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Much debate exists about the difficulties and structural obstacles that impede foreign companies when conducting business in Japan. Consequently, foreign concerns frequently neglect or even spurn the opportunities presented in the Japanese market. While much is known about the success of Japanese companies penetrating and dominating Western markets, much less is known about the actual experience of those companies attempting to reverse the flow. The research conducted for this thesis is based on approximately forty interviews, many of them Chief Executives of MNCs successfully operating in the consumer goods industry in Japan. Also included were advertising agents, consultants and other facilitators. Peer group evaluation was used to gauge the success of the companies and interviewees were selected on this basis. The research is based on interviews conducted in Japan during 1990-91. By applying the principles of grounded theory a broad assessment was made of the approaches adopted toward consumer goods marketing. Japanese opportunities and obstacles were appraised, as were foreign companies' responses to them, by drawing on frameworks established by Porter (1991) and Quelch and Hoff (1986). Moreover, efforts were made to synthesise the ingredients of successful strategy. The question was probed as to what difficulties foreign MNCs perceive, in both Japan and its markets and a central issue tackled is whether these perceptions are matched by reality. A marked contrast was evident between the views of the protectionist lobby and that of those foreign executives active in the market. The view of the latter is that the Japanese consumer market can be considered an open market. But, being open does not mean that it is easy to penetrate. Japan offers a testing commercial climate, one in which only the strongest survive, Japanese or otherwise.

Finance plays a major role in influencing micro-enterprises and any process of change they undergo. This research provides both a study of such a process and an understanding of how finance and micro-enterprises relate within the context of the wider economv. The thesis is the product of fourteen months field research in the squatter community of Cato Crest. Durban, South Africa. A sample of 138 mainly retail micro-enterprises was studied using a variety of techniques, including semi-structured interviews and occupational biographies. Three categories of enterprise were developed based on current literature; capitalist, petty commodity production (PCP) and survival. The research then sought to operationalise them. It was found that between 18% and 29% of each group either changed into one of the other categories or ceased to operate during the period. The process however is not one of inevitable growth into capitalist enterprises. A dynamic process of growth and decline was observed during the research period and in the occupational biographies. Therefore while there was some growth in capitalist enterprises the main finding was that petty commodity production was conserved through the growth in aggregate numbers of PCP enterprises. Having identified the process of change five types of finance that played a role in Cato Crest were identified; external finance, waged employment, own finance, finance reducing measures (including partnerships) and hire purchase. The influence of each was as follows: • External finance from the banks and suppliers was not available to most micro-enterprises. • Full time waged employment by the owner or another household member was associated with the process of growth in micro-enterprises. In contrast the lack of such employment was associated with the perpetuation of survival enterprises or their cessation. The implication is that those who are marginalised or excluded from full time waged employment are likely to be excluded from owning micro-enterprises that grow. • Own finance through the use of stokvels, bank accounts and the re-investment of profit were all identified as important components in the growth of micro-enterprises. In all three cases they provided both a mechanism to save both directly and indirectly for investment purposes in the enterprise. However savings institutions need to be seen in the context of the wider economy in which they act as a channel for outflows of finance from the micro-enterprise sector to the formal capitalist sector. This is a net outflow since there is no corresponding lending of finance from the banking sector to micro-enterprises. • Finance reducing measures were observed to be important in the process of change. However it would appear that survival enterprises, which were often limited in their access to other financial options, were often perpetuated by the use of such measures. • Finally hire purchase was identified as being associated with the growth of micro-enterprises However its key role was not the provision of finance, but as a means for the capitalist sector to extend the sale of certain of its products into new areas of the economy. In summary the thesis is important in terms of the development and opcrationalisation of the three classifications of retail micro-enterprises, the identification of the role of finance In the process of change and the linkages between finance and the capitalist economy within which retail microenterprises operate.

