Work organisations around the world are experiencing transformations in a range of people management practices when encountering intercultural forces of the global market based economy. In particular, the process of talent acquisition, which is recognised as a critical component of competitive advantage, has shifted significantly from traditional arrangements. Contemporary Indian organisations are not immune from globalisation influences and many have adopted a hybridisation perspective that blends with international management knowledge and historical indigenous nuances. The extent of hybridisation in 72 Indian organisations was investigated with a pluralist study design. Results of the quantitative analyses, that demonstrated national culture influenced the relationships between talent acquisition and dimensions of corporate global ambition, were confirmed with qualitative assessments. Implications and consequences are outlined.

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the importance of talent management (TM) as a fundamental component of management philosophy and practice to auger contemporary competitiveness in Chinese organisations, which have forged transformational synergies with traditional forms of political intervention and capital investment. Design/methodology/approach – A pluralist design was used, in which the quantitative and qualitative assessment was adopted with Chinese decision-making executives of corporations operating in the global arena. By using managerial responses, this paper offered a more nuanced and grounded understanding of TM in general. Findings – Although the results revealed that the concept of TM gained a significant footprint in the studied organisations, the influence of cultural nuances and organisational structural processes restrict the practice of TM, and, indeed, there is a need to have a Chinese characteristic. Research limitations/implications – This research underlies the importance of intensifying critical scrutiny of the relativity of TM, organisational practices and cultural heritage when developing future organisational leaders. Practical implications – The instruments for assessing the phenomena of TM and related concepts encourage legitimacy to extend the limited empirical research with more industries across different geographical regions in China. Originality/value – This paper addresses an under-researched area of world importance, namely, the critical role of TM, which is to optimise these scant resources in the worthy pursuit of economic and political stability in both the domestic and global contexts.

This study investigates the critical dimension of factors driving restaurant choice among 277 consumers, predominantly residents of the Southeastern United States. The food provided (quality, taste) was central to respondents' decision to favor one restaurant over another, though prior positive experience, a clean production/service environment and hospitable service are additional factors that most strongly influenced restaurant choice. Interestingly, despite the rich variety of foods/produce and agricultural background of the region, the use of local food and produce in menu development is among the least considered factors. Several implications are drawn from the findings and directions for future studies are suggested.

This study examines climate change from the perspective of small winery operators in an ultra-peripheral European region. Most respondents in this study refer to changes in the last decades, including warm weather patterns that are pushing harvests earlier in the year. Such changes are having an impact on the final wine product, as alcohol volume has increased in some wines. Despite these new challenges, given growers limitations of land space and resources, only the fewest growers are implementing strategies to minimize such impacts. Implications of the findings and future research avenues concerning climate change in the region are discussed.

Rural communities, especially those that strive to become tourist destinations face many challenges, including limited human and financial resources in developing their own tourism sector. The importance of local visitor centres in promoting the region can be invaluable assets in addressing those limitations. However, to what extent can efforts among a community's residents also contribute towards the promotion of local tourism? The present study investigates this aspect of community involvement from the perspective of representatives (managers, staff) of an emerging rural tourism destination, the Blackwood River Valley in Western Australia. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted in four visitor centres. Volunteerism among local residents in various ways of tourism promotion emerged as a key finding in this study, as well as volunteer work providing support beyond involvement at visitor centres. Indeed, this aspect of community involvement was further illustrated in other forms of community involvement (e.g. helping host and cater for events). The findings, therefore, reinforce the notion that through volunteerism, local residents make direct and indirect participatory contributions that help strengthen the social aspect, or social fabric, of the community, while contributing to tourism development.

News and reports acknowledge the challenges that Spanish wine regions are facing, including the Canary Is- lands, where wine designations of origin (DOs) have existed for less than two decades. The present study extends from preliminary research conducted on the islands’ wine industry to delve into the developments that continue to unfold in the archipelago’s wine sector. Winery owners, wine makers and managers of 55 wineries located in the six wine producing islands participated in face-to-face and telephone interviews. The general view among participants is of serious concern, and there appear to be very few short-term solutions for current challenges. Different implications are drawn from the findings, including those concerning the future of the local wine sector, its wine culture, and tradition.

Much of wine tourism research underlines the many benefits of this concept for wineries, the wine sector and rural areas. Few studies, however, have taken a longitudinal approach to investigate (1) the extent to which wineries become involved in wine tourism, (2) whether they actually benefit from it over time and (3) what impediments, if any, prevent them from maximising the opportunities that wine tourism may provide. This study builds upon existing research to investigate the perspective of small winery entrepreneurs on Spain's Canary Islands. After years of planning and expectations concerning the potential of wine tourism, overall respondents indicate very little progress in wine tourism development. The majority of those involved (59%) are only marginally or not benefiting from it at all. Winery entrepreneurs believe that wine tourism's potential is yet to be exploited, but little government support, lack of organisation within the wine sector and limited resources continue to impede its adoption. Although opportunities exist to market wines among some segments of the nine million tourists who visit the Canaries annually, research, partnership creation and marketing needs to be done at stakeholder level (government, wine sector and tourism agencies) to create a sustainable business concept.

