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The purpose of this paper is to test for gender-specific effects on odor-induced taste enhancement and subsequent food consumption in olfactory food marketing.

Lab experiments conducted among female and male participants using vanillin as a stimulus and ratings of sweetness, taste pleasantness and eating of sugar-free food as measures.

Odor-induced taste enhancement is gender-specific. Female consumers outperform male consumers in olfactory reaction and sweetness perception. While men outperform women in food consumption.

Odor intensity was set to the concentration level of 0.00005per cent according to the findings from (Fujimaru and Lim, 2013). The authors believe that this intensity level is appropriate for both men and women. Still, there may be some gender effects on intensity levels, which are not explored here. The author’s test for the effects of one personal factor, gender and odor-induced taste enhancement of sugar-free food. The authors think that investigating the combined effects of more personal factors such as age, culture and so on adds to the accuracy of the results.

It seems that the stronger sensory capacities of women in terms of odor detection and recognition already confirmed in the literature extends to the cross-modal effects of this sensory detection and recognition on taste enhancement. It seems appropriate to tailor olfactory food advertising according to the gender of the target audience.

Odor-induced taste enhancement is still a novel subject in marketing. While most of the research has investigated the effects of smelling congruent odors on taste perception and food consumption among mixed groups of men and women, the value of this paper lies in the investigation of the potential moderating effects of gender on this relationship.

International business.

The case is suitable for Bachelor and Master level students of business studies.

In the actual global economy context, firms are trying to be more competitive by accelerating their efforts to integrate foreign markets. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from emerging markets are increasingly internationalizing to capitalize on opportunities in foreign markets. To get into internationalization SMEs can use different successful expansion strategies. One of these strategies is the establishment of a win-win partnership with partners that distribute the company products on the foreign markets. The case deals with a successful experience of a win-win partnership from an emerging country SME, the Tunisian food industry firm GIAS, which began its internationalization in 1996. The case presents first the reasons of internationalization of GIAS. Then an explanation of the strategic choices of internationalization of the firm is provided. The selection of the most appropriate foreign markets is described later. The win-win partnership approach is then detailed and the case finishes with the future internationalization plans for GIAS.

The expected learning outcomes include: the selection of a foreign market; the determinants of the foreign mode of entry; the process of integrating an internationalization strategy; how to choose the most appropriate partner; the follow up and the management of the relationships with foreign partners; and the monitoring of international markets. The case provides a space to think about practice and help learners, therefore, to connect theory and practice.

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The purpose of this paper is to examine the dual influence of traditional Chinese and national Singaporean cultural values on the attitude towards skin beauty and the purchase intention relating to skin care cosmetics among Chinese Singaporean women. It aims is to investigate how ethnic and national cultures might interact to influence the attitude towards skin beauty and hence the willingness to buy skin care products.

A survey of 370 Chinese Singaporean women was conducted to test the proposed links. The study adopts an empirical approach using structural equation modelling.

Both traditional Chinese and national Singaporean cultural values impact the attitude of Chinese Singaporean women towards skin beauty and their willingness to buy skin care cosmetics. The components of the traditional Chinese values (Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism) and national Singaporean values were found to have differing impact on the attitude towards skin beauty and the purchase intention of skin care cosmetics among Singaporean women. Confucianism was found to have a very strong impact on skin fairness and whitening, national Singaporeans' values were found to have a strong impact on skin anti‐ageing, and Buddhist values were found to have moderate impact on attitude towards skin smoothness and skin fairness and on the willingness to buy skin smoothening and skin whitening cosmetics.

Even though the sample can be considered large, given the number of variables in the model, it would be wise to rely on a larger sample. In addition, the research was about specific cosmetics products, namely those related to skin care. It is judicious to extend the analysis to other categories and types of products. For expatriate ethnic groups, it is recommended that marketers think about the interaction between their traditional values and the values of the host country, as these have dual effects on their attitudes and hence on their buying intention. The interaction between these values is not static across products. It varies in size and combination across types of attitudes and products.

