Perception of Green Product Consumption in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic in an Emerging Economy

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in changes in consumer behavior and has created new opportunities and challenges for the provisioning of green products in emerging economies. The objective of this study was to identify how perceptions on COVID-19 affected the variables of planned behavior and responsible purchase intention during the pandemic in Colombia. A total of 320 consumers participated in an online survey, and the responses were analyzed using a structural equation model (SEM) and AMOS 24 statistical software. The results were positive regarding the development of better environmental awareness, indicating that COVID-19 (COV) influenced the attitude (ATT) of individuals and contributed to subjective norms (SNs) and perceived behavioral control (PBC), and that SNs and ATT influence eco-friendly purchase intention (EFPI). However, PBC does not contribute to EFPI. Colombian consumers have become aware of the importance to society of buying eco-friendly products, and planned behavior is an opportunity for organizations to formulate new portfolios relevant to the needs of the market. This is an important opportunity to sensitize consumers to the purchase of environmentally friendly products and for the identification of commercial strategies by companies that bet on the formulation and commercialization of eco-friendly portfolios that generate value for society.

Reputation of Electric Vehicles in the Environment of Carbon Reduction and Accelerated Digitization

The accelerated digitization of the third decade of the twenty-first century poses a challenge both for science and for practice. The study presents partial results of continuous research on online reputation management of entities operating in the environment of low-carbon economy. The aim of the study is the application of a standardized methodology for calculating the Total level of Online Reputation (TOR) to determine the market position of selected Electric Vehicles (EVs) compared to the market position of conventional Vehicles with Internal Combustion Engines (ICEVs) in the online environment. The research sample consists of the ten best-selling Vehicles and the ten best-selling Electric Vehicles in the world by sales in the year 2021. Based on the measurement results and the subsequent analysis of the context, it can be concluded that the EV market shows the parameters of a developing market not only from the point of view of sales but also in terms of the overall level of Online Reputation as such. At the same time, it is possible to point out a high geographical specificity and significant disproportionality of the EV market compared to ICEVs. From the overall market perspective, the future of cars in the EV category is still unclear, as building trust in low-carbon products is limited by historical tradition. The main representatives of the EV industry thus represent the first forays of the onset of the low-carbon era in individual transport. The description of the issue will require the monitoring of status indicators over time. The results of the presented study can thus serve as a baseline and methodological framework for further research of the adoption of low-carbon policies in common practice.

Coping in supply chains: a conceptual framework for disruption management

PurposeThe Covid-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of global supply chains. Attempts to deepen our understanding of the effects of the pandemic on global supply chains mostly offer anecdotal evidences and lack theory grounded research. The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework to help explain supply chain disruption management.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper and uses a theory building approach. It develops a conceptual framework adapted from coping theory in psychology to explain supply chain disruption management. To refine the framework, the authors independently reviewed extant supply chain disruption management literature. The authors then studied the frameworks on stress theory in psychology. Following the review of both streams of literatures, the authors developed an initial draft of the conceptual model. This draft was then iteratively refined through extensive discussions among the authors.FindingsCoping theory can help revise supply chain disruption management with an alternative lens that has not been applied before in this domain. The proposed conceptual framework is generic and can be applied to disruption management strategies for any organization in any industry.Originality/valueThe conceptual framework proposed in this paper offers a new theoretical lens to supply chain disruption management discourse. It contributes to the operational understanding of supply chain disruption management.

The lone road toward oil-free metalworking fluids

Over the past couple of decades, newer formulations on the market have trended toward less dependence on nonrenewable resources like petroleum products and fewer ingredients like biocides that pose worker health concerns. Oil-free formulations check these boxes, and they also help with reducing foam, increasing fluid life and eliminating the need to clean oil films from the finished workpieces. However, they don't work for all applications, they can be expensive and they can present waste disposal problems. Here, McGuire talks about oil-free metalworking fluids.

