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The licence for setting up telephone exchanges was given to a British company called 'Oriental Telephone Company' in 1881. This com­pany constructed telephone exchanges in different cities of India like Calcutta (now Kolkata), Madras (currently Chennai) and Bombay (now Mumbai). Once India became independent from British rule in 1947, India's Ministry of Communication formed the Department of Post, Telephone and Telegraph by nationalizing different foreign telecom companies.1 It completely enjoyed its monopoly for a substantial time in providing telecom services in India. Private companies had to be satisfied only with the production of telecom equipment in India.2

This case showcases how destination marketing and sports marketing can be strategically integrated to serve as a focussed destination marketing approach. The case focuses on how a destination, Fujairah, one of the seven emirates of the UAE, marketed itself using a global sport, the 8-Ball World Pool Championship. The case shows the stages from inception till execution of the whole event. Alongside, it demonstrates how 'Internal Marketing' at a community level played a role in its success. It also shows how the characteristics and nature of the sponsors and their support brought a positive snow ball effect on the final outcome.

Internal Marketing has yet to be fully conceptualized and is still in its nascent stages. Based on the extensive research done in the field and related fields, a potential framework and measurement scale is proposed which might be used by practitioners and researchers alike. As such the concept of internal marketing has been revisited in the light of current research and a descriptive conceptualization of the field is provided, in the hope that it will help practitioners better accept the field and practice it.

Service delivery process in the face of ever changing customer expectations could not have been more important in glamorous Dubai luxury hotel service sector. Based on in-depth discussions with Dubai luxury hotel service pioneers, customer expectations, service processes, customer complaining behavior, and service recovery strategies in the luxury hotel industry are evaluated from the perspectives of service providers. Findings are in agreement with the statement that in the service industry the customer is not always right, and that hotel service providers have acknowledged the need to take extra measures towards individualized and personal service experience delivery. Ultimately, hoteliers set highest standards at all stages of the service delivery process in order to achieve positive and high customer ratings in all customer evaluation areas.

Performance appraisal is an important control tool in all functional areas of an organization, more so in sales management, as it is an important area to be considered for an organization's bottom line, sales revenue, and profits. Having an integrated and holistic approach to a Sales Force Appraisal System (SFAS) is useful for motivating and retaining the sales force in a competitive environment, particularly with the use of IT in the appraisal process, referred to in the current context as automated SFAS. In this chapter, the authors look at the importance of such a system and how this approach has helped reap benefits in one of the organizations in the pharmaceutical industry. This model has immensely transformed the organization's environment into a high sales performance culture. Additionally, this model can serve as an addition to the existing literature on sales force performance appraisal and its role on sales management.

Today the business environment is becoming increasingly competitive, with a vast array of products that can no longer be differentiated on product quality or features. As such, many businesses are trying to differentiate themselves from their competitors using their provision of service. One concept that could possibly enhance a firm's provision of service is brand personification. Accordingly, this paper, will discuss how Liberty Autos, a successful automobile retailer in the UAE used 'brand personification' as a services marketing mechanism.

The elements for success in the service industry for many organizations have been studied and quantified. They range from effective performance evaluation and management to adequately implementing seven P's. However, the success story of every organization is unique. What might work for one organization might not for another as every company is inherently distinctive. In this paper, the strategic framework behind the success of Liberty Automobiles Dubai is captured. The primary data necessary for this paper was collected through in-depth interviews with the managers for sales, service and marketing as well as the group general manager. Subsequently, the key areas that led to the success of Liberty Autos will be discussed in this paper.

The impact of changing technological trends on marketing is imperative. Lack of insight by marketers has resulted in the down fall of well-known brands. As insighful marketers adapt to key trends, others either ignore new advancements until their strategies run obsolete. The time used to bail firms out of such archaic circumstances might have placed competitors ahead. The traditional marketing elements that have been used previously to root brands have totally changed in the last decade with the rise of internet access, social media, and technological advancements. Contemporary marketing strategies are driven by some key trends which cannot be ignored anymore. Identifying such salient trends and their contribution to marketing strategy development is critical to success of modern-day firms. This study assesses literature on 14 trends based on discussions with industry experts and data from a global perspective.

