Robert T. Green

Countering Brand Counterfeiters

Brands represent the most valuable asset that many firms possess, and the associated brand equity is usually the result of years of development efforts. Yet many brands are becoming increasingly threatened by the worldwide phenomenon of brand counterfeiting, whereby imitations of the brand are sold to unwary consumers as the original. Counterfeits are known to flourish especially in developing countries that have weak legal infrastructures and corruptible public officials. What can a company do in the face of this threat? The authors summarize the literature that addresses this issue and provide an in-depth description of how one company addressed the threat of counterfeits in a lucrative developing market. The case illustrates the lengths companies may need to go to respond to counterfeits and raises many issues in relation to these actions.

The Effectiveness of Standerdized Global Advertising

Abstract International advertisers are often faced with the problem of whether and to what extent they should change their messages from one country to another. Some advertisers feel that messages can be standardized across countries, while others believe adaptation is usually necessary. The study reported in this paper tests the acceptability of standardized advertising. Groups of consumers from three foreign countries are tested to determine whether they perceive the same product attributes important in the purchase of two common convenience products as a comparable group of consumers in the United States. The findings indicate substantial and consistent differences between the Americans and the other groups which suggest the inadvisability of standardized global advertising in these cases and perhaps in general.

Perceived risk: A cross-cultural phenomenon?

Abstract The existence of a positive relationship between perceived risk and brand loyalty has been accepted in the United States since the 1960s. Recognizing this, marketers frequently give out free samples or coupons and provide reassurances through warranties to induce trial and subsequent acceptance of their brand by the consumer. However, validity of the concept of perceived risk with respect to international markets has been lacking. This paper responds to the call for cross-national research of behavioral concepts and tests the applicability of perceived risk in a cross-national setting. While the limited scope of the study (four countries and two products) does not permit definitive statements, results indicate that perceived risk can be used to analyze consumer behavior patterns in different cultures. The findings also suggest that the risk reduction strategy of brand loyalty may not be widely employed by consumers outside the U.S.A.

Political Instability and the Foreign Investor

A rational, sophisticated approach to the foreign investment decision process requires a careful examination by the firm of numerous factors that relate to both the general environment of a proposed investment and the specific operating functions of the firm in that environment. A vital environmental analysis is the question of political instability.

Macroeconomic Shock and Product Disposition in an Emerging Market

Emerging markets are often viewed as the source of greatest business expansion in coming years. Yet, their economies tend to be more volatile, and the associated economic crises are deeper and more prolonged than is the case in advanced economies. This study examines consumer disposition processes in Thailand at the time of that nation’s economic crisis. Disposition has not been studied either in an emerging market context or in the context of consumers faced with crises derived from macroeconomic forces. The study examines sellers’ motives and behavior at a retail institution that arose spontaneously out of the Thai economic crisis: the car boot sale (CBS). This institution and its variants are well known in the United States and United Kingdom but had not existed as acceptable upper-middle and upper-class retail formats in Thailand prior to the crisis. The study also examines the Thai CBS phenomenon in cultural terms.

Japanese Trade in International Perspective

Examines the USA‐Japan trade controversy, arising from the extended trade imbalance between them, with respect to the most contentious product categories. Then provides a statistical assessment of the changes that have occurred in Japanese trade between 1985 and 1989. The findings suggest little improvement over the time period.

Household Purchasing Decisions: How do American and Dutch Consumers Differ?

Investigates husband/wife influence on purchasing decisions for a variety of goods and services in the Netherlands and in the USA. Reveals that there are substantial differences between the two countries, with the US wife having a greater autonomous role than the Dutch. Indicates that this could have a major influence on promotion, product and distribution strategy decisions for international marketers.

The effect of message appeals countering unrealistic optimism on purchase intentions

Purpose – This study seeks to examine which types of message appeals are more effective in reducing unrealistic optimism (a tendency for people to believe that they are less susceptible than others to encounter negative outcomes) and inducing purchase intentions of preemptive products in collectivist and individualist cultures.Design/methodology/approach – An experiment is conducted with 131 US, 111 Singaporean, and 127 Thai undergraduates.Findings – The findings confirm the existence of unrealistic optimism in the marketing setting and show that: lower levels of optimism are associated with higher purchase intentions for the product; hazard‐related behavior‐priming ad appeals lead to higher purchase intentions than ads without priming; Singaporeans show higher purchase intentions than Americans for both the risk‐priming and the expert ad appeals, and they also show higher purchase intentions than Thais for expert ad appeals.Research limitations/implications – The samples, while well matched, consist of u...

The effect of message appeals and unrealistic optimism on purchase intentions: The case of heart‐disease prevention pills

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend a 2007 study by investigating which types of message appeals are more effective in reducing unrealistic optimism (a tendency for people to believe that they are less prone than are others to encounter negative outcomes) and inducing purchase intentions of a life‐threatening hazard prevention product in collectivist and individualist cultures.Design/methodology/approach – An experiment was conducted with 133 American, 145 Singaporean, and 200 Thai undergraduates, totaling 478 participants.Findings – The findings confirm the existence of unrealistic optimism in the marketing setting and show that first, lower levels of optimism are associated with higher purchase intentions for the product; second, hazard‐related behavior priming advertisement appeals lead to lower purchase intentions than do advertisements without priming, contradicting some earlier findings; and third, participants from collectivist cultures (Singaporeans and Thais) show higher purchase int...

Texas Business Review, November 1973

The Business Situation in Texas; Texas Population in 1970: 9. Trends in Fertility; Attracting New Industry: The Role of Public Opinion; Texas Construction: Energy Conservation; Catfish in Texas