Differentiation strategies in emerging markets: The case of Latin American agribusinesses

This study furthers the research agenda on Porter's generic strategies by exploring their implementation by firms that suffer from under representation in the literature. It focuses on agribusinesses based in emerging markets that specialize in high value added products. Relying on information collected through interviews, and a survey with 66 agribusinesses based in eight countries of Latin America, it examines the factors that distinguish firms implementing a differentiation strategy (DS). The findings provide interesting insights for scholars and practitioners alike, illustrating the strategic initiatives that DS firms use to ensure they command higher than average prices.     

Innovations in the international financial markets

The appearance of the international financial markets is changing rapidly; new instruments are constantly being hatched and marketed, often with considerable success. However, the ingenuity of the markets does not always meet with applause; the banking supervisory authorities and central banks view the rapid pace of innovation with concern and the banking community also displays occasional unease. On balance, do the positive aspects outweigh the negative ones?     

The impact of offshore financial centers on international financial markets

Offshore centers have come to play an important role in the institutional structure of international financial markets. The article identifies two dimensions of dynamic competition that are relevant for an analysis of the offshore center phenomenon. First, there is competition between the offshore centers and one or more domestic financial markets. Second, there is dynamic competition among the offshore centers. The system of offshore centers generates a three-tier structure of international financial markets: domestic, foreign traditional, and offshore markets, both with respect to financial intermediaries as well as securities markets. This structure constitutes the institutional base for trends in the international financial markets which result in a process of increasing globalization.     

Dealing with financial crises in emerging markets

Financial crises in emerging markets are a reality of doing business in these countries in the early twenty‐first century. Managers can gain some perspective on this problem from experiences of firms in crises that occurred in Mexico, Thailand, and Russia during the 1990s. We show how firms have taken steps to protect themselves against financial crises and to deal with the crises once underway in these three countries. Such strategies are divided into frameworks of: short‐term, immediate responses to a crisis; intermediate steps during the period of economic downturn; and long‐term continuing responses for operating in emerging markets. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Internationalization of financial services in turbulent markets

Two significant features during the post-war period have been an increasing internationalization of economic activities and a growing role for financial services in the world economy. Considerable attention has been devoted to both these features separately, while attention to the internationalization of financial service firms has been more limited. Even more limited have been the efforts to combine this work with studies of the influence of market turbulence on financial service firms. The present special issue is an attempt to provide a remedy to this state of affairs. In this introduction we first provide a background to the topic. We then give a brief summary of the characteristics of financial services as well as a short review of extant literature, before presenting the six papers that make up the issue and providing some conclusions.     

The business-to-business relationship dimensions in financial services markets

This paper discusses the nature of financial business relationships by drawing on the IMP Group’s theory of industrial relationships. It discusses, among other aspects, the interaction process between banks and their corporate clients, the longevity of relationships, the interdependence between both sides, and the atmosphere of financial services relationships. The conclusions are thought to be interesting and useful for the managers of firms and financial services when setting relationship marketing policies and for academic research on business-to-business services relationships. The field research was done in Portugal and the case method was used.

A note on completeness in large financial markets

We study completeness in large financial markets, namely markets containing countably many assets. We investigate the relationship between asymptotic completeness in the global market and completeness in the finite submarkets, under a no-arbitrage assumption. We also suggest a way to approximate a replicating strategy in the large market by finite-dimensional portfolios. Furthermore, we find necessary and sufficient conditions for completeness to hold in a factor model.     

International financial markets: Control or liberalization?

Exchange rates, interest rates and share prices are subject—at least occasionally—to great fluctuations. Diverse economists regard the volatility of international financial markets as a threat to the goods and labour markets. They blame the price turbulences on the speculative behaviour of a large section of market participants, and claim that the deregulation and liberalization of the international financial markets in the eighties has therefore already gone too far. Under discussion today are approaches to a re-regulation of the money, capital and foreign exchange markets. These proposals are evaluated in the following paper.     

Towards the Latin American Regiocentric Corporation

Abstract

Globalization and regionalism are emerging with force in Latin America and a new breed of Latin American corporations is making its mark in response to this new reality. These corporations are exploiting technology, low costs, and their in-depth understanding of the region's intricate cultural fabric to compete with global firms and become regional players in niches neglected by these powerful rivals. Using the integration-responsiveness framework, this paper describes the evolution and characteristics of regional strategies in selected Latin American companies and speculates on the potential reversal of these strategies as Latin American economies attempt to insulate themselves from the recent international financial crisis.     

Sales promotion for Latin American products

After the United States Western Europe is Latin America’s biggest export market — a market full of opportunities and yet fraught with many difficulties. Sales chances here for Latin America are determined partly by the kind of products It can offer and partly by its marketing operations. It is proposed in the following to begin with an outline of the present sales situation and future prospects on the German market — by far the most important for Latin American products in Europe.     

Chinese Investment in Latin American Resources

China's need for vast amounts of minerals to sustain its high economic growth rate has increasingly turned Chinese investors towards Latin America.This demand has propelled China into third place among Latin American investors,directing over $15 billion (about 9     

Borrowing in Western financial markets by Eastern European countries

What are the borrowing strategies and practices of European members of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA)? The authors had extensive discussions with bankers in the leading financial centres in Europe. Some of their findings are presented in the following article.     

Sources of increasing systemic risk in international financial markets

In its annual report, published in June, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) warned of increasing systemic risk in international financial markets. Competitive pressures will intensify in the years to come and financial institutions and regulators around the world appear ill-prepared to cope with the resulting challenges. The pressures are expected to grow for three reasons above all: the prospective “Big Bang” of the Japanese financial system, a further erosion of the Glass-Steagall restrictions in the United States and the preparations of financial institutions in Europe to position themselves for the introduction of the euro.¹     

Technological dualism,incomplete financial markets and economic development

A model is built in which, the more incomplete financial markets are, the more technological dualism is prevalent in the economy. The model is extended to show that, through dualism and technological choice, incomplete financial markets can have a negative impact on long-run growth.     

Emerging markets before the 1997 Asia Pacific financial crisis

This study investigates which Asia Pacific markets were driven by the US stock market and which by the Japanese stock market during the 1995-97 period, right before the 1997 Asia Pacific financial crisis. The results show that stock markets of Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia shared a long-run equilibrium relationship with the US stock market. The stock market of the Philippines was linked with both the US stock market and the Japanese stock market, while stock markets of Thailand and South Korea did not appear to be influenced by either. Countries whose capital markets had a co-integrating relationship with the US market pegged their national currencies closely to the US dollar.