Market Choice Research Articles

Research on Xiaomi’s Internationalized Business Model

As a young technology-based company, Xiaomi’s international business continues to develop and grow. This article studies the international business model of Xiaomi. Through the analysis of the motivations of Xiaomi’s internationalization, this paper obtains the reasons for Xiaomi’s entry into the international market. We also study the choice of target market, the mode of entering the target market and the marketing strategy in the process of Xiaomi’s internationalization. Finally, it summarizes Xiaomi’s internationalization experience and puts forward enlightenment.

Weight and volume estimation of single and occluded tomatoes using machine vision

ABSTRACT The fundamental characteristics of agricultural products are appearance, size, and weight, which affect their market value, consumer preference, and choice. Thus, food and agricultural industries seek rapid, simple, and nondestructive approaches to assess real-time measurements at the post-harvest stage before packaging for the consumer market. While sorting and grading may be performed by humans, it is unreliable, time-consuming, complicated, subjective, onerous, expensive, and easily influenced by surroundings. Therefore, an astute sorting and grading method for tomato fruit is required. We evaluated two tomato configurations on a conveyor belt: single tomatoes (no occlusion) and multi-tomatoes (partially occluded). We used polygon approximation for concave and convex point extraction algorithms to segment the occluded tomatoes. We developed seven models for regression using single-tomato image features. The Bayesian regularization artificial neural network outranked all the trained models in weight estimation with a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 1.468 g and R 2 of 0.971. For volume estimation, the RBF SVM had the best performance with R 2 of 0.982 and RMSE of 1.2683 cm3. It is feasible to implement a proposed system as a noninvasive in-line sorting technique for tomatoes.

The role of international experience in speed of entry: Empirical evidence from Chinese innovative firms

By analyzing the dynamic path of internationalization, this study attempts to explain the entry mode choice, location choice, and speed of entry in the process of internationalization from the learning results obtained from previous international activities. Our research shows that the speed of the entry process depends on the type of experiential learning generated by the implicit decision-making in the process of Internationalization: the entry mode choice and the market location choice. We find that the experience accumulated in the host country has an inverted U-shaped effect on the speed of entry; while the experience accumulated of the entry mode has a U-shaped impact on the speed of entry. We perform an event history analyses(EHA) on 153 Chinese innovative firms with 905 OFDI observations during the period from 1991 to 2015, and analysis what and why is the paths of internationalization of Chinese firms. We find that Chinese innovative MNEs have more likelihood to choice the entry mode of acquisition and WOS than other entry modes in OFDI activity, and there is a higher probability that the Chinese innovative MNEs choice the market location of developed countries than developing countries in OFDI activity. Most importantly, we find that accumulated experience in host country has an inverted U-shaped impact on the speed of internationalization operation with acquisition mode and the speed of internationalization in developed countries; while accumulated experience in focal entry mode has an U-shaped impect on the speed of internationalization operation with branch or WOS mode and the speed of internationalization in developing countries. This claim is supported by both non-parametric and parametric tests in the EHA. Our research highlights the short-term and long-term consequences of different types of paths associated with the internationalization process.

Informed Choices: Gender Gaps in Career Advice

This paper estimates gender differences in access to informal information regarding the labor market. We conduct a large-scale field experiment in which real college students seek information from 10,000 working professionals about various career paths, and we randomize whether a professional receives a message from a male or a female student. We focus the experimental design and analysis on two career attributes that prior research has shown to differentially affect the labor market choices of women: the extent to which a career accommodates work/life balance and has a competitive culture. When students ask broadly for information about a career, we find that female students receive substantially more information on work/life balance relative to male students. This gender difference persists when students disclose that they are concerned about work/life balance. In contrast, professionals mention workplace culture to male and female students at similar rates. After the study, female students are more dissuaded from their preferred career path than male students, and this difference is in part explained by professionals’ greater emphasis on work/life balance when responding to female students. Finally, we elicit students’ preferences for professionals and find that gender differences in information provision would remain if students contacted their most preferred professionals.

