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This study explores the potential impact of the Internet's marketspace on the internationalisation specifics of small technology-based firms (STBFs) in Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany. Utilising a multi-method approach, this study identifies several impacts of using the location-insensitive marketspace on the location-sensitive internationalisation process of STBFs in the marketplace. In particular, it was found that attitudinal, resource-related, information-related and network-related aspects of internationalisation were positively influenced. These effects facilitated, sometimes even enabled, the internationalisation of STBFs. STBF's direction of internationalisation was also influenced. Especially the foreign market selection of younger STBFs that used the Internet prior to their internationalisation was increasingly influenced by marketspace-related factors, potentially signalling a marketplace to marketspace shift for younger STBFs. But despite these impacts this study also shows that the traditional location-sensitive marketplace still matters a lot. It is not substituted by the Internet's marketspace and the emergence of a new internationalisation mode. Also, the marketspace does not constitute a panacea in itself. The findings show that Internet use levels for international business matter rather than the mere adoption of this new technology. These use levels are in turn dependent on a firm's experience with the marketspace, dependent on Internet use at the industry and international business partner level and, more importantly, dependent on the STBFs' product and industry-sensitive business model. In particular, STBFs that can adopt an Internet-centric business model for their international operations profit from the facilitating characteristics of the marketspace. However, the incremental internationalisation process characterised by expanding international orientations, strengthening resources and capabilities, gains in operational experience and characterised by the gathering of international business information remains. Although earlier and faster than in the past - in parts due to the Internet's marketspace - and although starting at higher levels of initial commitment - due to pre-inception resources accumulated by STBFs' founders - internationalisation in the marketspace-age still follows an incremental path.

The purpose of this study is to examine the consequences of market orientation in the Indonesian retail context. In this context, this study presents a systematic framework to test the postulated "market orientation -supplier partnership - retail performance" chain. Moreover, this study takes a component-wise approach and examines how the four core components of market orientation (customer orientation, competitor orientation, inter-functional co-ordination and profit orientation) affect the supplier partnership en route to affecting retail performance. Data to be used for testing the model were collected by a questionnaire survey. Hypothesised links depicted in the research model were tested using structural equation modeling. In addition, personal interviews were conducted to enrich the findings from the previous approach. The findings show that market orientation affects positively not only supplier partnership and retail performance in general term but across components of supplier partnership and performance measurement. Further, this study finds that retail performance and supplier partnership vary with customer orientation, competitor orientation, inter-functional co-ordination and profit orientation. This underscores the importance of a component-wise approach to answering the question as to whether market orientation "significantly" or "insignificantly" correlates with firm performances or supplier partnership. The empirical results suggest that the effect of environmental variables on market orientation and supplier partnership is inconclusive. Each environmental variable has a differential effect toward market orientation and supplier partnership: market turbulence has a positive effect, competitive intensity has no effect and demand volatility has a negative effect. The perception of performance affects the results of the study. The indirect measures tend to have a high correlation value relative to the direct measures. Further, there is a positive relationship between non-financial and financial measures of performance.

This thesis is concerned with the attitude of countries of the developing world to international commercial arbitration. It argues that their perception of arbitration in international trade is that the process does not favour them. In an attempt to explain that perception it identifies several possible reasons, ranging from the character of arbitration as a means of settling disputes, to the judicial treatment of awards in which the states have been involved. The treatment of the subject is structured to correspond largely with the three separate stages of the arbitration process. Chapters one and two address the legal character of arbitration and its underlying philosophy. The reservations of many developing countries are explained in terms of the differences in the understanding of the nature and purpose of arbitration between, on the one hand, the countries concerned and, on the other hand, the western systems on which the international model is based. Chapter three addresses the conduct of arbitration proceedings under the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the Mukilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) as examples of institutions created specificafly with the arbitration of commercial disputes involving developing states in mind. The chapter argues that both institutions are one-sided, thus contributing to the misgivings of the countries concerned. Chapter four deals with the problem of the proper law of state contracts as recently evolved by arbitration tribunals. It notes that there has been a shift from traditional principles of conflict of laws, resulting in the isolation of the transactions from the only systems of law with which they ordinarily would have the closest connection. It points out that the trend is guided by policy not principle. It criticises the trend on that and other grounds. Chapter five deals with the enforcement of awards. We point out in that chapter that little at that stage of the process suggests a trend unfavourable to developing countries.