China has become such an important element of the global economy that its influence cannot be ignored in almost any field of endeavour. The phenomenal impact of FDI in China and its (largely trade-related) consequences has been well documented and now there is a significant literature on the phenomenon of outward investment from China too. This book is an in depth study of the international business relationships of China covering both inward and outward foreign direct investment, its impact and related theoretical and policy issues. This volume of highly renowned author Peter Buckley's collected papers from 2005-8 continues his interest in the theory of international business (Section I) and policies towards foreign direct investment (FDI) (Section IV) but has a major concentration on China, both as regards outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) from China (Section II) and FDI in China (Section III).

The aim of EUROPEAN RETAIL RESEARCH is to publish interesting manuscripts of high quality and innovativeness with a focus on retail researchers, retail lecturers, retail students and retail executives. As it has always been, retail executives are part of the target group and the knowledge transfer between retail research and retail management remains a part of the publication's concept.

A funny thing happened on the way to the digital utopia. We've begun to fall back in love with the very analog goods and ideas the tech gurus insisted that we no longer needed. Businesses that once looked outdated, from film photography to brick-and-mortar retail, are now springing with new life. Notebooks, records, and stationery have become cool again. Behold the Revenge of Analog. David Sax has uncovered story after story of entrepreneurs, small business owners, and even big corporations who've found a market selling not apps or virtual solutions but real, tangible things. As e-books are supposedly remaking reading, independent bookstores have sprouted up across the country. As music allegedly migrates to the cloud, vinyl record sales have grown more than ten times over the past decade. Even the offices of tech giants like Google and Facebook increasingly rely on pen and paper to drive their brightest ideas. Sax's work reveals a deep truth about how humans shop, interact, and even think. Blending psychology and observant wit with first-rate reportage, Sax shows the limited appeal of the purely digital life - and the robust future of the real world outside it.

Consumption research is burgeoning across a wide range of disciplines. The Routledge Handbook on Consumption gathers experts from around the world to provide a nuanced overview of the latest scholarship in this expanding field. At once ambitious and timely, the volume provides an ideal map for those looking to position their work, find new analytic insights and identify research gaps. With an intuitive thematic structure and resolutely international outlook, it engages with theory and methodology; markets and businesses; policies, politics and the state; and culture and everyday life. It will be essential reading for students and scholars across the social and economic sciences.

Shopping is perhaps the most universal of tourist activities. Tourists form a separate retailing segment from the general population and place importance on different products and product attributes, contributing billions of dollars each year for both the private and public sector by which retail areas, townscapes and streetscapes can be revitalised. This volume ? based on a two year research program from a team of authors ? examines the forms and functions of approximately fifty tourist shopping villages in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada and the United States. It will interest scholars of Tourism, Geography, Business, and Economics, as well as government officials, civic leaders, and individual entrepreneurs and retailers seeking to maximize their returns and local community residents.

Often described as the "hottest" retail phenomenon, ephemeral retail concerns the growth of pop-up stores as a new mode of retailing. These temporary stores "pop-up" without notice, quickly attract crowds, then disappear or morph into something else. Although they share similarities with traditional physical stores and online stores, ephemeral stores outshine existing retail formats as they have many unique and differentiating characteristics. These stores are becoming more popular among distribution channels as they offer exclusive and surprising retail experiences. Many established brands have already integrated these new points of sale into their distribution channels, while other brands are adopting them to raise communication, awareness, sales or just for experimentation. This phenomenon is finding its place amongst retailers not only for its efficiency and effectiveness but also for its unique impact, providing a sense of novelty that makes it particularly attractive to postmodern consumers seeking hedonic experiences. This concise text introduces all aspects of this growing phenomenon and contextualises it within existing channels of distribution. It explores brand atmospheric interventions that are designed to affect customer emotions, behaviours or experiences, as well as practices retailers adopt to build relationships with their customers. It will be of interest to scholars and advanced students in retail marketing and branding.

A not-so-quiet revolution seems to be occurring in wealthy capitalist societies - supermarkets selling 'guilt free' Fairtrade products; lifestyle TV gurus exhorting us to eat less, buy local and go green; neighbourhood action groups bent on 'swopping not shopping'. And this is happening not at the margins of society but at its heart, in the shopping centres and homes of ordinary people. Today we are seeing a mainstreaming of ethical concerns around consumption that reflects an increasing anxiety with - and accompanying sense of responsibility for - the risks and excesses of contemporary lifestyles in the 'global north'. This collection of essays provides a range of critical tools for understanding the turn towards responsible or conscience consumption and, in the process, interrogates the notion that we can shop our way to a more ethical, sustainable future. Written by leading international scholars from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds - and drawing upon examples from across the globe - Ethical Consumption makes a major contribution to the still fledgling field of ethical consumption studies. This collection is a must-read for anyone interested in the relationship between consumer culture and contemporary social life.

