Perceptions and effects of cross-national corporate reputation

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 909-944 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Swoboda ◽  
Johannes Hirschmann

Purpose Few scholars have analysed the corporate reputation (CR) of multinational corporations (MNCs) internationally, but both CR perception and effect are likely to differ across nations. Most studies have compared a few countries, linked differences to selected dimensions of Hofstede’s cultural approach, and reported ambiguous results. The purpose of this paper is to address the important role of all Hofstede’s cultural dimensions that may influence CR perceptions and effects by applying an appropriate method. Design/methodology/approach By integrating signalling theory and each cultural dimension, hypotheses are proposed and tested using consumer surveys of a German MNC in 37 countries. Multilevel structural equation modelling (SEM) showed whether and how all cultural value dimensions – the predominant approach in marketing – affect CR perceptions and effects. Findings Individual CR perceptions and effects are strongly attributable to national culture, which explains up to 62 per cent of country-level variance; however, the explanatory powers of the cultural dimensions differ between CR perceptions and effects. Not all dimensions affect both. The results are stable in alternative models. Research limitations/implications The results enhance extant research because the relative importance of Hofstede’s dimensions and not only a possible role in country comparisons is shown. Hofstede’s approach explains considerable country-level variances. MNCs learn which cultural dimensions are core antecedents of CR perceptions (individualism and power distance explain >30 per cent variance) and core moderators of CR effects on loyalty (masculinity, individualism and uncertainty avoidance). Originality/value This study provides novel insights into the role of national cultural differences on CR perceptions and CR effects using the still novel multilevel SEM.

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Swoboda ◽  
Nadine Batton

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical and empirical comparison of four major national cultural value models for perceived corporate reputation (CR) of multinational corporations (MNCs) across nations: Hofstede, Schwartz, the GLOBE study and Inglehart. Design/methodology/approach Two consumer surveys on an MNC and on competitors in 25 countries in the year 2015 (n=20,288 and 25,397) were used for the first time to compare the roles of the cultural value models as antecedents of CR, using multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM), which disentangles the explained variances on the country level and on the individual level. Findings National culture is strongly attributed to individual CR perceptions of MNCs across nations. However, the four conceptual cultural value models explain the variance differently (46.2–84.6 percent) as do particular cultural value dimensions within each model. The results are stable for both surveys. Research limitations/implications Novel insights into the roles of cultural value models are provided for international business research. For MNCs aiming to use their CR to attract target groups in foreign countries, this study identifies the most influential cultural value model and particular dimensions. Originality/value This study contributes to cultural research by deepening the understanding of the various cultural value models and their importance for MNCs. Moreover, the authors add to the CR research by providing new insights into perception differences and using the still novel MSEM.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gladys Esinu Abiew ◽  
Eugene Okyere-Kwakye ◽  
Florence Yaa Akyia Ellis

Purpose Underpinned by the information processing theory, this study aims to investigate the relationship between functional diversity and team innovation by examining the moderating role of some selected cultural dimensions (power distance, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity-femininity) in the relationship between functional diversity and innovation. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research method was used using a structured questionnaire as a tool to collect data from 251 respondents drawn from research institutions in Ghana. Data was analysed using simple regression and hierarchical multiple regression. In addition, a structural equation model was used to conduct confirmatory factor analyses to examine whether the variables in the hypothesized model for the study captured distinct constructs that the variables were designed to measure. Findings The study revealed that functional diversity was positively related to team innovation. The study also found that functionally diverse groups are more innovative when they exhibit low uncertainty avoidance, femininity and low power distance. Practical implications These findings suggest that practices such as team communication, honesty, respect and trust would foster team unity and commitment, which would enable members to share diverse expertise towards the creation and execution of new ideas and improvement of productivity in the country. Originality/value The study examined the relationship between functional diversity and team innovation by examining the moderating role of some selected cultural dimensions (power distance, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity-femininity) in the relationship between functional diversity and innovation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bedman Narteh ◽  
Mahama Braimah

Purpose Even though scholars have proposed multiple dimensions to measure corporate reputation, the relationship between these dimensions and service provider selection has received a dearth of research. Moreover, the moderating role of brand image on this relationship has hardly been considered. The purpose of this paper is to fill these gaps in the literature. Design/methodology/approach The study employed a quantitative approach, collecting data from 540 retail bank customers using surveys. Results were analyzed using structural equation modelling in AMOS. Findings The study found out that emotional engagement, corporate performance, customer centricism and service quality directly predicted customer selection of retail banks in Ghana. The results further indicated that brand image moderates the relationship between social and ethical engagement, which was not directly significant and bank selection. Practical implications The findings of the study indicate that some of the dimensions of corporate reputation have a direct impact on bank selection by customers, and that brand image could also be used to improve social and ethical dimension of corporate reputation to ensure bank selection by retail customers. The study thus provides practical guidelines for managing corporate reputation to achieve retail bank selection in Ghana. Originality/value The paper provides support to some of the prior studies on corporate reputation in the retail banking sector. Thus, the study provides useful insights into how corporate reputation can be managed to ensure service provider selection by retail bank customers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Arzu Kalemci ◽  
Ipek Kalemci-Tuzun ◽  
Ela Ozkan-Canbolat