ПОВЕДІНКА ІНДИВІДУАЛЬНИХ СПОЖИВАЧІВ ЯК ОБ’ЄКТ УПРАВЛІНСЬКИХ ІНТЕРЕСІВ

The article deals with the reasons, directions and scope of the interest of society, institutions of state regulation and managers of business structures concerning the behavior of households as consumers. It was demonstrated that, in the modern socioeconomic system, households act as independent agents, including the area of consumer behavior. At the same time, the consumer behavior of households has a socialized character: firstly, in the context of the implementation of the procedure for obtaining the goods needed to meet the needs; secondly, in the context of the emergence of certain social consequences from the use of acquired goods by households; thirdly, in the context of the conditions of existence, functioning and development of business organizations. The socialized nature of consumer activity determines that the behavior of individual consumers should be the point of interest and influence from the society, state and local institutions of the government and business. At the same time, that behavior can be the subject of interest and influence from the side of society, state institutions of management and business. It was proved that protection of public interests requires an establishment of the certain social control over consumer behavior. On the basis of the analysis it was established that the social interest in individual consumer behavior can be represented in the following directions (forms): objective, quantitative and subjective-territorial. It was found that the objective public interest in the consumer behavior of households involves the focus on consumer choice of specific goods and services. Assessment of consumer behavior in the context of “buying” is associated with the impact of such choices, firstly, on the health of individuals and society taken as a whole, and secondly, on the worldview, creative and intellectual development as individuals, and society taken as a whole. By contrast, the health condition affects the level of “social happiness” (social welfare), efficiency and productivity of social work (ability to perform a certain amount of work and provide a certain level of intensity), the corresponding costs of the state and local budgets connected with the prevention and treatment of diseases, the use of various compensation payments related to the health problems. Quantitative form (direction) of public interest in the behavior of individual consumers may be related to the health issues, macroeconomic policy, resource potential, ensuring a balanced situation in different commodity markets, achieving the required level of the national economic security. The subjective territorial direction of public interest in the market behavior of households is related to the assessment of the social consequences of individual consumer decisions on the choice of entities in the supply chain of goods and services. Such entities may be business organizations of a particular jurisdiction: residents or non-residents. The aggregate market choice of consumer households in this context has certain macroeconomic implications related to the competitiveness of the national economy, the current and future state of its security

Citizen Surveillance of Misleading Food Labeling

At its core, a food label is a marketing device food manufacturers use to display their product’s most positive attributes in hopes of increasing product sales. In 1906, Congress charged the Food and Drug Administration with policing misleading labeling of food products to ensure that manufacturers present their products truthfully. As the number of food products on grocery store shelves has soared, the FDA has become a less effective enforcer of its statutory mandate. In lieu of government enforcement, state consumer protection statutes, modeled after the Federal Trade Commission Act, have given citizens the ability to directly hold food manufacturers accountable for their misleading marketing choices on food products. Consumers have taken up the mantle of surveillance of food labeling claims, and food labeling litigation has skyrocketed in the last ten years. Nevertheless, one hurdle has consistently blocked litigants from holding companies accountable for their intentionally vague labeling: the reasonable consumer test. Deferring to the Federal Trade Commission’s Deception Policy, state consumer protection statutes uniformly require a plaintiff to prove that a reasonable consumer is likely to be misled by the product’s labeling to succeed on a misleading labeling claim. In practice, this test has frequently prevented plaintiffs from succeeding beyond the motion to dismiss stage because judges have inserted their own views of “reasonable” interpretations of labeling claims, even when those interpretations are in direct contravention with known consumer interpretations of the claim and despite confirming that it is a fact question to be reserved for the jury. As a result, citizen surveillance of misleading food labeling has been restricted. This Article seeks to promote robust citizen surveillance of labeling claims by proposing that the FTC release guidance reframing the reasonable consumer test as a risk-utility analysis, similar to the factor test frequently applied in design defect litigation. A risk-utility analysis of food labeling claims would shift the focus of the inquiry from critiquing the reasonableness of the consumer’s suggested interpretation to an assessment of whether the labeling claim had a capacity to mislead given known consumer interpretations of the claim and disclaimers used by the manufacturer to clarify labeling ambiguities. This framework shift would obligate food manufacturers to be more judicious in examining known consumer interpretations and potential risks of deception when deciding whether to include labeling claims to sell their products. If food manufacturers conclude that a food labeling claim is subject to significant consumer confusion, the risk-utility analysis would require manufacturers to take steps to clarify the claim with disclaimers, further educate consumers on the meaning of the ambiguous claim, or halt use of the claim altogether.

