How brand visual aesthetics foster a transnational imagined community

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (11) ◽  
pp. 2268-2292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Buschgens ◽  
Bernardo Figueiredo ◽  
Kaleel Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Visual Analysis ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Imagined Communities ◽  
Imagined Community ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Visual Aesthetics ◽  
Brand Building ◽  
Transnational Communities ◽  
Middle Eastern Art ◽  
Critical Visual Analysis

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how visual aesthetic referents used in branding can help foster a transnational imagined community (TIC). The authors use brands embedded with Middle Eastern visual aesthetics as a research context. As such, the study aims to examine how Middle Eastern non-figurative art is used by non-Middle Eastern brands to foster an imagined Middle Easternness. Design/methodology/approach Through a critical visual analysis, the authors apply a visual social semiotic approach to Middle Eastern art canons to better understand the dimensions of transnational imagined communities. Findings The study finds and discusses six sub-dimensions of Middle Easternness, which compose two overarching dimensions of TIC, namely, temporal and spatial. These sub-dimensions provide brand managers and designers with six different ways to foster transnational imagined communities through the use of visual aesthetic referents in branding. Research limitations/implications This research identifies the specific visual sub-dimensions of brands that enable transnational communities to be imagined. Practical implications Understanding the visual aesthetic sub-dimensions in this study provides brand managers with practical tools that can help develop referents that foster transnational imagined communities in brand building to achieve competitive advantage and reach a transnational segment. Originality/value Prior studies have primarily focussed on how visual aesthetics help in understanding issues related to national identity. In contrast, this paper examines the use of visual aesthetics in branding from a transnational perspective.

#50+ fashion Instagram influencers: cognitive age and aesthetic digital labours

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 399-413
Author(s):  
Ashleigh McFarlane ◽  
Emma Samsioe
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Visual Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
Fashion Studies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cognitive Age ◽  
Critical Visual Analysis ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis paper demonstrates how #50+ fashion Instagram influencers contribute to the social construction of cognitive age through their aesthetic digital labours.Design/methodology/approachNon-participative netnography was used in the form of visual and textual analysis of over 300 Instagram posts including images, captions and comments.FindingsFindings reveal how outfit selection, background choices and bodily poses redefine expressions of look age through forms of aesthetic labour. Post-construction, hashtag and emoji usage illustrates how influencers refrain from directly posting about the fashion brands that they endorse. Instead, image and personality work visually attracts followers to politically charged posts which directly impact upon the social and cultural contexts where influencers are active. This ties into present-day wider societal discourses.Practical implications50+ fashion influencers have high spending power. Fashion brands should refrain from using #brand and collaborate in more subtle ways and concentrate on challenging the negativity of the old-age cliché.Originality/valueThe study advances theory on the social construction of age in fashion studies by combining cognitive age with aesthetic labour to identify the characteristics of the social phenomenon of the 50+ Instagram influencer. It applies principles from critical visual analysis to digital context, thereby advancing the qualitative netnographic toolkit.

Banal nationalism and belonging within the echoed imagined community

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 627-644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia J. White
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Imagined Communities ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Imagined Community ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Everyday Activities ◽  
User Comments ◽  
New Public

Contexts for the performance of banal nationalism and belonging have changed markedly with the emergence of the Internet as a significant constituent and mediator of everyday activities. National anthems, depicted as echoed realizations of the imagined community, now exist in cyberspace, offering new public spaces for observing, participating in and responding to anthem spectacles. Drawing on the notion of ‘networked narratives’ (Page, Harper and Frobenius 2013), and previous research on modes of belonging (Jones and Krzyzanowski 2008, Krzyzanowski and Wodak 2008) this paper analyses user comments posted on six YouTube sites featuring New Zealand anthems. The analysis reveals how the commenting affordances of YouTube act as sites of narrative production for both the assertion of belonging, the evaluation of others’ claims and also for the drawing of boundaries. Through this analysis of imagined communities in cyberspace, it is argued that web 2.0 spaces offer us a different way of accessing situated practices of banal nationalism and belonging, while highlighting the interface between the personal and the political in the complexities and contingencies of belonging.

