A comparative assessment of individual-level consumption patterns of U.S., German, and Chinese Gen Y consumers

Subject area Marketing, Strategy, International Business. Study level/applicability Post-Graduates' classes. Case overview This case focuses on the particularities of the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurant run by the Americana Group in Mecca, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It allows students in the service industry, and especially those interested in the quick service industry to understand some of the challenges of operating in a market with high volume and other specific local market conditions. Perhaps, it will also allow those organizations wishing to enter into emerging markets to realize that globalization does not mean standardization of all practices but rather values. Expected learning outcomes On completion of utilizing the case study as an exercise, students should be able to develop: Case-specific skills: critically examine the importance of the international business and marketing strategy in the Middle East and demonstrate this by analyzing real regional/ world examples using complex theoretical frameworks; identify examples of best practice and explain the dynamics toward international business and marketing strategy with reference to a range of theoretical models; and apply these in a meaningful way to the Middle East North Africa region. Discipline-specific skills: synthesize and critically evaluate a corpus of academic literature and government reports on international business and marketing strategy; and link international business and marketing strategy concepts and theories to real regional/world examples. Personal and key skills: reflect on the process of learning and undertake independen/self-directed learning (including time management) to achieve consistent, proficient and sustained attainment. Work as either a participant or a leader of a group and contribute effectively to the achievement of objectives in the field of international business and marketing strategy. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Verbeke, A., International Business Strategy: Rethinking the Foundations of Global Corporate Success, 2nd Edition, Cambridge University Press, 2013 1 A Capsule Summary of the Book International business strategy issues have a long tradition in the academic literature and have been intensively discussed by practitioners and academic scholars. This book edited by Alain Verbeke presents a critical reassessment of different conceptual models in the literature related to international business strategy and multinational enterprises (MNEs). Based on a simple framework that provides a synthesis of different practitioner-oriented models in international business literature (especially articles from Harvard Business Review), the book picks up the essence of international business strategies and global corporate success and examines how MNEs cope with international opportunities and challenges. In this case the book describes MNE managers' possible strategies and provides suggestions, which strategies can be used effectively and how they can improve the performance of MNEs. This book is not limited to a general view of best practices; it also tries to raise awareness of MNE managers and scholars for preconditions related to successful international business strategies. The second edition of this book expands the previous edition by considering MNEs from emerging economies. Furthermore case studies were updated and learning objectives as well as managerial takeaways were added. In a nutshell, the comprehensive and strong practical approach taken in the book is highly relevant for students and practitioners in the field of international business strategy. 2 Objective and Target Audience The objective of the book is to contribute to the discussion on international business strategy. By providing a comprehensive framework including different models from international business strategy literature the book strengthens knowledge about concepts that can be applied by MNEs to improve firms' performance. Due to the practical perspective the book appears to be a well written and insightful source for practitioners who want to respond to opportunities and challenges of managing international operations. Furthermore, the book addresses Ph.D. students, researchers and other scholars who want to gain a basic, but comprehensive overview of well-known international business strategy concepts. 3 Structures and Contents The book is divided into three main parts with a total of 16 chapters. 3.1 Part I Within the first part (chapter 1-5), chapter 1 describes the unifying framework used throughout the book. The framework consists of seven main concepts, which integrate the "best" practitioner-oriented work from international business literature (including sub-themes of multinational strategic management as theory, analysis, location, environmental regulations and public policy). The seven concepts used in the framework are: (1) internationally transferable (or non-location-bound) firm-specific advantages, (2) non-transferable (or location-bound) firm-specific advantages, (3) location advantages, (4) investment in--and value creation through--recombination, (5) complementary resources of external actors, (6) bounded rationality, (7) bounded reliability. In sum, chapter 1 develops an understanding of the seven concepts of the unifying framework to lay-out the conceptual foundations of international business strategy. Chapter 2 addresses the crucial role of firm-specific advantages. Based on Prahalad and Hamel's (1990) work that core competencies are a critical source of MNE's success, chapter 2 describes the essence of core competencies and explains how companies can identify, build or acquire core competencies. Furthermore this chapter states challenges associated with the transferability of firm-specific advantages across borders and reflects requirements for expanding internationally without a sole focus on core competencies. …

