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ObjectiveHeadache associated with ischemic stroke is poorly understood. To gain further insight, we systematically reviewed studies examining the prevalence and characteristics of new-onset poststroke headache.MethodsMedline and PubMed databases were queried. A total of 1,812 articles were identified. Of these, 50 were included in this systematic review. Twenty were included in a meta-analysis and meta-regression.ResultsHeadache occurred in 6%–44% of the ischemic stroke population. Most headaches had tension-type features, were moderate to severe, and became chronic in nature. Meta-analysis using an inverse-variance heterogeneity model revealed a pooled prevalence of 0.14 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.07–0.23) with heterogeneity among studies. Metaregression revealed a significant association between prevalence and study location, the source population's national human development index (HDI), and study quality. We found higher prevalence in European (0.22, 95% CI 0.14–0.30) and North American (0.15, 95% CI 0.05–0.26) studies compared with Middle Eastern and Asian studies (0.08, 95% CI 0.01–0.18). However, within each region, populations from countries with higher HDI (p = 0.03) and studies with higher quality (p = 0.001) had lower prevalence. Calculated crude odds ratios (ORs) showed that posterior circulation stroke (pooled OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.4–2.64; n = 7 studies) and female sex (pooled OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.07–1.46; n = 11 studies) had greater odds of headache associated with ischemic stroke.ConclusionsTaken together, these data suggest that headache is common at the onset of or shortly following ischemic stroke and may contribute to poststroke morbidity. Better understanding of headache associated with ischemic stroke is needed to establish treatment guidelines and inform patient management.

Purpose This study aims to examine consumer involvement with nutrition labels in the USA. Although food label information including nutrition, size and color are standardized and mandated by Food and Drug Administration, consumers perceive some food labels more confusing than others and many ignore the information by seeing them as unimportant. This study measures the importance of different nutrients and examines the differences between consumers that read nutrition labels and consumers that do not read nutrition labels. Design/methodology/approach In total, 300 consumers were surveyed using Qualtrics internet panel about the importance of nutrition information on food labels. Importance of food nutrients and food serving, size as they impact consumer involvement with food labels, was measured using structural equation modeling. Findings The results indicate perceived risk associated with nutrition labels, and food serving size information impacts consumer involvement with nutrition labels. Practical implications There are a variety of important public policy implications for government agencies and food manufacturers in educating the public about the use of nutrition information on food labels. Originality/value This study expands previous research by adding three more nutrients to the dietary scale from nutrition labels (sodium, cholesterol and carbohydrates) and focuses mainly on the nutrients that are considered to be negative for most people.

Cortical spreading depolarization (SD) is the electrophysiological event underlying migraine aura, and a critical contributor to secondary damage after brain injury. Experimental models of SD have been used for decades in migraine and brain injury research; however, they are highly invasive and often cause primary tissue injury, diminishing their translational value. Here we present a non-invasive method to trigger SDs using light-induced depolarization in transgenic mice expressing channelrhodopsin-2 in neurons (Thy1-ChR2-YFP). Focal illumination (470 nm, 1–10 mW) through intact skull using an optical fiber evokes power-dependent steady extracellular potential shifts and local elevations of extracellular [K(+)] that culminate in an SD when power exceeds a threshold. Using the model, we show that homozygous mice are significantly more susceptible to SD (i.e., lower light thresholds) than heterozygous ChR2 mice. Moreover, we show SD susceptibility differs significantly among cortical divisions (motor, whisker barrel, sensory, visual, in decreasing order of susceptibility), which correlates with relative channelrhodopsin-2 expression. Furthermore, the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 blocks the transition to SD without diminishing extracellular potential shifts. Altogether, our data show that the optogenetic SD model is highly suitable for examining physiological or pharmacological modulation of SD in acute and longitudinal studies.

