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International Marketing Review
Journal Prestige (SJR): 0.895  Citation Impact (citeScore): 3 Number of Followers: 15  Hybrid journal * Containing 7  Open Access article(s) in this issue *ISSN (Print) 0265-1335 - ISSN (Online) 1758-6763 Published by Emerald  [362 journals]
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- Benefits or costs' Exploring the international expansion process
of the business group-
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Authors: Shan-Huei Wang
Abstract: Drawing on the time compression diseconomies perspective and business network theory, this study examines how the international expansion of a business group’s pace, scope and rhythm affects its performance. Panel data (1999–2013) from the top 100 Taiwanese business groups investing in globalization were collected. The results show that international pace and rhythm have an inverse U-shaped relationship with business group performance, while the relationship between international scope and business group performance is U-shaped. This study highlights that international expansion is multidimensional and nonlinear and that the factors that shape nonlinear relationships between international processes and performance are different. Furthermore, family group involvement positively moderates the link between international scope and performance and negatively affects the relationship between international pace and performance. However, no significant effect is observed between rhythm and performance. High family business group involvement mitigates the impact of outsiders’ liability and managerial costs; moreover, it enhances the positive effects of location-specific advantages and business network resources. This study combined the time compression diseconomies perspective and business network theory to explain why and how internationalization may not always lead to good performance by examining the effects of different international expansion processes and the interactive effect of family group involvement.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-08-26
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-03-2023-0059
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2024)
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- Digital marketing ecosystems and global market expansion: current state
and future research agenda-
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Authors: Nandini Nim, Kiran Pedada, Kelly Hewett
Abstract: This article aims to provide greater clarity regarding the conceptualization and critical role of digital marketing ecosystems for the global expansion of multinational enterprises (MNEs) and offer novel research directions to prompt future research. The authors first review the marketing literature related to marketing ecosystems, highlighting the evolution of this body of work across a range of domains such as services, innovation and new product development, communications and marketing strategy more broadly. Next, two case examples of MNEs whose global expansion efforts have been supported by their marketing ecosystems are used to highlight the role of marketing ecosystems in global market expansion. Finally, novel research directions are offered to prompt future research and provide greater insight into this emerging area. The case examples we examine yield important insights into the role of marketing ecosystems for MNEs expanding from emerging markets (EMs) to developed markets (DMs). EM-MNEs such as TEMU face more communication and payment ecosystem challenges while opening their supply chain to DMs. Contrary to EM-MNEs, DM-MNEs face institutional and sociocultural challenges that require different marketing ecosystem orchestration approaches. Marketing ecosystems can provide MNEs with greater multinational flexibility, enabling them to adapt their global strategies to navigate increasing complexities in global markets, such as trends toward increased protectionism and geopolitical disruptions. However, there is surprisingly little research addressing this issue.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-08-23
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-04-2024-0108
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2024)
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- A cross-cultural examination of sustainable luxury consumption: a
comparative study of social norms, self-control and future orientation in
the UK and China-
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Authors: George Balabanis, Anastasia Stathopoulou, Xiaolan Chen
Abstract: The study addresses gaps in sustainable luxury consumption research by analyzing the role of social norms in different cultural settings. It investigates how social norms, self-control, conspicuousness and future orientation shape sustainable luxury consumption in individualistic (UK) versus collectivist (China) national cultures. The study was based on survey data from British and Chinese luxury product consumers collected through online panels. The final sample included 452 valid responses from the UK and 414 from China. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. The study found that descriptive norms positively influence sustainable luxury consumption in individualistic (UK) and collectivist (China) cultures. Injunctive norms affect sustainable consumption only in the UK. Future consequences universally impact sustainable consumption. Conspicuous consumption negatively affects preferences for sustainable luxury brands. Self-control enhances the impact of descriptive norms in the UK but reduces the impact of injunctive norms in China. This study uniquely explores how social norms and cultural influences impact sustainable luxury consumption in individualistic and collectivistic societies. It highlights the moderating role of national culture, providing actionable insights for luxury brands to enhance sustainable consumption with culturally tailored strategies. The research challenges the universality of the theory of normative social behavior, advocating for its refined application across different cultures.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-08-22
