The Utility of Prestige: Chinese and American Hedonic Ratings of Prestige Goods

ABSTRACT

China is rapidly becoming the most important luxury market in the world (Lung, 2005). The reason for this is not simply due to the market size but also to the Chinese consumer's particular penchant for luxury goods. This study will investigate the differences between U.S. and Chinese consumers based on their hedonic and utilitarian ratings of luxury goods and the relationship that these ratings have with individual and cultural traits, with the expectation that a collectivist background will lead to a more utilitarian view of prestige goods. A sample of more than 600 Chinese and U.S. respondents was analyzed based on the ratings of three prestige goods. The results show that China is rapidly becoming a more individualistic nation and that the expected utilitarian use of prestige goods is confirmed through multiple statistical techniques.     

Advertising Regulations in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

This paper examines the status and outlook of advertising regulations in sub-Saharan Africa. It begins with a synoptic overview of the region's advertising industry, which is used as a backdrop. Advertising regulations pertaining to tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceuticals, children, and politics are examined, and seven regulatory forces (consumer protection; growth of service industry; fairness and vulnerable groups; new media technologies; civil rights and privacy; religion, morality, and taste; and nationalism) likely to stimulate advertising regulations in the region are also presented. The paper concludes with implications and directions for future research.     

The Effect of Cultural Distance on International Marketing Strategy: A Comparison of Cultural Distance and Managerial Perception Measures

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to examine whether service convenience increases customer satisfaction that fosters customer loyalty in Indian commercial banks. A cross-sectional study of 352 retail banking customers through questionnaires was conducted. The population of the study is retail urban customers of banks in Rajasthan. Responses are analyzed using structural equation modeling. Dimensions of service convenience are decision convenience, access convenience, transaction convenience, benefit convenience, and postbenefit convenience. Decision convenience was found to influence customer satisfaction more than the other dimensions of service convenience. Customer satisfaction furthers customer loyalty. The article emphasizes the significance of SERVCON on customer satisfaction for the Indian banking sector. The direct impact of SERVCON on customer loyalty is also studied.     

从国际营销视角探讨中国外贸出口型企业发展

文章通过国际贸易与国际营销的异同,指出中国外贸型企业应该转变传统的、被动的国际贸易观念,树立更富有主动性、创造性的国际营销观念;通过从产品导向转变为顾客需求导向、从价格导向转变为顾客成本导向、从通路导向转变为顾客便利导向以及从促销导向转变为与顾客沟通导向四个具体的观念转变,从而走出国际经济贸易分工中＂微笑曲线＂的最低点,使众多外贸出口型企业成为强大国际贸易实体.     

The Participation Model:

The study of buying centers has often focused on the functional areas that participate. One question raised by such an approach is how individuals choose to participate. The paper explores individual perceptual factors that may affect participation choice, and reports the results of a study of potential purchase participants. Finding indicates that perceptions of self-efficacy and extrinsic reward expectancy discriminated between participant and non-participants. The relationship of the factor and relative influence within the buying centered was also explored, with risk of the decision process. Self-efficacy perceptions and product involvement were also significant predictors of the amount of influence wielded in the buying centered in various decision stages.     

Aid,Aid Volatility and Sectoral Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does Finance Matter?

This article examines the impact of aid and its volatility on sectoral growth by relying on panel dataset of 37 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries for the period 1983–2014. Findings from the system-generalized methods of moments show that, while foreign aid significantly drives sectoral growth, aid volatility deteriorates sectoral value additions impacting heavily on non-tradable sectors with no apparent effect on the agricultural sector. The deleterious effect of aid volatility on sectoral value additions in SSA is weakened by a well-developed financial system with significant impact on the tradable sector. Evidently, development of domestic financial markets enhances aid effectiveness.     

