Market Phenomena Research Articles

Content marketing from the perspective of PR specialists: an Estonian case study

Abstract This paper is an exploratory study to understand the content marketing practices in Estonia, a current trend that ties together journalism, communications, and advertising. Estonia is a small market where the ‘guilds’ of journalists and PR professionals are rather intertwined. Trends occurring here may provide suggestions for larger markets and future developments. A qualitative study was conducted in Spring 2018. The objective of the study was to describe the problems and potential complications arising from the reorganization of traditional areas of activity of agents operating in the field of the communications industry – specifically in the context of content marketing, and from the viewpoint of representatives of PR agencies. The article begins with putting the phenomenon of content marketing into a wider societal context – and specifically that of the Estonian media ecosystem. The possible influences of content marketing on such important realms, and such defining factors as trust (Luhmann 2000), social capital (Bourdieu 1995) the integrity, independence, and the interactions between the different fields (ibid) are discussed. The results of the survey indicate that the field of public relations is changing as a result of the forces from the other neighbouring fields, that of journalism and advertising. The paper points out that the issue of trust and trustworthiness and the origins of ‘the media’ need to be addressed in order to provide integrity and transparency.

Entrepreneurship

In this paper, we reconsider the various states of rest within Austrian market process theory. While this theory certainly embodies a superior representation of market processes to the neoclassical general equilibrium theory, it falls short of producing a holistic theory of human action. The analysis left out those human actions that produce changes to the so-called ‘final state of rest,’ which have so far been taken as exogenous to the market process. These exogenous shocks include knowledge generation and preference shifting. However, I argue that these can and ought to be understood as market phenomena, and so belong within the scope of praxeological analysis. To capture these types of human action, I propose that a new and truly ‘final’ state of rest be introduced, which we term the ‘nirvana state of rest.’ This new state represents a ‘true’ final state, in which human action ceases because all needs, and thus all motivation to act, are completely and perpetually assuaged. Introducing this state into the analysis, we can break free from myopic analyses of mere present states of knowledge and values to observe and explain general tendencies in market processes, prices, and entrepreneurship. I also show how quarrels within Austrian circles might be resolved through this expanded, macroscopic lens.

English

In response to rapid globalization, African countries have dedicated considerable efforts to transform rural producers into businesses and integrate them with global markets. Pastoralists are mostly isolated from the other livestock value chain members. This makes it difficult for them to acquire knowledge regarding how the market functions and what the value chain members’ want. This study explores how much pastoralists know and what knowledge they need to seize market opportunities. Using qualitative evidence from Ethiopian pastoralists, this study finds that pastoralists understand routine and physically existing facts such as selling livestock in a fixed market place during regular market days. However, the pastoralists lack the higher order knowledge that includes a broader understanding of the market phenomena and the abilities to scrutinize and interpolate those phenomena into their livestock raising experiential realm to make informed production decisions. This will hinder their functioning as “businesses” in modern value chains. This study therefore suggests for the development of market knowledge among pastoralists. Policy makers and development workers can consider marketing training to build the market knowledge of pastoralists. Further research could study how to effectively train the pastoralists to acquaint them with market knowledge to focus on market-based livestock production. Key words: Market integration, market knowledge, remoteness, pastoral, Ethiopia.

Absent Imposition of 'Boundary Rationality Conditions', Can Evidence for Pricing of Behavioral Biases of Economic Agents Be Robust?

This study unambiguously demonstrates that, absent independent establishment of boundary rationality conditions for stock prices, behavioral axioms, such as overconfidence, overreaction, underreaction, and attribution bias cannot be robustly applied to rationalization of market phenomena that are generated by rational economic agents. This general equilibrium outcome is predicated on predictions of a formal theoretical model. In the model, whenever behavioral biases feasibly can influence market returns, qualitatively, such effects cannot be distinguished from presence, in stock markets, of mixtures of 'sophisticated' and 'naive' economic agents. In this respect, the model establishes that any of, rational components of stock prices, information variables that support presence of mixtures of sophisticated and naive agents within stock markets, or behavioral biases, have feasibility of generation of pattern of stock return momentum and reversals. An important side result is the prediction that behavioral axioms, such as overreaction, and underreaction, which of necessity must have opposite effects on prices, cannot subsist contemporaneously within dichotomous groupings of rational economic agents who invest in stock markets.