Purpose – As an exploratory study, the purpose of this paper is to examine the underlying motivations for attending soccer games. Design/methodology/approach – Attendees at two soccer games in Athens, Greece were surveyed about their frequency of attendance at soccer games and their attitudes toward soccer. In total, 252 people from five randomly selected sections of the stadiums participated in the survey. Findings – The results indicate that there are three major motivations – emotional excitement, socialization, and soccer atmospherics – and two identity salience factors – ardent soccer fans and rational soccer fans – for attending soccer games. The most important factor for attendance is being an ardent soccer fan closely followed by the emotional excitement factor. Among the demographic factors considered, only gender significantly affects soccer game attendance. Originality/value – In contrast to previous studies that are somewhat descriptive, this research explicitly introduces factors related to social identity theory and attempts to predict soccer game attendance on the basis of a scale of factors that focus on the major motivations for attendance of soccer games, identity salience reasons, and demographic factors. The inclusion of social identity theory as a factor in the attendance of soccer games is a major contribution of this study. Contrary to most of the earlier studies, this study showed that the socialization factor is not related to attendance at soccer games.

This paper examines barriers to export and export support by external organization for 137 firms in Canada. The authors discuss four constructs of export barriers and export support functions as they impact export performance. A structural equation model using the barriers and the export support functions as exogenous variables and export performance as endogenous variable show that the most important barrier to export as perceived by business executives is lack of firm competence followed by fear of not receiving payment from foreign customers, procedural barriers, and lack of government support. Analyses also show that firm size impacts the perception of barriers to export and export performance.

Purpose – The aim of this study is to examine profiles of consumers in organic foods market segments and determine their attitudes toward organic food consumption. Consequently, we explore whether there are differences among these consumer segments in terms of their health orientation, socially responsible consumption, environmental responsibility and values and lifestyles. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 316 consumers were surveyed at supermarkets and malls in one of the largest metropolitan areas of a European city. Findings – The cluster analysis performed indicates that there are three segments based on consumer attitudes toward organic foods: favorable, neutral and unfavorable. The results show that the consumer segment with more favorable attitudes toward organic foods exhibits higher levels of health orientation and socially responsible consumption behavior when compared to other segments. Practical implications – It important for marketers to understand organic foods market segments so that they can target them with the appropriate marketing mix. For this reason, we attempt to identify consumer segments based on their attitudes and behavior concerning organic foods. In doing so, we examine the profiles of consumers in each organic food market segment and their attitudes toward organic food consumption. Originality/value – Organic food consumption is growing at a fast pace despite economic problems around the world. This study has identified three market segments (consumer profiles) with different attitudes and behavior towards organic foods.

There has been a great deal of increase in the production and consumption of organic foods. As a result, many researchers have attempted to explain the motivations and marketing issues dealing with the topic. Many of the previous studies provide conflicting results. With this in mind, we attempt to perform a comprehensive study of organic food consumption by examining the roles of a variety of factors on intention to purchase organic foods through a survey of consumers in a large metropolitan area in Europe by utilizing the scales developed in earlier studies. The results indicate that socially responsible consumption, health orientation, utilitarian, and hedonic consumption patterns are significant predictors of intention to purchase organic foods and consumption while controlling for demographical variables. In addition, environmental responsibility acts as a moderating factor in the relationship between socially responsible consumption behavior and intention to purchase. [JEL classifications: M30, M31, M48, Q56, Q57]

This research examines the relationships among the barriers to market entry: capital requirements; competitive advantage of incumbent firms; business environment; and firm competence, and their relationship to firm performance. Through a mail survey, data were collected on a sample of 190 companies. A hierarchical regression analysis enabled the assessment of the relationships among barriers to entry and firm performance. In addition, the paper examines the quadratic function of second degree among the variables to see the curvilinear relationships between independent and dependent variables. The results indicate the presence of curvilinear relationships between some barriers for market entrants and performance of market entrants. While the examination of linear relationships between barriers and firm performance is important, the analyses of curvilinear relationships shed more light into our understanding of barriers and performance. Therefore this study contributes to the literature by highlighting the ...

