This book addresses the challenging task of demand forecasting and inventory management in retailing. It analyzes how information from point-of-sale scanner systems can be used to improve inventory decisions, and develops a data-driven approach that integrates demand forecasting and inventory management for perishable products, while taking unobservable lost sales and substitution into account in out-of-stock situations. Using linear programming, a new inventory function that reflects the causal relationship between demand and external factors such as price and weather is proposed. The book subsequently demonstrates the benefits of this new approach in numerical studies that utilize real data collected at a large European retail chain. Furthermore, the book derives an optimal inventory policy for a multi-product setting in which the decision-maker faces an aggregated service level target, and analyzes whether the decision-maker is subject to behavioral biases based on real data for bakery products.

Examining the extent to which trade adversely affects domestic workers, Making Sense of Anti-Trade Sentiment documents statistical relationships between exports and imports and domestic employment/wages.

Uncovering how cash-in-hand economies are composed of not only the underground sector (work akin to formal employment conducted for profit-motivated purposes), but also a hidden economy of favours more akin to mutual aid, this book displays the need to transcend conventional market-oriented readings of cash-in-hand work and radically rethink whether seeking its eradication through tougher regulations is always appropriate. It argues for a variegated policy approach that recognizes these two distinct forms of cash-in-hand work and which tailors policy accordingly.

Based on extensive archival research, Beyond Market and Hierarchy reconstructs how Fan waged modern China's war of salts. Led by his Jiuda Salt Industries, the nascent refined salt industry battled revenue farmers who, as a group, monopolized the production and distribution of evaporated salt.

Despite the recent misfortunes of many dotcoms, e-commerce will have major and lasting effects on economic activity. But the rise and fall in the valuations of the first wave of e-commerce companies show that vague promises of distant profits are insufficient. Only business models based on sound economic propositions will survive. This book provides professionals, investors, and MBA students the tools they need to evaluate the wide range of actual and potential e-commerce businesses at the microeconomic level. It demonstrates how these tools can be used to assess a variety of existing applications.

Advances in web-based technology--particularly automation and delegation technologies such as smart agents, shopping bots, and bidding elves--support the further growth of e-commerce. In addition to enabling consumers to conduct automated comparisons and sellers to access visitors' background information in real time, such software programs can make decisions for individuals, negotiate with other programs, and participate in online markets. Much of e-commerce's economic value arises from this kind of automation, which not only reduces operating costs but adds value by generating new market interactions.

This text teaches how to analyze the added value of such applications, considering consumer behavior, pricing strategies, incentives, and other critical factors. It discusses added value in several e-commerce arenas: online shopping, business-to-business e-commerce, application design, online negotiation (one-to-one trading), online auctions (one-to-many trading), and many-to-many electronic exchanges. Combining insights from several years of microeconomic research as well as from game theory and computer science, it stresses the importance of economic engineering in application design as well as the need for business models to take into account the "total game."

As the only serious treatment of the microeconomics of e-commerce, this book should be read by anyone seeking e-commerce solutions or planning to work in the field.

China's trade surplus is an essential question, but there are many popular misconceptions about it, a fact that prompted the creation of this book, On China's Trade Surplus. It will help readers to understand the manner in which China's foreign trade and China's role in global trade have developed, and to how to benefit from trade with China. In this book, many hot topics are analyzed, such as: What promotes China's trade surplus? Why doesn't it have a trade deficit? What are the relations between trade frictions and China's trade surplus, and how can trade frictions be reduced? What is the deeper meaning of the U.S. trade deficit with China?

The world's population continues to grow year after year, putting pressure on all global resources. This book provides examples of how we can deal with all the challenges associated with aspects of population growth in the quest for sustainable development. It presents case studies on different areas of sustainability in the food industry, which includes food production and consumption. The collection of illustrative examples includes cases from agriculture and fisheries, the food refining sector, the supply chain, wholesale and retail channels, and other relevant aspects that enhance our understanding of how sustainability takes place in this global sector. The book will appeal to a wide readership, from practitioners to researchers, teachers and students worldwide.

Information Systems: The e-Business Challenge Indisputable, e-Business is shaping the future inspiring a growing range of innovative business models. To bring it to the point: the Internet has redefined the way electronic business is performed. In an electronic supported business all relationships are transformed -may it be a seller-to buyer relationship or a an agency-to-citizen relationship. So for instance in commerce new business models incorporate various activities: promoting and communicating company and product information to a global user base; accepting orders and payments for goods and services; providing ongoing customer support; getting feedback and spurring collaboration for a new product development. There are several ways of further differentiating e-Business such as sketching some diversions on various levels: e-Commerce, e-Government; B2C, B2B, B2G, G2C; Customer Relationship Management, Business Intelligence and so on. Further distinctions may follow divergent criteria such as separating in business stages. Thus particular problem domains emerge. They all state of its own guiding the development of adequate information systems.

