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Presents a detailed analysis of marketers' education levels, experience and language skills carried out among French, German, Italian, Swedish and British companies. Investigates whether the characteristics and qualities of export managers are significant factors in the implementation of successful exporting. Raises the important question of language skills, and suggests that British export marketers are particularly lacking in this area, proposing that this should be looked into.

The extent of national export volume attributable to the small firm sector within the UK does not compare favourably with that of certain other European countries/ particularly Germany and Italy. In an attempt to enhance the export competitiveness of this firm sector recent policy, research and management attention has been devoted to influences underlying export development. This article contributes to this knowledge by reviewing extensive research studies that have reported on one aspect of this topic: the international orientation of the decision maker within the small firm.

This paper presents an empirical study of the marketing practices of 23 subsidiary companies of a large US multinational, operating worldwide on a decentralised basis. Cluster analysis is used to derive four different classifications of companies, reflecting economic, cultural and competitive characteristics of their environment as well as organisational variables. Subsequently, these classifications are used to explore potential differences in terms of a number of salient marketing variables, with particular emphasis on promotional activities. Contrary to a priori expectations, no systematic differences in marketing practice could be identified among the autonomous subsidiaries, irrespective of the classification system used.

This conceptual paper outlines why, when working in the international as opposed to the domestic environment, the success of a relationship marketing strategy is heavily dependent on levels of psychic distance. The higher the level of psychic distance, the greater the time and effort required to develop successful business relationships. At the different stages of relationship development, different variables of psychic distance assume relatively greater levels of importance which are likely to have implications for the implementation of a relationship marketing strategy.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, it identifies distinct organizational models in a sample of small and medium enterprises operating in the Sicilian wine industry; and second, it identifies the key factors enabling a superior export success.

Internal resources were analyzed theoretically in order to achieve the aims of the study. Subsequently the empirical investigation was carried out administering a questionnaire to a sample of 102 wineries in Sicily, Italy. A cluster analysis was performed in order to group these firms into homogeneous categories.

The findings show that success in the international market is more common among wineries characterized by a larger physical and economic size, a longer experience in the international market, managed by entrepreneurs-owners who are highly educated and proficient in foreign language, and implement voluntary certifications.

The results need to be interpreted within the context of the study’s research design; more specifically, the reader should take into account that the study focuses exclusively on one industry and on one region (wine in Sicily).

The findings offer a valid support for managers who could use this results to better focus their effort and choose the most appropriate strategy in order to improve their performance in foreign markets.

Very few empirical studies have been carried out on the impact that internal and in particular organizational resources have on the firms’ organizational models operating in the wine industry.

Presents the findings of a study of the use of foreign languages by Irish exporting companies. Suggests that, although a substantial majority of respondents believe that foreign language skills are very important for export success, relatively very few of them actually use foreign languages to any great extent in their day‐to‐day exporting activities. Just over half of the firms contacted claim to communicate frequently in German or French, around 20 percent in Italian or Spanish; only 7 percent use Japanese and less than 3 percent use any other foreign language on a regular basis. The specific tasks conducted in a foreign language are relatively low level basic exchanges of information in telephone calls, fax messages or routine letters rather than activities requiring higher‐level language skills such as negotiating contracts or discussing technical specifications. The implications of the research are discussed in the wider context of export promotion and development in general, and some ideas for further research on this topic are suggested.

Reports on a study of Irish exporting companies aimed at discovering the extent to which they use foreign languages in conducting their export business and discusses the implications of its findings for export‐oriented foreign language training. Concludes that a high level of foreign language skill is not essential for success in exporting to non‐English‐speaking markets, but that some competence in the language of the foreign target market can be immensely valuable in gaining the confidence of prospective customers and in understanding their needs. Training aimed at improving the foreign language skills of exporters should also cover the culture and business practices of the foreign market, and the technical terms used in a particular industrial sector. However the real need is for competence at a relatively low level within exporting companies to enable junior staff to deal effectively with incoming messages. Language training should focus initially on developing reading and basic writing skills rather than seeking to achieve fluency in speaking the foreign language.

In previous articles the chemical composition of the infant's food has been discussed from a theoretical standpoint. Before dealing with the actual preparations at present on the market, it is necessary to refer briefly to certain other practical considerations which, apart from chemical composition and from any question of digestibility, greatly influence the value of these products, and which may be discussed under the following headings:—(1) Bulk or compactness, (2) Keeping power, (3) Ease and rapidity of preparation for use, (4) Cost.

The brief announcement that the Government had accepted that there should be regulations on open date marking of food, to come into effect in 1975, will come as no surprise. It is a timely reminder of what public pressure can achieve these days; how sustained advocacy and publicity by interested sectors of society—magistrates, local authorities, public health workers, consumer groups—can secure legislative changes which, in this case, run counter to trade opinions and the recommendation originally made by the Food Standards Committee that such a proposal was not practical and the existing law was an adequate protection. This was stated in the FSC Report on Food Labelling of 1964, although there was no indication of the evidence reviewed or that the subject had been considered very deeply; it was, after all, only a small fraction of the problem of food labelling control. It was also stated in this Report that in certain cases, date‐stamping of food could give to purchasers a false sense of security, “not justified by the conditions under which the food has been kept since manufacture”.