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The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the use of a domain-specific research instrument (the wine-related lifestyle (WRL)) to determine the different lifestyle-related wine market segments in a country and compare the findings cross-culturally.

The research instrument included 48 psychographic activities, interests and opinions (AIO) statements, plus socio-demographic, product consumption and purchasing questions. A final sample of 376 South African wine consumers was utilised, whereon exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, combined with Hough’s Euclidean test, were applied to determine the existence of clusters (segments), assign descriptions to them, and link these to product consumption data.

Five wine segments recurred when comparing wine market segmentation studies cross-culturally. This means that cross-culturally, similar types of people drink wine with similar AIOs towards wine. In the South African market, four of these segments were identified.

This study achieved a robust lifestyle-based market segmentation algorithm which can be used by researchers in different country environments for wine as a domain-specific product.

The contribution of this research is threefold in that it tested the WRL instrument in a cross-cultural context which is the first time this has been done; in the process it interpreted the wine consumer segments in South Africa for the first time; using a WRL-based (AIO) approach. The study demonstrated that market segmentation based on psychographic (lifestyle) behaviour is strengthened when supported by two additional segmentation methods, namely, socio-demographics and product involvement (purchasing and consumption).

The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the relationship between positioning strategies and bases of segmentation in international markets.

A principal component analysis was conducted to determine the major macro‐ as well as micro‐bases of segmentation that are linked with strategic positioning decision options. Further, a regression analysis was used to examine the effect of each of the segmentation bases on the different strategic positioning options used by segmentation managers.

This study suggests the combined use of both macro‐ and micro‐bases of segmentation in order to leverage similar strategic positioning across global markets. However, micro‐bases of segmentation are suggested for firms seeking differential positioning strategies.

The conceptual and empirical findings of this study pave the way for embarking on promising and relevant future research that is needed to substantiate and enrich the academic understanding and managerial practice of linking global segmentation with strategic positioning decisions. Future research should focus on the use of hybrid segmentation strategies; its logical design; implementation issues; and its evaluation mechanism.

This study provides specific empirical evidence of the relationship between strategic use of segmentation bases and strategic positioning. An effective use of the proposed framework will have various strategic marketing implications for firms; including cost efficiencies, opportunities to transfer products globally, expansion opportunities of current operation, and development of more effective brand management decisions.

The proposed global strategic segmentation and positioning matrix is a new tool that guides managers to position their brands effectively in world markets.

This study seeks to examine differences in the signals of brand quality that consumers utilize in and across different countries. The approach is driven by the practical goal of helping international firms understand how they could tailor their marketing mix to target consumers based on the particular signals of brand quality that they use in different countries.

Survey data are collected from Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Russia, Singapore, Thailand and the USA and analyzed using factor analysis to identify the signals that are used as extrinsic and intrinsic cues of brand quality in different clusters of countries. Two major dimensions of signals of quality are identified and used to generate four clusters of countries representing different beliefs in signals of brand quality.

Two major dimensions of signals of quality are identified and used to generate four clusters of countries representing different beliefs in signals of brand quality. These dimensions broadly fall in to those that can be characterized as external signals (brand popularity, retailer's name and volume of advertising) and internal signals (brand name, price and country of origin) with the eight countries clustering in terms of these signals. Thus, Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong and the USA form one cluster with Thailand and Russia forming another cluster while Indonesia and Singapore show differences in their signal preferences.

Practical implications in terms of standardization versus differentiation of marketing mix strategies are discussed. The most important implication is that differentiation of marketing strategies would seem to be advantageous contrary to the commonly held view that international firms need to standardize their marketing strategies in the face of increasing globalization and alleged consumer convergence.

This study seeks to examine differences in the signals of brand quality that consumers utilize in and across different countries.

Develops an original 12‐step management of technology protocol and applies it to 51 applications which range from Du Pont’s failure in Nylon to the Single Online Trade Exchange for Auto Parts procurement by GM, Ford, Daimler‐Chrysler and Renault‐Nissan. Provides many case studies with regards to the adoption of technology and describes seven chief technology officer characteristics. Discusses common errors when companies invest in technology and considers the probabilities of success. Provides 175 questions and answers to reinforce the concepts introduced. States that this substantial journal is aimed primarily at the present and potential chief technology officer to assist their survival and success in national and international markets.

The purpose of this study is to provide an insight into the adoption process of mobile internet (M-internet) among bottom-of-the-pyramid (BoP) customers.

An empirical survey was used to test the proposed hypotheses. Data were collected from a total of 387 BoP customers from Bangladesh. PLS-SEM was applied to test the proposed model.

