Purpose: Previous literature suggests that people might purchase symbolic products to signal their social identity. However, in the organizational context, subordinates as customers might choose products with less brand prestige than what they want and can afford, just to make sure their...

Purpose: Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory and the motivation-opportunity-ability (MOA) framework, this study examines how salespersons' self-monitoring and psychological capital influence sales performance. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses survey data from 293...

Purpose: This study aims to explore the overall relationship between a boundary spanner and a partner firm, i.e. boundary spanner closeness to partner firm. Drawing on consumer-service provider relationship literature and the tripartite model of affect-behavior-cognition, the authors identify...

Purpose: How to determine the appropriate contractual structure for an outsourcing relationship has been a major theme in the business process outsourcing (BPO) literature. Drawing on transaction cost economics, this study aims to examine how anticipated coordination and adaptation costs in a...

Purpose: This study aims to summarize the important contextual influences East Asian philosophy may have on marketing strategy and consumerism. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach is used to deconstruct (1) the literature on marketing as a contextual discipline, (2) East Asian...

Purpose: From an environmental psychology perspective, we aim to uncover the role that app discoverability facilitators play in enabling the various perceived values (e.g. social, information and hedonic) necessary for app adoption. Design/methodology/approach: A survey study was conducted and...

Provides insight into the planning abilities of smallretailers faced with an uncertain environment. When faced with such anenvironment, retailers must adopt strategies designed to maximize theirprofits. A conceptual model linking uncertainty with firm performance andpromotion budget allocation...

1. Main topics and research framework of Chinese firms' international branding strategies / Zouhao Hu and Zhilin Yang -- 2. Development and main contents of international branding research / Xuenan Ju, Zuohao Hu and Zhilin Yang -- 3. Two perspectives of international marketing : standardization...

The aim of this study is to explore how relational gatekeepers facilitate the development of relationships between out-group members and in-group members in an intercultural business environment, and to bring to the surface the inter-cultural and inter-networked nuances of guanxi. Based on...

Based on organizational learning and networking theories, this study examines the effects of organizational learning (explorative and exploitative learning) and guanxi (business and political ties) on business performance. Business guanxi is classified as a channel networking tie, while...