Cities and places have become major destinations through taking the extra mile of creativity and offering a well-researched package of offerings through systematically planned events. One such leading example in the list of successful festivals that have earned a global reputation due to its uniqueness and creative event offerings is the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) in the United Arab Emirates. This paper is a case study based description of the internal and external drivers involved in planning and implementing a global event successfully and has captured the various drivers through a structured framework. The analysis serves as a good addition to the existing literature on 'Events Marketing'.

Global competition has necessitated 360 degrees auditing of performance of tangible and intangible assets of an organisation. Nevertheless, auditing management of intangible assets, the 'Intellectual capital' (IC), procedures and systems remains at a nascent stage. Having constraints in evaluating intangible assets is a major deterrent for assessing Institutional Excellence. The negative impact of this limitation to evaluate intangible assets gets magnified when taking Government entities into account, since the number of stakeholders to whom Government entities are responsible are many and significant, both at a micro and a macro level. A cross-section of Government entities in Dubai have been taken as the subject of study for auditing their IC management practices. In-Depth interviews with seven Government departments in Dubai (out of 32 departments), using simple random sampling, was employed in the study. The findings show the IC management practices, areas for improvement in Dubai Government sector and serve as an addition to existing literature, specifically on IC management practices in Government entities.

Luxury is an identity, a philosophy and a culture which requires understanding before the adoption of e-business practices because of its intricacies and output are essentially different from other types of goods. Factors such as culture, personal characteristics, website quality, and vendor characteristics influence the online purchasing behaviour of consumers thus making it a complex area of study. This paper explores the scope of e-retail for luxury consumption in the U.A.E. by identifying what motivates and de-motivates online purchase behaviour of U.A.E. consumers and necessary hypotheses have been drawn to reflect behaviour between online luxury preference consumers and non-online luxury preference consumers.

The advent of social media in early 2000, though largely used as an interface among individuals to build, share opinions and establish relationships, also has its implications for marketing in business. Social media has been sufficiently used as an important tool to acquire new customers. However, its role in retaining existing customers and enhancing loyalty requires a deeper exploration from a theoretical and empirical standpoint. The concept of 'loyalty' looked at from a behavioural and an attitudinal perspective requires a focussed analysis in terms of its sources and dimensions to discuss the influence of social media on the same. This paper conducts a critical analysis of the two types of customer loyalty, namely, attitudinal and behavioural loyalty, and discusses the influence of social media on them. Out of the analysis, it emerges that social media has more likelihood of influencing attitudinal loyalty than behavioural loyalty, however it may not be loyalty-generating in its own right.

Today retailers need more integrated and reliable strategies and solutions in order to remain competitive at a Global level and one of the important sources of enjoying a competitive advantage can be optimising the retail cost of operation. Information technology as a domain, with its tools for modern retailing can provide the dual benefits of improving retailer, supplier, and customer activities and experiences and at the same time providing an opportunity for retailers to control their operations resulting in cost optimisation. This paper brings out the strategic benefits of using IT solutions to optimise retail cost and addresses the challenges that could be faced by retailers in implementing them and suggests methods to overcome the same.

The purpose of this paper is to show how Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) has been used effectively in changing consumers' attitudes towards a service, eventually leading to service adoption. Using information gathered through primary and secondary sources, a case study is brought out on one of the travel destinations served by the rail service provider in Europe, the Eurostar, to evaluate the success of the Integrated Marketing communications (IMC) campaign used to impart a distortion in a consumer's decision making process. The Case study revealed that correct and careful use of IMC can lad to behaviour distortion, which organisations can then use to change the attitude and perceptions of their target customers. There is very little information about the effects of IMC on customer bhavioural distortion and attitude formation. This paper tries to provide the link between IMC and customer behavioural distortion and attitude formation.

