Innovation-performance research, when conducted at the firm level, neglects the role of innovation that is created without firm involvement. In this article, the authors test Schumpeter's lone-genius hypothesis: “Change in economic life always starts with the actions of a forceful individual.” To do so, the authors introduce country-level internationalizing-innovation profile (IIP), which characterizes a country's innovation resources, and internationalizing-innovation experience (IIE), which characterizes a country's level of patenting activity into the United States. Using fixed-effects panel data analysis for 50 countries from 1990 through 2010, the authors demonstrate that a country's IIP moderated by IIE influences high-technology exports. The findings suggest that lone genius does have an impact, depending on the phase of a country's IIE development. The implications of these findings for theory, public policy, and international marketing managers are discussed.

This paper investigates how two fundamental consumer characteristics, self-esteem (inner-self) and status seeking (outer-self), influence consumers’ purchasing behaviors of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) products via two mediating effects: brand image and self-enhancement. In particular, we analyze these effects in two different CSR domains: environmental and social. By doing so, we are able to verify the underlying mechanisms of how different types of consumers respond to various CSR promotions. We propose a distinctive CSR consumption model incorporating both inner-self and outer-self components. We collected data from two countries, the US and China, using two commonly used online survey platforms: Amazon M-Turk and Loop Information Technology. Using structural equation modeling, our analysis in the environmental domain revealed that both inner-self and outer-self components play a significant role in consumers’ desire to purchase CSR products. Additionally, this process is mediated by the brand image of the firm and the tendency to enhance self-value. Interestingly, we found that in the social domain, self-enhancement mediated consumer characteristics and purchasing behavior of CSR product, whereas brand image did not. This indicates that environmental CSR activities increase brand value and its impact on purchase intention, while social CSR activities do not. Additionally, we found similar patterns for both US and Chinese consumers.