Global Market System Research Articles

Creating Value for Customers, Clients, Partners and Society: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Food Waste

ABSTRACTRoughly one-third of edible food produced in the world is wasted, that is, it is never consumed by humans, despite the persistent demands for nutrition throughout the world. The American Marketing Association defines marketing as “…the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” When it comes to food, an increasing number of these key stakeholders question how a global marketing system that routinely wastes a startling fraction of its product comports with “…value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large,” and whether the food marketing system can do more to sustainably convert scarce planetary resources into global nutrition. We introduce the articles in this special issue, which provide an intellectual and empirical basis for exploring how the global marketing system generates a substantial amount of food waste and how the food marketing system can do more to reduce the amount of wasted food.

Handmaidens to Capitalism

Although I wholeheartedly agree with Gloss, Carr, Reichman, Abdul-Nasiru, and Oestereich (2017) that a focus on those living in the deepest forms of poverty is sorely needed in industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology, the real issue is not so much who we serve buthowwe serve, and specifically how we continue to neglect the systemic failures of capitalism at the root of poverty. Ultimately, it is this global market system that determines not only the distribution of wealth but also how wealth is often achieved at the expense of another's poverty. Moreover, it is this system that constrains and undermines capabilities. For these reasons, I am skeptical of the authors’ proposal for mitigating the pervasive POSH bias in our field, especially because this bias seems premised on a pervasive neglect of capitalism the authors fail to fully address.

Understanding Egyptian capitalism through the Muslim Brotherhood’s eyes: the quest for an ‘Islamic economy’ in the 1940s and its ideological and social impact

The following article addresses the intricate issue of contemporary Islamist thought’s relation to the modern capitalist economy, with special reference to the Egyptian case. Islamist thinkers have been vigorously proclaiming for the past decades that the economic prosperity of some Muslim nations stems from the proper adoption of an ‘Islamic economy’, whereas the absence of such a model has been mainly responsible for the crises that other nations faced. At the same time, we witness that the Muslim nations are fully integrated into the global market system. Although their rulers boast about achieving social justice, by economically interpreting Islam, nonetheless poverty and horrific injustices are officially retained and morally accepted, thus, enabling the upper classes to keep performing their pious duties in the name of God. In this regard, it seems that capitalism and piety are intertwined: the first justifies the necessity of the second, while the second humanizes the brutal impact of the first. By referring to the historical example of the Muslim Brothers in pre-socialist Egypt, the article tends to show under which circumstances was capitalism’s relation to religious piety conceptualized in Islamist thought and literature, in addition to the main social, organizational and ideological outcomes of this conceptualization.

Law as an equalizer

Law as an equalizer

The Importance of Strategy for Forming State Image: Comparative Analysis of Lithuanian, Estonian and Finnish Cases

Good state image ensures smooth integration into global market and international political system. The major aim of this article is to analyze the importance of strategy for state image forming and to perform the comparative analysis of image formation in Lithuania, Estonia and Finland. The logical method is used for making substantiated generalization of collected facts and formulating transitional and final research conclusions. The methods of comparative and case analysis, systematic (documents and legal acts) and scientific literature analysis were also applied. Scientists notice that nowadays states are setting a strategic goal of its image forming in their national strategies more often and achieving this goal by using public diplomacy and nation branding. This article contains comparative analysis of Lithuanian, Estonian and Finnish cases of state image formation (creating a nation brand) which helped to point out the main problems of Lithuania's image formation.

The liberalization of air services: prospects and challenges for the Indian economy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine, with a specific reference to the Indian economy, the interface between the World Trade Organization (WTO)/General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) disciplines and aviation services; the challenges to the incorporation of air services regimes into the world trade treaty; and the alternative routes for the liberalization of air services markets. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts the doctrinal approach to legal research in analyzing literature on the integration of air services into the multi-lateral trading system. The paper takes a critical look at the current state of the aviation industry, the rationales and routes for liberalization, as well as the challenges facing it. Findings – The paper reveals the state of the Indian aviation market and its preparedness for integration into the global market system. The merit of a gradual approach is examined. Research limitations/implications – The WTO framework offers the traditional route for the liberalization of trade. However, since the inception of air travel, air traffic rights have been traded between countries on a bilateral basis, involving concepts of sovereignty over national airspace. The paper offers some ideas on how the two can be integrated. Originality/value – The research draws on recent events in the Indian aviation sector. It is of importance, especially to other emerging economies with similar social-economic indicators. It objectively questions the rationales for liberalization or globalization and its merits.

