Purpose – This paper aims to examine the extent to which the nation branding activities of export promotion organisations (EPOs), investment agencies (IAs), national tourism organisations (NTOs) and embassies follow the principle of coordination that characterises an integrated marketing communications approach. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative exploratory approach was taken, comprising face-to-face in-depth interviews with key informants from five Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) involved in the implementation of nation branding communications in terms of export promotion, tourism, investment attraction and public diplomacy. Findings – Seven key dimensions of interorganisational coordination in a nation branding context emerge from our results. These dimensions include sector, organisation domicile, mode, strategy formulation, nature, frequency and target audience. Research limitations/implications – The relatively small dataset as well as the restricted geographic scope of the study limits the generalisability of the findings; further research is required to ascertain whether the findings of this study also apply in other settings. Practical implications – Enhanced coordination needs to occur not only between the different governmental organisations engaged in nation branding strategy, but also between those organisations and their respective private sector stakeholders. Originality/value – This paper extends previous work on the need for countries to adopt a coordinated approach to their nation branding activities. The paper is original in its examination of actors’ perceptions of the optimal degree of coordination that should occur between a country's EPO, IA, NTO and embassies. The paper is also original in its reporting of findings from a region (ASEAN) that is under-researched relative to other areas, such as Europe and North America.
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At present, leading international agencies, such as the United Nations Environmental Programme, are largely focused on what they claim to be ‘win-win’ scenarios of ‘sustainable development’ rhetoric. These combine social, economic and environmental objectives. However, as noted by the ‘Scientists’ Warning to Humanity’, environmental integrity is the essential precondition for the healthy functioning of social and economic systems, and thus environmental protection needs to be prioritized in policy and practice. Ecological sustainability cannot be reached without realizing that population growth and economic growth, with attendant increased rates of depletion of natural resources, pollution, and general environmental degradation, are the root causes of unsustainability. This article argues that to strategically address ecological unsustainability, the social, economic and political barriers to addressing the current economic model and population growth need to be overcome. Strategic solutions proposed to the current neoliberal economy are generic – namely, degrowth, a steady-state economy, and a ‘circular economy’. Solutions to demographic issues must be sensitive to the countries' cultural, social, political and economic factors to be effective as fertility differs from country to country, and culture to culture. As discussed here, Mediterranean countries have the lowest fertility in the world, while many countries in Africa, and some in Asia, South America have stable but consistently high birthrates. This is discussed using three case studies - Tanzania, Italy, and Cambodia, focusing on the "best case" policy practice that offers more realistic hope for successful sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41207-019-0139-4 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
MULTIFILE
Purpose – Set in the newly emerging hybrid product research stream, and reflecting trends towards multi-national production and sourcing, this paper aims to present a three-country study on perceived quality and image of automobiles “made in and for” Southeast Asia. Design/methodology/approach – The authors used a multiple cue design in the stimulus definition, reflecting assembly and component origin plus warranty level. Actual car owners were targeted, thereby adding to a relatively low number of studies requiring actual prior purchase. The related face-to-face interviews in the local languages resulted in 720 usable questionnaires. Findings – Country-of-assembly is shown to affect perceived quality as well as perceived image. Warranty extension can moderate the quality effects to some extent, whilst buyers of luxury models display a smaller positive home bias in terms of perceived image than those of non-luxury models. Such home region bias is not demonstrated to be significant for country-of-components. Research limitations/implications – The paper contributes towards ongoing theory-building, especially with regards to an optimum level of origin cue decomposition. It also establishes the importance of adding image perception measurement to the arsenal of origin researchers normally focused on quality effects. Practical implications – Managers need to make strategic decisions on the decomposition of product origin cues, reflecting consumers' abilities to notice several such cues. The selected product origin cues must then be supported with appropriate communications strategies. Originality/value – For the first time, origin effects are demonstrated for the Southeast Asia region. The paper establishes the significance of country-of-target and contributes to research on the ever more complex product origin construct.
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