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The aim of the chapter is to highlight the limits and opportunities linked to the use of tools such as interactive marketing and communication in small creative businesses comprising Italian jewellery districts to achieve greater competitiveness of local systems on global markets.

From secondary data and the analysis of district websites, the specificity of Italian jewellery districts is analysed in terms of relational and learning differences. Starting from a circumscribed (isolated), experience of hands-on learning, it is suggested that systemic progress can be made within a collective local system of learning (i.e. a virtuous and widespread knowledge of the district system) by virtue of internet-based technologies (IBT). In this respect, the chapter evidences how the productive and creative specificity of Italian jewellery district systems can gain impetus, in terms of greater competitiveness, from the use of IBT.

In some regions including the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region where construction is one of the main industries, the implementation of BIM is still at a slow rate. This article attempts to know the current situation of BIM and explore the challenges in the BIM implementation in the GCC construction industry.

A mixed research approach that includes a systematic literature review and a survey questionnaire was adopted to achieve the aim of this research. For the systematic review, four main databases were search considering a period of 2010–2019 to identify the main challenges in the BIM implementation. A total of 39 different challenges from 47 documents were classified into four main categories. A structured questionnaire developed on these challenges was sent to 206 selected from the top construction organizations from all over the GCC region.

A total of 39 different challenges from 47 documents were classified into four main categories. The respondents for the questionnaire were selected from the top construction organization from all over the GCC region. A large number of the respondents (69.79%) reported that their organizations are planning for BIM implementation in their future projects. The results show that top challenges fall under the main categories of “Organization”, “Technical”, “Government and Legal” and “Environment”.

While the paper provides an overview of BIM in a global context, however, the dynamics and maturity of the construction industry in different regions are quite different from each other. Since the data collected in this research is from the GCC region, the results are more relevant to the GCC region.

The finding of this research identifies the main challenges which GCC construction is facing in the implementation of BIM. The finding will, therefore, be useful for the key stakeholders to develop strategies to overcome these challenges and pave the road to take the advantages of BIM implementation in construction.

The BIM implementation in the GCC construction industry will not only improve the performance of the industry but will also open the doors for new opportunities and employment. The BIM implementation in construction will help the region to achieve Goal 9 (industrial innovation and improved infrastructure) of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The results of this study help to understand the overall situation including the challenges in the BIM implementation in the GCC construction industry. This study will be helpful for all the stakeholders to develop strategies for the effective implementation of BIM in the GCC construction industry.

The following is an introductory profile of the fastest growing firms over the three-year period of the study listed by corporate reputation ranking order. The business activities in which the firms are engaged are outlined to provide background information for the reader.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the way in which brand positioning elements are manifested in the business‐to‐business (B2B) online environment.

The UK print industry is used to investigate the web site elements used to communicate positioning elements through the content analysis of corporate web pages of 30 UK print suppliers.

A framework is developed to show how web site communications are manifested in the online B2B environment.

Because the research vehicle is a sample of websites from only one industry the findings may not be transferable to all industries nor to the whole industry. However, the model is a useful framework for helping managers to plan their online communications.

The paper concludes by giving recommendations about how the framework can be used by practitioners in order to improve the linkage between communications messages and the means for transferring these messages.

This is a novel approach to examining branding elements in the online environment. Comparatively little literature exists which examines branding in the online B2B environment.

This paper aims to analyse the practical applicability of integrated marketing communications (IMC) to micro-organisations operating in the UK’s fashion industry, focusing specifically on the use of online platforms.

Qualitative methodological tools including semi-structured interviews, semiotics, Twitterfeed and Facebook analysis are used to examine to what extent micro-organisations apply IMC.

The findings suggest that these micro-organisations have a limited understanding of IMC. Although they utilise various channels, including social media, there is a disconnect between reaching the audience, understanding their needs and linking these aspects. External factors influence the use of various communication channels, leading to further fragmentation of sent messages.

This research focuses on five micro-organisations within the fashion industry and thus may be seen as limited in nature. Whilst implications of the findings are discussed in terms of their impact to the wider industry and other sectors, this needs to be further researched.

