Numeric or weighted distribution? The effect of different channel performance metrics on market share

Abstract

Previous studies have found a convex relation between weighted measures of distribution and market share for consumer products in developed economies, while companies in emerging markets often use a non-weighted (numeric) distribution measure to manage their channel strategy. In contrast to the markets with high retail concentration, the numeric distribution could be best suited to a more fragmented retail market in which the percentage of physical distribution is important. We investigate the effects of expanding numeric versus expanding weighted distribution by studying stores in channels and regions characterized by structural differences in an emerging market. Our data come from retail audits in Brazil and include 91 soft drink manufacturers, 195 brands and 1,110 stock-keeping units. Our study highlights the importance of numeric distribution as a performance measure in this market. Additionally, we show that the effects of numeric and weighted distribution on market share vary by region and channel format.     

Foreign direct investment and wage differentials in Taiwan

Abstract

The ease of restrictions on foreign direct investment in China since 1990 has attracted a continuous and dramatic flow of outward investment from Taiwan to the mainland. At the same time, the relative wages for skilled workers in Taiwan have risen mildly despite a rapid increase in the share of educated workers in its labor market. The aim of this paper is to explore the linkage between capital outflows to China and the wage share of skilled workers in Taiwan over the period 1991 – 2001. We find that the pattern of changes in relative wages is consistent with shifts in the relative demand for skilled labor. For the most part, the increases in the relative demand for skilled workers could be attributable to within-industry factors. Findings also indicate that outward direct investment to China has a significantly positive impact on the skilled labor wage share.     

Competitiveness in the UK fork‐lift truck market

A method of measuring rivalry through a combination of marketing mix elements and importance of market share is outlined, based on marketing managers’ perceptions of competitiveness in the UK Fork‐lift Truck Market. An overall lack of correlation and synergy between market share and marketing strategy was discovered together with underutilisation of mix elements—this in turn created gaps for overseas importers to fill with competitive offerings. While the research instrument and quantitative analysis are capable of further refinement, the measures outlined should prove useful as an adjunct to market share and concentration measures.     

The GATS and liberalization in a natural-resource rich country

Abstract

We highlight the role of natural resources in countries that use resource revenues to subsidize employment in state-owned services sectors by developing a model of service provision where domestic incumbents and a foreign entrant compete. We find that when natural resource prices have a higher likelihood of increasing, domestic firms control most of the market share but that industry output drops. However, the output of the services industry rises with domestic firms losing market share when natural resource prices are likely to go down. This suggests that a government focused narrowly only on the growth and development of its economy would prefer services liberalization when natural resource prices are likely to be higher.     

Australian Meat Industry

Abstract

Australian exports of meat account for about 46 per cent of the total Australian production of meat, and 19 per cent of total world exports of meat. About 52 and 33 per cent of Australian meat exports are sold on Asian and the American markets, respectively. However, Australia is highly restricted in its access to world meat markets by the impact of export subsidies and other trade barriers. The economic and political problems including rigid import controls are barriers to maintaining export sales on some of Australia's traditional Asian markets. The improvement in tariff barriers in Asia, the Americas and other emerging markets is expected to provide improved market access and opportunities for Australian meat. Higher processing and transportation costs beyond the farm gate also contribute to Australia's less competitiveness on world export markets. Australia should, therefore, implement appropriate measures to increase productivity, improve cost efficiency beyond the farm gate and undertake market research and promotion in order to be more competitive in the long run and to capture a sizeable market share from its major global competitors.     

Market Orientation and Business Performance in the PRC

Abstract

This study examined the applicability of Narver and Slater's market (1992) orientation model across different economies (planned versus market economy). First, we assessed the scale properties of market orientation from different cities in Mainland China (Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou). Second, we then tested the relationship between market orientation and business performance. Tests for convergent, discriminant and predictive validity across the four Chinese economies with different market environments were supported by our findings. On the other hand, the impact of market orientation on business performance were found to be different across the four cities.     

Export Market for Australian Beef Industry

Abstract

The aims of this paper are to examine the constraints and potentials for Australian beef industry on world export markets, and to identify the implications for other beef exporting countries. The survey of beef export constraints suggested that the effect of world beef price and cost of feed grains reduced beef export returns. The relative importance of these variables was tested using a linear regression model. The coefficients of these variables are statistically significant at 10 and 1 per cent levels, and the results suggest that world beef price and cost of feed grains are important determinants of Australian beef exports. The findings of this study also reveal that Australia is highly restricted in its access to world beef markets by the impact of rigid import controls, tariffs and other trade barriers including export subsidies provided by foreign countries for their own exports. Australia needs to give priority to diversification of export markets, particularly in the emerging markets in Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East, where reduced tariff barriers are expected to improve market access. Australia also needs to increase productivity, improve cost efficiency, and undertake market research and promotion in order to be more competitive in the long run and to capture a sizeable market share from its major competitors.     

