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Purpose Current research on small to medium enterprise (SME) internationalization has generated valuable insight but continues to overlook the activities of business-to-business (B2B) SMEs located in small emerging economies. This study aims to fill this gap by testing the applicability of the ownership, location and internalization (OLI) framework to understand the internationalization strategies of small B2B firms in Trinidad and Tobago, a small emerging Caribbean economy. Design/methodology/approach The study used a qualitative research design, which involved in-depth interviews with senior executives of three firms in the B2B sector who were knowledgeable about their firm’s internationalization process. Thematic analysis was then used to understand the motivations and strategies underpinning the internationalization approach adopted by each firm. Findings Contrary to the stereotype of SMEs in emerging markets as fragile enterprises, there is evidence that firms exploited the development of innovative products and processes to facilitate foreign market entry and expansion. Additionally, firms overcame resource limitations by relying on governmental ties and leveraging networking opportunities. The findings also call attention to the impact of organizational learning and the role of knowledge as a dynamic capability. Originality/value Both the context of the study and the application of the OLI framework contributes to the extant literature by yielding substantive insights into the internationalization strategies of B2B firms in a small emerging economy. The findings further highlight how the OLI framework can be supplemented by other theoretical perspectives to better understand internationalization by emerging market SMEs.

While online shopping expenditures have been increasing in both developed and developing economies, they still account for a small share of total retail sales. Significant differences also exist across countries in the amount of money consumers spend on a per capita basis on online purchases. The authors utilize the conceptual foundations of infrastructural framework to examine the effects of infrastructural drivers on online shopping expenditures in 43 countries. Findings show that per capita telecommunications investments and per capita gross national income are significantly associated with per capita online shopping expenditures. Privacy protection, Internet penetration, and credit card penetration were not significant.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Internet usage comfort, Internet technical comfort, and demographic variables (gender, age, education, and income) on two key online transactional behaviors: online shopping and online banking. An ordinal regression model was used to test the effects of these variables. Findings show that Internet usage comfort and Internet technical comfort had significant and positive effects on both online shopping and online banking. Among the four demographic variables, only income had a significant and positive effect on online shopping, but both income and age had significant effects on online banking, the former positively and the latter negatively.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore, using the conceptual frameworks of psychic distance and resource-based view, how Brazilian firms resolve strategic dilemma. Brazilian firms face a strategic dilemma about whether to diversify and exploit the rapidly growing markets of China or to protect and expand the established markets of the Greater Mercosur region. The strategic responses of Brazilian business to business firms are examined within the context of internationalization decisions. Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes a qualitative approach to study the decisions taken by Brazilian firms to deal with the strategic dilemma arising from competitive developments in domestic and regional markets. Findings – Findings support four hypotheses based on the psychic distance and resource-based view frameworks. However, the fifth hypothesis that trust would be an impediment for establishing business in China for Brazilian firms was not supported. Trust did not appear as a concern for Brazilian businesses. Practical implications – Two practical implications can be drawn from the findings. First, Brazilian firms have to consider whether they have made themselves vulnerable to attacks from Chinese firms in the Greater Mercosur region by not aggressively entering the Chinese markets. Second, they also have to understand whether their lack of strong presence in the Chinese markets has resulted not only in lost opportunities but also in making it difficult for them to enter the market later. Originality/value – The paper takes a multi-theoretical approach to provide insights into the international business expansion decisions of firms in a major economy in the Greater Mercosur region. It contributes to the growing literature on firms in emerging economies. By adopting a qualitative approach to study the research questions, the paper provides insights into the behaviors of firms confronting strategic tradeoffs.

