Assurance of Learning and Study Abroad: A Case Study

Most academic programs are now held accountable for measuring student‐learning outcomes. This article reports the results of an assurance of learning (AOL) project designed to measure the impact of study abroad on the development of ethical reasoning, intercultural sensitivity, and environmental attitudes. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB) AOL guidelines (2007 Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International. 2007, November 20. AACSB assurance of learning standards: An interpretation (AACSB White Paper), Tampa, FL: AACSB International Accreditation Coordinating Committee and the AACSB International Accreditation Quality Committee. Retrieved May 16, 2009 from http://aacsb.edu/accreditation/papers/AOLPaper‐final‐11‐20‐07.pdf [Google Scholar], 2008 Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International. 2008, January 31. Eligibility procedures and accreditation standards for business accreditation, 12, 15, 71, &; 74Tampa, FL: Author. Retrieved March 12, 2009 from http://aacsb.edu/accreditation/process/documents/AACSB_STANDARDS_Revised_Jan08.pdf [Google Scholar]) are used to frame the overall assessment process. Hammer and Bennett's (2002 Hammer, M. R. and Bennett, M. J. 2002. The intercultural development inventory (IDI) manual, Portland, OR: Intercultural Communication Institute.  [Google Scholar]) intercultural development inventory (IDI); Dunlap, Van Liere, Mertig, and Jones' (2000 Dunlap, R. E., Van Liere, K. D., Mertig, A. G. and Jones, R. E. 2000. Measuring endorsement of the new ecological paradigm: A revised NEP scale.. Journal of Social Issues, 3: 425–442.  [Google Scholar]) new ecological paradigm; Forsyth's (1980 Forsyth, D. R. 1980. A taxonomy of ethical ideologies.. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39: 175–184. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) ethics position questionnaire (EPQ); and Richins' (1987 Richins, M. L. 1987. “Media, materialism, and human happiness.”. In Advances in consumer research, Edited by: Wallendorf, M and Anderson, P. 352–56. Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research.  [Google Scholar]) materialism scale are the primary measurement rubrics used in the study. Results support the proposition that study abroad does have a positive impact on the development of cross‐cultural sensitivity and environmental attitudes. Although study abroad appears to have no direct impact on moral reasoning, changes in ethical reasoning do appear to be related to intercultural development and environmental attitudes. The AOL project demonstrates how assurance of learning programs can be extended to include experiential learning outcomes and can serve as a guide for the furthering of the globalization of a business curriculum.     

Innovativeness along the Business Cycle: The Case of Uruguay

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes the dynamics of knowledge-capital accumulation along the different stages of the business cycle within the benchmark proposed by Crépon, Duguet, and Mairesse (1998 Crépon, B., Duguet, E. &; Mairesse, J. (1998). Research, innovation, and productivity: An econometric analysis at the firm level [Working Paper n° W6696]. Cambridge, MA: NBER. Retrieved from www.nber.org/papers/w6696[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) using a balanced panel of Uruguayan firms. Findings reveal that the intensity of innovation evolves procyclically, while the propensity of innovation and the degree of novelty embedded in innovations follow a countercyclical path. They also show that product innovations during economic recessions are only pursued by companies that are able to divert their sales to world markets; otherwise, they tend to innovate in processes. Results further suggest that productivity gains driven by knowledge-capital accumulation are magnified by systematically engaging in innovation activities.     

Bond Ratings and Income Smoothing in Brazil

ABSTRACT

In this article we use the variables proposed by Eckel (1981 Eckel , N. ( 1981 ). “The Income Smoothing Hypothesis Revisited.” Abacus , Vol. 17 , No. 1 , pp. 28 – 40 . [Google Scholar]) and Leuz et al. (2003 Leuz , C. , Nanda , D. , and Wysocki , P. ( 2003 ). “Earnings Management and Investors Protection: an International Comparison,” Journal of Financial Economics , Vol. 3 , No. 69 , pp. 505 – 527 . [Google Scholar]) as proxies to measure income smoothing and find that Brazilian companies that engage in this behavior receive better ratings in their public bond issues. Using data obtained from the National Bond Registration System and the Economatica, we evaluated public bond offerings. The results of univariate and multivariate analyses and robustness tests attest to the significance of the income smoothing factor, regardless of the rating agency. The results support the notion that income smoothing is an information-signaling mechanism and has an impact on bond ratings.     

