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This chapter highlights the importance of eco-quality and eco-standards as a determinant of socially responsible trading management and marketing. Starting from the premise that ecology internationalizes and becomes determinant of socially responsible marketing and management, we analyse trade competitiveness based on quality, marketing strategy for quality in trade, and correlation of trade and ecology.

Based on literature about quality and quality management, this chapter starts with an analysis of the importance of quality for trade and marketing strategy for quality in trade. Analysis shows that the issue of quality has always been present in trade, but mostly as a commercial requirement in the forming and functioning of buying and selling relations. However, the quality of products and services that are subject of buying and selling relations between producers, trade, and consumers cannot be viewed outside of space and time. It has its own evolution, which is closely related to the needs and demands of consumers. Historically observing, it can be concluded that the quality of the trade in market-developed countries has evolved from elementary characteristics of assortment quality (durability, utility), over the quality of service, to the eco-quality. Direction of quality evolution was determined by development of ecological awareness regarding vulnerability of the nature and environment. This is why the economies of certain countries are at different levels in terms of ecological economics and eco-quality.

It’s discovered that the consumer creates direction of evolution of eco-marketing and eco-management. He is becoming an active participant in the creation of “eco-package offer” of trading enterprises. Obliviousness of the eco-quality aspect, from trade toward the customer, represents an antimarketing act. Ecologically irresponsible management has double “punishment.” On the one hand, “punishment” comes from the consumer who does not buy the product, and on the other hand, socioeconomic environment is punishing it by using “polluter pays” principle. In order to act as an incentive for the creation of an eco-responsible marketing management, European Union (EU), World Bank, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have established a Fund for protection of the environment. Countries with recent label “in transition” (Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia) are allocating 2% of GDP for protection of the environment, while our country allocates less than 1% of GDP.

The chapter provides a starting point for further research in the field of ecological aspects of trade and correlation of trade and ecology.

Companies in all industries are searching for new sources of competitive advantage since the competition in their marketplace is becoming increasingly intensive. The resource-based view of the firm explains the sources of sustainable competitive advantages. From a resource-based view perspective, relational based assets (i.e., the assets resulting from firm contacts in the marketplace) enable competitive advantage. The relational based assets examined in this work are brand image and corporate reputation, as components of brand equity, and customer value. This paper explores how they create value. Despite the relatively large amount of literature describing the benefits of firms in having strong brand equity and delivering customer value, no research validated the linkage of brand equity components, brand image, and corporate reputation, simultaneously in the customer value–customer loyalty chain. This work presents a model of testing these relationships in consumer goods, in a business-to-business context. The results demonstrate the differential roles of brand image and corporate reputation on perceived quality, customer value, and customer loyalty. Brand image influences the perception of quality of the products and the additional services, whereas corporate reputation actions beyond brand image, estimating the customer value and customer loyalty. The effects of corporate reputation are also validated on different samples. The results demonstrate the importance of managing brand equity facets, brand image, and corporate reputation since their differential impacts on perceived quality, customer value, and customer loyalty. The results also demonstrate that companies should not limit to invest only in brand image. Maintaining and enhancing corporate reputation can have a stronger impact on customer value and customer loyalty, and can create differential competitive advantage.

This chapter presents the results of two empirical studies aimed at assessing the nature of two hallmarks of marketing development: market orientation and the ability to deliver service quality. Both studies used Chinese managers as subjects. The first investigated the nature and scope of marketing orientation the managers perceive in their firms and found that Chinese managers recognize the importance of market orientation and its relation to firm success and performance. The findings demonstrate a well-developed sense of market orientation.

The second study assessed managers' perceptions of their ability to deliver service quality using the SERVQUAL model. Managers in the sample perceive that reliability is the most important dimension for customers, followed by responsiveness and assurance. Formal standards exist for these dimensions and managers are quite optimistic about the ability of their firms to meet these performance standards. The original antecedents presented in the SERVQUAL model do not precisely fit the Chinese market. The factor analysis showed a strong orientation toward operating systems and processes.