Labor Market Choices of Migrants and Redistributive Policies

We experimentally study economic migrants’ willingness to take up work and integrate into society, and, in turn, destination country citizens’ willingness to allow economic migrants to pursue formal work and integrate into society and its social security and welfare system. We find clear evidence for a reciprocal relationship between the individuals in these roles. The labor market participation of economic migrants co-moves with destination countries’ openness to welcoming them. We conclude that supporting economic migrants in early labor market attachment is crucial to support a mutually beneficial co-existence in a society.

Competitive Strategy of Firms’ Participation in the Global Value Chains and Labor Income Share

The division of labor in the global value chain (GVC) has reshaped the competitive advantage of enterprises participating in the international market and has a significant influence on the distribution of their factor income. Based on the perspective of market choice, this paper uses China’s industrial enterprises’ data, Customs Statistical Data on Import and Export, Word Input and Output Database (WIOD), and BACI database from 2000 to 2007 to analyze the effect of competitive strategy of a firm’s GVC participation on its labor income share. Herein, the competition strategy is depicted by the quality and price of export goods. The empirical results show the following. (1) Quality competition has a larger effect on labor income share than price competition. High‐quality and high‐price or high‐quality and low‐price strategies tend to have a significant negative effect on labor income share, while low‐quality and low‐price and low‐quality and high‐price strategies have a positive effect. (2) The higher the target market GVC status, the lower the labor income share of exporting firms, and the target market GVC status amplifies that the high‐quality and high‐price strategies on firms’ labor income share the negative effect of high‐quality and low‐price strategies on exporters’ labor income share. (3) High‐quality and low‐price strategies have a significant negative effect on exporters’ labor income share when competing with developing countries in developed country markets or with developed countries in developing country markets. However, the positive effect of low‐quality and low‐price strategies and low‐quality and high‐price strategies kept unchanged. The findings remain robust after controlling for endogeneity and accounting for the effects of firm heterogeneity, indicator measurement, and sample variation.

Impact of Diverse Technical and Economic Factors on Sustainable Farmer Market Choices: The Case of Cyprus Sheep and Goat Milk Channel Choice

This study investigated the impact of diverse technical and economic factors on sustainable dairy small ruminant farmer market choices in Cyprus. It determined the factors that affect farmer choice between selling milk to a large dairy processor or a traditional small dairy. Detailed interviews with farmers based on a structured questionnaire were conducted in the frame of the DoMEsTIc research project. We used a Probit model to relate adoption behavior to farmer, farm, and market characteristics. Both technico-economic and market aspects contributed to farmer decisions on sustainable milk market channels. Important technico-economic factors were flock size, existence of successor, availability of family labour, computer use, and breeding experience. Market factors that affected farmer decision for a suitable milk market channel were the sheep milk price, the type of contract with buyers (formal or informal), the payment method and the price differentiation according to specific milk quality specifications.JEL Codes: Q01, Q12, Q13

Market Segment Evaluation and Selection Based on the Application of the DEMATEL Method