Irrigation, Commercialization, and Social Change in Nineteenth-Century Inner Mongolia

AbstractThis article examines the rise of an irrigation economy in Hetao along the Yellow River during the nineteenth century, and uses it as a case study to illustrate how the periphery played a major and hitherto overlooked role in the development of the Chinese economy, which confounds the conventional view of a Chinese path of development that replicated smallholder farming. I focus on a group of Han entrepreneurs known as land merchants (dishang) who combined capital and expertise in irrigation development, and introduced a new set of property regime and socio-technical arrangements that fundamentally changed the frontier society. By linking the changes in local society to regional and global processes, this study demonstrates the centrality of the periphery as not only a zone of possibility and experimentation, but more importantly, a “contact zone” that facilitated China's integration into a new global market system.

Comtemprorary state image forming using public diplomacy and developing nation brand: The Case of Lithuania

Good state image ensures smooth integration into global market and international political system, helps to attract more foreign direct investments, tourists. It secures that country will gain the support of foreign countries and international organizations in solving various economic, political and security issues. In XXI century even small states are used to set a strategic goal of image forming in their national strategies and achieve this goal by using public diplomacy and nation branding. This paper aims to analyze the issues of contemprorary small states image forming by using public diplomacy and developing nation brand. Also main problems of Lithuania image forming are identified on the basis of comparative analysis of the cases of Lithuania, Estonia, Finland. The paper also contains the model of image forming and development of public diplomacy for Lithuania which was created on the basis of the comparative analysis of these three cases. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ppaa.13.1.6538

The rebirth of dependence – offering an alternative understanding of financial crisis

Purpose – This article aims to contribute to the re-evaluation of the global market system using a Marxist inspired theory of development, dependency. Design/methodology/approach – This article draws on dependency theory as an alternative means of understanding global relationships. Building on existing literature, it modifies dependency to encapsulate technological developments and trends in the global market. Findings – Re-evaluating the global market and the relationships that underpin it, through an alternative theory, highlights the fragility of markets and associated relationships. Increasingly, nation states are becoming irrelevant. This presents a problem as the main actors in the global market today are “above” inter-state relations, yet the organs that regulate their behaviour still are grounded in inter-state rhetoric. The relationship between development and underdevelopment remains. Research limitations/implications – The financial crisis has propagated a wealth of interest in the relationships between states, between multi-national corporations (MNCs) and between MNCs and state. Using this broad theory of modified dependency, it can be applied to a range of different relationships. In the wake of financial crisis, there is the opportunity to raise awareness of these ingrained issues and initiate discussions at national, regional and international levels to alleviate some of the conditions of dependence. Practical implications – Regardless of the work of national governments and NGOs to instigate development in lesser-developed regions through policy and regulations, unless there is a conscientious commitment from MNCs operating in that region to contribute to development, the result will be the development of underdevelopment and the underdevelopment of development. CSR can help alleviate the conditions of the dependence on capital generated by MNCs, but this is not a solution to an ingrained problem, capitalism. Originality/value – This article introduces a modified theory of dependency for the first time. It applies the theory to the financial crisis and to the continent of Africa. It considers the role that CSR can play in alleviating the conditions of dependence.

Single source multi-channel marketing at Vitra

The days in which companies competed solely on products alone are long since gone. This presents providers with numerous competitive challenges: products and offerings must continue to appeal and convince, while their customer communications and marketing have become critically important — across all types of media and channels. Vitra is a Swiss family-owned furniture manufacturer that relies on an integrated global marketing and communication system enabling its digital assets to be designed, customised and individualised simply, quickly and efficiently before being distributed efficiently across all channels. In order to achieve these objectives Vitra has opted for censhare’s digital asset management (DAM) system. This paper describes the requirements and the aims of the company, the criteria of the selection process, its DAM partners and the main data of the implementation, while also quantifying the benefits for the company.

Test Cross Evaluation of Upland Cotton Accessions for Selected Fiber Properties

ABSTRACTTexas A&M AgriLife Research released several upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) germplasm lines that exhibit near extra long and extra long staple (ELS) upper half mean length (UHML) fibers, similar to those produced by pima cotton (Gossypium barbadense L.) and significantly longer than those of upland cultivars currently grown in the United States. While present‐day global marketing systems do not reward the production of such upland cotton fibers, future competitiveness of upland cotton may depend on availability of such variability. Thirty‐six improved upland cotton cultivar accessions from the USDA‐ARS Cotton Collection were crossed to two testers to determine if any contained alleles for additional improvement in fiber length or strength parameters of germplasm developed by Texas A&M AgriLife Research. ‘Tamcot CAMD‐E’ was chosen as a standard fiber quality tester and TAM B182‐33 ELS was the elite fiber quality tester. The lines, testers, and F1s were grown in Tecoman, Colima, Mexico, and at College Station, TX, in 2010 and at College Station only in 2011. Fiber data were subjected to line × tester analysis. Funtua FT‐5 from northern Africa and Stoneville 474 from the United States may harbor additional UHML and length uniformity alleles for improving TAM B182‐33 ELS. Phytogen 72 (United States) and BJA 592 (northern Africa) may contain additional alleles to improve fiber bundle strength.

