Edgar Centeno is Senior Lecturer of Marketing at EGADE Business School -Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM), México. Before starting his academic career, he worked for over 15 years in large multinational companies and SMEs. He is currently the regional editor for Latin America and the Caribbean for the Journal Place Branding and Public Diplomacy and a member of the review board for the Journal of Product and Brand Management. He is a visiting lecturer at Universidad Pablo de Olavide (Seville, Spain). He is also a member of the Centre for Entrepreneurship at ITESM where he offers training programmes to entrepreneurs and business owners. His research interests involves SME branding, SME luxury branding and the anthropormorphisation of brands. Address: Mexico City, Mexico
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illustrate how small to medium‐sized enterprise firms can ... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illustrate how small to medium‐sized enterprise firms can develop internationalization processes successfully.Design/methodology/approachA case study is used to illustrate the milestones of the global process.FindingsThe paper finds that, although internationalization is a complicated task, the adequate management of resources allows firms to achieve their objectives.Originality/valueThe paper takes as reference a national culture‐based hand‐crafted product, which is really difficult to internationalize.
The role of women in business in terms of their job responsibility has been a topic of interest f... more The role of women in business in terms of their job responsibility has been a topic of interest for many scholars. It has provided extensive discussions about, for instance, their strong and weak management capabilities and possible setbacks to their promotion and consolidation in positions of responsibility. Conciliation between family and work lives has also been a hot topic for researchers.
The Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, Mar 1, 2019
The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the utility of a mixed methods approach in the exam... more The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the utility of a mixed methods approach in the examination of one of the best-known success factors of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): their structural flexibility (SF), and how this is related to their organisational life cycle (OLC). Previous research has proposed five factors to explain SF in large and medium-sized organisations. By adopting an explanatory sequential design, this study demonstrates why a mono-method approach is insufficient to explain this model when put into operation in SMEs. It also highlights a key aspect of mixed methods research: the integration challenge, which is illustrated with joint displays and using a weaving approach. In the first quantitative phase, data from 257 SMEs were collected, classified according to their OLC stage, and examined with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a two-step cluster analysis. The EFA revealed five factors, one of which, called "decision-making", presented unexpected statistical behaviour and an unclear explanation, indicating a contrasting approach was necessary for better results explanation. It was not until the qualitative phase that we realised this aspect would be better named "centralisation in decision-making". This term is associated with growing and declining SMEs, and it may constrain their flexibility and limit their growth. Additionally, a new theme emerged in this phase: "innovation", which had not been associated with the SF before. This paper provides evidence that the combined use of quantitative and qualitative approaches offers the possibility of exploring new dimensions and can lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon in a way quantitative data alone may not allow.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the largely unexplored conceptualisation of t... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the largely unexplored conceptualisation of the brand-as-a-person metaphor in small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by examining its potential relation with the SME owner-manager, the pathways to its creation and development and the intuitive nature of this relationship. Design/methodology/approach A grounded theory approach was used, and data were collected through a set of 36 semi-structured interviews with 30 SME owner-managers in various sectors in Mexico. Findings The results indicate that SME owner-managers intuitively humanise their brands. The study revealed four pathways to develop the brand-as-a-person metaphor in the SME context: through personality traits, tastes and preferences, abilities and knowledge and values, all suggesting that SMEs’ brand-as-a-person metaphors are largely an extension of their owner-managers. Research limitations/implications The paper presents a theoretical framework that illustrates the fou...
Purpose The purpose of this paper is, first, to identify the relationship, if any, between custom... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is, first, to identify the relationship, if any, between customers’ perceptions of justice (functional element) and employee effort (symbolic element) and their effects on satisfaction and loyalty in the context of service recovery and, second, to determine the impact of cross-cultural differences on these relationships. Design/methodology/approach Survey data from actual customers were gathered in three countries ( n = 414) and analyzed using structural equation modeling to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings The results demonstrate the role of the constructs of perceived employee effort and perceived justice in influencing post-recovery satisfaction and loyalty across cultures. While perceived justice is valued across cultures, customers from feminine (masculine) cultures require more (less) employee effort to influence post-recovery satisfaction positively. Customers from low (high) uncertainty cultures are more (less) willing to give the prov...
