Testing self-congruity theory in the context of nation brand personality

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
José I. Rojas-Méndez ◽  
Nicolas Papadopoulos ◽  
Mohammed Alwan
Keyword(s):  
Big Five ◽  
Brand Personality ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
Nation Branding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Congruity Theory ◽  
Nation Brand ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – The overall aim of the present study is to advance research by drawing from this body of work and applying the brand personality construct, which has so far been considered mostly in connection with commercial product brands, in the context of nation branding. More specifically, and also more importantly, the study aims to contribute to research both in nation branding, as well as, indirectly, in the broader domain of brand personality in general, by being one of the first to examine the relationship between individual personality (IP) and nation brand personality (NBP) traits. Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted via a Web-based questionnaire in Arabic language to Saudi citizens living in Saudi Arabia. The study object was defined as the brand personality of the USA. To make possible the comparison between respondents’ personality and the US brand personality, the Big Five factors typology was used as a proxy (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism). Findings – Results revealed a significant negative impact of the gaps between Saudi’s IP and the US brand personality (i.e. independent variables) upon their attitudes and intentions to behave toward the USA (dependent variables). Results also show that there are no moderating effects of previous visits paid to the USA and having relatives living there. Research limitations/implications – First, data were collected in only one country about perceptions of NBP traits of one other country. Thus, the results should not be generalized to other contexts until further research is done for a mix of both sample and target countries. This must include not only culturally dissimilar countries (as, in this case, Saudi views of the USA), but also countries that are classified as very close in their cultural distance index (i.e. view of the USA by Canadians or of Kuwaitis by Saudis). A second limitation is the proxy used to measure NBP. Future research may alternatively use an NBP scale developed explicitly for countries. Finally, the somewhat higher proportion of female respondents may be an issue to consider in future studies. In this study, the concern, if any, is largely ameliorated by the results, which showed virtually no significant differences between male and female average responses in relation to the Big Five (the only exception was observed with regards to conscientiousness, where males scored slightly lower than females). As was noted above, one may speculate as to potential reasons for the gender distribution in this study – but differences between samples and populations, not only in gender but in any sample characteristics, are quite common in research; therefore, any effort to achieve more balanced sample distributions will be well placed and received. Practical implications – These results should encourage nation brand marketers to closely consider the predominant personality of their target markets, as well as the perceived personality of their own countries (image) when developing international marketing strategies. Such strategic focus should start by deciding what messages to send to the target audience to create in their minds the intended country’s identity by using the appropriate personality traits in communication applications. As this paper has demonstrated, international audiences holding similar personality types, especially in agreeableness, extraversion and conscientiousness, would feel attracted to perform positively towards the country’s offerings (i.e. tourism, investment, job opportunities, immigration, etc.). Originality/value – In this first ever study to explore the relationship between an IP and NBP, a key finding is the confirmation of self-congruity theory.

Asset recovery in corruption cases

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Leasure
Keyword(s):  
Vice President ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Asset Recovery ◽  
The Us ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Republic

Purpose – Asset recovery proceedings increasingly target corrupt foreign officials who acquire lavish assets as a result of capital gained through criminal acts. One extremely difficult issue arising in asset recovery proceedings is whether the capital used to acquire the assets can be traced to a criminal act. The purpose of this paper is to critique US tracing procedure through comparative analysis. Design/methodology/approach – A prominent series of cases brought by the USA and France against assets owned by Teodoro “Teodorín” Nguema Obiang, second Vice President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, produced mixed results on the tracing element. This paper utilizes a qualitative comparative case analysis to examine the US and French cases. Findings – The US results reflect serious weaknesses in the US law as compared to more effective French asset recovery procedure. Originality/value – Though this paper is certainly a comparative case study analysis, nearly identical facts and two different jurisdictions reaching separate conclusions bring us in the legal community as close as we can realistically come to quasi-experimental research. Comparative research in this area is severely lacking and sorely needed. The mechanisms identified in the French system clearly show flaws that are present in the US system.

Macroeconomic conditions are only an illusion, not the solution, to firm sustainability: unveiling the new dimension of stakeholder well-being

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahid Irshad Younas ◽  
Mahvesh Khan ◽  
Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh Al-Faryan
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Macroeconomic Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Macroeconomic Conditions ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The One

Purpose The purpose of the study is to explore the misconception that in developed countries, macroeconomic performance lead to sustainable firms or improves stakeholder well-being. The results may be the opposite or even worse. Design/methodology/approach This study examined this misconception using balanced panel data from 1,122 firms from different sectors of the US economy and data on macroeconomic performance from the World Bank. Findings The results of the one-step generalised method of moments indicate that most macroeconomic performance indicators had significant and negative impacts on firm sustainability and stakeholder well-being. Practical implications From a societal perspective, the results illustrate that the fruits of macroeconomic performance of the US economy do not reach stakeholders through firms’ sustainability. Thus, linking the economy’s macroeconomic performance with firm sustainability is vital for sustainably uplifting society and for stakeholder well-being. Originality/value From a policy perspective, this study reveals that the greater focus on macroeconomic performance in the USA over the past decades has resulted in lower firm sustainability because of the malfunctioning of social, economic, environmental and governance factors. This has negatively influenced stakeholder well-being in the country.