Purpose – This study aims to examine the effects of internet self-efficacy and internet involvement on privacy concern and the effect of privacy concern on the frequency of online transactions. The study also seeks to examine the direct effect of internet self-efficacy and internet involvement on the frequency of online transactions. Design/methodology/approach – A structural equation model was developed to test the hypotheses. The model was tested using the LISREL 8.8 software and both structural and measurement parameters were estimated. Findings – Findings suggest that internet self-efficacy and internet involvement affect privacy concern negatively; and privacy concern, in turn, affects frequency of online transactions negatively. Findings also indicate that the direct effect of internet self-efficacy and internet involvement on the frequency of online transactions is positive. All parameters are significant and in the hypothesized direction. Practical implications – Findings highlight the significance of internet self-efficacy and internet involvement in explaining both privacy concern and online transactions. The negative impact of privacy concern shows strategically why businesses should take measures to protect privacy of consumers and assure them that the information they provide is protected and secure. Originality/value – This research contributes to the debate on privacy concern and adds to the growing body of literature on the impact of privacy concern on online transactions. Both antecedents and consequence of privacy concern are examined in the study.

Purpose – The economic realignment in Latin America has created two clusters, one stagnant in the north and the other growth-bound in the south. This study aims to focus on Brazil, the key player in the growth-bound southern cluster, and address three fundamental questions: how Brazilian executives in four B2B sectors (telecommunications, business equipment, steel, and transportation) viewed the internal competitive developments, how they strategically responded to these developments, and what were the marketing and financial outcomes of these strategies. Design/methodology/approach – Data were obtained by interviewing top decision makers such as president, chief executive officer, and director of the companies. Findings – Findings show that the intensity of competitive pressures due to globalization varied by sector and so did strategic responses of firms. Marketing and financial performance outcomes also varied by sectors. Originality/value – The study adds to the growing literature on competitive market developments, strategic responses and performance outcomes of firms in Brazil, an important emerging economy and the key player in the southern Latin America cluster.

The paper tests the influence of adoption time, online time, usage variety, and privacy concern on online spending. Findings support the hypothesis that online time, adoption time, and usage variety, the three dimensions of Internet usage experience, have a positive and significant influence on the amount of money consumers spend online, and privacy concern has a negative and significant influence. The control variables included in the model are gender, age, education, and income. Gender, age, and education did not influence online spending. However, income has a significant effect on online spending. Theoretical and strategic implications and recommendations for future research are presented.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to apply the structure‐conduct‐performance theory and the strategic fit concept to examine the effects of globalization on markets, strategies, and performance of business‐to‐consumer firms in Brazil.Design/methodology/approachThe paper takes a qualitative approach to answer the research questions. Top decision makers such as president, chief executive officer, chairman of the board, vice president, and director of the companies were interviewed. The elite approach to in‐depth interviewing was followed to obtain reliable information from the decision makers.FindingsFindings indicate that globalization and especially the entry of Chinese firms significantly changed market contexts in Brazil. Brazilian executives responded to changes in market contexts by shifting from production to customer orientation, building brand equity, developing new products, and differentiating offerings. Overall, marketing performance of Brazilian firms was positive, but profitability suffered.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature by showing that globalization has changed market contexts in Brazil by developing a new form of competition in which firms from emerging economies are now competing against each other. Findings from this study can provide useful theoretical and strategic insights into the behavior and performance of firms in other emerging markets.

