The United States in Southern Africa: Chester Crocker's linkage strategy 1981-1988

Chester Crocker was appointed as Reagan's Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in 1981. He had criticised the inconsistencies of US African policy and proposed a renewed emphasis on the balance between America's global interests with specific regional priorities. While the focus of Congressmen, journalists and public opinion centred on the issue of apartheid, it was the Namibian War of Independence (South African Border War) that initially drew the attention of the Reagan administration, and it was the resolution of this war that remained the priority for the US government in this region throughout Crocker's time in office.

The blended approach to real estate allocations: performance implications of combining an exposure to German Spezialfonds with Global Listed Real Estate Securities

This paper seeks to increase the understanding of the performance implications for investors who choose to combine an unlisted real estate portfolio (in this case German Spezialfonds) with a (global) listed real estate element. We call this a “blended” approach to real estate allocations. For the avoidance of doubt, in this paper we are dealing purely with real estate equity (listed and unlisted) allocations, and do not incorporate real estate debt (listed or unlisted) or direct property into the process. A previous paper (Moss and Farrelly 2014) showed the benefits of the blended approach as it applied to UK Defined Contribution Pension Schemes. The catalyst for this paper has been the recent attention focused on German pension fund allocations, which have a relatively low (real estate) equity content, and a high bond content. We have used the MSCI Spezialfonds Index as a proxy for domestic German institutional real estate allocations, and the EPRA Global Developed Index as a proxy for a global listed real estate allocation. We also examine whether a rules based trading strategy, in this case Trend Following, can improve the risk adjusted returns above those of a simple buy and hold strategy for our sample period 2004-2015. Our findings are that by blending a 30% global listed portfolio with a 70% allocation (as opposed to a typical 100% weighting) to Spezialfonds, the real estate allocation returns increase from 2.88% p.a. to 5.42% pa. Volatility increases, but only to 6.53%., but there is a noticeable impact on maximum drawdown which increases to 19.4%. By using a Trend Following strategy raw returns are improved from 2.88% to 6.94% p.a. , The Sharpe Ratio increases from 1.05 to 1.49 and the Maximum Drawdown ratio is now only 1.83% compared to 19.4% using a buy and hold strategy . Finally, adding this (9%) real estate allocation to a mixed asset portfolio allocation typical for German pension funds there is an improvement in both the raw return (from 7.66% to 8.28%) and the Sharpe Ratio (from 0.91 to 0.98).

Global, local, or regional? The locus of MNE strategies

This paper provides an overview of the main insights arising from the ‘regional strategy��� literature. It also develops the contours of a new, rich research agenda for future international strategy scholarship, whereby the region should be introduced as an explicit, third geographic level of analysis, in addition to the country-level and the global level. Regional strategy analysis requires a fundamental rethink of mainstream theories in the international strategy sphere. This rethink involves, inter alia, internalization theory, with its resource-based view and transaction cost economics components, as well as the integration (I) – national responsiveness (NR) framework.

Optimal power management strategy for energy storage with stochastic loads

In this paper, a power management strategy (PMS) has been developed for the control of energy storage in a system subjected to loads of random duration. The PMS minimises the costs associated with the energy consumption of specific systems powered by a primary energy source and equipped with energy storage, under the assumption that the statistical distribution of load durations is known. By including the variability of the load in the cost function, it was possible to define the optimality criteria for the power flow of the storage. Numerical calculations have been performed obtaining the control strategies associated with the global minimum in energy costs, for a wide range of initial conditions of the system. The results of the calculations have been tested on a MATLAB/Simulink model of a rubber tyre gantry (RTG) crane equipped with a flywheel energy storage system (FESS) and subjected to a test cycle, which corresponds to the real operation of a crane in the Port of Felixstowe. The results of the model show increased energy savings and reduced peak power demand with respect to existing control strategies, indicating considerable potential savings for port operators in terms of energy and maintenance costs.

The role of entrepreneurial networking on internationalization of a micro-sized Born Global Swedish fashion company : A narrative ethnographic research

Background: In recent studies a lot of attention is drawn to the connection between networking and entrepreneurship. Many scholars consider successful business and networking inseparable. Taking into consideration the topicality of the two notions discussed above the authors of this thesis decided to conduct the research dedicated to these phenomena in the field that interests them most – in the field of Swedish fashion. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to gain a deeper insight into entrepreneur’s experiences to point out the role of entrepreneurial networking in the process of internationalization of a micro-sized Swedish fashion company and to contribute to the research in this field by telling its unique story. Method: To achieve the purpose of the research a narrative ethnographic research was conducted. This research strategy was chosen because it suits the purpose best by giving an opportunity to get fresh insights into the field of entrepreneurial networking from the point of view of the entrepreneur. The data collected has a narrative nature therefore narrative analysis is used to present it. The methods of gathering the data are face-to-face interview and documents. Conclusion: we can define the most important role of entrepreneurial networking on the internationalization process of Odeur as an effective accelerator and a tool to fulfil the knowledge and expertise gaps in certain areas through other actors in the network.