Social media, online imagined communities and communication research

2014 ◽  
Vol 63 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 490-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Androniki Kavoura
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Imagined Communities ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
Imagined Community ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Information Professionals ◽  
Special Language

Purpose – This paper aims to examine social media communication that may consist of a database for online research and may create an online imagined community that follows special language symbols and shares common beliefs in a similar way to Anderson’s imagined communities. Design/methodology/approach – Well-known databases were searched in the available literature for specific keywords which were associated with the imagined community, and methodological tools such as online interviews, content analysis, archival analysis and social media. Findings – The paper discusses the use of multiple measures, such as document and archival analysis, online interviews and content analysis, which may derive from the online imagined community that social media create. Social media may in fact provide useful data that are available for research, yet are relatively understudied and not fully used in communication research, not to mention in archival services. Comparison takes place between online community’s characteristics and traditional communication research. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) and social media’s use of special language requirements may categorise discussion of these potential data, based on specific symbols, topical threads, purposeful samples and catering for longitudinal studies. Practical implications – Social media have not been fully implemented for online communication research yet. Online communication may offer significant implications for marketers, advertisers of a company or for an organisation to do research on or for their target groups. The role of libraries and information professionals can be significant in data gathering and the dissemination of such information using ICTs and renegotiating their role. Originality/value – The theoretical contribution of this paper is the examination of the creation of belonging in an online community, which may offer data that can be further examined and has all the credentials to do so, towards the enhancement of online communication research. The applications of social media to research and the use by and for information professionals and marketers may in fact contribute to the management of an online community with people sharing similar ideas. The connection of the online imagined community with social media for research has not been studied, and it would further enhance understanding from organisations or marketers.

Earnings management and ownership structure in emerging market

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (10) ◽  
pp. 1117-1136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naima Lassoued ◽  
Mouna Ben Rejeb Attia ◽  
Houda Sassi
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Markets ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Ownership Structure ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Convincing Evidence ◽  
Loan Loss ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether ownership structure affects earnings management in the banking industry of emerging markets. Design/methodology/approach The empirical study is conducted using a sample of 134 banks from 12 Middle Eastern and North African countries. Econometrically speaking, the study used a panel data regression analysis. Findings The authors found convincing evidence that banks with more concentrated ownership use discretionary loan loss provisions to manage their earnings. The authors also found that state and institutional owners encourage earnings management, while family owners reduce this practice. Practical implications The findings would be valuable for investors since they should take into account ownership structure in order to reach a better investment decision. Moreover, regulatory reforms in emerging markets should push for more transparency about ownership structure, high levels of supervision, and external audit quality. Originality/value This study presents international evidence on the prominent role of owners in earnings management in emerging markets with weak shareholder rights protection.

Middle East luxury retail sector – opportunities or uncertainties in the future?

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-39
Author(s):  
Roger Moser ◽  
Gopalakrishnan Narayanamurthy
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
International Business ◽  
Market Entry ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Retail Sector ◽  
Senior Executive ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Future