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-01-2024-0009
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2024)
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- Opportunities for self-preferencing in international online marketplaces
Open Access Article-
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Authors: Lukas Jürgensmeier, Jan Bischoff, Bernd Skiera
Abstract: Large digital platforms face intense scrutiny over self-preferencing, which involves a platform provider favoring its own offers over those of competitors. In online marketplaces, also called retail or e-commerce platforms, much of the academic and regulatory debate focuses on determining whether the marketplace provider gives preference to its own private labels, such as “Amazon Basics” or Walmart’s “Great Value” products. However, we outline, both conceptually and empirically, that self-preferencing can also occur through other dimensions of vertical integration – namely, retailing and fulfillment. This article contributes by conceptualizing three dimensions of vertical integration in online marketplaces – private labels, retailing and fulfillment. Then, two studies empirically assess (1) which of the 20 most-visited global online marketplaces vertically integrates which dimension and (2) which share of 600 m available offers is vertically integrated to which degree in eleven international Amazon marketplaces. The majority of the leading marketplaces vertically integrate all three dimensions, implying ample opportunities for self-preferencing. Across international Amazon marketplaces, only 0.02% of available offers consist of an Amazon private-label product. However, Amazon is a retailer for around 31% and fulfills around 38% of all available offers in its marketplaces. Hence, self-preferencing on Amazon can occur most frequently through retailing and fulfillment but comparatively infrequently through private-label offers. Still, these shares differ substantially by country – every second offer is vertically integrated in the USA, but only one in ten in India. Most of the self-preferencing debate often focuses on private-label products. Instead, we present large-scale empirical results showing that self-preferencing on Amazon could occur most often through retailing and fulfillment because these channels affect much larger shares of offers. We also measure the variation of these shares across countries and relate them to regulatory environments.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-08-21
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-03-2024-0094
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2024)
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- Small firm internationalization using digital platforms: an assessment and
future research directions
Open Access Article-
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Authors: Angela Da Rocha, Luiza Neves da Fonseca, Clarice Secches Kogut
Abstract: This study investigates how the extant literature approached the issue of small firms’ international market entry enabled by digital platforms. The paper presents a systematic literature review of the internationalization of small firms using digital platforms. It includes only empirical papers from Scopus and Web of Science databases, covering 2016 to mid-2023. The study provides both (1) a descriptive analysis of the selected papers, encompassing their temporal and spatial distribution, methods, theoretical perspectives and the type of platform examined and (2) a qualitative analysis of the articles’ content in a narrative review structure, culminating in an integrated framework of key findings and suggested research questions on the role of digital platforms in small firm internationalization. There is still a very limited number of studies addressing the phenomenon, with several scholars recently calling for further research. This paper compiles, synthesizes, analyzes and integrates the empirical literature on SME internationalization enabled by digital platforms, offering possible future avenues to advance research.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-08-21
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-10-2023-0280
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2024)
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- The internationalization of digital platform firms: the platform-OLI
(P-OLI) framework-
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Authors: Ankit Surana, Meena Chavan, Vikas Kumar, Francesco Chirico
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to explore the internationalization of digital platform firms, specifically to investigate the advantages digital platform firms build during the internationalization journey, which helps them overcome the liability of foreignness. More importantly, drawing on network theory and Luo’s framework of new OLI advantages, a new framework of Platform OLI (P-OLI) advantages is developed for digital platform firms. This study adopts a multi-case method to empirically understand the internationalization phenomenon of digital platform firms in the emerging economy of India, which is a less researched area. Twenty semi-structured interviews from top executives of 12 Indian headquartered digital platform firms were inductively analyzed based on Gioia’s method, and a cross-case examination was conducted to explore the respondent firm’s internationalization journey. Several novel open resource and linkage advantages were identified for digital platform firms that are not covered by the new OLI advantages proposed by Luo. Furthermore, a new “I” advantage, which is information and knowledge advantage, has evolved from the data. This resulted in enhancing the scope of the new OLI framework and network theory and further enabled us to develop the P-OLI framework, a new framework for digital platform firms that reflects the specific advantages a digital platform firm builds during internationalization. This is the first study which evaluates the new OLI framework from the perspective of a digital platform firm to develop a novel framework, P-OLI. Further, this study is among the few studies with an Indian digital platform firm focus and relies on primary interview data to study digital platform firms’ internationalization phenomenon.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-08-16
