ABSTRACT
PurposeThis research investigates the role of marketing channel selection in influencing brand authenticity and purchase likelihood in the international marketing domain. Further, perceived firm size is identified as a mediator in this regard. The moderating role of consumer skepticism is also considered.Design/methodology/approachThree experimental studies were carried out across three different markets (India, the US and the UK) in the context of South Korean brands.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that firms utilizing (only) online channels are perceived to be smaller than those that utilize hybrid channels (i.e. both online and physical stores) or offline channels (i.e. physical stores). When consumers perceive firms to be smaller, they also report higher levels of brand authenticity, which in turn increases their purchase likelihood. Further, this effect is weaker among consumers with high levels of skepticism.Originality/valueThe findings of the present research contribute to the international marketing literature by demonstrating how consumers perceive online marketing channels, the role of marketing channel selection in driving brand authenticity, as well as providing managerial implications on how to promote products in the international market.
ABSTRACT
During the Covid-19 health crisis, global food consumption, especially that of pork products, experienced strong disruptions in a short time. The consumption per distribution channel of pork products and meat from other species was monitored by combining two complementary data sets. The Nielsen retailer panel provided automatic data collection from weekly cash registers for supermarkets and drive-through pickup while the KantarWorldpanel consumer panel released monthly data of at-home consumption behavior based on purchasing data in all distribution channels. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, out-of-home catering consumption was estimated to have an approximately 15% market share by volume within the pork sector. The almost total lockdown in France resulted in consumption being diverted to at-home supply chains. Consumers' search for proximity and social distancing has helped accelerate the fragmentation of distribution, favoring online distribution channels and alternative supermarkets to physical points of sale. Against a backdrop of a pronounced decrease in meat consumption over the past 10 years, fresh pork and self-service cold meats have served as safe-haven products in a context of reallocation of deli counter spending. Analysis of this atypical period of consumption leads to questioning the persistence of these behaviors in the medium term, both in terms of the products offered and the distribution channels.