Purpose: Realizing the existence of information asymmetry in export markets and the use of signals to distinguish high-qualified sellers from low-qualified sellers, this study investigates the effects of signal consistency and signal clarity on exporter credibility, and subsequently, importer relationship intention. Methodology: Using a survey data set collected from a systematic sample of 418 Vietnamese importers, the authors tested a model hypothesizing the impact of signal consistency and signal clarity on exporter credibility, and subsequently, on importer relationship intention. Findings: The authors found that signal consistency and clarity have a positive impact on exporter credibility. Signal consistency also enhances the level of signal clarity. They also found that exporter credibility underlies importer relationship intension. Research Implications: Under the condition of information asymmetry, importers face difficulties in identifying and evaluating the best supplier among available suppliers in order to make the most appropriate selection decision. The findings confirm that signal clarity and consistency can help exporters to overcome such problems. Exporters should ensure that all signals sent to importers are clear and consistent over time to encourage importers to build long-term business relationships with them. Contributions: The findings of this study add to the literature on signaling in exporter–importer relationships and can serve as an initiation for further research in the area in transitioning economies.

Purpose This paper seeks to compare some key antecedents of brand loyalty between two emerging markets: Thailand and Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of 603 female consumers of international shampoo brands, including 304 consumers in Bangkok, Thailand and 299 users in Hanoi, Vietnam, a model was tested that incorporates key determinants of brand loyalty – perceived quality, brand awareness, advertising attitudes, and distribution intensity – by means of structural equation modeling. Findings The paper found that there are positive relationships between perceived quality and brand loyalty, between brand awareness and perceived quality, between advertising attitudes and brand awareness, and between distribution intensity and brand awareness in both markets. However, the relationship between brand awareness and brand loyalty was found only in the Vietnamese market, and the relationship between advertising attitudes and perceived quality was only found in the Thai market. Finally, no relationship between distribution intensity and perceived quality was found in either market. Research limitations/implications A major limitation of this study is the examination of only one concept that stands for strong brands, i.e. brand loyalty. Several other concepts, such as brand relationship quality and brand impressions, should be investigated in future research in order to compare and contrast with those found in advanced economies. Practical implications The results of this study suggest that managers of international brands in emerging markets should recognize the differences between markets in order to design effective loyalty programs for each market. Originality/value A major contribution of this study is to empirically compare the impacts of perceived quality, brand awareness, advertising attitudes, and store image on brand loyalty in two emerging markets: Thailand and Vietnam.

Abstract This study empirically investigates the impacts of consumer ethnocentrism and cultural sensitivity on both imported product judgment and intention to purchase local products in the context of a developing country—Vietnam. Structural equation modeling was used to test these impacts, utilizing a sample of 549 consumers. The results show that consumer ethnocentrism is negatively related to imported product judgment and positively related to intention to purchase local products. In addition, cultural sensitivity has a positive relationship with imported product judgment but not with consumer ethnocentrism. The results also indicate that the impacts of consumer ethnocentrism on imported product judgment and on intention to purchase local products are not different in terms of product categories, gender, income, and education levels. However, differences exist between younger and older consumers. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Purpose This study aims to explore the impact of hedonic shopping motivations (HSM) and supermarket attributes (SMA) on shopper loyalty (SLO). Design/methodology/approach A sample of 608 supermarket shoppers in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam was surveyed to test the model. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings It was found that SMA and HSM had positive effects on SLO. It was also found that the impact of hedonic motivations on SLO was different between the younger and older, as well as lower and higher income groups of customers. However, no such difference was found between female and male shoppers. Research limitations/implications A major limitation of this study was the use of a sample drawn from one transitional market. Cross‐national samples will be a direction for further research. Also, the study focuses on attitudinal loyalty. Behavioral loyalty should be taken into account in future research. Practical implications The findings suggest that the supermarket managers showed concentrate their positioning strategies not only on the utilitarian dimension but also on the hedonic motivations to stimulate SLO, especially for older and higher income segments of customers. Originality/value The major contribution of the study is to empirically examine the role of hedonic motivations in SLO in Vietnam, a transitional market.

Previous research on internationalisation has mainly focused on the collection and use of information. In this article we examine the role of information internalisation in international business activities of Vietnamese firms. A theoretical model incorporating key antecedents and outcomes of information internalisation is developed. The antecedents are market orientation and learning orientation, and the outcomes are international orientation and foreign sales intensity. A survey of 144 Vietnamese internationalising firms was conducted to test the model in conjunction with its two competing models by means of a two-step approach to structural equation modelling. We found that both information internalisation has direct and indirect effects (mediated by international orientation) on foreign sales intensity. Further, market orientation and learning orientation underlie information internalisation. Implications for managers and directions for future research are also addressed.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the factors that affect the intention to adopt the internet by export firms in transitional markets. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 144 export firms in Vietnam was surveyed to test the model. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. Findings It was found that perceived usefulness, but not perceived ease of use, of the internet is a potential predictor of the intention to adopt the internet by firms for their export activities. It was also found that market orientation has both direct and indirect (mediated by perceived usefulness) impacts on intention to adopt the internet, and that learning orientation has a direct effect on both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of the internet. Research limitations/implications A major limitation of this study is the use of a sample drawn from one transitional market. Cross‐national samples will be a direction for further research. Practical implications The findings of this study suggest that export promotion programs should promote the usefulness of the internet as well as market and learning orientations to stimulate export firms to adopt the internet for their export activities. Orginality/value The major contribution of the study is to incorporate market and learning orientations in the technology adoption model to explain the intention to adopt the internet by export firms.

This article examines the knowledge-creating role of the Internet in international business activities of Vietnamese firms. The authors find that both the collection and the transformation of information from the Internet by a firm affect its foreign sales intensity. In addition, market and learning orientations facilitate this process.