Subject area The subject area is international business and global operations. Study level/applicability The study includes BSc, MSc and MBA students and management trainees who are interested in learning how an industry can be assessed to make a decision on market entry/expansion. Even senior management teams could be targeted in executive education programs, as this case provides a detailed procedure and methodology that is also used by companies (multinational corporations and small- and medium-sized enterprises) to develop strategies on corporate and functional levels. Case overview A group of five senior executive teams of different Swiss luxury and lifestyle companies wanted to enter the Middle East market. To figure out the optimal market entry and operating strategies, the senior executive team approached the Head of the Swiss Business Hub Middle East of Switzerland Global Enterprise, Thomas Meier, in December 2012. Although being marked with great potential and an over-proportional growth, the Middle Eastern luxury market contained impediments that international firms had to take into consideration. Therefore, Thomas had to analyze the future outlook for this segment of the Middle East retail sector to develop potential strategies for the five different Swiss luxury and lifestyle companies to potentially operate successfully in the Middle East luxury and lifestyle market. Expected learning outcomes The study identifies barriers and operations challenges especially for Swiss and other foreign luxury and lifestyle retailers in the Middle East, understands the future (2017) institutional environment of the luxury and lifestyle retail sector in the Middle East and applies the institutions-resources matrix in the context of a Swiss company to evaluate the uncertainties prevailing in the Middle East luxury and lifestyle retail sector. It helps in turning insights about future developments in an industry (segment) into consequences for the corporate and functional strategies of a company. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or e-mail [email protected] to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 5: International Business.

“We are a family firm”

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Binz Astrachan ◽  
Isabel C. Botero
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Public Companies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Brand Building ◽  
Depth Interview ◽  
The Family ◽  
Family Associations

Purpose Evidence suggests that some stakeholders perceive family firms as more trustworthy, responsible, and customer-oriented than public companies. To capitalize on these positive perceptions, owning families can use references about their family nature in their organizational branding and marketing efforts. However, not all family firms actively communicate their family business brand. With this in mind, the purpose of this paper is to investigate why family firms decide to promote their “family business brand” in their communication efforts toward different stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach Data for this study were collected using an in-depth interview approach from 11 Swiss and German family business owners. Interviews were transcribed and coded to identify different themes that help explain the different motives and constraints that drive their decisions to promote the “family business brand.” Findings The analyses indicate that promoting family associations in branding efforts is driven by both identity-related (i.e. pride, identification) and outcome-related (e.g. reputational advantages) motives. However, there are several constraints that may negatively affect the promotion of the family business brand in corporate communication efforts. Originality/value This paper is one of the first to explore why family businesses decide to communicate their “family business brand.” Building on the findings, the authors present a conceptual framework identifying the antecedents and possible consequences of promoting a family firm brand. This framework can help researchers and practitioners better understand how the family business nature of the brand can influence decisions about the company’s branding and marketing practices.

Assessing the bank profitability in the MENA region

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rim Ben Selma Mokni ◽  
Houssem Rachdi
Keyword(s):  
Method Of Moments ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
Bank Profitability ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Conventional Banks ◽  
Econometric Technique

Purpose – Which of the banking stream is relatively more profitable in Middle Eastern and North Africa (MENA) region? Design/methodology/approach – The empirical study covers a sample of 15 conventional and 15 Islamic banks for the period 2002-2009.The authors estimate models using the generalized method of moments in system, of Blundell and Bond (1998). They exploit an up-to-date econometric technique which takes into consideration the issue of endogeneity of regressors to evaluate the comparative profitability of Islamic and conventional banks in the MENA region. Findings – Empirical analysis results show that the determinants’ significance varies between Islamic and conventional banks. Profitability seems to be quite persistent in the MENA region reflecting a higher degree of government intervention and may signal barriers to competition. Originality/value – The main interest is to develop a comprehensive model that integrates macroeconomic, industry-specific and bank-specific determinants. The paper makes comparison of the performance between two different banking systems in the MENA region. The authors consider a variable crisis to gain additional insights into the impacts of the financial crisis on MENA banking sector.