BE 2002 is the second in a series of conferences on eCommerce, eBusiness, and eGovemment organised by the three IFIP committees TC6, TC8, and TCll. As BE 2001 did last year in Zurich, BE 2002 continues to provide a forum for users, engineers, and researchers from academia, industry and government to present their latest findings in eCommerce, eBusiness, and eGovernment applications and the underlying technologies which support those applications. This year's conference comprises a main track with sessions on eGovernment, Trust, eMarkets, Fraud and Security, eBusiness (both B2B and B2C), the Design of systems, eLearning, Public and Health Systems, Web Design, and the Applications of and Procedures for eCommerce and eBusiness, as well as two associated Workshops (not included in these proceedings): eBusiness Models in the Digital Online Music and Online News Sectors; and eBusiness Standardisation - Challenges and Solutions for the Networked Economy. The 47 papers accepted for presentation in these sessions and published in this book of proceedings were selected from 80 submissions. They were rigorously reviewed (all papers were double-blind refereed) before being selected by the International Programme Committee. This rejection rate of almost 50% indicates just how seriously the Committee took its quality control activities.

Keeping up with changes in retailing is daunting for both students and instructors, as companies start up, merge, or go out of business. What is retailing? Where is it going? Who are the players and how do they operate? These are just some of the questions this text addresses. Poloian provides examples and references involving retail change such as ownership, technology, and trend-related aspects with the most current information. Many students will go on to build careers in the global marketplace, an understanding of the global nature of business, and new content on the global retail environment is essential. This new edition provides the information and tools necessary to thrive in this competitive industries.

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. EUROPEAN RETAIL RESEARCH welcomes manuscripts on original theoretical or conceptual contributions as well as empirical research based either on large-scale empirical data or on the case-study method. Following the state of the art in retail research, articles on any major issues that concern the general field of retailing and distribution are welcome.The review process will support the authors in enhancing the quality of their work and will offer the authors a reviewed publication outlet. Part of the concept of EUROPEAN RETAIL RESEARCH is an only short delay between manuscript submission and final publication, so it is intended to become a quick publication platform. "

Post-colonial Africa is littered with regional trade agreements that amounted to little more than a photo opportunity for the leaders that signed them. This book explores conventional explanations for past failures and posits a new theory rooted in the symbiotic relationship between authoritarian politics and crony-capitalism.

Maritime transport has been the main driver of trade growth, and the emergence and development of a global economy. This collection of essays from distinguished economists and historians takes an international and comparative perspective, covering topics ranging from technological advance and the role of the state to maritime business development.

This volume addresses profound issues in international economics, with contributions from leading researchers on the implications of trade. Empirical studies address preferential trading arrangements, global imbalances and exchange rates, facilitating an understanding of how the economy functions and enabling detailed policy evaluation.

Retail shelf management means cost-efficiently aligning retail operations with consumer demand. As consumers expect high product availability and low prices, and retailers are constantly increasing product variety and striving towards high service levels, the complexity of managing retail business and its operations is growing enormously. Retailers need to match consumer demand with shelf supply by balancing variety (number of products) and service levels (number of items of a product), and by optimizing demand and profit through carefully calibrated prices. As a result the core strategic decisions a retailer must make involve assortment sizes, shelf space assignment and pricing levels. Rigorous quantitative methods have emerged as the most promising solution to this problem. The individual chapters in this book therefore focus on three areas: (1) combining assortment and shelf space planning, (2) providing efficient decision support systems for practically relevant problem sizes, and (3) integrating inventory and price optimization into shelf management.

This new book focuses on the analysis of the online strategy and development of the luxury industry, tracing the evolution of the Internet from a means of communication to a trade and distribution channel. The author provides a comprehensive evaluation and a critical assessment of the tactics required for the management of luxury brands online.

In malls across the United States, clothing retail workers navigate low wages and unpredictable schedules. Despite these problems, they devote time and money to mirror the sleek mannequins stylishly adorned with the latest merchandise. Bringing workers' voices to the fore, sociologists Joya Misra and Kyla Walters demonstrate how employers reproduce gendered and racist "beauty" standards by regulating workers' size and look. Interactions with customers, coworkers, and managers further reinforce racial hierarchies. New surveillance technologies also lead to ineffective corporate decision-making based on flawed data. By focusing on the interaction of race, gender, and surveillance, Walking Mannequins sheds important new light on the dynamics of retail work in the twenty-first century.

