Search

Many sustainable products require innovative design techniques but the same materials as regular products. In practice, whether pooling the material procurement orders via procurement sharing can be a strategic decision when an OEM produces both sustainable and regular products. In this paper, we formulate a multi-tier production system comprising of an OEM, a CM, and two material suppliers, and study two typical strategies: (1) procurement sharing, where the procurement functions of the sustainable and regular products are outsourced to the CM, and (2) independent procurement, where the OEM independently procures materials for the sustainable product. We solve the four-stage-four-player optimisation problem and find that the change of the market potential of the sustainable product heavily determines the OEM's overall procurement cost, and consequently the procurement sharing decisions. Under independent procurement, the wholesale prices of the sustainable and regular products show opposite characteristics when the market potential of the sustainable product varies, because the two suppliers have opposite pricing incentives. We derive three interactive effects that alter the OEM's procurement sharing incentives, which makes the OEM prefer independent procurement only when the market potential of the sustainable product is in a moderate range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the presence of the three pesticides methomyl (MET), carbendazim (CBZ) and chlorpyrifos-ethyl (CPE), as well as the degradation product of CPE (3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol; TCP), in 44 honey samples from all 12 regions of Morocco. With a validated HPLC-UV method occurrence frequencies of 63.6% for MET, 54.5% for CBZ, 95.1% for CPE and 34.1% for TCP were obtained, even at concentrations higher than the maximum residue limits for MET, CPE and TCP. Based on the predominant pesticide, principal component analysis separated sampling regions into three groups. Risk assessment indicated that ingestion of these pesticides, alone or in combination, in honey did not pose a risk to consumers (HQ and HI < 1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to analyse the concentrations of mercury in fish samples available in the Algerian market and evaluate the potential health risks associated with their consumption. A total of 135 fish samples, representing the species Sardina pilchardus, Merluccius merluccius, Sparus aurata and Auxis rochie, were collected and analysed. Mercury levels were determined using thermal decomposition amalgamation Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. Health risks were evaluated by calculating hazard quotients. The overall mean concentration was 0.19 ± 0.11 mg/kg across all species. Individual species concentrations were recorded as 0.17 ± 0.08 mg/kg for Sardina pilchardus, 0.26 ± 0.19 mg/kg for Merluccius merluccius, 0.27 ± 0.18 mg/kg for Sparus aurata and 0.23 ± 0.13 mg/kg for Auxis rochei. Hazard quotients were below 1, indicating low health risk for fish consumers. Nevertheless, it is recommended to conduct periodic monitoring of heavy metal levels in fish, coupled with ongoing risk assessments, to ensure continued consumer protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flavonoids and their methylated derivatives have immense market potential in the food and biomedical industries due to their multiple beneficial effects, such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. The biological synthesis of flavonoids and their derivatives is often accomplished via the use of genetically modified microorganisms to ensure large-scale production. Therefore, it is pivotal to understand the properties of O-methyltransferases (OMTs) that mediate the methylation of flavonoids. However, the properties of these OMTs are governed by their: sources, substrate specificity, amino acid residues in the active sites, and the intricate mechanism. In order to obtain a clue for the selection of suitable OMTs for the biosynthesis of a target methylated flavonoid, we made a comprehensive review of the currently reported results, with a particular focus on their comparative regioselectivity for different flavonoid substrates. Additionally, the possible mechanisms for the diversity of this class of enzymes were explored using molecular simulation technology. Finally, major gaps in our understanding and areas for future studies were discussed. The findings of this study may be useful in selecting genes that encode OMTs and designing enzyme-based processes for synthesizing O-methylated flavonoids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract\nHIGHLIGHTSThe current impetus to develop bio-based polymers for greater sustainability and lower carbon footprint is necessitated due to the alarming depletion of fossil resources, concurrent global warming, and related environmental issues. This article reviews the development of polymeric blends based on bio-based polymers. The focus on bio-based polymers is due to their greater ‘Sustainability factor’ as they are derived from renewable resources. The article delves into the synthesis of both conventional and highly biodegradable bio-based polymers, each crafted from feedstocks derived from nature’s bounty. What sets this work apart is the exploration of blending existing bio-based polymers, culminating in the birth of entirely new materials. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent advancements in the development of bio-based polymeric blends, covering their synthesis, properties, applications, and potential contributions to a more sustainable future. Despite their potential benefits, bio-based materials face obstacles such as miscibility, processability issues and disparities in physical properties compared to conventional counterparts. The paper also discusses significance of compatibilizers, additives and future directions for the further advancement of these bio-based blends. While bio-based polymer blends hold promise for environmentally benign applications, many are still in the research phase. Ongoing research and technological innovations are driving the evolution of these blends as viable alternatives, but continued efforts are needed to ensure their successful integration into mainstream industrial practices. Concerted efforts from both researchers and industry stakeholders are essential to realize the full potential of