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In the Spring of 2000, questionnaires regarding the export assistance needs of all 1012 wineries in California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho were mailed. These surveys, one for current exporters and one for non‐exporters, were based upon over 25 in‐depth interviews with wine industry executives as well as public, industry and private sector export service providers. Each questionnaire included a section specifically designed to identify and prioritize the assistance needs of exporting and non‐exporting wineries. The 24% return rate enhances the validity of the survey results. The purpose of this research effort is to provide export service intermediaries with an empirical model of the exporting needs of wineries so they can improve the effectiveness of their export assistance programs to enhance the global competitiveness of US wineries. Results suggest that managers in exporting wineries see great value in “advanced” export assistance needs. Managers of non‐exporting wineries place the highest value on more “fundamental” export assistance. Non‐exporters and new exporters place higher value on assistance in finding distributors than experienced exporters. Lastly, venues in which there is an opportunity to network with experienced exporters is seen as a valuable assistance tool by both exporting and non‐exporting wineries.

In the Spring of 2000, questionnaires regarding the export assistance needs of all 1012 wineries in California. Oregon Washington and Idaho were mailed. These surveys one for current exporters and one for non‐exporters were based upon over 25 in‐depth interviews with wine industry executives and export service providers. Each questionnaire included a section specifically designed to identify and prioritise the assistance needs of exporters and non‐exporters. The robust 24% return rate enhances the validity of the survey results. Among current exporters information regarding competitors, consumers and distributors specific export markets represent five of the six most highly valued assistance needs. Assistance in finding distributors and agents are especially important to inexperienced exporters and those dissatisfied with their current export programme. Non‐exporters place priority on training and assistance in understanding the fundamentals of developing a successful winery export programme. Finally, both exporters and non‐exporters give high priority to learning about the export experiences of other wineries which they feel will help improve their own international trade endeavours.

The purpose of this article is to present an inside look at the history of a little‐known but interesting initiative in the marketing field, one that involved the infusion of marketing thought into public policy decision‐making in the USA. It aims to trace the interesting tale of how marketing academics came to be included in the activities of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) through the FTC's “Marketing Academic Consultancy Program” (MACP) during the 1970s. This story also aims to include descriptions of the contributions made by those marketing academics and how those scholars were later phased out of the FTC.

An autobiographical approach is used since each of the authors was personally involved in the MACP. As participants in the program and as scholars whose careers were thereafter tremendously affected by that participation, these personal accounts provide considerable insight into the impact on both FTC operations and on marketing academic thought itself.

Over the decade of the 1970s some 30 marketing academics participated in this program, with considerable impact on both FTC operations and on marketing academic thought itself. Reflecting positive impact within public policy, for example, was a massive increase in the FTC budget for marketing and consumer research activities – from essentially zero at the start of the program to some $ 1 million in 1978. Benefits also flowed back into academia, as this program formed a prime basis for the development of today's “Marketing and Society” research area.

Although there are histories of the FTC, this is an original, first‐hand account of a little‐known era during which marketing academics and public policy decision‐makers were given a unique opportunity to work together and learn from each other. It offers personal insights into the workings of this innovative program and the benefits that accrued for both the FTC and for the marketing discipline.

Organizations continually seek new ways to achieve competitive advantage and word of mouth (WOM) represents such an opportunity because it has a powerful influence on consumers' attitudes and behaviors. However, prior research offers little insight into what WOM really means. The present study aims to investigate the complexities of the WOM concept and simultaneously examine the triggers that motivate people to offer WOM and the conditions that enhance the chance of WOM occurring.

A series of six focus groups were undertaken with consumers, these were supplemented by more than 100 critical incident questionnaires.

Two key WOM themes, termed “richness of message” and “strength of implied or explicit advocacy”, were identified, as well as various triggers and conditions that affect WOM occurrence.

The study was based on two kinds of qualitative research, but quantitative research is required to fully test the derived WOM model. Further, the study focused on WOM from a giver's point of view. Research into WOM from a receiver's viewpoint is also needed.

The present study suggested that WOM activity is more complex than previous research has argued. Managers should consider various WOM facets and, in particular, recognize WOM will be most favorable when it is positive, richly described and conveyed in a strong manner.

The paper developed a WOM model that incorporates these additional themes and provides a basis for future quantitative research into WOM.

In an environment in which there has been a reduction in consumer trust of both organizations and advertising, as well as a decrease in television advertising, word of mouth (WOM) offers a way to obtain a significant competitive advantage. WOM is especially important in the hospitality and tourism industry, whose intangible products are difficult to evaluate prior to their consumption. When WOM becomes digital, the large‐scale, anonymous, ephemeral nature of the Internet induces new ways of capturing, analyzing, interpreting, and managing the influence that one consumer may have on another. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of electronic WOM (eWOM) on a tourism destination choice, using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Further, an effort was employed to determine the effect of past travel experience on using eWOM and TPB constructs.

A structural equation modeling procedure was applied to the examination of the influences of eWOM on attitudes towards visiting Isfahan, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and travel intention. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was utilised in order to analysing the relations between these constructs and past travel experience. The research model was tested empirically using a sample of 296 inbound tourists who had experience within the online communities and travelled to Isfahan during the period of research.

Findings indicate that online WOM communications have a significant impact on attitudes toward visiting Isfahan, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intention to travel. In addition, travel experience has a significant impact on using eWOM and TPB constructs.