Contextualized Property Market Models vs. Generalized Mass Appraisals: An Innovative Approach

The present research takes into account the current and widespread need for rational valuation methodologies, able to correctly interpret the available market data. An innovative automated valuation model has been simultaneously implemented to three Italian study samples, each one constituted by two-hundred residential units sold in the years 2016–2017. The ability to generate a “unique” functional form for the three different territorial contexts considered, in which the relationships between the influencing factors and the selling prices are specified by different multiplicative coefficients that appropriately represent the market phenomena of each case study analyzed, is the main contribution of the proposed methodology. The method can provide support for private operators in the assessment of the territorial investment conveniences and for the public entities in the decisional phases regarding future tax and urban planning policies.

Sustainable Livelihood Capital and Strategy in Rural Tourism Households: A Seasonality Perspective

As an inherent characteristic and pervasive market phenomenon of the tourism industry, seasonality plays an important role in tourist business survivability and sustainability. It is also a significant factor for rural households involved in tourism as they plan their livelihood strategies around it. In this study, household surveys were conducted in The Beautiful South, an area for rural tourism in Guangxi of Southern China. We analyzed the livelihood capital and strategy of different household types in response to seasonal fluctuations in tourism by applying a mixed method that integrated livelihood capital index (LCI) evaluation and data envelopment analysis. The results indicate that LCI of tourism income-oriented households ranks second among the four types of households, while the LCI of tourism-engaged households in peak season performed better than that of those not engaged. However, the number of households participating in tourism nearly halved during the off season, and they are mainly diverted to temporary labor work, which may be one of the reasons for the low livelihood capital efficiency of tourism households. The implications of the findings and empirical solutions to mitigate the negative seasonal impact are discussed.

Political Economy of the Muslim Middle Class in Southeast Asia: Religious Expression Trajectories in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand

The growth of Muslim middle class in the three Southeast Asian countries namely Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are heavily influenced by each state's political development policy as well as the growing phenomenon of the Muslim market as part of the global market dynamics. This paper aims to describe the phenomenon of state and society relations in regards to policies that influence the growth of the Muslim middle class and how the market contributes to their expansion. The research shows that Muslim middle class in Indonesia is a result of the ever-crisscrossing force between state-driven pro-market policies, market-driven mechanisms, and the development of information technology that creates the demands of modern lifestyles. In terms of the Malaysian context, the Muslim middle-class formation is closely linked to a state driven policy in the form of ethnicity-based policy: an affirmative policy to strengthen the Malays, which is identical with Islam. While for the case of Muslim middle class in Thailand, the formation is largely determined by the central government's political policy. The Thai government uses different political approaches, which varies depending on the level of the Muslim community's compromise in each region. In the end, the differences in the process of Muslim middle-class formation in these countries shaped their Muslim communities' religious expressions both economically and politically in the public sphere.

Os antecedentes da cocriação de valor em programas de incentivo ao sexo seguro: contribuições da Lógica Dominada por Serviço ao Marketing Social

Neste trabalho aborda-se a utilidade da Lógica Dominada por Serviço (LUSCH; VARGO, 2014), para o entendimento de fenômenos do Marketing Social, com ênfase na cocriação de valor pelo beneficiário de programas sociais voltados para a adoção do sexo seguro. Após pesquisa bibliográfica sobre o tema, elaborou-se modelo hierárquico contendo os constructos que envolvem a cocriação de valor e seus potenciais antecedentes. A partir do modelo foi criado o questionário, que foi aplicado a estudantes universitários na cidade de Teófilo Otoni-MG. Os resultados, obtidos por meio de Modelagem de Equações Estruturais, mostram que o constructo nível de atividades tem como antecedente o traço elementar abertura a experiências, enquanto que o constructo número de interações é explicado pelos traços elementares abertura a experiência, neuroticismo e necessidade de recursos materiais (negativamente).