Cultural differences in gift recipients’ attitude and behavior toward disliked gifts

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Theeranuch Pusaksrikit ◽  
Sydney Chinchanachokchai
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Relationship Closeness ◽  
Marketing Segmentation ◽  
Self Construal ◽  
The Usa ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of cultural differences and the types of relationship closeness involved in recipients’ emotional and behavioral reactions after receiving disliked gifts. Design/methodology/approach Collecting data from Thailand and the USA, two experiments were conducted in a 2 (self-construal: independent/interdependent) × 2 (relationship closeness: close/distant) between-subjects design. Study 1 explores the recipients’ feelings and reactions upon receipt of a disliked gift. Study 2 explores the disposition process for a disliked gift. Findings The results show that a recipient’s emotions, reaction and disposition process can be affected by cultural differences and relationship closeness: specifically that close and distant relationships moderate the relationship between self-construal and gift-receiving attitudes and behaviors. Research limitations/implications Future research can investigate representative groups from other countries to broaden the generalizability of the findings. Practical implications This understanding can guide gift-givers when selecting gifts for close or distant recipients across cultures. Additionally, it can help retailers develop and introduce new marketing strategies by applying self-construal as a marketing segmentation tool for gift purchase and disposition. Originality/value This research is among the first studies to offer insights into how individuals in different cultures manage disliked gifts they receive from people in either close or distant relationships.

How far are we from understanding corruption? The effect of cultural distance on corruption perception

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Szymanski ◽  
Ivan Valdovinos ◽  
Evodio Kaltenecker
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
International Business ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Cultural Distance ◽  
State Level ◽  
Generalized Least Squares ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Corruption Perception ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between cultural distances between countries and their scores in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which is the most commonly used measure of corruption in international business (IB) research. Design/methodology/approach The authors applied fixed-effect (generalized least squares) statistical modeling technique to analyze 1,580 year-country observations. Findings The authors found that the CPI score is determined to a large extent by cultural distances between countries, specifically the distance to the USA and to Denmark. Research limitations/implications CPI is often used as a sole measure of state-level corruption in IB research. The results show that the measure is significantly influenced by cultural differences and hence it should be applied with great caution, preferably augmented with other measures. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to look at cultural distances as determinants of CPI score. The authors empirically test whether the CPI is culturally biased.

Exploring the inflationary effect of oil price in the US

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amine Lahiani
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Structural Breaks ◽  
Oil Prices ◽  
Oil Price ◽  
Inflation Expectations ◽  
Oil Price Shocks ◽  
Price Shocks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of oil price shocks on the US Consumer Price Index over the monthly period from 1876:01 to 2014:04.Design/methodology/approachThe author uses the Bai and Perron (2003) structural break test to split the data sample into sub-periods delimited by the computed break dates. Afterwards, the author uses the quantile treatment effects over the full sample and then, by including sub-periods dummies to accommodate the selected structural breaks that drive the relationship between inflation and oil price growth.FindingsThe findings include a decreased transmission effect of oil price changes on inflation in recent years; a varied elasticity of inflation to the growth rate of oil prices across the distribution; and, finally, evidence of asymmetry in the relationship between the growth rate of oil prices and inflation, with a higher transmission mechanism for decreasing rather than increasing oil prices.Practical implicationsPolicymakers should remain alert to monitoring potential inflation increases and should take precautionary measures to anchor inflation expectations, because inflation reacts differently to positive and negative oil price shocks. Moreover, authorities should consider the asymmetric reaction of inflation to oil price shocks to adopt an appropriate monetary policy strategy to achieve the price stability target.Originality/valueThe paper used a quantile regression model with structural breaks, which has not yet been used in the literature.

The US brewing industry, strategic windows and survival

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 434-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn A. Walter ◽  
Linda F. Edelman ◽  
Keneth J. Hatten
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Brewing Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Operational Capabilities ◽  
Select Group ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate how dynamic capabilities enabled survival in a select group of brewers, during one of the lengthiest and most severe industry consolidations in history. In doing so, we advance Abell’s (1978) theory of strategic windows through integration with the resource-based view of the firm. Design/methodology/approach – Using a mixed method approach, we first apply case study methods to develop hypotheses around the timing and level of operational capability required for survival. In the second phase, we test these hypothesized estimations on the USA Brewing population. Findings – Indicate that brewers which had advanced distribution and manufacturing operational capabilities before the strategic window of opportunity closed had higher survival rates. Practical implications – This study reinforces the importance of making timely strategic investments in capabilities. Originality/value – The integration of strategic window and capability theories advances our understanding of the roles that capabilities and time play in determining firm survival.

