As manufacturers face demand uncertainty and new retailing practices, such as filling frequent, small replenishment orders, agility has become an important competitive tool. By sourcing globally, manufacturing firms can reduce production costs, but may not be agile enough to meet retailers' needs on a timely basis. To minimize the cost/agility trade‐off, many firms are combining global and domestic sourcing. However, factors to be considered for mixed strategies have not been suggested. Based on Bucklin's concepts of postponement and speculation, this study tried to find the ideal point, "I", at which the optimal amount of global and domestic sourcing can be formulated considering the total cost and delivery time simultaneously. In mixing domestic and global sourcing to reach the optimum profit, this study provided four conditions under which the larger portion of domestic sourcing can be formulated: greater level of demand uncertainly, information and manufacturing technology, local subcontractor clusters, and long‐term relationship with a subcontractor.
This second volume in the Palgrave Studies in Practice: Global Fashion Management series focuses on core strategies of branding and communication of European luxury and premium brands. Brand is a critical asset many firms strive to establish, maintain, and grow. It is more so for fashion companies when consumers purchase styles, dreams and symbolic images through a brand. The volume starts with an introductory chapter that epitomizes the essence of fashion brand management with a particular emphasis on emerging branding practices, challenges and trends in the fashion industry. The subsequent five cases demonstrate how a family workshop from a small town can grow into a global luxury or premium brand within a relatively short amount of time. Scholars and practitioners in fashion, retail, branding, and international business will learn how companies can establish a strong brand identity through innovative strategies and management.
This book provides a comprehensive view on the internationalization of fashion brands, offering academic and managerial insights into how fashion brands in diverse sizes can build and sustain their businesses in competitive global marketplaces. This book takes a critical look at the global-by-nature fashion industry through a collection of actual cases from multiple countries and cultural backgrounds
The first volume in the Palgrave Studies in Practice: Global Fashion Brand Management series, this book provides a comprehensive view on the internationalization of fashion brands, offering unique academic and managerial insights into how fashion brands in diverse sizes can build and sustain their businesses in competitive global marketplaces. It explores the theories and trends occurring within the fashion industry, one of the most active sectors of internationalization. The majority of global fashion brands operate beyond their home countries, yet not much is known about the ventures that generate more than half of their revenues. This book takes a critical look at the global-by-nature fashion industry through a collection of actual cases from multiple countries and cultural backgrounds.
Purpose– Corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication is a strategy to address companies' goodwill to the society. Based on the institutional theory suggesting the influence of environmental factors of companies' country-of-origins on their marketing practices, the purpose of this paper is to explore and compare the CSR communication practices of apparel firms from different countries.Design/methodology/approach– As a case study approach, this study investigates six apparel firms' CSR communication disclosures on the official websites using a content analysis method and the Global Reporting Initiative's categorial CSR reporting guidelines.Findings– Findings revealed that the six firms' CSR communication adoption levels and focusses varied; the USA firms largely focussed on labor issues, while the European firms focussed on environmental issues and the Asian firms centered on social issues.Research limitations/implications– Although this study has limitations that pertain to case studies in general, this study provides academic contributions to the literature and managerial implications about different CSR focusses and communication activities across countries.Originality/value– CSR is especially important for the apparel business that highly involves social issues such as labor-intensive production. However, limited research showed how apparel firms are actually communicating CSR. This study was one of the early attempts on this topic.
Purpose Most marketing practices assume that consumers will buy when prices are low. This assumption, however, may not always hold true. Employing equity theory and Veblen's theory of the leisure class, this study tested two moderating effects to ascertain the relationship between perceived price and purchase intention. The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to examine the relationship between perceived price and willingness to purchase; second, to discover the effects of two moderators (perceived price fairness and vanity) on this relationship; and third, to compare how these moderating effects differ by consumers' brand familiarity.
Design/methodology/approach A total of 287 usable data sets were collected from college students in the southeastern region of the USA.
Findings The findings showed no negative relationship between perceived price and willingness to purchase. Only perceived price fairness was found to moderate the perceived price–purchase intention relationship. Furthermore, the moderating effect of price fairness was only confirmed in the high brand familiarity group, while the moderating effect of vanity was only confirmed in the low brand familiarity group.
Research limitations/implications Generalization of the findings is cautioned because findings may vary by demographic backgrounds.
Practical implications Since purchase intention increases when price is fair even though price is high, marketers should put efforts into promoting and creating the perception of fair price of their products and brands.
