“Damocles shadowing”

Since the widening of the fluctuation bands in the European Monetary System in 1993 the previous core countries have pursued a “D-Mark shadowing”. The characteristic feature of this shadowing is the participating countries' willingness to voluntarily return to, and maintain, the old exchange rate parities. Our author analyses this process and its consequences for the planned monetary union.     

The EMS crisis and the prospects for European Monetary Union

Interpretations of the causes and implications of the EMS crisis of mid-1993 vary considerably. The following article offers a critical analysis of the most common arguments and draws conclusions for future policy.     

International environmental standards: Considerations on principles and procedures

International environmental law is highly fragmented and national legislation differs widely. General principles for drafting environmental standards would facilitate harmonisation. The article examines the general principles that could be applied at international level.     

Regionalisation and regionalism in world trade

The growing importance of regional integration, particularly in the Triad of Western Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region, is not always regarded as positive, but is also criticized because of the dangers involved for free world trade. What effects on world trade are to be expected? Can the new world trade order limit the possible risks?     

The EC-US trade conflict over film and television software

During the recent Uruguay Round film and television software was a major field of conflict between the United States and the European Community, and it is easy to predict that this will continue for the rest of the decade. Are the markets for film and television software really dominated by American productions? What are the key factors in international trade and competitiveness? Which elements explain American success in audiovisual production? Are the European trade barriers, such as television quotas and subsidies, effective with respect to cultural or economic objectives?     

“Apple: Good Business,Poor Citizen”: A Practitioner’s Response

This paper was written in response to Etzioni’s “Apple: Good Business Poor Citizen” (J Bus Ethics, 2016, doi: 10.1007/s10551-016-3233-4). It argues that Etzioni is correct in seeing the recent conflict between Apple and the FBI over cracking the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone as requiring that considerations of national security be balanced against the rights of those it might impact. There are nonetheless critical questions about one must still ask: whose rights are curbed, to what degree, and how does a society decide which side to favor? More attention needs to be paid to the privacy of other iPhone users and, importantly, the burden that hacking the phone might impose on Apple, either impairing its brand value or compromising its business potential. Finally, by asking ‘who judges the balance?’, it questions whether labeling Apple a poor citizen is premature, as they had only begun challenging the FBI’s judgment through the judicial process.     

Nonlinear Taylor rules in Central Eastern European countries

This study applies sequential panel selection method (SPSM), proposed by Chortareas and Kapetanios (2009) Chortareas, G., and G. Kapetanios. 2009. “Getting PPP Right: Identifying Mean-Reverting Real Exchange Rates in Panels.” Journal of Banking and Finance 33: 390–404.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], to investigate to test the validity of Taylor rules to assess the nonstationary properties of the convergence of the real exchange rates for 10 Central Eastern European countries. The SPSM can be used to decompose a panel of real exchange rate series into two groups: a group of stationary series and a group of nonstationary series. We identify the stationary processes in the panel and demonstrate that Taylor rules holds for 7 of the 10 countries studied. These results imply that the choices and effectiveness of the monetary policies in Central Eastern European economies are highly influenced by external factors originating from the United States. Additionally, our findings highlight that their real exchange rate convergence is a mean reversion toward equilibrium values of Taylor rules in a nonlinear manner.     

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 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.     

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.     

Foreign Exchange Intervention and Exchange Rate Volatility in Zambia

The study analyzes the impact of central bank intervention on the volatility of the exchange rate in Zambia during the period of 1996–2013 Bank of Zambia (BoZ). (1996–2013). Annual Reports . Lusaka , Zambia : Author. [Google Scholar]. The empirical findings reveal a statistically weak negative impact of intervention on exchange rate volatility, suggesting that other policy instruments are required to augment foreign exchange interventions in dampening volatility in the exchange rate.     

On market forces and adjustments: acknowledging consumer creativity through the aesthetics of ‘debadging’

Abstract

This paper explores the social dynamics by means of which market forces are enacted at the level of everyday consumption. In particular, it draws on Holt's (2002 Holt, D.B. 2002. Why do brands cause trouble? A dialectical theory of consumer culture and branding. Journal of Consumer Research, 29: 70–90. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) notion that as ‘unruly bricoleurs’, consumers kick-start processes of market adjustment and innovation through improvising ways to negotiate the demands of daily life. In this way, consumers can become active players in realising new possibilities for identity construction and empowerment that involve the creative re-appropriation of marketer-based meaning. To investigate those issues, we turn to a virtual community in the empirical setting of car customisation. Over an eight-month period, an internet-based methodology generated textual observations of online posting activity on five internet newsgroups attracting those interested in the particular pursuit of car modification. Participants used those web-forums to share information, passions, and enthusiasms. Analysis shows that grounded aesthetics function as vehicles for creativity and the reworking of dominant market logics (Vargo & Lusch, 2004 Vargo, S.L. and Lusch, R.F. 2004. Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing. Journal of Marketing, 68: 1–18. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). We conclude that online discussion threads offer valuable access to the emergent interplay of discursive resources in circulation among virtual communities and that this has implications for the conduct of environmental scanning. The paper illustrates how the discursive resource-base is nurtured, sustained, and transformed through various interpellations, including performing claims to prestige and self-defining distinctions, as well as constructing narratives of personal history and social dynamics.     

