This collection of expert articles highlights the standards and practices concerning sustainability reporting among companies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Due to the growing interest in corporate social responsibility issues, sustainability reporting has become increasingly common among businesses that claim to adhere to certain social, environmental and economic standards. While it can be observed that sustainability reporting is widely practiced in Western and Northern European countries, only few studies have been conducted on this topic in the CEE region. Drawing on a major empirical study involving researchers from 10 different CEE countries, this book addresses the status quo of sustainability reporting, outlines future prospects and provides essential recommendations for practitioners.

This proceedings volume presents new methods and applications in applied economics with special interest in advanced cross-section data estimation methodology. Featuring select contributions from the 2019 International Conference on Applied Economics (ICOAE 2019) held in Milan, Italy, this book explores areas such as applied macroeconomics, applied microeconomics, applied financial economics, applied international economics, applied agricultural economics, applied marketing and applied managerial economics. International Conference on Applied Economics (ICOAE) is an annual conference that started in 2008, designed to bring together economists from different fields of applied economic research, in order to share methods and ideas. Applied economics is a rapidly growing field of economics that combines economic theory with econometrics, to analyze economic problems of the real world, usually with economic policy interest. In addition, there is growing interest in the field of applied economics for cross-section data estimation methods, tests and techniques. This volume makes a contribution in the field of applied economic research by presenting the most current research. Featuring country specific studies, this book is of interest to academics, students, researchers, practitioners, and policy makers in applied economics, econometrics and economic policy.

The World Wide Web provides an alternative way for practitioners to deliver advertising messages, and its success as an advertising medium continues as shown in a recent report from the Internet Advertising Bureau (2006). The Web ad revenues in the United States totaled over $12.5 billion for the year 2005, a 30 percent increase over 2004 revenues. Despite its exponential growth, Web advertising has endured much scrutiny due to its failure to engage consumers in interaction with advertising message. The very accountability for which Web advertising was once praised is now employed to question its value. The dismal click-through rates (i.e., below 1 percent), along with consumers' intentional avoidance of Web advertising, suggest that we need to look beyond the effortful or conscious processing of Web advertising. Despite the continued effort to theorize how Web advertising works, little has been known about how Web advertising may affect consumers' responses when the Web advertisements are outside of consumers' attentional focus. This book not only proposes a theoretical framework of how Web advertising works, but also empirically examines preattentive processing of Web advertising. The model proposes that the Web advertising source and message characteristics, in conjunction with moderating exogenous and endogenous variables, impact Web ad processing (via preattention versus focal attention) to influence Web ad effects. Furthermore, the study explores factors affecting the extent of preattentive processing of Web advertising and examines outcomes of preattentive processing in terms of memory, attitudes and consideration set formation. This book will be a critical reference for those inadvertising, communications and Internet Studies.

This book discusses the connection between fast fashion brands and customer-centric sustainability. It highlights what consumers can do with fast fashion and the important aspects that need to be addressed to make fast fashion sustainable. Fast fashion is an inevitable element in today's fashion business cycle and its adverse impacts on sustainable fashion are a major issue.

This book discusses the role historical events played in determining the pattern of growth of Indian manufacturing. Two important historical events significantly influenced the course of Indian manufacturing from the 15th century AD. The first was the arrival of European merchants via sea route pioneered by Vasco-da-Gamma in 1498 and the other was the dawn of the Mughal Empire in 1526. The book explores how these two events provided the appropriate stimulus for the emergence of traditional flexible manufacturing in India and how they played a vital role in the pattern of growth of the Indian manufacturing: The Mughal Empire created an integrated economy of continental size whereas European trading companies expanded the commercial connectivity of the Indian economy and South East Asia. It further investigates how the circumstances created by the colonial administration, factor endowment and market conditions created the complex forms of manufacturing enterprises that India inherited at the time of independence. It is a valuable resource for students of history, economic history, business history and the history of technology.