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to increase the knowledge and understanding of organizational and supervisory support in the context of employee deviant workplace behavior (DWB) by examining the potential associations of employees’ cultural value orientations. This paper aims to: clarify DWB; review perceived organizational support (POS) and perceived supervisory support (PSS); discuss the meaning of employees’ cultural value orientations (individualism–collectivism, power distance and paternalism); use the fuzzy logic model to analyze relationships between DWB and POS, as well as PSS and employees’ cultural value orientations. Design/methodology/approach This research applies a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. Findings The results show the role of employee perceived organizational and supervisory support and cultural dimension (power distance and paternalism) configurations on employee DWB. Originality/value The main originality of this study is to further increase the understanding of organizational and supervisory support in the context of employee DWB by examining the potential associations of employees’ cultural value orientations. This study extends the previous research by providing evidence that organizational and supervisory support influences employees’ DWB.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianfranco Walsh ◽  
Mario Schaarschmidt ◽  
Stefan Ivens

Purpose Given the strategic importance of firm reputation because of its potential for value creation, extant reputation research focuses on favorable customer outcomes. This study proposes and tests a model that relates the customer-based corporate reputation (CBR) of fashion retailers to customer-perceived risk and two relational outcomes – trust and commitment. In addition, this study aims to test whether or not the hypothesized paths are equally strong for male and female shoppers. Design/methodology/approach Data for this study were collected through an online survey approach. Using a sample of more than 300 retail customers and structural equation modeling, the authors tested the hypotheses. Findings Drawing on previous research, the commitment–trust theory of relationship marketing and signaling theory, the authors find support for direct and indirect links between retailers’ reputation and relational outcomes, the intervening role of perceived risk and the partially moderational role of gender. Practical implications The findings of this research suggest that a retailer’s positive reputation can reduce customers’ risk and engender trust, which in turn promotes customer commitment. Originality/value A growing number of examples suggests that retailers (specially fashion retailers) need to manage their reputation, which can come under threat in myriad ways, and its outcomes. However, so far, no individual study empirically investigated any of these reputation outcomes simultaneously or considered gender differences. Thus, the authors address an important research gap by examining the mechanism through which CBR affects relevant customer outcomes and by considering contextual factors.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Krishna ◽  
Sebastian M.P.

Purpose This study aims to propose a model to examine the relationships between e-government development, cybersecurity commitment, business usage and economic prosperity of the country. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the country-level variables to explain the second-order impact of e-government development through the mediating role of cybersecurity commitment. Findings Findings suggest that e-government development demonstrated a stronger association with cybersecurity commitment and business usage. There is preliminary evidence that the improvement of cybersecurity measures initiated by e-government development will drive business usage and improve macroeconomic conditions. Research limitations/implications This paper has constructed a theoretical model and validated it using publicly available archival data. Further, this study hypothesizes and demonstrates empirically the direct, as well as indirect relationships between e-government development, cybersecurity commitment, business usage and economic prosperity. To summarize, the study unearths the role of a nation’s cybersecurity commitment and how it is associated with other macro parameters in a country. Originality/value As an initial step, the present study highlights the pivotal role of e-government and its positive influence on cybersecurity commitment at the country level. Further, this study also recognizes the role of cyber commitment to boost information communication and technology usage in business, the use of e-government services for the profitability of the business and effectively influence economic prosperity.


2015 ◽  
Vol 115 (8) ◽  
pp. 1547-1562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Po-Yen Lee ◽  
Chaang-Yung Kung ◽  
Chun-Sheng Joseph Li

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a more robust understanding of the development of dynamic capabilities (DCs) in service multi-units with different cultural distances (CD) (high (HCD) and low (LCD)) through the routines of embedded social capital (structural and relational) and knowledge archetype (exploitative and exploratory) learning. Design/methodology/approach – The authors used survey questionnaires and structural equation modeling to discriminate the relationships among variables. Findings – The authors found that structurally embedded social capital has a positive influence on exploratory knowledge learning in HCD service multi-units; relationally embedded social capital has a positive influence on knowledge archetype (exploitative vs exploratory) learning in both HCD and LCD service multi-units; and knowledge archetype learning has a positive influence on the development of DCs in both HCD and LCD service multi-units. Research limitations/implications – The results identify the central role of social capital (structurally and relationally embedded) in enabling knowledge archetype learning and the development of DCs in service multi-units. In addition, this study provides a description and comparison of how structurally and relationally embedded social capital are key antecedents in knowledge archetype learning and the development of DCs in the context of service multi-units with different HCD and LCD. Originality/value – The results provide a practical trajectory for the development of DCs in multi-units of multinational corporations in the service industry with different HCD and LCD.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Graça Casimiro Almeida ◽  
Arnaldo Coelho