bio-based polymers and accelerate their adoption on a global scale.Sustainable versatility: Reduce fossil fuel dependency and decompose naturally.Challenges: Poor mechanical properties and scalability.Modification strategies: Blending improves properties for specific uses.Market potential: Good market potential, despite a commercialized gap.Research need: To address challenges and advance bio-based polymer technology [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through five empirical accounts of critical teaching practices, this note addresses how we can teach and seeks to understand the strategies and approaches employed by marketing scholars to incorporate critical and moral reflection into the marketing curriculum, and be more critical and imaginative in reshaping marketing practices in the face of current challenges. The pedagogic examples offered acknowledge the powerful potential of the marketing classroom in developing critical and creative mindsets of future leaders and practitioners. These illustrations of the passion and creativity of marketing teachers can inspire colleagues to experiment with and develop their ideas in the classroom, and offer a model for sharing experiences that we hope may encourage more colleagues to do likewise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider a two-echelon supply chain with partial cross ownership (PCO) comprising a supplier and a retailer. The retailer is endowed with superior information about uncertain market potential. The supplier must produce the product before the market potential is realized. We explore the retailer's strategy to share his private demand information with the supplier via cheap talk. We demonstrate that when the proportion of partial cross holding shares is moderate, the retailer can disclose private demand information truthfully. Without PCO, this informative equilibrium cannot be achieved regardless of the acquired signal. With PCO, the retailer wants to obtain a sufficient production quantity if the realized demand is high and fears the cost of unsold products if the realized demand is low. These two countervailing incentives can cause the retailer to share his information truthfully. We find that this truthful information sharing benefits both the retailer and the supplier. In addition, we discuss the case of endogenous wholesale price and indicate the conditions in which truthful information sharing can be achieved. Moreover, we find that when the market potential follows a general continuous distribution, the perfect informative equilibrium does not exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motorcycle backpackers is an emerging niche market segment that can be placed in the overlap of drive tourism and backpacking. Within this context, Research note identifies motorcycle backpackers as an important subculture situated within contemporary backpackers. A quick Internet search will show numerous tourism providers are marketing their products and services to motorcycle backpackers in various destinations (e.g. , , and ). However, there is a dearth of research undertaken about motorcycle backpackers, possibly due to the blurry line separating them from backpackers and/or motorcycle tourists. Consequently, statistics about this group of tourists are also rarely presented in research, making it difficult to estimate the full potential of the market size accurately. There is a need for research on motorcycle backpackers as they represent a unique subculture situated within contemporary backpackers. This paper calls for research to develop a nuanced understanding of this niche tourist segment, which has implications for tourism and leisure scholarship, and tourism businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research presents an analytical analysis of the factors related to the preference for using electric vehicles, aimed at estimating their potential adoption in urban freight transport. We employed choice modeling to assess the trade-offs among various attributes associated with Electric Freight Vehicles (EFVs) and predicted the probabilities of EFV adoption within urban freight fleets. This estimation is based on an industry survey and real delivery data from a retail firm. Our findings indicate that electric vehicles could be utilized in approximately 32% of the deliveries for the case company. This, in turn, corresponds to a notable 26% reduction in CO2 emissions resulting from delivery operations. Furthermore, our model enabled us to expand the scope of our analysis to the city level, using Istanbul as a specific example. Our illustration demonstrates that, under the current circumstances, electric vehicles have the potential to account for roughly 25% of all deliveries in Istanbul. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most tourism research examines peripheral areas as destinations that are often exploited by the dominant, urban core. Little, if any research has considered peripheral areas as potential source markets. Yet, in Australia, some 30% of the population live outside of major urban centres. This study determined that residents of regional centres and rural communities have as much interest in travel as their urban cousins, have similar attitudes to and motivations for travel and moreover travel at the same level of propensity and intensity. Differences are noted in destination choice, though, suggesting an opportunity exists to better market a wider variety of tourism products in peripheral areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to develop an inland terminal location selection methodology. This methodology is viewed from the perspective of the shipping line designing the inland transport chain while also taking the objectives of multiple other stakeholders into account. To that end, we develop a consensus model for a group Best-Worst Method (BWM) in order to aggregate the evaluations of the various stakeholders. The proposed method is applied to a real-life case study involving the Maersk shipping line, in which nine experts representing three different types of stakeholders assess six possible locations. After the evaluation, the market volume potential is identified as one of the most important criteria. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis indicates that a varying influx of the container volume has no impact on the most desirable location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a crucial business practice that has attracted the attention of companies and market participants worldwide. This paper examines the impact of CSR on financial reporting comparability. Specifically, this study investigates two main topics: (1) whether CSR leads to a more comparable financial report and (2) whether market supervision (i.e. liquidity and investor concerns) components of CSR are the channels through which CSR affects financial report quality. The results reveal that good CSR practice effectively minimises the problem of asymmetric financial reporting, even when accounting for other factors that affect financial reporting quality. CSR has the potential to attract market supervision and encourage companies to maintain comparability in their financial reporting practice. This observation indicates that CSR participation is a tool to elicit market supervision and to improve the information reporting environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water quality monitoring has become more critical in recent years to ensure the availability of clean and safe water from natural aquifers and to understand the evolution of water contaminants across time and space. The conventional water monitoring techniques comprise of sample collection, preservation, preparation, tailed by laboratory testing and analysis with cumbersome wet chemical routes and expensive instrumentation. Despite the high accuracy of these methods, the high testing costs, laborious procedures, and maintenance associated with them don't make them lucrative for end end-users and field testing. As the participation of ultimate stakeholders, that is, common man for water quality and quantity can play a pivotal role in ensuring the sustainability of our aquifers, thus it is essential to develop and deploy portable and user-friendly technical systems for monitoring water sources in real-time or on-site. The present review emphasizes here on possible approaches including optical (absorbance, fluorescence, colorimetric, X-ray fluorescence, chemiluminescence), electrochemical (ASV, CSV, CV, EIS, and chronoamperometry), electrical, biological, and surface-sensing (SPR and SERS), as candidates for developing such platforms. The existing developments, their success, and bottlenecks are discussed in terms of various attributes of water to escalate the essentiality of water quality devices development meeting ASSURED criterion for societal usage. These platforms are also analyzed in terms of their market potential, advancements required from material science aspects, and possible integration with IoT solutions in alignment with Industry 4.0 for environmental application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regenerative tourism and hospitality (RTH) offer the industry a robust transformational potential as a further step toward sustainability thinking and development. This study aims to scrutinize regenerative tourism and hospitality from the suppliers' perspective. We selected industrial media contents posted by tourism and hospitality suppliers on the regenerative approach. Drawing on Heider's balance theory, we combined two textual mining techniques (content and sentiment analysis) in order to decrypt the suppliers' perspective of RTH. Our research identified a set of key dimensions for deciphering RTH, namely (1) sustainability, (2) harmonized communities, (3) resources restoration, (4) carbon-offsetting, and (5) energy saving. The findings can help practitioners advance, follow the shift from sustainable to regenerative tourism and hospitality, as well as help suppliers shape the tourism and hospitality sector's future. Despite RTH's significance, there is scant research on its development, marketing potential and promotion. This work therefore serves as an important examination of the RTH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many tourism providers were unable to offer traditional tourism activities. A temporary solution for some of them was to offer virtual guided tours on Zoom or other streaming platforms. This study investigates how participants experienced these tours by analyzing 3661 TripAdvisor reviews written by participants of virtual guided tours offered from Europe and North America between March 2020 and November 2021. Findings suggest that virtual guided tours were important to participants during the pandemic. The tours were used to stay entertained and socialize and often had a positive impact on the participants during challenging times. Reviewers also identified several other benefits of joining a virtual guided tour rather than a physical one, including covering more ground, paying less, and being able to participate in less physically demanding tours. While most participants viewed virtual guided tours as good but temporary substitutes for physical travel, some wrote that they hoped virtual guided tours would continue after the pandemic was over. This indicates that there is a potential market for virtual guided tours after COVID-19 as well, but that this market is smaller than it was during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioactive compounds obtained from Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi extracts are traditionally employed in folk medicine for the treatment of diseases. The fruits and leaves of this plant are rich in terpenes and phenolic compounds, which gives it antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Even though the pink pepper shares some sensory aspects of the traditional peppers, it does not belong to the same family, which is why it can be considered as a fake pepper. Recent advances in the food area showed that pink pepper extracts are an interesting alternative for applications such as natural preservatives and flavoring. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of pink pepper extraction properties and possible applications. Moreover, we wish to demonstrate an effective bioactive activity of pink pepper when applied in different areas. Overall, multifunctional extracts can be produced from pink pepper tree, showing great market potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider a monopoly grocery retailer that procures from a far away supplier a batch of a perishable product. A random part of this batch has quality deterioration before entering the market during a long-distance transportation. With the stochastic freshness-keeping ratio, i.e. the ratio of products preserved in high quality after transportation, the grocery retailer has to determine its ordering batch size and selling prices to alleviate cannibalisation caused by quality segmentation. We find that when the realised size of the high-quality product exceeds half of the maximum market potential after the transportation, it is optimal to sell high-quality products only to avoid cannibalisation. Otherwise, it is optimal to sell the high-quality and low-quality products simultaneously to extend sales. We also find that, when more customers arrive or the difference of two quality levels becomes larger, it is optimal to order more to gain more profit. Finally, we investigate the role of freshness-keeping effort on the optimal pricing and ordering policy and further characterise the optimal freshness-keeping effort under various structures of the freshness-keeping cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While marketing's potential to foster environmental sustainability has been acknowledged in sustainability marketing thinking, we still know little about the forms of organisational conduct through which sustainability recurrently fails to gain traction as a serious agenda in markets. Drawing on recent discussions on corporate irresponsibility and institutional work in markets, this article employs a discourse analysis to examine marketing managers' strategies to legitimise food waste generation in the organisation of retail. The study highlights three interlinked strategies of institutional work for the subversion of sustainability and thus the reproduction of unsustainable excess production and consumption: the framing of environmental responsibility as risk, cost and consumer choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud services are transforming business and government at an ever-increasing rate. As a form of cloud service, software as a service (SaaS) is one of the fast growing segments of the information technology and has become an attractive alternative to the on-premises software. In this paper, we study the optimal pricing strategies of a cloud service provider in an incumbent-entrant setting under user upgrade cost and switching cost. Our results show that in equilibrium the market structure is not unique. The specific market segmentation depends on the incumbent's pricing strategy whether to provide discounted price to its old customers and the levels of user upgrade cost and switching cost. When faced with customers who are heterogeneous in the sensitivity to the related costs, the incumbent firm may need to offer a discount to the new customers rather than to those who have purchased from it. This implies that the entry of a SaaS firm into the market is a potential threat to the incumbent on-premises software firm, especially in capturing new customers from the untapped market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how the manufacturer's encroachment strategy and the retailer's information-sharing strategy interact in gray markets under advertising investment. Different from the traditional view which holds that the retailer should retain private information to maintain an information advantage, we find that the retailer can strategically use private information to induce the manufacturer's encroachment to improve investment level and increase potential market demand. We also derive the manufacturer's optimal encroachment strategy. When the encroachment cost is extremely low (high), whether the retailer share information or not, the manufacturer will (will never) encroach. Particularly, when the cost is in the middle range, the encroachment decision depends on the retailer's information sharing choice: the manufacturer encroaches when information is shared and does not encroach when information is not shared. Moreover, when the manufacturer effectively combats the gray market through encroachment, the retailer still has motivation to share information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial summarizes the papers in issue 18(1) (2023). The first paper sets out a game-theoretic duopolistic spatial model to investigate whether online retailing causes more transportation-related emissions than offline retailing. The second paper proposes a methodology for statistically downscaling projected gross domestic product (GDP). The third paper presents a Bayesian approach for the estimation of a spatial weight matrix. The fourth paper proposes a two-step spatial non-parametric estimator for the distribution dynamics approach to study income convergence, extended with spatially dependent error terms. The fifth paper combines a gravity-RAS approach with the estimation of an econometric gravity model when regional export and import totals are available but interregional trade data are not. The sixth paper estimates the impact of country-specific immigrants settled in 611 Italian regions on the arrival of new immigrants in destination and adjacent regions. The seventh paper investigates the impact of the market potential of a region on individual wages. The eighth paper tests whether female labour force participation rates vary with past participation rates in their own and neighbouring counties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reconsiders the relationship between individual wages and regional market access. We focus on Poland – a country that has experienced profound changes in market accessibility over the last two decades, first as a consequence of European Union accession in 2004, and second as a result of the unprecedented development of the major road transport network. Using data over the period 2000–15 we find that the positive relationship between wages and regional market access disappears after 2004. At the same time, individual wages begin to be positively correlated with the market potential of Poland's main trading partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manufacturers will adopt different strategies to deal with the occurrence of supply disruptions. In this paper, we conduct an analytical game-theoretical study to consider a supply chain with two suppliers (a reliable supplier and an unreliable supplier) and two manufacturers (manufacturers 1 and 2). Manufacturer 2 only orders products from the reliable supplier (Supplier R), while Manufacturer 1 can choose one of the two purchasing strategies: 'contingent dual