Linking Subsistence Activities to Global Marketing Systems

This article aims to improve the understanding of how micro-level subsistence activities might be related to higher-level phenomena to increase the well-being of individuals and communities in contexts characterized by institutional gaps. Using coffee as illustrative case, it explores the link between local entrepreneurial activities in developing countries and global marketing systems, with specific attention to the role of institutions. In this way, the article also sheds some light on broader research challenges identified in the marketing and society area on the role of marketing in addressing sustainability and poverty, especially institution-building and failure in development. Insights from coffee projects to help small farmers, undertaken in different settings all characterized by institutional gaps, exemplify the emergence of “compensatory structures” – new/different networks, intermediary entities, and partnerships. They further knowledge transfer, market access, and capacity building; combine forces through producer groups and cooperatives; and create links with trading/exporting companies, sector organizations, and government agencies. While positive outcomes are found, the article also discusses limitations related to certification, access to finance, and extension in time and scale, as well as implications for research and practice.

Global Marketing Systems in the Dairy Sector: A Comparison of Selected Countries

This paper focuses on the global dairy sector in general, and milk marketing systems in particular. The dairy sector is multifunctional in nature, and contributes to sustainable agricultural development and food security. The global trade is dominated by developed countries, contributing to 62% of the imports and 92% of the exports. Global production and consumption are increasingly imposing pressure to produce and process more, keeping in the mind the aspects of quality and efficiency. The development of dairy markets is affected by access to milk markets and market distortions. Additionally, the development of dairy markets depends on the governments' involvement in regulating production and marketing of milk and milk products. In this regard, comparison of marketing systems across countries considering supply, demand, prices, and trade is important for a clear understanding of the complexities, performance, and challenges in the systems. The analysis indicates that although the production has increased over years in regulated (USA), deregulated (Australia), and informal (India) dominated milk markets, but consumption has increased only in the informal dominated markets. The processing is greater than 90% in Australia and USA, while this is only 18% in India, indicating backwardness of the Indian dairy sector. The farmers' share in consumers' basket is increasing in Australia, decreasing in USA, and is stable in India, representing a higher benefit to producers in deregulated markets and stability of the market in the informal sector dominated market. The milk prices are closer to the world market price in regulated markets as compared to the deregulated and informal markets, signifying higher regulation of production and marketing in USA. The self-sufficiency and performance of the Australian dairy sector is comparatively better because the dairy farms are competing in the international markets. The successful policy interventions in informal markets of Kenya and India indicates that these markets have the potential to improve income and employment, but impose constraints on quality and trade. These issues can be tackled by following an integrated approach in gradual conversion of informal to the formal sector through proper education and training, which has the potential for the overall development of the dairy industry.

A Strategy for Managing Complexity of the Global Market and Prototype Real-Time Scheduler for LEGO Supply Chain

The paper describes main features of a strategy for managing complexity of the global market and real-time scheduling multi-agent system designed for the LEGO Company. The design is based on Multi-Agent Technology Group (MATech) own strategy blueprint and multi-agent platform, which provide real-time adaptive event-driven scheduling to replenish products to LEGO Branded Retail stores. The prototype system has been used to schedule 20 US-based LEGO retail outlets for a yearlong trial period and has achieved the following results: • Reduction of lost sale from 40% to 16%; • Increase in service level from 66% to 86%; • Increase in profitability 56% to 81%. The results show a considerable potential value for full scale LEGO supply chain multi-agent solution which would be able to dynamically and adaptively re-schedule deliveries in real time.

The Precariat: From Denizens to Citizens?

Liberalized markets promoted by the Washington Consensus under globalization have resulted in a global class structure in which new groups have emerged, including a precariat consisting of millions of people subject to flexible, insecure labor relations. The precariat is a class-in-the-making, in that the global market system wants most workers to be flexible and insecure, even if it is not yet a class-for-itself, having a clear vision of what type of society it wishes to see emerge. It is not an underclass. This article traces the factors explaining its growth and considers which demographic groups have the highest probability of being in it. The essay then considers two possible political scenarios—a politics of inferno, if current negative trends are allowed to continue, and a politics of paradise, a set of policies that would be essential to arrest those negative trends.

