Alternative Positioning Strategies for Services in Ghana

In spite of its acknowledged importance for the success of the organization, there is little evidence of studies into positioning in sub‐Saharan Africa. This research presents the results of an empirically based study that employed a mixed method of qualitative in‐depth interviews of managers, and quantitative method of exploratory factor analysis to the data from consumers of services in Ghana. The resultant typology has three positioning strategies: service reliability, social responsibility, and branding. Organizations that adopt these positioning strategies are likely to benefit from the increasingly competitive Ghanaian service market. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Critically evaluating the IMP research contribution

The IMP Group established itself as a loose, informal and eclectic and research group spread across Europe initially that wished to be independent and had little respect for professors. They wanted funding but not to be pursued for progress reports. They wished to challenge all basic assumptions long taken for granted and sought to test them empirically. In this respect, they were eccentric but also effective. Yet some of the priorities with which they started, have, over time, fallen somewhat by the wayside such as the work on internationalisation. Interaction, networks and adaptation continue to receive attention but less is paid to internationalisation and yet this together with the notion of repeated transactions to be viewed now as relationships and the practice of investing in customers formed part of the ground breaking five country study which made the IMP brand first known. The explanatory power of this IMP interaction model and its use of case studies was new and exciting and led to academic and practitioner reflection on what was actually taking place within end use sectors, which constituted yet another IMP contribution to knowledge. Overall, IMP has been concerned with the longer term perspective not the issues that needed quick solutions but the strategic issues in this real dynamic world in which we live, where change is ever present. IMP has established a tradition of challenging, investigating, sharing and discussing findings and it places a priority on its doctoral consortium as a means of ensuring that these streams of consciousness will remain before us all for years to come.     

Development of and student reactions to an international consolidation case problem

Use of case problems is a well established pedagogy for enhancing student learning. This paper describes development of an international consolidation case problem and reports how students responded to its assignment. The case problem could be effectively used in accounting classes such as international accounting and advanced accounting. Further, the case could be used to introduce professional accountants, who may not have previously faced this issue, with a basic overview of the international consolidation process. The issue of consolidation is typically covered in advanced accounting courses, and international financial reporting is covered in international accounting or intermediate accounting courses. The international consolidation case described in this paper makes a unique contribution by incorporating both consolidation accounting and international financial reporting (specifically, foreign currency translated financial statements) into one comprehensive case problem. When a subsidiary corporation is located in a different country from the parent corporation, the difficulty of consolidating the financial statements becomes more complex than for a strictly domestic company, as a result of different GAAPs and different currencies. The case problem has been used in two southwestern US universities. Student feedback indicates that the problem was well received and benefited student learning.     

BASIS RISK AND HEDGING STRATEGIES FOR AUSTRALIAN WHEAT EXPORTS

Basis risk can play a significant role in the determination of effective hedging strategies. In this paper a portfolio framework is developed to examine the effect of basis risk on hedging strategies for Australian wheat exports. Monthly data for the period 1977 to 1984 were used to implement the analytical framework. While the traditional definition of hedging implies a hedge ratio of unity, the results of this research show that the average ratio of optimal hedge to stockholding is well below unity. Evolving market conditions can also cause the optimal hedge ratio to vary substantially over time.     

Market structure and price adjustment in Canadian manufacturing industries

This study examines the determinants of the speed of price adjustment for a broad sample of Canadian manufacturing industries using a two-stage procedure. The first stage consists of estimating time series price equations which yield measures of the industry rates of price adjustment. The second stage makes use of a cross-section analyssi to examine how the estimated adjustment speeds are related to industry structure. The results indicate that the rate of price adjustment varies directly with concentration, and inversely with the degree of product differentiation and the length of the selling lag.     

Ethnic markets—A Canadian perspective

Reworking published 1981 Census of Canada data, the authors initially present—for all ethnic communities of significant size (40.000⁺ nationally)—information on mother tongue, language spoken most often at home, and place of birth. Comparable provincial and CMA data is then provided. The authors conclude that marketers must supplement Census data with knowledge of such factors as the relative strength of ethnic affiliations and the drawing power of ethnic media. Custom designed studies of ethnic purchase and consumption patterns are also considered essential.