Acculturation and the influence of ethnicity on market orientation of African and Caribbean companies in Britain

Since acculturation is the process of acquiring the customs of an alternative society we assume that adapting to consumers from various cultures will be a fundamental task for African and Caribbean (A&C) companies in Britain. This study investigates market orientation of A&C service companies and their processes of cultural learning and adaptation using ethnicity as a basis for an exploratory study of the British market. The findings indicate that A&C companies serve as bicultural mediators, both accommodating their consumers and working to alter their consumption patterns to bring them into line with their own ethnic and British national market customs. The adaptation of A&C service companies to the cultural characteristics and needs of their customers results in changes to their companies, consumers and the British marketplace.     

Grocery Purchase Behaviour for National and Own-Label Brands

This study compares the shopping habits for national and ownlabel brands to establish if there are differences in personal characteristics and purchase behaviour between those who buy national brands and those who buy own-labels in the UK. While statistical research could quantify how British grocery shoppers felt about food brands, it usually cannot explain why shoppers had the opinions they did, hence this study. It is thus an investigation, through the eyes of grocery shoppers, to answer the ‘WHY’ questions. Two distinct markets were found to exist. These grocery shoppers differ in terms of socio-economic status, personal characteristics and shopping behaviour. The findings provide information useful to both retailing and manufacturing interests as retail marketing strategies are developed in the face of intensifying competition for shoppers' food expenditure in the market-place.     

Masakhane case studies

The Masakhane Campaign in South Africa has received a fair amount of criticism, largely because its high media profile has not been accompanied by delivery and improvement of services at the local level. Contrary to this generally negative perception, there are a number of local authorities that have greatly improved the situation in their areas through pragmatic strategies and programmes under the banner of Masakhane. This article presents information on the current status of the campaign in a sample of local authorities, and attempts to interpret this information so as to ascertain those factors that influence on the success or failure of local authorities as service providers.     

Communication skills in accounting education: Perceptions of academics,employers and graduate accountants

Communication skills are central to intellectual interaction between the providers and the recipients of information. The importance of accounting starts with the gathering and processing of information and ends with the communication of processed information. This paper examines the communication skills which employers, academics and graduate accountants consider necessary to the newly graduated accountant. It also identifies and considers the differences in perception which occur between these groups and suggests solutions to the communication gap. This study confirms findings from previous research that new graduate accountants experience communication-related problems in early employment. In addition, it provides evidence that the Australian accounting curriculum has contributed to the development of communication skills. However, the paper highlights the need for the reconsideration of an emphasis on communication skills in the accounting curriculum, a role which arises from the very nature of accounting as the processing and communication of information.     

Early Mortality Declines at the Dawn of Modern Growth*

We explore the hypothesis that demographic changes which began in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are at the root of the acceleration in growth rates at the dawn of the modern age. During this period, life tables for Geneva and Venice show a decline in adult mortality; French marriage registers reveal an important increase in literacy; historians measure an acceleration of economic growth. We develop an endogenous growth model with a realistic survival law in which rising longevity increases individual incentives to invest in education and fosters growth. We quantitatively estimate that the observed improvements in adult mortality account for 70% of the growth acceleration in the pre‐industrial age.     

Triggers,templates and twitches in the tracking of emerging strategic issues

A longitudinal investigation of group tracking of potential new applications and markets created by an emerging technology (cellular telephones) is used to gain more understanding of the shifts of cognitive frames of reference in the environmental tracking of emerging strategic issues. The dynamics of frame of reference shifts is examined through the derivation and operationalization of the concepts of templates, triggers and twitches. The results posit that examining the frame of reference shifts can be more informative than examining the frames themselves. Implications for strategic management practice and research are addressed.     

More leeway for unilateral trade measures?

The report of the WTO Appellate Body in the shrimp-turtle case may prove to be of fundamental importance for the development of the GATT/WTO system. It asserts that a WTO member can unilaterally condition access to its market on compliance with environmental policies, as long as the regulations are administered in an even-handed manner and do not amount to disguised protectionism. Will the incidence of unilateral trade measures increase dramatically as a result of this decision?     

The Relationship Among Ethical Climate,Job Satisfaction,Organizational Commitment,and External Auditor＇s Turnover Intention

This study attempts to examine the relationship among ethical climate, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention in the context of the Malaysian external auditor＇s work environment. The questionnaire is sent to a sample of external auditors from Malaysian Big Four （Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler （KPMG）, Ernst and Young, Deloitte KassimChan, and PricewaterhouseCoopers （PwC）） main offices. There are 167 useable responses. The regression results have provided evidence that ethical climate is directly, significantly, and positively associated with job satisfaction. In contrast, ethical climate appeared not to be directly related with external auditor＇s turnover intention. Both job satisfaction and organizational commitment were identified as significant predictors in explaining turnover intention, since they had a significant and negative effect on external auditor＇s turnover intention. This study also implied that job satisfaction had a significant effect on organizational commitment. Furthermore, the findings revealed that organizational commitment partially mediated the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention. The results extend the literature on external auditor＇s turnover intention and provide insights for human resource management in accurately assessing employee＇s turnover intention in order to improve retention and reduce actual turnover particularly in audit firms.