Previous studies related to student selection of a sales career indicate that their perception of sales as a career is generally negative. Numerous reasons have been offered for this negative view, including negative perceptions of attributes associated with sales jobs and salespeople. This study examines the perceptions of negative and positive attributes of sales jobs and salespeople held by students in three nations and the impact these perceptions have on their feelings about selling. The impact that their feelings have on their intentions to pursue a career in sales is also investigated. The examination of students’ intention to select sales as a career in the United States, Switzerland, and Turkey identified several underlying dimensions of sales jobs, salespeople, and their feelings about selling. Study findings indicate that perceptions of a sales job and of salespeople influence their feelings toward selling. As expected, students’ feelings toward selling are positively related to their intention to pursue a sales career. However, their career intentions are significantly affected by their enrollment in a sales course, nationality, gender, and academic major. Several explanations are offered for these differences, and educational and training implications are discussed.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the impact of customer care experiences voiced online on consumer choice of brand or company when purchasing products and services by including the level of usage of these sites, and consumer opinions about whether or not their comments would make a difference to the actions of companies.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical framework of word of mouth is extended to an online environment, electronic word of mouth (e‐WOM), when using consumer opinions about customer care, and a model is suggested using structural equation modeling utilizing data from 320 consumers in the USA.FindingsConsumer opinions about customer care in socially‐based web sites impact consumer opinions and consumer engagement and consequently consumer choice of brand or company when making purchases. The web sites, including government/consumer advocacy information sites, company web sites, and information found through search engines, are not considered important in influencing consumers.Research limitations/implicationsThe implications of the study are that companies need to pay attention to the voices of customers on socially‐based web sites and respond appropriately in order to keep customers brand‐loyal. Since this was an exploratory study, it was limited in the number of variables used for testing the hypotheses. The study could be improved by increasing the number of variables that explain online consumer opinions, online engagement and consumer choice of brand or company.Originality/valueThis is an exploratory study focusing on the customer care experience rather than product quality or value provided by companies as discussed by consumers on a variety of web sites. Therefore, it extends the previous works on product quality and value.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework for defensive strategy by integrating market entry modes and the typology of firms suggested by Day and Nedungandi, and to attempt to propose how local incumbent firms utilize their mental models in order to react against market entry of new competition in global markets.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical perspective adopted in the study is how mental models used by incumbent firms influence their reaction to market entry of new competition in developing defensive strategies to defend their markets.FindingsMental models of incumbent firms, categorized as self‐centered, competitor‐centered, customer‐oriented, and market‐driven firms, impact their reaction and the development of defensive marketing strategies against market entrants using a variety of market entry modes in global markets.Originality/valueThe paper presents an extensive review of the defensive marketing and mental models literature and shows how the way in which incumbent firms react to market entry of new competition contributes to understanding of incumbent reaction to market entry of new competition in global markets. Research directions for future research and managerial implications are also provided.

Barriers to entry prevent new market entrants from entering markets while protecting incumbent firms. Previous researches indicate that there is relationship between barriers and firm performance. Most of the previous studies are broad and explain barriers and firm performance relationship in generic terms. This research examines the interrelationships of barriers to market entry, capital requirements, business environment, competitive advantage of incumbent firms, and firm competence on firm performance. Interaction effects among barriers to entry on firm performance have not been studied before. The study utilises the 'resource based view' as a theoretical framework in support of hypotheses. The study supports the higher-order quadratic interaction effects of: 1) a strong positive effect of competitive advantage and capital requirements on firm performance; 2) a moderate negative effect of business environment and capital requirements on firm performance.

This paper examines the reasons companies begin to use e-Commerce and whether these e-Commerce initiatives have been successful. Two hundred and three Internet business executives were surveyed. A factor analysis indicated that there are two major underlying dimensions—short-term productivity gains and long-term company competitiveness—that motivate the establishment of e-Commerce. Additionally, the results indicate that companies are quite satisfied with their e-Commerce initiatives and that the majority of the companies have achieved their projected ROI.

This study focuses on the importance of barriers to entry in five industries and examines the impact of industry and product life cycle stages on barriers to entry. The importance of 25 barriers is measured and tested empirically. The barriers are also factor analyzed and the resulting factor scores are compared among the different industries and different stages of the product life cycle. The results show that statistically significant differences in the importance of barriers are present among the industries and product life cycle stages.