A Few Implications of the COVID‐19 Pandemic for International Business Strategy Research

The present volume discusses the progress made in progress made in the theory and practice of international business (IB) strategy in the last few decades. The book captures the differences in motivations and decision-making processes between smaller and larger firms, private, family and state-owned, emerging or developed market multinational enterprises (MNEs). The book highlights how the increasingly uncertain conditions in the IB environment demand superior firm-level capabilities for MNEs to achieve and maintain long-run competitive advantages. We elaborate on the links between international strategy and the social responsibilities of the firm in its, often differing, host market contexts, including the deployment of effective and ethical human resource practices in international markets. Most importantly perhaps, this handbook lays out how the classic principles of international competitive strategy are transformed in today’s markets, in great part due to digitalization, and provides suggestions about how MNEs can develop IB strategies to respond to these transformations. The implications of such discussions for IB strategy and practice are becoming ever more profound and will likely influence the next generation of IB scholars and practitioners.

PurposeInternational Business Strategies (IBS) literature deliberated on the strategic planning and strategy implementation of home country firms in foreign markets. IBS had become a very potent growth strategy for firms. IBS as a body of knowledge had become substantial in the last few decades of research. To this end, and as a complex field of study, this paper aims to conceptually map this IBS literature. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to present a visual mapping of intellectual structure in two dimensions and to identify the subfields of IBS through co-citation analysis.Design/methodology/approachAll the citation documents were included in the Web of Knowledge (WoK) database between the years 1993 and 2018. For the multivariate analysis, this study applied a sequence of statistical analyses including factor analysis, multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. Through these techniques, this research study tried to summarize the condition and status of IBS research by classifying the IBS literature into four categories.FindingsIBS literature has been classified into four categories, namely, evolutionary aspects of IBS; firm strategic objectives and IBS; institutional theory and IBS in emerging economies; and foreign market entry strategies for internationalization.Research limitations/implicationsBased upon the basis of the analysis of extant research in IBS, the current and future extension research topics have been presented. This would help future researchers to understand the white spots for undertaking research in future.Originality/valueThis was one of the very first studies that mapped the International Business Strategy literature and categorized IBS literature.

