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This article focuses on one key aspect of industrial buying behaviour, namely the buying process itself. Using a common questionnaire, a large sample of respondents in Australia, Canada, the UK and the US were interviewed by mail from two sectors, the paper and pulp and chemical and allied products industries. The similarity of results between the different industries and the countries — as well as similarities between this and previous surveys in the UK and US — allows generalisations to be made about the respective involvement of corporate departments in the purchase process for equipment, materials and components.

Describes an empirical study examining the strategies of auto parts suppliers to transplanted Japanese OEMs. Finds that suppliers have become more customer‐focused, following the marketing concept, and also more aggressive in buying from second tier suppliers, in accordance with reverse marketing. Examines the background to the growth of Japanese OEMs in North America, together with an analysis of the traditional marketing concept, reverse marketing and the Japanese hierarchical structure of suppliers. Concludes that reverse marketing leads to strong partnerships, and that relationships with both existing and new suppliers must be developed. Relates the research to the oretical concepts and offers managerial recommendations.

Reports on the results of a study carried out in Canada and compares this with an earlier UK study (the Cunningham Roberts report). Investigates how Canadian pump and valve manufacturers' perceptions of customer service offered by their metal suppliers. Compares with the perceptions of their UK counterparts. Concludes that there are substantial disparities between the two countries.

There are many products we sell at absolute cost because they are part of the image of our business. We sell Kodak cameras at cost — we will sell between 5,000 and 6,000 of the new disc cameras between now and Christmas. — A drug chain buyer.

In the summer of 1971, the United States announced a ten per cent import surcharge. Hit by a decline in orders from the United States, many exporters found they needed a replacement market for their lost sales. Canada would seem their natural choice. Although only one‐tenth of the population of the United States market, her purchasing power is far higher than any other country of equivalent size, and Canada appears similar to the United States in language, economic environment, culture and aspirations.

The growth in the number of marketing firms emphasising international perspectives in both their philosophy and scope of operations points to the need for additional studies focused on marketing practices in other nations. A knowledge of the nature of the relationship between marketing structure, marketing practices, and the environment in which the marketing institution operates is essential. This article reports on a research study which assesses the relationship between the size of household appliance distributors in Nigeria, and the economic, technological, and socio‐cultural environment. It also examines how the existing relationship could explain the marketing practices.

This chapter analyzes governmental responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in a highly decentralized federal country. Canada has a decentralized approach in many policy areas, including health care, in which provinces are the primary decision-makers and service providers. This decentralized health-care system allowed provinces to respond according to regional and local contexts and needs. The capacity building and the policy learning related to previous crises and horizontal coordination were key to policy responses to the pandemic. Moreover, unlike other countries, Canada did not centralize decisions throughout the pandemic, and did not reinforce competition and uncoordinated actions. The federal government also has had a central role coordinating COVID-19 policy responses. Nevertheless, Canada faced some challenges stemming from the lack of uniformity across the country, especially related to regional and local restrictions, enforcement mechanisms, testing, and travel restrictions.

The cardinal point to note here is that the development (and unfortunately the likely potential) of area policy is intimately related to the actual character of British social policy. Whilst area policy has been strongly influenced by Pigou's welfare economics, by the rise of scientific management in the delivery of social services (cf Jaques 1976; Whittington and Bellamy 1979), by the accompanying development of operational analyses and by the creation of social economics (see Pigou 1938; Sandford 1977), social policy continues to be enmeshed with the flavours of Benthamite utilitatianism and Social Darwinism (see, above all, the Beveridge Report 1942; Booth 1889; Rowntree 1922, 1946; Webb 1926). Consequently, for their entire history area policies have been coloured by the principles of a national minimum for the many and giving poorer areas a hand up, rather than a hand out. The preceived need to save money (C.S.E. State Apparatus and Expenditure Group 1979; Klein 1974) and the (supposed) ennobling effects of self help have been the twin marching orders for area policy for decades. Private industry is inadvertently called upon to plug the resulting gaps in public provision. The conjunction of a reluctant state and a meandering private sector has fashioned the decaying urban areas of today. Whilst a large degree of party politics and commitment has characterised the general debate over the removal of poverty (Holman 1973; MacGregor 1981), this has for the most part bypassed the ‘marginal’ poorer areas (cf Green forthcoming). Their inhabitants are not usually numerically significant enough to sway general, party policies (cf Boulding 1967) and the problems of most notably the inner cities has been underplayed.

If intergovernmental relations are necessary in normal times, it should be even more required to face complex intergovernmental problem (CIP) as the COVID-19 pandemic. However, collaboration between governments depends on institutional rules as well as on political will. To discuss this issue, the analytical model is based on two dimensions: institutional design and political agency. As for the first dimension, since COVID-19 pandemic is considered as a CIP, three aspects are relevant when discussing how federations can organize the coordination between different levels of government: autonomy of subnational governments, mechanisms of coordination, and policy portfolio. As for political agency, the performance of political leadership (national presidents and governors) will be analyzed. The possibility of sharing collective goals across the federation is also a consequence of the political agency that takes place within the institutional systems of each federation. In short, it seeks to analyze the relationship between institutional design and political agency to deal with this CIP in five American federations.

Addresses the issue of the adoption of generic drugs by general medical practitioners in the National Health Service in England. The adoption and buyer behaviour of GPs is of central importance to the pharmaceutical industry and to the Government. Reports research based on the theories of perceived risk and work simplification, set in the context of the growing pressure on doctors to contain total prescribing costs. Based on the findings of in‐depth research interviews with 39 GPs, concludes that perceived risk on the part of the GP is a significant determinant of generic drug adoption and that the desire to simplify work load decisions is also important.