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-08-2023-0182
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2024)
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- Price transparency in international retailing on digital platforms
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Authors: Kacy Kim, Yuhosua Ryoo, Srdan Zdravkovic, Sukki Yoon
Abstract: In the digital era, price transparency—the practice of disclosing cost breakdowns in product manufacturing—has become present on digital platforms. Although its benefits are well-documented and consumers should theoretically desire costless and relevant information for informed decision-making, this paper proposes that consumers may resist overly transparent pricing, particularly when it pertains to premium-priced (vs regular-priced) products from countries with high equity. Our research comprises three experimental studies utilizing both student and representative online Prolific samples, covering various products and countries with different equity levels. Initially, a pilot study identifies an interpersonal should-want conflict induced by price transparency when purchasing premium-priced products, leading to information avoidance. Subsequent studies further explore this phenomenon by examining the moderating role of country equity and the mediating role of price unfairness perceptions. Price transparency can backfire when purchasing premium-priced products due to the want-should conflict among consumers—the desire to receive disclosure of cost breakdowns versus the inclination not to view it. This conflict results in increased resistance to receiving transparent price information and decreased brand attitudes and purchase intentions, especially for products originating from high-equity countries. Heightened perceptions of price unfairness explain these dynamics. The study primarily relies on experimental designs with limited sample sizes. To enhance the generalizability of the findings, incorporating large-scale real market data across diverse domains and countries would be beneficial. Grounded in the should-want conflict and information avoidance theories, this paper uniquely explores the adverse effects of price transparency on digital platforms. We extend this by demonstrating that this conflict is influenced by country equity, where the perceived value added by the association of a product with a given country name affects whether consumers experience the conflict. Our investigation of perceived price unfairness further deepens our understanding of the nuanced effects of price transparency.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-08-09
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-12-2023-0352
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2024)
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- How to successfully adapt distribution strategy in exporting' The
moderating effects of commitment and responsiveness-
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Authors: Carlos M.P. Sousa, Emilio Ruzo-Sanmartín, Concepción Varela-Neira, Qun Tan
Abstract: Drawing on the resource-based view, this study examines the effect of distribution adaptation on export performance. The study also examines the moderating role of responsiveness and commitment. Two distinct factors for commitment (i.e. managerial export commitment and financial export commitment) and two distinct factors for responsiveness (i.e. export customer responsiveness and export competitor responsiveness) are considered as moderators in the relationship between distribution adaptation and export performance. Using a Spanish governmental database of exporting firms, this study collected data from 208 firms to run the analysis. The results indicate that distribution adaptation has a positive impact on export performance. Findings also support the moderating roles of the two types of commitment and the two types of responsiveness. Managerial export commitment positively moderates the relationship, whereas financial export commitment plays a negative moderating role. Both export customer responsiveness and export competitor responsiveness have a positive moderating impact. To consider distribution adaptation as a distinct variable rather than mixing it with other elements of the marketing mix. This distinction facilitates a clearer comprehension of its unique contribution to export performance. Two distinct factors for commitment and two distinct factors for responsiveness are considered. This approach offers a more detailed analysis of how the different aspects of commitment and responsiveness moderate this relationship.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-07-31
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-06-2023-0123
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2024)
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- Social media platforms use in startups’ international marketing
strategies: a multiple case study-
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Authors: Mirko Olivieri, Ginevra Testa
