Existing studies of Japanese consumers have emphasized the importance of collectivism and risk aversion in Japanese culture. In this paper we examine the relationship between these constructs in new product adoption decisions that involve brand switching. We argue that, for Japanese consumers, the perceived emotional risk of adoption is related to (1) the degree to which a consumer identifies with the brand of his or her current product and (2) the perceived performance, financial, and social risks of switching to an alternative product. We further hypothesize that perceived social risk is positively related to brand identification, perceived performance risk, and perceived financial risk. Finally, we hypothesize that financial risk is positively related to performance risk. We test our hypotheses using data collected in Japan in June 2015. Questionnaire items were adapted from existing, well-validated scales. The Japanese version of the questionnaire was developed by using the standard double translation procedure. The Japanese version of the questionnaire was administered by a marketing research firm to a national panel of respondents stratified by age and gender. The resulting sample consisted of 518 iPad owners from across Japan, of whom approximately half were men. Within each gender category, approximately half of the respondents intended to purchase a new tablet within the next 12 months. Following established SEM procedures, we began by estimating a confirmatory factory analysis model, after which we estimated a structural equation model. In each case, the estimated model satisfied standard evaluation criteria. In general, our findings provide support for the hypothesized model. First, Perceived Performance Risk was positively related with Financial Risk, Social Risk, and Emotional Risk. Second, Financial Risk was positively related with Social Risk. Third, Social Risk was positively related with Emotional Risk. Fourth, Brand Identification was positively related with Social Risk and Emotional Risk. The one hypothesized linkage that was not supported was the relationship between Financial Risk and Emotional Risk. A comparison of coefficient magnitudes reveals several important findings. First, in the Social Risk equation, the coefficient of Performance Risk is significantly larger than the Brand Identification coefficient. Second, within the Emotional Risk equation, the coefficient of Performance Risk is significantly larger than the coefficients of Brand Identification and Financial Risk. Similarly, the coefficient of Social Risk is also significantly larger than the coefficients of Financial Risk and Social Risk.

This study examines the influence of culture on consumers’ behavioral responses after an exposure to negative information, including their intention to search information and to spread the negative word-of-mouth. The study finds that the degree of collectivism and uncertainty avoidance had a significant and positive relationship towards the intention to search and intention to spread negative word-of-moth. Results show a significant and negative relationship between power distance and information search under the high severity scenario but a positive relationship between power distance and negative word-of-mouth under the low severity scenario.

Building on a sociological perspective, this study empirically examines how transformation expectations relate to conspicuous consumption and impulse buying by comparing Eastern (Thai) and Western (U.S.) consumers to scrutinize how consumers from completely different cultural and economic profiles diverge from each other with respect to their product/service expectations and their purchase and consumption tendencies. While Thailand represents a small developing economy, the U.S. denotes a large developed nation. Furthermore, Thai culture is characterized by a relatively high uncertainty avoidance, large power distance, femininity, and collectivism, whereas American culture is viewed as an individualist, masculine, risk-taking, and small power distance one (Hofstede, Hofstede & Minkov, 2010). The relationships set forth in this study are woven together based on the expectations states theory (EST), which generally bridges consumers’ expectations with their actions (i.e., the behaviors of buying impulsively and consuming conspicuously in this study). Our focal construct, transformation expectations, is treated as a second-order construct, consisting of four dimensions: “self-,” “relationship,” “hedonic,” and “efficacy” transformations. We postulate that transformation expectations positively influence conspicuous consumption and impulse buying, and that the relationships are moderated by culture. The data were collected from consumers in Thailand and the U.S. using a self-administered survey by means of quota and purposive sampling techniques. Our final sample size consists of 347 Thai consumers and 320 American consumers. The findings in this study show support for all hypothesized relationships. Both Thais and Americans tend to consume more conspicuously and purchase more impulsively when they have higher expectations that a product enables them to transform their lives. Surprisingly, the test of the moderating effect of culture showed a stronger relationship amongst Thai consumers. This finding contradicts to previous empirical evidences suggested in the literature. Future study thus should replicate and/or extend this study to confirm and validate the results so that appropriate marketing strategies can be tailored to fit diverse groups of consumers across the globe.