Originality/value This study extends price perception research by incorporating two theories (equity theory and Veblen's theory of the leisure class) that help further elaborate the relationship between perceived price and willingness to purchase.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to extend our understanding of the development of small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) organizational capabilities and their contributions to export performance by incorporating two antecedents: one from the internal environment (international entrepreneurial orientation) and another from the external environment (domestic market competition).Design/methodology/approachA proposed framework built on resource-based view and contingency theory was tested using partial least squares with data collected from 470 Korean SMEs.FindingsInternational entrepreneurial orientation and domestic market competition both prompted SMEs to develop their technological and marketing capabilities, leading to enhanced performance in international markets. Full mediating effects of technological and marketing capabilities were discovered between international entrepreneurial orientation and export performance.Practical implicationsGiven the direct effect of organizational capabilities on export performance, SMEs should facilitate the spirit of international entrepreneurial orientation and heightened managerial awareness of domestic market competition to efficiently cultivate organizational capabilities.Originality/valueUnique findings indicate that SME capabilities can be optimally cultivated under the coexistence of an internal impetus (i.e. international entrepreneurial orientation) and a harsh external environment (i.e. domestic competition), demonstrating the significance of context in developing organizational capabilities.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine whether preference toward in‐group members can serve as opportunism governance in channel relationships in a collectivist culture. This study proposes a model of opportunism incorporating in‐group preference and trust as antecedents of opportunism. Based on Transaction Cost Economics and Social Exchange Theory, transaction‐specific investment and relationship length are employed in the model as confounding variables of in‐group preference for opportunism and trust.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 109 Korean department store buyers and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (EQS 6.0).FindingsThe results showed that buyers' in‐group preference increased buyers' trust toward suppliers and decreased suppliers' opportunistic behavior. Buyers' increased trust toward suppliers was found to reduce suppliers' opportunistic behavior. Further, Trust was significantly influenced by supplier TSI, but not by length of relationship. On the other hand, opportunism was significantly influenced by length of relationship, but not by supplier TSI.Research limitations/implicationsThis study examined only the positive side of in‐group membership. Some criticisms of in‐group preference are favoritism, interference with fair competition, and collective blindness, any of which might decrease the efficiency of business operations. These impacts should be examined to gain a balanced view of the implications of in‐group preference in business settings.Practical implicationsMultinational companies should understand that in‐group membership is an important source of building trust and oppressing opportunism in the Korean market. Multinational companies can strategically approach in‐group members of business partners to become members of those in‐groups.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical study to examine collectivists' tendencies toward in‐group preference as opportunism governance.
Purpose Country image determines consumers' beliefs toward the country's products, through halo effect. While the relevant literature is predominantly focused on the context of well-known products from traditionally leading exporters, the purpose of this paper is to examine the two levels of halo effect (i.e. country image as halo and a well-known product category as halo) on a less-known product category from a recently developed country.
Design/methodology/approach The purpose of study was carried out by using a quantitative approach. Survey responses were collected from 253 US consumers who are aged between 18 and 67 years. This study only examined South Korea and used the two selected product categories (i.e. cell phones and apparel) as samples for the study.
Findings The results of a series of regression analyses confirmed that the positive images of South Korea and Korean cell phones served as halo, thereby enhancing the respondents' beliefs toward Korean apparel, which is a less-known product category that they have not yet experienced. Further, the respondents' positive beliefs toward both cell phones and apparel increased their purchase intentions of those two products.
Research limitations/implications The findings of this study imply that the general country image and the country's well-known product images are critical in introducing the country's less-known product to foreign markets.
Originality/value The originality of this study lies in its unique focus on relatively less-known product category of a recently developed country (i.e. Korean apparel), which received limited attention in the past research. This study is also one of the few attempts to examine the role of a country's well-known products on the country's less-known products, another level of halo effect in country image.
