Marko Grünhagen

The Institutional Foundations of Materialism in Western Societies: A Conceptualization and Empirical Test

Studies of materialism have increased in recent years, and most of these studies examine various aspects of materialism including its individual or social consequences. However, understanding, and possibly shaping, a society’s materialistic tendencies requires a more complete study of the relationship between a society’s institutional patterns and the acceptance of materialism by its members. Consequently, the current study examines five of the institutional antecedents of materialism to understand better how and why it develops as a mode of consumption within a society. More specifically, a model relating materialism and a set of institutionalized patterns of social behavior referred to as the dominant social paradigm was developed and tested in a study of seven industrial, market-based countries. The results suggest that the economic, technological, political, anthropocentric, and competition institutions making up the dominant social paradigm are all positively related to materialism. The implications of the relationship are then discussed.

The Effective Delivery of Franchisor Services: A Comparison of U.S. and German Support Practices for Franchisees

ABSTRACT Conventional wisdom suggests that more services offered by franchisors should lead to fewer complaints from franchisees, and that franchisees ought to be better off with additional support provided. We set out to differentiate those services that are truly effective and are perceived as beneficial by franchisees from those that may have little effect or may even be perceived as counterproductive. Our survey targeted franchisors in the U.S. and in Germany, comparing the most mature franchise market globally to one that is relatively young. System disruption was found to be dependent on the maturity of the market, as little differentiation is provided in the very mature U.S. market, but considerable differentiation exists in the younger German market. Also, the size of the system matters, as bigger systems typically provide more services. Finally, different types of services have varying levels of effectiveness in the less mature franchise market of Germany.

International Franchising Research: Some Thoughts on the What, Where, When, and How

The purpose of this article is to examine the present state of international franchising research. We consider the origins and evolution of franchising as an enterprise form and summarize relevant research in this area. We advance and substantiate the premise that franchising research in the global arena has largely followed the geographic expansion trajectory of the franchise industry. And, based on these themes, we conclude by identifying a series of significant research topics in the international franchising domain.

Emerging Consumer Perspectives on American Franchise Offerings: Variety Seeking Behavior in China

Chinese consumers had been historically restricted to limited variety with regard to consumer goods and services offerings since the days of Mao Zedongs founding of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949. The realities of a planned economy restricted the choices available to those provided through domestic producers, while limited trade with the outside world did not provide significant alternatives. From the early 1980s, however, through the opening of Chinas economy by Deng Xiaoping and his successors, Western companies have started to gain access to the Chinese market. Their products not only became sought‐after alternatives by Chinese consumers, but even market leaders for choice‐starved consumers. This article reports the results gleaned from recent consumer survey data collected in Beijing which investigated the attitudes and behaviors of Chinese consumers in their patronage of McDonalds restaurants. A total of four hypotheses were tested regarding the influence of Variety Seeking proclivity among Chinese patrons of McDonalds on their sentiments of Desire for Unique Products, Democratization, Ethnocentrism, and Traditionalism. The emergent evidence suggests that Chinese consumers are reverting back to choosing Chinese brands as an expression of their variety seeking efforts and, in a broader sense, of rising consumer power. Chinese brands have reached a level of quality perception that has allowed them in recent years to take back market share from Western market leaders. The findings of this study suggest that a reversal of consumer preferences toward now‐competitive domestic Chinese alternatives is underway.

Norwegian internet shopping sites: An application & extension of the Technology Acceptance Model

Abstract Managers need to understand the role the Internet plays in customers purchasing patterns and take advantage of this phenomenon. For this study, 292 Norwegians responded to our survey regarding Internet shopping. The purpose of this research was as follows: 1) To apply, examine, and test the technology acceptance model (TAM) in the context of Internet shopping sites; 2) To understand the relationship between the TAM, involvement, and affinity with the computer in the context of Internet shopping sites; and 3) to examine these constructs and relationships in an international environment. While most of our hypotheses were supported, two conflicting results indicate additional research is needed regarding the validation and usefulness of TAM in an international setting.

