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This paper revisits Bartlett and Ghoshal’s transnational theory of the MNC in relation to multi-domestic MNCs. We argue that the aggregate level of analysis adopted by Bartlett and Ghoshal is unhelpful for identifying significant changes in multi-domestic MNCs at the level of discrete functions. We argue that a more disaggregated level of analysis is required. Our analysis of two cases of multi-domestic MNCs that have undertaken the global integration of their locally distributed purchasing functions indicates that while significant change to the purchasing function has occurred, at the aggregate level both MNCs remain multi-domestic. In both cases the decision to integrate local purchasing was regarded as having more obvious benefits than integrating other functions such as marketing. While both of our case multi-domestic MNCs may in future choose to integrate other functions and develop into full-fledged transnational companies we argue that there is no inevitability to this. Indeed global integration may cease with the purchasing function. A second theme in this paper is that we argue that Bartlett and Ghoshal’s transnational theory has a biased view of what constitutes effective governance mechanisms for achieving global integration, local responsiveness and worldwide learning and that it would greatly benefit from a more balanced application of hierarchical and relational governance mechanisms.

Internet + and Electronic Business in China is a comprehensive resource that provides insight and analysis into E-commerce in China and how it has revolutionized and continues to revolutionize business and society. Split into four distinct sections, the book first lays out the theoretical foundations and fundamental concepts of E-Business before moving on to look at internet+ innovation models and their applications in different industries such as agriculture, finance and commerce. The book then provides a comprehensive analysis of E-business platforms and their applications in China before finishing with four comprehensive case studies of major E-business projects, providing readers with successful examples of implementing E-Business entrepreneurship projects.

Internet + and Electronic Business in China is a comprehensive resource that provides insights and analysis into how E-commerce has revolutionized and continues to revolutionize business and society in China.

The term ‘strategy’ is one of the most frequently used terms in business, and its application in marketing is particularly common. Company strategy, market strategy, marketing strategy, sales strategy, promotion strategy, distribution strategy, low pricing strategy – it would take a long time to list all of them. Although this term is so commonly in use, its definition is not as straightforward and it can be interpreted in different ways. In comparison with tactical decisions, strategy is much more significant for an organisation as it brings long-lasting consequences. It is implemented by higher level managers on a regular basis, and it is based on external, often subjective information, so decisions – especially at the time they are made – are difficult to evaluate.

Taking into consideration the fact that strategy refers to a long-term rather than a short-term period, strategic decisions serve as the basis for undertaking operational activities. However, marketing refers to the market and the competition. It is possible to claim that marketing strategy is trying to find an answer to the question to which path an organisation should follow in order to achieve its goals and objectives. If, for example, a company has a goal to generate a profit of PLN 1 million by selling 100,000 pieces of a product, the market strategy should answer at least the following two questions:

1. Who will be our target group, for example, who will purchase the 100,000 pieces of the product?

2. Why is it us from whom a potential buyer should purchase the product?

Who will be our target group, for example, who will purchase the 100,000 pieces of the product?

Why is it us from whom a potential buyer should purchase the product?

The target market will be defined if a reply to the first question is provided. The second question identifies the foundations of competitive advantage. These two issues, that is, target market and competitive advantage are the strategic marketing issues. You cannot change your target group unexpectedly while competitive advantage is the basis for changing decisions regarding prices, promotions and sales.

This chapter describes the measures of marketing activities which refer to strategic aspects and testify a company’s market position – the measures of the performance of target groups and competitive advantage. Readers’ attention should be also focused on the indices that are less popular in Poland and, therefore, may be underestimated. It seems that some of them, for example, the index of marketing resources allocation and the marketing risk index, provide a lot of valuable information and, at the same time, make it possible to show the value of marketing investments. Their wider use in the near future is only a matter of time.

