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Supermarket scans in the contextual non-Western markets (Pakistan and China) revealed that the majority Western consumer products are available in both global (English) and the vernacular language (Urdu, Chinese) packaging. The availability of two different packaging raises a question – which is more effective and under what situation. This study aims to address this question by investigating the roles of an internal-oriented disposition (concern for quality) and an external-oriented disposition (social consciousness) on packaging choice, under different consumption situations (conspicuous versus inconspicuous). The conceptual model tested concern for quality as a mediator on the influence of social consciousness on packaging choice, under the moderating effects of conspicuous versus inconspicuous consumption situation.

Two in-store choice experiments were conducted in Pakistan and China. Shoppers who agreed to participate were first primed to either of the two conditions (conspicuous and inconspicuous). They were then shown two packaging types (global versus local language) on store shelves and asked to pick the preferred packaging. Finally, the participants completed a paper-based questionnaire containing the scale items and demographics variables.

Participants with high social consciousness preferred the global (English) packaging. The interaction effect of social consciousness and consumption situation moderated the choice. Concern for quality mediated the influence of social consciousness on global packaging preference.

This study extends the research into packaging by considering the mediating relationship and conceptualisation between external-oriented personal antecedent (social consciousness) and internal-oriented disposition (concern for quality), under different consumption (conspicuous versus inconspicuous) situation. The findings will inform brand managers’ packaging strategies in non-Western markets.

The common market practice by foreign marketers is to sell their brands in standard or localised packaging or sometimes both in the context of Pakistan. By examining the differential influence of standard (Western) and local (Urdu) packaging on Pakistani consumers’ perceptions and choice under conspicuous and inconspicuous situations, this study aims to examine whether the localisation strategy is effective or even necessary.

A pre-test first identified suitable products and brands. The main survey was conducted using convenience sampling in popular shopping precincts of the Lahore district in 2015. Participants first rated the packaging of hedonic and utilitarian products. After rating the packaging likeability, the respondents were asked to assume the two consumption situations. Their choice of standard versus local packaging under conspicuous and inconspicuous consumption situations for the same brand was recorded.

Overall, findings suggest that for hedonic products, localisation is not an effective strategy particularly for well-known Western brands such as M&M’s. For utilitarian products, packaging localisation does not render a Western brand more competitive as consumers did not like one packaging type over the other. Mode of consumption did not change the preference for standard packaging in case of hedonic products, whereas in case of utilitarian products, the mode of consumption did moderate the results for the choice of packaging; standard packaging is chosen more often under conspicuous a situation but not under an inconspicuous situation.

The findings of this research show that indiscriminately localising the packaging of any products as they enter foreign markets may not be the most effective strategy for international marketers.

This is first study to question the common market practice of packaging localisation and investigate the differential effects of standard versus local packaging of foreign products on consumers’ perceptions and choice under varying consumption modes.

The common market practice by global consumer brands to create localised packaging for foreign markets conflicts with findings that cast doubt on this strategy. By examining the differential influence of standard (Western) and local (Chinese) packaging on Chinese consumers’ perceptions and choice behaviour, this study aims to examine whether this strategy is effective or even necessary.

A pre-test first identified suitable products and brands. Using a multiple methods approach, online participants in China first rated the brands and packaging of hedonic and utilitarian products. The ratings were then validated by triangulating with the results of a discrete choice experiment that captured participants’ choice behaviour.

For hedonic products, standard packaging is rated more positively and chosen more often than local packaging. For utilitarian products, there are no differences in ratings and choice. For hedonic products, brand likeability is higher for standard packaging than for local packaging. For utilitarian products, brand likeability does not differ between the two packaging types.

These findings cast doubt on the effectiveness of indiscriminate packaging localisation. International marketers need to rethink their approach, particularly in non-Western markets. Interviews with five brand managers in charge of major consumer brands in China revealed their actual market practice and further illuminate this study’s findings.

This is first study to question the common market practice of packaging localisation and investigate the differential effects of standard versus local packaging of foreign products on consumers’ perceptions and choice behaviour.

This study aims to understand the dynamics underpinning the exit and re-entry strategies adopted by multinational enterprises (MNEs) in an emerging market, Pakistan.

This study undertook an in-depth historical case study of Yamaha Motorcycles, which had initially entered Pakistan as a joint venture but had then exited and re-entered as a wholly owned subsidiary.