Traditional ethnic and national cultural values have differing impact in terms of significance and size on the attitude towards face beauty. Hence, marketing actions such as positioning and advertising should be customized accordingly, to target at these values in an attempt to influence attitude, and hence purchase behavior. Attitude plays a mediating role between cultural values and purchase intention. Influencing consumers' willingness to buy involves influencing their attitudes.

Few works have surveyed the dual influence of national and ethnic values on a specific ethnic subgroup in Asia. To the authors' knowledge, there no previous research has been conducted for Singapore. This paper demonstrates that it is important for the marketer to take into account Singaporeans' national and ethnic values while marketing to them.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the strategic role of purchasing and model its transformation process based on a case study of a military firm.

The paper reviews the existing literature to highlight the strategic role of purchasing and put forward the transformations the function is undertaking. The model system dynamic approach is then detailed and applied to model the transformation of the purchasing function of a military firm. The modeling software Analytica is then used to run the model and get to results.

The shift of purchasing toward a more strategic function is complex and multidimensional. Implementing these transformations requires flexible designing approaches such as the system dynamic modeling that incorporates both quantitative and qualitative variables to model the function’s changes. The paper details the methodology of applying the system dynamic approach. It recommends a new structure of the purchasing function as well as new and upgraded indicators of purchasing performance and suppliers’ management.

A single-case study research. Even though, the objective is not to generalize the findings but to enrich the existing literature as regard the system dynamic modeling in a specific domain, the one-case research setting can be seen as a limitation against generalizeable findings.

A clear step-by-step action plan of conducting the transformation of the purchasing function using the system dynamic modeling approach. The paper gives ways to upgrade existing measures of purchasing and policies of suppliers’ management.

The application of the system dynamic modeling approach to the specific domain of military purchasing.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of country of origin (COO) information on brand perception and brand image structure.

Through an analytical review, research hypotheses were built. An empirical investigation was carried out among Japanese consumers. Two brands of electronics with different levels of reputation were investigated.

Results showed that COO had an effect on brand perception. This effect differs across brands and across countries of production. Brand‐origin appears to be of significant impact on consumer perception. Brand images are found to be multidimensional. Their structures differ across brands and across COO.

COO has multiple effects on brand image perception. Brand image is multidimensional. This research dealt with one type of product among culturally similar respondents which may limit the finding.

Marketing actions should be customized across brands with different levels of reputation. Brand image should be assessed as a multidimensional concept incorporating multiple facets. Consumers are influenced by the brand‐origin. Marketers should be aware of this association.

This research tests the multidimensional aspect of brand image structure and effect of COO information on brand image structure. Results show that COO information affects both the degree of fragmentation of brand image as well as its composition.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the use of structural equation modeling in one specific field of marketing research, the image research.

A meta-analysis of a sample of image marketing works using structural equation modeling (SEM). The period of investigation is limited to the last five years to test for possible positive return of previous assessments of SEM use on the current SEM application.

Following this work, three major conclusions emerged: the study of homogenous samples of SEM models is required to get to accurate assessment of using the technique; SEM application is getting better probably due to learning from SEM reviews; and the reliance on a conjoint assessment of the various SEM issues is necessary to avoid parsimonious assessments. This study has provided a concise and refreshed view on the use of SEM in one marketing field, the image research.

47 SEM papers and 99 models along five years were examined through this research. Although the authors reviewed four of the most consulted databases in marketing, the authors might miss several interesting works not available in these databases during the investigation. It is interesting to add on the works reviewed in this study and to re-conduct the analysis. The objective is not to doubt the consistency of SEM image research but to provide writers and readers with tools that enable them to produce better quality SEM research. Moreover, the quantitative analysis could be larger. Future research can consider computing other statistics. Finally, in the standards of most of marketing journals, this paper is a bit long. But as suggested by Babin et al., journal editors should allow more space to SEM-based reviews as the nature of the discussion requires lengthening.

Mastering the statistical tool in marketing research is as important as mastering the conceptual tool. Statistical learning and/or cooperation with statisticians is recommended.

A multi-criteria review of works from one specific field in marketing research and across a recent period of time allowing for the test of possible positive return from previous reviews of SEM use on the quality of the current publications of SEM papers.