The countries of Central Eastern Europe are evolving very fast: how different are they from each other and from the West? Are differences culturally rooted, or driven by specific national circumstances? This paper discusses some data from a recent quantitative survey on beliefs, attitudes and values which throw some light on these issues. The survey, conducted under the auspices of the EEC, used a widespread network of university members set up by Dr. Miliar in 1990- 92 and takes further a pilot-study published in 1991. It covered approximately 500 women aged 18 - 50 in seven CEE markets plus the former East and West Germanies separately and the UK. The questioning, covering many aspects of life today, was identical everywhere. The results shown here demonstrate that women in the CEE countries are not, in general, as optimistic as those surveyed in the West, and there seems to be a significant age divide between the young, who are almost as hopeful as those in the West, and the less young, who are more pessimistic. Nevertheless, ail countries show increased optimism for the future, albeit at different levels. Attitudes to branding, advertising and other aspects of commercial life are analysed into five main factors across all countries, and the reasons for the differences between the countries are explored. The conclusion is drawn that 'Westernisation' is not a straightforward process; and it would be wrong to infer that 'Western' attitudes will prevail. Above all, each CEE country is different and needs careful assessment for marketing and communication decisions.
The content of this paper is coming from purely empirical sources. The author has experienced the years of the transition as a market researcher coming from the academic field. This brand new situation opened up the world of West, with its developed technology, well-trained professionals and standardized procedures. The paper approaches the transition and its effects upon market research from two angles: first, from the input side: what was the most striking when understanding the difference of doing research for Western clients, how does it effect the personal attitude of the researcher and what are the most frequent types and strategies Western client apply in dealing with researchers and agencies from the East. The second part concentrates on phenomena Western marketers and researchers working in the region should keep in mind, like the fact that East Europe is not unified, that the differences between social-demographic groups might be greater than elsewhere, that the special historical and socio-cultural background of East European consumers might require unique techniques and care. The problem of branding is touched upon, from the aspect of new and relaunched brands. The paper is accompanied by a number of personal experiences, observations and examples.
In this paper the role of human resources during the transition of the Slovenian economy is analysed in the following five sections. After a very short introduction, the second section discusses the supply aspect of the human resources, including the support of statistical data, past and future demographic development, ageing of the population, and decrease in the number of young people entering the labor market. In addition, the main characteristics of the socialist/communist system and its negative influence on the economy and educational institutions is examined. The results of industryâs requirements and socialist pressures to limit adaptation of social science curricula and other in a rapidly developing world, will also be explored. The third section is devoted to the demand for human resources and the consequences of demand for increased numbers of employees without regard for their quality of skills and educational level, and the results of a preference of Slovenian companies to exchange their products mainly with less demanding markets in former Yugoslavia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Explored further are the fall of GDP and huge raise in unemployment beginning in 1991 and the structural mismatch of human resources supply and demand as the main obstacle to Sloveniaâs successful response to the rapidly developing markets of the world. Discussed in the forth section are future developments in supply and demand of human resources, mainly the influence of new technology', the growing importance of the service sector, and the new requirements in education and skills for the labor force. In addition, what the consequences of changing the habits and attitudes of young people to avoid skills shortage in the future will be for government, companies, education institutions and individuals will also be discussed.
The media situation all over the world has been changing over the last few years. Change is especially dramatic in Central and Eastern Europe. One of the new developments is the need for media research in order to provide a basis for negotiations between TV stations, radio channels, publishing houses, and advertisers. TV audience measurement is just one area of media research. It is particularly suitable to demonstrate the need for valid and reliable data because of the relatively easy approach to generally accepted methodical approaches. In the quantitative media research area, audience measurement and competitive observation are the key needs. In the qualitative field, effectiveness of advertising, viewer attention or involvement and effect of program environment are important. Media research, particularly its basic audience measurement aspect should be funded by the media and controlled by a tripartite body of media, advertising agencies, and advertisers. Access should be possible and free of charge for everyone with a legitimate need as far as basic data are concerned. The generation and publication of media research data on a harmonized basis within Central and Eastern Europe (but also as compared to Western Europe) is a strongly felt need of the advertisers. The TV stations themselves will profit from this as well. The current situation in Central and Eastern Europe allows to reach the goal of harmonized data with much less effort than it is required in Western Europe.
Major economic changes are taking place in Poland, as in other East European countries. Privatisation of state owned enterprises is one of the most important elements of the economic reforms. Privatisation by means of Initial Public Offering (IPO) is the flagship of the property reforms in Poland. Although this method of privatisation concerns only a relatively small number of companies it is the most spectacular part of the whole process which has a major impact on the success of the entire Polish economic reform.
Creativity as a new approach to a problem's solution is a function of the past and the present. Foreign investors therefore need the courage to let local people create the advertising and let them judge the quality of creativity.
The present paper deals with the experiences and perceptions of consumers in Hungary, the former CSFR 1 ) and Poland since the revolutionary changes in 1989 up to 1992. The data shown are based on large representative studies conducted in these countries and offer insights in consumer relevant attitudes and attitude changes. Results are focusing on the topics of income and sources of income, material possessions, family savings and household finances as well as subjective evaluations of the personal standard of living and the status of the countriesâ economies. The first part of the paper concentrates upon the experience of the economical situation, the second part discusses the psychological experience of the transition from a command to a demand economy and describes future perspectives as seen by the people today. It is argued that the original enthusiasm about opening up to the West has been replaced by disillusionment and fear as documented by increasing pessimism. At the same time there are no signs for real despair which could cause a backlash. Instead the populations of these countries are more or less successfully coping with a difficult situation by a very resourceful use of non-monetary additional economies.