This study found that, despite its status as a market leader and one of the older players in the Pakistani market, changing market dynamics in the 2000s – especially the increased competition brought by more affordable (inexpensive) Chinese motorcycles and the weak enforcement of industrial policies – had pushed Yamaha Motorcycles to exit. Another factor that had contributed to its exit were differences in risk perception and strategies with its local joint venture partner (a Pakistani business group). Hence, both firm-level and institutional factors had played significant roles in Yamaha’s market exit. This study further found that re-entering in a wholly owned subsidiary operation mode had been beneficial for the firm, as it gained a significant market share due to its focus on innovation and on capturing a market niche, which had earlier not been its main focus. The findings also suggest that opportunity logics and multiple forms of learning can be important for a firm’s re-entry into a host market – such as experiential (i.e. learning from experience) and vicarious learning (i.e. learning from other organizations, including suppliers and competitors) in an emerging market context, in which institutions evolve amid political and policy uncertainty. Finally, this study found that exit and re-entry timing is an important factor for the development of competitive advantage in a host market.

This study is among the few to have investigated the exit and re-entry strategies of MNEs in emerging markets. The relatively short time during which Yamaha Motorcycles had been out of the market had benefited it on its re-entry, as the firm had been able to capitalize on its prior learning and ties to suppliers’ networks.

This article illustrates how, during the COVID-19 pandemic, emerging market exporting firms can adopt differentiation strategies using composition-based capabilities, which, in turn, will enable them to strengthen their images and market shares, i.e. their strategic marketing performance in advanced markets.

This study is based on survey data obtained from 86 Pakistani firms exporting to advanced economies.

The study found that compositional collaboration capabilities positively influence the differentiation strategies and strategic marketing performance of emerging market exporting firms conducting business in advanced host markets. Furthermore, the findings indicate that differentiation strategies mediate the influence of compositional collaboration capabilities on the strategic marketing performance of these firms.

By taking a new compositional based theoretical perspective, this study examined the underexplored phenomenon of how emerging market firms can differentiate their offerings in advanced export markets in order to achieve a better strategic performance during external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that export growth is a strategic priority for many emerging markets, including Pakistan, due to their substantial trade deficits, this study provides important contributions from both the theoretical and practical perspectives.

This paper presents a theorization and an empirical analysis of the influences of international open innovation (IOI) on the international market success of emerging market small and medium-sized enterprises (ESMEs). An analysis of the moderating roles played by cross-cultural competencies and digital alliance capabilities in this specific context is also presented.

The study adopted a quantitative research design involving a survey of 231 ESMEs based in the UAE. The authors formulated some hypotheses and tested them by employing hierarchical regression models.

The findings revealed that IOI positively affects the international market success of ESMEs. The authors further found that both cross-cultural competencies and digital alliance capabilities moderate the relationship between IOI and international market success.

The study advances the international marketing, knowledge and innovation management literature in two ways. First, it is a pioneering study that advances both the theoretical and empirical scholarship regarding the relationship between IOI and emerging market firm international market success by employing an extended resource-based view. Second, it further highlights the role played by cross-cultural competencies and digital alliance capabilities as effective governance mechanisms that moderate the relationship between IOI and international market success.

The resource-based view (RBV) emphasises the importance of resources for firm performance. However, recent research argues that the focus on firm performance should also be based on inside-out (IO) and outside-in (OI) capabilities. Specifically, we study the importance of resources on product development (an IO) and market driving (an OI) entrepreneurial marketing capabilities on entrepreneurial firm performance in an emerging market. The study further investigates the moderating effects of marketing agility on the relationship between resources and capabilities.

The study is based on survey data of a multi-industry sample of 102 entrepreneurial firms in Pakistan.

The results show that marketing agility moderates the relationship between resource-mix flexibility on product development and market driving capabilities, but it only positively moderates the relationship between resource-mix inimitability and product development capability. Marketing driving and product development capabilities play a role as parallel mediators between resources and firm performance.

The study lies at the intersection of marketing and entrepreneurship literature by (1) providing a nuanced understanding of marketing agility as a boundary spanning factor for IO and OI entrepreneurial marketing capabilities; (2) integrating the resource types and product development from IO and market-driving from OI capabilities perspectives; (3) identifying the effects of IO and OI on firm performance providing guidance for entrepreneurs seeking improved firm performance.

Obesity leads to increased mortality and morbidity among children, as well as when they turn adults. Melding marketing theories in social influence and message framing, this study aims to examine how compliance versus conformance social influence, each framed either prescriptively or proscriptively, may guide children’s choice of healthy versus unhealthy food.