This proceedings volume provides a multifaceted perspective on current challenges and opportunities that organizations face in their efforts to develop and grow in an ever more complex environment. Featuring selected contributions from the 2019 Griffiths School of Management Annual Conference (GSMAC) on Business, Entrepreneurship and Ethics, this book focuses on the role of creativity, technology and ethics in facilitating the transformation organizations need in order to be ready for the future and succeed. Growth and development have always been imperative for people, organizations, and societies and a relevant topic in the management sciences. Globalization, along with dramatic changes in social, cultural, and technological progress, are the main factors that determine the current conditions for development, putting forth a new set of challenges and opportunities that are putting pressure on organisations to adapt. Although technology and creativity seem to be the mantra for success in this new context, issues around the ethics of these two factors also seem to be crucial to the sustainability of growth in organizations. Featuring contributions on topics such as academic marketing, technology in healthcare organizations, ethical issues in hospitality, artificial intelligence and data mining, this book provides research and tools for students, professors, practitioners and policy makers in the fields of business, management, public administration and sociology.

Large surveys are becoming increasingly available for public use, and researchers are often faced with the need to analyse complex survey data to address key scientific issues. For proper analysis it is also important to be aware of the different aspects of the design of complex surveys. Practical Methods for Design and Analysis of Complex Surveys features intermediate and advanced statistical techniques for use in designing and analysing complex surveys. This extensively updated edition features much new material, and detailed practical exercises with links to a Web site, helping instructors and enabling use for distance learning.
* Provides a comprehensive introduction to sampling and estimation in descriptive surveys, including design effect statistic and use of auxiliary data.
* Includes detailed coverage of complex survey analysis, including design-based ANOVA and logistic regression with GEE estimation.
* Contains much new material, including handling of non-sampling errors, and model-assisted estimation for domains.
* Features detailed real-li fe case studies, such as multilevel modeling in a multinational educational survey.
* Supported by a Web site containing software codes, real data sets, computerized exercises with solutions, and online training materials.

Practical Methods for Design and Analysis of Complex Surveys provides a useful practical resource for researchers and practitioners working in the planning, implementation or analysis of complex surveys and opinion polls, including business, educational, health, social, and socio-economic surveys and official statistics. In addition, the book is well suited for use on intermediate and advanced courses in survey sampling.

Keeping and gaining market share is what most business strive for in the race to make brands profitable. In a hugely competitive world, customer loyalty has become a key area for concern.
What would happen if you could go one step further and identify not just those customers who are loyal to your brand, but those who are truly committed to your product or service? This book helps you to do just that.
More that ten years ago, Jannie Hofmeyr and Butch Rice created something called The Conversion Model - a technique that analyses the degree of a person's psychological commitment to anything and everything.
Marketers will be able to gain a strategic advantage within their market if they implement the thinking, tools and strategies outlines in this book.
"After years of using customer satisfaction measures I was extremely frustrated at the lack of correlation between satisfaction and subsequent customer defection rates. The measurement of commitment, via The Conversion Model provided the vital link I had been looking for." Alan Gilmour, Brand and Marketing Director, Lloyds TSB
"The Conversion Model enabled us to establish real insight into loyalty and we effectively fused it with a segmentation process. This has allowed us to really grapple with the core market dynamics and establish key marketing objectives in an increasingly competitive and diverse marketplace..." Mark Horton, Group Head of Marketing, Northcliffe Newspaper Group
"Since I first came across the Conversion Model back in 1990, I have always found it was the perfect tool for measuring the health of brands I've worked on..." David V. Spangler, Director, The Council for Marketing and opinion Research (MCMOR) and former Research Director of Levi Strauss Co
"The Conversion Model is a compelling strategic marketing tool that offers a true understanding of institutional investor behaviour. It is a predictive indicator of potential market share gains and losses with a phenomenal degree of precision." Patricia Toney, Manager, Marketing research, Chicago Board of Trade
"To grow a business, convert customers to your offering and then keep them committed....a very powerful answer is in this book." John Deighton, Professor of Business Admininstration, Harvard Business School
"Using the Conversion Model has given us significant insights into brand choice across a range of countries and cultures......The added dimension of commitment has allowed us to understand more comprehensively what is in the mind of our consumers - a real plus in terms of giving us the competitive edge." Janett Edelberg, Joseph E. Seagram & Sons

Samli sets a foundation for analyzing the impact of culture on behavior and how this impact may vary in different cultures. By understanding consumer behavior patterns in different world markets, international marketers can serve the special needs of international consumers. Cultures can be grouped and their impact on the consumer behavior can be detected. Understanding consumer behavior in different culture groups is the foundation of international marketing success.

