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Network theory is becoming increasingly popular as a means of describing marketing in SMEs, stemming from the growing recognition that traditional marketing theories are somewhat inappropriate to the small firm. Of the research carried out to date, however, the greater part has employed quantitative methods. Current thought is that the concepts of networks and networking could be better investigated using more qualitative methods, and an appropriate methodology is suggested. This article describes an ongoing qualitative study which aims to discover how small firms use networks to make marketing decisions. The study has taken the form of semi‐structured interviews with owners and senior executives of 60 small companies across a wide array of industries in Northern Ireland. The key findings of the study are discussed together with plans for future research.

In many peripheral regional economies, the decline in indigenous industries has shifted the focus of attention onto SMEs. With a small firm base and a small local market, an economic priority in a regional economy is to instigate growth. In this context exporting is an essential growth strategy for SMEs. Therefore, the focus of this study was to understand what stimulates SME entrepreneurs to initiate export marketing, examine the difficulties and problems they encounter and ascertain what marketing activities can be used to overcome these and ensure their success in export marketing. In pursuing these issues, the findings illustrate the value of networking as an aid for entrepreneurial exporting activities. The overall conclusion of this study was that SME entrepreneurs were moving rapidly from initial stimulation to their current export positions, encountering a variety of difficulties and problems. In order to overcome these problems SME entrepreneurs used networking extensively and responded to opportunities by benefiting from their inherent flexibility and developing marketing activities to suit specific export markets.

Inward foreign direct investment (FDI) is regarded as an important means of employment and knowledge creation in many economies. This study investigates the motivations and satisfaction levels associated with FDI in two economies that are increasingly recognising the benefits of inward investment: Northern Ireland and Bahrain. Although different in may respects, these two regions share similar economic and political characteristics and this study compares the perceptions of the managing directors of foreign companies who have chosen to invest in either of the two regions. It reports that many expected findings were borne out by the study but also highlights pertinent findings that were not anticipated and accordingly that may be of interest to government bodies charged with the responsibility of attracting inward investment.

The network construct is in common usage in entrepreneurship research. However while the increasing use of the construct has furthered our understanding of the phenomenon of entrepreneurship, its popularity has sometimes led to misapplication and inconsistent research findings. Traces the development of the network concept in the two strands of research that have dominated this field, namely inter‐organisational networks and the entrepreneur’s personal network. Discusses the specific contexts in which these two branches have received most attention. Proposes that several key areas have been relatively neglected and offers direction for future research which would serve to improve our understanding of the entrepreneurial process.

Some consideration of the specific SME (small/medium sized enterprises) literature outlining perspectives on pricing practice in SMEs is given in this paper. Outlines some empirical findings gathered from in‐depth interviews with 40 SME owner‐managers in Northern Ireland. The findings provide corroboration of previous studies and expand the understanding of the price perspective for SMEs. Some conclusions are drawn as a result of this study. This paper examines the real implications of pricing in SMEs and shows how pricing fits with marketing in SMEs.

Through examination of a case study this paper aims to describe a brand re‐positioning exercise and explore how an emotionally driven approach to branding can help create meaningful connections with potential undergraduate students and can positively influence choice.

The paper's approach is a case study description with quantitative analysis in support.

The use of an emotionally driven branding concept has positively impacted business development and brand likeability within a UK university.

The paper is specific to one case study and evaluation of success remains relatively early. Initial implications relate to the potential use of emotion in higher education marketing communications and how the use of emotion acted as an enabler of more rational decision‐making processes within the case university context.

An exploration of issues related to the marketing of higher education services is of great importance at this time. The case study described offers value and learning for readers of the journal from both a theoretical and practical perspective.

In this chapter, we investigate whether the first-time issuance of a standalone corporate sustainability report led to changes in reputation as measured by Fortune Most Admired scores. Based on a sample of 59 U.S. companies issuing their first standalone sustainability report over the period from 2001 to 2007, and controlling for the financial “halo effect” reported by Brown and Perry (1994), we find, on average no significant changes in reputational scores. However, cross sectional analysis shows that issuing companies from socially exposed industries experienced decreases in scores. Further, report quality, at least at the extremes appears to be positively related to changes in perceived reputation. These results are consistent with Godfrey's (2005) arguments with respect to corporate reputation.