PurposeIs it regionalization or globalization that more accurately depicts the state of the global economy? Exports and foreign direct investments (FDI) data are analyzed with the aim of answering the question and determining how intra‐ and inter‐regional integration has changed over time.Design/methodology/approachTo address the research questions, this paper covers the following. First, it takes a longitudinal perspective in examining the changes taking place in exports and FDI at the regional level. Second, it draws strategic business and marketing implications of this development.FindingsThe results show a trend toward regionalization in the Quad (North America, Western Europe, Asia, and Latin America), especially with respect to exports data.Originality/valueFindings, strategic implications, and directions for future research are presented.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how the perception of price‐value tradeoff is related to overall satisfaction, purchase intention, word‐of‐mouth advertising, and actual repurchase behavior.Design/methodology/approachData on subscribers and single ticket buyers of a major symphony orchestra in the Midwest are used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe ANOVA results show significant differences across the three levels of price‐value tradeoff in each of the response variables. Additional analyses of cross‐tabulated data show that some of the bivariate relations conform to, as well as depart from, the rational consumer behavior model.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the hypotheses are supported, bivariate relations examined in this study can mask or overstate true relations due to the omitted variables bias. Future research can explore reasons for favorable behaviors of consumers whose perception is that the value they receive is overpriced, and also for unfavorable behaviors of consumers whose perception is that the value they received is under‐priced.Practical implicationsThe different niches at the edges provide opportunities for marketers to fine‐tune segmentation and marketing mix strategies. The use of standardized strategies for these niches with different perception and behavior linkages will yield suboptimal results.Originality/valueWhile previous research has mostly focused on price‐quality linkages, this study extends the body of research by examining the perception of price‐value tradeoff and its relation to overall satisfaction, purchase intention, word‐of‐mouth advertising, and actual repurchase behavior. This adds to our understanding of post consumption behavior, showing how consumers respond to the perception of price‐value tradeoff.

This study examines the effocts a/economic globalization on competitive situations oflocalfinns in a small economy, the strategic responses ofthesefinns to the competitive developments, and marketing and financial peiformcmce outcomes of these strategies. Findings indicate both benificial and deleterious ejj(!Cts oj economic globalization un domestic compet­itive situations. Findings also indicate variations in strategic responses andpeifonncmce outcomes oflocalfinns. Implications are presented along with recommendations/or foture research. Keyvvords: Economic Globalization, Strategic Response, Small Island Developing States, Performance F OR FIRMS IN small economies, the phe­nomenon of economic globalization has a significantly different meaning than for firms in the large economies of North America, Western Europe, and Asia. Most of the firms in small economies face a different set of constraints in re­sponding to competitive developments due to their size, location, resource endowments, market size, and managerial expertise. For these finns, as compet­itive pressures continue to increase due to economic globalization, the issues ohmderstanding competitive developments, developing appropriate and effective strategies, and managing performance outcomes have become critically important. Although international business scholars aclmow­ledge the significance of small and mid-sized enter­prises (SMEs) because of the roles they play in an economy, a review of the literature reveals that most of their attention and effort have been devoted to understanding the behavior oflarge firms from large developed economies. Recently, however, in re­sponse to calls for examining SMEs (Aulakh et al., 2000; Ramirez-Aleson and Espitia-Escuer, 2001), scholarly attention has shifted to llllderstanding strategic actions and performance outcomes ofSMEs (Chiao et al., 2006; Baird et al., 1994). While there now exists a growing body of research on SMEs from developed and developing economies, there still remains a group of SMEs that has not received much attention. These are the SMEs from very small econOITlles. The focus of existing studies on large developed and developing economies is llllderstandable, given that firms from these economies have played a signi-ficant role in promoting and shaping global trade and investments. However, most ofthe economies in the world are neither large nor developed. Global data indicates that, except for the few developed and de­veloping economies, most of the economies in the world are small economies. And, among these small economies, measured by gross domestic product (GDP), some are considerably small, with GDP less than the annual revenue of a mid-sized company in a large developed economy such as the U. S. or Japan. For example, in the Caribbean, a majority of the is­land economies have G DP less than $5 billion (see Table I). Firms in these very small island economies face two major issues related to economic globalization. First, they lack financial and managerial resources to compete with corporations from large developed or developing economies. Second, they operate in a market whose size does not yield opportunities to exploit either economies of scale or scope. For these finns, thus, the concern is more pressing and imme­diate: How to survive when competitive pressure keeps mOllllting due to economic globalization. As such, this paper focuses on three substantive ques­tions: How has economic globalization affected the competitive environment for local firms in a small economy, how have local finns in this small economy responded to competitive threats coming from eco­nomic globalization, and what happened to their marketing and financial performance as a result of the strategies they implemented? This paper attempts to answer these questions with respect to Barbados, a small island Caribbean economy.