The objective of this chapter is to understand innovative processes of resource redeployment taking place during consumption. We label this as consumer entrepreneurship. We define consumer entrepreneurship as the process of sharing and recombining resources innovatively to seek opportunities for self-creating user value. Through the illustration of heterogeneous forms of consumer peer-to-peer sharing, we argue that consumer entrepreneurship: (1) differs ontologically from a view of entrepreneurship as creation of exchange value; (2) bridges the notion, established in marketing studies, of consumers as value creators with the field of entrepreneurship; (3) develops mostly when the process of sharing is regulated informally, based on trust relationships; and (4) thrives as groups of sharing consumers discover and enact their values through the experimentation of multiple forms of product and service procurement. On the basis of these points, consumer entrepreneurship contributes to provide a novel perspective on hybrid organizations, that is, a view of hybrid organizations as everyday spaces where consumers create heterogeneous forms of (utilitarian, social, or environmental) value that they personally use as opposed to reward exchanges. Relative to the current definition of hybrid organizations (Pache & Santos, 2013) and organizing (Battilana & Lee, 2014), we argue that consumer entrepreneurship helps better explain “why, when, and how” consumers increasingly engage in peer-to-peer sharing organizations – a fledging and still underexplored way of organizing consumption worldwide.

This chapter reviews emergent research streams as a basis for a dynamic multilevel perspective on organizational buying behavior that can link seminal studies to more contemporary issues raised by managers and scholars alike. Since Johnston and Lewin's (1996) review, the literature does not include a comprehensive analysis of recent themes or general directions. From a managerial perspective, some of these issues that need coverage include the following questions. What are the best practices for integrating the organizational buying process with product design, development, and innovation? How can technology, media, and automation be leveraged in the buying process? For supplier relationships in which trust and commitment have been established, what are the best practices for using this to build competitive advantage? What are the best practices for leveraging the brands of products or services that are not owned by a firm? What are the best practices for managing buying processes across international markets?

This paper investigates the impact of peer-to-peer networks that promote the unauthorized downloading of MP3 files exert on the recording industry. Although Napster was the most famous of these systems, its progeny have continued to allow millions of music listeners to download music (and other) files without remuneration to the copyright owners. Economic theory does not allow us to determine what the impact of such downloading will be. Using data on the historical sales of prerecorded music I examine in detail the recent decline in record sales and attempt to gauge the importance of various factors that have been put forward to explain this decline. My conclusion is that the evidence is most consistent with a claim that MP3 downloads decrease sales. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether the damage to the industry will be fatal.

In recent years, many new and interesting business models for Internet-based selling have emerged with the advent of electronic commerce, one of which is the Internet-based group-buying. Since group-buying can be quickly built and removed, and the consumers can pay a lower price for the product through it, the group-buying can be a new online promotion form. In this chapter we build up a two-period pricing model for a supply chain when a supply chain member utilizes group-buying program to promote its products. In detail, we consider a supply chain consisting of a supplier and a retailer, where the supplier or retailer may launch a group-buying program to promote the products via a group-buying web site in the promotion period (i.e., the first period), as well as the supplier may sell its products through the retailer traditionally in both periods. Utilizing game theory, we derive the equilibrium decisions of the two supply chain members in three different scenarios, that is, (i) there is no group-buying program, (ii) the supplier launches a group-buying program, and (iii) the retailer launches a group-buying program. Analysis of the equilibrium decisions illustrates the following results: (i) both, the supplier and the retailer, will set low prices in the promotion period and high prices in the regular period; (ii) this trend will be enhanced when a group-buying program occurs, especially when such program is launched by the supplier; (iii) while the retailer can always benefit from a group-buying program, the supplier’s profit may be reduced under certain conditions; and (iv) in spite of the fact that the supplier’s profit may be damaged by the group-buying program, when the two supply chain members decide to launch a group-buying program, the unique equilibrium is that the supplier will launch such a program.

Enhanced revenue mobilization is essential in developing countries such as South Africa. However, it is inevitably a complex process, both from economic and political perspectives. Increasing the rate of value-added tax (VAT) has been identified as one option to increase tax revenue, although the likely effect of VAT rate changes on tax compliance behaviour is undetermined. This study considers the impact of such a change on the tax compliance behaviour of small business entities. In order to address the impact of VAT rate changes on tax compliance behaviour, a between-subjects pre-test/post-test online field experiment was conducted and designed to identify the implications of rate changes of various directions and magnitude.

Statistical analysis of the data obtained from the experiment indicated that small business entities are inclined to reduce the VAT liability when there is an increase in the VAT rate, and to do so by overstating purchases rather than under-declaring sales. This leads to an increase in non-compliance. The greater the magnitude of the VAT rate increase, the greater the level of non-compliance. In contrast, no significant relationships were identified between a decrease in the VAT rate and tax compliance.