The impact of franchisor support, brand commitment, brand citizenship behavior, and franchisee experience on franchisee-perceived brand image

Purpose: This study examines the impact of franchisor support, brand commitment, brand citizenship behavior, and franchisee experience on franchisee-perceived brand image (FPBI). Methodology: The hypotheses were tested using survey data from retail franchisees in Australia, structural equation modeling, and bootstrapping regression methods. Findings: The results show that both brand commitment and brand citizenship behavior mediate the effect of franchisor support on FPBI. However, the effect of franchisor support on FPBI via brand commitment is higher for franchisees with less experience compared to their more experienced counterparts. Practical implications: The study provides insights to franchise managers and B2B practitioners on factors that enhance FPBI. Originality/value: Despite the recognized importance of franchise brands, limited research examines how leveraging the franchise brand can improve franchisee performance. To address this gap, this study examines the effects of franchisor support on FPBI via brand commitment and brand citizenship behavior moderated by franchisee experience.

Consumer reactions to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Thailand: the moderating effect of competitive positioning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the business case for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Thailand by focusing on the consumer-organisational relationship and test the conceptual framework of Du et al. (2007). Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative study was conducted using a mall intercept survey of 184 Thai mobile phone service provider consumers in Bangkok, Thailand. Findings – A CSR emphasised brand is more likely than non-CSR emphasised brands to accrue consumer CSR awareness, positive attitude to company motivations and beliefs in the CSR of that company. Although beliefs are associated with consumers’ greater identification and advocacy behaviours towards the CSR emphasised brand than the non-CSR emphasised brands, they are not associated with loyalty. Practical implications – The paper provides potential guidance for companies to more effectively position and communicate their CSR activities to create differential advantages. Originality/value – Findings of the study demonstrate some support for a business case for CSR in Thailand.

Explaining the environmentally sustainable consumer behavior: a social capital perspective

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of social capital within a community on the adoption of consumer eco-behaviour or environmentally sustainable behaviour of consumers. The authors draw on the behavioural perspective model (BPM) of consumer behaviour and social capital theory in arguing that social capital shapes a consumer's knowledge of environmental issues and pro-environmental attitudes, which in turn influence a consumer's perceived capability to engage in eco-behaviour. Design/methodology/approach - This study uses partial least squares approach to structural equation modelling of survey data involving 1,044 consumers in the Philippines. It involves testing of a measurement model to examine the validity and reliability of the constructs used in the study. This is followed by testing of the structural models to test the hypothesised relationships of the constructs. Findings - The results suggest the substantive influence of social capital on environmental knowledge, pro-environmental attitudes and eco-capability. Both knowledge and attitudes have positive effects on eco-capability, which in turn positively shapes eco-behaviour. Research limitations/implications - Future studies can examine how social capital as a multi-dimensional construct impacts context-specific consumer behaviour. Practical implications - Social and environmental marketing may focus on social network activation to encourage eco-behaviours of consumers. Social implications - Findings highlight the role of social capital within one's community as a resource channel to encourage environmentally responsible consumer behaviour. Originality/value - The study extends the BPM by offering a social capital view as a more nuanced explanation of consumer eco-behaviour.

Understanding poverty and promoting poverty alleviation through transformative consumer research

Consumer research holds potential for expanding society's understanding of how people experience poverty and mechanisms for poverty alleviation. Capitalizing on this potential, however, will require more exploration of how consumption experiences shape individual and collective well-being among the poor. This article proposes a framework for transformative consumer research focused on felt deprivation and power within the lived experience of poverty. The framework points to consumer choice, product/service experiences, consumer culture, marketplace forces, and consumption capabilities as research streams with potential to help alleviate poverty. Future research in these areas will expand pathways for transforming the lives of the poor by alleviating stress, engaging marketplace institutions, fulfilling life aspirations, leveraging trust and social capital, and facilitating creativity and adaptation.

Applying a transformative consumer research lens to understanding and alleviating poverty

Increasing attention to global poverty and the development of market-based solutions for poverty alleviation continues to motivate a broad array of academicians and practitioners to better understand the lives of the poor. Yet, the robust perspectives residing within consumer research remain to a large degree under-utilized in these pursuits. This paper articulates how applying a transformative consumer research (TCR) lens to poverty and its alleviation can generate productive insights with potential to positively transform the well-being of poor consumers.

Weaving a web: subaltern consumers, rising consumer culture, and television

Cultivation analysis suggests that television influences local cultures through its complex repertoire of images and narratives, which constitute a representation. Through a discursive analysis of television content in India we contend that rising material aspirations and consumer culture are significantly influenced by this medium. Dialectics of turmoil and tranquility mark this development for the working class population. On the one hand, there is domestication of unrest among subaltern groups, as they withdraw from collective political struggles to narrower and more tranquil forms of emulation and economism. On the other hand, these attempts at emulation have resulted in the poorer sections of society devoting their limited resources to aping a lifestyle well beyond their reach and further compromising their quality of life. The other pole of the dialectic is the increase in turmoil that results from tearing the traditional social fabric and support systems. This turmoil progressively manifests itself in increasing materialism and greater monetization of relationships for these subaltern groups.