Conceptualising market orientation in non-profit organisations: definition,performance, and preliminary construction of a scale

Abstract

This paper applies Narver and Slater's (1990 Narver, J. and Slater, S. 1990. The effect of a market orientation on business profitability. Journal of Marketing, 54(2): 20[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) conceptualisation of market orientation to non-profit organisations. The study constructs a reliable and valid scale of the market orientation in non-profits in order to test the relationship between non-profits' market orientation and their performance outcomes in the context of a developing country. We surveyed 211 Indian non-profits and received 102 usable responses. We used principal axis factoring with oblique rotation to analyse the data. The scale was tested for its dimensionality, reliability, and various validities. The findings show a positive link between non-profits' market orientation and their performance in the context of a developing country. Market-oriented non-profits were found to be more effective in achieving their organisational mission, beneficiary satisfaction, and peer reputation than those that were less market oriented.     

Local Content Policy in the Brazilian Oil and Gas Sectoral System of Innovation

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to discuss the development, goals, and format of local content public policy within the context of the Brazilian oil and gas sectoral system of innovation. The theoretical frame of reference for this article revolves around the concept of innovation systems, more specifically their sectoral focus as in Malerba (2002 Malerba , F. ( 2002 ). Sectoral systems of innovation and production . Research Policy , 31 , 247 – 264 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] and 2004 Malerba , F. ( 2004 ). Sectoral systems of innovation: concepts, issues and analyses of six majors sectors in Europe . Cambridge , England : Cambridge University Press .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Norwegian local content policy was considered as a reference. This article concludes that this policy has not yet come to a consensus, presents regulatory weaknesses, does not have well-defined roles, and has little potential to generate innovations.     

Increasing Sub-Saharan Africa's Share of Foreign Direct Investment: Public Policy Challenges,Strategies, and Implications

In this article, the author describes anecdotal predictors of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, which include key indicators of development, governance variables, information infrastructure, and business environment. He also presents the public policy challenges of increasing FDI to Sub-Saharan Africa. Using Porter's 1990 Porter , M. E. ( 1990 ). The competitive advantage of nations . New York : The Free Press .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar] framework of competitive advantage of nations as a backdrop, specific strategies to increase FDI inflows with their implications are offered. Among the suggested strategies and implications are using the “principle of clustering” where demand conditions are favorable, looking outside the traditional inflows of FDI to Africa, establishing carefully monitored export processing zones, expanding regional trading arrangements, working together to change the negative perceptions of the region, and reducing corruption. The article ends with a conclusion and discussion.     

Small Service Businesses: Advertising Attitudes and The Use of Digital and Social Media Marketing

Advertising is embraced by companies as a means of building awareness, sales, and customer loyalty. However, in recent years advertising has changed. Digital marketing and social media marketing have gained a greater prominence (Lamberton & Stephen, 2016 Lamberton, C., Stephen, A. T. (2016). A thematic exploration of digital, social media, and mobile marketing: Research evolution from 2000 to 2015 and an agenda for future inquiry. Journal of Marketing, 80(November), 146–172. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.15.0415.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]). While megabrands spend millions of dollars on advertising, small businesses often view advertising as an expense rather than a means of generating revenue. Small service business owners are often skeptical of the value of digital marketing and social media. This study examines various digital and social media channels that can be utilized to grow their business.     

Crisis management in exchange rate policy

The behaviour of the dollar exchange rate last year and the concerted action by central banks in the autumn of 1985 have given renewed Impetus to the demand for internationally co-ordinated exchange rate management. How should such attempts at co-operation in the economic and monetary fields be viewed?     

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.     

Banking Consolidation in Nigeria, 2000–2010

The Nigerian banking consolidation process is examined using a dynamic panel for the period 2000–2010. The Arellano and Bond (1991 Arellano , M. , & Bond , S. ( 1991 ). Some tests of specification for panel data: Monte Carlo evidence and an application to employment equations . The Review of Economic Studies , 58 , 277 – 297 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) dynamic general method of moment approach is adopted to estimate a cost function taking into account the possible endogeneity of the covariates. The main finding is that the Nigerian banking sector has benefited from the consolidation process, and specifically that foreign ownership, mergers and acquisitions, and bank size decrease costs. Directions for future research are also discussed.     

Exploring Convenience Food Consumption Through a Structural Equation Model

In this study the model of convenience orientation suggested by Scholderer and Grunert (2005 Scholderer, J. and Grunert, K. G. 2005. Consumers, food and convenience: The long way from resource constraints to actual consumption patterns. Journal of Economic Psychology, 26: 105–128. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) is applied in order to examine consumer behavior in the context of convenience food usage. The empirical results indicate that sociodemographic characteristics affect behavior both directly and indirectly through perceived time resources and convenience orientation toward meal preparation and clearing up. Findings seem to be important for all the bodies involved in the marketing of convenience food products because they describe the way various consumer characteristics interact, affecting the consumption of such products.