In 2015, the size of China’s cross-border shopping market was 97.3 billion dollars. The market increased by 63% during the last 5 years (Mun, 2016), and is expected to rise to 220 billion dollars by the year 2020. According to the e-commerce export trends of the Korea customs administration, in August 2015, the largest exporter was China (42%) and the largest export was clothing (52%) (Song, 2016). Accordingly, Korean corporations and brands are focusing on Haitao (海淘族, who enjoy cross-border online shopping) and proceeding to build customized websites and mobile platforms. Even though China's cross-border shopping is consistently growing, insufficient information is available to Chinese consumers. Hence, this research study is based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and analyzes the factors that influence the behavior of Chinese consumers in cross-border shopping the theory of planned behavior (TPB). The objective of this research is to identify how shopping values, subjective norms, attitudes, and perceived behavior controls influence the behavioral intention of Chinese consumers toward cross-border shopping. The respondents of this study were 20 to 30-year-old Chinese who live in first and second-tier cities in China, and have experienced cross-border shopping. Samples were collected through an online survey website, Sojump (问卷星), and 205 valid questionnaire responses were received. Reliability analysis, factor analysis and SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) were used to validate the measurement model and test the hypotheses with SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 18.0. The findings reveal that the utilitarian values and perceived behavioral controls of Chinese consumers have a positive effect on their attitudes toward cross-border shopping. Furthermore, their behavioral intentions were affected by their attitudes, and their perceived behavioral controls in cross-border shopping excluded subjective norms. The results of the study have implications for Korean fashion retailers who plan to exploit Chinese markets and for the formation of a theoretical basis for cross-border shopping.

This study investigated the impacts of two different health claim regulatory systems, FoSHU (Foods for Specified Health Uses) and FFC (Foods with Function Claims) systems, in Japan on consumer evaluations of food products in terms of healthfulness. The FoSHU system was introduced in 1991 as an individual product approval system to allow product-specific health claims, while the FFC system was introduced lately in 2015 as a notification system like NLEA (Nutrition Labeling and Education Act) in the US. The latter system seems advantageous over the former in terms of shortening the product development period. However, the FoSHU system awards brand with a symbolic logo designed for FoSHU foods, whereas the FFC system does not. Which system leads to higher consumers’ healthfulness perceptions? The results of ANOVA showed that, if the health functions of the food product are not attributed to the product category, but to a specific food product brand, health claims have a strong impact on healthfulness. In contrast, if the health functions are attributed to the entire product category, health claims do not have a strong impact on healthfulness perception. In the latter cases, the FoSHU symbolic logo helps consumers to identify functional foods. Thus, in this study, it is suggested that, in Japan, the new US style health claim regulatory system is affective in the limited product categories. Public policy makers should recognize the important role of the symbolic logo for the previous system and consider introducing another logo to the new system.

In today’s global marketplace, few consumers would bat an eye at a Central European retailer selling products manufactured in the US from raw materials purchased in Asia and Africa. Recently, Finnish connoisseurs of local craft beer were shocked to discover that even their local microbreweries were getting in on the act, albeit somewhat involuntarily. Strict regulations that govern the sale of alcoholic beverages in Finland essentially prevent the smallest breweries from distributing their products in the local market. Ironically, the only way for these small businesses to reach their local customers is through internationalization – setting up an online store across the border and serving the Finnish market from abroad. Drawing on the context of alcohol policy in Finland as an illustrative example, this study demonstrates how global markets can offer small businesses a way to counter unfavorable or discriminative local public policy. The study also illustrates the potential impact that businesses can have on policy by drawing public attention to its shortcomings, and offers implications for practitioners by highlighting the importance of thorough evaluation of policies for possible inconsistencies and outlining possible indicators that such inconsistencies may be present.

We study liberals and conservatives in the United States and Korea to see how they respond to charity advertising that appeals to either equality or proportionality. The findings robustly demonstrate that in both countries, liberals respond more favorably to equality appeals, but conservatives respond more favorably to proportionality appeals. Study 1, conducted in the United States, finds that liberals find equality appeals more effective, but conservatives find proportionality appeals more effective. Study 2, conducted in Korea, shows that liberals (conservatives) estimate that they are more (less) likely to receive rewards for donating when charity advertising uses equality rather than proportionality appeals.

The paper proposes to develop a framework to help examine the factors and processes by which luxury advertising can impact consumer health across the globe. While luxury products such as Burberry and Gucci have been a source of much pride and might accentuate the need for conspicuous consumption (Veblen 1899) within a society, we seek to examine how luxury brands across categories can produce both favorable and unfavorable consequences on consumer health. The model would offer insights into essential factors and processes not only those who aspire such luxury brands, but also for those who have no such desire. With the theoretical underpinnings, the suggested model will draw its predictability powers across the fields of marketing (e.g., branding), psychology (i.e., cognitive dissonance theory, social perception theories) and network theories (social contagion theory). This suggested framework will focus on body image, specifically eating disorders (e.g., anorexia), and will exemplify how luxury brand communication can have quick detrimental effects on young adolescent females across the globe. At the same time, the model will also demonstrate how and what factors can lead the global community down a more healthy socially integrated pathway with luxury branding still being the driving force.