The findings in this study reveal that BoP customers’ life satisfaction, internet literacy, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use significantly influence a customer’s intention to use M-internet, while these relationships are partially mediated by the attitude toward M-internet. Furthermore, price perception was found to directly influence intention to use M-internet and to have a positive moderating effect on the relationship between attitude toward M-internet and intention to use M-internet. Also, intention to use M-internet was found to have a significant influence on BoP customer’s M-internet adoption behavior.

The findings of this study help to understand what drives and impedes the M-Internet adoption behavior of BoP customers in a developing country like Bangladesh.

This is the first study that incorporated BoP customers’ life satisfaction and internet literacy to investigate the BoP customers’ adoption process of M-internet in the context of developing countries. Overall, this study contributes to the limited literature regarding the BoP customers’ M-internet adoption behavior. The results of this study will help the M-internet service providers of Bangladesh and other similar developing countries to understand the BoP customer’s adoption process regarding M-internet to create successful policies and strategies both for the service providers and policymakers.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic comparison of the level of business diversification in China and eight other large economies for the 2001‐2005 period. The reasons why publicly listed Chinese firms are more diversified than companies elsewhere are investigated.

Data were collected on the number of business segments in which publicly traded companies operate from the Thomson One Banker database and analyzed using non‐parametric tests and regression analysis.

The mean number of business segments per firm varies significantly by country. Notably, there is no evidence in the authors' sample that emerging‐market companies are systematically more diversified than their developed‐market counterparts. In most countries, firms have become less diversified over time. However, there is no such trend in China. The level of diversification of Chinese enterprises does not vary over the authors' study period (2001‐2005), making Chinese firms the most diversified in the sample by 2005. China's growth rate does not seem to explain the higher level of firm diversification. However, the authors find that Chinese state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) diversify their operations more aggressively than other Chinese firms.

Ownership data and business group affiliations were not available for all firms in the sample, making it difficult to control for these effects across economies. The study's findings are limited to publicly traded firms.

Government involvement in SOEs may be contributing to a divergence in the pattern of business diversification between China and other economies.

This paper quantifies anecdotal evidence that Chinese firms are more diversified than similar firms in other countries.

Terrorism is the new normal for tourism destinations, as the acts of terror that are performed in tourism zones ensure maximum international media coverage for such acts of terror. The frequency of acts of terror has led to the development of crisis resistant tourists, a segment of tourists that continue tourism consumption even when acts of terrorism occur. The tourism industry is negatively impacted by crises, but it has proved to be resilient, bouncing back from a temporary decline. Crisis resistant tourists have increased the robustness of tourist destinations, as almost all destinations have jumped on the tourism bandwagon. Increasingly, countries depend on the tourism industry for economic growth, economic diversification, labour-intensive jobs and attracting foreign exchange, and therefore acts of terrorism can be regarded as economic espionage. African countries still receive less than 10% of international tourism receipts, as the majority of tourism occurs between developed countries in the West. As a consequence, developing countries benefit disproportionally less from tourism. The growth rate for African tourism has exceeded global growth averages and has been included in economic development policies in many African countries.

Terrorism in Kenya's tourism industry has had an adverse impact on tourism numbers and perception about destination Kenya. Several acts of terrorism have capacitated Kenya with institutional memory on how to handle acts of terrorism on Kenya's tourism industry. Kenya is arguably one of the leading countries in tourism in the African continent alongside South Africa, Egypt and Mauritius. In addition, Kenya Airways has used the national airport in Nairobi as a growing aviation hub connecting Africa with the world. As one of Africa's top tourist destinations, Kenya has to address the issue of terrorism. The perceptions of foreign tourists, including Kenyans, are that the country is not safe anymore. As recent as early 2019, another terrorism attack took place in Kenya. This continued to strain an industry that is already under siege. It needs to be borne in mind that a country of Kenya's calibre cannot afford to lose tourists. This is because tourism plays a significant role in enhancing the livelihood of ordinary Kenyans. Additionally, it plays a pivotal role in the country's economy. Kenya provides an example of a destination country which has been able to mitigate the effects of terrorism in the tourism industry. The Atlantic Island of St. Helena, a British Overseas territory, recently constructed an airport in Jamestown to boost trade and specifically tourism to the island, to alleviate financial support from Britain to the island. The island is an unexploited dark tourism destination, as the site of freed slaves after the abolition of the Atlantic Slave trade, the exile site for Napoleon and Zulu Royalty Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo and an overseas concentration camp for the Boers after the Anglo-Boer War. The opening of the airport has created the necessary infrastructure to attract tourists to the island, and the unique selling point of the island is that it is the last outpost of British Imperialism. The island would need to exploit its dark tourism potential by appealing to the British, the South Africans and specifically heritage tourists, due to its unique offering.