A great challenge for luxury marketers is how to harness the Internet's incredible reach to and influence on customers while still maintaining and adhering the customer-based brand equity (CBE) of luxury brands. This study aims to investigate the effect of website design on the CBE of luxury brands. Particularly, we will develop and empirically validate a research model, specifying that two aesthetic design dimensions (aesthetic formality and aesthetic appeal) will stimulate a strong sense of luxury which in turn leads to a positive evaluation of the CBE. Furthermore, the effect of aesthetic design on sense of luxury is contingent upon brand familiarity prior to the exposure of a luxury brand website. The research model was validated with 201 participants. Only aesthetic appeal was significantly related to the sense of luxury of a brand and such an effect was weakened when consumers were more familiar with the brand.

There is a boom in textile industry of Pakistan. Apparels produced in Pakistan are becoming popular amongst local women. This business is gaining momentum as a good designer dress is considered to be a status symbol amongst women. Added to this trend is the growth of usage of Social networking sites amongst the women of Pakistan alongside social interaction in person. This research focuses on the buying behavior of women in Pakistan. A study has been carried out on 200 female respondents from the city of Lahore in Pakistan. The results indicate that women of Pakistan consider traditional word of mouth to be more authentic than social media for making purchase decisions related to their apparels.

The purpose of this study was carried out to investigate and evaluate the factors affecting perceptions of prenatal care management services using the United Nations declaration as the benchmark. This is a quantitative study where a convenient sample of 93 pregnant women either attending a selected private or a public health care hospitals were used from Trinidad & Tobago (T&T). The preliminary results from T&T revealed that 80.6% of women surveyed perceived to be satisfied by the management of both private and public health care sectors. In the public sector, 75.6% were satisfied while 85.4% in the private sector. The majority of satisfied subjects within the public and private sectors are from the secondary (14 yrs) level of education, 47% and 35% respectively. The majority dissatisfied were from the low-income group that attends the public health care facility as oppose to the private sector. In T&T, the private sector patients were more satisfied with conditions than the public sector patients. In the same context, there are some recent studies conducted in T&T on the health care systems but unfortunately no emphasis and demarcation on statistics are given to the private and public sectors as well as in the UAE. Further research on the experience of prenatal care services in the private and public facilities with the 'More Developing Economical Country' (MEDC) needs to be conducted to get a comprehensive view of this experience.

The business arena is abundant with myriad organizations offering a wide variety of products and services. But only those organizations that are able to function successfully in the marketplace are able to survive and subsequently evolve. For an organization's performance to be determined as successful, the metrics of the organization prove to be vital indicators. Some commonly used metrics to measure organizational success are total sales and revenue, total assets held, employees training expense, attrition rate, investment in IT, market share, awards and recognition received, press/media mentions, CSR campaigns etc (Finney and Corbett, 2007; Liebowitz and Suen, 2000; Self, 2004). Many organizations bifurcate these metrics into internal and external metrics to make performance measurement easier. If an organization has excelled on the majority the above mentioned metrics, it can be deemed successful. Analyzing the reasons behind the success of an organization would require delving into the dimensions that play an important role in the flawless functioning of the firm. These include strategic planning, leadership styles of the managers, organizational culture and strategic alliances. This paper presents an analysis conducted on an organization which has been in business for the past 28 years in the duty free environment and has been the number one Duty Free in the world, based on revenues - Dubai Duty Free. The methodology implied involves primary data collection by way of in-depth interviews conducted with twelve of the senior executives of Dubai Duty Free heading IT and Logistics, Marketing, Human Resources, Operations, Purchasing, Finance etc. Upon completion of the primary data collection stage, the secondary data obtained from the organization has been put to a content analysis. The findings indicate that Dubai Duty Free, over the 28 years of its existence, has orchestrated and implemented an indigenous strategic framework for itself. This has encompassed and u

