Commodity markets are characterised by declining growth rates, depressed prices, intensified competition and the evolution of standard and fixed specifications. These lead to an increasingly severe squeeze on profits. The commodity sector of the chemical industry is no exception to this, it is notorious for its fiercely competitive nature and its increasingly severe squeeze on profit margins. Past research suggests that companies will compete primarily on price (Wei et a1. 1979, Emerson 1983, Stobaugh 1988, Quintella 1993, and Black 1994), with relatively little technical service required. However, as the commodity sector of the chemical industry continues to see its margins squeezed, companies are finding that the ability to constantly reduce production costs is limited and no longer offers a total solution. The research examined how a relationship marketing approach could contributed to UK commodity chemical companies' competitiveness. However, the current literature on relationship marketing has not referred specifically to commodities and arguably leaves a gap in this research area. It has been suggested that relationship marketing is not a 'universal panacea' with several authors that believe there are situations, usually involving lowinvolvement or commodity products, when a swift and simple transactional approach is more appropriate and preferred by the 'customer compared to a relational approach (Gronroos 1990; Mattyssens and Van den Bulte 1994; Peck 1996). The research shows this is generally not the case in commodity chemicals. The research investigated, through a multi-method research approach using both case studies and a survey, the relevance and use of a relationship marketing approach in commodity chemicals. The research developed, from a convergence of current ideas and theories, a relationship marketing framework that shows a firm's culture (based on seven marketing arrangements constructs) for establishing, developing, maintaining relationships and the selective termination of relationships with multiple exchange partners (i.e. customers, supplier, communities, authorities). The seven 'marketing arrangements' constructs are: the role of marketing management and planning; multiple exchange partners; responsibility; long-term focus; interaction; management orientation and portfolio planning; trust, commitment and promises. The research provides evidence, from three case studies, that supports the framework's constructs within UK commodity chemical companies across customer, supplier, internal and external relationships. Regression analysis of the survey data shows a positive link between a relationship marketing approach and the business performance of UK commodity chemical companies. The basis of this analysis used REMARKOR, an instrument for measuring relationship marketing orientation developed for this research. It follows a similar procedure to MARKOR, an instrument for measuring marketing orientation, developed by Kohli et al's (1993). However, REMARKOR uses constructs examined in the cases studies, based on current relationship marketing literature.

The efficiency and practicality of currency areas is a controversial source of debate in the field of economics nowadays. Advocates of the system predict that currency unions lead to higher trade volumes as a result of reduced exchange rate uncertainty and higher integration. Possibly the most prominent example of a currency area nowadays is the EMU, initiated in 1995 with the purpose of nurturing a unified European market as one of the main aims. There is no consensus on whether the EMU has induced a net loss or benefit upon its members, but one common finding among academic studies is that the EMU leads to higher trade among union members. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the euro adoption on trade between EMU members. The model uses a pooled data set comprising the years from 1990 to 2012. Two separate groups are analysed, one including all OECD and EU countries, and another using data from only European countries from the sample. After allowing for different circumstances, I find that two countries belonging to the EMU trade between 17 and 32 per cent more than country pairs outside the union. Moreover, I find that language similarity has a neutral effect in the European sample, while it seems to have a highly significant effect on the sample including all countries.

The WTO Work Programme on Electronic Commerce was established to deal with the implications of E-commerce in trade in the context of the WTO Agreements. One outstanding issue within the Work Programme is the disagreement among members regarding the classification of electronically delivered products (E-products). Are they goods subject to GATT or services subject to GATS? This has significant consequences because trade liberalization in GATT and GATS works differently and the relatively free trade E-products currently enjoy could be affected depending on whether they are classified as goods or services. However, a negotiated solution among WTO members that acknowledges that these are complex products that share characteristics of both goods and services could resolve the disagreement on classification. Furthermore, a service classification consensus, provided the current trade liberalization is maintained, would be the most suitable option to ensure that trade barriers do not compromise trade in E-products. / The World Trade Organization (WTO) established the Work Program in Electronic Commerce in 1998 to address the implications of E-commerce on trade in the context of the WTO Agreements. In 1999 the Work Program members reached a consensus that the WTO-treaties with all their rights, obligations, and members’ specific commitments are applicable to E-commerce. However, many issues were not addressed and continue to be unresolved, one of those is the classification dilemma of E-products. Are they goods subject to GATT or services subject to GATS? In the meantime, in 1998, some WTO members agreed to a temporary Moratorium on the imposition of customs duties on electronic transmissions for a period of time. This Moratorium however is not permanent.

Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

No description available.

Thesis (LL. M.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Jutta Brunnee.

Thesis (B.Sc. (Honours) in Economics)--Singapore Management University, 2006. / Senior thesis in part fulfillment for the BSc (Honours) in Economics degree presented to the School of Economics and Social Sciences, Singapore Management University 2005-2006. Includes bibliographical references (p. 31-33).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 101 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-101).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rochester, 1994. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 139-144).

Thesis (L.LM) -- University of the Western Cape, 2007. / Includes bibliographic references (leaves 60-63).