The advances of the Internet open consumers new opportunities to share their consumption experiences, opinions and feelings with others. Online customer reviews (OCRs) are a crucial source of information for consumers and are regarded as one of the most influential types of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in shaping consumer attitudes and facilitating purchase decisions (Plummer, 2007). Prior research has produced a number of valuable insights on OCRs (e.g., Dellarocas, Gao, & Narayan, 2010; Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004; Mayzlin, Dover, & Chevalier, 2014). Especially the influence of OCR valence (positively vs. negatively framed information) has received considerable attention both from practitioners and from scholars (e.g., Xue & Zhou, 2010; Yang & Mai, 2010; Lee et al., 2009). However, we argue that scientific insights on the influence of OCR valence remain limited. Specifically, this paper shows that the level of source credibility (high vs. low) as well as the type of product (search vs. experience good) are important moderators of the influence of OCR valence on several consumer OCR reactions (product attitude, product quality, and product trust) under specific circumstances only. Four hundred and sixteen respondents (70% females, average age 24 years) participated in an experiment with a 2×2×2 between-subjects full factorial design manipulating the OCR valence (positive vs. negative), the source credibility (high vs. low) and the product type (search vs. experience good). Results demonstrate that the effect of positive OCRs from highly credible sources on diverse outcome variables is larger than from low credible sources. By acknowledging Chaiken et al.’s (1989) theoretical extension of the heuristic-systematic model (Chaiken, 1980) we provide empirical evidence that source credibility intensifies the impact of positive OCRs due to the additivity effect. In contrast, credible negative information is not more influential than incredible information. A similar mechanism becomes operational when considering product type. Here, positive OCRs about experience goods have a stronger influence on product evaluations than similarly valenced information about search goods. This research provides further support for the crucial role of credible, positive OCRs in affecting consumer behavior in contrast to their negative counterparts. From a practical perspective, marketers should consider including highly credible OCRs from trustworthy and experienced customers’ peers as decision aids. This can be achieved, for instance, by including personal postings from Facebook. Such a strategy is particularly efficient as positive OCRs increase the consumer’s confidence towards the product while credible negative OCRs are not more harmful than incredible ones.

The expertise, trustworthiness and attractiveness of the information source all positively influence information recipients’ eWOM (Electronic Word-of-Mouth), acceptance of CSR messages, as well as their attitudes to the company.

Marketers increasingly use electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) as a communication tool to pursue consumer purchase intention. Building on brand equity theory, this study extends the traditional argument that the enhancement of consumer repurchase intention by positive brand awareness, image, and relationship is moderated by susceptibility to e-WOM. Electronic WOM enables consumers to search for a variety of user products and experiences over the Internet. Online product reviews are one of the most popular channels through which consumers find product information; these reviews are a powerful example of e-WOM. This channel not only enhances the convenience for consumers in their search for information, it also increases consumers’ brand awareness and image, which are primitive factors in developing a consumer–brand relationship (CBR). For the aforementioned phenomenon, the objective of this research is to comprehend how consumers’ personality traits play a role in the formation of CBR and behavioral intention in response to normative influences. The authors argue that the impact of brand knowledge and the brand relationship on repurchase intention will be weakened in consumers who are highly susceptible to e-WOM. Consumers who are highly susceptible to e-WOM tend to consume and absorb information spreading over social media and are likely to turn their purchasing decision toward other brands. The result discloses the traditional argument that the enhancement of consumer repurchase intention by positive brand awareness, image, and relationship is moderated by susceptibility to e-WOM. Specifically, the argument focuses on how the impact of the brand relationship on repurchase intention is weakened in consumers with high susceptibility to e-WOM. The reason is that consumers with high susceptibility to e-WOM tend to consume and absorb information spreading across social media and are likely to divert their repurchase decision to other brands. In addition, consumers with high susceptibility to e-WOM eradicate the role of brand awareness in developing the CBR. This research idea contributes to the theory of CBR and the topic of e-WOM. Electronic WOM can function as an important tool in communicating the differences among brands in the market. However, this has to be used in congruence with the characteristics of consumers. Neglecting this factor can attenuate the effectiveness and efficiency of the CBR strategy. The research study encourages brand and communication marketers to be more attentive in adopting e-WOM as part of marketing communication.