In this bold first effort to assimilate the knowledge about international consumers, Professor Samli asserts that international consumer behavior is not just a simple extension of our knowledge about American consumer behavior. Rather, it is primarily culture-driven. Whereas culture is a given in studying consumer behavior in the West or in North America, foreign cultures must be understood before parameters of international consumer behavior patterns can be established. Understanding these patterns is the essence of successful international marketing. This orientation explains why successful marketing plans must be different in different world markets and that these markets are not at all homogeneous. Successful international marketing plans must dwell primarily on differences rather than similarities among international consumers. The key aspects of behavior patterns are connected to marketing plans throughout the book.

Social class, hierarchy of needs, and formal and informal group memberships play quite different roles within the given constraints of culture. As a result, involvement, learning, and experiences of the individual form differently in different world markets. This process needs to be deciphered and understood so that adequate communication is established with consumers everywhere. Both marketing scholars and marketing practitioners need to understand that marketing plans around the world should be keyed to consumer needs and behavior patterns. These are the essence of competitive advantage.

This book analyses the importance of consumer behaviour in sustainable fashion and consumption. Consumer behaviour plays a major role in sustainability, and when it comes to textile products, a number of studies have shown that for certain product categories, consumer behaviour during use and disposal stages influences the entire life cycle impacts of the product more than the raw material and manufacturing stages. However green the production, the overall sustainability of a product depends on the consumers who use and dispose of it.

This volume explores the interconnection of social, political, technological and economic challenges that impact consumer relationships, new product launches and consumer interests. Featuring contributions presented at the 2019 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) World Marketing Congress (WMC) held in Edinburgh, Scotland, the theme of this proceedings draws from the Scottish Enlightenment movement of the mid-Eighteenth Century, which centered on ideas of liberty, progress and the scientific method. The core values of this movement are being challenged by the rapidly changing, globally shifting and digitally connected world. The contributions presented in this volume reflect and reframe the roles of marketers and marketing in incorporating and advancing the ideas of the Scottish Enlightenment within contemporary marketing theory and practice. Founded in 1971, the Academy of Marketing Science is an international organization dedicated to promoting timely explorations of phenomena related to the science of marketing in theory, research, and practice. Among its services to members and the community at large, the Academy offers conferences, congresses, and symposia that attract delegates from around the world. Presentations from these events are published in this Proceedings series, which offers a comprehensive archive of volumes reflecting the evolution of the field. The series deliver cutting-edge research and insights, complementing the Academy's flagship journals, the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS) and AMS Review (AMSR). Volumes are edited by leading scholars and practitioners across a wide range of subject areas in marketing science.

This book, based on extensive original research, traces the development of the consumer interest . It examines the impact the consumer interest has in various spheres and considers the reonses of these spheres. It points out the ways in which consumer interests are represented in different countries, particularly the significant difference between North America and Europe.

The book examines the social processes which have shaped the development and organisation of various marketing practices and activities, and the markets associated with them. Drawing on the figurational-sociological approach associated with Norbert Elias the contributors explain how various markets and related marketing practices and activities are organised, enabled and constrained by the actions of people at different levels of social integration. Collectively, The Social Organisation of Marketing provides insights into topics such as the consumption and of wine in China, the advertising of Guinness, the management of on-line communities in Germany, the corporate social responsibility strategies of multinational energy corporations in Africa, the concept of talent management in contemporary organisations, the child consumer in Ireland, and the constraining and enabling influences of the American corporate organisational structure.

This book explores how spirituality and resiliency defines the character of African women and inspires them to serve the communities and organizations around them. Through portraits of twelve Malawian women national leaders, it celebrates the lives of indigenous women and describes how their unique backgrounds and experiences have contributed to their leadership development. It provides an understanding of the strategies these women employ to move beyond historical barriers to exercise leadership. The author introduces a new leadership model called transformative engaging leadership, which demonstrates how African women leaders use their inner strength to thrive and succeed in the midst of challenges. It contributes to African female leadership studies and will be helpful to leaders and organizations that have a passion for advancing female leaders in the developing world.

