Marketplace Research Articles

Can you bear with me? A comparison study of multifaceted discrepancy–brand avoidance relationships between China and the USA

PurposeBrand information is ubiquitous online and offline; consumers exhibit brand avoidance tendencies towards brand stimuli when there is a discrepancy between a brand image/personality and one’s self-concept. Given the multifaceted culturally constituted self-domains and self-importance, this research investigates how cultural variation affects reactions to self-brand discrepancy, considering two types of narcissist orientations.Design/methodology/approachUsing national culture as proxy for cultural orientation, sample data were collected through surveys administered to 410 participants (210 in China and 200 in the USA). A multi-group structural equation model was adopted to examine the conceptual model and proposed hypotheses. The follow-up qualitative study was conducted to allow further discussion of the quantitative results.FindingsThe results show that self-brand discrepancy can only be converted into brand avoidance tendency through the activation of cognitive dissonance for both Americans and Chinese. Specifically, for Chinese consumers only (ideal) social identity self-brand discrepancies can activate avoidance behaviour. In addition, grandiose and vulnerable narcissism orientations co-exist for both Chinese and Americans, these negatively moderate the relationship between social self-brand discrepancies and cognitive dissonance. For US consumers, idealised identity discrepancies mitigate dissonance; only those with a vulnerable narcissistic orientation would act on avoidance when experiencing dissonance.Originality/valueBy incorporating cultural variations in the investigations of self-brand discrepancy, this paper advances existing knowledge on dissonance and coping mechanisms. In addition, by bringing narcissistic orientations to the fore, it allows for a deeper understanding of how these cultural variations operate. In addition, our research provides important guidelines for brand practitioners to better leverage their marketing campaigns in offline and online contexts and to reduce brand avoidance tendencies across the international marketplace.

Strategic Innovations in Apple's Supply Chain Management: Objectives, Methods, and Strategies for Navigating Global Market Challenges

This study looks at global supply chain risks and remedies in the context of Apple Inc.'s supply chain, which is renowned for being efficient and complicated. Apple's supply chain management strategy (SCM) optimizes costs and efficiency by integrating the planning and control of manufacturing, distribution, and sales. Efficient worldwide product delivery and very high operational standards are guaranteed by centralized strategic decision-making and collaboration with key suppliers like Foxconn. The report emphasizes how Apple uses cutting-edge logistics technology to reduce risks like supply interruptions and geopolitical unrest, which are becoming more common in today's international marketplace. Additionally, the study holds that in order to gain a long-term market competitiveness and manage a more uncertain external environment, today's smart device and electronic equipment manufacturers represented by Apple need to embrace the wave of digital transformation and increase resilience through strategic innovation and the construction of ethical and sustainable supply chains. This entails building morally and environmentally sound supply networks as well as implementing strategic innovations that increase supply chain resilience. Businesses that use this approach not only mitigate short-term risks but also establish a strong basis for sustained prosperity, guaranteeing their ability to adjust and prosper in the dynamic international arena.

Effects of Packaging on Consumer Buying Decision: A Study of African Black Soap (Alata Samina)

