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The issue of export instability exerts an enduring fascination for economists with an interest in the area of economic development. Over several decades a voluminous literature has emerged embracing debates on the domestic consequences and on the causes of export instability. The purpose here is to examine these debates and an attempt is made to set out different theoretical stances, to classify and examine empirical findings, and to indicate the directions in which the debates have moved. Such a statement of a review article's purpose is, of course, incomplete without more specific delineation of the boundaries within which the general objectives are pursued. Here that delineation has three facets.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze merchandise trade patterns among the GCC states with the backdrop of economic diversification within these economies.

This empirical research quantitatively analyses patterns of merchandise trade among the GCC states during 1995-2015 with specific focus on concentration, diversification and similarity of (export and import) trade indices as well as diversification within GCC economies.

The paper concludes that while Bahrain merchandise export structure shows dissimilarity when compared with other GCC states during 1995 and 2015, its imports appear to be very similar with those of the rest. The other five GCC states show more similarity among themselves in both merchandise exports and imports than that of Bahrain. Only UAE has shown an increase in both concentration and diversification indices though the increased numbers are still lower than those of the other GCC states and low in absolute terms.

The GCC has embarked on economic diversification; however, there is relatively less trade within the GCC as compared with other regional trading blocks. The paper considers trade within the GCC to explore the degree of similarity, diversification and concentration of traded products of each country. Further study should analyze the impact of diversification on intra-GCC trade. The results of this paper will be of value to GCC policymakers for providing a clear rationale for boosting trade and diversification with the long-term goal of a single currency economic union.

Location decisions are among the most costly decisions that organizations make. This research aims to examine location decisions from a macro perspective and to utilize findings for the development of a typology.

County level source information from the US Census Bureau, the United States (US) Department of Commerce: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), National Association of Counties (NACO), and Fedstats is used in this analysis. Discriminant analysis as a profile analysis is utilized as an objective assessment of differences between the cluster concentrations.

The resulting typology of clusters concentrations is based on four constructs identified in the literature: innovation, specialization, complementariness and transfer of knowledge. This typology can serve as an aid in making these critical location decisions for practitioners as well as identifying future research topics for academia.

The research is an exploratory study and limited by its nature; therefore cause and effect cannot be definitively stated. Variables such as politics, environment, geography and cultural differences could have confounding effects on the study. The generalizability of the study could be affected because of the geographic location in relationship to national differences based on these and other variables.

This typology of cluster concentrations can be used as a tool for managers when making crucial location decisions.

The research is original in that it takes a more holistic approach to developing a typology of cluster concentrations. Rather than looking at specific industries and focusing on industry clusters, the research focuses on concentrations of industry clusters.

European countries, which have many common policies and goals, are also having some disparities in their economic performance due to the existence of underlying country-specific reasons. The manufacturing sector is the key sector that promotes growth and increases the well-being of society. Thus, it is important to understand how these countries differ in engaging in industrial activities. Focusing on the manufacturing sectors of these economies, we aim to see the disparities between European Union (EU) countries in terms of their composition of manufacturing trade and the countries they are trading with. This chapter outlines some key stylized facts regarding trade over the past two decades by investigating the manufacturing data for EU countries.

This study aims to redefine the urban heritage value of trade streets in Hanoi's Ancient Quarter (AQ) and propose an expanded notion of the “historicity” found through intangible cultural heritage (ICH).

A longitudinal analysis was conducted to examine the historical transitions of trade streets, thereby providing an alternative value perspective for considering the area's conservation management. The trade streets were specifically analysed from the pre-colonial era to 2017 using past survey data concerning the distribution and concentration of trade types, statistical documents from the colonial era and recent fieldwork data from investigations into 79 trade streets, thus identifying seven patterns of change.

Individual trade streets contribute to the unique identities of their respective streets while collectively providing experiential value through the overall variety and density of trade types. Further, the value of modernised trade streets can be found in their support of the area's systemic and experiential values.

Current management approaches should shift to include non-traditional trade streets that have experienced gradual changes or retained specific businesses for long periods of time.

This was the first study to conduct a longitudinal analysis of AQ trading with partial support from statistical data. It explored an expanded way of interpreting historicity from the viewpoint of dynamic ICH along the two axes of pace and intensity by tracing changes in commercial activities over time.

Increasing trade concentration in retail fields, particularly in consumer products, poses several problems for manufacturers. Among the greatest are (1) increasing retailer control of the marketplace, (2) more intense competition among sellers, (3) lack of brand availability in some markets, (4) increasingly larger promotion budgets required of manufacturers, and (5) changes in sales force personnel and activities. Some of the suggested changes in the marketing mix are (1) market investigation, (2) new distribution systems, (3) revised promotional efforts, and (4) production differentiation.

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.

This chapter deals with the estimation of the effect of exchange rate flexibility on financial account openness. The purpose of our analysis is twofold: On the one hand, we try to quantify the differences in the estimated parameters when exchange rate flexibility is treated as an exogenous regressor. On the other hand, we try to identify how two different degrees of exchange rate flexibility (intermediate vs floating regimes) affect the propensity of opening the financial account. We argue that a simultaneous determination of exchange rate and financial account policies must be acknowledged in order to obtain reliable estimates of their interaction and determinants. Using a panel data set of advanced countries and emerging markets, a trivariate probit model is estimated via a maximum simulated likelihood approach. In line with the monetary policy trilemma, our results show that countries switching from an intermediate regime to a floating arrangement are more likely to remove capital controls. In addition, the estimated coefficients exhibit important differences when exchange rate flexibility is treated as an exogenous regressor relative to the case when it is treated as endogenous.

This paper aims to focus on resistance strategies in distribution channels. The concept of resistance has received much attention in organization theory, but it has been rather neglected in corporate strategy. Only a few works dedicated to distribution channels explicitly use the notion of resistance strategy. These works provide a view of resistance as an inter-organizational phenomenon between companies (i.e. buyers and suppliers) but limit resistance strategies to merely confrontation strategies between channel members. This paper studies resistance strategies in a more open perspective considering that resistance can coexist with collaborative relationships, as part of a specific societal reality.

To capture the deep variety of resistance strategies, from the most active to the most passive, a qualitative research was carried out in France in the context of the book trade, based on 15 semi-structured interviews. The discourse analysis provides insights into the social reality of an organization and also the reality of changes in inter-organizational relationships. The interviews were conducted with 15 different companies representing a significant share of the French market.

The paper shows that channel members successfully develop resistance strategies of logistical nature, based on the efficient monitoring of flows, both inside the company (logistics rationalization) and within the supply chain (control of interfaces). Channel members who implement a logistics rationalization and a control of interfaces succeed not only in containing the power of their powerful partners but also in benefitting from new sources of profitability and improvement of customer service.

The French book trade is an illustration of the role played by logistical aspects in the power exercised by a supplier and resistance strategies that buyers develop in response as part of buyer-supplier relationships. Indeed, it is because they have a strong logistical expertise that dominant actors are capable, step by step, to place dominated actors in a situation of strong dependency, by using for that purpose their logistical means. In turn, dominated actors seek to develop logistical responses to rebalance the buyer-supplier relationships in their favor.

Examines the process of change in marketing channels and its cyclical nature. Looks at the contradictory problems of the needs of small retailers and efficient distribution, suggesting possible answers. Explores the implications of the rise of franchising for channels and the economy as a whole. Provides some current options for manufacturers to secure their marketing channels.