The paper is divided into three parts. The first one describes the retail structure pre- 1989 and the rapid developments in the last 3 years in terms of the numbers and profile of retail outlets. The sources are official statistics and a retail census carried out by AMER Hungary. The second part describes the process of setting up a retail panel and the composition of the panel. It then examines the importance in sales of different types of outlets and regions. It shows trends in stock cover and distribution of major brands. It moves on to show how recently launched international brands have gained share at the cost of the old local brands. The share in value as well as volume is depicted. The third part describes the Media Expenditure Monitor of AMER and the total amount spent in 1992 by medium and brand category. It shows the top ten f.m.c.g. brands as well as the top ten services in terms of advertising expenditure. It then moves on to the product categories that were examined in the retail audit in terms of brand shares and analyses their advertising expenditure by brand and "local" versus "international" origin.
One of the most significant changes in the market research industry over the past few years has been the dramatic growth in international research. The growth has accelerated over the past five years and has been fed by such phenomena as the Common European market, the increasing number of companies moving to global marketing and the development of new markets. The Pacific Rim and South America are good examples of regions which have seen a tremendous expansion in research expenditure, whilst in Europe, the most recent 'new' markets are undoubtedly the emerging economies of Central and Eastern Europe. Quantitative research results from other countries are often taken at face value, on the assumption that, if sampling and fieldwork has been conducted and controlled satisfactorily by a 'reputable' agency, then the results are likely to be 'correct'. However, many large multinational companies and agencies are increasingly running basic research programmes, in an attempt to understand the effect cultural differences can have on responses to quantitative questions. The issue of qualitative research is infinitely more complex to research, since by its very nature, qualitative is an open and interpretative methodology which is very difficult to standardise. It is possible to hypothesise that responses are far more likely to be influenced by cultural differences such as the patterns and norms of group behaviours and individual social interaction. The authors believe that it is just as important to establish clear guidelines for the interpretation of qualitative research as it is for quantitative research; too often, differences are explained away by reverting to anecdotal evidence and knowledge. The question the paper will attempt to answer, is in the authors' view, one of the most important aspects of qualitative research: Are the expectations, pre-conceptions and reactions of people attending focus groups in the East of Europe different to those in the West?
This paper outlines a case study which demonstrates the practicalities and benefits of using high-grade qualitative research methodology in order to understand the fundamental attitudes, aspirations, and social influences impacting upon the Eastern European consumer, and how these affect knowledge of Branding and Advertising. In 1991/92, United Distillers required in-depth research to provide the basis for a strategy for expanding their portfolio of imported Spirits brands within Central and Eastern Europe. To respond to this need, some culturally specific qualitative "Essence" studies were undertaken in Hungary, The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and ex-Yugoslavia. Qualitative data was obtained from consumers, informed opinion, and multi-disciplinary published sources. The case study identifies the following factors: Evidence of emerging consumer segmentations which are directly analogous to their Western counterparts - "New European" milieus who desire autonomy, achievement and self-expression. Knowledge of "branding" is growing, which reflects these markets current cultural stage of development. Brand choice is affected by a combination of conflicting sources of influence and socio-economic factors. Evidence for consumer sophistication in "decoding" Western advertising, drawing upon shared understanding of symbolism and values. Commonalities and differences in cross-cultural comparisons. The paper concludes with practical applications for marketing and research, and shows how Cultural Essence research assists direct company initiatives and activities in these markets.
This paper concentrates on the quintessential question of how to locate and motivate qualified management in "New Europe". New Europe is being defined as all countries of the former Eastern Bloc Nations. Hungary is used as a concrete example, describing the economic frame conditions, explaining the search and selection criteria for adequate local candidates for management positions as well as describing the legal frame work in which Western companies active in Hungary presently have to operate. Because of its importance to Western companies one special chapter is devoted to an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of using expatriates or repatriates, as Western companies built up their operations in New Europe.
The paper consists of two parts. The first one describes the quantitative use of radio on the basis of representative surveys in Germany. According to topical data radio listening in the eastern part of the country is significantly higher than in the western part. The percentage of public radio programmesâ daily reach is decreasing. People between 14-49 years of age listen more and more to commercial radio programmes. The second part outlines motives for programme preferences, gratifications of listening to the radio and image developments of competing public and commercial radio systems. This part of the paper is mainly based on group discussions in the western part of Germany. Listeners of public radio service programmes appreciate the high quality of information, but they are not as happy with the personal approach in programme presentation. Followers of commercial radio programmes justify their preference by the argument that speakers are spontaneous and make their topic sound not as complex. Especially young people enjoy programmes which do not demand whole attention. The marketing strategy of public radio system in competition must cope with a dilemma, if importance will be given to the high value of the programmes, the legal task of the companies will be fulfilled, but listener ratings would decrease. If the stress will be laid on popular aspects of the programmes, fulfilling of the legal task could be queried. In both cases licence fee system, the main financial resource of public broadcasting, would be endangered. The paper discusses the chances of a marketing strategy which considers both aspect.