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Consumer affinity and an extended view of the spillover effects of attitudes toward a cross-border-acquisition event

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Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the structural impacts of consumer ethnocentric tendencies (CETs) and consumer affinity on attitudes toward a cross-border-acquisition (CBA) event and the spillover effects of attitudes toward a CBA event on post-CBA attitudes toward foreign brands in the industry where the CBA event occurs. Two studies were conducted to examine whether the relationships remain unchanged across different groups based on multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) for multiple groups measurement invariance and group comparison. The analyses extend the basic SEM framework to accommodate differing parameter values across different groups. The analysis results show that (1) CETs and consumer affinity impact attitudes toward the CBA event in opposite directions, and (2) attitudes toward the CBA event positively impact post-CBA attitudes toward the acquirer’s corporate brand, the target brand, a competing brand from a different foreign country, and a competing brand from the acquirer’s home country. Theoretical and managerial implications, limitations and future research directions are also discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Melvin D. & Valorie G. Booth School of Business, Northwest Missouri State University, Colden Hall 2610, 800 University Drive, Maryville, MO, 64468, USA

    Tiebing Shi

  2. Applied Statistics and Research Methods, University of Northern Colorado, Campus Box 124, Greeley, CO, 80639, USA

    Han Yu

  3. Melvin D. & Valorie G. Booth School of Business, Northwest Missouri State University, Colden Hall 2620, 800 University Drive, Maryville, MO, 64468, USA

    Chi Lo Lim

Authors
  1. Tiebing Shi
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  2. Han Yu
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  3. Chi Lo Lim
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Correspondence to Tiebing Shi.

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The surveys administered in this research was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Northwest Missouri State University and all participants signed an informed consent form.

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Shi, T., Yu, H. & Lim, C.L. Consumer affinity and an extended view of the spillover effects of attitudes toward a cross-border-acquisition event. J Brand Manag 28, 596–608 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-021-00246-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-021-00246-6

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