Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to re-conceptualize the distinction between global and local brands, providing a more comprehensive framework, which considers both geographical distribution and ownership. It examines main and interactive effects of consumers’ perceptions of these factors, and studies how ethnocentrism (CET) and price affect brand evaluations, considering a range of price difference thresholds. Design/methodology/approach – A preliminary study (n=243) examined main and interaction effects of brand globalness and ownership on consumers’ brand quality attitudes and purchase intentions in four different product categories. The main study (n=558) further explored brand ownership effects by examining the interaction of CET and price differences. Findings – The preliminary study confirmed the distinctiveness of brand globalness and ownership. Consumers evaluated global (vs non-global) brands more positively, regardless of brand ownership (local vs foreign). The main study found that effects of price and CET varied considerably across product categories. Research limitations/implications – Limitations include the use of student samples from a single country (Thailand), and of scenarios instead of real life purchase decisions. Practical implications – The findings suggest that perceived brand globalness positively impacts brand evaluations. Companies may cultivate a global brand image by emphasizing global cues. Local origin allows (global) brands to command a price premium, although this varies across product categories. An emphasis on globalness seems valuable, especially for local brands. Originality/value – This research offers a refined conceptualization of brand globalness, a key construct in international marketing. Additional value is provided by studying price effects, which have received limited attention in international marketing, and substantial data collection (total N>800) in an understudied yet important economy (Thailand).

Purpose-the present study examined the similarities and differences between young consumers in Indonesia and Thailand based on actionable and strategy-yielding marketing variables (e.g., Machiavellianism, ethical orientations, trust, opportunism, and materialism) and secondly, it examined the impact of these variables on consumer ethics. Design/methodological/approach-a convenience sample of university students from a large private university in Yogyakarta (Indonesia) and a large public university in Chiang Mai (Thailand) were asked to complete a survey that incorporated scales to measure consumers' ethical beliefs, specifically, Machiavellianism, ethical orientation, opportunism, trust, and materialism, as well as demographic classification questions. Findings-the findings showed that young Indonesian and Thai consumers display similarities on most of the constructs. Moreover, the study found that personal moral philosophies (i.e., idealism and relativism) and trust strongly influence their judgment in ethically intense situations in both countries. Research limitation-the current study has several limitations, especially the use of convenience sampling that may limit the generalizability of the findings. Students in Indonesia and Thailand may behave differently from general consumers or other cohorts with regards to their ethical judgments. Practical implications-therefore, since personal ethical positions are developed over a lifetime of experiences in dealing with and resolving moral issues (Forsyth, et al. 2008), schools and universities should intervene and educate youth on acting in ways that are consistent with moral rules. Currently, universities and schools in Indonesia and Thailand and many other countries in developing countries do not promote this knowledge to students. Originality-this is one of the first studies exploring consumer ethics in Indonesia and Thailand.

Purpose This paper aims to examine the relationship between stakeholders’ perceived benefits and happiness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that follow Thai’s corporate sustainability practices, called sufficiency economy, and their impact on stakeholder–company relationship quality and firm performance outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Derived from the literature, a structural model, expressing the relationship between stakeholders’ perceived benefits and happiness of SMEs and their impact on stakeholder–company relationship quality and firm performance outcomes, was developed. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 636 stakeholders from sufficiency economy SMEs in Thailand. Structural equation modeling was used to test the model. Findings Results indicate that utilitarian benefits, and hedonic and eudaimonic happiness impact enhanced stakeholder–company relationship quality with the firm to varying degrees. Different levels of relationship quality also impact perceived corporate reputation and perceived brand equity differently. Originality/value This study is among the first that identifies the positive impact of happiness on corporate sustainability performance.

Purpose This study aims to examine and compare ethical perceptions between genders on various potentially unethical consumer situations in Indonesia and Thailand. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted by distributing self-administered questionnaires to a convenience sample of university students in two large cities in Indonesia and Thailand. There are 278 respondents in Indonesia 158 participants for Thailand. Most respondents aged between 18-24 years. Findings Indonesian youths were found to believe that “passively benefiting”, “questionable action” and “downloading” are more unethical than Thai youths do. The relationship between gender and consumer ethics is not consistent in Indonesia and Thailand. Female youths in Indonesia tended to be more ethical in four out of seven dimensions of Consumer Ethics Scales than their counterparts, while no gender differences were found in Thailand. Practical implications The results show the different consumer ethics between Indonesia and Thailand that may reflect cultural variations, where Indonesia is more multicultural than Thailand. The mixed findings of the gender differences may suggest that there are no intrinsic gender differences in consumer ethics. Further, the results also provide implications for educators and public policy makers in both countries to encourage more active roles played by universities in building ethical sensitivity among future leaders. Originality/value This is one of the few studies examining the impact of gender on consumer ethical behavior in Southeast Asian countries, where various unethical behaviors (e.g. buying and using pirated products) are prevalent.

Given that brand equity is increasingly recognized as a measure of corporate sustainability, in the present study, we examine the relationships among stakeholder benefits, stakeholder trust and brand equity. Derived from a sample of 433 stakeholders from 115 companies in Thailand, the findings indicate that functional benefits improve brand equity indirectly and directly via stakeholder trust and psychological benefits. On the other hand, psychological benefits improve brand equity indirectly and directly via stakeholder trust. Psychological benefits create more direct, positive effects on brand equity than functional benefits. The effects of functional benefits on brand equity are enhanced through psychological benefits. Directions for future studies and practical implications are also discussed.