20 MINUTES WITH...Johan Luycx

An interview with Johan Luycx, product technical support specialist for Chevron is presented. Luycx said that after my military service in the Belgian Army, stationed in Germany, I started to look for a job and was recruited by Texaco in October 1988. I obtained a bachelor of science degree in industrial chemistry at Hogeschool Gent in Belgium, where petrochemistry was part of the lesson package. Some of my schoolmates were already working at the Texaco Research Centre in Ghent, and I was invited in early October 1988 for a job interview. There are still many jobs available in the lubricants industry, but I only can speak about how I came into this industry. It does not really matter what degree you obtained--the real learning process starts when you are in the job. Preferably, you should start working in the laboratory to understand all aspects of the specification tests, then move on to product development or a technical support function.

Investigating the consumer evaluation of the co-branding of luxury brands

China as a hot luxury market has witnessed high growth in luxury sales despite the COVID-19. In recent years, many luxury companies have further improved their brand value and influence via co-branding strategies, however, their brand cooperation received mixed evaluations. Drawing on the conceptual blending theory and self-concept consistency theory, this paper constructs and verifies the structural equation model of consumer evaluation of luxury co-branding from the perspectives of the brands and the consumers. The study reveals that luxury co-branding fit, advertising types and the consumers' life-role transition have a positive impact on consumer evaluation. Both the type of advertising and consumers' life-role transition have a moderating effect on consumer evaluation. Specifically, (i) In luxury co-branding, the co-branded products paired with a high fit between the values of the cooperative brands are more likely to receive high consumer evaluation;(ii) The publicity of the brand image of the co-branded products has a stronger moderating effect on the perceived quality, appeal and purchase intention of luxury users than the publicity of the features of the co-branded products;(iii) For luxury brands with a high degree of joint fit, consumers who have not experienced life-role transformation have a stronger regulatory effect on consumers' perceived quality, attractiveness and purchase intention than consumers who have experienced life-role transformation.

Capacity Investment and Process Efficiency at Flexible Firms

When firms are endowed with volume flexibility, capacity investment may influence the subsequent production process via affecting the structure of production cost. Yet, the strategic interaction between capacity and production decisions has not been adequately addressed. In this paper, we consider two firms serving one market under price sensitive and uncertain demand. Firms incur costs to build capacity and produce. The firm’s capacity affects production cost through its influence on process efficiency, while the specific effects on the two firms differ. We establish a two-stage game-theoretical framework to characterize the problem and obtain two firms’ equilibrium capacity and production decisions. The results show that the firm whose process efficiency is more prone to improving as capacity expands will invest in more capacity and achieve a more efficient process, provided that production is not overly labor and material intensive. However, its competitor will spin off capacity and suffer profit reduction. Moreover, the firms are encouraged to scale up capacity investment to achieve a more efficient process in an expanding and more volatile market.

Investigating the healthiness of food products on promotion: market brands and own brands

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the proportionality of market brand (MB) foods versus supermarket own brand (OB) foods sold on promotion and to compare their healthiness.Design/methodology/approachAn existing dataset containing nutritional information about a variety of foods on promotion (n = 6,776) from 48 stores across 8 retail chains in Northern Ireland (NI) was reanalysed. Product healthiness was measured using a score aligned to the Food Standards Agency's Front of Pack nutrient labelling system. MBs and OBs were considered as a whole and in their respective subsets–international/national and regional MBs, and premium, mid-market and value tiered OBs.FindingsResults found a balance in favour of health (52.4% amber/green versus 47.6% red) across retailers' promotions in NI. Further, OB products were often found to be superior to MBs with regards to overall healthfulness, and regional brands were found to be less healthy than international/national brands.Research limitations/implicationsFindings rationale further retail research to compare nutritionally OB and MB product types, and further consumer research regarding important attributes of OBs.Practical implicationsRetailers should communicate the comparative healthiness of their OBs in comparison to MB alternatives, in addition to communicating comparative price savings. There is opportunity for retailers to increase visibility of mid-market and value OB tiers, and for regional MBs to improve the nutritional profile of products in line with the consumer trend for health.Originality/valueThis study provides a contribution by using data on OBs and MBs on promotion, and by investigating the nutritional differences between different tiers of OB and MB products.