Micro-organisations are underdeveloped in terms of both IMC and social media and require practical advice.

This study investigates two under-researched areas, IMC in micro-organisations and the use of social media within IMC, thereby moving forward our understanding of IMC in practice.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how the 106 largest banks in the world use their corporate websites for corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication, identifying CSR communication patterns by continent.

An analysis of the location of CSR information on the banks’ corporate websites, a longitudinal analysis of the publication of CSR reports by the banks from 2000 to 2012, and a content analysis of the most current CSR reports in the recent period of study were undertaken.

Three-quarters of the banks communicate on CSR issues on their corporate website – either located in the section “About Us” or under a separate “CSR” heading which is directly accessible on the front homepage. Company reports published on the website are the most important vehicle for CSR communication. Their publication increased from six for the publication year 2000 to a peak of 63 reports for the year 2011. The reports’ titles are most commonly linked to the concepts of “responsibility” or “sustainability” and refer to ten main stakeholders and topics. In a comparison between continents there is a difference in the use of titles: European banks prefer the title “Sustainability Report”, while Asian and American banks in particular prefer the title “CSR Report”.

The paper focuses on corporate communications, and therefore does not address perspectives on CSR communication from other disciplines. Within CSR communication, sources of CSR-related information other than the corporate websites have not been considered.

This paper gives the first comprehensive picture of the trend in CSR communication on corporate websites in the global banking sector.

The purpose of this study is to examine how corporate communication of their social programs on their websites affects the ratings of those programs by independent rating agencies. Firms expend resources on corporate social programs (CSPs) to promote their corporate social responsibility and sustainability credentials. Stakeholders, however, often respond to such “self-promotion” with skepticism because they believe that there are inconsistencies between corporate claims and actions. This research draws on attribution theory as a framework to examine how the perceived CSP performance of firms by uncontrollable sources are affected when firms disseminate CSP information on firm websites, i.e. a controllable source, where their claims may not be verifiable.

This study uses a two-step, mixed method study for the analysis using data from Fortune 500 companies. A qualitative content analysis process identifies the interfaces of CSP and their communications on firms’ website. The process allows the authors to collect CSP data systematically from firm websites and to identify relevant variables through the patterns that emerge from the analysis. The findings are used in a quantitative analysis to study how the patterns underlying CSP communication on their websites affect the ratings of firms’ CSP by independent rating agencies.

Results show that the location, the manner, the content and the scope of CSP information dissemination on firm websites, as well as perceived commitment to CSP identified on the website are important drivers of perceived CSP performance. A robustness check using an alternative independent rating of CSP also provides results that are supportive of the findings. In addition, the effects are found to differ by sector of operation, firm age and profitability.

This research suggests that communication of CSPs at controllable sources of firm information dissemination can have a significant effect on the evaluation of CSP at uncontrollable sources when such communication facilitates the assessment of other information from a firm to determine the motive underlying a firm’s CSP.

The findings show that firms and managers can influence the perceived ratings, rankings or scores of their CSP by stakeholders when they put the right information at the right place on their corporate websites. One of the findings shows that even moderate levels of CSP commitment demonstrated on firm websites result in positive perceptions of CSP, which has marked practical implications.

The findings show that integrating even a medium level of commitment to CSP increases the positive perceptions of a firm’s CSP. Thus, society benefits from the firm’s action without a substantial impact on the firm’s profits.

This research shows that firm-controlled sources of CSP information dissemination to stakeholders can affect uncontrollable sources of CSP information evaluation.

This paper examines a New Zealand website, nzgirl.co.nz, in order to theorise the Internet as a communication tool, the Internet as a marketplace and the Internet as a public sphere. As a communication tool, the Internet serves to foster electronic relationships. A key concept discussed in the context of electronic relationships is interactivity. Within the second section of the paper, the role of public relations practitioners in identity and brand building form the discussion of the electronic marketplace. In particular, the importance of an integrated marketing communications approach to Internet branding is examined. One of the central issues of electronic public relations is the potential role of the Internet as a public arena of the public sphere. In this paper, the role of websites in discursive development, social and political identity formation and the evolution of a sense of community is considered.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.