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1 – 10 of 26Investigates the differences in protocols between arbitral tribunals and courts, with particular emphasis on US, Greek and English law. Gives examples of each country and its way…
Abstract
Investigates the differences in protocols between arbitral tribunals and courts, with particular emphasis on US, Greek and English law. Gives examples of each country and its way of using the law in specific circumstances, and shows the variations therein. Sums up that arbitration is much the better way to gok as it avoids delays and expenses, plus the vexation/frustration of normal litigation. Concludes that the US and Greek constitutions and common law tradition in England appear to allow involved parties to choose their own judge, who can thus be an arbitrator. Discusses e‐commerce and speculates on this for the future.
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Alberto Ruocco and Thea Durfee
It's late one night and you're shopping at the E‐Biz Mall (open 24/7). You come across the “Ebiz Transformation Kit” and take it off the virtual shelf. The side panel says the kit…
Abstract
It's late one night and you're shopping at the E‐Biz Mall (open 24/7). You come across the “Ebiz Transformation Kit” and take it off the virtual shelf. The side panel says the kit includes one magic wand, sound business models, key challenges, and strategic issues. On the front it says: “Gets your e‐business up and running in Internet time. Build new strategies in 12 easy steps!” Should you open it, or is this Pandora's box?
Research on international retailing has generally emanated from Europe and North America. Nonetheless, retailers from emerging countries can also be important players in regional…
Abstract
Purpose
Research on international retailing has generally emanated from Europe and North America. Nonetheless, retailers from emerging countries can also be important players in regional markets. The purpose of this paper is to explore how retailers from emerging markets can become strong enough to compete internationally.
Design/methodology/approach
The study examines a longitudinal case study of the internationalisation process of Falabella, a Chilean retailer that has recently become an important player in the Latin America retail industry. Drawing on 32 interviews with company managers, as well as industry data and corporate reports, this paper provides insights into the successful internationalisation process of a retailer from an emerging country.
Findings
The paper offers insights into emerging market internationalisation. In particular, these findings suggest that specific capabilities and resources, such as local and regional partnerships, organisational learning, innovation orientation, adaptation to the local markets, and an experienced management team, are required for emerging market retailers to internationalise and improve their likelihood of success in foreign markets.
Research limitations/implications
This paper explores an underdeveloped topic through the analysis of a longitudinal case study. Thus, it is necessary to further expand this line of research and investigate other emerging market retailers.
Practical implications
This study raises a number of important issues for emerging market retail managers that are reluctant to expand abroad and compete with large multinationals from developed markets, or that are struggling with their actual internationalisation process.
Originality/value
To date, the retail internationalisation literature has focused on the international experiences of firms from developed nations. However, there is a gap in the literature as to how retailers from emerging countries can become strong enough to compete internationally.
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W. Bruce Johnson, Ashok Natarajan and Alfred Rappaport
Superior firms are those which create shareholder wealth. The most direct way to measure shareholder wealth is by examining the worth of dividends plus share‐price appreciation…
Abstract
Superior firms are those which create shareholder wealth. The most direct way to measure shareholder wealth is by examining the worth of dividends plus share‐price appreciation. The authors contend that the companies chosen as excellent by Peters and Waterman, in their book, In Search of Excellence, fail to show superior shareholder wealth creation.
Steven B. Young, Alberto Fonseca and Goretty Dias
This paper seeks to critically analyse the list of principles on the extractive phase of the electronics supply chains, proposed for consumer electronic companies, by the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to critically analyse the list of principles on the extractive phase of the electronics supply chains, proposed for consumer electronic companies, by the non‐governmental campaign MakeITfair. The purpose is to understand whether conformance with these principles could positively influence the socio‐environmental conditions at the mining level.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews the literature on incorporation of corporate social responsibility in supply chain management. It then examines how metals are mined, traded and used in electronics, as well as how the mining industry has been managing its own socio‐environmental problems. This information underpins the qualitative discussion of the principles.
Findings
MakeITfair's principles were found to be constructive insofar as they draw the attention of electronic companies to their shared responsibility for the problems of distant‐tier suppliers. Nevertheless, some principles may lead to potentially undesired outcomes such as biased prioritization of mining companies or regions, adoption of contentious “standards”, and conflicts concerning the sovereign rights of nations over their natural resources. Overall, the principles stress traceability mechanisms as means of influencing the mining phase of supply chains without considering the costs and benefits of overcoming the complexities involved in the metal trade and other barriers. The paper concludes by highlighting the need to consider additional ways of positively influencing metals supply.
Research limitations/implications
The paper points out specific research priorities in the value chains of metals.
Originality/value
The paper provides a critical analysis of intricate responsibility issues in the supply chain of the world's top electronic companies.
