Successful Operating Strategies in the Performance of U.S.-China Joint Ventures

Evaluations of the performance of international joint ventures (IJVs) in China have produced mixed conclusions. This study sought to uncover performance criteria used by various groups of managers and to identify critical factors in IJV performance in China. Using in-depth case studies, matched data were collected from personal interviews with managers from Chinese and U.S. parent companies, joint venture operating managers from both partners, and government officials from both countries. The performance criteria used by joint venture participants appear to be converging, with profitability emerging as the dominant element. This exploratory study uncovered four important strategic factors in the performance of large, established U.S.-China manufacturing joint ventures. These are controlling decision making, establishing a sales network, retaining interpartner learning, and influencing government officials. The results suggest that the importance of decision-making control is moderated by size of the venture and nationality. Whether the IJV is a part of the government\u27s National Plan also appears to be an important contingency. Managerial implications and directions for future research are provided

Origins and Development of the Product Life Cycle Concept

Underpinnings and recognition of the product life cycle concept are found in the writings of sociologists, anthropologists, economists, and marketers of the last two centuries. The fashion cycle and advertising spiral are antecedents of the well-known graphic form of the PLC that has been discussed for the last forty years

Perceptions of personal risk in tourists’ destination choices: nature tours in Mexico

Terrorism, pandemic diseases, and other threatening events have recently heightened the sense of personal risk for tourists considering international travel. This article addresses the paucity of research assessing perceptions of risk both before and during travel to risky destinations. Tourists on two nature tours in Mexico were interviewed and observed while engaged in the travel. Many types of specific perceived risks were uncovered, including insect-borne disease, traffic accidents, financial losses, and unattained goals. Some correlates of perceived risk were tour company reputation, stage of family life cycle, age, and motivation. Based on the types of perceived risk and the factors, five propositions are discussed. One unexpected proposition addresses the role of age and states that as the perceived years of physical ability to travel decreases, the tolerance for safety risk increases. Another proposes that eco-tourists with intense, destination- specific motivations are more tolerant of travel risk than those with casual and/or social motivations. The article concludes with suggestions for tour industry managers and directions for future research

High-versus Low-Context National Cultures: Preferences for Type of Retailer and for Human Interaction

A purpose of this research is to investigate differences between low-and high-context national cultures in retail settings. In particular, we examined cultural differences in preference for human interaction while shopping, emotional warmth characteristics, perception of quality service, and retail channel preferences. As businesses more frequently employ multi-channel strategies in global settings, this topic of national culture gains importance and can shed light on key factors that shape consumers\u27 retail preferences. Our findings indicate that national cultures differ in terms of retail channel preferences, preference for human interaction, and relationships between the two. Managerial implications and future research are addressed, as well as our study\u27s limitations

Learning through International Strategic Alliances: Processes and Factors that Enhance Marketing Strategy Effectiveness

Intensified competitive, technological, and market pressures have made organizational learning a critical imperative in global strategy effectiveness. Firms can learn through experience and from three processes that involve other firms: imitation, grafting, and synergism. Interpartner learning has become critical, since experiential learning is insufficient for most firms. Responds to calls for a broadened role of marketing and synthesizes and extends research from organization behaviour and strategic management to the field of marketing to fuel further academic inquiry. Based on an extension of Chandler′s strategy‐structure‐performance paradigm, develops propositions on how the environment, organizational culture, strategy, and structure can affect a company′s use of interpartner learning and its effectiveness in learning through strategic alliances. Provides several managerial implications to help improve marketers′ abilities to compete effectively in today′s dynamic, global business environment

Education in Ecolodges in Panama and Costa Rica

Education of tourists at nature-based lodges can significantly affect their awareness, understanding, appreciation, and appropriate values and behaviors regarding the natural environment and the local community. This research seeks to explicate and synthesize theories and best practices in environmental education in the context of ecotourism. Using data from interviews and participant observation, it describes, classifies and compares the educational efforts directed toward guests of 14 leading ecolodges in Costa Rica and Panama. Relationships among educational goals and tourists’ satisfaction and views of the educational performance of nature guides are uncovered. Managerial recommendations are provided, including ways to improve the effectiveness of guides in educating lodge guests

Education and Ecotourism: A Framework and Analysis of Education in Ecolodges in Costa Rica and Panama

Education of tourists at nature-based lodges is an important but under-researched component of ecotourism. This paper proposes a framework that identifies and develops a typology of possible educational goals and activities in an ecotourism context. Using data from interviews and participant observation at fourteen leading ecolodges in Costa Rica and Panama, the paper describes, classifies and compares educational efforts directed toward ecolodge guests, with a particular emphasis on the role of nature guides in the educational process. Relationships among several educational goals, tourists\u27 satisfaction, and views of the performance of nature guides are uncovered and explicated. Multiple managerial implications and propositions for future research are offered

Lodge Selection and Satisfaction: Attributes Valued by Ecotourists

Although the ecotourism literature is growing rapidly, few researchers have systematically examined how ecotourists select and evaluate lodging alternatives. Understanding lodging attributes of importance to ecotourists is the first step in modelling lodge selection and satisfaction processes of interest to both managers and researchers. We report on the results of two studies designed to gather such attributes. Study 1 uses e-mail survey responses from dedicated birders, while Study 2 uses data from on-site interviews with visitors at ecolodges in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Ecuador. The two most-commonly mentioned attributes in both studies were “proximity to natural areas” and “cost.” These and numerous other attributes are described. We close by discussing implications of our findings and offering suggestions for future research

Beginnings of a Fulfilling Career

In 1989 I decided to join the doctoral program in Marketing at Michigan State University (MSU). Although I had been accepted into the doctoral programs at several universities, including UCLA and the University of Washington, I chose MSU because of its strong reputation in International Marketing, and its emphasis on managerial applications. Tamer Cavusgil had recently joined the MSU faculty and had just initiated the Center for International Business Education and Research. I wanted to learn from him as my mentor and dissertation chair, and was encouraged by the potential resources available through the CIBER to do international research. This decision to come to MSU and to be a student of Tamer Cavusgil is a decision I have never regretted, and that has enabled me to become a successful, full professor, engaged in a career in International Marketing

Ecotourism in Latin America: Four Types of Birding Tours

No abstract availabl