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Communicating the identity of a family business generates positive results in consumer response. The paper aims to understanding how the efficient transmission of family identity can influence consumer behavior is essential for designing family firms' marketing communication strategies.

An experimental study based on the eye-tracking technique was designed to determine how attention to (familiar vs non-familiar) visual stimuli on a website influences consumer recognition of a family firm status and how it influences consumer behavior. A sample of 212 individuals was exposed to (simulated) websites of family and non-family firms in the hospitality industry to capture information about their eye movements and measure visual attention to specific stimuli that communicated family identity.

Visual attention has a direct and positive influence on recognizing family firm's identity (FFI). Through FFI, visual attention has an indirect positive effect on trust in the company and attitude toward the brand (BraAtt). Trust in a firm positively affects purchase intention (PurInt).

It is known that consumers can perceive a FFI; however, there is no study on the sensory mechanisms operating in consumers' perceptions of family identity. The study contributes to understanding how consumers can perceive a FFI. This study proposes a novel method for evaluating consumer responses by transmitting family business identity on digital platforms.

The role of knowledge, organizational learning and innovation as levers of competitive advantage is now a commonly acknowledged insight in research in international management, specifically in the emerging ‘knowledge-based view’. However, this view has not yet developed into a unifying framework and there are significant holes in the understanding of how knowledge may be turned into a source of competitive advantage for MNCs. In order to advance the knowledge-based view of the MNC – and particularly of the metanational company – we develop the notion of the MNC as a global knowledge system that links local knowledge structures and combines local knowledge elements that are complementary in order to achieve strategic advantage. These ideas are used to frame the changing environments, strategic intents and learning stances that characterize MNCs, and to derive a set of research challenges for MNC research.

In our studies of daily newspapers and news websites in small and medium-sized cities in Brazil, we view these enterprises as firms endowed with specific strengths and weaknesses reflecting the characteristics of the localities in which they operate. In addition, we use references from urban geography and the industrial economy to investigate their structure, conduct, and performance. This chapter presents our observations about the structure of these firms and the journalistic business in non-metropolitan cities of the State of Rio de Janeiro. The results point to greater consolidation of newspapers, despite their traditional way of operating; the low performance of news websites and their restricted source of revenue; and the existence of a potential regional market little explored by these media.

This paper explores which market and product category characteristics could influence the use of foreign language brand names (i.e. whether a brand uses a foreign language versus local language brand name) in some of the largest Latin American countries.

Hypotheses are tested using 880 brands from 39 product categories and nine Latin American markets using a hierarchical logistic regression.

Results revealed that foreign language brand names are more likely to be used in product categories related to local infrastructure, high-tech and global community. In contrast, local language brand names are more likely to be used in product categories associated to subscriptions. Findings also suggest that Hofstede's national cultural dimensions are significant factors. Finally, the results revealed that foreign language brand names are more likely to be used in markets with a low level of foreign language proficiency.

This paper shows the importance of considering market and product category characteristics and their potential influence on local versus foreign language branding in Latin America – an ignored issue in previous research.

I. Introduction For over forty years, a model for Third World development has gained widespread acceptance. Three key premises underpin the traditional development model: (1) the identification of “development” with the maximization of the rate of national economic growth; (2) the quest to achieve Western living standards and levels of industrialization which require the transfer of labor from the agricultural to the industrial sector as well as increased consumerism; and (3) the integration into the interdependence of Third World nations in the global economy and the global marketplace. Increasing the demand for a Third World nation's exports (in other words, export‐led growth) is viewed as leading to the maximization of a nation's Gross National Product (GNP).

This study aims to examine the process of frugal innovation (FI) in micro- and small-enterprises (MSEs) at the base of the pyramid (BOP) through the analytical lens of business models.

A case study was conducted with 30 MSEs from three different industries in a very poor region in Brazil.

The findings indicate that, in cases where FI is intense and dynamic, the start of the FI process is based on the reinterpretation of fashion trends and influences from the business ecosystem while the consolidation of FI in MSEs occurs through the reconfiguration of resources. Additionally, this study shows that FI depends on conditions other than the production of frugal products for BOP consumers.

