Emerald | International Marketing Review | Table of Contents

Emerging Perspectives in Qualitative Research in International Marketing.

Fri, 12 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Abstract

Not available.

A Qualitative Approach to Understanding Brand Image in an International Context: insights from Croatia and Serbia

Fri, 12 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Abstract

Purpose - The paper demonstrates the utility of qualitative research for: understanding differences in brand image across markets; the critical assessment of marketing theory; informing revisions to quantitative scales and metrics used in international branding research. This is accomplished via research on a particular case (socialist era brands in Croatia and Serbia).Design/methodology/approach - Twelve focus groups, cutting across two countries (Croatia and Serbia) and three age groups (18-21, 35-45, pensioners) were conducted. The contemporary brand images of labels from the socialist era were compared against competing products (launched in the post-socialist period by local manufacturers and those from transnational companies).Findings - Analysis revealed significant differences in the image of the socialist era brands between their home and foreign markets. Variations are linked to a cultural context of newly (re)emerging states with high ethnocentrism, animosity and uneasy political relationships. Transnational brands, however, appear immune to much consumer ethnocentrism.Research limitations/implications - Firms from the region face significant barriers to creating standardised brand images across the successor states of the Socijalisticka Federativna Republika Jugoslavija. While strong in their home markets, the socialist era brands are rarely suitable platforms for international market entry in the region. The dangers of conflating ‘Western’ with foreign in international branding research are documented. Originality/value - The case illustrates the role qualitative research can play in understanding variations in perceived brand image across international markets. It evaluates the utility of Kapferer’s approach to brand identity. The concept of origin hierarchies is introduced and the inadequacies of international marketing research that relies on a simple domestic versus foreign dichotomy are documented.

A qualitative enquiry into the appropriation of mobile telephony at the Bottom of the Pyramid

Fri, 12 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Abstract

Purpose - The paper aims to analyse Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) customers’ (e.g. Bangladeshi farmers) use and appropriation of mobile telephony and to critically identify a suitable research strategy for such investigation.Design/methodology/approach - Concentrated ethnographic immersion was combined with both methodological and investigator triangulation during a four-month period of fieldwork conducted in Bangladeshi villages to obtain more robust findings. Concentrated immersion was required to achieve relatively speedier engagement owing to the difficulty in engaging with respondents on a long-term basis. Findings - The farmers’ use of mobile telephony went beyond the initial adoption, as they appropriated it through social and institutional support, inventive means and/or changes in their own lifestyle. The paper argues that technology appropriation, being a result of the mutual shaping of technology, human skills and abilities and macro-environmental factors, enables users to achieve desired outcomes which may not always be the ones envisaged by the original designers. Research limitations/implications - The paper contributes to two major areas: first, it identifies technology appropriation as an important and emerging concept in international marketing research; second, it suggests a concentrated form of ethnographic engagement for studying technology appropriation in a developing country context. Practical implications - A good understanding of the dynamic interplay between users’ skills and abilities, social contexts and technological artefacts/applications is required in order for businesses to serve BoP customers profitably. Originality/value - The paper presents a dynamic model of technology appropriation based on findings collected through a pragmatic approach by combining concentrated ethnographic immersion with methodological and investigator triangulation.

Drivers of information sharing and export performance in the Jordanian agri-food export supply chain: A qualitative study

Fri, 12 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Abstract

Purpose - Our understanding of the drivers of information sharing in Export Supply Chains (ESCs) in general, and in agri-food ESCs in particular, remains scarce. In response, our paper seeks to explore the drivers of information sharing between two key members of an agri-food ESC (producers and exporters) in Jordan and investigate the link to export performance. Design/methodology/approach - We use a two-stage qualitative approach. We initially interview seven ESC experts and a comparative case study across ten producer-exporter relationships follows. The latter involves forty interviews (four per case) with producers and exporters in these relationships, supplemented with archival material and non-participant observation. Findings - Specific transaction, relationship and network drivers are found to support information sharing in these relationships and information sharing is linked to export performance. In higher performing cases, information sharing is triggered by integration-focused drivers, where the emphasis is on long term and joint planning, based on sharing wider types of information. In lower performing cases, information sharing is triggered by more individualistic drivers and producers and exporters are sharing logistics-related information with a short term perspective. Originality/value - Our study extends current literature by identifying how different drivers influence information sharing in producer-exporter relationships and are linked to differences in export performance.

The influence of intra-national cultural heterogeneity on product standardisation and adaptation: a qualitative study

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Konstantinos Poulis, Efthimios Poulis) — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Abstract

Purpose - Challenging assumptions about the uni-nationality of markets, the paper aims to understand the role of intra-national cultural heterogeneity in product standardisation and adaptation strategies of multinational firms in a single-country, multicultural market.Design/methodology/approach - The study is set against the dominant backdrop of deductive reasoning in the field and adopts a qualitative mode of inquiry that promotes empathy with the setting. Through a multiple case study approach among paradigmatic cases, it sheds light on the aforementioned objective.Findings - The paper conceptualises the term ‘layers of adaptation’ and reveals that firms use multi-dimensional standardisation /adaptation configurations. It explicates sub-contextual variations that move beyond assumptions of intra-national sameness and identifies their influence on unnoticed, more agile forms of adaptation.Research limitations/implications - Findings are limited to the analysis of practices in a specific setting. More studies across diverse contexts are necessary in order to expand the boundaries of relevant investigations and enrich the process of theorising.Practical implications - The findings caution that lack of internal sameness in multicultural markets may necessitate a multi-layered standardisation/adaptation logic that considers varying ‘depths’ and ‘breadths’ of relevant marketing strategies.Originality/value - The paper challenges assumptions that have characterised the standardisation and adaptation discourse, conceptualises the term ‘layers of adaptation’ to denote the need for more considerate market responses and highlights the usefulness of qualitative investigations towards theoretical grounding of the field.

Exploring the landscape of qualitative research in international marketing: Two decades of IMR

Fri, 12 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Abstract

Purpose - We seek to show the extent and nature of qualitative research in international marketing in IMR (International Marketing Review) and then aim to understand and explain developments in this area. We explore the global coverage of extant qualitative work in IMR and reflect on the thematic focus, theoretical purpose, research design and transparency of methods prevailing in these studies. Design/methodology/approach - We identify and content-analyze 79 qualitative international marketing-focused articles published in IMR from 1990 to 2010. Findings - The analysis revealed several areas that can assist researchers in identifying gaps to be filled by future qualitative international marketing studies. These include: global coverage needs to be further developed; an increase in the number of comparative studies, yet insights from three or more countries remain scarce; extant qualitative studies seem to explore ten key themes; there is a growing trend in theory elaboration studies; interviews are still the most popular data collection method, yet the repertoire of methods is expanding; there is an upward trend in higher transparency in the description of data collection and analysis, but this needs further development.Originality/value - The paper fosters the development of qualitative research in international marketing by: (1) highlighting the value of qualitative research for advancing theory in this field; (2) inspiring international marketing scholars to learn more about qualitative methods; and (3) offering guidelines to researchers that seek to advance this field.