China has emerged as the leading source of capital goods for Kenya and Sub Saharan Africa as a whole, which before the noughties depended largely on advanced countries for capital goods. Thus, there is a disruption of the pattern of technology transfer to Sub Saharan Africa including Kenya. A significant aspect of this disruption is that the capital goods are being produced within a developing country context (China) and for other developing countries. This issue motivated this research, which contributes to the literature by exploring the potential impact of Chinese technologies (capital goods) on the development of other developing countries vis-à-vis the impact of technologies from advanced countries and the domestic economy. The study used both qualitative and quantitative research approaches and data from Kenya’s furniture manufacturing firms, including both formal and informal sector firms. It was found that the technologies from China (and also Kenya) are more amenable for inclusive industrial development especially with respect to employment creation and poverty reduction. These technologies are more labour intensive, compared to the advanced country technologies. They allow poor entrepreneurs to start their own businesses with a relatively high degree of automation, which they would not be able to afford if the only available technology were the technology from advanced countries. They are also pro-poor in terms of producing goods to meet the consumption needs of the poor. It was also found that the diffusion of the Chinese technology is higher among informal sector firms than among formal sector firms. However, the Chinese technology is less common than the Kenyan technology in the informal sector while the formal sector firms mainly rely on the advanced country technology. All the three technologies are transferred/ diffused mainly through arm’s length trade. The fact that the Chinese and Kenyan technologies yield a more inclusive development outcome than those from advanced countries indicates that industrial policies for developing countries should take into consideration the critical issue of technology choice.

An expression of the theory of innovative behaviour as a system of non linear differential equations, the solution of which is subsequently optimized to consumer purchase data by direct search techniques.

It is intended within this thesis to provide a comprehensive description and analysis of the operation of the internal food marketing system of Trinidad and Tobago. This is done by developing the informal/formal classification of economic activity, viewing it as a continuum, rather than a 'dualist', model. The analysis concentrates upon the bulking and distribution system for domestic agricultural produce. The informal sector is represented by vendors who sell in the public market-places, and the formal sector by large supermarkets, Government agencies, and growers co-operatives. For comparative purposes the distribution system for imported food is also examined, although in less detail. The study concludes that the informal sector is a dynamic part of the food marketing system, and is competing successfully with the formal sector. It is felt that the informal/formal model of economic activity, when viewed as a continuum, offers a useful framework for studying the operation of internal marketing systems.

The sense of touch is important in our everyday lives and its absence makes it difficult to explore and manipulate everyday objects. Existing online shopping practice lacks the opportunity for physical evaluation, that people often use and value when making product choices. However, with recent advances in haptic research and technology, it is possible to simulate various physical properties such as heaviness, softness, deformation, and temperature. The research described here investigates the use of haptic feedback interaction to enhance e-commerce product evaluation, particularly haptic weight and texture evaluation. While other properties are equally important, besides being fundamental to the shopping experience of many online products, weight and texture can be simulated using cost-effective devices. Two initial psychophysical experiments were conducted using free motion haptic exploration in order to more closely resemble conventional shopping. One experiment was to measure weight force thresholds and another to measure texture force thresholds. The measurements can provide better understanding of haptic device limitation for online shopping in terms of the availability of different stimuli to represent physical products. The outcomes of the initial psychophysical experimental studies were then used to produce various absolute stimuli that were used in a comparative experimental study to evaluate user experience of haptic product evaluation. Although free haptic exploration was exercised on both psychophysical experiments, results were relatively consistent with previous work on haptic discrimination. The threshold for weight force discrimination represented as downward forces was 10 percent. The threshold for texture force discrimination represented as friction forces was 14.1 percent, when using dynamic coefficient of friction at any level of static coefficient of friction. On the other hand, the comparative experimental study to evaluate user experience of haptic product information indicated that haptic product evaluation does not change user performance significantly. However, although there was an increase in the time taken to complete the task, the number of button click actions tended to decrease. The results showed that haptic product evaluation could significantly increase the confidence of shopping decision. Nevertheless, the availability of haptic product evaluation does not necessarily impose different product choices but it complements other selection criteria such as price and appearance. The research findings from this work are a first step towards exploring haptic-based environments in e-commerce environments. The findings not only lay the foundation for designing online haptic shopping but also provide empirical support to research in this direction.

