What is the value of networking? An examination of trade show attendee outcomes

Business events have become a key sector of growth in the events industry. However, there is a paucity of empirical studies that examine the outcomes that participants derive from these events. This study aims to address this by specifically focusing on one objective of business events—networking. A case study approach was used to explore how organizers design events for networking and the outcomes that participants gain from events. Findings revealed that objectives differed based on the type of attendee and attendees typically followed up with 20–30% of contacts after the event, indicating that the use of networking technologies could enable more valuable connections to be made.     

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.     

专家点评汽车配件案 何为贵？“和”为贵

2005年7月，笔者在布鲁塞尔欧盟总部、国会访问。国会的官员透露，欧盟正准备和中国打两个贸易战，一个是针对中国鞋的反倾销，一个就是汽车配件的关税问题。2006年4月初，欧美共同把中国汽车关税案告到了WTO争端解决机制，汽车配件案急剧升级。该案更多具有官方性质，涉及的是关税政策，自然中国政府是案件的第一责任人，所以我们没有见到中国企业的积极反馈，案子一下子就走入了WTO似乎快了点。     

Lottery expenditures in Canada: a regional analysis of determinants and incidence

This article examines two issues; first, it evaluates the statistical significance of a number of socio-economic and demographic variables on the level of household lottery expenditures in the six regions of Canada. While some household characteristics vary in the extent to which they significantly affect the level of lottery expenditures across regions (wealth, age, occupation, mother tongue and urban location, for example), others are significant in every region. Regional consistency exists in the statistical significance of after tax household income, sex and education of the head of household – lottery expenditures increase as incomes increase; lottery expenditures are significantly lower for female heads of households than for their male counterparts; lottery expenditures decline as the education level of the head of household increases. Second, lottery expenditures are found to be regressive, although the degree of regressivity is less than for lotteries in the United States.     

The increasing importance of public relations in fast moving consumer goods firms

An interesting phenomenon in recent years is the apparent growth in spending and activity on public relations work in fast moving consumer goods firms. This paper attempts to show that in the first instance there has been a shift away from more traditional forms of marketing communications towards public relations. Secondly, it tries to account for this shift in emphasis. The comparative cost‐effectiveness of public relations is highlighted, as is its changing role. The interface and overlap with the more traditional corporate public relations is discussed.     

Emerging Stars and Developed Neighbors: The Effects of Development Imbalance and Political Shocks on Mutual Fund Investments in China

This paper examines the influence of regional economic development on mutual funds investment decisions. Using fund holdings from 2003 to 2008, we find that Chinese mutual funds that collectively reside in the developed coastal region have the ability to select “star” firms from neighboring inland areas and overweight them in their portfolios. However, they present a clear local bias within the coastal region. Such investment behavior is robust to political interventions. In particular, changes in political climate make mutual funds seek fundamentals like growth prospects and diversification benefits. Overall, economic and political factors significantly influence mutual funds investment decisions in emerging China.     

Sharecroppers or Shrewd Capitalists? Projections of the US Current Account,International Income Flows,and Net International Debt

This paper presents a detailed framework and analysis to address whether the US is on track to becoming a society of “sharecroppers,” paying a large and growing share of income to foreign owners of US assets, or rather is more likely to continue as a society of “shrewd capitalists” with the cost of servicing international debt remaining relatively low and manageable despite growing international debt. Various scenarios illustrate the reliability of the modeling framework and show how alternative future paths for key variables affect the outcomes. The relationships determining the international flows and relative debt levels—including relative rates of return, asset portfolio compositions, valuation effects, and the outlook for an improving US trade position—indicate that a manageable and sustainable outlook is more likely than often considered to be the case. Results also show, however, the extent to which the outlook is vulnerable to the loss of “exorbitant privilege.”     

The perception of tourism in coffee-producing equatorial countries: An empirical analysis

Some scholars have emphasized the importance of food tourism in mature and certain emergent economies for growing consumption-related products (e.g., wine, beer, rice, and tea) and attempts have been made to study tourism levers and threats in developing economies. However, to the best of our knowledge, little research has been conducted on the potential development of tourism activities centered on coffee producers and their farms in equatorial countries to determine whether a coffee tourism market is developing in these locales and if this could enhance these countries’ brand perceptions. Thus, this study explores the antecedents of the perceptions, potentialities, attitudes, and behavior of tourists specifically with regard to coffee tourism and coffee cultivation visits. To achieve our goal, we employ a quantitative method involving a survey of potential tourists. Our findings indicate that while the effects of gender and age on the perceptions of coffee cultivation visits are not significant, the effects of coffee consumption and travel in coffee-producing countries are positive and significant. These findings help us draw some relevant theoretical and managerial implications.