Purpose – The goals of the paper are to propose, measure, and empirically test the expectations model of economic nationalism. The model posits that economic nationalism is reflected in people's expectations of their government, domestic firms, and the general public, in terms of restricting the activities of foreign firms.Design/methodology/approach – A confirmatory factor analysis is conducted to test the model, using the LISREL procedure.Findings – Results show acceptable fit for the proposed model. Reliability of each of the three dimensions of economic nationalism is in the acceptable range. A nomological validity test showed that economic nationalism is related to other constructs not included in the model.Research limitations/implications – A limitation of the model is that it is based on a single sample. Future studies can test the generalizability of model with samples from different countries.Practical implications – The implication of the study is that increasing globalization might lead to an ...

Purpose – The choice of an international market entry mode involves two critical considerations, leveraging internal competencies and managing environmental uncertainties in host countries. The purpose of the paper is to explicate how these two considerations affect the propensity to collaborate in international markets.Design/methodology/approach – The paper builds on existing theories and develops hypotheses showing relations between competencies and uncertainty and collaboration in international markets.Findings – Conceptual relations show that the goals of leveraging competencies and managing environmental uncertainty in host countries have varying effects on the level of international collaboration.Originality/value – The effects are shown through the integration of different theories and empirical findings. Furthermore, the significance of collaboration in international market entry decisions is established. Directions for future research are also provided.

This paper examines the effect of economic globalization on human development and argues that the relation between economic globalization and human development is mediated by economic freedom and corruption. Findings suggest that economic globalization affects economic freedom positively and corruption negatively. In turn, economic freedom has a positive effect and corruption has a negative effect on human development. All relations are in the hypothesized directions and significant. Research, business, and public policy implications as well as directions for future research are presented.

Generation Xers in Japan continue to draw increasing attention not only because they constitute a promising segment for many products and services but also because they are expected to play a critical role in shaping their country’s political and economic relations with other countries. This paper examines their attitudes toward US products, businesses, and government. It also examines their behavioral intentions and their expectations of their government in terms of managing American business involvement in Japan. Findings and implications are presented.

The author examines the issue of digital divide from a demographic perspective. The influence of gender, age, education, and income on the likelihood to purchase over the Internet is empirically examined. Hypotheses are framed in the context of psychological correlates of the demographic variables. Findings show that these variables significantly influence the likelihood to purchase over the Internet and can be used to profile, segment, and target markets and develop public policies to bridge the digital divide.

Striking the right balance of adaptation of the international catalog mix may be the key to profitability. U.S. catalog firms, new to international markets, have less experience in adapting than firms in more globalized industries. The literature on international marketing strategy adaptation reveals that this decision depends on the environment, industry, market, product, and characteristics of the firm. This paper examines the influence of market similarity, type of business and the firm's international experience on international catalog adaptation, and explores the effects of catalog adaptation on a firm's performance. We hypothesize that the greater the market similarity, the less likely it is that firms will adjust their catalog. We also argue than adaptation is greater for consumer catalogs than for business-to-business catalogs. A third hypothesis is that more internationally experienced firms will adapt more and a final hypothesis is that a greater degree of adaptation will increase the ...

SUMMARY The trend towards internationalizing the business curriculum is undoubtedly one of the most significant developments in academia. Recognizing the importance of imbuing students with a global perspective, business schools, one after the other, are either developing new courses with an international focus or incorporating international materials in existing courses. As the internationalization process continues, pedagogical concerns such as course content, teaching approach, student evaluation, and course improvement are at the center Stage.

Within the context of recent technological, economic, political, and social developments, this article covers the following: market entry strategies and international direct marketing, export value chain and transaction cost analysis for judging the effectiveness of international direct marketing, the drivers encouraging the growth of international direct marketing, and the Triad and international direct marketing.