This research aims to identify the marketing decisions made by agricultural producers in two E.U. Objective I regions and to provide insights into the reasons that such decisions are made, with a particular focus on meat and milk products. Two farm business surveys; one in the involving sheep and goat farmers in the Region of East Macedonia and Thrace (EMT11) in Greece and one in the sheep and dairy cow fanners in Cornwall, U. K. were undertaken in order to identify their marketing behaviour. This study used robust predictive models incorporating bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques in order to develop marketing typologies regarding tile livestock and milk marketing strategiest hat the sheepa nd goat fan-ncrsf ollow in EMT11a nd which tile sheepa nd dairy cow fan-nersa dopt in Cornwall. Results show that the sheep and goat fan-ners in EMTh follow three different livestock marketing strategies: (a) cost-focus strategy, (b) production-orientation strategy and (c) return-focus strategy; and three different milk marketing strategies: (a) differentiation strategy, (b) production orientation strategy and (c) return focus strategy. Sheep farmers in Cornwall adopt the following two marketing strategies: (a) differentiation strategy and (b) production-orientation strategy; while tile dairy cow Cornish fan-ners adopt tile following three marketing strategies: (a) opportunistic strategy, (b) return focus strategy and (c) market orientation strategy.T his study deten-ninedth e factors and the characteristicst hat influence the fanners to adopt a particular marketing strategy. Moreover, marketing channel selection is related to distribution channel utilisation. It also identified the factors included sale price, speed of payment, volurne of livestock and milk production and loyalty that affect tile fanners in EMT11to choosea particular marketing channel. Farmersi n Cornwall are also influenced in their marketing channel selection by welfare issues, marketing cost and convenience. Finally, implications of these findings for agencies and organisations seeking to Increase tile regional GDP derived from the agrifood sector in these regions, were identified.

The development of the Internet has significantly changed the face of established markets and operation approaches across a tremendous spectrum of different industries. Within the competitive environment of those industries, the opportunities and risks derived from the new platform are so ubiquitous that unused opportunities quickly translate into potential risks. Those opportunities and risks demand for a structured approach how to implement a sustainable Internet marketing strategy that targets clear business objectives. Marketing and strategic management theory describes very clear structural principles towards their operational implementation. Based on those principles an extensive literature review has been conducted which confirms the result from representative statistics that demonstrate the lack of a comprehensive framework for strategic Internet marketing. The distinct result of this research is such a comprehensive framework which has been directly derived from the illustrated principles of strategic management and Internet marketing. All major components of this generic framework are designed, evaluated in dedicated surveys and validated in extensive case studies. The main achievements of the research are: A comprehensive review of the current state-of-the-art Internet marketing strategies. Conceptual specification of a strategic Internet marketing framework with generic applicability to profit organizations. Demonstration of the practical feasibility of the proposed framework at the implementation level (via several examples like the SIMTF and SIMPF). Confirmation of the applicability of the framework based upon a survey of potential beneficiaries. Validation of the effectiveness of the approach via case study scenarios. Changing the understanding of a former technical discipline, the thesis describes how Internet marketing becomes a precise strategic instrument for profit organizations. The new structured, complete and self-similar framework facilitates sales organizations to significantly increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their marketing operations. Furthermore, the framework ensures a high level of transparency about the impact and benefit of individual activities. The new model explicitly answers concerns and problems raised and documented in existing research and accommodate for the current limitations of strategic Internet marketing. The framework allows evaluating existing as well as future Internet marketing tactics and provides a reference model for all other definitions of objectives, KPI and work packages. Finally this thesis also matures the subject matter of Internet marketing as a discipline of independent scientific research providing an underlying structure for subsequent studies.

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