Motives for Helping: Exploring Cultural Influences on Extra‐Role Behavior

This paper suggests that motives for engaging in affiliative‐promotive “helping” extra‐role behavior is related to cross‐cultural differences. The cultural dimensions of in‐group collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, performance orientation, and humane orientation, and their differential effect on helping extra‐role behavior in a diverse workforce are examined. Theoretical implications provide guidance for future empirical research in this area, and provide managers with more realistic expectations of employee performance in the workplace.

Franchising During Times of Economic Recession: A Longitudinal Analysis of Automotive Service Franchises

This study sheds light on how franchise companies weather periods of recession versus growth periods, based on firm-specific factors in contrast to exogenous influences over a 21-year period. Specifically, the analysis focuses on the 1984–2004 time period of franchise businesses in the automotive services sector, compiled from the Franchise Annual from 1985 through 2005. In contrast to previous studies, this investigation examines a period of 21 years, including three distinct periods of economic expansion and two periods of economic contraction. The most significant finding of this exploratory study is that generalist-type franchise systems (i.e., those that offer a broad range of automotive services) tend to have greater longevity than specialists during periods of economic recession. A related significant finding is that the number of services offered by franchisors expands and contracts in a counter-cyclical manner relative to broad economic indicators.

Complementary IT resources for enabling technological opportunism

After testing for measurement invariance, information technology (IT) use is different for the U.S. and Spain.IT use and the firms IT human capital are the main drivers of technological opportunism (TO) capability.The effect of IT vendor support on technological opportunism is country dependent.Vertical integration is preferred when a firm uses IT intensively.IT vendor support has positive effects on technological opportunism if the firm invests in IT human capital. This study examines the use of information technologies (ITs), IT human capital, the level of IT vendor support, and their joint effects on firms sensing and responding to IT changes (technological opportunism). Using data from the U.S. and Spain, the results suggest that IT use and the firms IT human capital are the main drivers of technological opportunism (TO). The effect of IT vendor support on TO is country dependent, with a U-shaped effect in the U.S. and no effect in Spain. IT vendor support can have positive effects on TO if the firm invests in IT human capital.

Development Prospects for Franchising in Southeast Asia: A Review and Outlook

Academic studies on global franchising had focused initially, from the late 1970s to the 1990s, on developed economies, including North America, Western Europe, and Australia, while over the last decade the research focus has moved to include transitional and emerging markets, such as the Asian economies of China and India. Only recently has academic research on franchising shifted towards developing Southeast Asian markets (Dant and Grunhagen, J Market Channels 21(3):124–132, 2014). The literature on scholarly research into franchise activities in the developing markets of Southeast Asia remains in its infancy (for notable exceptions see Binh and Terry, J Market Channels 18(2):147–163, 2011; Binh & Terry, 2014; Grunhagen, Le, & Ho, 2014).

“Food Deserts” in Urban Districts Evidence from a Transitional Market and Implications for Macromarketing

While the marketing literature has investigated the availability and affordability of food and food stores from various angles and in many different global contexts, a recent phenomenon that has only received scant attention in the marketing literature thus far is the appearance of food deserts in urban environments. Food deserts have been observed in Western markets (e.g., in the U.K. and the U.S.) with a literature base that originates in urban planning. This article represents the first attempt to introduce the food desert phenomenon to the marketing literature overall, and to the macromarketing context specifically. A definition of a food desert is created from a marketing perspective. The impact of emerging food deserts on market segments of vulnerable consumers, such as the elderly or mobility-impaired consumers, and the ensuing public policy implications appear particularly relevant to macromarketers. This study investigates the absence of food-sources in a context that may not appear as a likely candidate for this phenomenon, a transitional economy in Southeastern Europe, Croatia. Evidence for the existence of a food desert is provided through primary and secondary data, and public policy implications are discussed.