This paper addresses the issue of socio-economic stratification of Latin American markets, and specifically that of Argentina. Transformations of the last decade have modified the regional scenario and have significantly altered the economic and socio-demographic structures. The authors argue that the current problems that the classification and stratification systems present today do not deal with their reliability or comparability, but - in an even more serious, basic and deeper dimension - with their validity. What has lost validity is the basic representation model of the socio-economic structure and of the rules of its dynamics. Market stratification based on 'hard' indicators is no longer applicable to the realities that are today - to state mildly - 'soft', and the logic of the mobility of which has been profoundly altered and overshadowed, adopting chaotic characteristics.
Opinion polls reflect the political situation and the economic development of countries. The diversity of both these conditions in Asia has led to an interesting range of situations.
This Conference addresses the future of Market Research and what we can do to enhance our role in these new times when so many areas are being redefined.
As the world transits from offline to online, the market scenario is also changing rapidly. There are huge investments being made in the new economy, the competition is immense, and the target potential has no geographic boundaries. This is all leading to a much lower success rate in the new environment. This paper addresses this issue of being more competitive and augmenting the chances of success through a live case study, which portrays the need for incubation in the new economy.
More than 1000 professionals from all over the world attended ESOMAR's 53rd Annual Congress, which was held in Vienna. Bob Lederer reports on a dynamic event mirroring exiting times for the global marketing and research industry.
This paper gives a review of the development of pay TV markets in various African countries and Indian Ocean islands. It includes a brief overview of the state of the African economy, the television environment, and the qualitative research undertaken to obtain an understanding of the lifestyle trends, entertainment habits, media consumption, television viewing, programme preferences, levels of satisfaction with current broadcast options, and levels of interest in pay TV. The countries where research has been conducted are Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Zambia, Madagascar and the Seychelles.
These unique surveys of Russia's regions offer insights into the development of one crucial aspect of capitalism -- attitudes and policy preferences among both opinion leaders and the general public. Begun in 1994 and continuing today, these surveys track trends in support for free market reforms and related social and political issues among the regions of the Russian Federation. The surveys' findings are profiled by region and key demographic variables (gender, age, education, occupation, ethnicity). A multi-variate index of support for capitalism is developed and presented for the twenty-four regions with several demographic breakouts. Key findings include: o Russian public opinion overall is negative, emotional and pessimistic about the future. Russians are discouraged by the costs of free market reforms and are likely to take out these feelings on incumbents in the upcoming elections. o According to our regional surveys, most Russians see their personal economic situation as poor and unlikely to improve in the coming year. Russians are ambivalent about market reforms, tending to oppose those that might spark inflation or job losses and supporting those that provide greater freedom of choice for individuals. o Based on a nine-point scale of attitudes toward capitalism, we find that most Russians are lukewarm in their support for the free market. Enthusiasm is greatest (though still muted) in Murmansk, Maritime Kray and Komi; weakest in Pskov, Voronezh and Bashkortostan. Not surprisingly, capitalism is supported by those most likely to benefit from it: the young, urban dwellers, the university educated and those in the managerial or executive ranks. o In the eleven regions where we conducted both elite and public opinion surveys, we find that the general public is twice as likely as elites, on average, to reject capitalism in principle. Divergences between the leadership and the general public are greatest in Sverdlovsk and Krasnodar Kray and, significantly, are least in Komi and Tartarstan.
Three major areas will be discussed in this paper: first, the rapid industrialization of East and Southeast Asia as the region becomes a major partner in the global economy; second, suggested methods for defining potential markets in these developing countries; and third, critical prerequisites for entry and expansion into the East and Southeast Asian markets. The countries of East Asia to be discussed are China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Although Japan is also located in East Asia, it is currently in the Triad and is far from being considered an emerging power. Japan will only be discussed as a reference point for the other countries. The countries of Southeast Asia that will be discussed are: Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. The emergence of countries in Asia as major players in the global economy is in itself a significant shift as the world market restructures itself for the twenty-first century. Most importantly however, this shift in the global economy calls for a major adjustment in the thinking processes of both the West and the East. Perceptions from both sides of the globe influence access to these emerging markets. They also limit the ease and speed of obtaining the advantages offered by these new markets. Measurable methods of defining the market potentials in East and Southeast Asia include both old and new ways of market segmentation, critical examinations of economic indicators, and a consideration of a country's current level of industrialization. Actual strategic research examples derived from market research studies during the last 10 years will be used to further illustrate the issues discussed in this paper. These real-life experiences were gained while working with major pharmaceutical companies as they tried to establish, or to re-establish themselves, in this region of the world. The products and companies included in these case histories have been disguised to protect the proprietary nature of strategic information acquired for the pharmaceutical organizations
As a result of the combination of the "Culture of the Jars" and the mechanism of transferring of state funds to the private sector there were: - impossible food prices, but the people feed themselves - solvent demand in goods for long-term use - political and social passiveness of the population - extraordinary tranquillity That is also the reason why in the eyes of many foreigners, Bulgaria looks like the "Sleepyhead of the Balkans", like an incredible country. The sacrifice and the self-sacrifice of a whole generation (the older people) is one of the major reason for this. And so 0 the economic reforms are not coming, there is no large-scale privatisation, the employment rate skyrockets, the state enterprises stop operation one after the other, the buying power of the salaries decreases in times and there is no reaction to all that. For example, You would like to buy a losing enterprise or not functioning at all. As the enterprise is state, You address Your offer to the relevant state department. You make a very good mutual advantageous offer. Nobody else wants to buy this enterprise. It doesn't mean, however, that You are going to accomplish a deal. In most of the cases an enterprise of that kind is part of someone's scheme of transferring budget funds to his private firm. The person (or persons) empowered politically to hold themselves in this situation have enough power to send your offer in the dust- bin. In short Your "mutual advantageous" offer is not properly addressed to those who really own the enterprise and make profit out of it.