This qualitative study investigates motivators and inhibitors of environmentally friendly behavio... more This qualitative study investigates motivators and inhibitors of environmentally friendly behaviors in the context of an emerging economy. Based on interviews and observation, four dominant themes emerge from the analysis: Social class, generational differences, habits and modernity, and consumer confusion and credibility. Some environmentally-unfriendly behaviors, such as the use of disposable dishes, seem to be deeply-rooted in traditions and the desire to participate in the modern world. We conclude that the single-most important reason for the environmental knowledge-attitude-behavior gap is based on a discrepancy between a higher-level, relatively abstract benefit and a specific, very tangible and immediate cost of environmentally-friendly actions.
PurposeThe purpose of this research is to contribute to a better understanding of deeper motivati... more PurposeThe purpose of this research is to contribute to a better understanding of deeper motivations and inhibitors of green consumer behavior in the context of emerging economies. Based on the findings, it aims to provide implications for marketers and policy making.Design/methodology/approachBased on an ethnographic approach, in‐depth interviews and observational data were used to study 15 Mexican families from four urban regions of Mexico with different incomes. Thematic analysis was used to develop and validate themes and codes.FindingsThe findings highlight three dominant themes related to uncertainty in the adoption of environmentally‐friendly behaviors: consumer confusion, trust and credibility, and compatibility. Overall, green behaviors seem to be ingrained in the traditional heritage of savings and frugality rather than based on strong environmental values. It is suggested that the factors that drive consumers from positive attitudes and intentions to the actual adoption o...
Purpose Celebrity-branded products constitute a brand extension growing phenomenon. Authenticity ... more Purpose Celebrity-branded products constitute a brand extension growing phenomenon. Authenticity may explain why some of these offerings are successful despite low perceived fit, a traditional measure for brand extension acceptance. The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a framework based on the meaning transfer model that depicts the effects of brand extension authenticity, brand extension fit and idol attachment on the valuation of such offerings. An exploration of both functional and hedonic extensions is provided to control for product-type variables. Design/methodology/approach Scenario-based survey data from a general population (n = 646) was collected and analyzed with ordinary least squares regressions. Findings Brand extension authenticity is a significant antecedent of brand extension success in both product types, and brand extension fit is the most relevant antecedent only in functional extensions. Idol attachment exerts less influence than fit and authenticity...
ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to analyse the city branding of Sapporo, a major city in th... more ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to analyse the city branding of Sapporo, a major city in the north of Japan, from an innovation and network perspective. To do this, a qualitative, exploratory approach was employed, comprising a series of semi-structured interviews with key figures involved in Sapporo's city branding. Applying thematic analysis to the interview data, the authors present findings related to the following dimensions of the city's brand strategy: the key elements of the city brand; the role of innovation in Sapporo's city branding; the extent to which a network approach is adopted; the main target audiences for the city brand; and, the extent to which Sapporo's city brand message is adapted for different target audiences. The results indicate that innovation and a network approach both play a significant role in Sapporo's city branding. The city brand's target audience is limited, however, and may benefit from a more diversified approach, particularly with regard to internationalising the Sapporo city brand.
Strong competitive pressures demand organizations to generate and deliver higher levels of value ... more Strong competitive pressures demand organizations to generate and deliver higher levels of value to clients than those offered by competitors. For this reason, it is necessary to know perfectly well each one of the clients and to be capable of putting forward an adaptable offer to every single client. As such, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has won center stage in the organizational literature.However, in many occasions this term has been used as a synonym of technology, omitting its integral dimension. It is possible to infer that for this reason many organizations have not been able to successfully implement CRM. This study intends to analyze the impact of a group of technological and non-technological factors on the success of CRM. Once analyzed, results clearly indicate that in the reality of the Spanish bank sector, other factors such as a human-resources management orientation or specific knowledge on CRM impact more on the success of the CRM. At the end, discussions o...
The purpose of this article is to examine how brands are built in small-to- medium-sized enterpri... more The purpose of this article is to examine how brands are built in small-to- medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and to develop a conceptual model of SME brand- building. The research design is based on an a priori conceptual framework that helped direct the fi eldwork, data analysis and fi ndings. A series of semi-structured interviews was conducted among 35 owner / managers from 30 fi rms. The results indicate that SME brands are built in a non-traditional manner and contrary to large fi rm brand building, with minimum brand planning and limited resources. SME brand-owner / managers and employees engage in brand exploration phases where they experiment in a spirit of trial and error based on risk-taking, commitment, creativity and willingness to learn. Based on these results, the article develops a model of the fi ve phases of SME brand-building. The fi ve-phase model represents an actionable framework for managers in an SME context. The model also presents scholars with a theoretical ...
