In this chapter, we examine the macro-environment that affects marketing analysis and decision-making. We define the macro-environment and explore its impact. Key developments and trends in various aspects of the macro-environment in Asia are examined thereafter to highlight the interplay between the environment and marketing.

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.

Lately, there have been increasing interests on Guanxi (Altstron, 1989; Ambler, 1994, 1995; Davies, 1995; Luo, 1997; Xin and Pearce, 1996). Guanxi has been studied in various disciplines, ranging from business strategies (Luo, 1997) to business policy (Ambler, 1996), management (Wu, 1994; Luo, 1997) and organizational development (Tsui and Farh, 1997).

PurposePrior research has suggested that the key to industrial purchasing success lies in the time development and maintenance of long‐term relationships between buyers and sellers. Good relational exchanges can lead to higher product quality and better coordination with the suppliers. As such, the purpose of this article is to explain how the change of these relationships over time is critical to successful purchasing, especially in understanding the factors that influence the relational change.Design/methodology/approachThree mini case studies are presented as an attempt to capture the subtle development of buyer‐seller relationships in the Asian printed circuit board industry. The approach used in this paper is to treat the relationship development as a process through time using Ford's model from 1980. Ford's model is appropriate as it allows the examination of time effects in relationships, factors influencing the change and the implications of having close linkages.FindingsInitial results suggest that technological, social, time and actual distances, other than the quality of the relationships, can impact relationship development.Originality/valueThe results of this study suggest that buyers should consider carefully the influence of the geographical proximity of suppliers. As such, buyers could seek the services of personnel or departments who are more attuned to the supplier's local culture.

ABSTRACT In these last two decades of relationship marketing, the trustworthiness of the salesperson may be a major determinant in the development of quality buyer-seller relationships in the business market. This exploratory study seeks to validate a multi-dimensional model of trustworthiness based on the five Cs of commitment, competence, conviction, courage and character. It also explores how various personal, situational and organizational factors affect the components of trustworthiness. The results show that the five C's indeed represent trustworthiness although conviction has been perceived as part of competence. Important factors found to have an impact on trustworthiness are the personal factor of idealism, situational factors of extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation, and the organizational factors of culture and salesforce control system.

Owing to the complexity of the task and the risks inherent in it, the effectiveness of any organizational buying decision largely depends on the information available for the decision‐makers’ use. Within any typical organization, flow of the information needed in the decision‐making process is influenced by the gatekeepers – the people who link the organization with the outside environment. However, despite the important role played by these people, not much is known about their behavior. This research makes an attempt to study gatekeeping behavior and examine factors which may influence this behavior.

Negative word-of-mouth is one form of consumer response to dissatisfaction that has received little attention from business firms, yet it is a silent and potent force that is capable of wreaking havoc on a firm's bottom-line. This study, examines the influence of some individual and situational factors affecting negative word-of-mouth behaviour The results reveal that product involvement, purchase decision involvement, self-confidence, perceived worthiness of complaining, and proximity of others affect negative word-of-mouth behaviour in both Singapore and Canada. Two additional factors, attitudes towards business in general and the perceived reputation of the firm, affect negative word-of-mouth behaviour in the Singapore sample, while an additional factor sociability, affects negative word-of-mouth behaviour in the Canadian sample.

Developing buyer-seller relationships is increasingly seen as an important factor for success in industrial marketing (Spekman and Johnston, 1986). This relationship goes back way before the industrial product is offered for sale and may actually take place while the product is being developed. In this paper, we present a case study of the interactions and relationships between an industrial buyer and two of its suppliers during the product development process in the application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) industry. Relevant implications for industrial marketing are drawn

This study examines the influence of task characteristics and job-related characteristics on the level of customer orientation exhibited by retail salespeople. The task characteristics examined are task variety, task autonomy, task identity and feedback. The job-related characteristics included in the study are job satisfaction, work motivation, organizational commitment, job involvement, role conflict, and supervisor–employee relationship. A survey using a self-administered close-ended questionnaire was conducted on retail salespeople from five major retailers in Singapore. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that the above factors, with the exception of role conflict, have significant influence on the customer orientation of retail salespeople. The six most important predictors of the customer orientation of retail salespeople identified by multiple regression analysis were task identity, organizational commitment, autonomy, education level, job satisfaction, and supervisor–employee relationship.

SUMMARY The purchasing function is receiving increased attention as a key contributor to the strategic success of the firm. This study seeks to identify the strategic role of the purchasing function and the contributions that purchasing can make in an organization. A mail survey was conducted among The CEOs based in Singapore to examine the relationship between corporate competitive strategy and purchasing objectives, as well as how purchasing affects business performance through its integration with other functions, its partnership with suppliers, and its involvement in team decisions. The data collected were factor analysed and the results suggest that purchasing objectives are affected by the firm's corporate competitive strategy. More important, purchasing can yield better business performance through greater integration with other functions, closer partnership with suppliers, and greater involvement in team decisionmaking.

Brands are important in the consumer market. They are the interface between consumers and the company, and consumers may develop loyalty to brands. This study proposes that trust in a brand is important and is a key factor in the development of brand loyalty. Factors hypothesized to influence trust in a brand include a number of brand characteristics, company characteristics and consumer-brand characteristics. Respondents representing a broad spectrum of Singapore consumers were surveyed. The findings reveal that brand characteristics are relatively more important in their effects on a consumer's trust in a brand. The results also show that trust in a brand is positively related to brand loyalty. Marketers should, therefore, take careful consideration of brand factors in the development of trust in a brand.

Understanding industrial buying behavior is increasingly important to industrial marketers and researchers. Industrial salespeople often ask where, how, and when to communicate effectively to their customers in order to achieve sales success. It is felt that the structure of the informal group of people involved in the buying decision (the buying center) may bear on this issue. This question motivated the researchers to examine the structure of the buying center and some of its antecedents. The results of an empirical study of 68 manufacturers in Singapore suggest that purchase-related factors such as the importance of the purchase, time constraints for the purchase, and the novelty of the purchase situation, tend to influence the buying center's structural dimensions of centralization, formalization, and complexity. Based on these purchase-related factors, specific marketing management implications and directions for future research are discussed.

With rising cost from the scarcity of materials, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are increasingly turning to international sourcing as a key strategy to stay globally competitive. To achieve this objective, OEMs, particularly those in the highly competitive, low margin electronics industry, have been establishing international procurement offices (IPOs) in strategic locations around the world. A survey of 65 electronics IPOs in Singapore reveals some profiles, structures, and functions of electronics IPOs. The results further reveal that availability of suppliers and good quality parts are important considerations for electronics IPOs.