A new sub-area of marketing is emerging called neuromarketing. It combines psychology, neuroscience, and economics with the study of consumer motivations. This is leading to the creation of new technological approaches that enable companies to read the customer's mind and tailor marketing practices, products, and services. Neuromarketing and Big Data Analytics for Strategic Consumer Engagement: Emerging Research and Opportunities provides emerging information on the issues involved in the field of neuromarketing, including models, technologies, and the methodology of this field. Highlighting the intricacies of neuroscience, biometrics, multimedia technology, marketing strategy, and big data management, this book is an ideal resource for researchers, neuroscientists, marketers, suppliers, customers, and investors seeking current research on the integration of new neuromarketing trends and technologies.

This book emphasizes the need for new directions and approaches for social and economic development in the emerging nations of the Asia-Pacific region through the use of Smart Technologies. It takes a holistic view of socio-economic and technical developments taking place through ASEAN and South Asia. Compared to practices in the 20th century, the use of Smart Technologies is likely to have a faster and greater impact on emerging nations (Smart Nations). Smart Technologies for Smart Nations: Perspectives from the Asia-Pacific Region is core reading for academics, professionals, and policymakers interested in technological developments in ASEAN and South Asia.

The industrial development of emerging markets has been a powerful driver for mergers and acquisitions. The contributions collected in this book assess major M&A deals in the largest emerging capital markets (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and their role in shareholder value creation in the markets' specific business environments. In addition, the book explores various dimensions of M&A deals in order to summarize the main trends in corporate control markets in the largest emerging countries, and how they differ from those in developed countries; to identify deal-performance relationships and the determinants of success or failure; to reveal the drivers for the premium in M&A deals; and to capture market responses to different M&A strategies. By doing so, the book makes a significant contribution to the literature, which has to date largely focused on developed markets.

Based on neuroscience research, this book presents and demonstrates a 'Ten Enablers' model as a framework to help change leaders successfully lead and manage change. It focuses on the execution of change processes within volatile and challenging emerging markets with high growth potential. The book first presents the organizational development and change research on which the model is based, and discusses the basic neuroscience principles. It then introduces a systematic model of the ten enablers, taking readers through the process of change, from considering the ethos prior to embarking on it, including engagement of stakeholders, up to the final phase, where change leaders exit the process or the organization. It highlights this circular process through several step-by-step illustrations, supported by examples from emerging markets. Further, it includes neuroscience research and principles to help leaders understand and manage change in themselves and others. This well-researched and practical book is a valuable resource for students and professionals alike.

In "Eccentric Marketing," marketing strategist and entrepreneur Said A. Baaghil outlines the framework for a forward-thinking new consumer model aimed at transforming the way products and services are marketed in the Middle East. Baaghil illustrates how modern-day CEOs of Middle Eastern corporations must radically alter their traditional marketing programs in order to survive the new global economy.

Using real-world examples, "Eccentric Marketing" analyzes the marketing failures and successes of companies operating in the Middle East and makes a convincing argument about their vital need to implement consumer-based marketing. Baaghil also demonstrates how many common character faults of Middle Eastern CEOs can not only damage a brand, but ultimately lead to its complete demise.

"Eccentric Marketing" details the current market reality for small- to medium-sized companies in the Middle East and explains why most of these companies fail when promoting their products in the Western world. Drawing from actual business cases in Saudi Arabia, Baaghil proves that companies must learn how to instill their brand permanently in the consumer consciousness in order to survive and thrive.

Baaghil's visionary concepts for building and integrating a powerful brand make "Eccentric Marketing" the must-have marketing guide for leading-edge companies operating in the Middle East.

The second edition of Questionnaires: Design and Use has been greatly expanded from the original edition (1974), which has become a standard reference and training text for people using survey research techniques. It is a complete source of information on questionnaires for lay persons and professionals-an authoritative discussion of issues combining a review of previous writings with the authors' 15 years of professional experience with questionnaires. Covered are such topics as how to choose between mail surveys and interviews, designing a study using questionnaires, questionnaire format, how to write questions, discussion of response rates, and brief recommendations on analyzing data from questionnaires. A highlight of the book is the fully annotated bibliography containing 494 sources of important work related to survey research conducted over the past 50 years, with a table of contents organized by topic. Extensively illustrated, this book is a must for people in business, marketing, psychology, education, journalism, sociology, health care, government, and all other areas where questionnaires are used.

