Abstract
Although MNEs are important players in the present global world, there has been a debate regarding, on one hand, how MNEs contribute to the development of indigenous firms in host countries, and on the other hand, how indigenous suppliers are able to cope with their international technology demanding clients. This chapter analyzes the patterns of technology acquisition of 40 firms that supply eight multinational firms that belong to four different industries. It is possible to conclude that there are certain differences among foreign and indigenous suppliers as well across the industries they belong to. These differences are the result of a cumulative process over time, which reflect the different performances of the companies and their relationships with the environment.

Abstract
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify and compare different groups of customers' perceptions (i.e. stayers, switchers, and heavy switchers) of several loyalty antecedents such as satisfaction, trust, service quality, switching costs, marketing communication, and loyalty itself. Design/methodology/approach - This study was carried out based on data collected through a questionnaire from 353 telecommunication services users in Portugal and using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and analysis of variance. Findings - The three types of customers - stayers, switchers, and heavy switchers - clearly differ among themselves. Stayers differ from switchers regarding their communication efforts perceptions, and from heavy switchers in their loyalty, satisfaction, and trust levels. Switchers differ from heavy switchers in their loyalty levels. Research limitations/implications - Future research should examine differences between customers taking into account the impact of their personality, price sensitiveness, and orientation toward the adoption of new technologies. Practical implications - As there are several differences among stayers, switchers, and heavy switchers, companies should not only recognize the heterogeneity of their customer base, but also target their marketing efforts accordingly. Originality/value - This study is one of the few identifying groups of customers perception's toward service providers. It also complements previous research by splitting them intro three different groups and by analyzing their behaviors across a set of previously unexamined marketing variables.

Abstract
Sensory stimulation is used by various brands to induce desired behaviours among their customers. Although its effectiveness is recognised in business contexts, little research has been conducted on sensory marketing. In order to contribute to filling this gap, this study sought to build a model that explains how sensory stimulation influences intentions to purchase a brand. Brand experience and brand equity were expected to mediate this relationship. The empirical validation of the model was conducted by carrying out an online survey with a convenience sample of 302 customers of a brand of the catering industry. The data collected were processed using PLS-SEM methodology. The results reveal that sensory stimulation positively influences brand experience and brand equity, which, in turn, have a positive impact on intentions to purchase the brand in question. The relevant contributions that emerged from this study include not only bridging the aforementioned gap in the literature but also offering significant managerial implications.

Abstract
Although there are several studies analysing how innovation capabilities influence export performance, this study aims to present the impact of a set of internal innovation capabilities on export performance of small and medium-sized firms (SMEs), with the mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation contingent upon the proactive or reactive behaviour of the firms to external stimuli. The study involves the analysis of 147 questionnaire-based survey of managers from plastic manufacturing SMEs operating in Portugal that were subjected to a Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. The results show that proactive firms to external stimuli are not only better at innovating but also their entrepreneurial orientation capabilities underpin a better performance in international markets when compared with firms that react to external stimuli. This study has implications for SMEs aiming at increasing their export performance and innovativeness. For practitioners the findings of this study should enable SMEs owner/managers to better understand the possible impacts of innovation capabilities and entrepreneurial orientation on export performance, and thus lead to more effective SMEs management.

Abstract
Car safety is an essential feature of marketing strategies for automobile companies. In this work, a statistical analysis on crash tests is conducted based on data available from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP). The research work developed in this chapter presents a statistical analysis of the information produced by Euro NCAP, using the SPSS and MATLAB software, and seeks to answer the following research questions: - are there statistically significant differences on adult occupant safety in the six years under study? - are there statistically significant differences among the best-selling car classes regarding safety in frontal collisions? - are electric and hybrid automobiles less secure than their traditional counterparts with respect to frontal collisions?

Abstract
This study involves several theories, namely: the theory of reasoned action, the technology acceptance model, the theory of planned behavior and the internet banking acceptance model. It aims to understand the relationships between the virtual atmosphere and emotional states, how the individual characteristics (social identity, altruism and telepresence) and emotional states influence attitudes, and how attitudes, past experience and trust influence actual use of a site. To this end, the authors developed three conceptual models explaining the relationships among the above-mentioned variables. Methodologically, descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis and the generalized maximum entropy estimator are used to test the three models in a wedding site. Of the eight hypotheses proposed, one can only partially validate hypotheses h1, h2, h3 and h6, while hypothesis h7 is accepted and the remaining are rejected.