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Vertical integration across three different types of economies and selected industries is studied to trace historical, political, and economic influences on the evolution of vertically integrated structures. Specifically, the focus in this article is on the industrial development that took place in Germany, the UK, Japan and the USA. The role of a domestic market, colony markets, and attempts to become a dominant colonizer all play a significant role in the development of various industries, and the efficiency levels that they attained. The role of government, the level of international competition, and other integration drivers salient in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are also discussed. A broad view of structural and contextual forces provides a better understanding of why certain industries chose to integrate the way they did.

The article examines trends in the market power relationship between UK grocery manufacturers and retailers over the past 10‐15 years. It identifies the underlying causes of trends in this area, the implications for consumer welfare, and the legislative framework relating to these relations. Contributory factors to the changed market‐power relationship are relative manufacturer and retailer firm size and market share, individual manufacturing firm market dependence upon particular retailers, information technology, private label merchandise and product development activities, logistics arrangements and other vertical links between manufacturers and retailers. Aspects of welfare economics are examined as a basis for assessing consumer outcomes in this area, and past and present government legislation in the matter is considered, together with some reference to international comparisons. A case is made for some further strengthening of the relevant legislation in the UK.

This paper examined the explanatory power of a set of acquisition factors and the ability of decision makers to utilize these factors within the context of corporate takeover decisions using multiple regression and correlation techniques. The acquisition factors included size of cash flow, level of technological advancement, marketing techniques, and management expertise in strategic planning. The results indicate that the size of cash flow, management expertise in strategic planning and vertical marketing systems are significant factors in acquisition decisions.

The purpose of this paper is to explain why some real estate companies choose to have a vertically integrated structure, instead of specializing in only stage of the production chain.

The first stage of the research was an extensive literature review to generate hypotheses. A case study method was then chosen, as more detailed knowledge about the companies were judged to be needed to evaluate the different hypothesis. Documents about the companies were studied and interviews carried out.

In the studies cases, there is no support for theories related to vertical integration as a way to monopolize a market and only marginal support for theories that focus on contracting problems related to the so called hold up problem. The most important factors for the companies were that vertical integration gives information and more options that are important in small number bargaining situations. The companies bargaining power increases when they are better informed about, e.g. costs and profits in nearby activities, and when they can use in-house units, if there are problems to find reasonable conditions on the outside market.

The main limitation is that only three cases were studied.

The study can be helpful both to companies that choose to integrate vertically and those that chose not to. There are similar problems related to information and bargaining power that needs to be handled.

This is the first study that test theories about vertical integration in the real estate sector.

Customers in business-to-business markets are sellers of goods and services on their own. Thus, business-to-business suppliers may exert an influence on their customers’ buying decisions when performing marketing activities toward the customers of the customers by employing the concept of “multistage marketing”. Multi-stage marketing involves all sales-related measures which are aimed at the subsequent market stages (“customers of the customer”) which follow one or several primary customers in order to influence the buying behavior of these primary customers. Although the positive impacts of such activities are known, business-to-business companies often exclude the customers further along in the downstream supply chain from their marketing plans. But in a business-to-business context, the demand is always derived from buying decisions made further down the supply chain. The primary customers buy products or services because they want to use them – directly or indirectly – for either the production or the sale of other goods and services. Hence, derived demand, which can be traced to the end-user's primary demand, can be seen as the basis of multistage marketing.

The most common form of multistage marketing is ingredient (co-)branding, which occurs when a marketer providing an ingredient or component to an OEM advertises the ingredient to the customer of the assembled product. In addition to ingredient branding, this chapter identifies several other forms of multistage marketing and examines the underlying dimensions and processes of the phenomenon. The design of a marketing strategy using the concept of multistage marketing and its preconditions are discussed on a theoretical basis and are illustrated through concrete examples. The chapter provides a number of best practice examples in order to elucidate the issues concerning multistage marketing and its application in a company's marketing strategy serving business-to-business markets.

To investigate the influence of national or sub‐national culture and company size on inter‐firm cooperation in marketing among cluster‐based firms, with specific respect to the salmon‐farming industry.

Case study analysis of data collected from semi‐structured personal interviews with senior managers in two samples of different sized companies, located in industry clusters within Scotland and Chile.

Small firms in this industry in Scotland are more proactive in building inter‐firm cooperation, for international marketing activities. National culture has only a limited effect on the level inter‐firm cooperation, but sub‐national culture in distinctive communities can enhance it.

Though the samples were representative and the data rich, this was designed to be a qualitative, exploratory study. Further research is indicated.

The findings shed light on strategies for the enhancement of formal and informal social networks as a route to effective inter‐firm cooperation in marketing, of particular value marketers in small‐and‐medium sized enterprises. They may also be of interest to public bodies, with respect to the role of trade associations.

This industry makes a substantial contribution to the rural and regional economies of both the countries. The findings and conclusions are potentially useful to marketing researchers and planners in aquaculture, and may be transferable to other industries and locations.

To achieve a full understanding of the role of marketing from plan to profit requires a knowledge of the basic building blocks. This textbook introduces the key concepts in the art or science of marketing to practising managers. Understanding your customers and consumers, the 4 Ps (Product, Place, Price and Promotion) provides the basic tools for effective marketing. Deploying your resources and informing your managerial decision making is dealt with in Unit VII introducing marketing intelligence, competition, budgeting and organisational issues. The logical conclusion of this effort is achieving sales and the particular techniques involved are explored in the final section.

A slowed rate of market growth, industrial over‐capacity, increased competition: these are just three “trend drivers” towards relationship marketing. Philip Kotler, one of the world’s leading marketing thinkers, has brought the philosophy of relationship marketing to bear on a key issue for marketing strategies, that of customer retention.

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether one can infer the identities of specific business and management coursework topics that owner/managers of wineries want to have addressed by a wine industry‐specific educational institution by assessing upstream and downstream vertical integration strategies of their respective wineries.

Exploratory empirical research involves the gathering of relevant information by way of telephone interviews and using closed end questions. The theory of the resource‐based view (RBV) of the firm is the theoretical framework that was employed in developing relevant hypotheses.

The results demonstrate that one can predict the types of business and management courses that owner/managers of wineries want to have offered by assessing realized upstream and/or downstream vertical integration strategies of their respective wineries.

The research creates a bridge between research involving the RBV and the identification of needs of persons in various parts of the wine value chain. Such persons might either become involved in conceiving and/or rendering wine industry‐specific business and management instruction, or benefit by taking business coursework that has been established as relevant for them by this research.

Spotlights the principal emphasis of this study as descriptions of the present state and indicators of change in US channel structure. Follows this by speculating briefly about future trends in this structure and its relevance for UK business. Looks ahead to future developments and makes comparisons with the UK in regard to recent developments in US distribution patterns – particularly changing power relationships between institutions. States that though only UK sources have been available for use here, the trends in the US economy should be able to be described with sufficient detail. Concludes that there are lessons for the UK market in dealing with the USA and these should be used.