This study examines the roles of market and learning orientations in relationship quality between exporters in transition economies and their foreign importers and subsequently, export performance. A random sample of 283 export firms in Vietnam provides evidence to support the hypothesized main effects. The results further indicate that learning orientation plays a role in building high-quality relationships for both new and mature relationships. However, the impact of market orientation on relationship quality is found only in the new relationship. In addition, firm-ownership structure does not moderate the relationships between learning orientation, market orientation, relationship quality, and export performance.

The objective of this study is to investigate how country risk, different political actions from the government and bureaucratic behavior influence the activities in industry supply chains (SCs) in emerging markets. The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of these external stakeholders’ elements to the demand-side and supply-side drivers and barriers for improving competitiveness of Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry in the way of analyzing supply chain. Considering the phenomenon of recent change in the RMG business environment and the competitiveness issues this study uses the principles of stakeholder and resource dependence theory and aims to find out some factors which influence to make an efficient supply chain for improving competitiveness. The RMG industry of Bangladesh is the case application of this study. Following a positivist paradigm, this study adopts a two phase sequential mixed-method research design consisting of qualitative and quantitative approaches. A tentative research model is developed first based on extensive literature review. Qualitative field study is then carried out to fine tune the initial research model. Findings from the qualitative method are also used to develop measures and instruments for the next phase of quantitative method. A survey is carried out with sample of top and middle level executives of different garment companies of Dhaka city in Bangladesh and the collected quantitative data are analyzed by partial least square-based structural equation modeling. The findings support eight hypotheses. From the analysis the external stakeholders’ elements like bureaucratic behavior and country risk have significant influence to the barriers. From the internal stakeholders’ point of view the manufacturers’ and buyers’ drivers have significant influence on the competitiveness. Therefore, stakeholders need to take proper action to reduce the barriers and increase the drivers, as the drivers have positive influence to improve competitiveness.

This study has both theoretical and practical contributions. This study represents an important contribution to the theory by integrating two theoretical perceptions to identify factors of the RMG industry’s SC that affect the competitiveness of the RMG industry. This research study contributes to the understanding of both external and internal stakeholders of national and international perspectives in the RMG (textile and clothing) business. It combines the insights of stakeholder and resource dependence theories along with the concept of the SC in improving effectiveness. In a practical sense, this study certainly contributes to the Bangladeshi RMG industry. In accordance with the desire of the RMG manufacturers, the research has shown that some influential constructs of the RMG industry’s SC affect the competitiveness of the RMG industry. The outcome of the study is useful for various stakeholders of the Bangladeshi RMG industry sector ranging from the government to various private organizations. The applications of this study are extendable through further adaptation in other industries and various geographic contexts.

The health care industry has been influenced by changes in the market structure and new technological developments during the recent decades. With the new technological developments in medicine, some less complex care moved out of the hospitals that led to decrease in demand for inpatient services. This recent change in hospital care created excess capacity in hospital markets, and therefore hospitals started to explore potential financial gains through horizontal consolidations. This has resulted in a wave of mergers in 1990s, which transformed the US, Canadian and European hospital markets. This, in turn, created concerns among policy makers and researchers in terms of its welfare implications.

Purpose – This study examines the relationship between Big Four audit firm country-level market shares and audit fees across a sample of nine emerging economies: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Hong Kong, Israel, Korea, Mexico, South Africa, and Taiwan.

Design/methodology/approach – First, auditor market share is calculated as a percentage of client sales based on all publicly traded companies in each of the sample countries during the period 2002–2005. Next, Audit Analytics is used to obtain audit fee data for a set of foreign companies listed on a primary U.S. exchange. A final sample of 483 client-year observations is included in the audit fee regression analysis.

Findings – After controlling for other factors related to audit pricing, Big Four auditors with dominant country-level market shares earn a fee premium of approximately 27% over competitor firms.

Originality/value – These results suggest that individual Big Four firm reputations, as measured by fee premiums, are not homogeneous across countries. Rather, it appears the largest audit firms are associated with quality-differentiated services and thus earn higher fees. Although accounting research tends to classify large international accounting firms into a pool of the “Big Four,” these findings indicate that it is important to consider each firm's market share in specific geographic locations when examining questions related to auditor reputation and pricing.