Herd Behavior in Latin American Stock Markets

ABSTRACT

This article investigates the presence of herd behavior in Latin American stock markets using the methodologies proposed by Christie and Huang (1995 Christie , W. G. , &; Huang , R. D. ( 1995 ). Following the pied piper: Do individual returns herd around the market? Financial Analysts Journal , 51 ( 4 ), 31 – 37 .[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) and Chang, Cheng, and Khorana (2000 Chang , E. C. , Cheng , J. W. , &; Khorana , A. ( 2000 ). An examination of herd behavior in equity markets: An international perspective . Journal of Banking and Finance , 24 ( 10 ), 1651 – 1679 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Daily closing prices and trading volumes from January 3, 2000 to September 15, 2010 from the stock markets of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and the United States were analyzed. The US market was studied in order to provide a reference for comparison. The shares for which data was collected in each country were those listed in the most representative stock index for each market. It was not possible to establish evidence of herd behavior in any of the five countries studied using the Christie and Huang (1995 Christie , W. G. , &; Huang , R. D. ( 1995 ). Following the pied piper: Do individual returns herd around the market? Financial Analysts Journal , 51 ( 4 ), 31 – 37 .[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) method. However, evaluating the data for the entire period using the method proposed by Chang, Cheng, and Khorana (2000 Chang , E. C. , Cheng , J. W. , &; Khorana , A. ( 2000 ). An examination of herd behavior in equity markets: An international perspective . Journal of Banking and Finance , 24 ( 10 ), 1651 – 1679 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) we detected herd behavior in the Chilean market. These results were not affected by the addition of additional exogenous variables representing the September 11 attacks of 2001 and the subprime crisis, or when the effect of the behavior of US shares on other countries was analyzed. Asymmetric herd behavior was detected in the Chilean, United States, Argentinean, and Mexican markets.     

The Influence of Innovative Organizational Culture on Marketing Strategy Formulation and Results

ABSTRACT

This article's objective is to analyze the influence innovative organizational culture has on marketing strategy formulation and results, and how this relationship affects organizational performance. The theoretical basis lies in Menon et al.'s (1999 Menon , A. , Bharadwaj , S. G. , Adidam , P. T. , and Edison , S. W. ( 1999 ). Antecedents and consequences of marketing strategy making: A model and a test . Journal of Marketing , 63 , 18 – 40 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) model. The methodology included a survey with medium to large Brazilian companies in different sectors. The final sample consisted of 153 questionnaires that were valid for analysis. Techniques for statistical analysis including singular and multivariate methods were used, from which the relationships between constructs were established by structural equation modeling. Results show a positive relationship between innovative organizational culture, the marketing strategy process, and organizational performance. However, innovative culture does not have a direct influence on performance.     

Consumer stockpiling behavior in the retail gasoline market

ABSTRACT

I examine consumer stockpiling behavior in the retail gasoline market and factors that affect consumer stockpiling. Past research such as Hendel and Nevo (2006b Hendel, I. , and A.Nevo . 2006b. “Sales and Consumer Inventory.” The Rand Journal of Economics 37 (3): 543–561. doi:10.1111/(ISSN)1756-2171.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) found evidence that implies stockpiling behavior. However, they did not observe actual inventory or consumption and have to rely on simplifying assumptions about these quantities. I collected a novel data set of gasoline purchase history of consumers with actual inventory and consumption to test several hypotheses that relate consumer stockpiling to price, duration between purchases, and consumption. I found that consumers purchase more gasoline when their inventory is low and those holding high inventory are more price sensitive. Consumption habits after a purchase may change due to two forces: previous consumption habit and purchase price. The exact change in consumption and duration between purchases depends on which force is stronger.     

Consumer Technology Readiness and E-Service Quality in E-Tailing: What is the Impact on Predicting Online Purchasing?

