The role of slotting fees and introductory allowances in retail buyers’ new-product acceptance decisions

Although slotting fees and introductory allowances have become well established in the grocery and other industries, they remain a source of controversy among channel members. Retailers claim that these fees and allowances help mitigate the risks associated with new-product acceptance. Manufacturers counter that retailers are abusing slotting fees and allowances by using them as a source of profit. The authors investigate this controversy by empirically examining the role of slotting fees and allowances in the retail buyers’ product acceptance decision process. Results provide evidence to suggest that introductory allowances are indeed being used by retailers in the sample to offset perceived risks and costs of carrying new products. However, findings regarding slotting fees are much less supportive of retailers’ claims. J. Chris White (Ph.D., Texas A&M University) is an assistant professor at the University of Central Florida. His primary research and teaching interests include marketing strategy and management, retail management, international strategy, and promotion strategy. Lisa C. Troy (Ph.D., Texas A&M University) is an assistant professor of marketing at Utah State University. Her primary research and teaching interests include product innovation and new product development, marketing strategy, retail management, and international marketing. R. Nicholas Gerlich (Ph.D., Indiana University) is an associate professor of marketing at West Texas A&M University. He is actively involved in the development of Web-based courses and has research interests in the marketing of new products.     

Regimes of risk management in corporate annual reports: a case‐study of one globalizing Australian company

An approach to the study of the ‘risks’ of ‘globalization’ that are increasingly the focus of global protest is outlined. By enrolling a blend of Mary Douglas' cultural approach to ‘risk’ and Ulrich Beck's theory of the ‘risk society,’ it is argued that three distinct ‘regimes of risk management’ are evident in corporate activity. After showing that corporate annual reports are useful for analysis of those effects, the argument is tested/illustrated through a case‐study of the reports of Amcor, a typically internationalizing Australian company. It is concluded that disputes over the ‘risks’ of ‘globalization’ are likely to become even more intense.     

Towards internal cohesion? The role of local government in economic development under the EU Single Programme in Northern Ireland

This paper focuses on the extent to which EU funding available under the Local Economic Development Measure of the Northern Ireland Single Programme (1994-99) has encouraged local government in Northern Ireland to adopt a new role in local economic development. It also considers whether the implementation of the Measure has effectively addressed its objectives of economic and social cohesion. It discusses the rationale for district council involvement and concludes that the local government structure in Northern Ireland requires adaptation to optimise the impact of the aid on offer.     

Social Organization,Civic Responsibility and Collective Action: Game Theory Models of Community Participation in Development Projects

This paper assesses the extent to which foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing countries crowds in or crowds out domestic investment. The core of the paper is the development of a theoretical model for investment that includes a FDI variable and its estimation and testing with panel data for the period 1971–2000 and the three decades involved. The model is run for 12 countries in each of three developing regions (Africa, Asia and Latin America). The results indicate that, in all three developing regions, FDI has, at best, left domestic investment unchanged, and that there are several sub-periods for specific regions where FDI displaces domestic investment. In particular, there seems to be crowding out of domestic investment by FDI in Latin America. If these results are in fact correct, they suggests the need for policies to make FDI more effective in enhancing domestic investment in developing countries. The conclusion is that the effects of FDI on domestic investment are by no means always favourable, that simplistic policies towards FDI are unlikely to be optimal and, foremost, that more attention needs to be paid to economic policies that foster the domestic component of total investment.     

Community-Based Ecotourism Development on the Periphery of Belize

In addition to ecological interests, the sustainability debate among scholars is concerned with grassroots tourism development in terms of participatory planning and the spreading of economic benefits between more sectors of society. This paper examines these issues in the context of community-based ecotourism development on the southern periphery of Belize. The Toledo Ecotourism Association and its activities are described within the context of peripheral development and sustainability. It is argued that sustainable tourism initiatives in developing countries can be conceptualised and operationalised at a very smallscale, improve the lives of residents, provide enjoyment for tourists, and protect the natural and cultural environments. The paper also argues that peripheral locations and their characteristics can be instrumental in promoting local control of small-scale tourism.     

The development,implementation and operation of an undergraduate distance learning module in auditing: a teaching note

The development of a distance learning module, to be undertaken by students whilst out on work experience in a thick sandwich degree programme, was driven by the motive to maximize the students' time on placement, rather than the belief that the module could be more effectively taught in this manner. However, with many institutions offering work placement as an optional extension within a degree programme, our experiences may pave the way for introducing some academic input into the work placement. This paper outlines the development and operation of an auditing distance learning module, which is undertaken by students during their placement year in an Accounting and Finance degree in Scotland. The pitfalls of distance learning have been well documented and the profile of the cohort which would undertake the course exacerbated concerns. However, the Course Team have produced a model that has been implemented and is currently operating in a manner that has largely satisfied all respective stakeholders, (namely students, educators, employers, professional bodies, and external examiners). The data for the review was generated through informal discussions with the Course Team and a selection of employers. Focus groups with students were also conducted. These were deliberately unstructured in nature to facilitate the use of dialogue with which the participants were familiar. The rationale for this was to allow participants to identify and highlight salient issues as perceived by them, rather than to answer specific questions on topics that the authors believed to be of relevance.