An optimal strategy for extracting probabilistic rules by combining rough sets and genetic algorithm

This paper proposes an optimal strategy for extracting probabilistic rules from databases. Two inductive learning-based statistic measures and their rough set-based definitions: accuracy and coverage are introduced. The simplicity of a rule emphasized in this paper has previously been ignored in the discovery of probabilistic rules. To avoid the high computational complexity of rough-set approach, some rough-set terminologies rather than the approach itself are applied to represent the probabilistic rules. The genetic algorithm is exploited to find the optimal probabilistic rules that have the highest accuracy and coverage, and shortest length. Some heuristic genetic operators are also utilized in order to make the global searching and evolution of rules more efficiently. Experimental results have revealed that it run more efficiently and generate probabilistic classification rules of the same integrity when compared with traditional classification methods.

International strategy : is it meeting the challenge?

International strategy (IS) is the approach by which an organisation's capabilities and resources are directed to generate value utilising the global market's opportunities (and risks). Many of the largest multinationals invest significant resources in their IS, however, the literature does not offer any substantive model for the process. This paper presents a model of the IS process which comprises two parts, the first part is made up of inputs, development and outputs and the second comprises a feedback loop based on organisational performance measurement and its interpretation which impacts on the first part stages of inputs and development. The content of the model is explained and justified using examples of practice. Inputs are comprised of market information, human resources, diversity and value creation and host country environmental factors. Development is comprised of preparation and learning, planning and scrutinising partnerships, anticipating impacts of globalisation, anticipating impacts of technology, location, experience effects, planning competencies, planning for cost effectiveness, scenario planning, planning structures and operations, leadership and ethics. Outputs are comprised of structure, scope of operations, target countries, facility location and positioning. Performance interpretation explains rapid and major changes in IS outputs, such as structure
and business unit portfolios, whilst process complexity explains observed output similarities for organisations reacting to similar inputs and suggests an evolutionary approach in their determination.

The resource-based view of strategy: application to the agricultural industry

IP a The paper examines the application of the Resource-Based View of strategy (RBV) to the Australian floral industry. Despite the RBV's successful application to research in a number of discipline areas and the formalisation of its relationship with Competitive Advantage (CA) 15 years ago, the empirical support for the benefit of the RBV and development of research constructs has been inadequate. This has been partly due to the difficulty of identifying and separating the contribution of resources. The RBV literature is now consistent in the criteria required of a resource for CA and identifies a range of empirical research objectives (e.g. the need for contextual constructs), data evaluation focuses (e.g. measuring the impact of management, process, regional and scale affects) and results objectives (such as identifying the causal structure of resources). Research was conducted in the Australian floral industry to produce supporting generalisable data and constructs for the RBV. This industry is well bounded with several strongly differentiating resources and operates in a global market environment, which is necessary for these research objectives. Six hypotheses were examined; (1) the use of resources as the input of the CA, (2) the impact of the development process on resources, (3) the impact of management control on the development of resources (4) the impact on capability of management, process, region and scale, (5) the impact of resource development maturity on the approach to resource development and (6) the possibility of evaluating individual resources according to various criteria. The data was collected using selected participant interviews, with validation of conclusions by industry experts. It was analysed using content analysis, comparative analysis and cognitive mapping. The research determined that organisations in the Australian floral industry possessed important resources including geography, skills, technology, R&D, supply chains and production costs. These contributed to four CA creating production outputs; quality, capacity, reliability and customer convenience. The research findings supported hypotheses 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6. The lack of support for the two remaining hypotheses, relating to the process of resource development, may be explained by the low resource development maturity of the industry which masks the impact of the resource development process. The results also determined that one resource could contribute to a number of CAs and that resources not meeting all of the normal RBV CA criteria could still provide a CA in an industry where few resources met all criteria. It was postulated that these resources’ contribution to competitive was not durable.

Think global, act local: from naive comparison to critical participation in the teaching of strategic international human resource management

In this paper, we examine the implications of ethnocentrism and paternalism in teaching approaches for the field of strategic international human resource management (SIHRM), as an example of management studies. We argue that the teaching of SIHRM has been approached in a colonizing fashion, joining and extending the territories of human resource management and organizational strategy through the definition and teaching of a new language and conceptual vocabulary. We explore philosophical approaches and processes involved in teaching SIHRM, and consider implications of pedagogical developments in this field of management education.