Total online retail spending in China reached $427 billion in 2014 and is expected to surpass $1 trillion in 2018 (Chu and Wong 2015 Chu, K., and G. Wong. 2015. China tries to clean up e-commerce. The Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/china-tries-to-clean-up-e-commerce-1427894413 [Google Scholar]). In addition, the number of online stores in China has been rapidly increasing. The present study proposes a model based on the theoretical frameworks of technology readiness (Parasuraman et al. 2005 Parasuraman, A., V. A. Zeithaml, and A. Malhotra. 2005. A multiple-item scale for assessing electronic service quality. Journal of Service Research 7 (3):213–33.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and e-service quality (Parasuraman and Malhotra 2005 Parasuraman, A., V. A. Zeithaml, and A. Malhotra. 2005. A multiple-item scale for assessing electronic service quality. Journal of Service Research 7 (3):213–33.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and tested the model on consumers from China. The results indicate that consumer technology readiness positively influences the perceived efficiency, system availability, fulfillment, and privacy dimensions of e-service quality as it relates to the online retailing environment in China. Moreover, the influence of technology readiness on the intention to purchase online in the future is both direct and mediated by the dimensions of perceived e-service quality. Implications and future research suggestions are also discussed.     

Drawing on “Producer-Tours”: A Technique for Addressing Consumer Uncertainty Surrounding the Consumption of Fair Trade Food Products?

Despite the global increase in both fair trade sales and awareness, actual market shares of some fair trade products remain disappointing. A number of authors have suggested various reasons for this, including the complexity of the situational context affecting actual purchase behavior (Carrington, Neville, &; Whitwell, 2010 Carrington, J. M., Neville, A. B. and Whitwell, G. J. 2010. Why ethical consumers don't walk their talk: Towards a framework for understanding the gap between the ethical purchase intentions and actual buying behaviour of ethically minded consumers. Journal of Business Ethics, 97: 139–158. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), the disconnect between producers and consumers (Dickinson, 2001 Dickinson, M. A. 2001. Utility of no sweat labels for apparel consumers: Profiling label-users and predicting their purchases. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 35(1): 96–119. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and the problems associated with the depersonalization of ethics in mainstream distribution (Bezencon &; Blili, 2011). This article introduces the drawing method into the field of research on fair trade consumption. Using this method, this study explores student perceptions of both fair trade consumers and how fair trade works. In doing so, the drawing method unveiled two potential consumer types; namely, the dreamer and the angel. On this, we argue that our study reveals some of the possibilities inherent in the use of the drawing method to explore uncertainty surrounding fair trade consumption.     

Meeting the Needs of Global Companies Through Improved International Business Curriculum

The global workplace requires specific knowledge, skills, and abilities on the part of workers. There is a growing body of research indicating a gap between the global industry demand for skills and the higher education system's ability to supply that demand. Leveraging the work from Yu, Guan, Yang, and Chiao (2005 Yu, C. J., Guan, J., Yang, K. and Chiao, Y. 2005. Developing the skills for international business management: The implications of the Management Education Opportunity Grid. Journal of Teaching in International Business, 16(4): 5–26. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) and Prestwich and Ho-Kim (2007 Prestwich, R. and Ho-Kim, T. 2007. Knowledge, skills and abilities of international business majors: What we teach them versus what companies need to know. Journal of Teaching in International Business, 19(1): 29–55. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]), this study investigated this gap. The sample included global leaders of Fortune 500 companies. Exploratory in nature, the primary purpose of this study was to understand the needs of global business organizations that form the hiring market for international business graduates. The findings highlight the gap between the topics being taught by educators and the skills actually needed by the target international businesses. This information is relevant to the challenges facing global businesses as well as higher education institutions and provides insights into improvements for the good of both industries and especially the students aiming for careers in global organizations.     

Commentary: Relative Presence of Business-to-Business Research in the Marketing Literature: Review and Future Directions

In this commentary we reaffirm the position taken by LaPlaca and Katrichis (2009 LaPlaca, P. J. and Katrichis, J. M. 2009. Relative presence of business-to-business research in the marketing literature. Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, 16(1–2) [Google Scholar]) that there is an underrepresentation of business marketing research in the marketing literature. Our comments highlight the sector size of business marketing in the economy, document the degree of difference on the inherent nature of business versus consumer marketing, compare the relative representation of business versus consumer emphasis in the marketing literature with other subfields, and close by suggesting means for enhancing business marketing research.     