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illustrate how small to medium‐sized enterprise firms can ... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illustrate how small to medium‐sized enterprise firms can develop internationalization processes successfully.Design/methodology/approachA case study is used to illustrate the milestones of the global process.FindingsThe paper finds that, although internationalization is a complicated task, the adequate management of resources allows firms to achieve their objectives.Originality/valueThe paper takes as reference a national culture‐based hand‐crafted product, which is really difficult to internationalize.
The role of women in business in terms of their job responsibility has been a topic of interest f... more The role of women in business in terms of their job responsibility has been a topic of interest for many scholars. It has provided extensive discussions about, for instance, their strong and weak management capabilities and possible setbacks to their promotion and consolidation in positions of responsibility. Conciliation between family and work lives has also been a hot topic for researchers.
The Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, Mar 1, 2019
The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the utility of a mixed methods approach in the exam... more The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the utility of a mixed methods approach in the examination of one of the best-known success factors of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): their structural flexibility (SF), and how this is related to their organisational life cycle (OLC). Previous research has proposed five factors to explain SF in large and medium-sized organisations. By adopting an explanatory sequential design, this study demonstrates why a mono-method approach is insufficient to explain this model when put into operation in SMEs. It also highlights a key aspect of mixed methods research: the integration challenge, which is illustrated with joint displays and using a weaving approach. In the first quantitative phase, data from 257 SMEs were collected, classified according to their OLC stage, and examined with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a two-step cluster analysis. The EFA revealed five factors, one of which, called "decision-making", presented unexpected statistical behaviour and an unclear explanation, indicating a contrasting approach was necessary for better results explanation. It was not until the qualitative phase that we realised this aspect would be better named "centralisation in decision-making". This term is associated with growing and declining SMEs, and it may constrain their flexibility and limit their growth. Additionally, a new theme emerged in this phase: "innovation", which had not been associated with the SF before. This paper provides evidence that the combined use of quantitative and qualitative approaches offers the possibility of exploring new dimensions and can lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon in a way quantitative data alone may not allow.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the largely unexplored conceptualisation of t... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the largely unexplored conceptualisation of the brand-as-a-person metaphor in small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by examining its potential relation with the SME owner-manager, the pathways to its creation and development and the intuitive nature of this relationship. Design/methodology/approach A grounded theory approach was used, and data were collected through a set of 36 semi-structured interviews with 30 SME owner-managers in various sectors in Mexico. Findings The results indicate that SME owner-managers intuitively humanise their brands. The study revealed four pathways to develop the brand-as-a-person metaphor in the SME context: through personality traits, tastes and preferences, abilities and knowledge and values, all suggesting that SMEs’ brand-as-a-person metaphors are largely an extension of their owner-managers. Research limitations/implications The paper presents a theoretical framework that illustrates the fou...
Purpose The purpose of this paper is, first, to identify the relationship, if any, between custom... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is, first, to identify the relationship, if any, between customers’ perceptions of justice (functional element) and employee effort (symbolic element) and their effects on satisfaction and loyalty in the context of service recovery and, second, to determine the impact of cross-cultural differences on these relationships. Design/methodology/approach Survey data from actual customers were gathered in three countries ( n = 414) and analyzed using structural equation modeling to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings The results demonstrate the role of the constructs of perceived employee effort and perceived justice in influencing post-recovery satisfaction and loyalty across cultures. While perceived justice is valued across cultures, customers from feminine (masculine) cultures require more (less) employee effort to influence post-recovery satisfaction positively. Customers from low (high) uncertainty cultures are more (less) willing to give the prov...
This qualitative study investigates motivators and inhibitors of environmentally friendly behavio... more This qualitative study investigates motivators and inhibitors of environmentally friendly behaviors in the context of an emerging economy. Based on interviews and observation, four dominant themes emerge from the analysis: Social class, generational differences, habits and modernity, and consumer confusion and credibility. Some environmentally-unfriendly behaviors, such as the use of disposable dishes, seem to be deeply-rooted in traditions and the desire to participate in the modern world. We conclude that the single-most important reason for the environmental knowledge-attitude-behavior gap is based on a discrepancy between a higher-level, relatively abstract benefit and a specific, very tangible and immediate cost of environmentally-friendly actions.
