Special Issue: Marketing Challenges and Opportunities in India

Introduction

This special issue, titled “Marketing Challenges and Opportunities in India,” was guest edited by Ramendra Singh, IIM Calcutta, India. The “India” Special Issue is the second special issue since I assumed the EIC role at the Journal of Global Marketing (JGM). The guest editor did a terrific job in marketing the special issue, and we had 33 manuscripts submitted, which I think is a great response. I am sure you will enjoy the six articles which were selected and included in this special issue.

The special issue represents growth in both the quantity and quality of manuscripts now being published in JGM. There are six articles in this special issue, compared to about four articles that we have been publishing in most issues since 2016. As word about the improved quality spreads, JGM's appeal and reputation will continue to grow. It is our goal to gain recognition for the Journal of Global Marketing among the top-tier journals and attract the best research papers with global, cross-cultural, and/or cross-national research in marketing.

We currently have two more special issues in the pipeline. The first special issue is titled “Digital Marketing and Online Consumer Behavior in China.” It is guest edited by Qin Sun, California State University, Northridge, CA, USA. The deadline for submission of manuscripts for this special issue is July 31, 2018. The second special issue is titled “Media Entrepreneurship and Innovation Marketing in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.” It is guest edited by Veland Ramadani, South-East European University, Tetovo, Macedonia, and Amir Emami, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy. The deadline for submission of manuscripts for the second special issue is July 31, 2019. Further details on the special issues are available at the JGM homepage (web link given in the Reference section).

We introduced theVirtual Special Issues,or VSIs, during 2017. These are specially created online issues of articles previously published in thejournal with the purpose of highlighting a particular theme, drawing attention to a specific region of interest, or pulling together the most highly cited or downloaded articles. The issue will be housed on the journal's main homepage for easy discoverability. The publisher will make the “issue” free for a period of time (typically 60–90 days) and publicize it electronically, as well as via conferences and sometimes press releases, to relevant subject communities. The first VSI for 2018 is titled “MNEs and Changing Consumer Behavior in China” by Qin Sun and Ajay Manrai. It was published online in February 2018 with seven articles published during 2012–2016.

The team at Taylor and Francis, together with the Associate Editors and Editorial Review Board (ERB) members who we have assembled, is in a unique position to provide quick and high-quality feedback to the authors on their research manuscripts. It is truly an international team of highly motivated scholars from around the world. I invite you to submit your best research papers in the international, cross-cultural, and cross-national areas for publication consideration in the Journal of Global Marketing. Please visit the journal website (web link provided in the reference section) to check out our Associate Editors and ERB members, as well as review a list of research topics covered in the journal.

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Volume 30, Number 3 issue of the Journal of Global Marketing. In this special issue, we have included six excellent articles that focus on marketing challenges and opportunities in India. The same are discussed briefly in this editorial.

First article

The first article, by Jeyachandran Rajaretnam and Jagdish Sheth, is an invited article. It provides an excellent discussion of various models of adoption in the Internet and technology area and then introduces a multistage model of adoption of online buying. The article explores the effect of demographics and other factors in moving buyers from one stage to the next in the multistage model until they reach the final stage. The authors have empirically tested several hypotheses proposed in the article alongside various stages of the multistage adoption model of online buying, as well as in understanding the influence of demographics and other factors in the Indian context. The article also presents managerial implications of the results of the empirical study.

Second article

The second article, by Rekha Dahiya and Gayatri Verma, is an excellent empirical study. The authors used survey-based data collected from 784 respondents in Delhi from actual or potential car buyers. The authors used an area cluster sampling procedure to select sampling units. The focus of the study is to understand the effect of digital marketing communication on the consumer buying decision process in the Indian car market. A notable conclusion of the study is that three-fourths of the respondents used at least one digital channel of communication while buying a car. Websites were the most used digital channel of communication when buying a car, followed by social networking sites and smartphones. All stages of the car-buying decision-making process, including need recognition and post-purchase behavior, were significantly affected by digital marketing communications. The authors also discuss theoretical and managerial implications of the results of their empirical study.

Third article

The third article, by Kishalay Adhikari and Rajeev Kumar Panda, is a much-needed study in a relatively unexplored research area. The authors use social cognition theory and protection motivation behavior theory to model the impact of antecedents of the users' information privacy concerns on privacy protection behavior in social networks in the Indian context. They then use structural equation modeling to test the model and related hypotheses with a simple random sample of 306 respondents from a university in central India. A key finding of the empirical study is that perceived vulnerability, perceived severity, and self-efficacy significantly influence users' information privacy concerns. The authors also discuss theoretical, managerial, and social implications of the results.

Fourth article

Gordhan Saini and his colleagues make a notable contribution in a relatively unexplored area of consumer response to quantity changes. They address three important research issues in their article: (a) latitude of acceptance with respect to small quantity changes; (b) asymmetric effect of quantity changes; and (c) differential effect between low-equity versus high-equity brands in response to quantity changes. The effect of quantity change on purchase intention was studied by a change in the original quantity of low-equity/high-equity brands, keeping price constant. The authors judiciously and systematically selected product categories and brands and then measured consumer response in different settings. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and ANCOVA. The results of the empirical research study provide evidence for the latitude of acceptance, asymmetry in effects of quantity change, and differential effect between low-equity/high-equity brands. Two key findings are: (a) for high-equity brands, a lower range of latitude of acceptance limits a company's quantity reduction options; and (b) for a low-equity brands, lowering price by a nominal percentage is not likely to lead to success in the market. The authors also discuss managerial implications.

Fifth article

The fifth article, by Christina Chung and her colleagues, makes an important contribution by examining the differences between Indian Gen X and millennial consumers in their attitudes towards online ratings. The authors used a structural equation modeling approach to study the relationships among several variables, including online star rating involvement, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude toward star ratings, intention to use, and purchase intention. The data were collected in India using a Qualtrics panel for Gen X (124 respondents) and college students for millennials (117 college students from one state in South India.) The empirical results indicate that high star ratings affect Gen Xers' attitudes, while low star ratings have an impact on millennials' attitudes. Interestingly, for both generations, the online star rating involvement has an impact on perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of star ratings, as well as the intention to use these online reviews. The authors have provided managerial implications and directions for future research.

Sixth article

Kuljit Kaur and Harmeen Soch propose a conceptual model to examine the roles of image congruence and face consciousness on consumer attitude and behavior towards the use of smartphones. The authors develop hypotheses on the role of these two factors in affecting consumer attitude and behavior, as well as hypotheses about the mediating role of the nationality of the consumer. The authors collected data from student subjects in Canada and India for the empirical study. They used confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling for testing the proposed model and Hypotheses. The results of the empirical study show that Indian consumers are more face conscious and give more importance to their social image and ideal social image as compared to Canadian consumers, while Canadian consumers are more concerned with their actual and ideal image when making smartphone purchase decisions. The authors also provide implications of the results for public policy and directions for future research.

Ajay K. Manrai

Department of Business Administration,

University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA

Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Global Marketing

[email protected]

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank the Associate Editors, Editorial Review Board members, and ad hoc reviewers for their time and effort in providing the highest-quality feedback to authors in a timely fashion. I also sincerely appreciate the invaluable support from the editorial, production, and marketing staff of Taylor and Francis.