Collaborating at the Cutting Edge: Samplenomics and Academic Partnerships
Did you know that Samplenomics actively engages in collaborative ventures with esteemed academic researchers and institutions, offering robust online data collection methods and sophisticated data analysis support?
One exemplary collaboration saw Samplenomics partnering with the Montpellier Business School from France, resulting in a seminal study accepted for publication in the prestigious International Journal of Research in Marketing by Elsevier.
“Package graphic design and communication across cultures: An investigation of Chinese consumers' interpretation of imported wine labels”.
Published in the International Journal of Research in Marketing, July 2019 -
By Franck Celhay, Peiyao Cheng, Josselin Masson, Wenhua Li
Abstract
Package graphic design is a powerful tool for brand communication. Yet, an important question is how the designs are understood across cultures. A considerable amount of research has focused on cross-cultural marketing communications, prompting discussions on the emergence of global consumer cultures, which make package standardization possible or, conversely, the awareness of cultural differences, which has suggested that package localization is necessary. No research, however, has considered this question from a design-centered perspective and examined whether some package graphic designs are more likely than others to remain intelligible across cultures. This research proposes that packages using motivated signs in their graphic designs are more likely to be intelligible across cultures than packages using arbitrary signs. To explore this proposition, eight imported wine labels were analyzed through a semiotic study (study 1). Then, two studies investigated the interpretations of the wine labels by Chinese consumers. The results indicate that the labels that were classified as “motivated” succeeded in conveying the desired brand meanings to the Chinese respondents (study 2: N = 1391) even when they were not familiar with the wine brand culture (study 3: N = 795). The research presents a theoretical contribution by introducing the concept of sign motivation to the marketing literature and nuancing the classic assumption that visual signs convey different meanings across cultures. It also presents a managerial contribution by presenting a conceptual framework and methodology for the analysis of whether or not a graphic design is likely to be intelligible across cultures. It therefore provides guidelines for the design of packages for international markets
Prior to this achievement, the study had garnered recognition and publication acceptance in the esteemed International Journal of Market Research by the Market Research Society (MRS).
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2501/IJMR-2017-044 “Is mianzi the only face of Chinese consumers of wine? A typology of Chinese consumers of imported wine”. Published in the International Journal of Market Research, September 2017 - Vol.59 No. 5, 2017. By Josselin Masson, Carlos Raúl Sánchez Sánchez and Franck Celhay This paper describes a cluster analysis, using the K-means method, conducted on a quota sample of 1,260 Chinese consumers of imported wine interviewed via an online questionnaire. Agreement is broad that the Chinese market has great potential for many products, including wine. With its huge population of 1.37billion and its growing middle class, China is very attractive for winemakers, particularly the European wineries hoping to compensate for the decrease in domestic wine consumption by exporting to China. However, consumers of a product category are rarely homogeneous and market segmentation is needed to adapt the product appropriately to consumer groups presenting similar needs and wants. Studies on the segmentation of the Chinese wine market are nevertheless scarce in the academic literature. This paper aims to address that lack. The analysis described identified six clusters (indifferent occasionals, wine lovers, relaxed amateurs, social networkers, stay-at-home connoisseurs and infrequent money-minded) and provides winemakers with greater detail on the various profiles of Chinese consumers of imported wine. This should help them to make their offerings more suitable to their targeted segments.
Another noteworthy collaboration unfolded between Samplenomics and the School of Design & Creative Arts at Loughborough University in the UK, alongside the Design department of the Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), P.R. China.
Together, we embarked on a scholarly exploration titled "Understanding Design Utilizations in China" authored by Peiyao Cheng and Cees de Bont. This in-depth examination, focused on design practices within the Chinese context, culminated in successful acceptance and publication by the International Journal of Design in 2022. https://www.ijdesign.org/index.php/IJDesign/article/view/4611
“Understanding Design Utilizations in China: Investigating Design Award-Winning Products Based on Innovation Pyramid Framework”
Published in the International Journal of Design, Vol.16, No.3 on 30 December 2022.
By Peiyao Cheng, Cees de Bont Abstract Learning from developments in other countries, Chinese firms heavily invest in design to develop products with differentiated advantages to upgrade their value chains. This research investigates Chinese firms’ design utilization performance by analyzing award-winning products in the past decade. Specifically, we first investigate on what level leading Chinese companies utilized design. Through a content analysis based on the jury’s comments on each award-winning product, results show that Chinese companies mainly utilized the functional and styling roles of design. Next, we further investigate the competitiveness of Chinese firms’ utilization of design in Chinese markets and non-Chinese markets. The comparison of consumers’ evaluations of selected award-winning products was conducted between products from leading Chinese brands and international brands. Results showed that in Chinese markets, consumers evaluated products from Chinese brands more positively than the international ones on all four dimensions (i.e., aesthetics, usage, meaning, and typological). In non-Chinese markets, represented by Dutch markets, western consumers evaluated international brands more positively than Chinese brands overall as well as on the dimension of meaning. Taken together, this research indicates that leading Chinese firms mainly utilize the styling and function roles of design. In terms of competitiveness of design utilization, Chinese firms are competitive on products’ aesthetics and usage, both at the national and international levels. They, however, lack the ability to leverage design at the international level through generating new meanings. At Samplenomics, we eagerly anticipate forthcoming scholarly contributions in esteemed academic journals, and we remain committed to keeping our esteemed colleagues informed. For academic researchers seeking collaborative opportunities with Samplenomics to further their research endeavors, we extend an open invitation to engage with us. Let us propel the frontiers of knowledge and make meaningful contributions together.
In addition, for several years Samplenomics has developed educational programs in Online Quantitative Research Methods and Conducting International Research, teaching them to several Master's and Executive Master's programs around the world.
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