Commentary: Relative Presence of Business-to-Business Research in Retailing Literature

Our objective in this article is to correct the record on the contribution of the Journal of Retailing to business-to-business (B2B) research in marketing. In particular, we refute the assertion of LaPlaca and Katrichis (2009 LaPlaca, P. J. and Katrichis, J. M. 2009. Relative presence of business-to-business research in the marketing literature. Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing.,  [Google Scholar]) that the Journal of Retailing “does not regularly publish research concerning business-to-business marketing.” Our analysis of recently published (2002–2008) articles in the Journal of Retailing shows that less than 19% are devoted to B2C or C2C topics. Our comparison of the Journal of Retailing's relative emphasis on nine B2B content areas indicates parity with other marketing journals for some topics and a lesser emphasis for others. The key B2B topics of marketing strategy and channels of distribution appear relatively more frequently in the Journal of Retailing than they do in other marketing journals reviewed by LaPlaca and Katrichis (2009 LaPlaca, P. J. and Katrichis, J. M. 2009. Relative presence of business-to-business research in the marketing literature. Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing.,  [Google Scholar]). Hence, any estimate of the contribution of B2B research to marketing knowledge that dismisses the impact of the Journal of Retailing contains a downward bias.     

Relevance of the Attention Effect in the Brazilian Stock Market

This article aims to analyze the impact of investor attention in the Brazilian stock market, particularly the effect of positive pressure on asset prices verified by Barber and Odean (2008 Barber, B. M., &; Odean, T. (2008). All that glitters: The effect of attention and news on the buying behavior of individual and institutional investors. Review of Financial Studies, 21(2), 785–818. doi:10.1093/rfs/hhm079[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Using the methodology of Da and colleagues (2011 Da, Z., Engelberg, J., &; Gao, P. (2011). In search of attention. The Journal of Finance, 66(5), 1461–99. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6261.2011.01679.x[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), we seek to assess whether investor attention, as measured by the volume of searches on Google, can explain abnormal variations in market activity and asset returns. The results indicated that the Internet search data does explain variations in turnover rate and trading volume of assets. However, unlike the results of studies conducted in other countries, the price pressure hypothesis was not observed in the Brazilian market.     

The Moderating Role of Involvement on the Overchoice Effect in Retail Decision Making

We tested the overchoice effect hypothesis. In the experiments, we manipulated the options in three levels and assessed their impact on the dependent variables. In study 1, we presented 11 vs. 7 vs. 5 drink options to consumers. In study 2, we presented 50 vs. 40 vs. 30 pizza menu options. In Study 3, we presented 16 vs. 12 vs. 8 gum options. The results did not show a main effect of overchoice on the dependent variable, rejecting the overchoice theory. However, the findings supported null empirical finding in the 2010 Scheibehenne, B., Greifeneder, R., & Todd, P. M. (2010). Can there ever be too many options? A meta-analytic review of choice overload. Journal of Consumer Research, 37(2), 135–142. https://doi.org/10.1086/651235  [Google Scholar] meta-analytic study by Scheibehenne, Greifeneder, and Todd. In addition, this article found support for an interactive effect of involvement with the overchoice condition.     