Product packaging plays a key role in consumer purchasing decision as packaging promote brand identity and customer loyalty. However, the African black soap prepared in Ghana has not seen the best of packaging, hence, its rejection in international marketplace. It is in this vein that the researcher sought to examine effect of packaging on consumer buying decision of African black soap (Alata Samina). Correlation and cross-sectional design were used. Cluster and simple random were used to select 245 respondents. Findings revealed that best packaging influence consumers’ perception to buy local Alata Samina soap recorded a cumulative mean of 4.69198 and standard deviation of 3.31842, suggesting respondents’ agreement that best packaging induce consumer buying decision. In terms of relationship, it was clear that strong positive link exist between packaging elements and consumer buying decision; Packaging colour had r(245) = 0.882, p<0.05, Background image had r(245) = 0.881, p<0.05, Packaging materials had r(245) = 0.882, p<0.05, Font style had r(245) = 0.876, p<0.05. Printed information had r(245) = 0.772, p<0.05, Labelling, wrapper design and creativity had r(245) = 0.882, p<0.05. Standard Multiple Regression was used to analyzed the effect of packaging elements on consumer buying decision and the result were packaging colour had 53.8% and statistically significant effect of r(245) = 0.538, p<0.05. Brand image had 85.3 % and statistically significant effect of r(245) = 0.853, p<0.05. Printed information had 73.8% and statistically significant effect of r(245) = 0.738, p<0.05. Packaging materials had 62.6% and statistically significant effect of r(245) = 0.626, p<0.05. Innovation had 92.3 % and statistically significant effect of r(245) = 0.923, p<0.05. Labelling quality had 76.5% and statistically significant effect of r(245) = 0.765, p<0.05. Design of wrapper had 44.2% and statistically significant effect of r(245) = 0.442, p<0.05. However, font style had only 1.2% and this effect is not statistically significant; r(245) = 0.012, p<0.05. This means that most consumers do not believe that font style influences consumers’ purchase decision. The study recommends that Institute of Packaging Ghana, Federation of Ghanaian Exporters, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ghana Exports Promotions Authority and Association of Ghana Industries should collaborate to improve the packaging skills of the local African black soap producer. The essence is to enable them to package their products to meet the export market standards.

Marketing Strategies and Performance of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Ikare Akoko Ondo State

Marketing strategies has been a functional desire and a method for attaining all-inclusive business success. This paper examined effect of marketing strategies on the performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Ikare Akoko. A descriptive research design was employed. Sample size of 350 was drawn from a population of 2825 which comprised selected registered SMEs owners in Ikare Akoko. Multiple Regression Technique was used to test research hypothesis. The findings obtained revealed that marketing strategy (promotion marketing strategy, price marketing strategy, place marketing strategy, and product marketing strategy) significantly influence performance of SMEs in Ikare Akoko. The research concluded that marketing strategy (product strategies, promotion strategies, price strategies and place strategies) have a significant and positive impact on performance of SMEs in Ikare Akoko. Hence, the paper recommended that SMEs in Nigeria should establish varieties of quality products with new features and design. This will increase many customers to patronize their products. They should also charge equitable price, position suitably to the final consumers. More so, Management of the SMEs in Ikare Akoko should ensure that they increase effort in product advertisement in order to enhance promotional strategy in the organisation. Finally, SMEs should continually ensure goods and services produced reach final consumers or users by locating convenient place for their varieties products. Keywords: Marketing Strategies, Performance, Price Strategies, Promotion Strategies, SMEs,

Do Financial Community’s Tweet Sentiments Affect the Stock Market? Evidence from an Emerging Economy

In the era of social media and internet, Twitter (presently ‘X’) has been recognized as the prominent factor for financial markets by multiple corporates and experts. The motivation of present research hinges on burgeoning popularity of Twitter in the financial community for sharing information and impact of their hidden sentiments on financial markets. Research on tweet-based sentiments and their influence on financial markets in India is still in the infancy stage. To cover this gap, the present study empirically investigates the predictive impact of financial tweet sentiments on the Indian stock Index’s returns over a short period. The paper scraped 22,816 tweets and Nifty 50 index’s intraday hour end values for January 2023. Using Natural Processing Technique, the overall sentiments of the financial community are found as highly positive for each trading hour. Next, it presents a low positive correlation between positive sentiments, sentiment polarity, and hourly returns. Lagged negative sentiments reflect the better ability to impact current period returns than positive sentiments and polarity. Additionally, sentiment polarity and returns reflect bi-directional causation for the future period impact. Investors, stock market traders, and other practitioners can employ the proven concept of linkage between tweet sentiments and returns for constructing effective investment and trading strategies. JEL Classifications: G41, D53, G17, G02, G19

Environmental Impact of Waste Produced in Street Markets: A Study on Challenges and Opportunities in Serra Da Ibiapaba, Ceará

