The antecedents and consequences of exporting cultural products

Abstract

PurposeAlthough recent models of place branding have proposed culture as a crucial element in establishing a strong place or nation brand, the way in which cultural products influence the brand equity of other products from the same nation has not yet been studied. This study aims to argue that when a nation has strong legal institutions, as perceived by investors and managers, it offers fertile soil for cultivating cultural products that, when exported, can act as “cultural ambassadors,” promoting the country image in the minds of consumers and the value of the country's brands.Design/methodology/approachExports of cultural products are provided by UNESCO. Valuable brands are those that brand finance included in its global top 500 most valuable brands list. The rule of law is provided by the World Bank. Panel regression models are used.FindingsSupporting the hypotheses, exports of cultural products show positive effects on the value of brands from that country, and the rule of law shows positive effects on exports of cultural products.Practical implicationsPolicymakers could improve the brand value of local firms by promoting exports of cultural products. To do so, policymakers should initiate judicial reforms that strengthen the rule of law to protect contracts and property rights.Originality/valueThis study examines the hitherto underexplored effects that a country's cultural product exports have on the brand value of firms from that country. Most prior research has focused on factors affecting imports of cultural products.

Sectoral brand management: a social constructionist approach in the business-to-business market

“…Finally, the interviewees indicated that some SCSBM models’ factors might be more relevant to manage in some industries than others. For instance, SP3 comments that residents’ and foreign tourists’ perceptions might not be essential to manage a sectoral brand from the fashion industry; however, it might be relevant for a sectoral brand from the food sector (Hjalager and Corigliano, 2000; Vukovic et al , 2020) or cultural products (Lin and Dong, 2021). Thus, our results show that although the SCSBM model’s factors might have different contributions among the economic sectors, they should stay in the model as good management practices for sectoral brands.…”

The role of consumer characteristics on cultural consumption tendency

“…This curiosity may receive limited attention in some cases but can sometimes lead to significant changes in consumers' lives and consumption habits. With the export of cultural products, a country's image can be improved (Otmazgin, 2011;Lin and Dong, 2021), and consumers' positive country image perception can positively affect the evaluations of that country's products (Laroche et al, 2005). Recent research on Hallyu has shown that South Korea's country image and consumers' attitudes towards Korean products have improved with Korean cultural product exports (Kim, 2007;Lee et al, 2015;Lee, 2020).…”

“…This curiosity may receive limited attention in some cases but can sometimes lead to significant changes in consumers' lives and consumption habits. With the export of cultural products, a country's image can be improved (Otmazgin, 2011; Lin and Dong, 2021), and consumers' positive country image perception can positively affect the evaluations of that country's products (Laroche et al. , 2005).…”