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Measures are comparable if and only if measurement equivalence has been demonstrated. Although comparability and equivalence of measures are sometimes used interchangeably, we advocate a subtle but important difference in meaning. Comparability implies that measures from one group can be compared with measures from another group. It is a property of the measures, which is given or not. In particular, comparability presumes valid measures within each group compared. Measurement equivalence, by contrast, refers to the way measures are derived and estimated. It is intrinsically tied to the underlying theory of measurement. Thus, measurement equivalence cannot be dealt with in isolation. Its assessment has to be incorporated into the theoretical framework of measurement. Measurement equivalence is closely connected to construct validity for it refers to the way manifest indicators are related to the latent variable, within a particular culture and across different cultures. From this it follows that equivalence cannot, or should not, be treated as a separate issue but as a constitutive element of validity. A discussion of measurement equivalence without addressing validity would be incomplete.

Altering eating habits are leading to an increase in child obesity rates, especially in lower social class. One possible prevention activity is the implementation of a quality label for children's food. Therefore, this paper seeks to investigate parents' food choice criteria in light of social standing to deduce the possible impact of such a quality label.

A total of 15 qualitative interviews were conducted with parents of different social class. Topics discussed were general diets, grocery shopping behaviour and attitudes towards food quality labels.

Results indicate that parents have similar choice criteria independent of their social class, e.g. quality, price, brand and children's preferences. Nutrition panels and quality labels are not of highest importance. Nonetheless, a need for information exists and their involvement in child nutrition seems to determine the possible impact of quality labels.

The qualitative methodology can be seen as a limitation of the study. The influence of involvement has to be further analysed.

Some research on the influence of quality labels in general and on family decision-making when shopping for food and with regard to differences in social class does exist. This study contributes to existing research by combining these research streams.

The extent to which and ways in which export information is used can play a significant role in a firm's level of export performance. Surprisingly, however, little empirical research has been conducted in the area of export information use, and even less attention has been paid to potential cross‐national differences in how export information is used. The focus of this study is the examination of export information use practices across different countries. Data from a total sample of 989 exporting companies across Austria, Germany, New Zealand, the UK, and the USA were analyzed using analyses of covariance to control for extraneous, firm‐level variables. The results indicate that firms from all countries use information instrumentally/conceptually more often than symbolically; they also tend to use export market intelligence more than other sources of information. Further, examination of the findings revealed that firms from different countries also use information differently. For instance, US exporters are much more symbolic in their use of information than exporters from the other countries, while Austrian exporters tend not to use information symbolically. Implications and limitations are discussed and future research avenues are proposed.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that enhance export decision-makers’ generation of export information, using a non-linear approach and a multi-country context, and so provide export decision-makers with empirically based guidelines on how to maximize their information acquisition efforts.

A broad perspective on export information generation is adopted, including marketing research, export assistance, and market intelligence. The model of antecedents to information generation is tested in three studies (USA, Austria, New Zealand, respectively) using structural equation modeling techniques. Multigroup and hierarchical analysis is performed to assess cross-national invariance of relevant measures, and quadratic effects.

The findings show that the predictors of export information generation vary across the three countries studied, and that many of the relationships are non-linear.

This study contributes to the export marketing literature by developing the understanding of how exporters can develop greater knowledge of information sources on which to build export decisions, and the conditions necessary for enhanced export information acquisition activity. The findings highlight that future research should consider non-linear relationships and the examination of the outcomes of export information generation in a cross-national setting.

The study findings advocate that practitioners (exporters and advisers) tailor their export information generation efforts to the different country needs.

This research responds to a call for more theoretically based studies on antecedents to export information generation, concurrent with the use of more robust statistical methods.

Only a limited number of studies have examined the behaviour and the strategies of children and parents during shopping. This ethnographical study aims at thoroughly understanding family decision-making when shopping for groceries, especially children's and parents' negotiation strategies.

Using a qualitative ethnographical approach, seven known families were accompanied on 19 grocery shopping trips. Their behaviour, their interactions and their strategies during shopping were observed. Analysis was conducted by coding relevant information, defining categories, comparing data and identifying patterns.

The results show that children constantly influence their parents, directly and indirectly. They do this by displaying various behaviours in the grocery store. Their negotiation tactics are diverse, as are parents' reactions to their children's negotiation strategies. Children aim at fulfilling spontaneous desires while parents want to restrain their children's requests.

Limitations of the study can be found in their qualitative methodology.

This study has several implications for marketers. By learning about the joint decision-making process, companies as well as public policy makers will be able to address families more successfully and market healthy food more effectively.

This study contributes to existing research on family decision-making by presenting different ways of children and parents behaviour during shopping trips. It applied an unusual technique of observing well-known families on their shopping trips.

Irrespective of the popularity of country-of-origin research in international marketing, no attention has been paid to effects which stem from the declaration of a product's local origin, like “Made in City X”. In this study, insights from country-of-origin research as well as exploratory qualitative studies are used to model determinants of preference for local products. Conjoint analysis results based on a sample of consumers from three neighboring cities in Germany show the importance of local origin for product preference. Structural equation analysis sheds first light on the mechanism of city-of-origin effects.

An improved investment environment and aggressive foreign direct investment (FDI) liberalization strategies have enabled Asian countries, such as Korea and Vietnam, to attract sharply increased FDI inflows and multinational corporations (MNCs) during the 1990s. Indonesia, however, has suffered from stagnated FDI inflows and, in particular, continued divestment since late 1998. In this paper, we report the survey results of recent changes in attitudes toward foreign MNCs perceived by government officials and business leaders in these three Asian countries, and investigate the major individual attribute determinants of their assessment of foreign investments using econometric tools. We also discuss policy implications of these findings for host‐country FDI policy makers and the international business community.