Abstract: This paper aims to investigate how social media support startups in accessing international markets and interacting with foreign customers and stakeholders, focusing primarily on the social network LinkedIn. Given the explorative research aim, the paper adopts a multiple case study approach, analyzing seven Italian food tech startups. 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted, also involving startup accelerators and a business angel to deepen the knowledge on the investigated phenomenon. In addition, a content analysis of the LinkedIn pages of the seven selected startups was conducted using NVivo 14 software. The results of this study show that social media support startups to (1) diffuse brand awareness in international markets, (2) position their offering abroad and (3) develop relationships with international stakeholders to penetrate the local business. Furthermore, the main challenges and difficulties related to the use of social media by startups for these purposes were identified. This study provides useful managerial implications to enable startups to strategically use social media to access international markets and connect with key foreign networks. Also from a policy perspective, incentives to support the expansion and consolidation of startups into international markets are crucial. Although a vast literature has dealt with internationalization strategies, this study clarifies the role of social media in changing these dynamics speeding up startups’ access to foreign markets and identifying key local stakeholders.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-07-30
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-09-2023-0222
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2024)
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- Ecolabel persuasion effect across cultures: a comprehensive meta-analysis
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Authors: Franklin Velasco, Omar S. Itani, Paul Cajina
Abstract: Companies around the world have included ecolabels as a marketing strategy to convince consumers to choose products with lower environmental impact. However, the literature lacks a consensus on the effectiveness of ecolabels in persuading consumers to choose green products. The present meta-analysis addresses this gap by first evaluating the net persuasion effect of using ecolabels and second by investigating the role of cultural orientations, operationalized at the country level, in this effect. This cross-cultural meta-analysis analyzed data from 26,116 consumers across 18 countries, encompassing 75 papers published between 1995 and 2023. Univariate and meta-regression analyses were utilized. The results demonstrate that the presence (vs absence) of ecolabels has a medium positive persuasion effect. Findings show cultural orientations moderate the persuasion effect of ecolabels in that the effect is stronger in countries with high power distance, individualism, masculinity (motivation towards achievement and success) and uncertainty avoidance orientation, which create contingent conditions to ecolabels’ persuasion. In addition, results show other methodological factors that affect ecolabel persuasion. Contributions and implications of the findings are discussed. This meta-analysis is distinctive for its global scope, including diverse countries and cultures. It addresses a crucial gap in ecolabel persuasion research, providing insights that reconcile discrepancies in existing studies. It offers practical implications for businesses and policymakers while laying the groundwork for future cross-cultural research in this field.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-07-30
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-10-2023-0293
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2024)
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- Understanding SMEs’ internationalization through digital platforms: the
role of knowledge sharing and consumer education-
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Authors: Lala Hu, Diana A. Filipescu, Albena Pergelova
Abstract: The aim of this study is to understand how digital platforms and context-specific characteristics of China – such as swift guanxi – affect opportunities for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) entering this market. This study adopts a qualitative approach based on a multiple-case study of Italian SMEs in the wine industry that have activated international activities in China. Primary data consist of 32 interviews with SMEs’ managers, local consumers and other stakeholders involved in firm internationalization. The findings of this study highlight that in SMEs’ internationalization, the process of knowledge/learning on digital platforms takes place in a bidirectional way thanks to the interactions among multiple stakeholders, which activate consumer education and knowledge sharing. While previous research has emphasized firms' knowledge acquisition in the internationalization process, this study incorporates both the consumer perspective and the firm perspective, along with considering interactions with various stakeholders.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-07-16
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-09-2023-0252
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2024)
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- A meaning-making perspective on digital ridesharing platforms in
underdeveloped markets-
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Authors: Karen Amissah, David Sarpong, Derrick Boakye, David John Carrington
Abstract: The digital platform-based sharing economy has become ubiquitous all over the world. In this paper, we explore how market actors’ conflicting interpretations of digital platforms’ business models give form and shape value co-creation and capture practices in contexts marked by weak institutions and underdeveloped markets. Integrating insights from the broader literature on digital platforms and the contemporary turn to “meaning-making” in social theory, we adopt a problematization method to unpack the collective contest over the interpretation of value co-creation and capture from ridesharing platforms in contexts marked by weak institutions and underdeveloped markets. Collective contest over the interpretation of digital business models may give rise to competing meanings that may enable (or impede) digital platform providers’ ability to co-create and capture value. We present an integrative framework that delineates how firms caught up in such collective contests in contexts marked by weak institutions and underdeveloped markets may utilise such conditions as marketing resources to reset their organising logic in ways that reconcile the conflicting perspectives. The paper presents propositions constituting a contribution to a meaning-making perspective on ridesharing digital platforms by offering insights into how digital business models could potentially be localised and adapted to address and align with the peculiarities of contexts. It goes further to present a theoretical model to extend our understanding of the different sources of contestation of meaning of digital platforms. The meaning-making perspective on digital platforms extends our understanding of how the collective contest over interpretations of value co-creation and capture may offer a set of contradictory frames that yield possibilities for ridesharing platform providers, and their users, to assimilate the organising logic of digital business models into new categories of understanding.