PurposeThe purpose of this research is to contribute to a better understanding of deeper motivati... more PurposeThe purpose of this research is to contribute to a better understanding of deeper motivations and inhibitors of green consumer behavior in the context of emerging economies. Based on the findings, it aims to provide implications for marketers and policy making.Design/methodology/approachBased on an ethnographic approach, in‐depth interviews and observational data were used to study 15 Mexican families from four urban regions of Mexico with different incomes. Thematic analysis was used to develop and validate themes and codes.FindingsThe findings highlight three dominant themes related to uncertainty in the adoption of environmentally‐friendly behaviors: consumer confusion, trust and credibility, and compatibility. Overall, green behaviors seem to be ingrained in the traditional heritage of savings and frugality rather than based on strong environmental values. It is suggested that the factors that drive consumers from positive attitudes and intentions to the actual adoption o...
Purpose Celebrity-branded products constitute a brand extension growing phenomenon. Authenticity ... more Purpose Celebrity-branded products constitute a brand extension growing phenomenon. Authenticity may explain why some of these offerings are successful despite low perceived fit, a traditional measure for brand extension acceptance. The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a framework based on the meaning transfer model that depicts the effects of brand extension authenticity, brand extension fit and idol attachment on the valuation of such offerings. An exploration of both functional and hedonic extensions is provided to control for product-type variables. Design/methodology/approach Scenario-based survey data from a general population (n = 646) was collected and analyzed with ordinary least squares regressions. Findings Brand extension authenticity is a significant antecedent of brand extension success in both product types, and brand extension fit is the most relevant antecedent only in functional extensions. Idol attachment exerts less influence than fit and authenticity...
ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to analyse the city branding of Sapporo, a major city in th... more ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to analyse the city branding of Sapporo, a major city in the north of Japan, from an innovation and network perspective. To do this, a qualitative, exploratory approach was employed, comprising a series of semi-structured interviews with key figures involved in Sapporo's city branding. Applying thematic analysis to the interview data, the authors present findings related to the following dimensions of the city's brand strategy: the key elements of the city brand; the role of innovation in Sapporo's city branding; the extent to which a network approach is adopted; the main target audiences for the city brand; and, the extent to which Sapporo's city brand message is adapted for different target audiences. The results indicate that innovation and a network approach both play a significant role in Sapporo's city branding. The city brand's target audience is limited, however, and may benefit from a more diversified approach, particularly with regard to internationalising the Sapporo city brand.
Strong competitive pressures demand organizations to generate and deliver higher levels of value ... more Strong competitive pressures demand organizations to generate and deliver higher levels of value to clients than those offered by competitors. For this reason, it is necessary to know perfectly well each one of the clients and to be capable of putting forward an adaptable offer to every single client. As such, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has won center stage in the organizational literature.However, in many occasions this term has been used as a synonym of technology, omitting its integral dimension. It is possible to infer that for this reason many organizations have not been able to successfully implement CRM. This study intends to analyze the impact of a group of technological and non-technological factors on the success of CRM. Once analyzed, results clearly indicate that in the reality of the Spanish bank sector, other factors such as a human-resources management orientation or specific knowledge on CRM impact more on the success of the CRM. At the end, discussions o...
The purpose of this article is to examine how brands are built in small-to- medium-sized enterpri... more The purpose of this article is to examine how brands are built in small-to- medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and to develop a conceptual model of SME brand- building. The research design is based on an a priori conceptual framework that helped direct the fi eldwork, data analysis and fi ndings. A series of semi-structured interviews was conducted among 35 owner / managers from 30 fi rms. The results indicate that SME brands are built in a non-traditional manner and contrary to large fi rm brand building, with minimum brand planning and limited resources. SME brand-owner / managers and employees engage in brand exploration phases where they experiment in a spirit of trial and error based on risk-taking, commitment, creativity and willingness to learn. Based on these results, the article develops a model of the fi ve phases of SME brand-building. The fi ve-phase model represents an actionable framework for managers in an SME context. The model also presents scholars with a theoretical ...
Uploads
Papers by Edgar Centeno