Purpose: COVID-19 pandemic is among the most important events of the 21st Century. Its global character and the multi-dimensional fallouts it has on communities worldwide further increase the importance of the pandemic. During the period of more than one year since the declaration of the pandemic, the communities failed to provide a lasting solution other than the face masks, social distance, and hygiene. Failure to fight the pandemic with considerable success subsequently raised the topic of revising the policymakers’ previous predictions at the start of the pandemic based on incomplete information. So, the calendar put forward for the pandemic went forward day by day, and the authorities who failed to adopt a prudent approach were obliged to pay increasingly higher costs for their mistakes. In the chapter, the financial and economic effects of the pandemic in selected countries are examined. While examining the policies followed in these countries, in terms of fiscal stimulus packages and monetary expansion packages, it is aimed to shed light on the pandemic experience in the Turkish economy and to develop policy recommendations. Thus the persistence of the pandemic pushes all countries to update their current policies and seek new methods. This chapter aims to examine developed and emerging economies in the covid-19 era that have implemented policies to struggle with the pandemic and whose policy framework can be accessed.

Methodology: To do this we carried out a literature review of the Economic and Fiscal Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic during 2020 and early 2021.

Findings: Countries like the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany are believed to have taken strong measures to minimize the damages on the economy due to the pandemic, while other countries like Russia, India, and Brazil are deemed to have mounded new policies within the framework of their internal dynamics. One should also note that, in addition to the individual efforts of each European country, the European Union has also played a decisive role in the policies of its member states for crisis management institutionally.

There is a stream of literature highlighting the enormous growth potential of emerging markets. This literature forms the basis for strategic investment decisions made by multinational corporations (MNCs). Seeking to question the findings of this literature, this paper aims to undertake a comparison of the BRIC countries with that of Germany as a representative mature market to put into perspective the short to medium‐term market potential of BRIC markets.

An analysis of the geographical investment priorities of 25 DAX multinationals operating in the real economy and a statistical comparison of market size and growth between BRIC countries and Germany are undertaken.

While the majority of the DAX companies examined focused their strategic investment priorities on emerging markets, the short‐ to mid‐term revenue potential of the BRIC countries – currently the most important emerging markets – are expected to be lower in absolute terms than those for mature markets such as Germany. This holds true on several levels of granularity, such as GPD per capita, size and growth of high‐income market segments.

The considerable “hype” surrounding focusing investment on emerging markets needs closer scrutiny. Further research is required to subject the reasons behind the strategic investments of MNCs in BRIC countries to more detailed analysis. This encompasses, for example, a closer consideration of the extent to which messages from the company reports might not reflect true strategic priorities but rather represent a means of public relations or tactical ploys. Next, the impact of real long‐term expectations and potential bandwagon effects require further study. Finally, a comprehensive theoretical model placing emerging market growth into a broader perspective has yet to be developed.

Decision makers in business, government and NGOs should not be misled by the “hype” surrounding emerging markets. In many industries, BRIC countries do and will provide smaller markets when compared to mature markets like Germany.

Direct comparison of market growth in the BRIC countries and that in Germany reveals greater short‐ to medium‐term absolute growth potential in Germany, a fact often ignored by current literature on international growth strategies and not reflected in the growth priorities published by German DAX companies.

The purpose of this study is to examine the role and influence of online reviewers’ cultural traits and perceived experience on online review ratings of Russian hotels by taking a direct measurement approach.

The authors adopt an explanatory sequential research design consisting of two stages. In the first stage, based on a sample of almost 75,000 Booking.com online reviews covering hotels located in Moscow (Russia), this study examines quantitatively to what extent the cultural traits of online reviewers and hotel guests’ perceived experience in online reviewing affect online ratings also using censored regressions. In the second stage, it interprets the results in light of semi-structured interviews conducted with a convenience sample of managers.

Each of the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (namely, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and power distance) exerts a significantly negative influence on the hotel online ratings. More specifically, the higher the levels of individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and power distance, the lower the hotel’s online ratings. Reviewers’ perceived experience in online reviewing is negatively related to online ratings.

The study’s findings bear relevant practical implications for hotel managers and online platform managers in countries that are not typically covered by online consumer behavior studies in hospitality such as Russia. From a theoretical viewpoint, this study contributes to cultural studies in hospitality management and marketing with a further development of the nascent research stream taking a direct measurement approach to the study of cultural influences on consumers’ behaviors. Furthermore, this study offers a better and in-depth understanding of the role of cultural traits on electronic word of mouth, as well as international market segmentation theory in online settings.

The conjoint exploration of the effects of cultural differences and perceived experience in online reviewing adds to the nascent research stream taking a direct measurement approach to the study of the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions on online consumers’ behaviors. The authors make multiple theoretical and methodological contributions, highlighting that online hospitality customers cannot be considered as one homogeneous mass. Instead, the application of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions allows identifying distinctively different online behaviors across international online customers: different online customer groups can be clustered into segments, as they display different online behaviors and give different online evaluations.