Analysis of Competences for Innovation in Technology-Based Enterprise Incubators

ABSTRACT

Incubators are rated as public policy mechanisms driving innovation in companies. The purpose of this project was to ascertain the level of development of competences for innovation in Technology-Based Enterprise Incubators (TBEI) as perceived by businesspeople in associated companies. With regard to technological innovation, it was decided to use a neo-Schumpeterian approach, and with regard to competences, the Resource-Based View (RBV) theory was used, which evaluates internal attributes that contribute directly to the innovative capacity. Four constructs were taken into consideration for analyzing the development levels of competences for innovation, grounded on the model of François and colleagues (1999 François , J. P. , Goux , D. , Guellec , D. , Kabla , I. , and Temple , P. ( 1999 ). “Décrire lês Compétences pour l'innovation: une Proposition d'enquête.” In: Foray , D. , and Mairesse , J. (Eds.), Innovation et Performance, Approaches Interdisciplinaires , Editions EHESS . [Google Scholar]) and Munier (1999 Munier , F. Taille de ( 1999 ). La Firme et Innovation: Appoches Theóriques et Empiriques Fondées sur le Concept de Compétence , Thèse (Doctorat en Économie)—Estrasburgo: Université Louis Pasteur . [Google Scholar]). Competences for innovation were examined through a questionnaire that tries to identify and assess development levels of competences in TBEI. The findings were analyzed through construct reliability tests: summated scales and cluster analysis. It was noted that the means competences representing the basic resources needed for the development of the company were assessed favorably by the businesspeople, indicating the development of this competence. In terms of technical and relational competences, it was noted that the businesspeople assessed these aspects unfavorably, indicating that these competences are not well developed by the TBEI. It was also ascertained that corporate development levels and operating sectors also influence the assessment of these businesspeople in terms of competences for innovation. This leads to the conclusion that its effectiveness must be assessed as an agent of innovation, with indicators being defined to measure the effectiveness of its role as a mechanism driving technological innovation.     

Ethical Decision Making: Panama–United States Differences in Consumer and Marketing Contexts

ABSTRACT

Results show that significant differences, both statistical and practical, exist between Panamanians and U.S. nationals in how they intend to behave in various consumption-related and marketing-related ethical situations. As cross-national marketing increases, the need to understand marketing and consumer ethics across countries becomes more critical. Additionally, as Robertson, Brady, and Hoffman (2001) Robertson, C. J., Brady, M. K. and Hoffman, J. J. 2001. Moral and marketing differences between the United States and Ecuador. International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior, 4(1–2): 75–98.  [Google Scholar] point out, there has been a genuine lack of emphasis in the marketing-related ethics literature in Latin America. This study partially addresses that need by examining and contrasting the intended behaviors in ethical situations of Panamanians and Americans as consumers and marketers. The study contributes to marketing ethics knowledge on several fronts: (i) increasing understanding of ethics of Panamanians in consumer and marketing contexts, (ii) adding to the extant cross-country literature in the area of ethical decision making by consumers, and (iii) incorporating effect sizes, which is very rarely reported, to complement the significance values. Results show that significant differences exist between Panamanians and U.S. nationals in how they intend to behave in various consumption-related and marketing-related ethical situations. Managerial implications are also discussed.     

An Empirical Study of Factors Influencing E-Commerce Adoption/Non-Adoption in Slovakian SMEs

While the global emergence of e-commerce has led businesses to take advantage of the technologies available to them to enhance their use of e-commerce, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are known for not adopting information technology to create jobs. Due to the dearth of studies of SME adoption of technology in transitioning European countries such as Slovakia, (Saffu, Walker, and Mazurek 2012 Saffu, K., J. H. Walker, and M. Mazurek. 2012. Perceived strategic value and e-commerce adoption among SMEs in Slovakia. Journal of Internet Commerce 11 (1):1–23. doi:10.1080/15332861.2012.650986.[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]), it is imperative to understand the factors that differentiate SME e-commerce adopters from non-adopters. Adoption and non-adoption factors of 230 Slovakian SMEs were empirically examined using logistic regression. Compatibility and Organizational Readiness, Decision and Operational Aids, and External Pressure were significant for discerning e-commerce adoption. Practical, policy, and research implications are presented. This study goes beyond the determinants of e-commerce adoption and contributes to the understanding of factors that distinguish between adopters and non-adopters of e-commerce for Slovakian SMEs.     

The Internationalization Process of Online SMEs in the U.K., U.S. and Australia

ABSTRACT

Starting from a modified version of the Cavusgil and Zou (1994) Cavusgil, S.T. and Zou, S. 1994. Marketing strategy-performance relationship: An investigation of the empirical link in export market ventures. Journal of Marketing, 58(1): 1–21. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] theoretical framework, in which the level of internationalization of online Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is considered as an aggregated indicator of the export marketing strategy and a measurement of export performance, this paper investigates the influence of a series of internal and external factors on the internationalization of online SMEs. It expands the empirical framework used by Luo et al. (2005) Luo, Y., Zhao, J.H. and Du, J. 2005. The internationalization speed of e-commerce companies: An empirical analysis. International Marketing Review, 22(6): 693–709. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] in an attempt to explain the internationalization of online SMEs by integrating both organizational and market factors, thus improving the explanatory power of internationalization models, and enhancing their applicability for professionals.     

