The Usage of Social Networks and Websites in International Luxury Brand Communication

Today, there are different digital communication opportunities that companies use to communicate with their customers. These are especially web sites and social networks. International brands are adapting to all changes in this communication environment while determining their communication strategies and then they communicate with their target audiences. Brands communicate with their target audiences and potential or unfamiliar audiences through communication opportunities without borders. This is also seen in the luxury brand market and consumers. In this study, luxury brand, luxury brand consumption, and finally website and social media applications used in international luxury brand communication are explained. In addition, comparative content analysis of corporate web sites and social media environments of Ferrari and Porsche companies, in which they are producing and marketing luxury products, were conducted and evaluations were made in the context of international luxury brand communication.

Evaluation of Hotel Websites Using Content Analysis: A Study in Bishkek

With the rapid expansion of the internet corporate websites are becoming an important tool of communication with target markets. The target markets of the hotels go beyond the borders of the country and can be anywhere in the world. Effective use of the corporate web sites is an important factor that affects the success of hotel enterprises in the competitive environment. In this context, the main purpose of this study is to evaluate hotels’ web sites in Bishkek and to reveal the situation in terms of characteristics that should be in their web pages. A total of 30 hotel websites have been reviewed. Data was obtained from hotel web sites using an evaluation form. Percentage and frequency techniques were applied to analyze the data and results are given by hotel types (three or four stars). According to the results, it was found that hotels’ web sites are not sufficient in terms of required features and both three and four star hotels demonstrate same performance. In particular, it can be said that the hotel web sites are very poor in terms of information about the destination. Hotels should benefit from the results of academic studies and, if necessary, to conduct their own researches in order to have an effective web sites.

Stories They Tell

This study investigates the themes that drive persuasive recruiting appeals, or stories, designed to attract new, entrepreneurial workers in the direct selling industry. It offers a rhetorical perspective informed by fantasy theme analysis on the themes present in the recruiting content on the corporate Web sites of three direct selling companies (Mary Kay, Stella & Dot, and Scentsy). The analysis indicates that rhetorical agency is a core theme in the persuasive recruiting stories for these companies. Offering a means for business and technical communication scholars to explore agency or other persuasive story themes in context, this study addresses how a rhetorical perspective is useful to assess recruiting appeals in shifting, entrepreneurial work contexts.

The Integration of Law into Global Business Solutions: The Rise, Transformation, and Potential Future of the Big Four Accountancy Networks in the Global Legal Services Market

Using a unique data set comprised of original research of both the corporate Web sites of the Big Four—PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, and EY—and their affiliated law firms, as well as archival material from the legal and accountancy press, this article documents the rise and transformation of the Big Four legal service lines since the enactment of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002. Moreover, it demonstrates that there are good reasons to believe that these sophisticated players will be even more successful in penetrating the corporate legal services market in the decades to come, as that market increasingly matures in a direction that favors the integration of law into a wider category of business solutions that these globally integrated multidisciplinary practices now champion. We conclude with some preliminary observations about the implications of the reemergence of the Big Four legal networks for the legal profession.

Differences in organizational web site design across cultures

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare organizational web site design attributes between US and Chinese small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach – The study uses 18 web site design variables identified by previous research. Findings – The results show that US and Chinese SME corporate web sites have both similarities and differences in terms of web site design attributes. The design differences are not much affected by the impacts of macro-economy and technology gaps. However, US and Chinese SMEs may differ in terms of their marketing practices and cultural orientations, and as a result, web site design attributes still remain significantly different. Originality/value – Marketing and cultural factors are found to be important determinants in SMEs’ organizational web site design across the two countries.

Company slogans, morphological issues, and corporate communications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate and analyze company slogans which play an important role in corporate identity and corporate communications. Design/methodology/approach – By discussing relevant literature, morphological issues (word formation in sentences), and content analysis, the study investigates 329 companies and their slogans that operate in global and domestic markets. Findings – The study finds that within the areas of corporate identity and corporate communications, company slogans tend to be diverse with distinct forms and morphological features. The work reveals that slogans go through evolutionary changes because of diverse markets and firms’ corporate communications and corporate identities. The study also compares and contrasts slogans from 2007 to 2013 which were used by the firms on their web sites. Practical implications – Interestingly, over half of the companies did not keep their slogans in 2012/2013. Many firms have stopped using slogans on their corporate web sites and systematically capitalize on brands and corporate identities when dealing with the areas of corporate communications. This supports the notion that slogans help corporate identity and corporate communications. Originality/value – The paper’s original value added is in the areas of corporate communications, slogans, and corporate identity.

Virtual ethnography: corporate virtual diversity communication

Purpose – Research examining organizational diversity has largely ignored the role corporate web sites play in establishing the tone for diversity in organizations. Serving as “electronic storefronts,” corporate web sites are typically the first point of contact individuals have with an organization. The purpose of this paper is to centralize communication as a critical tool in understanding the strategies corporations use to communicate their diversity philosophy, practices and policies. This virtual ethnographic study examines corporate web sites (n=100) across industries and sectors to capture the strategies organizations use to strategically communicate diversity to a variety of stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach – Taking a virtual ethnographic, this study examines 100 corporate web sites across industries to capture the methods organizations employ to strategically communicate diversity in their respective organization. Findings – Results from this ethnographic study reveal that organizations typically use three strategies in their diversity messages: impression management, persuasion and strategic ambiguity. Strategic ambiguity and the persuasive use of selling, telling and framing their diversity message are ubiquitous in corporate diversity communication. The use of these strategies may have a profound impact on how diversity is perceived within organizations. Implications for practice and research are discussed. Originality/value – This is one of the first social science/humanistic studies to examine diversity messages on corporate web sites and advances a conceptual framework for electronic diversity communication. Additionally, this project employs a virtual ethnographic approach, a novel, yet contemporary, method.