic cases, firms with harmonious relationships are more experienced, employ more people, and exhibit more active behavior toward conducting their foreign business. Such firms sell to a greater number of export markets, deal with more foreign customers, and obtain more orders. The study also shows that harmonious relationships with overseas customers are distinguished by greater dependence, trust, understanding, commitment, communication, and cooperation but less distance, uncertainty, and conflict between the parties. The article provides export management with a set of guidelines for establishing, developing, and sustaining successful export business relationships.

Bulgarian consumers' perceptions of products made in Asia Pacific

Reports the findings of a study conducted among 135 Bulgarian consumers, examining their perceptions of products from five Asian Pacific countries. The most common source of information for evaluating these products was experiential knowledge, coupled with opinions from friends. Among the country origins investigated, products made in Japan appeared to be liked most, while Indian products received the most negative comments. Japanese products were also ranked first in terms of overall assessment, followed by products from Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, and India. In general, consumer demographics did not play a serious differentiating role in the evaluation of products from these countries. With respect to specific product dimensions, Japanese goods were also rated more highly than those of other countries, the only exception being on price and credit facilities. Finally, in assessing particular categories of products made in Asia Pacific, Japan again received the highest ratings. Some conclusions are drawn from the study findings, as well as managerial implications.

A scale for measuring advertisement-evoked mental imagery

This study reports on the formulation and validation of a multidimensional scale designed to measure the properties of advertisement-evoked mental imagery. The scale was developed using (1) procedures suggested by psychometrics researchers, (2) three separate subject samples and (3) 55 advertisements drawn from print, radio and television media. The scale designed to measure imagery vividness, quantity, valence and sensory modality, exhibited reliability as well as discriminant, nomological and criterion validity. The analyses revealed that the dimensionality of the scale is stable whether the advertising medium is print, radio or television.

Global product stereotypes and heuristic processing: The impact of ambient task complexity

This study examines consumer information processing heuristics in the context of ambient task complexity. Individual consumers are often called upon to make evaluations of product and advertising stimuli while ambient events not directly related to the purchase at hand may enter the evaluative process and influence the way evaluations are made. Subjects facing a more complex task due to ambient events were found to evaluate the target stimulus in a way that was more consistent with category-based rather than piecemeal processing. Additionally, the findings provide considerable evidence for stereotype-driven evaluations and processing of attribute information. The theoretical and practical implications of this research are discussed.

Case study: strategic alliances in international franchising ‐ the entry of Silver Streak Restaurant Corporation into Mexico

The study examines the process of international market expansion by a relatively new and small franchisor. Particular emphasis is placed on the company‘s efforts to identify a suitable partner in the host country, the adaptation of the concept to address differences in the new market, and the multitude of critical decisions that need to be made when franchising in international markets. The authors also discuss the role that strategic alliances play in the success of international franchising efforts. The paper concludes with the implications of this case for both researchers and practitioners.

A cross-national and cross-generational study of consumer acculturation to advertising appeals

Purpose – Previous research on global marketing has typically focussed on marketing strategies across national markets. Yet, the cross‐national mobility of individuals has increased heterogeneity within country markets. The purpose of this study is to examine how immigrant consumers perceive advertising appeals in the context of the consumer acculturation process. Specifically, our study focusses on the reactions of Mexican, American, and Mexican‐American consumers to puffery‐laden advertisements.Design/methodology/approach – Using two‐factor theory as our theoretical prism, the study offers salient hypotheses regarding consumer perceptions of puffery‐laden advertising appeals, which are then tested in a cross‐national experiment in the USA and Mexico.Findings – The results show that Mexican consumers are more susceptible to puffery‐laden claims than Americans. In contrast, American consumers are more susceptible to advertising that does not contain puffery‐laden claims than their Mexican counterparts. In...

An Investigation of the Perceptions of Business Students Regarding Non-Traditional Business Education Formats

ABSTRACT Business education programs labeled as “non-traditional” continue to grow in importance and popularity and have accordingly continued to receive attention in the business educational literature. Generally lost in this literature, however, is the perception of business students regarding these programs. The purpose of our study was to examine student perceptions of non-traditional programs and to uncover the major latent themes regarding a variety of issues related to these programs. Our findings suggest that business students consider non-traditional education as a viable option to traditional education. However, respondents also voiced a number of disadvantages of non-traditional programs such as cost, external validity of degrees, and impersonalized learning environment. Implications for educators and/or administrators are offered.

USER-GENERATED CONTENT AS WORD-OF-MOUTH

The objective of this research is to identify two harvestable word-of-mouth (WOM) proxies and test their construct validity. Bivariate measures of association of user-generated content (UGC) data compiled from Facebook.com on sixty-one firms across nine markets suggest the WOM proxies were positively correlated, maintaining varying relationships with firms’ stock market performance. Study two uses time-series analysis to demonstrate that these WOM proxies change in tandem with stock prices, implying that they are sensitive to firm behaviors and that UGC is a leading indicator of stock market performance. As such, the findings provide managers with a tool to more accurately assess impressions of the firm.