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“The Business of Wine” represents a unique overview of the modern wine industry and the commercial, political and fiscal pressures under which it operates.

This paper studies the role of personal selling and the salesforce as an information source and the impact potential information gaps in a downstream business chain can have. It offers a conceptual model of information gaps in an on‐licence wine business channel and suggests areas necessitating further research.

Consumer researchers are interested in the degree to which global convergence is occurring along with various consumer behaviour dimensions and to what extent the consumption patterns in different parts of the world are becoming similar. With increasing internationalisation and cultural cross‐fertilisation, the industrialised societies of the world are converging in many ways. Shifts in alcoholic beverage consumption patterns in Europe over the past 50 years may represent a case in point. As traditional cultural boundaries become blurred, consumer preferences for wine appears to be driven less by long‐standing local and regional traditions, and more by growing acceptance of a wider choice. The disparity of wine consumption among the 12 countries studied has also decreased. Other powerful forces are likely to accelerate the pace of convergence in the future.

The article on European Wine Industy provides an analysis of the wine industry with particular focus on Europe, although more global trends are indicated. The focus is on the business aspect of the wine industry and how various segments of the market are addressed by different sectors of activities. Readers of this article may want to think about how the industry is going to evolve over the next decade and how the major players are going to defend their position. It also highlights how the power in the industry has moved from the producers to the retailers and when the brandholders are key players.

The purpose of this article is to analyse, from a shareholder perspective, the link between branding and financial performance. The paper focuses, in the European context, on situations in which shareholder wealth is created or destroyed, and this is measured by using return on assets or market‐to‐book value as a performance benchmark.

The investigation is designed as a quantitative study and is based on responses obtained from 847 listed banks including 480 located in Europe. There is an analysis of the correlation between branding and shareholder value, by means of regression analysis. Deductions are made for key variables including capital structure, ownership and capital market ratios.

The regression analysis indicates that there are different strategic branding phases and there is correlation between branding and shareholder value. Each phase has its own strategic implications for shareholders, with value either being created or destroyed.

The data deal with secondary accounting information submitted in annual reports and are based primarily on European or US‐based banks, which mean that the conclusions and generalizations cannot necessarily be applied to other industries, products or on a global scale.

This is the most comprehensive quantitative study so far conducted in the field of branding and shareholder value in the banking sector, thus providing unique insight into the strategic branding phases with which banks have to contend. Academics and practitioners, including board members, are offered guidance and a conceptual framework for assessing whether branding activities are generating satisfactory financial results for their investors. Furthermore, it also documents that banks with the right balance between branding and overall operating expenditures can achieve a significantly higher return on assets, which can be a decisive factor in achieving a competitive edge in a crowded and competitive market place.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

“ACE, Inc.,” a highly leveraged manufacturing company saw profits fading in 1990. Pressed by the board of directors, ACE's CEO submitted the firm's first formal five‐year strategic plan. Among the plan's unusual features: a dual approach to maximizing shareholder value, and a momentum plan.

Begins by analysing the nature of work relations in France. These work relations can be categorized as relatively impersonal, formal, hierarchical, partitioned, subtly politicized and flexible; and holistic. Leads into an examination of the character and role of the cadre (the manager), and of the relative professional status enjoyed by French managers. The discussion should be viewed from the viewpoint of Hampden‐Turner and Trompenaars' description of France as a “fascinating country for English‐speaking cultures to study” but which may require the outsider to be prepared “to question, even to confound, their own basic assumptions” about the culture, role and practice of management.