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Research has shown that country of origin (COO) effects do have a measurable influence on consumer preference formation and on purchase decisions. They serve as a cue in evaluating product performance and specific product or service attributes, based on perceptions of country stereotypes and/or on past experiences with products and services from a particular country (Bilkey & Ness, 1982). However, the nature and direction of these effects varies significantly in the marketplace.

Studies have been conducted on the flow in the high-latitude ionosphere and how this depends on the properties of the interplanetary medium. Specifically, the response of the convection pattern of changes in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) have been studied in detail, using the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) radar to measure ~300 h of tristatic field-perpendicular F region ionospheric velocities at 66.3o magnetic latitude, in combination with simultaneous solar wind/IMF measurements from theIMP-8 spacecraft located upstream of the bow shock. Firstly, a statistical cross-correlation analysis is performed using each ionospheric flow component and a function of IMF Bz for all local times. Upon combining the response delays from each of the velocity components to determine the 'first response' of the flow to IMF changes, the minimum response delay was found to occur at 1400 MLT. The average response delay over the 12 h interval centred on 1400 MLT is 1.3 0.8 min, while that for the 12 h sector centred on 0200 MLT is 8.8 1.7 min. A second complementary 'event study' was conducted on the same data set, where polarity changes in IMF Bz were located and the time for the ionosphere to respond examined. The combined data set also indicated a minimum response delay centred on 1400 MLT, with the 'dayside' average as 4.80.5 min, and the 'nightside' increasing to 9.20.8 min. Finally, the perturbation flow effect an auroral zone field lines associated with IMF By was examined through a cross-correlation analysis of the velocity components with IMF By. A principally zonal eastward flow perturbation ~several tens of m s-1 nT-1 was observed for positive IMF By. A model describing the distortion of the magnetospheric field lines with a perturbation IMF By was used, producing the correct orientation and magnitude of the flow effect observed, when an appropriate magnetospheric model was used.

Relationship marketing (RM) is widely acknowledged as a useful tool in gaining customer loyalty in various sectors. However, to date, there had been no research on how RM impacts customer loyalty in the securities brokerage firm industry in The Stock Exchange of Thailand. This study employs an inductive research approach to explore RM in securities brokerage firms in Thailand’s financial services sector and gain an understanding of customers’ and other stakeholders’ views of RM activities and loyalty to brokerages in an emerging market. Multiple data collection methods were employed, including semi-structured interviews as the main collection method and participant observations in a supporting role. Qualitative content analysis and coding techniques were used for analysing the data. This pioneering research provides new theoretical and practice knowledge and delivers a far more subtle and nuanced analysis of the dynamics at play between customer loyalty, various RM strategies and different customer types – compared to the current literature. The study found that securities brokerage firms in Thailand implemented RM practice but with differences in relationship marketing strategies, depending on the types of customers being targeted. The study identified the main factors impacting on customer loyalty to both local and international securities brokerage firms. Finally, the research confirmed that RM had a demonstrable impact in gaining customer loyalty to securities brokerage firms in The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), but with intriguing characteristics, for example, RM’s positive impact on individual short-term investors’ loyalty, not to brokerages, but to particular staff.