sourcing' or 'stable dual sourcing'. We study the optimal purchasing strategy of Manufacturer 1 and Supplier R under supply disruptions and competition. We find that Manufacturer 1 prefers the 'stable dual sourcing' strategy only if the proportion of order quantity from the unreliable supplier and the potential market size are relatively large, and Supplier R prefers the 'contingent dual sourcing' strategy only if the proportion of order quantity from the unreliable supplier is large, the potential market size and disruption probability is not too large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering a firm who operates multiple stores to sell perishable items with limited inventory, we build a multi-location inventory model to explore the optimal dynamic pricing and shipment consolidation policies. The optimal consolidation and continuous-time dynamic pricing policies are obtained by solving the corresponding optimization problem based on optimal control theory. The optimal strategies derived show that the firm should take penetration pricing policy and select a subset of stores with high market potentials. Compared to cases of static pricing and non-consolidation, both dynamic pricing and shipment consolidation policies can enhance the firm's profitability, while they exert substitutable effects. Furthermore, the heterogeneity of stores, price sensitivity of demands, deteriorating property of items, holding cost and delivery cost all highlight the importance of consolidation. Additionally, the optimal dynamic price exhibits non-monotonicity with respect to deterioration rate and holding cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reassesses a body of research that has been somewhat neglected: Eastern European market socialism of the 1960s-1980s. It does so with the objective of recovering key issues and also identifying problems that need to be addressed. Thus, the study begins with an overview of the practices of market socialism, which was pursued to varying degrees from the 1960s. While some (USSR, East Germany and Czechoslovakia) turned back to centrally planned economies in the 1970s, others (especially Yugoslavia and Hungary) pursued further reforms. This material provides the basis for analysis of three theoretical points and their attendant problems: the market as a neutral 'economic mechanism', as an effort to detach a market economy from its assumed integral connection with a capitalist socio-economic system; the tensions between planning and market; and the ownership of the means of production, which risked ignoring the liberation of productive forces. The conclusion discusses potential assessments of the market socialist experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ASMR has attracted considerable attention in social media and advertising practices, but it lacks empirical investigation within marketing science. This study suggests applying ASMR in the design of interactions in relationships between organizations and customers in order to shorten spatial distance evoked by digitization. This experimental study comprises the first empirical investigation of ASMR in the context of relationship marketing with a focus on perceived customer intimacy. The findings demonstrate that the level of perceived customer intimacy depends on individuals' extraversion and agreeableness, and ASMR may entail the ability to positively influence this intimacy, but is influenced by further variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the popularity and development of the platform economy, numerous enterprises are choosing to cooperate with e-commerce platforms to expand online market, and the cooperation modes have exhibited innovation and diversification. This paper focuses on a new platform-based co-opetitive supply chain whereby a flagship store operated by the manufacturer (MFS) and a self-run store operated by the platform (PSS) coexist in the platform market. The manufacturer acts as the platform's upstream contract manufacturer and downstream competitor. We answer a key question that the manufacturers are facing: when should they adopt the high-level logistics service (HLS) provided by the platform? Two cases with exogenous and endogenous HLS charge are analyzed respectively. Our results show that under the case of exogenous HLS charge, the manufacturer should always select HLS when the HLS charge is low. Counterintuitively, if the product's market potential is limited, the HLS is still profitable for the manufacturer despite a high HLS charge. When the HLS charge is endogenous, we find that the platform can adjust the HLS charge to induce the manufacturers to give up low-level logistics service (LLS) and choose HLS, which will achieve a win-win situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines an overview of recent research advances in different production technologies toward sustainable development of nonwoven naturally sourced materials as alternatives to conventional synthetic laminated and bovine leather in the footwear industry. The current state of the footwear industry as a major stakeholder in the fashion sector is discussed, its footprints on the environment, and key developments from nonwoven natural fibrous materials for different footwear components are highlighted. Lastly, the review discusses recent research innovations of naturally sourced fibrous materials as leather alternatives in the footwear sector with special focus on sustainability and material performance. In addition, challenges and limitations in terms of industrial scalability and market potential are outlined. In conclusion, featuring promising nonwoven natural fibrous leather alternatives obtained via up-cycling of agro-wastes using microbes and fungi may be used in the textile and shoe industries. Since the prepared sheets through simple and cost-effective processes visually resemble conventional leather and demonstrate comparable material and tactile properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis of the evolution of the urban system of the Russian Federation in the period from 1991 to 2020 reveals an increase in heterogeneity of city development due to the growth of large cities and a decrease in the population of small cities, alongside a spatial shift in an east–west direction, although these changes are far less marked and slower than originally anticipated at the start of the transition from a