Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore international market development for mature products and practices used in a novel business context. Design/methodology/approach Taking a qualitative approach, the case study method was chosen to investigate how firms develop markets in relation to a new international business context. Critical international decisions are analysed using a managerial perspective. Findings The success of international ventures depends on managerial learning and effectiveness. In this paper, the authors argue that decisions about international market development can add significantly to the understanding of how business firms enter and develop markets in novel business contexts. Two case studies show different approaches for meeting challenges in distant markets. Four propositions are developed. Originality/value A theoretical contribution of this study is the importance of factors that explain international market development decisions in novel business contexts. The balance between incomplete knowledge and making resource commitments is of central concern to international managers. Some of this is tacit knowledge that a firm achieves and learns during the process of market development and other knowledge can only become available after an actual market entry. A second theoretical contribution of this study is the significance of contextual market knowledge in a novel business context.

The role of packaging has changed from strictly protecting goods to become a moremulti-faceted tool for marketing purposes. The multi function of packaging haschanged its role in marketing and packaging plays a strategic role as the first productattribute to which consumers are exposed in a store or supermarket. The researchmethod in this study is based on a qualitative approach based on secondary datacombined with field visits and personal interviews. The result in this study show theimportance of material research made by suppliers, but also the influence of differentrequirements from actors in a supply chain driving development resulting in packagingsolutions for the benefit of end consumers. A main managerial implication is the use ofprogress within material development and application of necessary processes for higherefficiency within a supply chain. Another managerial implication is the importance ofpackaging design. A theoretical implication is a need for a better integration of marketinformation in to the packaging development process. Another theoretical contributionis a need of higher integration of packaging into marketing strategy.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the importance of innovative packaging for marketing purposes in a food supply chain. The intent is also to understand the function of packaging as a marketing tool. The outcome of the study is expected to contribute to the link between packaging and marketing literature. Design/methodology/approach - The case study method was chosen in order to assess and investigate how packaging can be used in marketing. The study focuses on narrating the use of packaging for different customer applications and the unit of analyses was the packaging product. In order to analyse the five sub-cases or "corporate stories" a cross-case analysis was used and the analysis of data was carried out in different stages. This approach treats each sub-case as a separate entity and the analysis reveal both similarities and differences among the sub-cases. Findings - The present study demonstrates that packaging has become an important tool in marketing of different products either this is for end-consumers, or customers in a supply chain. This has become more essential as more products are introduced on a market. The study shows the significance of linking packaging to marketing strategy. An important ingredient for that is the use of packaging design for differentiation purposes. The results support also that packaging has become an essential factor for a secure and efficient distribution in a food supply chain. In addition, packaging and packaging design is contributing to value creation for different actors in a food supply chain. Practical implications - The managerial implication from the case study shows that packaging can be used together with the product concept to create a competitive offering in a market. This gives managers the possibility to differentiate their products from competitive offerings by using packaging and packaging design in a creative manner. Originality/value - This paper fulfils an identified need for contributions to more research on packaging and marketing strategy. The study shows the influence of packaging on marketing.

This paper contributes to the sport marketing field by analyzing the market situation in anetwork perspective. It also gives an idea of the relative positions of the organizationsmaking up the network. When a sport club is delivering a sport event there is a complex setof actors that must interact and intervene with each other. Which those actors are and whatthey bring to the network depends on if you consider the network from a non-commercialsport point of view, or from a business and commercial point of view. In a traditionalperspective the side of the network that is based on the non-commercial or sport side consistsof actors that are volunteers and engaged in the team for the fascination of sport. This paperprovides a unique insight into how a sports club have been able to use different resources tocreate a successful incubation from primarily being a non-profit organization. The arenaconcept has been an important part in building relationships with different business actors inrelation to the surrounding actors and the community. The ARA-model provides theanalytical tools for analyzing the actors, resources and activities for developing the marketingstrategy for a sport club.