An Empirical Study of the Botswana Handicraft Market

ABSTRACT

The selling of handicrafts is a major business worldwide. Its lucrative nature is enhanced by tourism, especially cultural tourism, given that many people travel extensively to other parts of the world either on leisure or business. Handicrafts sold greatly contribute to the economic welfare of developing countries, thus, improving handicraft business is necessary as it goes hand in hand with tourism.

The objective of this study was to find out the target market for handicrafts and the correct marketing channels and strategies used in positioning the products. The research was conducted in and around Gaborone. It targeted primary producers, middlemen, and the general population, which includes actual and potential buyers.     

Stock Market Development and Long-Run Growth in Nigeria

Abstract

The study empirically assessed the relationship between stock market development and long-run economic growth in Nigeria for the period 1980 to 2000. The study used secondary data while four models of multiple regressions were specified. The regression results, which were obtained using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS), show that measures of stock market development statistically have no significant effect on economic growth in Nigeria during the period 1980 to 2000. The major implication of the findings is that if the Nigerian Stock Market is to significantly contribute to rapid economic growth, policies must be fashioned out to eliminate those factors that blur the effectiveness of the vehicle or transmission mechanism through which stock market activities influence economic growth.

Based on the findings, it was recommended that there should be an improvement in the attractiveness of the market as a major source of raising capital. This will entail improvement in the physical infrastructure, more efficient share transfer and delivering system and provision of adequate and timely information on the market. Also, there should be improvement in the institutional regulation, environment and legal framework such that a balance is maintained between the soundness and safety of the market. And finally, there is the need to internationalize the stock market to improve the flow of savings. This willgive the market the advantages of risk diversification, improve information flow and encourage corporate control through investment in equity.     

The Interrelationship Between Macroeconomic Variables and Stock Prices-The Case of China

ABSTRACT

Prior studies of industrialized countries have found that a definite relationship exists between the stock market returns and macroeconomic variables such as inflation and real output. This paper investigates the effects of changes in the consumer price index on industrial production and stock market returns for China. Six different types of Chinese shares are examined for the period 1994–1998. The results show a very significant positive relationship between inflation and real output. A positive and significant association is found between stock returns and real output in current periods. Inflation seems to have no impact on Chinese real stock returns. These relationships all hold for “B” shares, “H” shares and red chips. China's “A” share returns seem not to be impacted by either changes in domestic inflation or real industrial production.     

A Snap Shot of E-Commerce by General Line Industrial Distributors

Abstract

Industrial distributors and manufacturers are constantly in search of methods to increase sales and market share. While e-commerce is not new, its adoption is growing and gaining a foothold in American business. Most attention in the e-commerce realm has been on business-to-consumer-type ventures (Amazon, eBay, etc.); however it is the purpose of this paper to examine how e-commerce is effecting business-to-business transactions, specifically in fields relating to industrial distributors and industrial manufacturers.     

Corporate Social Responsibility Engagement in Kenya: Bottom Line or Rhetoric?

Abstract

Over the last three decades, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has sparked considerable debate in the literature on management research. While previous research on the relationship between CSR and firm performance has largely been based on data gathered in developed countries, this paper examines the relationship between CSR and firm performance in Kenya, using a sample of 352 firm-years during the period 2005–2012. CSR was measured using four dimensions relevant to Kenya: employee CSR, product/service CSR, community CSR and environmental CSR, and aggregated using my own CSR index. Firm performance was measured using both ROA and ROE. Content analysis was used to collect data from the financial reports of companies. The results indicate a positive and significant relationship between employee CSR, product/service CSR and community CSR and firm performance; environmental CSR, on the other hand, was not significant. The overall CSR index was found to be positive and significant to both measures of firm performance.     

International Market Segmentation and Cross-Export Strategies Development Case Study: Iranian Furniture Industry

ABSTRACT

By developing an international market and significant differences between countries in this regard, segmentation becomes an increasingly important concept in marketing. In this article, the international market of Iranian furniture industry is segmented and cross-exporting strategies are developed to increase the market share of Iranian furniture in each segment. To achieve this, two distance functions are introduced based on correlation between export groups to cluster countries with k-means algorithm. After market segmentation for increasing sales in each segment, cross-exporting strategies are predicted by extracting association rules in each segment based on Apriori algorithm to set export baskets.     