planned to a market economy. Market potential, specialization, infrastructure, the administrative status of the city and geographical location all play a role, but market potential and its individual components have ambiguous effects because negative competitive aspects of interregional relations outweigh positive cooperative aspects and positive effects work mainly at the level of the individual subjects of the Russian Federation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate how cities are developing and implementing social marketing practices. Driven by a 2017 survey administered to a sample of Florida's public officials, the research design of this study employs an exploratory data analysis including cluster analysis, univariate visualization, and bivariate visualization to information regarding public social marketing utilization. The findings of this study suggest possible confusion surrounding what social marketing actually is and how the practice can best be utilized within a strategic management context. This research adds value by contributing to a relatively nascent literature on social marketing within an American public administration context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we use an institutional approach and apply a regional perspective to explore how market potential, formal institutions, taxes, access to finance, regional policy instruments, and digitalization have affected small business activity in 83 Russian regions during 2008–2018. We use various regional data sources and official statistics to study the effects of regional business environments on entrepreneurship. Our results suggest that Russia's business environment, including policy measures in taxation, is important in explaining small business activity, however digital transformation and the role of market potential can be better controlled by entrepreneurs in terms of what skills to learn and where to locate their businesses. In addition, we discuss the effect of exogenous shocks and changes in the business environment, along with dynamics, challenges, and perspectives of entrepreneurship in Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discussed the spatial effects and influence mechanisms of the digital economy on high-quality tourism development in the Yangtze River Delta. It is found that the digital economy promoted high-quality tourism development with a spatial diffusion effect. The digital economy of cities in metropolitan and adjacent area contributed to high-quality tourism development. In non-metropolitan and non-adjacent areas, the lack of core city leadership and support of metropolitan policy are important factors that hinder the functioning of digital economy. Mediation effect model shows that the digital economy could drive high-quality tourism development by improving government efficiency and expanding market potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research reports on a cross-country based investigation of the floating middle class in Africa demonstrating how their behavior and structure influences the design of marketing mix strategies used by marketers. Questionnaires were used to collect data in ten African cities. Key findings include the importance of branding and core drivers for purchase such as durability, origin, popularity, affordability, and a unique circle of quality variables. Innovative adaptations for pricing, distribution and marketing communications are outlined to assist marketers develop appropriate context relevant strategies to target the floating middle class. The discussion also outlines theoretical and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socially stigmatized service workers (SSWs) like probation officers, social workers, and even aged care workers are often subject to negative media scrutiny when a crisis occurs, leading to public outrage and subsequent high attrition rates. The primary focus of this study is to examine the potential for marketing communication to generate a state of empathic concern amongst the public towards SSWs because an empathic public is less likely to want to punish, despite media calls to do so. A case is presented for the use of marketing communication explained through the lens of narrative execution and the general theory of emotion. Using a content analysis of public service announcements from representative bodies of social workers, in the US, UK and Australia we find little evidence of strategic intent to use narrative format or elicit empathic concern. A call and direction for further research is made in light of this finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of China Tourism Research is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We adapt a conditional counterfactual quantile decomposition structure to identify the contributions of relative consumption behaviours and potential market imperfections to observed expenditure differentials between first-time, first-repeat and multiple-repeat visitors to an emerging destination. This letter advances the discussion on the expenditure consequences of visitation frequency, with a parametric assessment of the contribution of market imperfections, such as visitors' limited information and firms' market power. Applicable to virtually any a priori segmentation, this approach offers a tool for the assessment of existing segmentation strategies, in pursuit of a more efficient resource allocation in the tourism industry, especially during high seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the strategic goals behind actors' involvement in emerging technological innovation systems (TISs) for sustainable technologies and the way they contribute to the development of the TIS functions. Based on six expert interviews with firms within the biorefinery sector in Germany, we observe four different strategic goals driving firm-actors' involvement: (1) exploiting new markets and businesses, (2) learning about the potential of new markets and businesses, (3) developing new technologies and (4) building up new market applications. We also differentiate between three firm-actor types: (1) a leading type of incumbent firm highly contributing to the TIS functions; (2) a learning type of incumbent firm with lower contribution; and (3) a 'fill the gap' type of SME or start-up producing complementary knowledge or connecting other TIS actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to