Market entry barriers are crucial environmental factors that influence firms to make market entry decisions. While the importance of barriers differs depending on the market and the type of product being marketed, their impact in international markets has continued to increase during the last decade. This paper discusses the importance and implications of ten major market entry barriers in international markets for firms from developing countries.

As an exploratory study, the goal of this research is to identify the underlying motivations for attending soccer games. Most previous research studies dealt with motivations in attending sports in general whereas we specifically focus and develop scales for attending soccer games. An attempt is also made to predict attendance in soccer games. The results indicate that there are three major motivations, emotional excitement, socialization, and sports environment for attending soccer games.

This is an exploratory study examining consumer attitudes toward product expiration dates in three different countries, the United States, Canada, and Turkey. In addition, the study investigates the differences in the importance of product expiration dates for three products, yogurt, over-the-counter medicine, and camera film, in the three cultures. A total of 687 surveys were gathered in the three countries. The results show that there are, indeed, differences among the consumers in three countries. American and Canadian consumers check product expiration dates before purchasing and before using products more often than Turkish consumers. Although most of the differences observed are between the respondents in Turkey versus the respondents in the United States and Canada, some differences between the U.S. and Canadian respondents are also found, indicating that culture plays an important role in consumer uncertainty avoidance. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

This study examines the importance of 25 barriers to market entry in industrial markets. A survey of 93 firms indicates that majority of business executives consider cost advantages and capital requirements to enter markets as the two most important barriers to entry followed by incumbents having a superior production process, capital intensity of the market, and customer loyalty. The least important barriers perceived by the executives in the study are government licensing requirements, followed by heavy advertising. In addition, the study investigates the underlying dimensions of barriers to entry in industrial market through a factor analysis. The results indicate that there are four major underlying dimensions of entry barriers in industrial markets.

This paper examines barriers to export for non-exporting firms in the context of a developing country by surveying two hundred seventy-seven firms with headquarters located in Istanbul. The authors discuss a group of barriers facing firms and develop a model attempting to explain how these barriers are related to one another. The most important barrier to export as perceived by business executives is financial resources followed by inadequate market information provided by government. Analyses showed that there are strong relationships among different types of export barriers.

Traditionally, students in large sections perform worse in terms of content knowledge than those in small sections. In addition, research has shown that students with different learning styles perform differently in the same classroom. This study shows that these effects may be minimized by the extensive use of multimedia technology in the classroom.

Tabulates the numbers of internet users in various countries and assesses the size of the e‐commerce economy in the USA. Discusses the reasons why consumers use the internet, the issues of customer service and product delivery/return, what they buy online and how their concerns over privacy and security might be solved. Notes that business‐to‐business e‐commerce still accounts for most online transactions, predicts continued growth in this area and looks at the use of both intranets and extranets. Briefly considers various technical and other aspects of the internet’s future and sees it as impossible to ignore but warns that not all types of business can be successful online.

This article examines market exit, barriers to exit, modes and strategies of exit, reasons for exit, and the consequences of exit through a literature review of the academic literature and the popular press. There is very little empirical research in this area. The article attempts to analyze the applications of market exit and barriers to exit theories, and consequences of exit with recent examples taken from newspapers and popular business magazines. Despite the fact that there are strong barriers to exit, companies are sometimes forced to exit markets. Market-exit or product-elimination decisions influence employees, distributors, suppliers, and customers. This influence is usually negative and is in the form of cognitive dissonance. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Most previous studies dealing with business site selection decisions have been theoretical and mainly concerned with cost factors. There are many variables other than cost, some of which are qualitative and intangible in nature. This study attempts to provide empirical evidence on the importance of cost and other location‐related variables. The 84 fastest‐growing businesses in New England and New York were surveyed utilizing 27 variables associated with location decisions. Most of the 27 variables are industry‐specific and their importance varies from industry to industry. Factor analysis, using principal component extraction method and varimax rotation showed that there are six underlying dimensions considered in business site selection decisions. Cities and towns can benefit from utilizing the findings of this type of research in attracting new businesses and preventing the existing businesses from leaving for other locations.