This study points out that the presence of end-of-life non-BOP raw materials distributed by large distributors in the case of fashion products, along with the interaction between MSEs at the BOP and these distributors, trigger FI and are profitable for both. For non-fashion products with long life cycles, there is no demand for innovation.

This study addresses the research void present in the literature on FI by presenting the process of FI and the conditions that leverage or stagnate FI in MSEs at the BOP, as well as how business models are shaped by these conditions.

Ruth V. Aguilera is an associate professor and a Fellow at the Center for Professional Responsibility for Business and Society at the College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She also holds courtesy appointments at the School of Labor and Employment Relations, the College of Law and the Department of Sociology at Illinois. She received MA and PhD degrees in Sociology from Harvard University. Her research interests fall at the intersection of economic sociology and international business, specifically in the fields of comparative corporate governance, foreign location choices and corporate social responsibility. She has published in the leading journals in International Business and Management. Dr. Aguilera currently serves as a member of an associate editor of Corporate Governance: International Review and is a member of the Editorial Boards of the following peer reviewed top tier journals: Academy of Management Perspectives, Global Strategy Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management Studies, Management International Review, Organization Studies and Strategic Management Journal. She also serves in the board of IMDEA Social Sciences (Madrid) and CSR IMPACT Project (Brussels).

In the late 2000s, the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) emerged to become the dominant mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation, bringing the sport to mainstream acceptance. The purpose of this paper is to draw on theories of co-evolution and positive feedbacks to provide insights into how the UFC has assumed this dominant position.

A single historical case study is compiled drawing on data from a number of sources, including the UFC, US State Athletic Commissions, MMA web sites and prior UFC-related academic literature.

A number of significant growth dynamics are identified, including interconnections between the increase in free-to-air events and the generation of new UFC fans and revenues; the increased financial rewards to successful fighters that allows them to improve the quality of their training and the improved quality of UFC content; and the accumulation of a critical mass of high-level fighters that increases the reputation of the UFC and the increased attraction of new fighters to the organisation.

Further in depth studies are necessary to substantiate and quantify the interconnections identified in this paper.

The paper provides insights for other non-mainstream sports organisations that are attempting to grow their participation and viewership.

The emergence of new sports and sports organisations such as the UFC with global appeal and significant commercial returns is infrequent. This study contributes to the need for understanding of how new sports enter the mainstream and the role that governing organisations such as the UFC play in achieving this transition.

This article presents a methodological application of decision support with the purpose of identifying and better aligning sustainable banking strategies. Those strategies are based on best practices declared by employees and conducted during efficient periods affecting sustainable production, the health quality of clients, the organization’s profitability and social impact on the local community across different sectors.

The approach involves a two-phase process: first, it employs directional data envelopment analysis (DEA) to benchmark knowledge based on employee opinions gathered through interviews to evaluate strategies related to banking services; then, using the best-worst method and ELECTRE outranking incorporating elements of fuzzy set theory based on an experienced decision-maker’s input, sustainable banking strategies are ranked according the different perspectives for leveraging outputs from the first step.

The outcomes yield a ranking of strategies, emphasizing the crucial role of technology in banking services while highlighting the need for more agile services to ensure customer satisfaction. This underscores the necessity of aligning with the market perspective, as fintech companies are reshaping the socio-technological-environmental landscape of financial services.

The research combined DEA and multicriteria analysis in the context of the banking sector, providing a comprehensive and analytically robust approach translated as a decision-making framework for promoting sustainability by aligning operational efficiency and social responsibility. These tools can guide banks in adopting more sustainable practices that benefit the institution, society and the environment.

Decisions in the banking sector encompass a wide array of concepts, from internal technical factors to customer feedback on service processes and offerings. The proposed approach considers decision analysis in complex environments, and the application developed in this study considered not only internal banking activity-oriented concepts but also the preferences of human agents developing them and the managerial perspective focused on issues involving components associated with sustainability.

By integrating DEA with multicriteria analysis, this study paves the way for a more efficient, environmentally conscious and socially responsible management scenario in the Brazilian banking sector. This research assesses operational efficiency and offers a comprehensive framework for selecting and implementing sustainable practices in the banking sector.