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-07-08
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-08-2023-0193
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2024)
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- Exploring authenticity meanings in the global-local continuum: semiotic
insights from the Måneskin case-
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Authors: Matteo Corciolani
Abstract: This article explores brand positioning and authenticity within the global-local continuum, utilizing the evolution of the Italian rock band, Måneskin, as a case study. Employing Greimas’s (1987) semiotic framework, I analyze social media and media articles on Måneskin’s success, unveiling consumer perceptions of global, local and intermediate brand positionings and related authenticity dimensions. I particularly uncover a narrative centered on “global” versus “local” brand positioning and their counterparts (i.e. “not global” and “not local”), forming a semiotic square. In the “global” perception, the band is evaluated in terms of conforming to global standards, while, in the “local” understanding, the emphasis shifts to connections to local roots. In the “glocalization” perspective (global and local), the band’s activities are assessed concerning an integration between global conformity and local connections. The “glalienation” viewpoint (neither global nor local) is related to consistency, in the sense of being unique and avoiding a commitment to either global or local values. The data also highlight issues of inconsistency regarding brand positioning’s contradictions, such as the band’s incoherently merging local and non-local elements. The proposed structural semiotics approach enriches previous theories by examining authenticity within global-local dynamics, offering insights into various authenticity dimensions and their interplay. It underlines shifts in authenticity perceptions and challenges binary brand positioning, advocating for strategic placement across the global-local continuum. Moreover, it emphasizes leveraging cultural elements and semiotics to effectively communicate authenticity.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-07-05
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-10-2023-0274
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2024)
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- Examining the relationship of country-level digital ad spend and
Open Access Article-
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Authors: Hannah S. Lee, Göksel Yalcinkaya, David A. Griffith
Abstract: Cross-border e-commerce continues to garner much attention within the international marketing literature as the world becomes hyperconnected through digital channels. Although there is an abundance of international marketing research on cross-border e-commerce, there is a lack of information regarding the influences of meta-institutional factors, such as a country’s level of globalization, on the relationship between digital advertising and cross-border e-commerce buyers. The objective of this research is to examine the effects of digital media ad spend at the country level on cross-border e-commerce buyers across countries under differing degrees of formal (i.e. political) and informal (i.e. cultural) institutional globalization. This work examines the influence of digital ad spend at the country level and the degree of the country’s formal and informal institutional globalization on the share of cross-border e-commerce buyers. We examine this issue within a 21-country, 8-year, unbalanced panel dataset. We find that there is substantive heterogeneity in degrees of formal (i.e. political) and informal (i.e. cultural) institutional globalization and cross-border e-commerce across countries. Digital ad spend at the country level is positively associated with cross-border e-commerce buyers within a country. A country’s level of political globalization enhances, but cultural globalization was found to dampen the positive association. The results indicate that political and cultural globalization of a country both contribute to increased interconnectedness with the global market, yet the nature of the interconnection differs. The findings are informative to international marketing managers navigating the digital landscape and highlight the importance of institutions in international marketing activities. The study specifically demonstrates the varying effects of the meta-institutional factors of a country’s level of political and cultural globalization on the association between digital ad spend and cross-border e-commerce buyers at the country level, across a wide variety of countries, thus also contributing to the effort to improve generalizations from multi-country comparisons in international marketing research.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-07-02
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-01-2024-0027
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2024)
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- Internationalisation through digital platforms: a systematic review and
future research agenda-