This research measures perceptual differences between sales and sales careers among business students studying in the United States, Switzerland, and Turkey. Earlier studies indicate that selling and a sales career are not viewed favorably by students in the United States and several other countries. This study expands on prior studies by comparing perceptions of students in the United States to students in two European nations. A total of 867 business students were surveyed in the three countries using variables identified in previous research. The findings indicate that nationality is associated with students' perception of sales jobs and feelings about selling.

This paper investigates the underlying dimensions of employer expectations from an ideal business education program and compares the importance of thirteen education-related attributes. Factor analysis identified four factors, research skills, interpersonal skills, basic skills, and quantitative skills as the dimensions of an ideal business education.

This chapter discusses the use of Internet by businesses in marketing products and services to other businesses. The chapter starts with the well-known technology adoption model and the relationship between technology adoption and firm profitability and then expands into how businesses market to other businesses using a variety of methods and examples. Most businesses targeting their products and services to other businesses or distributors have developed web sites where purchasers can obtain information and place online orders with little or no human involvement. In addition to company specific web sites, there are also web portals where business customers and sellers meet to buy and sell products using auctions and bids. The chapter then discusses how to increase online traffic using search engine optimization as well as identifying potential customers using electronic databases. The chapter ends with a discussion on the importance of relationship marketing for B2B businesses using Customer Relationship Management software or other means.

This chapter focuses on the effective use of the Internet for marketing products and services. The chapter starts by presenting statistics about Internet usage and online sales in the USA and around the world. It then examines the evolution of web sites from a static format to an interactive format with the start of Web 2.0. As a plus to small businesses, the chapter also briefly outlines the steps involved in starting an online business and the advantages and disadvantages of having one. Special emphasis is placed on developing an eMarketing strategy, drawing on the marketing mix, online marketing research, and search engine optimization, as well as social media marketing. The chapter ends by showcasing Amazon.com’s marketing tools as excellent examples of effective eBusiness.

This paper examines the consumer online behavior through a survey of 340 Internet users. There has been considerable research on the consumer complaint and non-complaint behavior. However, since the online complaint sites and consumer use of these sites are fairly new, there has been very little research on the use of the Internet for complaining. Our findings indicate some interesting differences between online complainers and non-complainers.

Numerous studies have examined new product success and failure in an attempt to reduce failure rates. Because they share some common themes, the previous studies were categorized into the following five groups: (1) studies focusing on causes of new product successes/failures; (2) studies examining new product development processes; (3) studies investigating new product development strategy and performance relationships; (4) studies focusing on building models to predict new product performance, and (5) studies focusing on a single factor relating to new production success/failure. To fill some of the gaps in earlier studies, and include variables that have not been linked to new product success/failure before, 151 companies were surveyed in two industries, the medical instrument technology and food processing industries. The survey contained questions on the importance of six new product idea sources: (1) final customers; (2) RD (3) marketing executives; (4) other executives in the firm; (5) competitors; and (6) free-lance investors. Seven factors that were proposed to relate to new product success/failure were: (1) competition; (2) product performance; (3) marketing; (4) price competitiveness; (5) product absolescence; (6) limited number of distributors; and (7) customer switching costs. In addition, an attempt was made to investigate the effects of technology and following new product development plans and procedures on new product success/failure. Survey results indicate that using customers as the sources of new product ideas ranks number one in terms of importance for businesses in both the medical instrument technology and food processing industries. Similarly, executives who are in charge of new product development rare poor product performance as the essential cause of new product failure in the food processing industry, followed by poor marketing and pricing. In the medical instrument technology industry, however, the most important cause of new product failure was considered to be customer switching costs followed by poor product performance. This is probably because of the high investments typical for products in the medical instrument technology industry (i.e.hospital equipment). New product failure rates also differed between the two industries studied. Companies from the food processing industry, on average, had an almost 8% higher new product failure rate than companies in the medical instrument technology industry (40.18%vs.32.43%).The level of technology (medical instrument technology—high tech vs.food processing industry—low tech) may account for the difference in the new product failure rate. Results also showed that following new product development plans and procedures relates to new product success in the food processing industry, but not in the medical instrument technology industry. Using company R&D departments and free-lance inventors as sources of new product ideas is related to new product success in both industries investigated. In the food processing industry, price, competition, customer switching costs, and access to distribution channels influence new product success. Those firms that consider these variables important have higher new product success rates. Similarly, in the medical instrument technology industry, customer switching costs, access to distribution channels, product performance, product obsolescence, and marketing are important influences of new product success. Thus, firms that consider these variables when entering markets with new products may be more successful. It is possible to eliminate some causes of new product failure by entering markets earlier than the competitors. For example, early market entrants often have advantages over later entrants in selecting distribution channels. Early market entrants are also likely to create new customer switching costs for later entrants, however, this may not occur if the product introduced is not a technological breakthrough. Of course, not every new product introduced can be a technological breakthrough (e.g., many food products), but they can be new, reflecting the definition of new products.