Non-Market Motives at Work in the Market: "New Evangelicals" in Civil Society in the United States and Overseas

In light of the 2008 global financial crisis and its underlying causes, a reassessment of our global market system seems to be afoot, at least in some quarters. If neoliberalism (too much market) yields the Great Recession, if socialist planned markets (not enough market) produce the failed economies of the former Soviet bloc, and if social-market combinations (too much centralization of the market) progress toward the high-cost, centralized programs and slow growth of Western Europe, what are better options? One line of questioning asks, can the dynamism and inventiveness of the market be harnessed not only for corporate and individual…

Was the recent global financial crisis symptomatic from the challenges of liberalisation of financial markets in Uganda?

PurposeThe recent global financial crisis has demonstrated the susceptibility of local economies to the global market system and its idiosyncrasies. While liberalisation of financial markets was initially deemed essential to ease access to cheap capital, it has demonstrated the potential to engender instabilities in the regulatory system. With reference to financial markets regulatory challenges in Uganda, this paper aims to explore how a liberalised market economy can also be exploited to perpetuate corruption and other financial malpractices.Design/methodology/approachThis paper explores the challenges to financial markets liberalisation in the absence of effective oversight institutions. Specifically, it draws on experiences of liberalisation of financial markets in Uganda to examine how that country's experience and its antecedents in the wider financial system could have signposted the threat of another financial crisis.FindingsWhile acknowledging the importance of financial markets to development, this paper contends that opening markets should be preceded by tailored requisite reforms locally, to caution local economies against destabilising spontaneous movement of capital in and out of the system. Similarly, a liberalised financial market system and under‐regulation in financial markets can potentially engender a fluid environment inimical to the stability of global markets.Originality/valueThe paper has examined these issues in the narrow context of the challenges of financial markets liberalisation in Uganda. It will be inferred that the recent global financial crisis should have been foreseen from the earlier antecedents, and economies cautioned against it properly.

Sustainability marketing in the emerging markets: imperatives, challenges, and agenda setting

PurposeThis paper aims to highlight the imperatives for sustainability marketing (SM) adoption in the emerging markets (EMs), identifies challenges that are encumbering them from adopting SM orientation, and proposes research agenda for better understanding of the construct in the EMs.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws from literature and experiential knowledge of the author in the EMs to address the objective of the paper.FindingsPressure from the global market system, incidence of poverty in the EM, and unsupportive local conditions are argued to be inimical to the adoption of SM orientation in the EMs.Research limitations/implicationsGiven the heterogeneity of EMs, the conclusions in this paper may apply to various EMs differently. This must be borne in mind when generalizing the conclusions.Practical implicationsThis paper emphasizes the urgent need to modify existing public policies in EMs and to equally redirect the attention of organizations and consumers in EMs to foster sustainability behaviour as a strategic choice for development rather than seeing it as an option.Originality/valueApart from bringing to light the imperatives and challenges of SM in EM, the paper offers a blueprint that would guide research in this area.

The Influence of Brands Competitive Advantage on the Consumer Loyalty

With the highly dynamic global marketing system and the increasing importance of specialized products, the position and worth of brands has also increased. Each brand tries to provide a competitive advantage to its customers so they buy the product the first time and then keep buying it. This dissertation attempts to measure the influence of the competitive advantage provided by the brands on the loyalty the consumers feel for that brand. The main aim of this thesis is to elaborate the features competitive advantages which influence the consumer loyalty in order to prefer branded cosmetics & toiletries products and then measure the relationship between features of competitive advantage and brand loyalty of consumer. The quantitative approach of study was adopted to collect data for analysis. The data collection technique was the survey method which means the respondents filled in questionnaires. After the explanation of the research methodology the analysis of findings of research was carried out in the next chapter. It was done through making frequency distribution and plotting the data on line charts and bar graphs. Finally the conclusion and recommendations for the future researchers are also given. The findings reveal that the factors of brand competitive advantage do have an influence on the consumers’ loyalty for that brand in case of cosmetics and toiletries. However some factors have a greater influence then the others.

Reconstructing the Normative Foundations of Socialism

<p>In this paper I argue that underlying the different historical permutations of socialism is the normative idea of the life-ground of value. I attempt to reconstruct the normative basis of socialism on the basis of this life-ground. The aim is to make explicit the generalizable value of socialism as in everyone's human life-interests. In the context of a growing crisis of life-conditions across the globe, the hope is to revive political interest in a broad based socialist alternative to an increasingly life-blind global market system. </p>