You have accessThe ASHA LeaderMake it Work1 Jun 2011Daily Deals: A Good Marketing Tactic for SLPs and Audiologists—or Not? Maggie McGary Maggie McGary Google Scholar More articles by this author https://doi.org/10.1044/leader.MIW.16062011.np SectionsAbout ToolsAdd to favorites ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In http://www.asha.org/Publications/leader/2011/110517/Daily-Deals--A-Good-Marketing-Tactic-for-SLPs-and-Audiologists-or-Not.htm Heard of Groupon or LivingSocial? Chances are, if you haven't heard about these “daily deal” websites or others like them, you probably will soon. As restaurants and other businesses have reaped the benefits of daily deals, other kinds of businesses have started to show interest in the concept for marketing their services—notably, medical services like dental exams and cosmetic surgical procedures. It's only a matter of time until daily-deal sites begin promoting their services to other kinds of medical providers, including speech-language pathologists and audiologists. According to a recent Harris Interactive survey, approximately 23 million Americans purchased deals from daily-deal sites in 2010. U.S. consumer spending on daily-deal sites is expected to reach $1.25 billion this year, up from $873 million in 2010. That's a lot of sales and a high volume of potential repeat business, for little or no up-front investment. There is typically no up-front cost to businesses advertising on deal sites—usually the deal site takes 50% of the purchase price for all deals sold. For instance, in the case of a typical restaurant deal offering a $50 gift certificate for which the consumer pays $25, the deal site keeps 50% and the restaurant earns 50%. Luke Barber (homespeechhome.com) is a speech-language pathologist who also is involved with a family business that happens to be a daily-deal site. As Barber sees it, daily-deal sites could be a great way for SLPs or audiologists to market their practices or services—or a potentially risky marketing tactic. “From an SLP or audiologist's point of view, group deals could be fantastic because of the potential for repeat business. For a private-practice clinician to offer, for instance, a speech-language evaluation for half off is brilliant because of the potential for future business.” Barber elaborated that another potential area for daily-deal marketing could be telepractice—such deals could be great on national sites because they're not limited by geographical area and could potentially draw clients from many areas. There are many different deal sites, each with different target audiences—for instance, Plumdistrict and Mamapedia are two sites that target parents. There also are many local deal sites, which Barber said would work best for on-premise treatment. Alexandra Costlow, a second-year audiology doctoral student at the University of Maryland, pointed out that daily deal sites also could potentially be a good way to raise awareness about audiologists among younger people (68% of Groupon's subscribers are 18–34 years old). Group deals also could be a way audiologists could promote special deals or events during Better Hearing and Speech Month. But just as there are possible benefits to daily deals as a marketing tool for SLPs and audiologists, both Costlow and Barber point out some significant drawbacks. The ethical quicksand around discounting speech or hearing services is notable—ranging from current clients complaining that they're paying more for the same services being advertised at a discounted rate to potential health insurance or anti-kickback law issues. If one of the main benefits of group deals is garnering new clients who you hope will become repeat clients, clinicians should know that the conversion rate from one-time daily-deal customer to repeat customer is low—the current estimate for conversions is around 19%. With repeat business already a known issue, will new clients reeled in by a group deal expect to pay that discounted rate for future visits? Also, even the best-case scenario of group deals could be troublesome for solo practitioners inundated with clients who purchase a deal, a common complaint of small businesses that have offered mass discounts through daily-deal sites. Although daily deals make sense for restaurants and other entertainment venues or products, the risks involved in using them as a marketing tactic for SLPs or audiologists are considerable. Clinicians are cautioned to think carefully about the implications of offering discounted services, especially as it relates to contracts with private or public insurers if contracts include stipulations about providing the best price for services. Author Notes online ASHA community and social media manager, can be reached at [email protected]. Advertising Disclaimer | Advertise With Us Advertising Disclaimer | Advertise With Us Additional Resources FiguresSourcesRelatedDetails Volume 16Issue 6June 2011 Get Permissions Add to your Mendeley library History Published in print: Jun 1, 2011 Metrics Downloaded 88 times Topicsasha-topicsleader_do_tagleader-topicsasha-article-typesCopyright & Permissions© 2011 American Speech-Language-Hearing AssociationLoading ...

Research suggests that context matters for MNEs’ international business strategy. MNEs’ strategies vary when different intertwined contexts interact with each other. While International Business scholars understand well the influence of the institutional environments on firms’ international strategies and operations, some contextual differences are less understood as is the case involving African countries and firms. In this study we investigate how different institutional contexts and legitimacy challenges combine to impact ownership strategic choices of African firms in their cross-border acquisitions (CBAs). Specifically, we study the influence of the host country institutional development and two institutional dimension distances: administrative distance and knowledge distance. Methodologically, we use a sample of 314 CBAs made by acquirers from 24 African countries in 71 host countries worldwide to test a number of theoretically driven hypotheses. This study contributes to our understanding of how foreign investors from less institutionally developed countries that are more likely to face higher legitimacy barriers use ownership strategies to achieve legitimacy abroad.

How Businesses Fare with Daily Deals: A Multi-Site Analysis of Groupon, Livingsocial, Opentable, Travelzoo, and BuyWithMe Promotions

Abstract: Daily deal sites have become so popular in Turkey just as they have in many other countries. Heavy discounted offers for products or services attract most of the people to these new marketplaces. Glancing over the offers before starting to work became a habit for some of the people. However, some others do not have any interest to daily deals. So, it can be said that behavioral differences are unavoidable among customers. There are different forces that initiate the buying process. In this study, factors that affect buying behaviors of people from daily deal sites are investigated. The effect of buying behavior on satisfaction is also examined. Price related constructs (price consciousness, price mavenism, sale proneness and coupon proneness) and impulse buying tendencies of customers are taken as predictors of buying behavior from daily deal sites. Results suggest that price mavenism and coupon proneness are positively related with buying behaviors from online daily deal sites. On the other hand satisfaction come about to be a positive result of buying behavior. Even though the focus of this study is specific to a limited group, it is envisaged that the results will provide insights for both academics and e-tailers. Keywords: Daily Deal Sites, Online Shopping, Turkey, Structural Equation Modeling. JEL Classifications: M31, M10