Cautious International Entrepreneurs: The Case of the Mittelstand

This paper investigates the international entrepreneurial behaviour of Mittelstand firms (German small and medium sized enterprises). Analysis of a survey of the international marketing strategies of Mittelstand firms revealed three clusters of firms, two that had below and one above average international activities. None of the clusters displayed born global type of internationalisation processes. However, this does not mean that they adopt passive approaches to internationalisation. The results suggest that Mittelstand firms engage in entrepreneurial behaviour that is proactive and innovative but which is cautious, sequential, and risk adverse. The implications of this analysis for future research in the area of international entrepreneurship are considered.     

论环境标志制度影响下的国际贸易与国际市场营销

环境标志制度为越来越多的国家接受和采用 ,对国际贸易和国际市场营销产生了重大影响。一般的研究将这两个紧密联系的经济活动分别加以讨论 ,难免有失偏颇。本文则将国际贸易与国际市场营销结合起来 ,研究环境标志制度对二者的共同影响。     

中小进出口企业中东市场国际营销策略研究

本文讨论了在国际金融危机的背景下,为了应对欧美市场的萎缩,我国中小进出口企业应根据中东市场的特点进行相应的国际营销策略调整,大力拓展中东市场,并提出了具体的中东市场国际营销策略思路。     

Measuring Market Orientation: Generalization and Synthesis

This paper reports on an integrative, cross-nationalstudy which synthesizes and retests work of three separate groupsof researchers who in the late 1980s developed measurementsof a firm's Market Orientation. The projects resulted in threedifferent but syntactically similar Market Orientation scaleswhich, along with other measures, were used to support substantiveconclusions, particularly those involving firm Performance. Basedon a new study of 82 managers in 27 European and U.S. companies,we show that all three scales are reliable and valid. The scalesalso seem to generalize well internationally, both in terms ofreliability and prediction of Performance. We also show thatthe scales are similar to one another in terms of various validitymeasures and in terms of correlations with Performance measures.Finally, we synthesize a 10-item scale based on a more parsimoniousdefinition of Market Orientation as: the set of cross-functionalprocesses and activities directed at creating and satisfyingcustomers through continuous needs-assessment.     

试论国际市场营销环境中的文化因素及其作用

传统观念认为,市场营销特别是国际市场营销是一种经济活动,经济因素是唯一的决定因素。但是,文化因素在国际市场营销中更起着非常重要的作用,使文化的构成要素在国际市场营销活动中有各自的影响和作用。     

A cross-cultural analysis of price responses to environmental changes

In planning the marketing mix for a product, managers implicitly respond to changes in both their internal and external environments. This paper studies managers' judgments of how they would respond to changes in their own product costs asnd competitor's prices. A manager could react to these by focusing on new products, new markets, or the marketing mix for the current product market. We concentrate on the third. We focus on a set of potential reactions that could include a change in price. Data from managers in both the United States and Europe are used to study pricing reactions to hypothetical scenarios of environmental changes. We estimate relationships between the managerial response and changes in the environment for different types of businesses in different countries.     

Pattern of childhood falls in a low-income setting: a cross-sectional study in Dar es Salaam

The objective was to determine patterns and circumstances of childhood falls in a low-income setting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This cross sectional study is based on a household survey conducted in July 2009.

A total of 3927 children up to age 18 from 1928 households in 15 sampled wards were surveyed through a structured questionnaire. The current study includes information regarding fall occurrence, socio-demographic and economic factors. Data were analysed using chi-square, t-test and logistic regression. Male children had 42% higher odds of falls compared to females, and rural residents had more than two times higher odds compared to urban residents. Falls occurred three times more among age group 1–4 and two times more among age group 5–9 compared to those between 15 and 18 years. Most falls occurred outdoors (62%) while playing (51%) with boys being over-represented. Females and children aged 1–4 years fell more from stairs whereas most infants fell from furniture. Male gender, younger age groups and rural residence were significant factors for fall injuries. The circumstances in which these falls occur also differ significantly. Intervention efforts should emphasise these patterns.