Coherence resonance-like and efficiency of financial market

We study the coherent resonance phenomenon of stock market returns and volatility and discuss the effectiveness of financial market based on the coherent resonance theory of statistical physics. In this paper, we use the Heston model to give the series describing the return and volatility. Considering the limited data of CSI 300 index, the Bayesian estimation parameters of the proposed model are given by combining Bayesian parameter estimation and realized volatility. The characteristic correlation time (CCT) and normalized fluctuations of pulse durations Rp are employed to further explore the coherent resonance behavior of stock market price returns and volatility. Based on the stochastic simulation of the estimated parameters, we can observe the phenomena of coherent resonance-like and anti-coherent resonance in CCT and Rp as a function of long-run variance and amplitude of volatility. We can also observe the critical phenomenon, there is a critical mean reversion of volatility. On both sides of the critical value, the opposite characteristics of coherent and anti-coherent resonance can be observed. The enhanced long-run variance of volatility and weakened amplitude of volatility both cause coherent-like resonance in CCT and Rp vs. the mean reversion of volatility. In addition, it can be seen that the market efficiency is lower when coherent resonance occurs, and higher when anti-coherence resonance occurs.

Strategic marketing & Austrian economics: The foundations of resource-advantage theory

Contrary to popular belief, marketing was not born under management, but under economics. Issues such as markets and exchanges are at the core of both disciplines even though they are studied under different lenses. The common ground makes it possible to use one approach to analyze the other. That is the goal of this paper: to show that “Austrian economics” is helpful in understanding the key phenomena of strategic marketing. The aim is to show how business schools can adopt an Austrian approach in their economics classes to facilitate students’ understanding of market dynamics. This qualitative and exploratory study analyzes a general theory of competition, the Resource-Advantage Theory, using the Austrian concepts — action, time, and knowledge — to better understand business competition and what leads companies to achieve and maintain competitive advantages. By comparing these two theoretical frameworks, the paper analyzes, in a detailed manner, each one of the R-A Theory’s premises using ideas of the Austrian School and concludes that these ideas are helpful not only for understanding the Resource-Advantage Theory, but also Strategic Marketing as a whole and that, consequently, the Austrian approach should be taught at business schools economics courses.

Czarny rynek w Generalnym Gubernatorstwie 1939–1945. Scena i aktorzy

The black market in the General Government 1939–1945. The stage and the actors The author of the article explores a wide range of black market phenomena under the German occupation in 1939–1945. The black market was such a vast and varied phenomenon in occupied Poland that the author has been forced to limit himself to the General Government (GG). Both in areas incorporated in 1939 into the Reich and those occupied in 1939–1941 by the USSR, where the economic freedom of former Polish citizens was reduced to a minimum, control stricter and rations bigger, illegal trade was limited and usually took place in small, trustworthy groups. On the other hand, in GG, especially in Warsaw, it became a specialist discipline, often practised professionally. In GG the turnover on the black market was higher as was the number of actors and degree of overtness — the exchange of goods and services took place in public, while the buyers and the sellers usually did not know each other. The article focuses of the black market strategies of the Poles (divided into professional and social groups) and the Germans. It should be noted that the participants in the unofficial economy also included other nationalities — Jews, Ukrainians or Belarusians — who require a separate study, however.

Global value chains in international knowledge work: networks, stratifications and labour markets

AbstractIn this article, I aim to cast light on the arguably indeterminate phenomenon of the global labour market (GLM) by placing the focus on an industry that has sometimes been perceived as epitomizing homogeneity and ‘world flatness’ in its deployment of geographically dispersed knowledge workers, that of international software development. Engaging in a sanguine analysis of this industry with reference to an empirical study of outsourcing to Ukraine it is revealed that labour markets servicing ICT (Information and communication technology) are subject to deep, if fluctuating, social stratifications. With reference to the notion of the global value chain (GVC), the significance of factors such as knowledge, language, citizenship and age as labour market differentiators for knowledge work is brought to the fore.