The paper suggests that eWOM activity is more complex than previous research has argued. Managers should consider various eWOM facets and try to motivate tourists for participating in online travel communities and to build online travel communities with characteristics such usefulness and ease of use.

There has been a lot of marketing research on eWOM but none has focused on covering eWOM in tourism industry and its impact on tourism destination choice by adding new dimension of eWOM to the theory of planned behavior. This paper seeks to fill this gap.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process of Chinese expatriates’ adjustment in Pakistan through integrating the U-curve model and social identity theory. It has also highlighted the importance of engaging in strong social ties and their contribution in expatriates’ adjustment.

Data were collected through semi-structured interviews from 30 Chinese expatriates working as directors, deputy directors, senior managers, managers and assistant managers in Chinese organizations in Pakistan. After verbatim transcription of all the interviews, data were analyzed using the NVivo software.

The findings of this paper indicate that expatriates’ identities somewhat changed in terms of their behaviors and work habits, while fewer changes were observed in their belief and value system. These changes were related to expatriates’ perceptions of host country groups, attraction to these groups and similarity in beliefs, which resulted in the development of interdependent beliefs and depersonalization. However, a few Chinese expatriates predominantly interacted among themselves at work, and their reduced socialization with Pakistanis lessened their chances of change.

The results of the study suggest that expatriates’ adjustment is a multi-stage process and social identity change is one of the powerful mechanisms through which they adjust in the host country’s environment; hence host organizations should facilitate expatriates in strengthening their bond with local people.

This paper has proposed a model that explains the mechanism of Chinese expatriates’ adjustment in Pakistan through improved interactions between expatriates’ and host country nationals, resulting in minor social identity changes, leading to further positive relationship building, and then major social identity changes.

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the possibilities for strategically and politically repositioning a library, despite economic hardships, for stronger relations with administration, local government, and user communities.

The paper presents a case study of Murray State University Libraries' efforts to seize the current recession to conduct capital construction planning, donor development, and political positioning for a new library facility. Additionally, the case study details some of the activities undertaken during the recession to implement a pay‐per‐view journal article process and value‐added reference services.

This case study finds that strategically repositioning a library with administration, local government, or the user community can be undertaken on either larger or smaller scales, depending on the particular circumstances in which a library operates.

While the literature is rife with papers urging libraries and librarians to undertake strategic and political repositioning efforts during economic recessions, this paper provides a holistic case study of a library successfully doing just that.

Firms tend to transfer more knowledge in technology joint ventures compared to contractual technology agreements. Using insights from new institutional economics, this chapter explores to what extent the alliance governance association with interfirm knowledge transfer is sensitive to an evolving industry norm of collaboration connected to the logic of open innovation. The chapter examines 1,888 dyad-year observations on firms engaged in technology alliances in the U.S. information technology industry during 1980–1999. Using fixed effects linear models, it analyzes longitudinal changes in the alliance governance association with interfirm knowledge transfer, and how such changes vary in magnitude across bilateral versus multipartner alliances, and across computers, telecommunications equipment, software, and microelectronics subsectors. Increases in industry-level alliance activity during 1980–1999 improved the knowledge transfer performance of contractual technology agreements relative to more hierarchical equity joint ventures. This effect was concentrated in bilateral rather than multipartner alliances, and in the software and microelectronics rather than computers and telecommunications equipment subsectors. Therefore, an evolving industry norm of collaboration may sometimes make more arms-length governance of a technology alliance a credible substitute for equity ownership, which can reduce the costs of interfirm R&D. Overall, the chapter shows that the performance of material practices that constitute innovation ecosystems, such as interfirm technology alliances, may differ over time subject to prevailing institutional norms of open innovation. This finding generates novel implications for the literatures on alliances, open innovation, and innovation ecosystems.

The role of budgets in organisations has received much attention from accounting theorists over the 20 years since Stedry's experiments on budget‐setting. In that time there has been a difference of emphasis between theorists in the United States, who have concentrated on the relation of the budget to the individual, and the European theorists, who have been more concerned with organisational aspects of budgets (Cooper, 1981). Individual and organisational aspects are not, of course, completely different: there is a considerable mutual influence between them. Nevertheless, the tradition is somewhat different, and the related discipline has in the USA tended to be psychology, whereas Europeans have tended to turn more to systems approaches to the sociology of organisations.

What makes firms innovate their business models? Why do they engage in innovating how they create, deliver, and capture value? And how does such innovation translate into innovation performance? Despite the importance of business model innovation for achieving competitive advantage, existing evidence seems to be confined to firm-level antecedents and pays little attention to the impact of industry structure. This study investigates how different stages of an industry’s life cycle and levels of industry competition affect firms’ business model innovation, and how such innovation translates into innovation performance. Based on a cross-industry sample of 1,242 Austrian firms, we introduce a unique measure for the degree of innovation in a firm’s business model. The results indicate that the degree of business model innovation is highest toward the beginning of an industry life cycle, that is, in the emergent stage. Competitive industry pressures turn out to be negatively related to the degree of business model innovation. Moreover, we find that the degree of a firm’s business model innovation, conditional on it having introduced a new product or process recently, positively influences innovation performance. Our findings contribute to the ongoing dialog on the role of industry structure in business model innovation, and provide implications for the management of business model innovation.