This book aims to contribute to the literature and aid in developing a theoretical and practical framework in the area of health and wellness tourism. With contributions and research from different countries using a practical approach, this book is an essential source for students, researchers and managers in the health and wellness tourism industry. Recently, there has been an increased interest in health and wellness due to greater life expectancy, aging populations, increasing levels of stress among others. In this context, the concepts of health, wellness, beauty, relaxation, and tourism can be combined to satisfy the needs of people seeking better quality-of-life. This has given rise to health and wellness tourism, a new market segment that contributes to employment and economic growth in the new economy. Health and wellness tourism involves two aspects: therapeutics, which seeks to cure certain diseases; and relaxation and leisure. As an alternative to traditional tourism, health and wellness tourism provides a new means of achieving regional and local development from a demographic, social, environmental and economic point-of-view. It contributes to tourist destinations' economic growth, acting as a pillar to support other complementary activities. In short, health and wellness tourism contributes to employment growth and regional wealth, contributes to tourism seasonality, promotes quality in tourism destinations, helps create new tourist services with high value, promotes establishment of international cooperation networks, and yields a number of additional benefits. Featuring a variety of programs and initiatives from different regions, with an emphasis on thermal and thalassotherapy establishments, this volume sheds light on this emerging market segment and its implications for economic and policy development.

This book focuses on Indian manufacturing industries and analyses the impact of inward foreign direct investment on the domestic sector on the one hand, and exports and outward foreign direct investment by Indian companies on the other. Although the emphasis is mostly general, specific industries, such as the automotive industry or the wind energy sector are also explored. The differences between low and high technology industries are also addressed. In terms of theoretical setting and analysis, the book draws both from international business and industrial organization literature. The various characteristics of Indian industries, such as the determinants and impacts of R&D, the effects of spillovers, the drivers of productivity and technical efficiency are thoroughly researched employing appropriate quantitative methodologies that are relevant to the specific domain and topic under investigation. The book also focuses on the bearing of policy on promoting manufacturing industries in India and is therefore of interest to researchers, industrialists and policy makers alike.

This volume explores the governance and management of science, technology, and innovation (STI) in relation to innovation policy and governance systems, highlighting its goal, challenges, and opportunities. Divided into two sections, it addresses the role of governments in promoting innovation in Latin-American contexts as well as barriers and opportunities for STI governance in the region. The chapters tackle the role of institutions, innovation funding, technological trajectories, regional innovation policies, innovation ecosystems, universities, knowledge appropriation, and markets. Researchers and scholars will find an opportunity to grasp a better understanding of innovation policies in emerging economies. This interdisciplinary work presents original research on science, technology and innovation policy and governance studies in an understudied region.

This volume presents advanced techniques to modeling markets, with a wide spectrum of topics, including advanced individual demand models, time series analysis, state space models, spatial models, structural models, mediation, models that specify competition and diffusion models. It is intended as a follow-on and companion to Modeling Markets (2015), in which the authors presented the basics of modeling markets along the classical steps of the model building process: specification, data collection, estimation, validation and implementation. This volume builds on the concepts presented in Modeling Markets with an emphasis on advanced methods that are used to specify, estimate and validate marketing models, including structural equation models, partial least squares, mixture models, and hidden Markov models, as well as generalized methods of moments, Bayesian analysis, non/semi-parametric estimation and endogeneity issues. Specific attention is given to big data. The market environment is changing rapidly and constantly. Models that provide information about the sensitivity of market behavior to marketing activities such as advertising, pricing, promotions and distribution are now routinely used by managers for the identification of changes in marketing programs that can improve brand performance. In today's environment of information overload, the challenge is to make sense of the data that is being provided globally, in real time, from thousands of sources. Although marketing models are now widely accepted, the quality of the marketing decisions is critically dependent upon the quality of the models on which those decisions are based. This volume provides an authoritative and comprehensive review, with each chapter including: * an introduction to the method/methodology * a numerical example/application in marketing * references to other marketing applications * suggestions about software. Featuring contributions from top authors in the field, this volume will explore current and future aspects of modeling markets, providing relevant and timely research and techniques to scientists, researchers, students, academics and practitioners in marketing, management and economics.