Objective: The objective of the article is to analyze the environmental impact of vegetable waste produced in street markets in the Serra da Ibiapaba region, Ceará, Brazil, and propose solutions to the identified impacts in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Method: This is a qualitative and quantitative research study that uses field data collection, the Leopold matrix for environmental impact assessment, and descriptive analysis to evaluate the current state of waste management practices in the region. Results and Discussion: The results indicate that inadequate waste management practices lead to environmental pollution, including the presence of insects and leachate in urban areas. The study identifies common problems related to waste management and low environmental awareness among vendors and public authorities. Originality/Value: The Serra da Ibiapaba region is an important agricultural area in Brazil, and the inadequate disposal of vegetable waste in street markets poses relevant environmental challenges for society. This research is relevant because it addresses a gap in the literature regarding the environmental impacts of street market waste in a region that is significant both environmentally and economically, offering practical solutions aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Сенсорный маркетинг в условиях диджитал-экономики

In the context of the increasing complexity of marketing relations associated with the transformation of understanding the role of the consumer, the issues of a deeper study of consumer behavior and its features in the “black box” model are of particular importance, since understanding consumer motives and reactions to marketing incentives will contribute not only to sustainable production and sale of goods, increasing the effectiveness of marketing solutions and maximizing profits in the long run, but also to the fast search and selection of goods by consumers that really meet their needs. The development of sensory marketing, taking into account the emergence of new neuromarketing technologies, meets the challenges of modern society. Previous studies of the influence of sensory stimuli on consumer behavior, as a rule, focused on the use of traditional marketing tools (observation, survey, focus groups, etc.), as a result of which only one-sided results of visible consumer reactions were obtained, which do not always reflect their true intentions to purchase a product. Marketing concepts in the context of changing market relations during the transition to a post-industrial society are examined; identifies the place of sensory marketing in the digital economy and its importance in the transformation of society into a humane community, shows the relationship between sensory marketing and neuromarketing, the use of technological tools which will allow to obtain hidden neurophysiological reactions of consumers to marketing incentives, which will provide a comprehensive an approach to evaluating incentive triggers in the purchase decision-making process. The role of neuroethics in conducting these studies is indicat.

Impact Assessment of Technological Innovation Policy on The Competitiveness of Spain's Cloud Computing Market

This paper discusses the impact assessment of technological innovation policy on the competitiveness of Spanish cloud computing market. The research points out that under the wave of digitalization, cloud computing technology has become the key to promote the development of informatization. As an important economy in Europe, the development of Spain's cloud computing market is of great significance to digital transformation. The technological innovation policies introduced by the European Union and the Spanish government, such as GAIA-X project, Industry 4.0 strategy and carbon neutrality goal, not only promoted the development of cloud technology, but also promoted the prosperity of the Spanish cloud computing market. GAIA-X project has brought opportunities for cooperation and competition for Spain, while Industry 4.0 strategy and carbon neutrality goal have stimulated the demand of enterprises for cloud computing. At the same time, Spain's domestic policies such as "Digital 2025 Plan" and Microsoft and Amazon's investment in data centers in Spain provide a good environment and opportunities for the cloud computing market. These policies have promoted the standardized development of the cloud computing market and enhanced the market competitiveness. Spain's public cloud market is growing steadily and is expected to continue to expand in the next few years. The establishment of a data center in Spain by cloud vendors not only promoted the country's position in the global cloud computing network, but also brought significant feedback effects to the local cloud computing market. The research reveals the mutual promotion relationship between policy and market, emphasizing the key role of policy in creating favorable environment and promoting market demand growth, while the development of market promotes the improvement and innovation of policy. This paper provides valuable insights and suggestions for the further prosperity of Spanish cloud computing industry.

