STRATEGIES FOR U.S. APPLE EXPORTING FIRMS

International Relations/Trade,

International Entrepreneurship Activities and Business Performance: An Empirical Study of Chinese Textile and Apparel SMEs

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between international entrepreneurship activities and firm performance in a context of Chinese textile and apparel SMEs. The specific objectives were to: 1. understand SME international entrepreneurship activities in terms of their antecedents and effects on firm performance; and 2. provide implications for industrial practitioners and policy makers on how to use international entrepreneurship activities to enhance competitive advantage of Chinese SMEs in the international marketplace. A two-phase survey through a market research company was utilized for collecting 178 eligible responses in 2015. Factor analysis and structural equation modeling were utilized for data analysis and hypothesis testing. The findings reveal that Chinese SMEs can gain financial benefit and achieve strategic competencies through strategic alliances, licensing, export and import activities. Although FDI may improve strategic performance, it doesn\u27t result in positive financial outcome directly which might be due to lack of economies of scale for SMEs. In order to promote international entrepreneurship activities among SMEs, cultivating entrepreneurial orientation and fostering global mindset are critical, which government may facilitate by policy incentives and/or financial and personnel support. Given resource and capability limitations, imitation remains a more viable and common strategy than innovation for SMEs to succeed in international entrepreneurship activities

Use of Foreign Trade Zones in International Logistics Systems: an Empirical Study of Import/export Firms in the U.S.

Business Administratio

Tourist Shoppers’ Evaluation of Retail Service: A Study of Cross-Border versus International Outshoppers

This article extends the concept of customer perceived value (CPV) to the tourist outshopping context and explores the differences in antecedents and outcomes of CPV between cross-border and international outshoppers. A large-scale field survey in Hong Kong with cross-border outshoppers from mainland China and international shoppers from four Western countries (Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States) shows that perceived product quality, risk, and value for money have a stronger effect on CPV for cross-border outshoppers, and employee service quality and lifestyle congruence for international outshoppers. CPV also has a stronger positive effect on satisfaction, word of mouth, and repeat purchase intentions for cross-border outshoppers, whereas satisfaction has a stronger positive impact on word of mouth and repeat purchase intentions for international outshoppers. We discuss the conceptual contribution and managerial implications of our findings for international retailers, researchers, and tourism organizations

Internal Marketing Orientation: an empirical research in hotel sector

The study has three aims. First, to measure internal market orientation second, to analyze the relation-ships between IMO and two organizational consequences: job satisfaction and commitment; and third,to incorporate a new sub-dimension work/family balance. Empirical research has been done in a sampleof Spanish hotels. Results show that IMO is a strategic determinant of both job satisfaction and employeecommitment

The Research/Teaching Interface: Turning a Pretest into an Experiential Exercise

The benefits of student pretests as an experiential learning exercise are discussed with an illustration. Positive results were noted from implementation of the suggested method

International Entrepreneurship Activities and Business Performance: An Empirical Study of Chinese Textile and Apparel SMEs

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between international entrepreneurship activities and firm performance in a context of Chinese textile and apparel SMEs. The specific objectives were to: 1. understand SME international entrepreneurship activities in terms of their antecedents and effects on firm performance; and 2. provide implications for industrial practitioners and policy makers on how to use international entrepreneurship activities to enhance competitive advantage of Chinese SMEs in the international marketplace. A two-phase survey through a market research company was utilized for collecting 178 eligible responses in 2015. Factor analysis and structural equation modeling were utilized for data analysis and hypothesis testing. The findings reveal that Chinese SMEs can gain financial benefit and achieve strategic competencies through strategic alliances, licensing, export and import activities. Although FDI may improve strategic performance, it doesn't result in positive financial outcome directly which might be due to lack of economies of scale for SMEs. In order to promote international entrepreneurship activities among SMEs, cultivating entrepreneurial orientation and fostering global mindset are critical, which government may facilitate by policy incentives and/or financial and personnel support. Given resource and capability limitations, imitation remains a more viable and common strategy than innovation for SMEs to succeed in international entrepreneurship activities.</p

Global vs local brand perceptions among Thais and Turks

Purpose – Market researchers often treat Asian consumers as a single entity and compare them with their Western counterparts. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast consumers in two Asian countries, Thailand and Turkey. Since global and local brands co-exist in many regions of the world today, this study, by examining two Asian cultures, examines the impact of personality traits and values on individuals' intentions to purchase global versus local brands. The authors also investigate the role of priming (local versus global cues) in the relationship between these individual traits and purchase intentions. Design/methodology/approach – The study involves a series of pretests and an experiment conducted among 240 participants from Thailand and 142 participants from Turkey. Though exploratory in nature, content analysis also suggests interesting avenues for future research. Findings – The findings suggest that although both societies are perceived as traditional and collective, consumers from both Thai and Turkish cultures exhibit some striking differences. There were differences in the ways in which individual traits and values impacted global vs local brand purchase intentions. For instance, while it was discovered that traditionalism and susceptibility were important among Thai individuals, ethnocentrism and materialism were at similar levels in both samples. Traditionalism had an important effect on intentions to purchase local brands in Thailand, while it did not have a very meaningful impact among Turks. Similarly, in Thailand, susceptibility affected global brand purchase intentions. However, a similar pattern was not seen among Turks. Originality/value – The research is valuable in understanding that two seemingly similar Asian cultures (Thailand and Turkey) are – in effect – dissimilar on key variables such as traditionalism and ethnocentrism and that impacts how these two cultures perceive global and local brands. As marketers aim to satisfy consumer's needs by offering goods and services, it is extremely important to understand consumers' evaluations of these brands and how these perceptions are formed in the first place. Such an understanding will help marketers in their positioning strategies as well as marketing communications design