This study conducted two experiments in a Pakistani junior school. Experiment 1 exposed children to either a prescriptive or a proscriptive compliance influence. Experiment 2 involved a 2 (prescriptive vs proscriptive compliance influence) × 2 (supportive vs conflicting conformance-influence) between-subjects design. Participants in both studies answered an online survey after being exposed to the social-influence messages.

Experiment 1 showed proscriptive was stronger than prescriptive compliance influence in nudging children to pick fruits (healthy) over candies (unhealthy). However, frequency of fruits dropped as susceptibility to compliance strengthened. Experiment 2 found that a proscriptive compliance influence reinforced by a supportive conformance-influence led to most children picking fruits. However, a conflicting conformance influence was able to sway some children away from fruits to candies. This signalled the importance of harmful peer influence, particularly with children who were more likely to conform.

Childhood is a critical stage for inculcating good eating habits. Besides formal education about food and health, social influence within classrooms can be effective in shaping children’s food choice. While compliance and conformance influence can co-exist, one influence can reinforce or negate the other depending on message framing.

In developing countries like Pakistan, institutional support to tackle childhood obesity may be weak. Teachers can take on official, yet informal, responsibility to encourage healthy eating. Governments can incentivise schools to organise informal activities to develop children’s understanding of healthy consumption. Schools should prevent children from bringing unhealthy food to school, so that harmful peer behaviours are not observable, and even impose high tax on unhealthy products or subsidise healthy products sold in schools.

This study adopts a marketing lens and draws on social influence and message framing theory to shed light on children’s food choice behaviour within a classroom environment. The context was an underexplored developing country, Pakistan, where childhood obesity is a public health concern.

Ambidexterity’s effects on exploration and exploitation have been widely studied in the innovation literature. However, to date, no studies have determined how combining or balancing the two strategic marketing foci may improve new product performance outcomes. This is an important issue in emerging markets, which have considerable potential to introduce new products, given the rising affordability and intense competition between Western and local firms. These challenges compel managers to offer new products and solutions in these markets. However, firms may adopt different strategic marketing foci for new product development. Using Pakistan as an emerging-market context, this paper aims to provide novel insights into how managers can choose the right balance of a customer-driving versus customer-driven strategy to optimise new-product performance.

A multi-industry approach surveyed senior strategy managers (N = 106) of Pakistani businesses.

Using polynomial regression and surface test analyses, the findings showed that balancing the two strategies influenced new-product performance more than either strategy alone. Surprisingly, the imbalance of greater customer-driving over customer-driven strategy or vice versa did not improve new-product performance. Moreover, new-product performance was greater when the level of balance was higher compared to when it was lower.

Grounded in behavioural and strategic adaptation theory, this study extends ambidexterity’s theoretical foundations in marketing by empirically determining the optimal balance of an orientation and performance implication model. The findings can assist emerging market managers in choosing the right balance and combination of the two strategies for better performance of new products.

Applying both the dynamic capability and configuration theoretical perspectives, the paper showcases the role of network configuration and dynamics of hybrid offerings in both developed and emerging markets by high-tech firms.

The current paper uses an exploratory qualitative research methodology based on in-depth case studies of three Finnish high-tech firms operating in the medical technology industry globally.

The findings from the study showed that dynamic capabilities such as sensing and customer engagement along with internal coordination and adaptation capabilities are critical to the success of hybrid market offerings. Moreover, dynamic capabilities were found to be influential in those emerging and advanced international markets where case firms were less familiar with market dynamics. Moreover, the configuration of these capabilities within functional units and coordination of marketing and R&D activities can be effective for creating hybrid offerings in international markets. Ultimately, this was found to be the case even though target market selection for hybrid offerings was influenced by the level of convergence and fragmentation of the market.

Applying the configuration theory, this is one of the first studies to specifically analyze the differences in organizational network configuration changes in relation to hybrid market offerings in both developed economies and emerging economies. The findings contribute to hybrid market offering literature by pointing out that not only internal capabilities are important for enacting hybrid offerings, but the roles of ecosystems and knowledge centers are also extremely important to develop hybrid offerings. This paper also highlights the criticality of under-studied dynamic capabilities such as market sensing and customer engagement in the context of hybrid offerings in international markets. This showcases the wider role of ecosystems in enabling technology firms to develop hybrid offerings.