Brexit and the London housing market: An empirical contribution

This study aims to analyse the impact of Brexit on London’s housing market, exploring socio-economic and regional disparities. By examining property transaction data from 2012 to 2022, the research seeks to understand how Brexit has influenced real housing prices across different boroughs of London. The methodology involves aggregating transaction data from the Her Majesty (HM) Price Paid database and normalizing prices using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to obtain real price variations. These data were segmented into three distinct periods: pre-Brexit (2012–2016), post-plebiscite Brexit (2016–2019), and post-implementation Brexit (2020–2022). Spatial analysis was conducted using the software Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS), transforming point data (postcodes) into polygonal data (wards) for better visualization and comparison. The findings reveal significant socio-economic impacts, with traditionally affluent areas such as Westminster, Kensington, and Chelsea experiencing notable declines in real housing prices. Conversely, certain outer boroughs like Newham and Barnet showed resilience, with positive real price variations despite decreased sales. This geographical disparity underscores the uneven distribution of Brexit’s economic consequences, highlighting the critical role of localized economic policies and development projects in mitigating adverse effects. The results confirm existing literature on the polarization and regional inequalities exacerbated by Brexit while providing new insights into the complex interplay of local and global factors affecting housing markets. The findings emphasize the need for targeted policy interventions to address the diverse challenges posed by Brexit, ensuring both affluent and disadvantaged areas receive adequate support. This research is crucial for informing public policy, urban planning, and housing market strategies in a post-Brexit context, promoting equitable and sustainable development across London.

Deciphering the Cape Gooseberry Fruits Mycobiome for Further Safety Improvement Postharvest.

Cape gooseberries are exquisitely flavored fruits; their rapid deterioration reduces their shelf life. Understanding the unique mycobiome of fruit peels is an essential step in identifying the taxa causing postharvest loss. The current study proposes to analyze the fungal communities of cape gooseberry peels collected from an organic orchard at unripe and ripe stages and purchased from open-air market sites, using the ITS2 region metabarcoding. According to the Kruskal-Wallis test, there were no statistically significant differences found in either the phylogenetic or non-phylogenetic alpha diversity indices. Significant differences in fungal communities were observed between the market and orchard groups based on beta diversity results. Ascomycota (85.72-96.76%), Basidiomycota (3.21-13.91%), and Chytridiomycota (0.07-9.35%) were the most common fungal phyla, their abundance varying with the ripening stage and origin. Dothideomycetes in the orchard group and Saccharomycetes in the market group were the two most prevalent classes. Furthermore, we investigate which taxa showed a significant difference in abundance between the two conditions (market vs. orchard) using the analysis of compositions of microbiomes with bias correction (ANCOM-BC) test. Regardless of the phase, the orchard samples exhibited a notable increase in the mean absolute abundance of various beneficial fungal taxa, including Tilletiopsis washingtonensis and Articulospora proliferata, whereas the market samples demonstrated a high abundance of harmful yeasts and molds such as Meyerozyma guilliermondii, Candida railenensis, and Botrytis caroliniana. Although it is unclear how these microorganisms augment at the market sites and might impact the fruit quality after harvest, from a fruit safety perspective, it is essential to comprehend the diversity and variation of the mycobiome composition at different ripening stages to further develop strategies to improve food safety postharvest.

Risk-Adjusted Returns of Private Equity Funds: A New Approach

Abstract This paper introduces a new metric, α, to benchmark the performance of individual private equity funds. Our metric is substantially less sensitive to noise in fund cash flows compared to the popular public market equivalent (PME) and its generalization (GPME), while having the same aggregate pricing implications as GPME. For a large data set of fund cash flows, α estimates have much lower standard deviation across funds than does (G)PME. For buyout funds, PME and α are close, but deviate in certain subsamples. Using α increases power in regressions involving fund performance and improves performance predictability of future funds. (JEL C58, G12, G23, G24)

High Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among Female Vegetable Market Traders in Hargeisa, Somaliland: Risk Factors and Implications

High Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among Female Vegetable Market Traders in Hargeisa, Somaliland: Risk Factors and Implications

