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This study aims to investigate the moderating effect of soft power on the relationships between affinity toward country, country image, cosmopolitanism and preference on the internationalization of Brazilian cultural products.

This survey used data collected from a non-probabilistic sample of 478 Portuguese respondents, which was further analyzed using the partial least squares technique.

Affinity related to Brazil, the image of Brazil and cosmopolitanism influenced preference, and this, in turn, influenced the internationalization of Brazilian cultural products. Soft power moderated the relationships between cosmopolitanism and preference, country image and preference and preference and internationalization of cultural products.

This study focuses on the internationalization of a cultural product from one particular emerging economy (Brazil) to a specific developed economy (Portugal). Thus, the findings are bound to this specific context. However, it contributes to the field of international marketing research by concentrating on the moderating effects of soft power in the relationship between the investigated constructs.

In the case of Brazilian cultural products, i.e. music, emphases on Brazilian unique resources, i.e. the beauty, excitement, fantasy, mystique, prestige, etc. of natural resources, may be important features to be taken into consideration in national cultural policies.

The study contributes to the international marketing and consumer behavior literature by showing that consumer preference, affinity toward country and cosmopolitanism are important antecedents of the internationalization of cultural products.

Rice consumption per capita in many Asian countries is decreasing constantly, but American and European citizens are eating more rice nowadays. A preference study among consumers was carried out with the aim of determining new rice product characteristics in order to support export of Thai rice. This paper aims to report the results

The research was based on both secondary and primary data collection. The secondary data included exploratory surveys of rice and its products which were conducted in some of Thailand's potential rice export markets. Exploratory primary data were collected through qualitative focus group research. A quantitative questionnaire with 1,128 consumers of target nationalities was conducted to access consumer attitudes and preferences with respect to rice and rice products.

Rice products were grouped with factor analysis and could be characterized by convenience (explained variance 33.9 per cent), grain variety (21.2 per cent), and tradition/naturalness (12.8 per cent). Rotated factor score plot of the preference for rice products among different nationalities showed a similarity in the preference for the tradition/natural products. Convenient products were preferred in higher income Asian countries and the non‐rice eating countries. These three product categories were correlated with consumers' ideas concerning the health‐supporting character of processed food.

Consumers' rice preferences differed greatly among nationalities. Rice exporters have to understand these different preferences in order to offer the right products to their customers. Assuming consumer preferences to be comparable to one's own country's preference can cause new product failure. This paper confirms existing differences and presents details and backgrounds of these differences.

This paper presents the complete findings from the Academic Reading Format International Study (ARFIS), the world's largest study of tertiary students' format preferences and behaviors. The analysis of ARFIS proceeded in two stages. This paper reveals results from the second stage for the first time and compares them with the earlier results. The authors then present and discuss the results from the combined datasets of 21,266 students in 33 countries.

A total of 44 members in the ARFIS research team distributed an online survey composed of 22 Likert-style, multiple choice and open-ended questions to tertiary students on their format preferences and behaviors. Inferential statistical analysis was used on participant responses, and descriptive statistics analysis was used on the combined amalgamated dataset.

Majorities of students in all countries consistently show preference for reading their academic texts in print. However, variations of preferences do occur between countries. Overall, the language of a reading does not affect reading format preferences, but national scores on this question are greatly diverse.

ARFIS is the largest study of its kind created through a collaboration of researchers in countries on six continents, collecting data in more than 20 languages. The sample size, rigorous statistical analysis and consistency of results strengthen the reliability of the findings. Analysis of the first dataset has received widespread recognition, but this paper is the first to publish the second dataset and the complete amalgamated results.

Theorizing about consumer’s cultural identity has led to a greater understanding of why consumers choose and consume certain brands and products. The influence of cultural identity has traditionally been studied primarily in a consumer’s country of origin, neglecting its potential relevance for understanding the consumption choices of sojourners and expatriates. This paper aims to investigate how the length of stay (LOS) in a foreign country, as a manifestation of local identity, shapes expatriate consumers’ food brand preferences.

This study draws on social identity theory and cultural branding literature to examine the mechanisms through which local identity drives preference for local food brands among expatriate consumers. Data from a cross-sectional survey of 180 USA and UK expatriates living in the Greater Middle East were analysed using structural equation modelling.

Local identity (measured through LOS in the host country) appears to exert an indirect effect on the consumption of local food brands through social ties with a local community. Next, social ties with a local community enhance local food brand preferences (LFBP) and this relationship is fully mediated by the global food brand preference (GFBP) where GFBP weakens the preference for local food brands and vice versa. In addition, the heterogeneity of interplay effects between local and global food brands can be attributed to the local food brand value signalling. The study finds that the higher perceived value of local food brands lowers the negative impact the GFBP has on LFBP and vice versa. The hypothesized effects in the model remain robust when controlling for moderating effect of age and the expatriate’s country of origin.

The current study investigates the consumer behaviour of the expatriate consumer segment. As this study focuses only on expatriates currently living in countries of the Greater Middle East, its findings should be tested in other regions and with diverse subject samples.

Expatriates should not be treated as a uniform consumer segment but, instead, should be evaluated as unique individuals whose inclination towards local food brands depends on their: ability to establish and verify their local identity through developing social ties with the local community and reliance on global food brands. Moreover, findings demonstrate that brand managers should focus on increasing their perceived value by showcasing quality, reliability, innovation and performance, factors that reassure expatriate consumers when choosing local, over global food brands.