Branding and brand management strategies have been dynamic spheres of discussion in modern day marketing since they act as a major differentiator in the minds of consumers. Existing literature sheds more light on developing and managing brands and not much on leveraging and sustenance. Using a case study methodology, this study aims to track and analyse the stages of development taken by an iconic and indigenously developed brand at Dubai, 'Modhesh'. A stage by stage analysis is made comparing with existing academic models on brand development, including the models of de Chernatony, Logman and Kapferer, and a revised model is proposed, referred to as the CNS (Conception, Nurturing and Sustenance) model which aims to fill the void in the existing models by proposing three additional elements, based on the analysis of the evolutionary stages of Modhesh. This model could be useful in understanding brand leveraging and the stages of brand development that could be helpful in such leveraging. The analysis has been made based only on one brand. However, this study paves the way for future researchers to analyse brand development stages across different brands and further reinforce the model.

The choice of a well planned integrated marketing strategy becomes vital for the success of an organisation. This paper is a case study based description of how Crystal Gallery, a company manufacturing crystal products with eighteen years history in the UAE and rest of the world understood the customer expectations and used integrated marketing to structure the marketing efforts revolving around the customer's needs. The company is a market leader in the industry.

Purpose – The choice of a well-planned integrated marketing communication (IMC) strategy is crucial for the successful launch of an event. This paper is a case-study based description of how a brand management consultancy house, TMC, used IMC to launch a world music festival event in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in 2009, registering a visitorship of five-times their target, 89 per cent satisfaction and a staggering 99 per cent of the visitors planning to visit the festival again in 2010. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review on event marketing, megamarketing and integrated marketing communications is conducted to illustrate the challenges involved in launching communication campaigns in the marketing of events. Primary research was conducted by way of in-depth interviews with TMH and the case study is developed based on the information furnished. Findings – Event marketing requires the support of a well-crafted IMC plan to realise the objectives set for the event. This paper brings out the role of public relations, direct marketing, social media networking, advertising and media planning in the IMC campaign launched by a brand management consultancy house and how it successfully achieved the objectives for the event. Practical implications – Traditional communication media may not be sufficient to succeed in the current media clutter and over-communicated market place. In this context, social networking media are emerging as a new media type and are an important addition to the current media. Understanding the target audience and preparing a customised media mix involving traditional and modern media may have a synergistic effect on end results. Originality/value – The paper provides the marketers with an IMC perspective to analyse traditional and emerging media types and integrate them with a communications plan to optimise end results. In particular, the paper brings out the need for total customisation of media mix for different market conditions.

Purpose – Retailers, irrespective of their scale of operation, face the tough challenge of standing out from their competition; a major driver to ensure success and progress in the retail industry is differentiation. This paper is a case study based description of how a retail house in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, used retail physicality and identity change as sources of innovation and differentiation and revived its retail operation. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review on retailing, retail physicality and identity change is presented to illustrate the challenges faced by retailers and the current trends in retailing. Primary research was conducted by way of in-depth interviews with Better Life, a retail house of the Al-Gurg group of companies, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to understand the retail strategies employed by Better Life. Findings – Retailers are constantly looking for sources of innovation and differentiation to differentiate themselves from others. This paper shows the role played by retail physicality and identity change as sources of innovation and differentiation and how a retailer has applied them to repositioning its retail identity in the market and revived its operations. Practical implications – Traditional retail strategies may not provide the necessary competitive advantage needed for survival and progress in competitive markets. Understanding customers, calculated targeting, and focussed positioning using various dimensions are important aspects to be planned by retailers. Among the relevant positioning strategies available, retail physicality and identity change are two prime strategies and drivers, and are hence a source of retail innovation in competitive markets. Originality/value – The paper provides retailers with a unique perspective to analyse sources of retail innovation taking retail physicality and identity change as innovation strategies. If the strategies are implemented properly they can serve as competitive advant

This article highlights the concept of cold chain logistics, the importance of cold chain logistics and the role and benefits of cold chain logistics among different industries. It analyses challenges of implementing the cold chain logistics by taking a case of pharmaceutical drugs Industry located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and introduces some general cost and concerns of cold supply chain practices associated to this region. Finally the paper discusses risks associated with the implementation and potential opportunities of the cold chain logistics in the UAE region.