Made for China: global collaboration and understanding in advertising design

With a burgeoning economy and one of the world’s largest populations of consumers, the growth and opportunities for graphic design in Mainland China seem endless. Western design and advertising agencies are eager to capture the imaginations of the Mainland audience. The visual communications strategies proposed by western advertising agencies however, often display an inadequate understanding of the historical relevance of symbols and long held value sets of the Chinese consumer. Some agencies take the viewpoint that the Mainland audience wants a copy of things ‘western.’ This can be observed in the shopping districts of most major cities in China where billboards displaying oversized images of Caucasian models dominate the visual environment. Another commonly used strategy is to use a mix of visually interesting Chinese symbols without understanding the full meaning and implication of those symbols. The above illustrates that design educators must begin the process of cross-cultural awareness at the undergraduate level to assure that more effective creative strategies can be achieved in the future. This paper explores cultural confusion in design and the possibilities of overcoming these misunderstandings through cross-cultural collaboration.

Global branding and strategic CSR : an overview of three types of complexity

Purpose – There is general agreement that global brands should ensure that they incorporate social responsibility. To do this properly, organisations must understand what it means to be socially responsible and how they can leverage their actions. The paper proposes consideration of three distinct areas: the range of social responsibility issues, what the organisations actually do and how to leverage those corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions. This paper seeks to conceptually develop these three areas of complexity – Issue, Organisational and Communication – as it is only after organisations understand these three areas that they can effectively leverage socially responsible activities in their brands.

Design/methodology/approach – This research undertakes a review and synthesis of the academic, practitioner and industry literature examining CSR and the brand, addressing the three areas of complexity – issue, organisational and communication.

Findings – The research finds that within these three areas of complexity there are a number of sub-issues that must be addressed if CSR is to be strategically integrated into a global brand. This includes sub-issues associated with social issue complexity (identification, heterogeneity, measurement, and interpretation); organizational complexity (overall corporate brand, multiple products and brands, functional activities, and supply chain); and communication complexity (intensity of action/positioning, communicating action, types of programs utilised, and integration issues.) It thus provides an agenda for future research.

Research limitations/implications – There is limited academic literature examining how global organisations incorporate CSR activities into their brand and the research proposes the issues that need to be considered when integrating CSR into branding strategy. Future research needs to be undertaken to explore the internal processes that global firms use to develop their CSR positioning strategies and some research propositions for future research are proposed. Additionally further exploration of each of the issues (and sub-issues) identified in this paper is warranted, and some suggestions are made for this.

Practical implications – The results of this study show that developing a CSR leveraged brand in a consistent way that is salient to all stakeholders is no simple task for global organisations. By considering the three areas of complexity developed here organisations will be able to better understand and align their activities in line with CSR related issues. Being global means that organisations will likely need to ensure they address the highest set of global expectations, as any lower level may be criticised as being less than appropriate.

Originality/value – The paper develops the sub-issues of issue, organisational and communication complexity associated with global brands' CSR activities. This strategic perspective goes beyond focusing on the tactical activities undertaken or the philosophical issue of whether CSR should be undertaken. The work therefore allows global organisations to look at CSR more strategically as a branding issue.

Contemporary security and strategy

Brings together a range of specially-commissioned chapters to provide an accessible introduction to security studies in the 21st century. The second edition has been expanded to cover developments in global and regional security; nuclear proliferation; terrorism; intervention and peacekeeping. C. Snyder, Deaking Uni.

Marketing strategy for small application service providers in a new market

Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) including small application service providers (ASPs) are playing an increasingly important role in the development of global economies particularly in developing countries like China. This paper studies marketing strategies of small application service providers (ASP) with a focus on what the important factors are to establish a new ASP business in China. An analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method is used to analyse critical factors of the ASP industry. The research surveyed CEOs or senior managers who are working in ASP firms, to identify how a marketing strategy can be developed for an ASP firm to start business in China. It is found that the localisation of middle level managers, the localisation of products and services, the protection of intellectual property (IP), and infrastructure and transportation system are the most important factors for small ASP firms to do business in China.

Firm survival through a crisis : the influence of market orientation, marketing innovation and business strategy

As an outcome of the economic crisis, the global manufacturing sector is collapsing. Focusing on Chinese manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs), this study investigates whether marketing innovation, defined as improvements in the marketing mix, can assist in withstanding the challenges of operating under the current economic conditions. A conceptual model linking market orientation, marketing innovation, competitive advantage and firm survival is tested using structural equation modelling. Three key findings are derived. First, the examined Chinese manufacturing SMEs had a greater perceived likelihood of survival had they developed and sustained a competitive advantage. Second, marketing innovation assisted in developing and sustaining competitive advantages based on differentiation and cost leadership strategies. Third, marketing innovation capabilities improved when the examined manufacturing SMEs were competitor oriented and had good inter-functional capabilities.