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the precursors of corporate reputation (CR) and their impacts on brand equity (BE), and to analyse the moderating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) perceptions.Design/methodology/approachThis study proposes a theoretical model which is tested using structural equation modelling. In total, 464 valid questionnaires were collected from a sample of customers of the biggest union of dairy cooperatives of the Iberian Peninsula.FindingsResults show that the better the reputation, the higher the BE; however, these findings are more robust among customers with higher perceptions of CSR.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is based on cross-sectional data from a single company.Practical implicationsThe results may help managers build a better reputation and therefore increase their BE. CSR practices are essential to reinforcing this relationship.Social implicationsThis paper contributes to the competitiveness of a type of organisation which is closely associated to the social structure of the rural population.Originality/valueThe results may help cooperatives’ managers to increase CR and BE. The emphasis is on the need to adopt CSR practices.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Chih Chiang ◽  
Che-Jen Su ◽  
Hsin-Hsing Liao ◽  
Monica Chaudhary ◽  
Yi-Fang Lan

Purpose This paper aims to explore adolescents’ perceptions of child-parent dominance in family vacation decision-making (FVDM) by investigating child-parent relative influence (CPRI) and responsibility-sharing (RS) within the family in regard to 15 vacation issues. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts Davis and Rigaux’s (1974) framework for identifying adolescents’ perceptions of child-parent dominance across a set of subjects concerning FVDM, by inspecting the distribution of family decision roles across 25 nations. This study then segments the issues regarding family vacations and nations, judging by CPRI and RS within the family. In addition, this paper introduces Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and diverse indices of development for each surveyed nation and compares their respective correlations with CPRI and RS at the national level. Findings The results, derived from data collected in 25 countries or territories, illustrate a climate of a parent-dominant-to-autonomous style of FVDM for all decision issues and all nations. Overall, both information availability and economizing attribute of issues are related to the democratization of FVDM. The relationship between the child-parent role distribution and national clusters varied across issue clusters. In addition, the paper found the national effectiveness more effective than the cultural dimension in explaining the dispersal of CPRI-RS profiles. Originality/value The data collected from 25 nations provide strong evidence for profiling child-parent dominance in FVDM. The data also serve as a basis for analyzing the role of sociocultural and ideological influences on child-parent dominance in FVDM, which was not established in previous research.


Author(s):  
Gözde Seval Ergün ◽  
Olgun Kitapci

Purpose The study was carried out to better understand the behaviour of tourists from different cultures and backgrounds, and to provide strategic solutions for tourism managers. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between the cultural dimensions of Hofstede and customer complaint behaviours. Design/methodology/approach Exploratory factor analyses were carried out separately for national culture and complaint behaviour scales and the factor structuring was then tested using a confirmatory factor analysis. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test theoretical correlations and a conceptual model was created to put forward the correlations between national cultural dimensions and complaint behaviours, as well as to examine the impact of variation in one dimension on the other. Findings Significant correlations were observed between power distance and both public action and no action behaviours, uncertainty avoidance and public action and private action, as well as individualism/collectivism and public action. Research limitations/implications The sample population of the study included foreign tourists visiting Manavgat district in 2015. Manavgat as a destination is preferred by foreign tourists, rather than domestic tourists. In addition, many accommodations in the region only host guests from particular nationalities. For this reason, domestic tourists were not included in the survey. A limitation of the research is the fact that it focused only on hotel management. Extending the scope of the study in future research—the study could be carried out for a wider area and include other sectors—would increase the effectiveness of the study. Practical implications The results shed light on the fact that customers perform different complaint behaviours depending on variation in national cultural dimensions. In this context, the findings contribute to the hotel management literature and to the development of management strategies such as staff training, effective complaint solution methods, increasing customer complaints, using indirect resources effectively and decreasing the cost of solutions. The research also aims to create awareness in hotel managers by highlighting the importance of this issue. Originality/value In many of the studies where customer complaint behaviour and culture are analysed together, culture is regarded primarily as a geographical region, or as ethnical origin. Using Hofstede’s national cultural dimension scale, and taking into consideration all the national cultural dimensions, adds originality to this research. This study is one of the first to explore the impact of cultural dimensions on customer complaint behaviours in Turkey. This is also one of the first studies on complaint behaviour in the hotel industry.


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