MANAJEMEN KEUANGAN KELUARGA PEDAGANG DI PASAR SIBANG GEDE

The income of traders depends on uncertain sales income every day. To be able to manage family finances, management, and planning are needed to ensure that expenses are not greater than income. This study aims to examine the understanding of financial management, the application of financial management, and the obstacles to financial management for traders in the Sibang Gede market. This study's data and information collection methods included interviews using questionnaires and documentation. The analysis method used is qualitative descriptive analysis. The results of this study indicate that traders in the Sibang Gede market do not understand financial management. Traders choose to record income daily, do not apply long-term planning, apply short-term planning, and own assets in the form of houses and motorbikes. Traders in the Sibang Gede market do not make financial plans, do not record family finances in books, and do not compile budgets. Traders do not have investments, and all traders in the Sibang Gede market choose to use banks as a place to save. The obstacles Sibang Gede market traders face are income instability caused by fluctuations in consumer demand, traders not being accustomed to making financial reports, and traders not being familiar with modern finance.

The Critical Role of Soft Skills in Engineering: Enhancing Performance and Career Advancement

Today’s engineering graduates seeking jobs require a combination of technical abilities and the right soft skills, as organizations prefer a professional individual who has developed an overall personality that encompasses both professionalism and alignment with society, rather than relying solely on qualifications and academic scores. The 21st-century workforce has changed the way they define job skills, with managers prioritizing non-technical (soft) skills in addition to technical skills, as having these alone is no longer enough in today's competitive market place. This article aims to analyze the significance of soft skills in the engineering sector, as highlighted in the literature review. An understanding of these soft skills is crucial for organizations to optimize the levels of productivity amongst their employees and for individuals desiring to advance their futures within a competitive job landscape. This article attempts to shed light on these soft skills in the hopes of investing in training program designs that can maximize engineers professional efficacy and career successes within their industry, engineering.

Perceptions of e-lending in Scandinavian libraries: tension and harmony between institutional logics

ABSTRACT This study examines e-lending dynamics in Scandinavian public libraries, by exploring the relationship between libraries and publishing houses. We ask how representatives of both fields perceive the public library’s role. Public libraries and publishers have traditionally served different roles in the book sphere: the library as a key cultural policy institution providing access to information and culture, and the publishers as involved in the production of books, operating on commercial premises. This relationship is affected by the change from ownership to licensing of digital book collections, which occurs along with changes on the national book markets. As a theoretical and analytical tool, the study uses the institutional logics perspective to explore the relations between different perceptions. We argue that this relationship can be illuminated through the dynamics of public service logic, market logic and digital logic. The study is empirically based on 26 in-depth interviews interviews with representatives of Danish, Norwegian and Swedish major libraries and trade publishers. Findings indicate that the relationship is nuanced and multifaceted, more than if it relied on a simple opposition between the public and the market. Both libraries and publishers share a common understanding of public service and market logics; however, they differ in perceptions of library’s role which is amplified by digital logic. The study also indicates that e-lending dynamics are influenced by cultural policies but with different outcomes in the three countries.

Levels of organochlorine pesticides in the chewable and leftover parts of the khat (Catha edulis) sold in local markets of Jimma Town, Southwest Ethiopia

ABSTRACT This study aimed to determine the residual levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in chewable (tender leaves) and leftovers (mature leaves) of khat sold in local markets in Jimma town, southwest Ethiopia. Samples were collected from various local khat market places in Jimma town, based on their growing origin. A modified QuEChERS method was used to extract pesticides from the samples before their analysis by GC‒MS. The findings indicated that p,p’-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p’-DDE) and p,p’-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p’-DDT) were detected in 88.3% and 76.6% of chewable samples, and in 86% and 69% of khat leftovers samples. The p,p’-DDE and p,p’-DDT levels found in chewable khat ranged from 10.12–45.39 and 8.53–34.15 µg/kg, respectively. While in leftover khat they ranged from 30.12–45.04 and 6.73–32.16 µg/kg, respectively. It was found that the concentration of p,p’-DDE is greater than its precursor compound p,p’-DDT for each sample, indicating past use of DDT in the study area. None of the detected analytes exceeded the maximum residue level (MRL) values established by the FAO/WHO or European Commission (EC) of 50 µg/kg. However, no information is available regarding these pesticides’ collective and synergetic negative impacts on consumers.