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Authors: Chanjuan Gong, Xinming He, Jorge Lengler
Abstract: This paper systematically reviews and scrutinises the current development of studies concerning digital platform use in firms’ internationalisation. It also provides a research agenda for future work. Despite more than two decades of research, the study of how traditional firms enter foreign markets using digital platforms remains in its infancy. This paper contributes insights into the academic and managerial relevance of this field. A systematic review of the literature based on content analysis was undertaken, drawing from peer-reviewed journal articles in international business, international marketing, information systems, and electronic commerce. The articles were published between 1999 and 2023, and the review employed a vote-counting method. This analysis of 61 papers indicates that research on digital platform use in firms’ internationalisation is growing rapidly. However, the field itself is fragmented, and the research findings are inconsistent. This dynamic area reflects a growing trend, is dominated by several theories, relies primarily on survey data, and frequently uses China as a research context. In acknowledging the vibrancy and managerial importance of this field, the authors offer a comprehensive overview of the existing studies to serve as a repository of knowledge on digital platform use in internationalisation for both academics and practitioners. Based on the aforementioned analysis, this study develops a reconciling framework to address current research gaps and identify future study directions.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-06-27
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-08-2023-0213
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2024)
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- Export market orientation, performance and international partner
selection: word-of-mouth referral versus direct contact
Open Access Article-
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Authors: Ryuta Ishii, Mai Kikumori
Abstract: Export market orientation can be broadly divided into intelligence (generation and dissemination) and responsiveness activities. Although previous studies assess intelligence and responsiveness activities, little is known about what type of international channel partner acts as an enabling condition for the impact of these activities on export venture performance. This study aims to examine the extent to which the selection of international channel partners through word-of-mouth referrals versus direct contacts affects the benefits of intelligence and responsiveness activities. Data were collected from 246 exporting manufacturers in Japan. To test the hypotheses, we conducted regression analyses using a subjective performance measure at the venture level. We also performed a post hoc analysis using objective performance measure at the function level. We find that the extent to which international channel partners are selected through word-of-mouth referrals has a moderating role in the export market-oriented activities–performance linkages. Specifically, it acts as an enabling condition for intelligence activity and a disenabling condition for responsiveness activity. This study contributes to a better understanding of export market orientation by classifying it into intelligence and responsiveness activities and providing empirical evidence on their different interaction effects with partner selection. It also contributes to the elaboration of agency theory by offering insights into the fit between task characteristics and contract type. Our study is critical for business managers as it suggests guidelines for manufacturing exporters engaging in export market-oriented behaviors and export channel management.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-06-21
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-01-2024-0008
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2024)
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- Platform success in the international marketplace: reconfiguring digital
resources for marketing agility-
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Authors: Chenchen Weng, Martin J. Liu, Dandan Ye, Jimmy Huang, Paul C.Y. Liu
Abstract: This paper explores how platforms reconfigure versatile digital resources to achieve marketing agility in international markets. We draw on a case study of a Chinese digital platform to explore the processes and mechanisms of reconfiguring during marketing agility development. Data from different sources are collected, including interviews, informal dialogue and archival data. Versatile digital resources create productive applications for previously less amendable marketing and nonmarketing resources to be malleable, editable and reconfigurable in marketing agility development. This study identifies and clarifies three versatile digital resource-enabled reconfiguration activities in marketing agility building: recombining digital artifacts, repurposing human capital and cross-pollinating markets. Since our study adopts a case study method, future research can extend our insights by using quantitative methods to test and verify our theoretical framework. First, we provide insights into how organizations can reconfigure versatile digital resources to achieve the benefits of marketing agility in international markets. Second, while recruiting new employees during internationalization is vital, we suggest that assisted by digital artifacts, firms can repurpose the existing workforce, such as via multitasking, swift task-switching and flexible job redirecting to satisfy dynamic international business requirements with lower adjustment costs. Third, we offer two localization approaches in which firms can use digital artifacts as the enabler to remix sociocultural elements with local adaptations to develop glocal content and decentralize content production to generate inclusive local content. We provide a process model that specifies how platforms reconfigure versatile digital resources to achieve marketing agility in international markets. Furthermore, we provide novel insights into the literature on marketing agility in international markets and localization.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-02-20
