This study divides Western European tourists into seven distinct groups and examines (a) their ratings of the importance seven attributes for all food places in Singapore in general, and (b) their evaluation of four specific types of food places in Singapore in particular. Results show significant differences in the evaluation of food places by the seven groups of Western European tourists should not be treated as a common group, but should be segmented into distinct sub-groups on order to cater to unique requirements and enhance the quality of experience of their stay in Singapore.

Many international studies on tourism have focused mainly on the attributes of the tourist destination. This study attempts to fill a missing link by clustering tourists through lifestyle variables. A total of 363 tourist responses were collected and cluster analysis identified 3 major lifestyle segments which can be categorised as budget world travellers, novelty seekers and general purpose tourists. While the study was conducted in Singapore, the methodology and findings can be applied to other countries.

This paper examines the pattern of technology transfer in Singapore and in particular considers the impact of such transfer on the creation of new skills. One particular study is examined – that of the electronics and computer industry. Although this is a micro study of one industry, it must be linked to the total macro picture of successful human technological upgrading that has been going on in Singapore and other countries such as Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

This is an attempt to apply the stages of internationalization model to investigate the export behavior of firms in Singapore. The study has identified existing exporters or pre‐exporters by stage of development in which they belong. The factors that distinguish one stage from another were investigated and our findings show that there are statistically significant differences that differentiate one stage from another. On the basis of these differences, we conclude that there are public policy implications and therefore we make recommendations that firms be classified by the stage of their internationalization and that appropriate aid packages be made for firms by the stage of their international development.

A survey of 374 firms in the travel-agency industry was conducted to determine how they can be encouraged to bring more tourists into Singapore. Export theories were used as a framework to differentiate the firms into four progressive stages and compare them with respect to management perception, problems encountered in inbound operations, export- supporting factors, and firm characteristics. The results indicated that different factors, particularly managerial ones, appeared to be important at each stage, thus enabling the development of profiles of firms in each corresponding stage. This finding has public policy implications.