Month: March 2013

by Edgar Arias, earias@vt.edu

International marketing encompasses the disciplines focused on the trade of goods and services across global boundaries (CharlesDoyle, 2011).  Studying the determinants of exports performance has been one of the major priorities in the field since the 1970s.  However, despite of the tremendous attention devoted by researchers, a comprehensive theory that explains export performance is yet to be developed.  Some consider that knowledge on this field is fragmented, diverse and sometimes even inconsistent, which makes export performance one of the most contentious fields in international marketing (Katsikeas, Leonidou, & Morgan, 2000).  The globalization of businesses, and the importance of exports for industries such as the Hardwood Industry, justify and incentive additional research in pursue of a better understanding of the factors that determine the success of export ventures (Parhizkar, Miller, & Smith, 2010).

Continue reading “RESEARCH BRIEF: Determinants of Exports Performance”

by Melissa Brenes-Bastos, mbrenes@vt.edu

Since 1960s, there had been a lot of terms to describe Strategic Planning, such as, comprehensive corporate planning, comprehensive managerial planning, comprehensive integrated planning, corporate planning, formal strategic planning and other combinations.  According to Steiner (1997) formal strategic planning has to be defined from four points of view:

• Futurity of current decisions:  it means to look at cause and effect consequences of an actual or future decision that the manager is going to make, in other words if the manager do not like the consequences ahead the decision those can se change.  (Steiner, 1997)

• Process: Steiner 1997, mentions that it begins with setting organizations aims, define strategies, policies to accomplish them and detail plans to implement the strategy correctly, in more cases the plans are set for a certain amount of time, not to change every day, but it has to be appropriate for unexpected changes and actions.
• Philosophy: this point refers to an attitude, a life stile, it refers that the organization have to believes in the strategic plan, the manager and coworkers need to believe that is worth doing and must want to do the strategic planning in the company. (Steiner, 1997)
• Structure: the last but not least point Steiner 1997 mention is referring to integrate strategic plans, medium-rage programs and short-rage budgets and operating plans, it is focus in the linkages of those plans into a management strategies that will translate to current decisions.

Pophal 2009 describe a step by step approach to developing a strategic marketing plan which will include terms such as: (1) Situation analysis ‘compound with Industry analysis, Market analysis and Competitive analysis’, (2) SWOT analysis, (3) Quantifiable objectives/goals, (4) Strategies and tactics to meet objectives/goals, (5) Responsibility/ accountability, (6) Develop a budget and (7) Ongoing monitoring and adjustment.

Continue reading “RESEARCH BRIEF: Strategic Marketing Planning in Wood Products Industry”