Today retailers need more integrated and reliable strategies and solutions in order to remain competitive and one of the important sources of enjoying a competitive advantage can be optimizing the Retail cost of operation. Information technology as a domain, with its tools for modern retailing can improve retailer, supplier, and customer activities and experiences and provide an opportunity for retailers to control their operations resulting in cost optimization. This paper brings out the strategic benefits of using IT solutions to optimize retail cost and addresses the challenges that could be faced by retailers in implementing them and suggests methods to overcome the same.

Objective: The purpose of this study was carried out to investigate and evaluate the factors affecting perceptions of prenatal care management services. A review in this category found very few studies mostly concentrated in the American, Canada and Europe countries. Methods: This is a quantitative study where a convenient sample of 93 pregnant women either attending a selected private or a public health care hospital was used. Results: The results revealed 80.6% of women surveyed perceived to be satisfied by the management of both health care sectors. In the public sector, 75.6% were satisfied while 85.4% in the private sector. The majority of satisfied subjects within the public and private sectors are from the secondary (14 yrs) level of education, 47% and 35% respectively. The majority dissatisfied were from the low-income group that attends the public health care facility as oppose to the private sector. Conclusion: The private sector patients were more satisfied with conditions than the pubic sector patients. In the same context, there are some recent studies conducted in Trinidad on the health care systems but unfortunately no emphasis and demarcation on statistics are given to the private and public sectors. Further research on the experience of prenatal care services in the private and public facilities with the ‘More Developing Economical Country’ (MEDC) needs to be conducted to get a comprehensive view of this experience. Key Words: Prenatal care management; prenatal care; pregnant women; obstetrics; perception

Consumer researchers have a long-standing interest in understanding and interpreting the development of materialistic attitudes towards consumption and values in different cultural settings. In this context, the ‘life course’ approach is a recent interdisciplinary movement in consumer behaviour research that operates as an important overarching framework to study the development of materialism in Malaysia. A general conceptual background of the life course paradigm is used in this study for discussing, organising, integrating and presenting these consumer research findings on materialism. A survey of young Malaysian adults (18 to 22 years) was undertaken to test hypotheses derived from the life course literature. Consistent with previous research findings, television viewing and peer communication during adolescent years had a significant association with materialistic values held by young Malaysian adults. Family structure and socio-oriented family communication environment were not found to be significantly associated with materialism. A discussion ensured on the future study theoretical implications of materialism on consumer behaviour in Malaysia. Keywords: family structure, socialization, materialism, life course, television.

Consumer behaviour analysis represents an important field of study in marketing. Particularly strategy development for marketing and communications will be more focused and effective when marketers have an understanding of the motivations, behaviour and psychology of consumers. While materialism has been found to be one of the important elements in consumer behaviour, compulsive consumption represents another aspect that has recently attracted more attention. This is because of the growing prevalence of dysfunctional buying that has raised concern in consumer societies. Present studies and analyses on origins and motivations of compulsive buying have mainly focused on either individual factors or groups of related factors and hence a need for a holistic view exists. This paper provides a comprehensive perspective on compulsive consumption and establishes relevant propositions keeping the family life cycle stages as a reference for the incidence of chronic consumer states and their influence on compulsive consumption. Keywords—Chronic consumer states, complusive consumption, family life cycle

Consumer researchers have had a long-standing interest in understanding the development of materialistic attitudes and values in different cultural settings. The life course approach, which has developed recently as an interdisciplinary program for studying various aspects of behavior, is used as an overarching framework for studying the development of materialism in Malaysia. Specifically, the paper first presents the general conceptual life course paradigm that serves as a blue print for discussing theoretical perspectives, organizing, integrating, and reporting consumer research on materialism. Next, hypotheses derived from life course perspectives are formulated, and a survey of 101young adults (ages 18 to 22) is used to test them. The findings suggest that the amount of television viewing and peer communication about consumption during adolescent years contribute to the development of materialistic values.