Existing studies have shown that highly conspicuous brands are strongly impacted by word of mouth. Bandwagon and snob effects are opposite; however, existing studies have not shown the conditions under which these opposite effects occur. If we assume that they work simultaneously, they would negate each other and become meaningless. Thus, this paper surveys brand-name goods sold in duty free shops and personal networks constituting friends and acquaintances. Results of this social network analysis reveal that people owning many of the same items have no relation with cohesion but have a relation with structural equivalence (SE). In other words, considering the characteristics of a consumer network, (a) the snob effect operates under conditions of cohesion while (b) the bandwagon effect operates under conditions of SE.

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This study reconfigures part one of Thompson (1967) as a theoretical restatement of Chandler's (1962) historical evidence. When organizations grow, their growth orientations and strategies emerge from their technical rationality, according to Thompson's first criteria of technology instrumentality. Regarding instrumentally reasonable/rational organizations, according to his second criteria of economy, organizational structures such as horizontal departmentalization, vertical hierarchies, and multidivisional forms become necessary to minimize coordination costs. In other words, when discussing growth strategies and multidivisional forms, Chandler claimed that “structure follows strategy,” but Thompson rightfully claimed that “strategy and structure follow technology.”

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This study identifies the usage of the term “mother factory” in the Japanese mass media, Japanese academic research, and non-Japanese academic research and analyzes historical changes in the usage of the term. It indicates that initially, all three groups used the term to mean “a unit that continuously supports overseas factories,” but over time, the term has taken on additional connotations outside of Japanese academic research.

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Eisenhardt (1989) is one of the most frequently cited studies on the methodological fundamentals of the case study for theory construction. This paper will first summarize the methodology espoused by Eisenhardt (1989). Eisenhardt suggests nine steps for conducting a case study as an effective research method for theory construction. However, most of the research that cites Eisenhardt only emphasizes generalizability. To be sure, Eisenhardt (1989) takes a stance of positivism and has an awareness of quantitative empirical research. However, he does not necessarily advocate only generalizability. Regardless, some studies that have drawn on Eisenhardt (1989) have emphasized only generalizability. This has the potential of restricting theory construction using case studies.

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