No abstract

The effects of acculturation and assimilation are significant parts of consumer research. However, a void exists in cross-cultural research with a near-absence of assimilation studies involving country-of-origin (CO) images. The current study fills this void by examining the extent of assimilation of host country CO stereotypes. CO stereotypes are examined for immigrants, first generation and more rooted citizens. The results of confirmatory factor analysis of CO perceptions regarding two different products from two different source countries endorse the potential value of assimilation/acculturation as a segmentation dimension. Our findings also indicate that the assimilation process is more gradual than can be expected based on the melting-pot theory.

Purpose-Manufacturer price reduction pressure on suppliers is an important contributor to helping a manufacturer maintain a strong competitive position by keeping costs low. The benefits of trusting supplier working relations also help strengthen a manufacturer's competitive position. The purpose of this paper is to determine if manufacturer price reduction pressure and trusting working relations with the pressured suppliers, typically considered to be mutually exclusive, can co-exist. Design/methodology/approach-A structural equation modeling approach was used to analyze data covering 946 production buying situations involving 279 suppliers and six NA automotive OEMs. Findings-Manufacturer price reduction pressure and trusting working relations with the pressured suppliers, are not mutually exclusive, they can coexist. Research limitations/implications-The research found that it is not the pressure that impacts the manufacturer-supplier relations, but rather it is the manner by which the manufacturer goes about pressuring its suppliers that impacts its supplier working relations. The research, however, does not directly address how a manufacturer can achieve both ends simultaneously. Practical implications-Manufacturers no longer have to choose between exerting price reduction pressures on suppliers or working to achieve trusting relations with suppliers. They can successfully do both. At the same time, suppliers must recognize that these conditions may occur and when applied simultaneously ultimately benefit both parties. Originality/value-This research adds to the critically under-researched B2B pricing processes and pricing impact areas, while helping to influence managerial actions, an area in which academic B2B research is considered to be lacking.

Customer service is often described as consisting of a set of measurable elements. Similarly, market response to customer service may be viewed as consisting of a set of components which are measurable. Most published empirical studies of the relationship between customer service and market response, however, have represented market response through the use of a single measure. The results of an empirical study of interset association between two sets of measures, one representing the elements of customer service (measured in service levels) and the other representing various forms of market response, are reported. Canonical correlation analysis of data collected from 91 grocery channel dyads indicated (as expected) a closer association of market response with customer perceptions of customer service than with supplier perceptions of the same. Also presented, is the contribution of individual measures to the close association between market response and customer perceptions of customer service.

Adversarial price reduction pressures are often viewed negatively by suppliers to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). However, the practice of using price pressure on suppliers is fairly common in numerous industries throughout the world, and literature is unclear on this issue. The current research seeks to challenge the proposition that price pressure on suppliers necessarily results in poor supplier-OEM relationships and to find out whether price reduction tactics and good relationship can exist simultaneously. An eight-construct research model with overall relations as the dependent variable and with price pressure and other OEM subjected pressures (like quality expectations) as the exogenous variables is tested using data collected from North American, European, and Asian suppliers to OEMs who manufacture automobile heavy vehicles and electronic products. Analysis using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling revealed the existence of similarities and differences between the two data sets. While the automobile data set revealed that the impact of pressure takes place mostly through the relationship variables, the electronics industry data set displayed some direct relationship as well as relationships through the relationship variables. The findings of this research indicate that price pressure and good overall supplier-OEM relationship can coexist if managers take steps to maintain good supplier-OEM relationship.