PurposeDrawing on the resource-based view, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the link between resource capabilities and performance by incorporating two network dimensions (i.e. social and business networks), a moderator (i.e. international experience) and a mediator (i.e. marketing capabilities).Design/methodology/approachSME data were collected via surveys. A sampling frame of 3,000 exporting manufactures was developed based on a database sourced from the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The authors first contacted the managers of each firm in the sampling frame through e-mail or phone to receive permission, and then sent a paper questionnaire. The authors analyzed 392 valid cases using a path analysis.FindingsThe findings largely confirmed the hypotheses in the proposed framework based on the RBV. While social networks only enhanced marketing capabilities and did not directly lead to international performance, business networks enhanced both. Also, unlike social networks, the influence of SME business networks on international performance was weakened as international experience increased. This study found that marketing capabilities mediated the path from business networks to international performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe study explained the distinctive roles played by social and business networks in international performance, extending our knowledge of the RBV by showing how firm resources can turn into sustainable competitive advantages. More importantly, the integration of time into the discussion on networks and international performance extended the business network internationalization process model.Practical implicationsThe authors suggest that Korean SMEs focus on developing their own marketing capabilities by capitalizing on their social and business networks, which could directly enhance international performance. Governments can also offer assistance to SMEs for developing their own marketing capabilities during the initial stages of internationalization, since the benefit of business networks diminishes as international experience increases.Originality/valueBy testing the proposed link between resource capabilities and performance, this study suggested how SME networks can contribute to international performance, extending our understanding of RBV. This study further confirmed the dynamic impact of business networks on international performance, such that it changes over the course of the internationalization process.
PurposeThis study seeks to examine the influence of market orientation on Chinese buyer‐supplier relations. A model is proposed depicting relationships among retailer market orientation, supplier market intelligence, supplier role performance, and retailer economic and social satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 99 chain store buyers and managers from 25 cities in China. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.FindingsA retailer's market orientation is critical for its own economic and social satisfaction by increasing supplier market intelligence (MI) and supplier role performance.Practical implicationsRetailers' MO increased supplier MI and role performance. This study found that economic performance was more important in channel relationships than social relationships. Therefore, suppliers should focus on improving retailers' economic satisfaction through role performance and market intelligence rather than social satisfaction.Originality/valuePrevious MO literature has focused primarily on the firm's performance and ignored the interactive aspect of business performance among channel members. The current study fills this gap by demonstrating the significant influences of retailer MO on supplier MI and on supplier role performance, as well as on retailer satisfaction – both the economic and social components. To the authors' knowledge, the current study is the first to relate retailer MO, supplier MI, and supplier role performance to two types of retailer satisfaction – i.e. economic and social satisfaction.
AbstractBuilt on the categorization theory and Herzberg's dual‐factor theory, this study consisted of two experiments to investigate how and when small brands were affected by the corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance of other brands in the same product category. This study specifically focused on the type of CSR publicity (positive vs. negative), brand fit (high vs. low), and other brands' leadership positions (high vs. low). The results of Study 1 (156 U.S. consumers) revealed that a leading brand's CSR activities can increase consumers' CSR expectations toward another big brand more than that toward a small brand, by setting up consumers' CSR expectation standards toward the industry as a whole. That is, the big brand's CSR performance was less likely to increase CSR expectations toward the small brand. Study 2 (244 U.S. consumers) confirmed that a brand's CSR activities positively influence its product attitude. In addition, the effect of a small brand's negative CSR publicity on its product attitude was mitigated by other brands' similar publicity. In contrast, other brands' publicity did not amplify the effect of a small brand's positive CSR publicity. These findings manifested small brands were conditionally influenced by other brands in the same category. This suggested that small brands should strategically allocate resources to fulfill CSR by determining their position relative to leading brands as well as to other players in the market.
Purpose It is critical to understand how global consumers evaluate the quality of Asian products while marketing Asian products in the global marketplaces. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of Korea's macro and micro country image and global consumers' materialism level on the quality evaluation of Korean cosmetics among consumers in four countries.
Design/methodology/approach Data from 900 participants were collected from consumers aged 20 or older living in economically developed countries (the USA and France) and economically developing countries (China and Vietnam) via professional online survey firms. Multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data.
Findings Along with the direct effect of macro and micro country image and materialism on product quality evaluation, a moderating effect of materialism and the respective country was discovered. Subsequently, the effect of macro country image on quality evaluation was found to be only significant in the USA and France and not in China and Vietnam. In contrast, the impact of micro country image was robust across all four countries. Furthermore, the effect of materialism on product quality was significant only in Vietnam. This implies that materialistic consumers in emerging markets might have favorable perceptions regarding the quality of Korean cosmetics.
Originality/value This study advances country image research by providing new theoretical and managerial implications for countries whose image is less distinctive with respect to the effective marketing of products by the destination countries' development status and consumers' familiarity.
