Special issue call for papers from Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration
Special issue: Connecting brands, consumers and companies in Asia: research, relevance and rigour
Guest edited by: Professor T.C. Melewar, Middlesex University London, UK
Associate Professor Bang Nguyen, East China University of Science and Technology, China
Professor Bill Merrilees, Griffith University, Australia
Emerald Publishing is extending an invitation and call for papers for a Special Issue of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration (APJBA) focused on the theme of brands, consumers and companies in Asia-Pacific. The invitation is to scholars generally, but to scholars in the Asia Pacific region in particular, in the quest to contribute a regional voice to this growing research area.
Guest Editors
Professors Melewar, Nguyen and Merrilees have research interests and publications in the areas of corporate branding and consumer behaviour. Professor Melewar has particular interests in corporate identity and brand image. Dr Nguyen has special interests in brand perceptions and consumer behaviour. Professor Merrilees has interests in corporate branding, strategy and retailing.
Background to proposed Special Issue
There is a growing interest in understanding the relationship between Asian brands, consumers and companies among academics and practitioners alike. While some parts of Asia are often known to provide platforms for inexpensive manufacturing, other parts are known for high quality, originality and innovativeness. The diversity of the Asian countries provides a perplexing environment to the development and management of brands, consumers and companies (Frazer and Merrilees, 2012). Differing cultures, economic development stages, resources, politics and consumption behaviours require multiple strategic directions emphasising different things in different markets (Melewar and Saunders, 1998). The belief that bottom line profits is enough for a company, is often not favourably viewed by Asian countries emphasising collective, social and long-term benefits for the people and country (Chen et al., 2013). Due to these complexities, we view the study of the relationship between brands, consumers and companies in Asia-Pacific to be a timely topic for further investigation.
To date, there are limited empirical studies in understanding Asian brands, consumers and companies in a comprehensive discourse (e.g. Wong and Merrilees, 2007). Little is known about how brands are perceived in Asia, the type of research methods used to understand consumer behaviour, and how companies are operationalized successfully. How brands, consumers and companies inter-relate and work in different Asian countries are issues still unanswered. Existing concepts and managerial implications are insufficient and often outdated in this fast changing continent.
Exploring brands, consumers and companies in Asia-Pacific is vital for developing and managing positively perceived brands that help a company achieve higher levels of performance (Tuan, 2012). For example, in Asian markets, areas such as relationship building and a ‘‘benefit-the-country’’ attitude are more important than investing enormous amounts in advertising (LaForet and Chen, 2012). By understanding how desirable brands are created in Asia, companies can induce a higher propensity to buy from a particular source, consequently leading to consumer patronage (Balabanis et al., 2002). For marketers, a greater understanding of consumers’ decision-making processes influences decisions towards efficient use of marketing resources, saving costs and increasing profits. Finally, by exploring the myriad of companies that exist in Asia, it is possible to benchmark best practices to achieve sustainable competitive advantages, contributing to higher levels of goodwill and improved reputation. More recently, many countries in the Asia Pacific have become economic engine-rooms in the global market for the supply of brands.
Further, there is greater competition among local and transnational companies for growing markets and consumers’ share-of-wallet.
Hence, the scope of this special issue is on brands, consumers and companies in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Guest Editors welcome papers with original perspective and advanced thinking linked to these areas of research. Submissions will be assessed through a double-blind peer review process, and should offer suitable innovative insights based on rigorous and thoughtful conceptualisation, literature review, empirical studies and case studies into issues surrounding, but not necessarily limited to the following research arenas:
. The management, marketing and branding practices in Asia at both
consumer and corporate levels
. Brand identity, image and reputation in Asia
. Cross-cultural studies of brands, consumers and companies
. Consumption and consumer behaviour within the Asian context
. Place branding in Asia
. Case studies of Asian brands, consumers and companies
. Conceptual papers developing new branding concepts in Asia
. Tourism and hospitality marketing and research
. Services marketing in Asia
. Comparisons of brands, customers and companies, including
between and across types, sectors and countries
. Development of framework, models and theories exploring linkages
between brands, customers and companies in Asia.
Please contact one of the Guest Editors with your proposal (maximum 500 words)
T.C. Melewar ([email protected])
Bang Nguyen ([email protected])
Bill Merrilees ([email protected])
Submission details
Submissions to Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts, the online submission and peer review system. Registration and access is available at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/apjba Full information and guidance on using ScholarOne Manuscripts is available at the Emerald ScholarOne Manuscripts Support Centre: http://msc.emeraldinsight.com
The deadline for manuscript submission is 30 September 2014.
References
Balabanis, G., Mueller, R. and Melewar, T.C. (2002), ‘‘The human values’ lenses of country of origin images’’, International Marketing Review, Vol. 19 No. 6, pp. 582-610.
Chen, J., Nguyen, B. and Klaus, P. (2013), ‘‘Public affairs in China: exploring the role of brand fairness perceptions in the case of Mercedes-Benz’’, Journal of Public Affairs, early view.
Frazer, L. and Merrilees, B. (2012), ‘‘Pioneering Asian franchise brands: Pho24 in Vietnam’’, Journal of Marketing Channels, Vol. 10 No. 4, pp. 295-309.
LaForet, S. and Chen, J. (2012), ‘‘Chinese and British consumers’ evaluation of Chinese and international brands and factors affecting their choice’’, Journal of World Business, Vol. 47 No. 1, pp. 54-63.
Melewar, T.C. and Saunders, J. (1998), ‘‘Global corporate visual identity systems: standardization, control and benefits’’, International Marketing Review, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 291-308.
Tuan, L.T. (2012),‘‘Behind brand performance’’, Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 42-57.
Wong, H. and Merrilees, B.(2007),‘‘Multiple roles for branding in international marketing’’, International Marketing Review, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 384-408.