Learning how to build useful e-commerce applications is challenging and exciting because it involves knowing a little about a lot of different computing technologies including networking, security, programming, human computer interface design and database design. This is a book that brings breadth in its coverage of technologies and discusses how to integrate them to achieve business aims.

It covers the full range of relevant web technologies and protocols and it focuses particularly on techniques that are most suitable for e-commerce application building.

"highly recommendable ...The major strength of the book is the fact that it is comprehensive, and that by following the code examples, readers will be able to actually see how e-commerce web sites can be put together. "
Fintan Clear , Brunel University

"the text clearly provides an extremely full and appropriate coverage of the issues. As such it has major market potential as a core text for both postgraduate and undergraduate e-commerce programmes."
Ian Chaston, Reader in Management University of Plymouth, UK

"a very comprehensive and up to date description of the use of the internet to buy and sell goods and services. It covers all the major types of e-commerce, Business to Business (B2B), Business to Consumer (B2C), Consumer to Business (C2B) and Consumer to Consumer (C2C)."
David Wortley, Mass Mitec.

"the technical content is excellent"
Maxime Bombardier, Senior Computer Systems Analyst, Sintaks, a Canon USA Division

Fashion buying and merchandising has changed dramatically over the last 20 years. Aspects such as the advent of new technologies and the changing nature of the industry into one that is faster paced than ever before, as well as the shift towards more ethical and sustainable practices have resulted in a dramatic change of the roles. As a result, contemporary fast fashion retailers do not follow the traditional buying cycle processes step by step, critical paths are wildly different, and there has been a huge increase in 'in-season buying' as a response to heightened consumer demand. This textbook is a comprehensive guide to 21st-century fashion buying and merchandising, considering fast fashion, sustainability, ethical issues, omnichannel retailing, and computer-aided design. It presents an up-to-date buying cycle that reflects key aspects of fashion buying and merchandising, as well as in-depth explanations of fashion product development, trend translation, and sourcing. It applies theoretical and strategic business models to buying and merchandising that have traditionally been used in marketing and management. This book is ideal for all fashion buying and merchandising students, specifically second- and final-year undergraduate as well as MA/MSc fashion students. It will also be useful to academics and practitioners who wish to gain a greater understanding of the industry today.

The aim of EUROPEAN RETAIL RESEARCH is to publish interesting manuscripts of high quality and innovativeness with a focus on retail researchers, retail lecturers, retail students and retail executives. As it has always been, retail executives are part of the target group and the knowledge transfer between retail research and retail management remains a part of the publication's concept.

Imagine planning an event like the Olympics. Now imagine planning the same event but not knowing when or where it will take place, or how many will attend. This is what humanitarian logisticians are up against. Oversights result in serious consequences for the victims of disasters. So they have to get it right, fast.

Gaming markets are evolving rapidly. Spearheading this change is the internet, which has enabled cross-border gambling on an unprecedented scale. This book explores the changing landscape of the gaming market and is a crucial companion for all looking for informed discussion on the future of gaming.

Das Automobilgeschaft stellt in vielen Landern einen bedeutenden Wachstumsmotor fur die Wirtschaft dar. Um im globalen Wettbewerb zu bestehen, mussen die Unternehmen der Automobilindustrie ihre strategische Ausrichtung und ihr Marketing optimieren. Dazu bietet dieses Buch eine auf die Branche abgestimmte Ubersicht zu allen wichtigen Aspekten fur ein erfolgreiches Automotive Management. Erfolgsfaktoren und Losungsansatze werden von Experten aus Wissenschaft, Beratung und Unternehmen der Automobilwirtschaft umfassend und ausfuhrlich beschrieben und mit zahlreichen Beispielen aus der Praxis illustriert."

Die jahrzehntelange Praxis des Autors als Management-Coach hat gezeigt: In den letzten funf Jahren ist die Verunsicherung grosser, das Vertrauen aber kleiner geworden. In dem Buch motiviert er Fuhrungskrafte und leitet sie an, das Vertrauen von Kunden, Geschaftspartnern und Mitarbeitern zuruckzugewinnen, zu pflegen und auszubauen. Der Autor zeigt, wo die Quellen des Erfolgs zu suchen sind. Der von ihm entwickelte Katalog an Massnahmen und Verhaltensweisen hilft Lesern, ihr Fuhrungs- und Kommunikationsverhalten zu prufen und weiterzuentwickeln."

Die Mobilfunkbranche steht vor ihrem n chsten Entwicklungssprung. Nachdem der mobile Sprachmarkt ges ttigt ist, richtet sich der Fokus auf neue Gesch ftsfelder wie der Markt f r mobiles Internet, mobile Datengesch fte und Anwendungen. Das Buch b ndelt aktuellste praxisrelevante und wissenschaftlich fundierte Erkenntnisse zu den Erfolgsfaktoren eines profitablen Mobile Marketings. Mit einem Grundlagenteil sowie Kapiteln zu den Marketinginstrumenten und den Besonderheiten des Marketingmanagements ist der Band von hohem Wert f r die Unternehmenspraxis.