Toward a history of housing market analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 632-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
William C. Baer
Keyword(s):  
Housing Market ◽  
Urban Society ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Market Analysis ◽  
Ancient Rome ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Urban Market ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
History Of

Purpose This paper aims to relate early history of housing conceptualizations and market analysis in the Anglosphere (Britain, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand). Historians are ignorant of them but clear market analyses had early beginnings in every urban society for developing and accommodating growing populations. Design/methodology/approach Historiography. Findings Aspects of market analysis, especially appraisal and rudimentary approaches to the housing market in the Anglosphere, can be traced back to ancient Rome, housing market conceptualizations to Dr Nicholas Barbon and seventeenth-century London’s first population and housing boom and market analysis techniques in the USA at its founding, when Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand Perigor was the first to refine them and write them up in 1794-1796. The US next made major advances in the 1930s. The overall trend has been from inferred analyses to fundamental (derived) analyses, emphasizing “quantifiable data.” Practical implications This paper elicits researcher’s professional awareness that each nation has an implicit history of its early development practices and techniques. Originality/value The time frame of most housing market analysts is the recent past, the present and the future. But how enduring are their concerns? Do operational values in a housing market reflect historical epochs, or are there some universalities? Furthermore, most urban historians are ignorant of urban market dynamics. It does not occur to them that some of the dynamics that analysts attempt to capture today might always have been inherent in the urban built environment, regardless of era or urbanized part of the globe under consideration.

The US battle against brand marketing: circa 1930-1980

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross D. Petty
Keyword(s):  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Movement ◽  
Brand Marketing ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Government ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Second World

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the debate about brand marketing that occurred as part of the 1930s consumer movement and continued after the Second World War in academic and regulatory circles. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents an historical account of the anti-brand marketing movement using a qualitative approach. It examines both primary and secondary historical sources as well as legal statutes, regulatory agency actions, judicial cases and newspaper and trade journal stories. Findings In response to the rise of brand marketing in the latter 1800s and early 1900s, the USA experienced an anti-brand marketing movement that lasted half a century. The first stage was public as part of the consumer movement but was overshadowed by the product safety and truth-in-advertising concerns. The consumer movement stalled when the USA entered the Second World War, but brand marketing continued to raise questions during the war as the US government attempted to regulate the provisions of goods during the war. After the war, the public accepted brand marketing. Continuing anti-brand marketing criticism was largely confined to academic writings and regulatory activities. Ultimately, many of the stage-two challenges to brand marketing went nowhere, but a few led to regulations that continue today. Originality/value This paper is the first to recognize a two-stage anti-brand marketing movement in the USA from 1929 to 1980 that has left a small but significant modern-day regulatory legacy.

“Conspicuous consumption in the context of consumer animosity”

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 412-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Villy Abraham ◽  
Abraham Reitman
Keyword(s):  
Conspicuous Consumption ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Animosity ◽  
Willingness To Buy ◽  
The Holocaust ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Target Country

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of consumer animosity on conspicuous consumption in two research settings: Israel and Russia. The study also examines: the relationship between susceptibility to norm influence (SNI) and consumer animosity, whether SNI affects consumers’ willingness to buy (WTB) products from a country toward which they harbor animosity, and the relationship between consumer animosity and WTB in contexts differing in the level of animosity harbored toward a target country. Design/methodology/approach To probe generalizability, the hypothesized model was tested in two different contexts: Study 1 was conducted in Israel using the context of the Holocaust and Study 2 was conducted in Russia using the context of the recent political discord with the USA. A convenience sample of Israeli-Jewish (n=264) and Russian (n=259) consumers yielded a total of 523 questionnaires. Findings In both contexts, the results from the SPSS and AMOS analyses indicated a negative and significant relationship between consumer animosity and conspicuous consumption. Moreover, SNI was positively associated with consumer animosity. Finally, the study findings point to a negative association between consumer animosity and WTB, regardless of the level of animosity. Originality/value The research findings suggest that consumer animosity may be a stronger predictor for the consumption of conspicuous products than for the consumption of necessity goods.

Exploring the relationship between dispositions to think critically and sustainability concern in HESD

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry Shephard ◽  
Qudsia Kalsoom ◽  
Ritika Gupta ◽  
Lorenz Probst ◽  
Paul Gannon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Higher education is uncertain which sustainability-related education targets should be sought and monitored. Accepting that something needs to be measurable to be systematically improved, the authors explored how measures relate to potential targets. This paper aims to focus on dispositions to think critically (active open-minded thinking and fair-minded thinking in appraising reasoning) as measures and explored how they related to sustainability concern as an indicative educational target. Design/methodology/approach This research included the development and testing of research instruments (scales) that explored dispositions to critical thinking and sustainability concern. Authors researched these instruments within their own correspondence groups and tested them with university students and staff in Pakistan, the USA, Austria, India and New Zealand. The authors also asked a range of contextualising questions. Findings Respondents’ disposition to aspects of active, open-minded thinking and fair-minded thinking do predict their concern about facets of sustainability but their strength of religious belief was an important factor in these relationships and in their measurement. Practical implications This research demonstrates the complexity of monitoring dispositions to think critically and sustainability concern in educational systems, particularly in circumstances where the roles of religious beliefs are of interest; and suggests ways to address this complexity. Originality/value This research integrates and expands discourses on ESD and on critical thinking in diverse disciplines and cultures. It investigates measurement approaches and targets that could help higher education institutions to educate for sustainable development and to monitor their progress, in ways that are compatible with their culture and values.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document