The analysis and choice of market segmentation is one of the most crucial marketing considerations for all businesses. For many businesses, choosing a target market is one of the most crucial marketing choices. The market mix, purchasing, and distribution strat-egies, as well as other commercial concerns, are also impacted by this decision. Based on the findings of the market segmentation re-view, a solid target market is chosen, taking into account a variety of ele ments such segment size, the presence of competitors, risk, and profitability. This article examines the characteristics of industrial markets in relation to a few important segmentation models. To better understand varied market scenarios, we design a scale with simple market transactions at one end and extensive relationship management at the other. Consumer preferences for product safety and other features are used to create market niches for new prod-ucts. Conjoint analysis and DEMATEL methods were used to establish market categories and ascertain consumer preferences. An an-alytical hierar chical process DEMATEL approach to market segmentation evaluation and selection is presented in this study. The DE MATEL technique is recommended to rank market sectors from best to worst, and it is used to establish the weight of each criteri-on. Five important areas share segmentation change factors: a segmentation factor, competitive, Technologi cal, sociopolitical, and fi-nancial and economic variables are used as evaluation criteria. Graphs are used to display the results. In conclusion, we can infer in-formation about a company's relative capacity for innovation within a certain mar ket sector. In the final ranking, Technological factors is in first place while Competition is in last place. The findings demonstrate that the success potential of segments might vary, and that selecting the best can support businesses' com mitment to growing their operations. Future research and the selection of market seg-ments can both benefit from using this study as a model.

An Analysis of the Beef Production Industry and Marketing in Zambia

This paper studies and provide a comprehensive and critical research by analyzing and evaluating the beef marketing channels, determine marketing efficiency, examine key social and economic factors contributing to the success and failure and establish the regional market interactions across the three agro-ecological regions in Zambia.
 To achieve this, the research used both primary and secondary qualitative and quantitative data from national representative surveys by Rural Agricultural Livelihood Surveys Reports which were implemented by Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute, and the 2017/18 Livestock and Aquaculture Census Report by Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Central Statistics Office, and other relevant literature related to this study. A questionnaire was used in primary data collection through snowball sampling technique, physically asking, and observing cattle farmers, abattoirs, wholesalers, processing companies and various players or actors in the beef market. Thereafter, intermediation theory was applied to develop a conceptual framework, transaction cost analysis was used to understand how and why different supply channels develop, and finally market performance was determined by analyzing the level of marketing margins.
 It was found that there are two major channels (Channel A and Channel B used by small-scale and commercial scale farmers respectively) which have channel subdivisions and several social and economic factors influence the farmers choice of marketing channel as well as influence consumer choices. Channel A was dominated by intermediaries while channel B be was vertically integrated. It was determined that all beef channels in Zambia were efficient and three major consumer types were observed and the regional market interactions showed that region I supplies both II and III, region II supplies III while region III is more of a consumer region.
 This study will help to fully understand cattle producers marketing channel selection, consumer choice of market and product quality, regional market interactions and develops recommendations making available valuable information to farmers, beef traders, companies, and policy makers thereby has the potential to improving beef trade and markets in Zambia.

Direction of luxury fashion retailers' post-entry expansion – the evidence from China

PurposeThis empirical study, from the international retailing perspective, examines the direction of retailers' further expansion after initial entry into overseas host market in the context of the luxury fashion retail market in China.Design/methodology/approachThe research adopts qualitative multiple case studies.FindingsAfter initial entry into China, luxury fashion retailers further expand their retail operations through three directional patterns: cautious, regional and countrywide expansions. The stepwise expansion from tier-1 to tier-2 and tier-3 cities remains popular; however, the importance of the tier system of Chinese cities has been weakened because tier-3 cities in affluent regions are perceived to have more potential than some tier-2 cities in less developed regions. The retailers assess a potential local market through interrelated criteria, including location and strategic importance, economic development, available store locations and staff, a high degree of urbanisation and tourism, debatable favourable policies and offers, and popularity of e- and m-commerce. There is a positive relationship between popularity of e- and m-commerce in a city and the potential of that city to run brick-and-mortar stores.Originality/valueThe paper offers an insight into the current international retailing literature by examining the direction of luxury fashion retailers' further expansion after their initial market entry. Particularly, the research considers a set of criteria which can be used to assess a potential local market, and the impact of e- and m-commerce on local market choices for brick-and-mortar stores.