A Markov Analysis of Customer Retention and Recruitment

Abstract

This paper develops a Markov analysis of customer retention and recruitment for the service industry. It establishes the trade-off between retaining present customers and recruiting new customers and demonstrates that retention is essential in achieving high market share. Retention and recruitment cost functions are developed which allow managers to evaluate the effectiveness of service improvement programs and marketing campaigns and to predict returns for each type of investment. The model then determines the retention and recruitment investment levels that will maximize market share. The model is applied to data from a service organization to examine retention and recruitment in an actual service organization.     

Declining first-mover advantage in mobile telecommunications markets

First-mover advantage may be more remarkable in the inherently oligopolistic mobile telecommunications market. This study evaluates the impact of market experience and competition on market share and profitability in mobile markets. Specifically, the study estimates regression equations for market share and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) service margin as a proxy for profitability, relying on a panel of mobile network operator (MNO) data from 27 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member states for the period 1998–2009. The empirical results demonstrate that market experience (relative time in the market) exerted a clearly positive effect on the market share and the EBITDA service margin for MNOs. On the other hand, this first-mover advantage declines over time with accumulated competition experience, especially in the latter half of the 2000s.     

No longer violent enough?: Creative destruction,innovation and the ossification of neoliberal capitalism

ABSTRACT

My goal is to suggest that it is useful to distinguish analytically between capital’s primal, often direct violence against bodies and a systemic form of violence that is at the same time reproductive of the capitalist system and directed against its own creations. I suggest that this analytical separation allows us to see that on the one hand capitalist violence is intensifying and with it processes of exploitation, class bifurcation, downward mobility and environmental, political and social degradation. On the other hand, however, capitalism appears to be ossifying as it loses its ability to self-reproduce. The violent act of (periodically) destroying its own creation to make room for new production and formation is becoming stifled and nothing appears capable of blowing up the dead weight of capital that is suffocating living labour. Drawing on the work of David Graeber and Mariana Mazzucato I propose that, paradoxically, it is the logic of the market that causes the stifling of real innovation and thus capitalism’s ability to reproduce. It is in this sense that I claim that capitalism is no longer violent enough.     

New directions in Mediterranean tourism: Restructuring and cooperative marketing in the era of globalization

At a time when tourism is the preeminent global industry, the Mediterranean is one of the most important tourist regions in the world, accounting for approximately a third of total tourism revenues and half of international arrivals. Because the traditional sun, sand, and sea tourist product of the Mediterranean is experiencing a crisis with subsequent market shifts toward other regions and alternative tourist products, the region has begun to lose its share of the international travel market. The time is ripe for the 21 Mediterranean countries to evaluate their tourist industries in the context of sustainable development strategies, begin to consider restructuring their industries to increase efficiency and competitiveness, and form strategic alliances for cooperative marketing efforts in order to maintain a competitive edge in the global tourist market at the threshold of the third millennium. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons. Inc.     

Innovation and the market share of private labels

Abstract

This study investigates national brand manufacturers' innovations, and analyses the relationship between innovation and the market share of private labels in the consumer packaged-goods industry. The data for this study come from two extensive databases that cover 142 product categories during 2004–2006. According to logistic regression methods adapted to the resource allocation context, manufacturers' innovation strategy has a negative impact of the market share of private labels in two specific market conditions. Managers therefore must design a strategy that aligns with the market conditions because an innovation strategy may be effective in some situations, whereas in others a different strategy or combination of strategies may be more appropriate.     

Spillover Effects among European,the US and Moroccan Stock Markets before and after the Global Financial Crisis

ABSTRACT

This paper assesses return and volatility spillovers among stock markets in Morocco, the US, UK, France and Germany represented respectively by MASI, S&P 500, FTSE 100, CAC 40 and DAX 30 indices, both before and after the global financial crisis (GFC) of 2008. The daily frequency data cover the period from January 2nd, 2002 to June 30th, 2016. Using the Diebold and Yilmaz approach, the results show varying financial connectedness between the Moroccan and the above mentioned developed stock markets. In fact, the significant increase of spillover index during the post-financial crisis period demonstrates that the US and European stock markets were the most affected. On the other hand, despite a relative increase of spillover effects coming from the US and German equity markets, our results show decline in the total net spillovers experienced by the Moroccan market after the recent financial crisis. These findings may provide some useful information to support decision-making and trading strategies for international investors.     

Brand Management and Strategic Performance

ABSTRACT

This article reports on a study using a previously published checklist to assess the brand management practices of South African firms. Indications are that the perceptions of a sample of senior managers regarding how well their institutions manage their brands are reasonably positive, and that the management of brands has effects on a firm's profitability, market share and growth compared to competitors. While the checklist used seems to possess the characteristic of reliability, further development needs to be done on aspects of its underlying structure. Implications for managers and further avenues for research are identified and discussed.