Assessment of the Attractiveness of Foreign Markets. Case study: Comparison of Armenia and Poland

Andranik Muradyan

Abstract:

From the international marketing point of view, it is important to assess the attractiveness of the target country that can be interesting to foreign investors. It is worth analyzing all the possible opportunities and threats that may arise in each geographic market. It is also needed to assess the country’s strengths and weaknesses and understand how these characteristic features can affect the company’s growth perspectives. Each country has a specific political environment, socio-demographic features, economic situation, technological conditions, cultural identity, unique natural environment and legal rules. At the same time, there are regional and global geopolitical tendencies, common political structures, common economic conventions and elements of global culture. The specificity of the above-mentioned factors shapes a unique business environment that affects marketing strategies of entities that are planning to internationalize.

This article will present a proposal of several criteria for assessing the attractiveness of foreign markets. These criteria will be selected because of their reliability and acceptability by various global institutions. This method can be used to estimate attractiveness of every country, but only two of them have been chosen for this article. Based on these indicators, the attractiveness of the Armenian market will be compared to Poland’s attractiveness. The example of Poland in some areas because of its increasing attractiveness may be useful for Armenia and its government

Gender as a factor in the physician and patient interaction: from service quality perspective

Versavel Tecleab Haile

Abstract:

Research has not yet adequately explored the potential interplay between the physician’s gender and the patient’s perception of the service quality. Although various studies have covered the measurement of service quality in the hospital industry, the gender perspective has not been touched on significantly. This study is a review article that aims to explore how gender matters to the physician-patient interaction in the service setting. It discusses the patient’s responses to physicians of different genders and the behavior of physicians of different genders. Consequently, it was found that gender is one of the factors that influence the physician-patient interaction and patients’ perception of the doctor’s competence. The gender of the physician as well as the patient could influence the communication level in medical encounters. Gender-based stereotypes in the service encounter could also affect the patient-physician interaction and the evaluations that patients give to physicians. Moreover, it was discussed that traditions, religion, culture, stereotypes and past experience serve as a foundation for customers to form a preference for the physician’s sex. The relationship between the physician and the patient is shaped by many factors lying on both the patient’s and the doctor’s side. These factors include the difference in communication style between males and females, the patient-physician gender dyad, the difference in personality traits between males and females. All these factors fall under the service dimension that is essential in measuring the quality of service.

Antecedents of Word-of-Mouth Communication and Purchase Intention on Facebook

Bogdan Anastasiei, Ana Raluca Chiosa

Abstract:

More and more business customers use social media to express their opinions about products, services and brands. This study aims to make a step further in understanding consumer engagement in electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on Facebook and its impact on recommending and purchasing products. To test our conceptual framework, structural equation modeling techniques have been applied to data collected through a self-administrated survey addressed to 640 Facebook users from Romania. Our model shows that Facebook’s perceived usefulness infl uences customer brand engagement, which in turn has an important effect on the intention to purchase the brand and recommend it to others (word of mouth). Therefore, people who use Facebook as a source of information about products and services are top eWOM providers. A brand that seeks to build authority on Facebook should look for eWOM providers, convert them into fans and “feed” them with attention-grabbing information that is worth spreading. This way, most of the fans will provide free word-of-mouth advertising, becoming true brand ambassadors. Our study has established that Facebook’s perceived usefulness not only engages online users with brands, but also makes this medium a perfect eWOM tool: it builds trust in friends’ recommendations, and eventually, makes the users sincere supporters of the brands they like.

A multi-dimensional framework for the development of authentic consumer products

Per Kristav, Izabelle Bäckström, Axel Nordin, Anders Warell, Olaf Diegel

Abstract:

A common assumption in product value literature is that authenticity is what contemporary consumers value the most. However, as this paper illustrates, the meaning of authenticity is unclear and the term appears foreign to product development practitioners. The purpose of this paper is to explore in what ways product development professionals talk about product value in general and how this relates to authenticity. The analysis of the interviews reveals that product developers must embrace authenticity as a holistic framework if the phenomenon is to be constructive for companies within the product development industry. In line with the concept of authenticity as a multi-dimensional framework, this paper suggests that authenticity does not solely result from certain intrinsic tangible or intangible product characteristics, and that commercially strong products and brands do not automatically become ‘authentic’.

The contribution of this paper to the product development field is a framework for a multi-dimensional construct of authenticity, and an account for what representatives within selected companies talk about when asked about how they create consumer value, and how they contribute to valuable consumer experiences. The findings are analysed and discussed in the context of literature from product development, brand management and marketing management.