Editorial

Citation

Phau, I. (2009), "Editorial", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 21 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/apjml.2009.00821daa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Volume 21, Issue 4.

As we move towards the end of a year of extreme challenges, it is no doubt that Asia, the superpower of the 21st century, has not gone unscathed. With the unpredictable market climate, it has spurred even more interesting research ideas and challenges. Hence, research in Asia Pacific will not only continue to thrive but also invite further interest. Similarly, APJML will also undergo some changes. In the past year, we have increased the number of papers published in each issue and our dedication towards publishing papers of high calibre will not diminish. While the state of world affairs is picking up, we envisage that academics and practitioners are also continuously seeking to enrich and expand their horizons with knowledge and research.

This concluding issue for 2009 boosts a range of marketing and logistics papers which generally provide a global overview of various industries covering topics including branding, CSR and customer relationships. This issue also incorporates a special issue which comprises three best papers from the Academy of Marketing Asia Pacific Marketing track. A separate editorial is provided by the special issue editors in the next section.

To open this issue, Wiley et al. discuss the use of a technique that can help researchers, practitioners and academics to select the best technique or use for internet surveys. The Plackett-Burman design was used to test 11 techniques for increasing internet survey response. The authors have also presented useful findings that can assist researchers in selecting the most appropriate data collection technique when using internet surveys.

While countries around the world seek to establish a positive country image, D'Astous and Li address this current topic of country perceptions in China through the use of “personality” as a construct. Adapting a country personality scale developed in the Western context, 11 countries including China were measured using a survey in Beijing. It was found that the adapted scale has met prior expectations and the study has implications for practitioners when considering their product positioning strategies.

Lin examines potential and current consumers' behavior and consumption patterns of organic cotton in Hawai'i. Data were collected using face to face structured interviews using an intercept method. Findings revealed differences in preferences of cotton based on demographic and psychographic characteristics. Consumers who are more “green” have stronger preferences towards organic cotton. A profile of organic cotton consumers was also developed to provide deeper insights for practitioners in order to develop effective marketing strategies.

Praxmarer and Gierl examine the effects of consumers' positive or negative advertising associations such as memories and fantasies evoked by advertising stimulus on brand attitude for ads that require little processing effort. A model was developed and tested using partial least squares. Ads were also pretested to determine which are considered as ads that require lower effort to process. Findings revealed that associations depend on consumer favourableness. Basically, positive associations will have positive brand attitudes and negative associations will have negative brand attitudes. More findings were revealed and explained in greater detail.

The last paper by Tuu and Olsen examines the relationship between perceived risk, consumer satisfaction and repurchase loyalty. The moderating effect of knowledge on the above relationships is also investigated. Data were collected using a self administered questionnaire from 846 households in Vietnam using fish as the research object. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Useful findings and managerial implications are also delineated by the authors.

To close this last issue of 2009, I continue to thank the EAB, reviewers and also the authors for their continuous support and contribution to the APJML. I hope that this issue has provided deeper insights and spurred future research ideas. There is much to look forward to in 2010 and we promise that there are bigger and better things yet to come.

Ian PhauCurtin University of Technology, Australia