From a century-old artisanal way of making wines to the recent establishment of designations of origin, the wine industry in many European regions has been facing increasing demands, in a continuously changing wine environment. Today, many more wine regions are competing for consumers' dollars, are confronting lack of generational renewal or are facing swings in wine consumption. So, how do winery operators, particularly those running small or family businesses, cope with the new developments occurring in the world of wines? The present study examines these issues from the perspective of a group of Spanish winery operators. General agreement exists regarding the opportunities that arise from the modernisation of the local wine industry, with stricter quality controls, mechanisation and other aspects facilitating the transition from making wines for household consumption to making commercial wines. Despite the gravity of current threats, most operators have planned and are implementing specific long-term strategies to maximise potential opportunities, including product quality and diversification. However, investments are very costly for many small wineries to sustain. Thus, it is argued that the wine sector and government bodies will need to intensify efforts to improve infrastructure, marketing, education and other areas to assist winery operators to confront challenges and achieve long-term survival. Keywords: coping with changeswine sectorwinery entrepreneursstrategiesSpain

Past research highlights the importance of collaboration as a critical element in the development of regional tourism. In this context of collaborative relationships, the role of visitor centers in promoting and in raising awareness of existing tourism-related activities, including those with a food and beverage theme is vital. The present study examines the extent to which visitor centers in an emerging tourist destination with a farming background, the Blackwood River Valley in Western Australia, use these tools to develop their local tourism. Face-to-face interviews were conducted among representatives of four visitor centers. Respondents acknowledge much collaboration (as opposed to competition), not only within the region but also with other neighboring regions in their present and future development efforts. Despite being a rural region with a tradition in horticultural farming, raising cattle, fishing, and more recently being home to a burgeoning wine sector, respondents recognize that not enough emphasis is placed on promoting food-, wine-, and farm-related tourism themes. Thus, an argument is made that the traditional farming sectors could also play a key role in raising the profile of the tourism in this area and draw quality visitors.

For centuries, the Mediterranean and other regions have become icons for their food, wine, laid-back lifestyle and benign weather, with each of these components ideally complementing the other three. The availability of a local cuisine and local wines provides consumers with memorable experiences. However, in many other regions little is known about ways in which the local cuisine and wine could be 'married.' This study examines the views of 55 small winery operators in a region that for decades has been widely known as a mass tourism destination: the Canary Island in Spain. While most operators recognise the potential for a perfect local cuisine wine marriage, many also mention the missing link between the local hospitality and wine sectors. For instance, respondents argue that restaurateurs are not promoting local wines enough in favour of cheaper imports. The study also discusses the implications of the findings and identifies areas of future research. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A legacy of a centrally planned economy with a strong traditional bound culture, coupled with the dynamism injected by the arrival of international multinational corporations (MNCs), and even the rise of Chinese MNCs has created strong demands for talent in all spheres of China’s economic life. As Chinese companies extend their global reach, they increasingly face the complexities of personnel acquisition, including severe shortages of domestic managerial talent, international brain drain of educated Chinese youth, and migration of managers from domestic Chinese companies to global MNCs. Against this background, the present study explores ways in which Chinese MNCs strategically integrate resources at the international level to attain global business success. The study finding indicated there is a crossvergence of talent management practices in Chinese MNCs, and such finding has potential to contribute to understanding how to overcome the identified barriers to the internationalisation process, especially in locating managerial talents.

PurposeThe remarkable growth of wine tourism in recent decades has created opportunities for rural communities to diversify and stimulate development, and for travellers to enjoy an activity that brings together educational and gastronomic experiences. However, still today many areas around the globe with the potential to become quality wine tourism destinations have been ignored in contemporary research. This paper aims to examine winery operators' involvement with wine tourism, and current challenges they face in several emerging Western Australian wine regions.Design/methodology/approachSemi‐structured face‐to‐face and telephone interviews were used to collect data among 42 participating winery operators.FindingsRespondents acknowledge the great potential for the development of wine tourism and many foresee their own future involvement in hospitality and tourism. However, the fragmented nature of the wine industry in some of the areas studied, financial limitations and geographical distance from large cities or tourist traffic are current barriers limiting further development.Research limitations/implicationsWith over 300 wineries in Western Australia the number of participating businesses in the study may not substantiate making generalisations of Western Australia's wineries or those of other wine regions. However, the findings of this preliminary study do provide information about efforts and challenges related to “new” wine regions in Western Australia.Practical implicationsThe existing potential to develop wine tourism in emerging wine regions may in the long term attract quality wine tourists seeking authenticity and uniqueness, the very same elements on which these regions seem to rely. However, to achieve these goals, current barriers need to be addressed by all parties involved: wineries, local tourism bodies and local/state authorities.Originality/valueThe study constitutes an effort to extend the very limited existing knowledge on newly developing wine regions in Western Australia.

This chapter examines visitor perceptions of the capital city of New Zealand, Wellington. The chapter examines the destination image among visitors travelling to and departing from the capital city. The results suggest that overseas visitors placed a higher level of importance in seeing Wellington as New Zealand's capital city, compared with domestic visitors. International visitors were also more likely to explore city attractions and spend more money. This suggests using capital city status particularly in international marketing. Issues concerning infrastructure, poor signage and outdated hospitality facilities were raised by visitors, and may be partly due to low levels of tourism investment by the public and private sector, which have been noted by others writing about national capital tourism in Wellington.