Wykorzystanie influencer marketingu w kreowaniu wizerunku marki

Celem artykułu jest zdefiniowanie influencer marketingu i jego wykorzystania w procesie kreowania wizerunku marki oraz podejmowania decyzji zakupowych. Scharakteryzowano pojęcie influencera, zastosowanie Facebooka i Instagramu w tym zakresie. Wykorzystując przykłady 4 marek ( Żywiec Zdrój, Huawei, Daniel Wellington, NA-KD) opisano udział ambasadorów i influencerów w procesie kreowania wizerunku marek oraz promocji ich produktów. Przeprowadzono badanie ankietowe aby zweryfikować założenie badawcze dotyczące wpływu influencerów na rozpoznawalność i wizerunek marki oraz podejmowanie decyzji zakupowych. Marki Daniel Wellington oraz NA-KD wykorzystano do zilustrowania potencjału istniejącego w twórcach posiadających małe zasięgi na platformach społecznościowych, a marki Żywiec Zdrój i Huawei współpracowały z rozpoznawalnymi influencerami będącymi równocześnie ich ambasadorami (M. Wojciechowska i K. Wojewódzki). Jak wynika z przeprowadzonego badania ambasadorowie marek a zarazem influencerzy zwiększają rozpoznawalność marki i wpływają na jej wizerunek wśród konsumentów. Z kolei polecenie influencera ma większy wpływ na podejmowanie decyzji zakupowych niż ambasadorzy marek. Przeprowadzono analizę literatury przedmiotu i materiałów źródłowych, wykorzystano metodę studium przypadku i sondażu diagnostycznego.

Multivariate Dynamic Analysis and Forecasting Models of Future Property Bubbles: Empirical Applications to the Housing Markets of Spanish Metropolitan Cities

The cogency of evaluation models able to predict future trends and to monitor the consequences of scenarios different from those initially expected has been determining a growing scientific interest for the development of financial sustainability methods. With reference to quarterly time series collected for the metropolitan area of five Spanish cities, in this research an innovative methodology has been implemented, in order to make explicit, for each case study, the main functional relationships between the housing prices and the socio-economic factors. The models obtained are characterized by both high statistical performance and compliance with the expected market phenomena, highlighting the decisive role in the housing price formation of the factors that indirectly represent the population’s income capacity (market rents, unemployment level, mortgages). Then, an empirical procedure for the construction of the future property value trends has been developed. The results point out the forecasting and monitoring potentialities of the methodology used, as a fundamental decision support tool in the urban planning policies of the local administrations, interested in anticipating and checking future housing bubbles through appropriate economic policies, and for private operators, in the phases of selection of the most attractive territorial areas for new property realizations.

The Viral Marketing (VM) Role in Directing Customer Purchasing Decisions Regarding Fast Food in Egypt

VM is defined as a recent marketing phenomenon that motivates internet users to pass marketing messages voluntarily to their relatives, colleagues and friends. The main objectives of the study can be summarized in identifying the effect of viral marketing messages' exposure, attractiveness, incentives, credibility and confidence on consumers' purchasing decisions of fast food products. Another objective is to identify the contribution of demographic factors to the activation the messages' role in purchasing decisions. Based on an analytical descriptive approach, the field research was applied to 391 participants of Internet users. The collected data were analyzed by statistical techniques of descriptive statistics and Linear Simple Regression Analysis. The results showed a statistically significant effect of exposure rate, attractiveness, incentives and degree of credibility as independent variables on purchasing decisions as a dependent variable. Other 2 variables (level of confidence among parties of viral marketing messages and demographic differences among recipients) showed insignificant effect on the purchasing decisions.

Risk is my business. Determinants of revisit intentions among participants in extreme sporting events

Multi-billion-dollar revenues and thousands of people involved, qualify extreme sports as a growing marketing phenomenon. This study addresses the determinants of consumer-athletes intention to revisit extreme sport events. We propose a model investigating the role sensation-seeking tendency, event satisfaction, and event image fit in determining revisit intention of active participants, basing on sensationseeking theory. The model is empirically tested with the SPSS PROCESS macro on 240 active participants in extreme sport events. The findings suggest that sensationseeking leads to revisit intention only through satisfaction, especially when event image fit is strong.