This chapter advances the argument that, together with the international new venture (INV; or, born global (BG) firm), the unit of analysis in international business (IB) strategy should also be the micromultinational enterprise (mMNE). Based on the IB strategy and international entrepreneurship (IE) literatures, the chapter posits that the mMNE is a salient international entrepreneurial firm that has been neglected from most empirical work. The argument is built on an IE literature search and subsequent conceptualization around the dimensions of international entrepreneurial orientation (IEO). It is posited that risk attitude manifested in hefty resource mode commitments (contractual joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries) forms a key entrepreneurial dimension that should be a major focus of empirical analysis beyond innovativeness and proactiveness. The main contribution of this chapter is that it delineates the dimensions and manifestations of IEO and advances research in this area. The aim is to persuade the reader that the mMNE should be a focal firm of interest in the IB strategy and entrepreneurship arenas.

The conversation around the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) of firms has flourished—yet perhaps surprisingly, outside of the international business (IB) strategy discipline. This chapter introduces CSR/CSI as a “grand challenge” with potential to advance the IB strategy agenda. The chapter proposes that there is much to be gained by introducing ideas from IB strategy to understand the relationship between the multinational enterprise (MNE) and CSR/CSI. Major perspectives on, and interconnectedness between, CSR and CSI are articulated. The chapter traces common themes such as the role played by the business context, paying particular attention to location and regulatory institutions in the character and management of CSR/CSI. The chapter concludes with an agenda for future CSR/CSI research in the field of IB strategy that addresses some existing knowledge gaps around the influence of the MNE on its environment.

Charisma and rhetoric: Communicative techniques of international business leaders

The article discusses key issues in international business strategy from a workers’ perspective and relates these to existing frameworks for understanding decision-making in multinational corporations (MNCs). It begins by identifying key decisions in international business, discussing their interrelationships, and highlighting key empirical trends. Academic research in international business strategy can, it is pointed out, helpfully inform worker representatives and trade unions in the context of their work within MNCs in Europe. The article goes on to review existing frameworks for understanding how MNCs make decisions about the major strategic issues. Its focus is on five types of approaches: the resource-based perspective on the firm; transaction cost economics; institutionalism; the network approach; and the actor-centred perspectives. It is argued that research on MNC strategies, insofar as it is aimed at informing trade unions and worker representatives and at evaluating the impact of their activities, should be based on frameworks that bring together these disparate paradigms.

The spread of globalization and Internet-related technologies have contributed toward the emergence of convergence, divergence, and global consumer culture as three alternative perspectives to explain cross-cultural consumption, and yet no consensus has evolved. The study tests the veracity of the respective claims by comparing the relationships between the decision-making styles of U.S. and German millennials and their intentions to purchase from a cross-culturally cloned group-buying site popular in both countries. Results show that while there is a convergence of the novelty-fashion-conscious, price-conscious, “value for money,” recreational, hedonistic, and impulsive, careless decision-making styles of U.S. and German millennials, there is a divergence of their perfectionistic, high-quality-conscious, brand-conscious, “price equals quality”, habitual, brand-loyal, and confused by overchoice decision-making styles. Taken together, the results support the prevalence of the global consumer culture approach. We offer implications toward building more comprehensive theoretical frameworks for analyzing cross-cultural consumption among millennials and for multinational website managers to improve their understanding of millennial consumption.

This study examines how China’s mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure regulation influences firms’ international business strategies. Using a difference-in-differences design, the analysis reveals heterogeneous effects across international activities. On the trade side, mandatory CSR disclosure enhances firms’ export competitiveness by promoting product quality upgrading through improved information transparency. This positive effect is particularly pronounced in markets with stronger CSR concerns, under more intense export competition, and when information asymmetry with foreign buyers is higher. By contrast, no significant change is observed in foreign trademark applications, suggesting that disclosure fosters substantive quality improvements rather than symbolic brand building. On the investment side, mandatory disclosure reduces firms’ overseas expansion The adverse effect is stronger when firms face greater compliance pressure, external monitoring and financing constraints. Overall, the findings highlight the dual role of mandatory CSR disclosure: while it stimulates export-oriented upgrading, it simultaneously discourages international investment, thereby reshaping the allocation of firms’ global business strategies.