With increasing income and education, requirements to product quality are getting higher in China. Specifically, people tend to nutrition and health now. Food safety has attracted increasing attention due to its importance. The nutrition claims on packaging became one of the most important standards to decide whether to buy. A great deal of research has focused on consumer responses (e.g., Hieke and Taylor 2012; Parker & Lehmann 2014; Shah et al. 2014) to the influx of product information to markets. Topics of research included the impact on consumers’ beliefs with regards to products (Ford et al. 2005), purchasing behavior (Nikolova and Inman 2015), and information processing behavior (Moorman 1990). The diversity of consumer responses is based on consumer differences (Moorman 1990), and health- and nutrition-related (HNR) claims (Choi et al. 2013). Although a great deal of research has addressed the influence of product information disclosure on the market, these studies have focused almost exclusively on developed economies. Going forward it is very likely that emerging markets will play a more important part in corporate strategic planning, as opposed to something considered after making plans for long developed markets. Thus, the impact of market information is likely to matter more and more to those global marketers operating in emerging markets. To fill the research gaps, we investigated how the existence and forms of nutrition claims affect the purchase intention of consumers in China. We explore the moderating role of consumer’s nutrition knowledge. We combine simulation experiment and questionnaire and design two experiments: Experiment 1 is about the existence of nutrition claims, we want to know how the existence of nutrition claims affects the purchase intention of consumers. Experiment 2 which is 2(health claims Vs function claims)×2 (promotion Vs prevention) test is to find out how the claim presentation forms impact the purchase intention of consumers. In experiment 1, we required the subjects to choose one setting randomly and fill in the questionnaires according to their choices. We collected 315 effective questionnaires of experiment 1and 156 effective questionnaires of experiment 2. The results show that: (1) The existence of nutrition claims affects the purchase intention of consumers. specifically, compared with the product without health claims, consumers tend to choose the one with health claims, and compared with the product without function claims, consumers tend to choose the one with health claims.(2)Nutrition knowledge plays a positively role. Nutrition knowledge can change the effect of the existence of health claims and function claims on purchase intention.(3) Consumer trust only plays a partly moderate role. The consumer trust can increase the effect of the existence of function claims but not health claims on purchase intention.(4)The forms of nutrition claims affect consumers purchase intention. Consumers tend to choose the product with promotion claims more than the one with prevention claims.(5) Nutrition knowledge plays a positively role, it can improve the effect of the forms of health claims on purchase intention. The more nutritional knowledge does consumers comprehend, the more sensitive to the product with promotion claims they are.(6)Consumer trust also plays a positively role. The higher Consumer trust does consumers maintain, the more sensitive to the product with promotion claims they are.

Many software enterprises prefer to use usual entrepreneurial approaches and make detailed business plans, which cost them a lot of time and resources. In the highly uncertain environment, the above practice lead to fail at business or entrepreneurship. To avoid the undesirable feature, software enterprises should adopt lean start-up method. The core idea of lean start-up method is to put in a minimalist prototype on the market, and fast iterative product on the basis of customer feedback (Ries, 2011). Because customers are introduced to the products or service iterative innovation process, the enterprise can meet the needs of the market better and grow up rapidly. Meanwhile, the enterprise can find a suitable business model to achieve efficient operation or reduce the risk of entrepreneurship (Maurya, 2013). Combining case study and theoretical deduction, this paper will show a process for software enterprise using lean start-up method. Firstly, based on literature reviews, the paper will sum up the basic logic of lean start-up and specifically expatiate the five-step model for software enterprises which is “idea generation-customer validation-prototype creation-customer feedback-product iteration”. Secondly, this paper will give a lean start-up process for software enterprises. In the process, the first step is drawing a business model canvas rather than a detailed business plan, it may include nine blocks which are key partners, key activities, key resources, value propositions, customer relationships, channels, customer segments, cost structure and revenue streams, each block has a series of hypotheses (Blank, 2013). The second step is adopting the customer development method to test these hypotheses and adjust irrational hypotheses to satisfy customers’ requirements, this step is referred to as validated learning, with the aim of setting up a continuous customer feedback channel and achieving long-term sustainable development. The third step is adopting agile development to build minimum viable product and iterative the product according to customer feedback quickly, in order to reduce waste and save resources. It is essential for lean start-up to use a smaller, faster iterative process to verify the idea (Ries, 2011). Thirdly, this paper will use several typical cases of software enterprises to verify this lean start-up process. Finally, put forward the general rule of lean management so that it can provide reference for the software enterprises.