Opportunity novelty, improvisation and network adaptation in the internationalization of Swedish SMEs

AbstractBy deviating from previous ways of working and improvising new solutions to problems in the internationalization process, small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) will increase the likelihood of developing novel international opportunities. In this way, for instance, unforeseen customer demand, rather than following a specific plan, may govern market choice. Such novel opportunities, in turn, are likely to require network adaptation in order for the firm to reach an insidership position in the international business network. By integrating international opportunity theory with theories on improvisational behavior, three hypotheses are developed between the constructs of international opportunity novelty, improvisation, and network adaptation. The hypotheses were tested with Structural Equation Modelling on 258 realized international opportunities developed by Swedish SMEs (European Union definition: number of employees 10–250) and were observed through on‐site visits. It is revealed that improvisation increases the degree of international opportunity novelty as well as the need for network adaptation. The degree of novelty of realized international opportunities positively influences the need for adaptation to a foreign network. Novelty can be seen as a proxy for opportunity's wealth‐creating potential, and developing improvisation capabilities seems to be a way to increase the novelty of international opportunities developed. Managers that are risk averse and therefore refrain from improvisation risk missing valuable novel opportunities.

Procedure for Assessing the Investment Attractivenessof Foreign Markets.Comparative Analysis of Former USSR Countries

One of the natural stages of development of the enterprise is the desire to expand its business abroad. Globalization, global trade integration, technology development, the emergence of political, economic, customs unions, the existence of international courts of arbitration, the emergence of elements of world culture and other factors reduce the barriers between potential investors and countries to internationalization. This phenomenon has a positive impact on the decisions of companies in diff erent parts of the world about the expansion abroad. The main goal of a foreign investor who plans to internationalize is making the most optimal choice of a foreign market where prevailing realities on business environment will enable the achievement of competitive advantage. Because of this, before internationalization, foreign investors should evaluate the investment attractiveness of all potential directions of internationalization in order to be able to realistically assess their own capabilities in these markets and assess all the risks and opportunities that may arise during the operation. The quality of the analysis which assess the level of investment attractiveness of potential directions has a large impact on the success of the company abroad. The article presents the procedure of comparative analysis taking as an example former USSR countries at the macro level.

The Possiblilty of Pola to Enter the Kuala Lumpur Market

Pola’s current development goal is to access to the ASEAN market, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is its best market choice. This proposal provides a theoretical and practical basis for entering the market by analyzing the market economy in Kuala Lumpur, which includes its consumer preference, product quality and safety standards, consumers’ recognition and loyalty for products, and laws and regulations related to cosmetics. At the same time, this paper also provides relevant solutions to the problems and challenges that may be encountered when entering the market. Moreover, referring to the successful developments in Singapore and Bangkok, compared with other untapped markets in ASEAN, Kuala Lumpur is the most suitable target for Pola development at this stage.

Influence of transaction costs on choice of marketing outlets among smallholder peach farmers in Lesotho

Peach (Prunus persica) production is a major agro-economic activity in Lesotho. However, most smallholder peach farmers in Lesotho still fail to reap the benefits that are in line with peach commercialization. This is because of high transaction costs, which vary along with different peach marketing outlets. This study was conducted to determine the influence of transaction costs on the choice of marketing outlets of peaches in Lesotho. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 90 respondents for this study. Cross-sectional data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. A Multivariate probit model was used to analyse transaction costs influencing the choice of marketing outlets among smallholder peach farmers. The study revealed that gender and communication costs positively influenced the choice of farm gate; while the time taken to reach other outlets and average monthly income negatively influenced the choice of farm gate outlets. Sorting, grading and communication costs negatively impacted the local market; whereas, the average monthly income positively influenced it. Household size influenced farmers’ export market choice negatively. Evidence from the results suggests that the improvement of roads and communication infrastructure could enhance farmers’ income through the proper selection of marketing outlets. Access to market information regarding both distance and the time taken to reach each of the outlets should also be improved.