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.

Climate change represents the most important environmental challenge of our time. Organisations are responding by implementing governance processes and taking action to reduce their own emissions and the emissions from their supply chains and value chains. Yet very little is known about how these efforts contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions (if, indeed, they make any substantive contribution at all) or about how they might be harnessed to deliver more ambitious reductions in emissions. This book explains when and where particular forms of governance intervention - including internal governance processes and external governance pressures - are likely to impact climate change. From this analysis, it offers practical proposals on the climate policy frameworks that need to be in place to facilitate or accelerate changes in corporate behaviour. The book is truly global: it focuses on the world's 25 largest retailers (including Walmart, Tesco, Carrefour, Sears and Aldi) and is based on detailed interviews with senior managers from these corporations, and with key global and national NGOs, corporate responsibility experts, politicians and regulators. These interviews provide clear insights into how external governance pressures and actions (public opinion, regulation, incentives) interact with internal governance conditions (management systems and processes, corporate policies, board/CEO leadership) to change and shape corporate actions on climate change and, in turn, the climate change impacts of these corporations. This book can be used as a core reference for any courses dealing with corporate governance and business strategy, in particular those relating to climate change and to environmental management more generally. It is also of relevance to business practitioners, public policy makers, investors and NGOs interested in ensuring that companies play a constructive role in the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The internationalization and consolidation of retailing is turning the traditional retail industry on its head. International purchasing, fast and efficient operational models and new technologies constantly challenge retailers. Real price competition is just beginning. "The Retail Value Chain" analyzes the changes in the retail industry and the strategic options now open to companies. The book describes the key concepts of Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) and provides several illustrative cases to demonstrate the results.

This book explores the following topics:

- Why have hard discounters succeeded in many markets?

- What are the key success factors of premium retailing?

- How can traditional retailing respond to competition from new entrants?

- How will private labels change product development processes and the balance of power in the retail value chain?

- How can different manufacturers benefit from ECR-collaboration?

- How do retailers share and use information in collaboration with manufacturers?

- How will new technologies change the retail value chain?

Harness the power of social media to attract new customers and transform your business! More than three billion people are now on social media. If you're not in the social media marketing game, you're not in the game at all. From one of the world's leading figures in the world of social media marketing, Likeable Social Media reveals everything you need to know about building your brand and attracting & retaining loyal customers through smart, savvy social media engagement. This updated edition of the bestselling classic is packed with expert advice and new case studies that demonstrate the latest best practices. You'll find critical information about new and relevant social media platforms, such as Snapchat, along with updated tools, and tactics around video, mobile, paid media, and data; and need-to-know insights into existing platforms/content, including Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook stories. Likeable Social Media shows you how to: *Engage customers and crowdsource innovation online *Create content that resonates with consumers and provides value*Integrate social media into the entire customer experience*Effectively deal with criticism and negative feedback on social media*Grow your audience across social channels, and much more

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.

Modern-day markets do not arise spontaneously or evolve naturally. Rather they are crafted by individuals, firms, and most of all, by governments. Like statecraft, "marketcraft" represents a core function of government, and it requires considerable artistry to govern markets effectively. In Marketcraft, Steven K. Vogel builds his argument upon the recognition that all markets are crafted and then systematically explores the implications for analysis and policy. Vogel marshals a wide range of policy examples to support this concept, focusing in particular on the U.S. and Japan. He examines how the U.S., the "freest" market economy, is actually among the most heavily regulated advanced economies, while Japan's effort to liberalize its economy in the 1990s counterintuitively expanded the government's role in practice. In our era-and despite what anti-government ideologues contend-government officials, regardless of party affiliation, should be trained in marketcraft just as much as in statecraft.

Die Personalisierung von Leistungen im Internet bietet die Moeglichkeit, das eigene Angebot fur die Kunden einer Webprasenz mit einem zusatzlichen Nutzen zu versehen und somit eine Abgrenzung zu den Angeboten der Konkurrenz zu erreichen. Massnahmen zur Personalisierung beruhen dabei auf der Analyse von Kundendaten. Eine moegliche Datenquelle stellen dabei Webserverlogfiles dar, in denen Informationen uber besuchte Webseiten abgelegt werden. Vor diesem Hintergrund ist es das Ziel der Arbeit, die Webloganalyse in den Kontext des Customer Relationship Management im Sinne einer kundenzentrierten Unternehmensfuhrung einzuordnen. Dabei wird ein umfassender UEberblick uber die betriebswirtschaftliche Motivation sowie die informationstechnische Umsetzung der Webloganalyse prasentiert.