The increasing competition in recent years made more and more firms regard strategic alliance as an important alternative and solution to respond to fierce competition. As a kind of system arrangement among firms, the concept of strategic alliance was first proposed by Hopland and Nigel in the early 1980s, who defined strategic alliance as the collaboration mode in which two or more firms, aiming at joint-owned both market and resources, formed the kind of cooperation to enhance advantages, share risk or cost, and also mutual flow of production factors via different kinds of contracts or agreement. However, even before this definition, many firms have already begun their alliance strategies practices. As a cooperative form, strategic alliance, no matter its specific types, becomes one key choice for firms to acquire, maintain and enhance their market shares and positions. Shrader (2001) found that collaboration to foreign firms become key methods for newly-founded firms and small firms to enter foreign markets, which can bring these firms with suitable knowledge and market information, making these firms expand even faster with lower costs and market risks. The enhancing pace of globalization and internationalization triggered firms’ attentions to external markets, Archibugi and Iammarino (2002) found that fierce changes in internal market forced firms to expand their market and product scopes, making more and more firms realize product and R&D internationalization by searching, choosing and collaborating with foreign firms. Dong and Glaister (2006) found Chinese firms cared more about market positions, international expansion and technology exchanges, while foreign firms tended to enter to Chinese market and learn how to operate in China via strategic alliances. Although, many scholars brought out managerial practices of firms’ strategic alliances, and had already formed theoretical foundations, researches related to market orientation, especially how alliance firms establish and realize their strategic goals and performance goals under market motivation is still lack of studies. In reality, the mechanism how firms’ alliance intention transformed into their strategic or performance goals is still in the black box. Taken alliance firms as research objectives, this paper tends to explore how firms constructed strategic alliance due to market-orientation realize their strategic or performance goals via choice of patent strategies. We introduced patent strategies to establish the matching model, to analyze how firms market orientation influence choices of patent strategies, and their mutual effects on firms innovative performance, in hope to provide to the future studies and managerial practice how firms can choose the reasonable and effective alliance partners according to their own strategic and performance goals. Based on differentiation of market access and market extension motivation, we pointed out that, in order to realize the transformation from alliance motivation to innovation performance, alliance firms had to choose and determine among a set of practical and operational plans. Patent strategies, as a kind of operational plan, were conducive to transformation from alliance motivation to innovation performance. With the framework of market motivation, patent strategy and firms innovative performance, we put forward the hypotheses on how market motivation affect firms’ choices of patent strategies, and also the joint effects of market motivation and patent strategies on firm innovative performance. We selected alliance firms in IT industry as samples, with data from Cooperative Agreements and Technology Indicators Database, USPTO and R&D Scoreboard released by Department for Business, Innovation & Skills of UK, we empirically tested effects of market motivation on choices of patent strategies, and also effects of market motivation and patent strategies on firms innovative performance. Results showed that: different market positions led to differentiated motivations and patent strategies in their strategic alliances, firms with relatively weak market positions tend to pursue strategic profile of patent defensive and leveraging strategies under market access motivation, while firms with strong positions would like to implement patent proprietary and leveraging strategies in market extension motivation. The implementation of patent defensive and leveraging strategies under market access motivation enhanced innovation efficiency of the firms with weak market positions. Since these firms focused more on market positions and opportunities, their market capitalization tended to improve, but the motivation and utilization of patent strategies had no effect on patent output. Similar to these firms, the ones with stronger market position were inclined to strengthen their market opportunities and improve their market capitalization. Results indicated that because of their stronger market positions, these firms showed lower awareness of innovation efficiency and their emphasis on patent output was not high either, which then led to the fact that both market extension motivation and patent strategies used had no effects on firms innovative performance measured by innovation efficiency or patent output.

This paper examines the determinates of subsidiary product innovation in the Chinese market based on a sample 680 EU subsidiaries over the period of 1998-2009. To date, the literature on EU subsidiaries has failed to consider product innovation in the marketing strategy interplay in approaching new markets overseas. Building on Resource Based view linked with Chinese institutional factors, it empirically examines the inferential product innovation strategy in an EU-China context. By applying the econometric analyses techniques to investigate innovation determinants and to test the presence of agglomeration effect of past innovation activities. The results show EU MNC subsidiaries’ innovation is influenced by both host country institutions and firm capabilities, rendering support to the theory. The analysis indicates EU subsidiaries’ innovation is positively related to firm advertisement, labour training and host market size. R&D expenditure has a negative bearing on innovation. However, openness has a negative and significant effect on product innovation in China. The findings have important implications for theory, practitioners and policy-making. This study contributes to the literature on the evolution of MNCs by exploring determinants of developed foreign subsidiaries’ innovation activities in emerging markets.