Teaching international business has changed during the last decade because of the emphasis vlaced on elobal business bv the U.S. government and innova6ons incomputer iechnology. ~cademicians and practitioners have been working together in developing new teachine tools to imorove the wav we teach international business. ~ecentYdevelo~ments' in the areas-of computer databases, simulation eames and exDert svstems have added a different dimension to the busiiess curriculuh. The AACSB guidelines in incorporating international business practices into the business curriculum have also influenced the new teaching methods employed by colleges and universities in both undergraduate and graduate business education in the U.S.A.

This study examines the relative importance of five market entry barriers in international consumer markets and compares them for early and late market entry situations. Decisions of executives from 87 companies marketing their productsin international markets were modeled using multiple regression analysis. The results show there are significant differences in the importance of barriers to market entry. However, the importance of barriers is about the same for early and late market entry decisions.

The importance and underlying dimensions of twenty-five market entry barriers in consumer markets were examined through a survey of marketing executives from 151 U.S. firms. The results indicate that there are three major underlying dimensions of entry barriers.

The Internet and Electronic Commerce (EC) related practices were surveyed in ninety-four small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) from a region of the Northeastern United States. Only 6.3 percent of the firms’ sales was found to be attributable to e-commerce business. The results suggest some relationships of a firm’s sales and profitability on one hand and the firm’s Internet use on the other hand. Firms that rated their profitability and sales levels to be higher seem to have higher use of the Internet to gather distributor and vendor information, to conduct online purchasing, and to promote their products online. The majority of the firms surveyed tend to use e-mail to a great extent for communications internally among employees and externally with customers, vendors and distributors. Higher levels of e-mail usage for internal and external communications tend to associate with higher levels of reported sales and profitability. However, the findings suggest that most of the SMEs do not employ the Internet to its full capacity. In order for SMEs to advance their EC activities they need to develop their own EC strategies and to secure the managerial, human, financial, and technological resources to effectively implement them.

This paper examines five major areas that most business executives and academicians have expected to change because of the internet. These topics include the elimination of market entry barriers, the creation of better educated or more rational consumer decision makers, the more efficient distribution of products, better market coverage and enhanced customer service. A review of these topics indicates that although the internet has had an impact on the way we do business, the so called 'old economy' is still predominant and still governs business practice. However, in industries in which the distribution of products and services is faster and lower in cost, e-business may be the preferred option of customers. It appears that the internet will supplement traditional business operations and enhance many business functions, and it is certainly here to stay.

The authors test six market entry barriers in consumer and industrial markets: cost advantages of incumbents, product differentiation of incumbents, capital requirements, customer switching costs, access to distribution channels, and government policy. They model market entry decisions of 137 executives in 49 major U.S. corporations with a decision-making instrument consisting of 32 market entry opportunities. Each respondent's decisions are modeled by regression analysis. The differences in the importance of the six market entry barriers for early and late entry in consumer and industrial goods markets are investigated. The results indicate that marketing executives consider all six barriers in making market entry decisions. The cost advantages of incumbents are considered to be the most important of the market entry barriers. Major differences also are discovered among the other five barriers. Furthermore, the importance of the barriers differs between consumer and industrial goods markets.