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-08-2023-0199
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2024)
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- Rebranding after international acquisitions: challenges of legitimation
in emerging and developed countries
Open Access Article-
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Authors: Manoella Antonieta Ramos, Svante Andersson, Ulf Aagerup
Abstract: This study describes how a multinational enterprise (MNE) gains acceptance after rebranding acquired brands from different countries among its internal and external stakeholders and identifies factors that influence this process. The study employed a single case-study approach, including 18 semi-structured in-depth interviews with employees of a firm involved in the rebranding process in six countries. The countries are Sweden, Germany, the United States, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. The findings reveal how the MNE integrated brands it acquired in different international markets into one overarching corporate brand. The study shows that in emerging countries, external legitimation (external implementation process, country profiles and customer buy-in) constitutes the most significant challenge. By contrast, in developed countries, internal legitimation (employee buy-in and internal implementation process) is more challenging. The study contributes to and extends the rebranding literature by using a legitimation lens to analyze the rebranding process. This lens shows how internal and external stakeholders are both crucial to successful rebranding. The study provides a comprehensive perspective of the process, identifies challenging factors and differentiates between their importance in emerging and developed countries. To address the dearth of research on how firms legitimize a new brand in different national contexts, the study compares the rebranding process in multiple countries and discusses the factors influencing the rebranding process.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-06-10
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-02-2023-0019
Issue No: Vol. 41, No. 7 (2024)
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- MNE innovation in the pursuit of SDGs in emerging markets
Open Access Article-
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Authors: Sara Melén Hånell, Veronika Tarnovskaya, Daniel Tolstoy
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine how different innovation efforts can support multinational enterprises’ (MNEs’) pursuits of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in emerging markets and under what circumstances they are applied. The article comprises in-depth case studies on two high-profile Swedish MNEs: a telecom firm and a fast-fashion firm, with data collected both at the headquarter-level and local-market level. The study shows that MNEs pursue a selection of prioritized SDGs in emerging markets. To overcome challenges related to attaining these goals, we find that MNEs engage in innovation efforts at different levels of commitment. In some instances, they engage in operational innovation aimed at relieving symptoms of sustainability misconduct and ensuring compliance. In other instances, they engage in systemic innovation efforts, which involve the actual market structures underlying sustainability problems. MNEs are increasingly incorporating the United Nations SDGs into their innovation strategies. The study contributes to international business research on MNEs’ roles in realizing the SDGs by conceptualizing and discussing two pertinent approaches to innovation.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-05-30
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-02-2023-0037
Issue No: Vol. 41, No. 7 (2024)
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- Triadic multilevel psychic distance in firm internationalization
Open Access Article-
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Authors: Aswo Safari
Abstract: This study focuses on the triadic multilevel psychic distance (MPD) between the firm, target market and bridge-maker and its consequences for firm internationalization. Specifically, it spotlights the triadic psychic distance between firms, the levels of psychic distance in the target market (country and business) and the bridge-maker. Therefore, this study examines the triadic MPD among these three entities and its impact on firm internationalization. This study uses qualitative and case study research approaches. It is based on 8 case companies and 24 internationalization cases. Secondary data were collected, and interviews with bridge-makers and industry experts were conducted. The study found that MPD appeared in the triad. The MPD between firms and markets is related to country-specific differences and business difficulties. The MPD between the firm and the bridge-maker is based on the latter’s lack of knowledge vis-à-vis bridging the firm’s MPD. Finally, the MPD between bridge-makers and the market is based on the former’s lack of knowledge of the home country’s business difficulties. This is the first study to develop and adopt a triadic multilevel psychic distance conceptualization that provides evidence for and sheds light on the triadic MPD and its effect on firm internationalization. This study identifies the reasons behind triadic MPD in connection to firm internationalization. Notably, firm internationalization is interdependent on the triadic MPD setting between the firm, bridge-maker and target market. It has theoretical value and contributes to the recent advancement in the understanding of MPD in international marketing literature.
Citation: International Marketing Review
PubDate: 2024-01-02
DOI: 10.1108/IMR-07-2022-0176
Issue No: Vol. 41, No. 7 (2024)
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