Modeling the implicit brand: capturing the hidden drivers

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 600-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Vriens ◽  
Alessandro Martins Alves
Keyword(s):  
Durable Goods ◽  
Implicit Attitudes ◽  
Response Style ◽  
Brand Attitudes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Explicit Attitudes ◽  
Brand Building ◽  
Implicit Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to investigate modeling implicit attitudes as potential drivers of overall brand attitudes and stated behavior and investigate how the results are expected to be different from brand driver models that are based on explicit attitudes. Design/methodology/approach Data are collected via online surveys in five countries across 15 categories with sample sizes for each category/country combination in the range of about N = 1,000. Findings Implicit attitudes result in a higher number of significant effects than their explicit counterparts when used to explain behavioral intentions, brand closeness and brand usage in a multivariate situation with potential 12 brand attitude drivers. The authors also find fewer counter-intuitive effects in the implicit models. The results are consistent across 5 countries and across 15 categories (including CPG products, services and durable goods). They also show that implicit attitudes are less susceptible to response style effects (e.g. social desirability bias). Research limitations/implications The findings have implications for brand building and shopper activation. Further research should look into the impact of using implicit data on finding different brand segmentation and brand mapping results. Practical implications The findings have implications for brand building and shopper activation. Originality/value This paper contributes to the fast-growing field of implicit attitudes. The paper confirms and generalizes previous findings. This is the first paper to the authors’ knowledge that has investigated the impact of implicit attitudes on overall brand attitudes and stated behavior in a multivariate context.

Relational key account management: insights from the Middle Eastern context

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nada Saleh Badawi ◽  
Moustafa Battor ◽  
Saeed Badghish
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Relationship Quality ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Key Account Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Third ◽  
Account Management ◽  
Key Account ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Key Accounts

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore relational aspects of key account management (KAM) in terms of social capital and relationship quality. The second objective was to identify the main dimensions that shape social capital and relationship quality within the KAM context. Finally, the third objective was to explore how relational KAM is practiced in the Middle Eastern context. Design/methodology/approach This study used a qualitative methodology and a multiple case design. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with a sample of senior executives from large Saudi firms. Findings The results highlight the importance of relationship quality and social capital to KAM implementation. A multiple case study was used to build a relational framework for KAM in the Middle Eastern context. Practical implications Three strategies were identified for use within the context of KAM in the Saudi market. The first strategy consisted of a means of attracting potential customers. The second strategy involved communication, aimed at maintaining frequent contact with key accounts. Finally, the third strategy was concentrated in maintenance to help sustain the relationship with key accounts. Originality/value This study extends understanding and the application of KAM to the Middle Eastern context, contributing to social capital, relationship quality and the KAM literature.

Investments in the imaginary: commercial drone speculations and relations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Jackman ◽  
Maximilian Jablonowski
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Visual Analysis ◽  
Key Sites ◽  
Critical Visual Analysis

Drones are increasingly understood and imagined as important actors, inhabiting and transforming aerial space. From their entrenched establishment within battlefield operations, drones have spawned into a diverse ecosystem of platforms and applications, increasingly punctuating domestic urban airspace. While occupying a status as exemplars of urban innovation, the drone poses, and remains bound to, a range of techno-cultural contestations – from challenges around airspace integration, to concerns around privacy, safety and pollution. Thinking with commercial drone futures, and specifically the logistics sector, this article interrogates the role of speculation in this unfolding techno-landscape. In so doing we turn to two key sites through which the drone is anticipated – namely patents and adverts – as lenses through which to investigate projected visualisations underpinning the emergent, envisioned and anticipated drone. We argue that such drone speculations do not simply and solely envision new means of circulating goods, people and information, but rather embody and act to promote a particular set of aerial desires and social relations. Critically unpacking envisioned notions of frictionless mobility, instant consumption, and the appropriation of vertical spaces and spectra, we argue that such speculative sites and practices importantly participate in a techno-fetishist agenda positing drone technology as a privileged and panacea agent of futurity, while often eliding its implications.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>Drones are increasingly understood and imagined as important actors, inhabiting and transforming urban airspace.</li><br /><li>Interrogating the domestic drone, we offer a critical visual analysis of key sites through which it is speculated.</li><br /><li>While envisioning convenience from the air, commercial drone speculations also embody and promote particular aerial desires.</li><br /><li>We argue that staying with speculation enables the critical unpacking of notions of frictionless mobility, instant consumption and the appropriation of vertical space.</li></ul>

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