Managing Retail Consumption explores retailing primarily from the customer's viewpoint, as well as placing the subject in its wider social context. In this new book, Barry Davies and Philippa Ward give both the student and manager of retailing a unique perspective on consumption that balances marketing, management and the social sciences. Using this interdisciplinary approach, the authors consider the way retail spaces are both created and manipulated. They also explore the interplay between the retailer's provision and the consumer's ability to structure, manage and edit individual responses.

FEATURES

• Includes concise histories of retail development and the birth and growth of consumer culture.

• Investigates retailing through the metaphor of drama, using the Servuction model as a framework.

• Illustrates retail practice with examples from many well-known international organizations, e.g. Aldi, Marks & Spencer, Mitsukoshi, Nordstrom and Wal-Mart.

The rise of hard discounters like Aldi and Lidl has been monumental. Explore the very real threat they pose to traditional retailers and brand manufacturers and what you can learn from their growth. Hard discounters are stores that sell a limited selection of consumer-packaged goods and perishables - typically fewer than 2,000 Stock Keeping Units - for prices that are usually 50-60% lower than national brands. The best-known hard discounters are Aldi and Lidl, but global brands include Trader Joe's, EuroSpin, Biedronka, Netto and Leader Price. Their rise has been monumental; they have irrevocably changed the face of retail in Europe and Australia and are making steady inroads into the US. Retail Disruptors is the first book that explores this upheaval, providing expert insight into the business models of the leading hard discounters, and what mainstream retailers and brand manufacturers can do to remain competitive in the face of disruption. Meticulously researched by two of the leading authorities in retail strategy, private labels, branding, and hard discounting, Retail Disruptors is essential reading for all brand manufacturers and retailers who want to retain the competitive edge.

In the last years electronic markets, especially online auctions, have become very popular and received more and more attention in both, business (B2B) as well as in public practice (B2C and C2C). Science, however, is still far from having studied all phenomena and effects which can be observed on electronic markets. Apart from theoretic analysis, other approaches are necessary to evaluate and understand market effects. This book shows that and how software agents can be used to simulate bidding behaviour in electronic auctions.

The main emphasis of this book is to apply computational economics to market theory. It summarizes the most common and up-to-date agent-based simulation methods and tools and develops the simulation software AMASE. On basis of the introduced methods a model is established to simulate bidding behaviour under uncertainty.

The book addresses researchers, computer scientists, economists and students who are interested in applying agent-based computational methods to electronic markets. It helps to learn more about simulations in economics in general and common agent-based methods and tools in particular. The reader finds basic definitions and learns how to build an appropriate model for the posed research question. It is the first time that quantitative results are presented for the problem of valuation uncertainty. These results significantly contribute to existing research in computational economics and supplements interesting research aspects.

Applying a Market Engineering approach, this book introduces a model of an auction with a posted price offer, and investigates the characteristics of such mechanisms. It discusses the respective equilibrium strategies of sellers and the bidders, providing useful insight into actual behavior. The theoretic results are compared with strategies of students in a controlled experiment. The experimental observations expose shortcomings of standard economic theories and help to further improve electronic markets.

Drawing on several interviews and a comprehensive statistical analysis, Alfred Angerer proves the effectiveness of such ASR systems. The following questions are adressed: Which types of ASR system exist? What are the exact benefits of ASR systems? Which variables influence the ASR performance? Which ASR system is best suited for each product?
How does a company best implement ASR systems?

Wie konnen sich Unternehmen andern und sich dabei treu bleiben? Es gibt viele Wege zum Erfolg, eines jedoch haben sie gemeinsam: Ihr Fokus liegt auf Change Communications (Veranderungskommunikation). In dem Buch wird die zentrale Aufgabe von Change Communications veranschaulicht, namlich die Kommunikation wahrend eines Veranderungsprozesses zu steuern, zu managen und zu gestalten. Pramierte Projekte (European Change Communications Award) werden detailliert vorgestellt und durch Expertenbeitrage zu den Themen Traditionen, Werte und Rituale erganzt."

Leading international food retailers have in recent years expanded beyond national boundaries and started to operate on a global scale. This book describes the current state of play, looking in detail at the main competitors worldwide and analyzing the factors underlying their successes and failures. The authors are leading commentators on this industry and identify the essential characteristics of a global strategy in food retailing and include many compelling examples.

Japanese distribution was long seen as archaic and difficult to understand, but today that has changed. Domestic firms stretching across all retail formats and categories have taken control of channels and now lead the consumer market from the front. They are now so advanced that the very best are bursting out of the Japanese market and operating across Asia and even as far as Western Europe. Through case studies and concrete examples, this book provides the most detailed analysis of retailing in Japan ever written; it is the definitive guide to how Japan has changed and what to expect in the future.

This book studies the main causes, consequences and nature of the Asia-Pacific's new free trade agreement (FTA) trend, and its implications for the global economy. It explores the FTA policies of the region's trade powers and offers conceptual and theoretical perspectives on the relationship between economic bilateralism and regionalism.