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Advertisers of the leading brands of consumer goods were surveyed in Great Britain, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and West Germany. The study found that Northern European advertisers generally follow worldwide patterns in their practices of budgeting, timing, creative approaches and measures of effectiveness. However, there were two major differences, namely: allocation of the budget by media, and agency compensation. Due to the absence of major commercial broadcast media, less money is spent on TV and radio advertising. This results in a more frequent use of the fee‐for‐service form of payment and less commissions from the media to compensate advertising agencies.

Twenty‐nine per cent of US exporters to the Asia‐Pacific region reported that their exclusive/sole agents were experiencing problems with parallel imports. Nearly 41 per cent of the US exporters surveyed had experienced parallel distribution problems in the past. Exporters to the Asia‐Pacific region judged the relative merit of eleven strategies to combat parallel distribution. The strategy perceived to be most effective was to refuse orders from non‐appointed agents. Four strategies were perceived to be somewhat effective: namely, price reductions, special promotional allowances, recognition of warranties only on products sold by the appointed agent, and specially labelled products.

Looks at consumer research in Greater China including Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Maps out the contributions within this area and guides future research. Examines the state of the art over the 1979‐97 period, with particular emphasis on the topics that have been researched, the extent of the theory development in the field and the methodologies used in conducting research. Uses content analysis to review 75 relevant articles. Suggests that, while a considerable breadth of topics have been researched, there remains much to be done, there is further room for theoretical development in Chinese consumer behaviour studies; and the methodologies used need improvement and further refinement.

Twenty‐eight importers from the five “dragons” in Asia (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong) were interviewed about their problems in doing business with American manufacturers, and their suggestions for increasing future imports from the United States. Findings are presented in a marketing framework: product, price, distribution, promotion, regulations and interactions. Overall, American firms were perceived to apply the selling concept, to use short‐term planning, and to provide little support to their Asian agents. By contrast, Japanese and European firms used the marketing concept, did long‐range planning, and provided substantially more promotional assistance.

This is a very special issue of the International Marketing Review. It is, in effect, a sampler of the symposium on comparative research held under the auspices of Division 23, Consumer Psychology, of the American Psychological Association and the College of Business Administration of the University of Hawaii in Honolulu December 1984. The purpose of the issue is to emphasize five points, namely that:

Examines the recent research on advertising in mainland China over the 1979‐1998 period. Suggests that findings show a sustained effort in academic research/publications on advertising in China is in the early stage of its development and whilst many areas have been researched, there are many more yet to be touched. Concludes that the research is seldom based on established theoretical or conceptual framework and the research methods and types of analysis used have not been very advanced when compared to general advertising research.

Reports on a study of the relative importance of 17 import decision variables as rated by Japanese import managers. A systematic sample of 52 managers representing different companies in Japan participated. The Japanese findings were compared with the US data from an earlier study by the author. Japanese importers rated product quality as the most important variable when importing products from overseas followed by timely delivery, price, and dependability of long‐term supply. The US importers, by contrast, were not as concerned with product quality but they rated timely delivery, price, long‐term supply dependability variables as high as their Japanese counterparts. Product safety was also of major concern to the Japanese importers (ranked 5th) but it ranked last (17th) in importance to US importers. Importing is equally important with exporting in international trade. Yet, the import purchasing study has received little attention. Further studies of a comparative nature in this field will serve to develop a theory of import purchasing behaviour.

Considers how non‐Thais can negotiate successfully withe business and government executives in Thailand. Gives an overview of Thailand’s geography, climate, population, religion and business practice. Discusses important aspects of the social‐cultural environment that have a significant effect on the way Thai’s negotiate. Includes further tips regarding body language, entertainment protocol, how to dress, and favourite negotiating tactics by buyers and sellers. Provides conclusions and directions for further research.

It is now common for finance textbooks to discuss the concepts of the CAPM, diversification benefit, and systematic risk, as measured by beta. The purpose of this paper is to clarify aspects of these concepts and make the textbooks readers aware of them. In particular, this paper seeks to: (1) clarify the notion that “diversification reduces risk,” (2) provide geometric expositions and algebraic expressions of portfolio benefits in the context of both total risk and market risk, and (3) improve the interpretation of beta.

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