THE GLOCAL STRATEGY OF GLOBAL BRANDS

A few years ago, globalization was the new paradigm in international business, however from a branding perspective it has lost its initial efficiency giving the fact that consumers do not seem to feel a connection anymore with the standardized products of global corporations, catered to them in mass marketing communication programs. With their centralized decision making, most companies simply stopped having a connection with the new global marketplace and neglected its emergence. Hence, the influence of local characteristics arose, and with that a new term that encapsulates the global and the local – glocal. “Glocalization” encourages companies to “think global, act local”, and they could do so by using the global brand, while localizing certain elements of that brand in order to suit a particular country.global brands, globalization, glocal strategy, glocal marketing

MANUFACTURING SPECIALIZATION IN THE SOUTHEAST: RURAL NECESSITY, RURAL POSSIBILITY OR RURAL VESTIGE?

This paper examines three alternative explanations for manufacturing specialization in rural areas: 1) the greater efficiency of very large plants; 2) the "localization" advantages identified with a number of firms in the same industry locating near each other; or 3) a strategy to gain bargaining power by a dominant employer in the county.rural manufacturing, specialization, economies of scale, localization, monopsony, Industrial Organization,

STANDARDIZATION OR ADAPTATION IN COSMETICS WEBSITES MARKETING ? AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

The websites marketing is becoming an important tool both for multinationals and SMEs, in their effort to internationalizing their business. This study focuses on the international opportunities that are present within the European markets. The paper aims at identifying the degree of websites marketing standardization vs. adaptation, as a marketing tool for cosmetic products. Moreover, the study examines in a comparative manner the standardization strategy of multinationals and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), leaders in European markets, for different cosmetic cathegories. The evaluation of online advertising standardization is based on the modified Model for Testing Advertising Standardization, developed by Whitelock and Chung. The web sites degree of localizations are analyzed based upon 98 criteria, as resulted from an adapted methodology of ProfNet Institut fur Internet Marketing, Munster (Germany). The sample includes the 101 leaders from European markets. The research outcomes reflect a standardized websites marketing policy for SMEs and localized for multinationals. Also, for perfumes, dental care products and toiletry, European cosmetic leaders implement standardized websites marketing policies and balanced for the other cosmetics categories. The hypothesis concerning a strong correlation between standardization and handling dimension was supported.websites marketing, SME, multinationals, online interactivity, cosmetics, standardization, adaptation Romania

Knowledge-based industry and regional growth

One of the most important but less understood phenomena in the beginning of the 21st century has been a shift toward knowledge-based economic activity in the comparative advantage of modern industrialized countries. Two broad trends has been observed in the global economy. That is, the output from the world's science and technology system has been growing rapidly and the nature of investment has been changed (MILLER, 1996). The relative proportions of physical and intangible investment have changed considerably with the relative increase of intangible investments since the 1980s. In addition, there has been increased complementarity between physical and intangible investments and more important role of high technology in both kinds of investment (MILLER, 1996). Even in the newly industrialized countries, the growth of technology intensive industries, the increase of R&D activities and the growth of the knowledge intensive producer services have been common feature in recent years. In this change of the structure of productive assets, the role of knowledge is well recognized as the most fundamental resources in recent years (OECD, 1996; WORLD BANK, 1998). The development of information and communication technology (ICT) and globalisation trend have promoted this shift toward knowledge-based economy

Computational analysis of the LRRK2 interactome.

LRRK2 was identified in 2004 as the causative protein product of the Parkinson's disease locus designated PARK8. In the decade since then, genetic studies have revealed at least 6 dominant mutations in LRRK2 linked to Parkinson's disease, alongside one associated with cancer. It is now well established that coding changes in LRRK2 are one of the most common causes of Parkinson's. Genome-wide association studies (GWAs) have, more recently, reported single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) around the LRRK2 locus to be associated with risk of developing sporadic Parkinson's disease and inflammatory bowel disorder. The functional research that has followed these genetic breakthroughs has generated an extensive literature regarding LRRK2 pathophysiology; however, there is still no consensus as to the biological function of LRRK2. To provide insight into the aspects of cell biology that are consistently related to LRRK2 activity, we analysed the plethora of candidate LRRK2 interactors available through the BioGRID and IntAct data repositories. We then performed GO terms enrichment for the LRRK2 interactome. We found that, in two different enrichment portals, the LRRK2 interactome was associated with terms referring to transport, cellular organization, vesicles and the cytoskeleton. We also verified that 21 of the LRRK2 interactors are genetically linked to risk for Parkinson's disease or inflammatory bowel disorder. The implications of these findings are discussed, with particular regard to potential novel areas of investigation

The overlooked outcome measure for spinal cord injury: use of assistive devices

Although several outcome measures are used to assess various areas of interest regarding spinal cord injuries (SCIs), little is known about the frequency of their use, and the ways in which they transform shared knowledge into implemented practices. Herein, 800 professionals from the International Spinal Cord Society, especially trained for caring in patients with SCI, were invited to respond to an Internet survey collecting information on the use of standardized measures in daily clinical practices. We asked both clinicians and researchers with different areas of interest about their use of functional outcome measures, and, in particular, which scales they habitually use to assess various aspects of clinical practice and rehabilitation. We selected a set of rating scales, which were validated for measuring SCIs (http://www.scireproject.com/outcome-measures). The results show that the areas of interest assessed by most of the participants were neurological status, upper limb, lower limb gait, pain, spasticity, self-care, and daily living. The most widely used rating scales were the spinal cord independence measure, the functional independence measure and the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury. Instead, the majority of respondents did not evaluate the use of assistive technology. Despite the availability of several outcome scales, the practice of evaluating SCIs with standardized measures for assistive technologies and wheelchair mobility is still not widespread, even though it is a high priority in the rehabilitation of SCI patients. The results emphasize the need for a more thorough knowledge and use of outcome scales, thus improving the quality of assistive device evaluation