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The importance of analytical techniques in international marketing is illustrated. An overview of related research is given. The question is asked, “Which way will research on the subject go in the future?”

A method is developed for evaluating forecasting models with respect to both error and complexity in forecasting. Several types of forecasting accuracy measures (MSE, MPE, MAPE, Theil′s U‐Statistic and a loss cost function) are examined and the approach is illustrated using short‐term forecasting methods, and weekly and four‐weekly data. The approach can, however, be applied equally to immediate, medium‐ and long‐term forecasting.

Identifies critical factors that must be practised to achieve effective quality management in an organization based on the synthesis of literature on quality concepts. A framework to be used by organizations to evaluate their quality practices was developed. A field study was conducted to identify the degree to which quality management is being practised in Indian manufacturing organizations and to locate the organizational areas where better management control can make the quality programme more effective. Finds that all requirements for effective quality management can be classified into the following nine major critical factors: top management; quality policies; role of the quality department; training; product design; vendor quality management; process design; quality data; and feedback and employee relations. Seventy‐three organizations with more than 500 employees and a total sales volume of over 251 million rupees participated in the study. Concludes that all nine factors need not be present to ensure the success of a total quality programme.

Competitiveness is one of the most misunderstood concepts of the 1990s. It has drawn substantial attention from the government and business communities during the last 25 years. Morrisson et al. (1988) noted that between 1983 and 1987, the term competitiveness appeared more than 5700 times in the titles of newspapers and magazine articles. The growth of importance and interest can also be observed from the increase in the bibliographical entries in ABI/Inform database. From 1981 to 1986, the topic “international competitiveness” increased by about 26 listings per year (a total of 159 in 6 years) and the rate increased to 45 listings per year from 1987 to 1993. Academic interest in the area has also increased and as a result, new developments contemplating conceptualization and understanding of competitiveness are taking place. However, to no one's surprise, writers from different disciplines offer a variation in perspective when describing the concept, understanding, and postulation of competitiveness.

The ultimate goal of competitiveness is the well being of the citizens of a country. From this perspective, this study investigates the contribution of international competitiveness on per capita income, human development, and inequality in 45 countries of the world. Correlation and regression analysis were conducted to determine the relationships. The results indicate that international competitiveness positively influences per capita income and human development. Competitiveness also influences the reduction of inequality in a country. Longitudinal studies with more country data needs to be conducted to further the relationships established through cross‐sectional research.

Introduction Marketing in the Middle East and North African region can be problematic for the unprepared and naive manager. The international marketing literature is replete with mistakes committed by unwary Western businessmen. This article intends to clarify the somewhat complex marketing environment in the Middle East, using an evaluation of the Egyptian environment as a case example. Egypt had the third largest gross consumption level in the Middle East, after Saudi Arabia and Algeria, during the period 1975–. Egypt, with a population of 42 million, is an important market in the Middle East for many American, European and Japanese firms. The estimated value in 1980 of exports to Egypt from the US, the EEC and Japan was $2,060 million, $4,846 million and $713 million respectively. Furthermore, Egypt's location on the mediterranean means that it provides a natural link for trade between the three continents of Europe, Africa and Asia.

A variety of topics within international marketing are reviewed: global product strategies; export marketing and distribution strategies; export and planning future business with developing countries; and the difficulties of trading within Eastern Europe.

This article uses a survey of Certified Management Accountants (CMA) in the six Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to examine the importance that CMAs place on a number of management accounting practices for the efficient operation of their business and to determine the degree of adoption of that management accounting practice by their organization. The findings indicate a large discrepancy between what accountants consider effective management accounting tools and the use of those tools by their companies’ senior management team. Evidence suggests that companies in the GCC rely on the traditional management accounting practices rather than the more recently developed tools. In addition, the management accountants of GCC companies feel that it would be more important for their businesses to emphasis a range of non‐financial tools as well as to adopt a more strategic management focus using tools.

This paper aims to shed light on the previous ideological stands of the newly established Islamist parties in terms of the idea of party formation, and different models of their relations with the social movements from which they emanated through focusing on some case studies, namely, Egypt and Tunisia, with an attempt to study their impact on the parties’ paths by concentrating on two dimensions: the decision-making process and alliances’ building.

The paper is written according to the comparative case studies approach and Huntington’s new institutionalism.

The research findings proved that, in the light of the two case studies, there are two different models of relations exist between the Islamist political parties and the social movements they emanated from, and despite that both parties had come out from social movements or took the form of a movement in their beginnings and were established within the same context, they showed different perspectives in dealing later on with the new institutional and political context and their rising challenges. These perspectives affected the parties’ decision-making process and alliances’ building, as well as their institutional legitimacy and determined their political future.

In the end, this paper attempts to deal with the degree of institutionalization these parties enjoyed, based on how the movements they emanated from had dealt with the dilemma of party building and the party-movement relations.