Influence of transaction costs on choice of marketing outlets among smallholder peach farmers in Lesotho

Peach (Prunus persica) production is a major agro-economic activity in Lesotho. However, most smallholder peach farmers in Lesotho still fail to reap the benefits that are in line with peach commercialization. This is because of high transaction costs, which vary along with different peach marketing outlets. This study was conducted to determine the influence of transaction costs on the choice of marketing outlets of peaches in Lesotho. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 90 respondents for this study. Cross-sectional data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. A Multivariate probit model was used to analyse transaction costs influencing the choice of marketing outlets among smallholder peach farmers. The study revealed that gender and communication costs positively influenced the choice of farm gate; while the time taken to reach other outlets and average monthly income negatively influenced the choice of farm gate outlets. Sorting, grading and communication costs negatively impacted the local market; whereas, the average monthly income positively influenced it. Household size influenced farmers’ export market choice negatively. Evidence from the results suggests that the improvement of roads and communication infrastructure could enhance farmers’ income through the proper selection of marketing outlets. Access to market information regarding both distance and the time taken to reach each of the outlets should also be improved.

Understanding the importance of non-material factors in retaining community health workers in low-income settings: a qualitative case-study in Ethiopia

ObjectivesThe motivation and retention of community health workers (CHWs) is a challenge and inadequately addressed in research and policy. We sought to identify factors influencing the retention of CHWs in...

Subnational institutions and EMNE acquisitions in advanced economies: institutional escapism or fostering?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether subnational market-supporting institutions in Indian states affect the likelihood of Indian multinational enterprises (MNEs) to undertake acquisitions in advanced economies (AEs) rather than emerging economies (EEs) and, if so, which mechanism – institutional fostering or escapism – underlies the phenomenon. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a logistic regression model on a dataset of 647 firm-level cross-border acquisitions (CBAs) undertaken by Indian MNEs during the period 2010–2016. Findings The paper finds support for the institutional escapism mechanism, as opposed to the institutional fostering mechanism, underlying Indian MNEs’ acquisitions in AEs (rather than EEs). That is, firms headquartered in Indian states where market-supporting institutions (such as economic liberalization and efficiency of legal systems) are weak are more likely to undertake CBAs in AEs than in EEs as an escapist response to weak subnational institutions at home. Originality/value The paper highlights the relevance of the mainstream international business (IB) concept of emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) internationalization to critical IB scholarship by examining subnational institutional influences on EMNEs’ foreign market choice between AEs and EEs. In particular, by providing evidence for the institutional escapism mechanism which has potential negative socioeconomic consequences in the region of the investing firm, the paper adds to critical IB research which places great emphasis on the examination of inequalities and draws attention to the EMNE context as a suitable setting for further research on internationalization from a critical perspective.

Counterparty choice in the UK credit default swap market: An empirical matching approach

Adopting a novel empirical matching game framework, we investigate how market participants determine their trading partners in credit default swap transactions, which has received less attention in the literature. Using UK regulatory data at the transaction and identity levels for years 2012–2014, we find evidence that market participants prefer trading with organisations with larger total assets and more market activities. Our findings explain the too-big-to-fail problem in the credit default swap market, where market participants believe that regulators may not allow organisations with too many affected creditors to fail. Additionally, dealers with more intermediation activities are more likely selected as trading partners, implying the self-reinforcing nature of the market, which could exacerbate the too-big-to-fail problem. Counterparty risk also plays a significant role in trade pairing, but its effect differs across organisation types. For example, hedge funds prefer trading with risky counterparties before 2014, leading to a greater contagion risk.