E-mail :  chialin@mail.ntust.edu.tw

Address: MA410, No. 43, Keelung Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei, Taiwan

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• Research Agenda

My research interests lie primarily in the area of marketing, and mainly focus on six major areas: branding issues in the context of LOF, sustainability-related research issues, endorsement strategy, co-branding strategy, consumer perceptions of logo changes, and destination marketing . The details are provided below.

1. Branding Issues in the Context of Liability of Foreignness (LOF)

     Background: LOF posits that global firms often face disadvantages compared to local firms when operating in foreign markets, primarily due to geographic distance and a lack of familiarity with the host country's environment. Recently, marketing scholars have started exploring the influences of branding effects (e.g., brand engagement, brand buzz) on LOF (see, e.g. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11575-025-00586-4).

2. Sustainability-related Research Issues (永續相關研究議題)

2.1 Communications of Sustainable Marketing Messages (永續行銷訊息溝通)

      Background: Allocating a budget for sustainable marketing messages between a corporate brand, such as Procter & Gamble, and its product brands (e.g. Head & Shoulders) requires a strategic approach that balances overarching corporate sustainability goals with product-specific messaging. Consumers’ perceptions can be a major determinant when allocating budgets and designing effective messages (see, e.g. https://www.eastman.com/en/media-center/news-stories/2024/sustainable-messaging-through-eastman-partnership-with-procter-and-gamble).

2.2. Sustainable Strategy of Luxury Brands (精品品牌的永續策略)

     Background: Today’s luxury brands have developed various sustainable marketing activities to demonstrate their commitment to environmental protection. For example, many brands have released the upcycled products to the market and those are appealing to customers (see, e.g. https://hbr.org/2024/04/research-why-people-really-buy-upcycled-products).

2.3 Sustainable Product Labelling (永續產品標籤)

     Background: Different types of labels are attached to products to signal product quality and sustainable brand image. For example, the Rainfall Alliance (RA) label is used in the beverage and food categories (see, e.g. https://www.mrbrown.com.tw/Coffee/index.aspx?ID=5). In addition to RA, other popular labels include the Fairtrade label, released by Fairtrade International, organic labels, energy labels (e.g. Energy Star) and ecolabels (e.g. Carbon Footprint).

2.4 Sustainable Reporting and Managerial Ability (永續報告與管理者能力)

     Background: The disclosure and assurance of ESG-related information (e.g. TCFD) is a crucial issue in both academic research and the business world (see, e.g. https://www.accountability.org/standards/). However, the relationship between managerial ability and the voluntary assurance of ESG/CSR reports remains insufficiently understood.

3. Endorsement Strategy (代言策略)

3.1 Influencer Endorsement (網紅代言)

     Background: Influencer marketing is one of the most popular strategies today, with brand managers frequently inviting social media influencers to endorse products and services (see, e.g. https://en.pingwest.com/a/11882). Previous research has shown that the credibility of influencers and consumers’ familiarity with endorsers may affect consumers’ purchase intentions for branded products.

3.2 Athlete Endorsement (運動員代言)

  Background: For the athletes and the brands that invite them, the athlete endorsement strategy is beneficial for them. For the athletes, endorsements could bring positive associations via this business practice; for brands, the athletes could convey positive values (see, e.g. https://medium.com/@soccernick/athlete-endorsements-pros-and-cons-for-brands-de437208bc4b).

4. Co-branding Strategy (雙品牌策略)

4.1 Consumer Evaluation of Co-branding (消費者對雙品牌的評估過程)

     Background: Co-branding is a popular brand strategy, and consumer evaluation of co-branding remains an interesting and important research issue. Co-branding alliances basically have two types: horizontal brand alliances and ingredient brand alliances (see, e.g. https://www.fastcompany.com/90821680/three-ways-ingredient-brands-can-partner-for-long-term-success).

4.2 Online Pricing Strategy of Dual-brand Hotels (雙品牌旅館的訂價策略)

Background: Dual-brand hotels are a popular co-branding strategy. Previous research has widely discussed the fit between partners; however, a critical gap exists regarding how the perceived fit of sensory attributes affects consumer evaluations. Investigating the impact of sensory fit in dual-brand hotels on online pricing is therefore a critical research topic (see, e.g. https://fhahoreca.com/glossary/dual-branded-hotels/).

5. Consumer Perceptions of Logo Changes (品牌標誌改變的感知)

     Background: Sensory marketing is currently an important strategy, and brand managers often change the design elements (e.g. colours and shapes) of logos to alter consumers’ perceptions (see, e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq9u0HeAnhM).

6. Destination Marketing (目的地行銷)

Background: Tourism mascots have emerged as a powerful marketing tool to attract tourists, fostering closer connections between destinations and visitors while driving economic benefits. However, limited empirical research has explored how specific design elements of mascots—such as cuteness and anthropomorphism—influence marketing effectiveness (see, e.g. https://beijingtimes.com/travel/2023/11/26/mascots-in-tourism-from-historic-dragons-to-modern-ai-agents/).