Editorial

Citation

Phau, I. (2011), "Editorial", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 23 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/apjml.2011.00823caa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Volume 23, Issue 3

The third issue of 2011 has observed a trend of research focus in India as well as a continued interest in marketing of services. This issue is a compilation of nine papers of a spectrum of topics that are of interest to practitioners and researchers alike.

The issue opens with a study from Nitin Gupta examining the effects of globalization on the culture and behavioral traits of Indian consumers. It was found that consumers’ predisposition towards foreign brand of Indian consumers have a significant impact on their materialistic values. There were also observed differences between various demographic variables and consumer behavioural traits. The second paper by Rajat Roy and Ryan Chau explores how successful global brands and local brands can compete based on the consumer based brand equity and consumers’ status seeking motivations to purchase global versus local brands. It was found that a global brand is preferred in comparison to a local brand. However, it varies according to consumers’ status seeking motivations. It is also found that Australians prefer a local brand, whereas non-Australians prefer global brands. The next paper by Guda Sridhar and Debiprasad Mishra examines product adaptation in rural markets. Using an exploratory approach, the authors found that contingency theory can be well applied to product adaption in rural markets.

The next set of papers addresses the growing interest in services marketing in the Indian context and the UAE. Ajith Paninchukunnath and Anita Goyal explore the facets within service worker behaviours and service setting that contribute to consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction during critical service encounter in the context of interpersonal services in elaborate servicescape. The findings of the study are useful for managers in identifying dominant behaviours and service setting facets that enable better management of service encounters. The next paper by Manoj Edward and Sunil Sahadev explores the relationships between switching costs and perceived value, perceived service quality, customer satisfaction and customer retention among consumers of mobile telephone service providers in India. The findings from the studies shed valuable insights on customer retention and suggest a combined strategy of increasing satisfaction and switching costs both independently and in tandem. The next paper looks at the significance of automated service factors, customer trust and delight in customer commitment within the UAE banking context. Mohammad Ahmad Al-hawari found that automated factors have a direct and positive influence on customer delight, which also influence customer trust and customer commitment. The contributions of the study has a lot of potential in assisting bank managers in strengthening customer-bank relationships.

The next paper is an empirical study examining the long term elements that can promote long term franchising relationship between franchisor and franchisees of convenience stores in Taiwan. John McDonnell, Amanda Beatson and Chih-Hsuan Huang found that relationship quality is positively correlated with the cooperation between franchisors and franchisees and franchisee loyalty. The study has highlighted the areas that small business owners can focus on in order to enhance competitive advantage. The next paper by Mu-Chen Chen, Kuo-Chien Chang, Chia-Lin Hsu and I-Ching Yang looks at the categorization of home delivery quality elements derived from service convenience model and their impact on customer satisfaction. Based on the Kano model, it was found that customers’ perception of home delivery service elements are classified into one-dimensional and must-be attributes. Finally, Phuc Nguyen and Lin Crase investigate and extend the Vietnam state-owned-enterprise (SOE) reform debate using Williamson’s Transaction Economics. Using MANOVA on within firm logistic processes of international multimodal transport in Vietnam, it was found that SOEs were as efficient as non-SOEs. The study provided suggestions and highlighted the need for further research incorporating the wider motivation for the SOE reform.

It is with gratitude that we thank the EAB and reviewers who have consistently provided timely and quality feedback to us. Furthermore, it is my pleasure to thank the authors who have contributed papers of high calibre to the Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics. From this issue, I hope the papers have generated some interesting findings and insights for future research.

Ian Phau