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This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/EUM0000000000636. When citing the article, please cite: W.B. Lai, J.Y. Huang, Graham Hooley, Jim Lynch, Oliver Yau, (1992), “Effective Marketing in Taiwan: Profiles of the Top Performers”, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 26 Iss: 3, pp. 5 - 17.

The Narver and Slater market orientation scale is tested in the context of service firms in the transition economies of central Europe and found to be both valid and reliable. The survey examined levels of market orientation in 205 business to business services companies and 141 consumer services companies in Hungary, Poland and Slovenia. As predicted by the predominantly western marketing literature, those service firms with higher levels of market orientation; were more often found in turbulent, rapidly changing markets; were more likely to pursue longer term market building goals rather than short term efficiency objectives; more likely to pursue differentiated positioning through offering superior levels of service compared to competitors; and also performed better on both financial and market based criteria. A number of different business approaches, however, are evident in the transition economies suggesting that other business orientations may co‐exist with a market orientation creating a richer and more complex set of organizational drivers.

The influence of country of origin on consumer attitudes and evaluations of product and service offerings is becoming increasingly important as competition in the international marketplace intensifies. This paper proposes a methodological approach to uncover and better understand the effects of country of origin images. Two distinct product categories (a durable product and a fast moving consumer good) are examined to illustrate the use of such an approach followed by a brief discussion of managerial implications.

Seeks to identify the top performing companies in Taiwan and examine the contribution that marketing has made to their performance. Findings of the study reveal that organizations moving from a production and selling orientation to a marketing approach will be more effective.

Points out that Western literature on marketing suggests a number of clear strategic typologies into which organizations fall, based on their approach to doing business and the relative importance they attach to various strategic drivers. Identifies strategic types in a non‐Western market, Hungary, and compares them with those found in the West. Striking similarities are found and, where differences emerge these are related primarily to the economic climate during the transition from central planning to a market‐led economy.

Since the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the accompanying social and political revolutions of 1989 a great deal has been written about the need to attract foreign investment, technology and managerial expertise to the countries of Eastern and Central Europe as means to encouraging the movement towards marketled economies. Explores the experience of foreign direct investment in Hungary. Concludes that the foreign company often brings to its domestic partner a longer term and more aggressive business perspective, an enhanced export orientation, and the flexibility to break with the past. It often does not, however, bring a more marketing‐oriented approach to doing business.

The purpose of this study was to identify those factors that are supposed to be the most important in terms of small business success in tourism industry. The empirical data is collected within one region in Finland. The respondents were asked to evaluate the importance of the given factors for the firm's success and how highly the respondent evaluated the company's expertise in each factor in their operations. Questionnaires were sent by mail to a total of 214 tourism businesses. The final response rate was 43% (92 businesses). According to the analysis of the data, the respondents emphasise the importance of customer orientation, good skills in leadership, internal marketing and a good reputation of the firm and the product. The impact of external advice (incubators, consultants, research organisations) was evaluated as the least important factor of success. So, market orientation seems to play a key role in the performance of small and micro tourism firms. Customer orientation is also well mastered according to the businesses. The greatest development needs would be in the areas of price and accessibility, as well as in customer orientation. The results of this study indicate that there are no statistically significant differences in the views held by slowly or fast growing tourism businesses regarding the importance of the success factors. The same factors are considered important and less important in both slowly and fast growing businesses. Neither were there any statistically significant differences in these businesses as to the expertise in these success factors.

The key benefits resulting from the development of effective brand names by firms operating in fiercely competitive food markets are outlined and the paucity of relevant research is noted. This article provides a managerially applicable model of brand name development and presents findings on this subject recently gathered in a survey of food manufacturers.

The first of several articles on the temporal development of intra‐firm marketing organizations, relates how Hungary and Poland have progressed strongly towards the free market economic system. However, social and political opposition is now threatening further rapid reform. Moreover, infrastructure deficiencies and managerial problems are constraining effective marketing. Outdated production orientation is inhibiting the adoption of marketing orientation in the state sector while firm smallness is limiting managerial specialization in the private sector. Concludes, from a mail survey of 1,786 Hungarian and Polish firms, that most existing organizations are inadequate. Marketing orientation is extensive in Hungary but sparse in Poland. Although companies adapt flexibly to market changes and assign marketing responsibility to chief executives, most do not have specialist marketing departments. In the minority of cases where specialist departments do exist, they do not have inferior status to other functions although neither are they closely integrated with them.

This paper attempts to develop a typology of current approaches to marketing in UK industry. It reports the results of a national postal survey of over 1,000 UK chief marketing executives. Cluster analysis was used on the survey data to isolate four distinct marketing approaches which are current in UK industry. These are described as “marketing philosophers”, “sales supporters,” “departmental marketers” and “unsures”. Three of these orientations suggest a natural progression from sales support through departmental marketing to the adoption of marketing as a guiding philosophy for the whole organisation. While it is recognised that this kind of cross‐sectional analysis cannot be used to conclude that all business moves through these stages towards marketing orientation, the paper presents attitudinal, organisational and executional evidence to suggest that this is a viable hypothesis.