Affective commitment and turnover intentions among healthcare professionals: the role of emotional exhaustion and disengagement

This paper utilises the conservation of resources theory to examine the mediating role played by disengagement in the relationships between emotional exhaustion, affective commitment and turnover intentions among healthcare professionals. Structural equation modelling was conducted on data obtained from 302 healthcare professionals in a major Australian cancer hospital. Our findings demonstrate that disengagement fully mediates the relationships between emotional exhaustion and both affective commitment and turnover intentions. Recommendations for future research are suggested and practical implications discussed. © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

The impact of perceived corporate social responsibility on organizational commitment and the moderating role of collectivism and masculinity: evidence from China

This study examines the relationship between employee perceptions of corporate social responsibility practices and their organizational commitment. Hierarchical regression analysis was utilized to analyze survey data on 280 employees from five export-oriented manufacturing firms in China. Employee perceptions of corporate social responsibility practices towards internal stakeholders were found to relate positively to their organizational commitment. In contrast, employee perceptions of corporate social responsibility practices to external stakeholders had a nonsignificant or marginally significant impact on organizational commitment. In addition, the collectivism and masculinity orientations of employees were found to moderate this relationship. These findings provide an insight into how corporate social responsibility practices may be utilized to motivate diverse groups of employees within China-based organizations. © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

What factors influence the organizational commitment of public sector employees in China? The role of extrinsic, intrinsic and social rewards

This study investigates the relationship between extrinsic, intrinsic and social rewards, and the organizational commitment of 239 Chinese public sector employees. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that although variables included to measure extrinsic and social rewards were strongly related to organizational commitment, variables included to measure intrinsic rewards had limited influence. These findings suggest that the antecedents of organizational commitment in the Chinese public sector are significantly different from those in the Chinese private sector and public sector organizations in the West. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

Participative leadership and the organizational commitment of civil servants in China: The mediating effects of trust in supervisor

The present study examines whether participative leadership engenders organizational commitment amongst Chinese civil servants and analyses the mechanisms by which it transmits its effects. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling revealed that there was a significant relationship between supervisor-level participative leadership and the affective and normative commitment of subordinates, but no relationship with continuance commitment. Affective trust was also identified as the mediator variable underlying the relationship between participative leadership and organizational commitment. We show that participative leadership of supervisors elicits higher levels of trust and leads subordinates to reciprocate through exhibiting higher levels of organizational commitment. Our study also reveals that Chinese civil servants who accept an unequal distribution of power between supervisors and subordinates typically exhibit lower levels of affective and normative commitment to the organization than those who do not. Our results provide greater support for the deepening of administrative reforms and the dissemination of participative leadership practices in China's new civil service system. © 2013 British Academy of Management.

Organizational rewards and employee commitment: a Chinese study

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess how the cultural value orientations of individual employees moderate their attitudinal responses to different categories of organizational rewards. Specifically, it seeks to examine how one dimension of traditionality, respect for authority, moderates the relationship between affective organizational commitment and three variables: pay satisfaction, autonomy and satisfaction with supervision. Design/methodology/approach: Hierarchical regression analysis was utilized to analyze survey data obtained from a sample of 290 employees of a major Chinese airline company. Findings: Employees high in traditionality were found to exhibit higher levels of affective commitment when autonomy and satisfaction with supervision was low. When autonomy and satisfaction with supervision was high employees low in traditionality exhibited higher levels of emotional attachment to the organization. Research limitations/implications: The cross-sectional design is an obvious limitation of the study. Another limitation relates to the generalizability of the study findings outside the context in which the research was undertaken. Social implications: Organizations should consider taking the cultural orientations of their workforce into account when developing appropriate human resource policies aimed at heightening employee commitment. This should enhance employee well-being, which is especially important in a global economy characterized by uncertainty and rapid change. Originality/value: This is the first study to examine how employees with different cultural value orientations respond to different categories of organizational rewards, in a predominantly traditional society.

Organizational commitment in Chinese small- and medium-sized enterprises: the role of extrinsic, intrinsic and social rewards

This study investigates the relationship between organizational rewards and employee commitment in Chinese small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Hierarchical regression analysis was utilized to analyse survey data from 286 employees of 11 organizations. In line with what was hypothesized extrinsic rewards were found to be strongly related to both affective and continuance commitment, whereas satisfaction with supervision and role clarity positively influenced affective commitment. In contrast to previous empirical findings, autonomy and training provision were only found to influence continuance commitment. These findings have significant managerial implications regarding the utility of providing organizational rewards to enhance the commitment of Chinese employees. In order to promote employee commitment, SME managers could start by giving their employees greater autonomy and clarity regarding their role in the organization, as well as improving supervisor support. These are relatively inexpensive measures compared to the costly alternatives of improving extrinsic benefit packages and investing in employee training.