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Harvey Arbeláez and Rie Tanaka
Governance and opacity issues have increased since the early 1990s and several governance indicators are introduced by international organizations and NGOs. The governance…
Abstract
Governance and opacity issues have increased since the early 1990s and several governance indicators are introduced by international organizations and NGOs. The governance indicators have been used in various sectors, directly affecting a nation's political reputation. This study analyzes the context of governance and opacity in Argentina and Chile and assesses the relationship between the cultural pattern and the functioning of institutions. A first approximation to the analysis of Argentina and Chile seems to lead to the conclusion of the existence of homogeneity between them as a result of a similar background. However, differences in geography and history generate different societal norms, and functioning of institutions within them. Chile's geographical isolation and limited natural resources leads the country toward economic growth and political stability. By contrast, in Argentina, populist regimes undermine the foundations of its economy while its middle class struggles and loses public trust. The various factors interactively affect quality of public policies and governance and, consequently, are conducive to differences in the perceived and real levels of opacity between both countries. Is corruption a culture-specific issue? If yes, then, is governance a consequence of culture too? Therefore, it is important to interpret a context behind governance in order to establish appropriate anticorruption reform in practice. This chapter seeks to address some of these issues by means of a case study comparison between Argentina and Chile and contribute to the understanding of the context in which negotiations may occur when FDI and M&A deals take place.
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Carlos Rafael Avina-Vazquez and Shahzad Uddin
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether a pattern of interlocking directorates is emerging following reforms in Mexican corporations, and who, if any, are the powerful…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether a pattern of interlocking directorates is emerging following reforms in Mexican corporations, and who, if any, are the powerful actors in this network. Drawing on the Bourdieusian notion of social capital, the paper also analyses theoretically the interlocking directorates, networks and powerful actors, and their influences on and potential implications for corporate governance mechanisms.
Design/methodology/approach
The data used in the study consisted of 1,442 internal and external board members of the population of 126 Mexican corporations trading on the Mexican Stock Market as of January 2011. Use of social network analysis (SNA) demonstrates individuals’ links with corporations and allows the production of spatial maps to visualise the network structure of interlocking boards.
Findings
Using the measures of SNA developed by Freeman (1979 and Bonacich (1972), the authors identify the most powerful and influential directors in the network structure of board members in Mexico. Board members with the greatest number of connections occupy central positions in the network. The authors also find a catalogue of corporate governance scandals. The inclusion of independent directors seems to have had no influence in ensuring better corporate governance.
Research limitations/implications
Mapping out the directors’ links might offer excellent opportunities for policy makers to see how many companies a single director represents, how they share boards, and the implications for minority shareholders of sharing boards, and to understand the workloads of directors in carrying out the monitoring tasks expected of them.
Originality/value
This paper makes an important contribution by employing SNA to illustrate interlocking directorates and the positions of powerful and influential actors. Examining networks of directors from a “social capital” point of view also provides an understanding of why the role of independent directors remains toothless in family-dominated corporations.
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Caroline Kobia and Chuanlan Liu
The purpose of this study was to improve our understanding of teen consumers’ adoption of virtual fashion. Specifically, the study assessed the effects of individual variables…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to improve our understanding of teen consumers’ adoption of virtual fashion. Specifically, the study assessed the effects of individual variables, including fashion innovativeness and peer pressure, on needs gratification, attitudes and adoption of virtual fashion worlds (VFWs) among teen girl consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was designed and administered to a convenience sample of female teens. Empirical analyses were performed on 177 valid responses. Structural equation modeling was used to test all hypotheses.
Findings
The results revealed that adoption of VFWs in the sample was affected significantly by teen female consumers’ needs gratification, attitudes about VFWs and fashion innovativeness. However, peer pressure had no effects.
Originality/value
The emergence of different types of virtual worlds has influenced the way in which business is conducted, and VFWs are a popular trend. However, no studies have examined consumers’ adoption of VFWs that promote fashion using avatars and offer similar styles for teens in the real world. The study adds to existing literature related to consumers’ adoption of innovations by integrating communication, sociological and innovation adoption theories.
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Cheryl Mayberry-McKissack and Tracey Robinson-English
The Namaste case is a story of how Kellogg alumni couple Gary and Denise Gardner grow their Namaste branded hair care line from production at the family's kitchen table into a…
Abstract
The Namaste case is a story of how Kellogg alumni couple Gary and Denise Gardner grow their Namaste branded hair care line from production at the family's kitchen table into a formidable $80 million empire within a 14-year period. The Gardners come from a longtime hair-care business lineage, the Soft Sheen dynasty, started by Gary's father decades earlier. Soft Sheen was ultimately sold to hair care giant L'Oreal for over $100 million. The Gardners claim Namaste's growth occurred through listening to the needs and desires of customers for healing hair care products that reminded them of nourishing household remedies. The hair care line became a leader in its industry but faced the dilemma of how to expand sales in new markets, especially international markets such as South Africa and Nigeria.
Students learn to develop new business opportunities including international expansion and tools of the internet to exploit the tools of vision, innovation and change resulting in new customer services and solutions. Students will focus on the basic fundamentals of sales and review the relationship of customer need identification and the reasons that make people buy. Students will assess the entrepreneurial strategies applied to fuel future growth based on an idea or product. Students will focus on the sales fundamentals that can be applied to entrepreneurial environments.
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