This study goes beyond the traditional focus on local identity in the domestic setting and sets out to investigate the chain of effects on LFBPs in the expatriate setting. Empirical evidence shows that an expatriate’s higher integration in a local community via social ties confirms their local identity, and thus exerts a stronger impact on a preference for local food brands. The study’s results demonstrate that the preference for local food is dependent on an expatriate consumer’s reliance on global food brands and the impact of global food preferences on local food preferences is moderated by the perceptions of the local food brand value. Additionally, findings suggest that the negative effects of global food brands are stronger for older expatriates and expatriates coming from the USA.

The aim of this paper is to critically analyse the trade preferences offered by the European Union (EU) to developing countries under the Cotonou Agreement and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) in relation to trade in sugar. There is a need for a timely examination of this area, given the context of the ACP‐EU Economic Partnership Agreements and the recent termination of the ACP‐EU Sugar Protocol (SP).

The paper focuses on the Caribbean region as a whole with a particular focus on two non‐least developed ACP Caribbean countries, Guyana and Jamaica which held the largest sugar quotas among ACP Caribbean which benefited from the SP.

The EU trade regime changes have affected the value of the African‐Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) sugar trade regime and could have a serious impact on the amount of sugar available for purchase on the global market. The paper argues that ACP Caribbean countries could find more profitable to grow sugarcane as an agricultural commodity to produce biofuel, which is currently in high demand.

The analysis in this paper is limited to the arrangements pertaining to developing countries and therefore excludes those relating to least developed countries. Trade in more highly processed sugars such as fructose or glucose, together with the growing trade in biofuel refined from sugar beet and sugar cane are also outwith the scope of this discussion.

The paper deals with an intricate issue. It discusses the socio‐economic impact of the trade regime changes on the selected Caribbean countries and includes a section on recommendations given the economic weight of sugar for these countries.

Consistent with dual-process models of behaviour, Miles (2015) has shown that Schwartz’ basic values can provide a valuable framework for empirically analysing the role of values and cultural contexts in driving human behaviour. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this line of research by distinguishing individual values from macro-level values, as well as from other micro- and macro-conditions, in order to test whether individual values shape women’s work-family orientations in ways predicted by Hakim’s preference theory.

The authors make use of the second round of the European Social Survey (ESS) collected in 2004, where a battery of questions on human values and work-family preferences were posed, and apply a multilevel approach to take into account national cultural and economic conditions across 25 European countries.

In line with the dual-process model and preference theory, the authors show that internalised values, particularly conservatism, shape work-family orientations much more than national social and cultural conditions; in addition, the effect of women’s education on work-value orientations is stronger in countries with more conservative national cultures, suggesting that education may help women overcome social barriers in the choice of their work-career preference.

While values may shape work-family orientations differently in non-European or less affluent cultures, these findings reveal the importance of bringing values back into the analysis of individual preferences and behaviours towards the labour market.

Exports help developing countries to expand their production, promote industrialization and accelerate their economic growth. They played an important part in the economic transformation of Southeast Asian countries. The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is one of the ways in which developing countries can increase their exports to the markets of developed nations. The GSP, a unilateral, non‐reciprocal program agreed under the United Nations provides preferential duty entry to numerous products imported into developed countries by eligible developing countries. The objective of this study is to examine the role of GSP in stimulating exports of developing countries. It also provides a comparative appraisal of the GSP schemes of the United States and Japan. The paper also makes certain recommendations to make GSP schemes more efficient and applicable to particular situations.

Heterogeneous employee preferences may encumber employers' attempts to standardize expatriate compensation packages. The purpose of this paper is to outline an empirical approach that informs employers about their employees' preferences concerning an international assignment.

Utility theory and conjoint measurement techniques are applied. Employees, it is argued, derive utility from the multiple characteristics of the assignment in terms of working conditions, career prospects, and living conditions. Employees perceive that utility relative to their country‐specific status quo. Such preferences may be measured with conjoint analysis.

To illustrate the methodology, German and Spanish employees in one company were given the scenario of an assignment in the USA. Measured preferences, though partly heterogeneous, were systematically related to the home country's institutional and cultural environment (societal effect).

More countries should be included in future studies. Studies of this kind may be related to the concepts of institutional and cultural distance.

Based on these findings, worldwide policies and procedures on expatriate compensation packages may be formulated to strike a better balance between standardization and the needs of a heterogeneous global workforce.

The paper presents a first systematic model of the preferences that guide the employee decision to accept or decline an international assignment, and it illustrates how these preferences can be measured.

This paper aims to explore the relationship between consumer demand for enhanced food safety features and regional identification of food amongst consumers across Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

The paper uses the choice experiment method to determine preferences for food testing standards, traceability standards, health and welfare standards, region of origin and price.

The results show that substantial differences exist in preferences for the features between consumers in both countries. In addition, while stark differences are apparent between the two countries, in their preferences for food originating from their local region, the results suggest that consumers perceive significant substitutability between the enhanced safety features and the local regional label in both countries.

This paper provides a unique insight into preferences for a wide range of enhanced food safety features amongst consumers in these two countries. This is the first study to undertake a comparison of these countries using the choice experiment method. In addition, the paper provides a thorough overview of how consumers perceive the relationship between enhanced safety features and region of origin of food.