Global design, marketing and branding: Introduction to the special issue

摘要

The relationship between marketing and design has a long heritage (see, e.g. Bloch, 1995; Kotler & Rath, 1984). Research studies demonstrate that visual design stimuli are well-established drivers of consumer behavior (Giese, Malkewitz, Orth, & Henderson, 2014; Raz et al., 2008). Notwithstanding the centrality of design to the practical world of marketing, two decades ago Bloch asserted that "empirical studies of design issues are rare in marketing journals" (Bloch, 1995). Luchs and Swan repeated that assertion in 2011 (Luchs & Swan, 2011). Design "determines marketplace success, [but] its prominence continues to lag in the domain of academic marketing" (Bloch, 2011). For the convenience of researchers, consumer preference and the design of products are usually addressed separately, whereas for optimal (marketing-orientated) decisions they need to be brought together (Michalek, Feinberg, & Papalambros, 2005). Integrating design and marketing should lead to competitive advantages (Kang, Kim, & Park, 2007).