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Abstract
The present study attempts to understand the use of three information processing mechanisms – cognitive, affective, and normative – to assess the quality of cashmere products made in Mongolia. For attaining the above aims, semi-structured interviews were conducted to test a framework that resulted from literature reviewed on country of origin (COO) effect and information processing mechanisms. Results demonstrate that for Business-to-Business (B2B) clients, the COO is an extremely relevant cue to evaluate the quality of cashmere. Conversely, most of the consumers do not seem to include the COO effect on their information processing and base their evaluation on four distinct product-related attributes: quality, brand, social status, and price. Results are relevant for the Mongolian cashmere industry, as well as for marketers interested in understanding what drives consumers of cashmere in their buying decisions. We also understand these findings to assist in improving the image of Mongolia as one of the world's best manufacturers of cashmere.

Purpose and hypothesis Cultural ethos and preferences varies a lot not only among continents but also among countries. This brings us to the concept of "national culture" (Hofstede, 1980, 1983, 1984). National culture has to do with differences among national cultural background of individuals in their societal or business environment. The concept has also to do with the way those manifested differences may influence business decisions at the international level. National culture can be interpreted as "a common frame of reference or logic by which members of a society view organizations, the environment, and their relations to one another." (Geletkanycz 1997, p. 617). According to most authors of cultural studies, these differences emerges from several factors such as ethnical differences, ethical differences, geographical differences, moral differences, historical differences, political differences, linguistic differences and religious differences. (Matondo, JPM, 2012). In business environment, during communication between persons of different national cultural backgrounds, such differences can play an important role which may manifest into certain degree of friction, discomfort and inability to appreciate "these differences and different ways of thinking of persons of foreign cultures" (Shenkar and Zeira, 1992, p. 55-75), potentially affecting the performance of the project teams (Shenkar, 2001, p. 519). This phenomenon leads us to the concept of "level of comfort with foreign cultures". Prime purpose of this study is to investigate the possible differences in "level of comfort" among people coming from different national backgrounds in multinational workplaces in terms of national cultural preferences of individual employees. In other words this paper studies the differences in "level of comfort" among different cultural pairs working together at multinational enterprises in India or abroad. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/draft

The technological development along with the fall of most political barriers has made the world a smaller place. Firms, even those that focus their operations in the domestic market, face an increasing competition. These phenomena have introduced an important shift in the way the competitiveness issue must be regarded. In fact, in a growing number of cases it is a matter of being competitive in webs of relationships where the particular position assumed by one firm is likely to affect not only its own performance but also the evolution of other players. The objective of this paper is to shed a new light on competitiveness supported by collaborative arrangements. The authors develop a model of inter-organizational cooperation based on four attributes: interests, resources, activities and trust.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to explore the relationship between luxury brands and their motivation to produce luxury socially responsible goods in response to the increase in consumers' demand for sustainable luxury. Design: Based on the literature, the different perspectives and findings of distinct scholars, the authors developed a conceptual model that establishes a connection between luxury brands' symbolic identity and their motivations to engage in a CSR approach. Findings: The authors established a relationship between luxury brands' positioning and their driving forces that compel luxury brands to be involved in the production of luxury socially responsible items. Moreover, the creation and development of the conceptual model allowed the researchers to identify four distinct categories of luxury brands labeled Democratic luxury brands, Limited Edition luxury brands, Extensively Rare luxury brands, and One-of-a-kind luxury brands. Originality / value: This paper tries to enhance scholars and practitioners' knowledge about luxury socially responsible brands and their motivations to engage in a fruitful relationship with luxury socially responsible consumers. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

O objetivo deste trabalho consiste em identificar as barreiras ao comércio eletrónico em Portugal, face a outros países europeus. Foi adotado um modelo para compreender a variação das práticas de comércio eletrónico em Portugal com base em quatro dimensões: Risco Percebido, Facilidade de Uso Percebida, Utilidade Percebida, e Experiência Online. Este modelo foi testado numa amostra de 101 indivíduos, tendo sido possível encontrar uma correlação positiva entre as práticas de comércio eletrónico e a facilidade de utilização percebida, a utilidade percebida e a experiência online.