Existing studies have mostly focused on internationalisation decisions of small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) from either developed economies or large developing economies. This paper fills a gap in the literature by focusing on SMEs in a small economy. A qualitative approach, utilising in-depth interviews, was adopted to discover the effects of resource endowments and psychic distance on where, why, and how firms expand business internationally. Executives from five key business-to-consumer sectors were interviewed. Findings show how the firms perceived and responded to global competitive developments and how resource endowments and psychic distance affected international market research, market selection, and market development decisions.

Examines Japanese attitudes and behavioral intentions toward US products, firms, and government. Findings indicate that, although Japanese consumers do not regard US products as better than competing Japanese products, they still tend to purchase them. Furthermore, they want their government to keep an eye on US businesses, but not to set limits on market share and investments or restrict repatriation of profits. The respondents were open to the idea of Japanese scientists and firms sharing their technology with US firms. Presents the strategic implications of these findings.

This paper explores the causes of political intervention in foreign firms' operations and provides a framework for the development of risk reducing strategies. Specific suggestions for the management of the political environment in host countries are presented. Developing strategically appropriate responses for reducing political risk sustains a firm through periods of uncertain environmental development and helps it maintain its competitive market position.

Theories of schematic, or representational, thinking posit that schema congruity and incongruity direct people's evaluative, inferential, and action processes. However, to date research has not provided a test of schema (in)congruity theory for important environmental cues, such as the effect of retail store environment on brand judgments. Within the framework of schema (in)congruity, this paper tests the effects of retail store environment on brand judgments. Empirical evidence in support of the congruity theory, theoretical implications of the findings, and directions for future research are provided.

A cross-sectional time series model was estimated to explain the influence of the openness of an economy and political instability on gross inflow of foreign direct investments into developing countries. Results indicate positive relation between the openness of developing economies and the inflow of foreign direct investments and negative relation between political instability and the inflow of foreign direct investments. Research findings and policy implications are presented.

I n developing foreign market entry strategies, multinational corporations (MNCs) usually focus on two decisions: how to enter foreign markets and how to establish a strong foothold for long-term competitive growth. An important consideration generally overlooked in this strategy development process is how to exit from a country market when exiting becomes necessary. In general, MNCs give insufficient attention to exit decisions, although political risk may necessitate them. Torneden (19751, based on his analysis of firms’ behavior, notes that firms make exit decisions in a haphazard manner that bears little resemblance to rational economic behavior. Strategically, however, decisions regarding exiting a foreign market should be as important as those of entering a foreign market because of their long-term consequences on a firm’s performance. Socioeconomic and political environments invariably change, both within home and host countries. These changes sometimes create political risk that leaves no other option for a firm but to withdraw from a particular country market. Whereas most forced withdrawals from a host country have been the result of political changes within that country itself, withdrawals can also be forced upon companies by events outside the host country, as has been the case with MNCs of different nationalities operating in South Africa. A forced withdrawal is different from a market-determined withdrawal. In the case of the former, the firm leaves the market involuntarily; in the case of the latter, the exit is influenced by market forces and competitive considerations, ’ such as declining market share, product phaseout, or lack of economic incentives in the host country (Wilson 1980). Although the issue of forced withdrawal has become strategically imporManagers dealing with tant-as the experiences of many MNCs in South Afforeign operations must understand and plan rica suggest-a review of the literafor the possibility that ture indicates that business scholars they will no longer be have focused more welcome. on market-determined withdrawals than forced withdrawals. This is not surprising; instances of leaving the market voluntarily are far more frequent than being forced out of it. Furthermore, when examining the phenomenon of forced withdrawal from a political risk perspective, scholars have generally focused on withdrawals resulting from actions by host governments, such as expropriation, confiscation, and nationalization. Recent examples, however, suggest that withdrawals can also be forced upon firms by other groups or actions. As a result, there is a need to understand the phenomenon of forced withdrawals and to provide strategic guidelines to executives for managing the longterm interests of their corporations. This article attempts to answer the following questions: 1. Why are MNCs susceptible to political risk? 2. What are the socioeconomic and political forces that influence a firm’s withdrawal from a particular market? 3. What are the strategic considerations for a firm when withdrawal from a country market is forced?