explain the Commission's decisions after formal investigations in the EU state aid regime. It proceeds from the idea that the Commission is confronted with an enforcement dilemma: it must weigh the benefits of promoting undistorted competition on the internal market against the potential costs of losing member state support. This study explores to what extent characteristics of state aid cases and characteristics of member states influence this dilemma and thereby the Commission's decisions. Based on multilevel logistic regression analysis of a newly created dataset consisting of all formal investigations initiated and decided on by the Commission between 2004 and 2018, we find that aid that has been granted unlawfully and aid consisting of tax measures is more likely to result in a negative decision. Member states characterized by a larger administrative capacity are less likely to face negative decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing growth rate of emerging countries and potential mass markets have shifted the attention of multinational enterprises (MNEs) to emerging markets. The specific socio-economic structure of emerging markets led MNEs to develop new strategies for innovation. This paper aims to develop a conceptual model that reveals main building blocks of the successful reverse innovation process. First, the relevant literature is reviewed and global changes, trends and recent approaches are discussed to set the theoretical background. Multiple secondary data-based case study approach is used to investigate the success/failure of reverse innovation attempts in local/global markets. A reverse innovation process model is developed that reveals the main building blocks and critical interactions of the reverse innovation process. The proposed model elucidates three components having a crucial impact on the success of reverse innovation, namely, quality of the innovation idea, cooperation between MNEs and local enterprises, and building appropriate and unique diffusion strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the narrative(s) that surround the development of the Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (2SFCA) family of GIS-based accessibility statistics. It identifies what has been omitted from the pre-GIS era in its discourse and presents a parallel but alternative narrative behind these statistics. The results suggest that the 'crowdedness' metric from the i2SFCA can more broadly be viewed as a form of market potential, and the 2SFCA and i2SFCA are normalized, singly supply-constrained and singly demand-constrained spatial interaction models, respectively. It postulates that the R j values calculated in the 2SFCA are not real supply-to-population ratios, but the inverse of the market potential metric associated with the i2SFCA is, and this inverse value can be used to develop an adjusted supply accessibility metric. This enables the 2SFCA family of supply accessibility metrics also to account for congestion at service sites. Results using the adjusted and congested supply accessibility metrics suggest that less densely populated areas may not be at a disadvantage with respect to the supply of services once congestion is taken into account. The adjusted and congested supply accessibility metrics also have a complementary cost accessibility metric that when used in tandem measure the size and efficiency of supply availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The empirical analysis of the impact of market potential on the spatial distribution of human capital has often taken the approach of using samples of large economic areas (world sample of countries, Europe, single countries). This paper proposes to strengthen the analysis of the potential 'fractal dimension' of the market potential–human capital relation by estimating econometric specifications which relate educational attainment levels to market potential for the 53 Galician counties using yearly data over the period 2005–2012 and census data for 2001 and 2011. We find evidence that market potential exerts a positive impact on the spatial distribution of human capital across the Galician counties, concluding therefore in favour of the fractal dimension. These results could also help to explain the (lack of) convergence in terms of income between the Western and Eastern parts of Galicia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Europe's population is getting older; dependency ratios are set to double by 2060. Such transformations and demographic change pose major challenges and potential benefits for the economy. Addressing the call in the literature for further research into the supply side of the silver economy, this research contributes to the understanding of enterprises' awareness of this growing market and its potential economic value. This research employs primary data from eight regions across seven European Union countries. Using semi-structured interviews, the unit of analysis is at the firm level and qualitative content analysis to analyse the rich data. While we find some firms are aware of the silver economy, many have a social/caring view. The awareness of the potential for enterprises to benefit from the silver economy is weak and there is a lack of awareness of training or other public supports at a regional level in the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of China Tourism Research is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Despite the popularity of mobile banking applications among banks and a phenomenal increase in Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe (CBZ) customer base of 206.6% since 2009, uptake of mobile banking applications has remained deplorably low with CBZ Touch mobile application recording a meagre 8% uptake by 2018. This study sought to determine security, trust and other factors that affect the adoption of CBZ Touch banking application; and then establish a strategy to improve uptake of the application among users. Four-hundred structured, five-point Likert scaled, and self-administered questionnaires and five semi-structured interviews were delivered to conveniently sampled CBZ Touch users. A 60% response rate was recorded. Findings indicate that users do not consider security threats and their consequences as highly probable but are much alive to the social influence, usefulness and cost of the mobile banking app. Though customers of CBZ Touch trust the use of mobile banking app, they are not satisfied with the app and are sceptical about the effectiveness of such apps to meet their banking needs. CBZ has to improve the quality of the mobile banking app, market their app to potential users and regularly update customers on pertinent security threats and security mechanisms. This study proposes a strategy to enhance adoption of CBZ Touch mobile banking app. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Market potential has been shown to have an important impact on the explanation of observed income disparities both across countries and across regions within countries. However, the importance of neighbourhood for 'income levels-market potential' regressions is largely neglected in the empirical studies on the subject. This paper tries to fill up this gap by estimating fixed effects spatial panel data models using Colombian regional data over the period 1990–2015. Our results reveal that around half of the impact of market potential on regional income disparities can be attributed to neighbouring regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The marine recreational fishing industry in Florida has an economic impact of $7.6 billion dollars, which includes the expenditures of its 2.4 million licensed anglers. Interest in developing aquaculture techniques for marine baitfish species have served as an impetus for recent research; however, market data in Florida has not been investigated and described in over two decades. The objectives of this survey were to evaluate and describe the live marine baitfish market for cultured pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides) and pigfish (Orthopristis chrysoptera) in Florida. A survey was designed and distributed to 280 bait retailers in 37 coastal counties of Florida. The survey was developed to gather information vital to market evaluation. Survey questions focused on baitfish species sold, shortcomings of wild baitfish, preferred baitfish characteristics, perception of aquaculture and cultured bait, and specific questions with an emphasis on quantities and purchasing habits for pinfish and pigfish. A total of 119 surveys representing 31 counties were returned for a 42.5% response rate. The results of this market survey will serve as a valuable resource for current and potential producers who market live marine baitfish to retailers throughout coastal Florida. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to research on enterprise formation by studying location decisions of Russian enterprises in various industries, taking into consideration the role of historical heritage, comparing firms created during the communist period to younger ones. We apply a negative binomial model and use the Ruslana database provided by the Bureau van Dijk. Our results show that firms created during the communist period have a specific structure, and that, once this specificity is taken into account, they do not differ from other firms with respect to their sensitivity to the main location factors (market potential, business risk, local human capital, and knowledge base). There are some differences across industries, including that firms in the high-tech and integrators industries are particularly sensitive to the knowledge base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to analyse the practices of virtual reality marketing in the Bali tourism sector in Indonesia. This is a qualitative and descriptive research with the purposive sampling method used to acquire data on Bali's tourism components through in-depth interviews, observation, journals, and the Netnographic approach. The result showed hegemony in the practice of virtual reality marketing to tourists and potential consumers, using significant technology. The marketers practice the hegemony of virtual reality marketing on tourists and potential consumers. Tourism capitalism as a chain link in the tourism business can be integrated into marketing through virtual reality. This study acts as a guide to the application of virtual reality marketing and limited to Bali Province, Indonesia. Practically, it acts as a guide to the application of virtual reality marketing, with its social implication as a disconnection to tourism networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines a matching queue problem (double-sided matching queue) where customers are loss-averse with respect to their waiting times. We first set the reference point and construct the loss-averse customers' utility function, then we investigate the customers' strategic behaviour regarding their joining or balking dilemma, with reference to the information unavailable. Next, we derive the service providers' optimal pricing and capacity-sizing decisions. We find that compared to the fully rational customers, the loss-averse behaviour could reduce the joining probability of customers and drive down the service price. Furthermore, the profit function of the service providers could be a unimodal function of the servers queue capacity size, with the servers' optimal queue capacity size increasing with the increase in the degree of the customers' loss aversion. Moreover, different potential market sizes may lead to different values of the profit, that is, under different levels of the customers' arrival rate, the service providers should make a reasonable and timely adjustment for the servers queue capacity size to guarantee their profits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last three years, corporate interest in voluntary carbon markets has almost tripled, and this trend has seemed to resist the COVID-19 economic fallout. If managed well, this market has the potential to become a very significant driver of mitigation action, in particular in developing countries, which supply the majority of voluntary carbon offsets. Robust standards and rules can overcome concerns that voluntary carbon markets could lead to company greenwashing and undermine the goals of the Paris Agreement. On the contrary, voluntary corporate investments can encourage more ambitious government climate action, and encourage governments to make more ambitious pledges under the Paris Agreement. Multisectoral mitigation partnerships can ensure the complementarity of public and private action and support policy alignment and investments in priority sectors and regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]