MARKET ORIENTATION: COMPANY PERFORMANCE AND GLOBAL CONSUMER CULTURE CHANGE

Market orientation (market orientation) is a measure of behavior and activity that reflects the implementation of the marketing concept. Ironically, although the marketing concept has been developed in the decade of the 1950s, it was only in the 1990s that empirical studies began to be conducted to examine the marketing concepts of business strategy and success. In line with the development of the business world today a term "Global Village" was born stating that a mechanism of world trade is described as a market in a village. The concept of thought is translated as an increasingly smaller market phenomenon with the support of technological advances and information as factors important for companies to be able to innovate, adapt and respond automatically to consumers. International marketing is one activity that is in line with Global Village thinking. In accordance with the development of increasingly global information technology, global consumers also experience developments in terms of culture. Because culture is attached to consumers which is a major factor in international trade. This study aims to analyze more deeply the relationship between market orientation and company performance and changes in global consumer culture. The research method used in the study was a qualitative approach with analytical techniques using the Miles and Huberman models. The data used in this study are secondary data that have been officially published through articles and other studies that relate to the topics that are the focus of research.

Women-entrepreneurship, religiosity, and value-co-creation with ethnic consumers: revisiting the paradox

The notion of value co-creation has been a well-established phenomenon in strategic marketing. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of studies that specifically link this to women entrepreneurship and religiosity. This is the lacuna filled by this paper which is interpretive in nature and based on 11 in-depth interviews and 1 focus group discussion data collected from women that are members of Pentecostal faith-based organisations in London. While the paper shows many interconnected challenges faced in black African women entrepreneurship, it also pinpoints the principal role of spirituality in fostering value co-creation between these women, their customers and their religious establishments. The research shows a rebuttal of the paradox of religion and entrepreneurship, specifically in women entrepreneurship. Apart from its theoretical implication of updating the literature on the discourse around entrepreneurship marketing, religiosity and ethnic minority businesses; its managerial implications revolve around exploring sociocultural groups to foster women entrepreneurship and economic growth.

Sharing Economy Phenomenon in the Digitization Era

The article examines foreign and Russian experience in the sharing economy development. The phenomenon of collaborative consumption of goods and services gained an impetus on the back of technological change mainly due to the digitization. Digital platforms have brought the narrow consumer market phenomenon to the global economy level and created prerequisites not only for enhancing the local exchange of temporarily free resources (physical, power, labour, recreational resources and others), but also for their cross-border movement. The high spreading speed of digital technologies and business models based on them, as well as the objectively existing time lag between the ongoing transformations and their evaluation at the theoretical level, create a pluralistic picture of the concepts of this phenomenon. A critical analysis of approaches practiced by experts from different countries to the sharing economy scope revealed a shift in emphasis between some traditional economic categories, generating a field for theoretical discussion. The delicate borderline between the sharing economy and normal business operations causes regulatory problems at national and international levels. Based on their own theoretical views, the authors define the key areas of the sharing economy development, identify current trends that determine the present changes: market growth, multiplication of collectively consumed items, acceleration of operational activities, optimization of the end users’ income and expense. Advantages and disadvantages of sharing economy are also identified

Precariat as a phenomenon of the modern labour market in Poland and in the European Union

The aim of the article is to define precariat, a new notion, which describes the status of some social groups on the labour market. An attempt has been made to identify determinants of this phenomenon as well as its characteristic features, which justify eliciting this group on the labour market. In the first part of the article the notion of precariat is defined according to the subject literature. In the second part its economic features and range scale in Poland have been discussed, followed by the third part focusing on the EU labour market. Finally, in the fourth part, the occurrence of the phenomenon of precariat on the modern labour market has been evaluated. Final conclusions stemming from the analysis have been enclosed in the final part of the article.