The major objective of this chapter was to test the effect of online time and adoption time on the frequency of transactional use of the Internet. Transactional use of the Internet includes activities such as buying products, banking, and investing online. Findings support the hypothesis that online time and adoption time positively and significantly influence the frequency of transactional use of the Internet. Theoretical and strategic implications and recommendations for future research are presented.

This paper examines how advertising distinctiveness influences cognitive and affective responses to advertising under varying levels of message content involvement. Major findings indicate facilitative effects of distinctive (versus nondistinctive) ad stimuli on net ad execution cognitive responses, net source cognitive responses, attitude-toward-the-ad, brand attitudes, and purchase intentions under low message content involvement. Unexpectedly, net product argument cognitive responses are greater for low message content involvement subjects under distinctive (versus nondistinctive) ad conditions. Under high message content involvement, however, cognitive and affective responses are not affected by distinctive ad conditions, as expected. Alternative explanations and implications for advertising research are discussed.

This article discusses the influence of socioeconomic and technological factors on direct mail volume in 12 Western European economies. Relations between these variables are studied using a pooled cross-sectional time-series model. The findings suggest that telephones and income significantly influence direct mail volume in these Western European economies. Research hypotheses, empirical findings, and future research directions are presented.

Researchers have suggested that attitudes toward the three elements of direct marketing such as source, mode, and response channel, play a significant role in influencing consumers’ intentions to purchase directly marketed products. This study (a) examines and provides support for the influence of consumers’ attitudes on purchase intentions, and (b) presents future research directions and managerial implications.

Adequately conceptualizing and measuring the involvement construct Has been one of the most controversial topics in advertising research. This task is especially important given the many involvement-driven frameworks (e.g., the elaboration likelihood model) now being advanced in advertising. The present study proposes a framework that closely scrutinizes the involvement constructs antecedents, state properties, measures, potential confounds, and consequences. Four emerging research streams in involvement are presented in the context of the framework. Implications for researchers attempting to manipulate and measure involvement in experimental advertising research are provided.

This paper examines the influence of environmental and firm-specific variables on the selection of international transfer pricing strategies. The primary data were obtained from 164 multinational enterprises by means of a questionnaire. Responses were analyzed by performing factor analysis and constructing a probit model. The findings suggest that legal constraints and firm size are significant determinants in the selection of international transfer pricing strategies by U.S. multinationals.© 1990 JIBS. Journal of International Business Studies (1990) 21, 409–425

International firms operating in overseas markets often face numerous channel-related problems which can adversely affect their performance. Direct marketing, by eliminating middlemen but not necessarily their functions, provides a feasible alternative for establishing marketing presence overseas. The international direct marketing potential of a target country can be determined by examining its global environmental trends and direct marketing infrastructure.

This article presents a schematic framework for explaining consumers’ cognitive processes involved in evaluating and making purchase decisions of directly marketed products. It argues that schematic representations of the three elements of direct marketing—source, mode, and response—influence consumers’ purchase decisions of directly marketed products. The schematic framework not only facilitates the understanding of the direct exchange process, but also provides guidelines for the development of response-enhancing direct marketing strategies.

The views of Fortune 500 vice‐presidents of marketing and planning concerning future competitive environments, technological developments, political developments and marketing mix variables are presented. The composite picture developed from their world views helps highlight the strategic business areas that international marketers, especially exporters to the USA, should seriously examine before developing their international marketing strategies.

Thermoluminescence (TL) characteristics of the crystalline limestones of Jabar (Purulia district, West Bengal, India) were studied in order to find out its application for correlation of different lithofacies. Based on peak-height ratio, TL sensitivity and glow curve patterns, it has been possible to identify and correlate the various lithofacies occuring in the discontinuous outcrops of calc-silicates containing crystalline limestones in the area. Two distinct types of crystalline limestone sequence could be identified. Further, correlation of different lithofacies within a single limestone sequence has been achieved on the basis of TL glow curves.