The objective of this paper is to forecast the size and effects of remittances and emigration in four Western-Balkan countries: Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Kosovo, through application of a qualitative forecasting method: a Delphi questionnaire. We solicited consensus building within and between two groups of respondents: 10 experts and 20 receivers were consulted per country in three subsequent rounds -two on the same group, and a third cross-round whereby average answers of receivers were given to experts, and vice versa. Consensual results suggest that remittances in the projected five-year period will increase in Macedonia and Serbia, and will reduce in Albania and Kosovo. With lower consensus, results forecast that emigration will decelerate in Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo, and will accelerate in Serbia by 2021. Emigration effects for the society have been forecasted to be predominantly negative due to skilled labour emigration, while remittances were forecasted to maintain their effect on poverty in Macedonia and Serbia, and weaken it in Albania. In all four countries, expert and receivers were in agreement that remittances will continue to support current consumption only. On the other hand, Macedonians lacked consensus on remittances' effect on the labour market, whereby experts agreed that remittances will support inactivity, while receivers -employment. On the other hand, there has been a consensus achieved in the other three countries that remittances will support labour-market activity.
Purpose – The paper aims to demonstrate the utility of qualitative research for: understanding differences in brand image across markets; the critical assessment of marketing theory; informing revisions to quantitative scales and metrics used in international branding research. This is accomplished via research on a particular case (socialist era brands in Croatia and Serbia). Design/methodology/approach – A total of 12 focus groups, cutting across two countries (Croatia and Serbia) and three age groups (18-21, 35-45, pensioners), were conducted. The contemporary brand images of labels from the socialist era were compared against competing products (launched in the post-socialist period by local manufacturers and those from transnational companies). Findings – Analysis revealed significant differences in the image of the socialist era brands between their home and foreign markets. Variations are linked to a cultural context of newly (re)emerging states with high ethnocentrism, animosity and uneasy political relationships. Transnational brands, however, appear immune to much consumer ethnocentrism. Research limitations/implications – Firms from the region face significant barriers to creating standardised brand images across the successor states of the Socijalistička Federativna Republika Jugoslavija. While strong in their home markets, the socialist era brands are rarely suitable platforms for international market entry in the region. The dangers of conflating “Western” with foreign in international branding research are documented. Originality/value – The case illustrates the role qualitative research can play in understanding variations in perceived brand image across international markets. It evaluates the utility of Kapferer’s approach to brand identity. The concept of origin hierarchies is introduced and the inadequacies of international marketing research that relies on a simple domestic versus foreign dichotomy are documented.
Članci/Papers 343 1. UVOD Korporativne komunikacije predstavljaju značajnu poslovnu funkciju unutar savremenih kompanija. Shvatanje rastućeg značaja komunikacija za tržišni uspeh kompanija, doprinelo je tome da se ova poslovna funkcija u organizacionoj strukturi pozicionira u samom vrhu, utičući tako na strateške odluke preduzeća. Paralelno s tim, teoretičari iz oblasti društvenih nauka, a posebno oni koji se bave istraživanjima odnosa s javnošću, počinju da izučavaju strateški značaj korporativnih komunikacija i njihovu ulogu u građenju konkurentne prednosti (Forman i Agenti, 2005). Generalno posmatrano, uloga korporativnih komunikacija ogleda se pre svega u domenu građenja korporativnog identiteta, korporativnog brenda i reputacije kompanije (Hawabhay, Abratt i Peters, 2009; Flatt i Kowalczik, 2008; Forman i Agenti, 2005). Dok se prva dva koncepta direktno vezuju za marketinšku teoriju, koncept reputacije se razvija u domenu teorije menadžmenta i teorije odnosa s javnošću (Dowling, 2004).Korporativne komunikacije možemo da definišemo kao plansko dolaženje do informacija iz okruženja i njihove razmene unutar preduzeća, kao i razmene informacija između preduzeća s jedne strane i različitih segmenata okruženja u kojem ono posluje. U savremenom svetu nijedno preduzeće ne može da opstane ukoliko nije u neprekidnoj komunikaciji sa spoljašnjom sredinom o kojoj se informiše i koju informiše o sopstvenim aktivnostima. Preduzeća nastaju i opstaju uz pristanak i podršku javnosti. Ovaj stav dokumentovan je još čuvenom izjavom Artura Pejdža, jednog od pionira u oblasti odnosa s javnošću, da u jednom demokratskom društvu svaki posao počinje uz dozvolu javnosti i postoji uz njeno odobrenje (Capozzi, 2005). Javnost čine brojni pojedinci i institucije na koje je preduzeće upućeno tokom svog postojanja, jer od njih na jedan ili drugi način zavisi realizacija njegovih poslovnih aktivnosti. Dakle, svi pojedinci i institucije koji čine javnost nekog preduzeća mogu se
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