Conceptualising global strategic sustainability and corporate transformational change

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the concept of global “strategic sustainability”, represented by a conceptual framework, the “spheres of strategic sustainability”. The paper examines routes, solutions and a vision for corporate strategic sustainability in the macro context of the global physical environment and the planet. This builds on previous research identifying key drivers and strategies for corporate sustainability. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is conceptual in nature and underpinned by Gaia theory, ecosystems theory and the laws of thermodynamics. These three offer specific foci for sustainability research including holism, integration and synthesis: without which, sustainability research would be difficult to achieve. Findings – The paper identifies two major domains – “corporate” and “consumer” strategic sustainability. It examines the corporate domain in which routes are identified through responses to existing globalisation, corporate strategy and corporate culture. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides insight and preliminary conceptual development towards a full theoretical model of corporate and consumer strategic sustainability. The framework will guide future conceptual and empirical investigations and broaden and deepen our understanding of how firm's can construct strategic business models that incorporate sustainability. Originality/value – The paper offers a conceptual framework that develops the concept of “corporate strategic sustainability” and provides positive, practical solutions to incorporating sustainability into business models. It also challenges the current dominant socio-economic paradigm and sets the scene for a more positive eco-paradigm that serves the present and future needs of the planet, environment, businesses and human society

Managing the challenges of international growth

In this book, British entrepreneurs and advisors share their experiences, offering comprehensive insight into the challenges of building a high-growth venture in today's European economy. This chapter focuses on managing the challenges of international growth

Country of assembly (COA) effect on perceived automobile quality : a Thai consumers' perspective

Trends in multinational production have complicated the issue of country of origin (COO) with products now often associated with more than one COO and no longer produced in the same country as where they were designed or where their major components originate. This leads to a new stream of COO studies being termed "hybrid product research". This paper studies the impact of assembly location on Thai consumer perception of automobile quality. While automobiles assembled domestically (CKD) are considerably cheaper, COO studies have reported that consumers prefer automobiles assembled in highly industrialised countries (CBU). Two surveys were conducted with 186 respondents in Bangkok, Thailand. It was found that a brand with a strong quality image could reduce COA bias when evaluating automobiles from a country with a negative quality image. Consumer ethnocentrism was also studied to determine whether it can play a role in consumers' evaluation of domestically assembled automobiles (CKD). The result, as expected, revealed that ethnocentric consumers exhibit their home country bias by championing locally assembled automobiles. As expected, ethnocentric consumers were found to have lower education achievements and live in larger households but age and income were found to have no bearing unlike previous research. Following these findings, conceptual and practical implications were discussed. This study supported previous research findings and provided two new research scales. Meanwhile, practical implications for automakers are that they need to weigh up the benefit of relocating their assembly plants against a very likely reduction in perceived value due to associations with a country's negative quality image

International Marketing

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The internationalisation of born global and international new venture SMEs

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine whether differences exist between born global (BG) firms and international new ventures (INVs) in respect of their performance in overseas markets. These terms have arguably been used as interchangeable to characterise firms that internationalized rapidly, typically but not exclusively within three years of their business start-up. The term "global" suggests firms have a presence in at least the world's triad regions and arguably a commitment spread across them. INVs, however, may have internationalized quickly to address opportunities but without necessarily a global presence. Design/methodology/approach - The methodology in this exploratory study employs both quantitative but also primarily a qualitative methodology involving 21 technologically oriented small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based in the UK. This methodological approach is used to assess the strategies used by the two types of firms after their start-up phase and the factors that shaped their international trajectory and performance. Findings - The findings provide some initial understanding of the two types of firms' patterns of internationalization and more specifically suggest foreign market strategies can be formulated in various ways, i.e. some planned and others by serendipitous means, but that BG and INVs exhibit different characteristics. BGs focused globally in comparison to the more regional focus of INVs. Practical implications - The implication of the findings is to suggest that researchers should not use the terms interchangeably to characterise different types of firms and behaviour. Originality/value - The main aspect of originality is to offer insights into managerial practices of different types of firms that have to date been viewed in some studies as representing the same international marketing behaviour. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Branding and the Cyprus wine industry

A traditional industry confronting market change is examined here, for the wine industry is important to the economy of Cyprus. Cyprus had to reinvent itself as a wine producer after receiving a double blow: losing its main product, sherry, as a result of nomenclature protection by the European Union and the loss of its largest market after the fall of communism. The objective here is to examine the product (wine) and how it may be improved and upgraded for a more sophisticated market. Product quality and branding then immediately rise to the fore but to ensure that all the issues are being properly addressed, soundings were taken from local, Greek and international wine professionals as well as local consumers. There are 52 wineries in Cyprus but the industry is controlled by four main companies and tied mainly to a local grape variety, Mavro. The grapes are grown by people independent of the wineries and this has been a long-standing issue--affecting wine quality--as has the distance between where the grapes are grown and the wineries themselves. The methodology involved focus groups, depth interviews and an e-mail survey. Respondents were local consumers and wine experts who fell into three groups: local Cypriot, Greek and International. The findings reveal an industry that is still growing, but fragmented and dominated by the big four Cyprus wineries--KEO, ETKO, SODAP and LOEL, formulating the Cyprus Wine Producers' Association (ΣOK--Συ´νδ[varepsilon]σμο[varsigma] Oινοπαραγωγω´ν Kυπρου), that possess 75.5 per cent of the market. Way below is the market share of imported wines (16 per cent) and small local wineries (8.5 per cent) that fall under the umbrella of the Bacchus Association (Bacchus is equated with Dionysus, the god of wine in Greek mythology). There is also great secrecy and unwillingness on behalf of local wineries to work together, which serves to perpetuate existing weaknesses and work against attempts to develop branding associations. The inescapable conclusion is that necessary change will require the adoption of branding that in turn will require greater investment in the product and then its promotion and labelling