PERANAN FINANCIAL TEKNOLOGI DIGITAL MENGGUNAKAN MARKET PLACE SERTA ONLINE CUSTOMER REVIEW TERHADAP KEPUTUSAN PEMBELIAN DAMPAKNYA PADA LOYALITAS KONSUMEN (Studi Empiris Pengguna Marketplace UMKM Kota Tangerang Selatan)

The role of financial technology is considered to be at the forefront of digital market developers through market places to increase the income of MSMEs in South Tangerang City. The objectives of this research are 1.) To test and analyze whether financial technology influences purchasing decisions 2). analyzing Online Customer Reviews on purchasing decisions 3). testing financial technology and Online Customer Reviews simultaneously influence purchasing decisions 4). To test and analyze whether purchasing decisions have an impact on consumer loyalty in South Tangerang City MSMEs. The method used in this research is a quantitative method. Primary data collection was carried out by distributing questionnaires to MSMEs using the market place. Population of all business actors in South Tangerang City. The sample uses questionnaires and interviews. The sampling technique used is a random sampling technique. The analysis tool in this research is SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) processed through the AMOS (Analysis of Moment Structure) program. The research results can be concluded as follows: (1). There is a partial effect of financial technology on purchasing decisions using a value of 52.5% obtained from the determinant test. (2) Online Customer Reviews influence purchasing decisions (3). financial technology and Online Customer Reviews simultaneously influence purchasing decisions (4). Purchasing Decisions that impact Consumer Loyalty.

Adapting the Nigerian Architectural Educational Schools Curriculum Towards Global Competitiveness

Globalization refers to the increasing connectedness of nations and peoples around the world through trade, investment, travel, popular culture and other forms of interaction. Globalization through information technology has brought so many openings that are breaking down boundaries hitherto existing in the practice of architecture. To enhance his place in the global market, the Nigerian architect needs to improve his skills on information communication technology (ICT). This paper examines how ICT enhances the global relevance of the Nigerian architect. It also examines the effectiveness and deficiencies of the curriculum in the Nigeria Schools of architecture. The paper therefore advocates a review of the curriculum in the Nigerian Schools of architecture to position the Nigerian architect for global competitiveness.

In Search of a Connection: Public Procurement and Active Labour Market Policies in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia

ABSTRACTGovernments in countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States have increasingly utilised public procurement—their power to purchase goods and services—to assist disadvantaged groups in accessing better‐quality jobs. This approach is part of a broader effort to create ‘good jobs’. However, it is necessary to examine whether this represents a new strategy for addressing persistent issues of inequality in labour markets. This review critically assesses whether public procurement and Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs) form a coherent, sequential and complementary framework. The conclusion, however, is that this connection is not well‐established. Instead, there is a disjointed situation where the two approaches lack meaningful integration, despite some efforts at the local level.

Design and implementation of an E-commerce market place

Many small businesses and start-ups are faced with the challenge of promoting their business awareness to increase their profit margin. But many of these small businesses and start-ups cannot pay for domain registration and building of a functional website of their own. Thus, e-commerce application which can be a platform for many businesses is a good solution to this. It serves as incentive for revenue generation and business expansion in addition to promoting consumer interaction, entrepreneurship, and the growth of small businesses. Therefore, this paper aimed at design and implementation of an e-commerce application for tailors. The e-commerce system can protect sensitive customer data and secure online payment system which can serve as a platform for many businesses and start-up. This will promote business awareness, give ability to reach more customers and then improve owners profit margin. This project aims to harness the power of e-commerce marketplaces to create a tailored shopping experience for a specific target audience.