Consumers' Online Information Search: Gen Yers' Finding Needles in the Internet Haystack

There exists a paucity of research attention afforded to understanding consumer information search behavior on the Internet, vis-a-vis existing information search models such as an interactive, consumer experience in the offline realm. Thus, the present study investigates whether the factors inculcated within traditional cognitive processing models remain significant in the online information setting. Grounded in the contributions of Punj and Staelin (1983 Punj , G. N. , & Staelin , R. ( 1983 ). A model of consumer information search behavior for new automobiles . Journal of Consumer Research , 9 ( March ), 366 – 380 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and Srinivasan and Ratchford (1991 Srinivasan , N. , & Ratchford , B. T. ( 1991 ). An empirical test of a model of external search for automobiles . Journal of Consumer Research , 18 ( September ), 233 – 242 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) in the context of offline information search, this study proffers an empirical model of consumer online information. The empirical findings reveal that Perceived Risk and Perceived Cost do not significantly contribute to the consumer online information Search Effort. Rather, both of these conventional antecedents and Enjoyment significantly impact the satisfaction of young consumers' online information search endeavors. We recommend further studies to examine consumer information search behavior in other contexts (e.g., mobile phones) across countries.     

Consumer receptiveness to international retail expansion: a cross-cultural study of perceptions of social and economic influence of foreign retailers

Guided by the work of Samiee (1993 Samiee, S.1993. “Retailing and Channel Considerations in Developing Countries: A Review and Research Propositions.” Journal of Business Research27 (2): 103–129. doi:10.1016/0148-2963(93)90018-K.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. Journal of Business Research, 27 (2): 103–129), Sakarya, Eckman, and Hyllegard (2007 Sakarya, S., M.Eckman, and K.Hyllegard. 2007. “Market Selection for International Expansion.” International Marketing Review24 (2): 208–238. doi:10.1108/02651330710741820.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. International Marketing Review, 24 (2): 208–238), and Alexander et al. (2010 Alexander, N., A. M.Doherty, J. M.Carpenter, and M.Moore. 2010. “Consumer Receptiveness to International Retail Market Entry.” International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management38 (3): 160–172. doi:10.1108/09590551011027104.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 38 (3): 160–172), a cross-cultural analysis was undertaken to examine consumer receptiveness to domestic market entry by foreign apparel specialty retailers. More specifically, this study explored differences in consumers' perceptions of the influence of foreign apparel specialty retailers on social, cultural, and economic development across three countries: Spain, Turkey, and the USA. Consumer receptiveness was measured as beliefs about the social and economic influence of foreign retailers and perceptions of retailers' brand characteristics and offerings. An intercept survey of 1233 apparel shoppers was conducted in major metropolitan shopping areas in all three countries. MANOVA revealed that Spanish consumers were least concerned about urban growth associated with foreign retailers and least likely to perceive positive employment/business opportunities and socio-cultural well-being from the presence of foreign retailers. Turkish consumers held the strongest perceptions regarding the influence of foreign retailers on urban growth. Paired sample t-tests revealed that Turkish consumers, when compared with Spanish consumers, evaluated U.S. retailers' offerings more positively and were more receptive to the entry of U.S. retailers into their domestic markets. Results of regression analyses indicated that Spanish and Turkish consumers' beliefs about retail brand characteristics and the socio-cultural and economic influence of foreign retailers positively predicted consumers' receptiveness, whereas age negatively influenced receptiveness. Differences in perceptions among Spanish, Turkish, and U.S. consumers may be attributed to the varying levels of economic development among the three countries as well as to the countries' differing policies concerning foreign retailers. Findings provide a basis for the development of a measure of consumer receptiveness to international retail expansion.