Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Francisco Javier Gorjón-Gómez Author-X-Name-First: Francisco Javier Author-X-Name-Last: Gorjón-Gómez Author-Name: Gabriela Mata-Sánchez Author-X-Name-First: Gabriela Author-X-Name-Last: Mata-Sánchez Title: Economic and corporate diplomacy in the exports of tequila to China Abstract: Tequila exports to China have seen an important increase over the last few years. This is due to the efforts of public and private actors. The aim of this paper is to analyse the efforts for increasing tequila exports in China from the perspectives of Economic and Corporate Diplomacy. The methodology consisted of semi-structured interviews made to agents that have participated directly in the promotion of the tequila exports into China. The data collected from the interviews shows that the presence of tequila in China is due to the combined strategies of different Mexican actors. It is suggested that further lines of investigation could focus on the impact of private-public cooperation and legitimacy building. Journal: Int. J. of Diplomacy and Economy Pages: 88-103 Issue: 2 Volume: 7 Year: 2021 Keywords: diplomacy; economic diplomacy; corporate diplomacy; tequila; exports; multinationals; legitimacy; stakeholders; transnational actors; international negotiation. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=118824 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijdipe:v:7:y:2021:i:2:p:88-103 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Edina Zejnić Author-X-Name-First: Edina Author-X-Name-Last: Zejnić Title: Economic diplomacy in the field of supporting the internationalisation Slovenian small and medium-sized enterprises Abstract: The article distinguishes between economic, commercial and financial diplomacy. The Slovenian economy is small but fast growing and export-oriented economy. Economic diplomacy, focused in this article, helps Slovenian Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) to plan the entering new markets, to enter and/or upon regular business on new markets. Internationalisation enables SMEs to grow and compete, but SMEs need an effective supportive environment to achieve them. In Slovenia these are the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology in close cooperation with other ministries, SPIRIT Slovenia - Public Agency for Entrepreneurship, Internationalisation, Foreign Investments and Technology, Slovene Enterprise Fund, Slovenian Export and Development Bank, Ministry of Foreign Affairs with diplomatic missions, economic counsellors and honorary consuls of the Republic of Slovenia abroad, Slovenian business clubs operating abroad, Enterprise Europe Network, Chamber of Craft and Small Business of Slovenia, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, other chambers and other institutions. The article focuses on the description of the Slovenian economy, Slovenian economic diplomacy and the institutions that deal with it. Journal: Int. J. of Diplomacy and Economy Pages: 104-115 Issue: 2 Volume: 7 Year: 2021 Keywords: economic diplomacy; commercial diplomacy; financial diplomacy; small and medium-sized enterprises; internationalisation; supporting of internationalisation; exports; foreign direct investments; Slovenian economy. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=118833 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijdipe:v:7:y:2021:i:2:p:104-115 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Marjan Sternad Author-X-Name-First: Marjan Author-X-Name-Last: Sternad Author-Name: Tina Cvahte Ojsteršek Author-X-Name-First: Tina Cvahte Author-X-Name-Last: Ojsteršek Title: International comparison of transport services based on the trade performance index: Slovenia's position in relation to other EU countries Abstract: Transport services are a prerequisite for trade and economic development and at the same time an integral part of it. International trade in transport services is growing, but the comparability of individual countries in comparison to its trade partners varies greatly. In the present paper, we strived to analyse 24 EU member countries regarding a set of transport services international trade indicators. The indicators were calculated based on raw data from Intracen, and countries were grouped into four major groups with cluster analysis. Cluster analysis revealed four clusters of EU countries with similar international transport services trade indicators. Slovenia was taken as a focal country to further analyse the state of transport services trade and its position as an exporter and importer of transport services. The main finding is that Slovenia has a high growth of export services and it is expected that its position on the market of transport services will continue to grow in the following years. Journal: Int. J. of Diplomacy and Economy Pages: 116-128 Issue: 2 Volume: 7 Year: 2021 Keywords: economic diplomacy; commercial diplomacy; financial diplomacy; small and medium-sized enterprises; internationalisation; supporting of internationalisation; exports; foreign direct investments; Slovenian economy. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=118834 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijdipe:v:7:y:2021:i:2:p:116-128 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Bernhard Maier Author-X-Name-First: Bernhard Author-X-Name-Last: Maier Author-Name: Vito Bobek Author-X-Name-First: Vito Author-X-Name-Last: Bobek Author-Name: Tatjana Horvat Author-X-Name-First: Tatjana Author-X-Name-Last: Horvat Title: Supply and inventory management resilience: how Ugandan businesses aim to overcome black swans Abstract: Financial crises are impacting companies and their supply chains in many ways. This paper aims to build upon knowledge about supply chain and inventory management threats and extend the knowledge to which extent they are connected to financial crises. While there are existing works exploring strategies of companies trying to build resilience against supply chain threats in general, literature about their connection to financial crises is still scarce - even more so in an emerging market context. Therefore, the present work is exploring the strategies of Ugandan businesses, operating in an emerging market context, on building resilience against threats arising in times of financial crisis. By building on other authors' works, a list of 18 sub-threats of financial crises has been identified within this research paper. Furthermore, the empirical research brought forward a list of 26 strategies applied by Ugandan businesses to build resilience against those sub-threats. Journal: Int. J. of Diplomacy and Economy Pages: 163-176 Issue: 2 Volume: 7 Year: 2021 Keywords: supply chain resilience; inventory management; financial crises; Uganda. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=118853 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijdipe:v:7:y:2021:i:2:p:163-176 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Joshua Adeyemi Afolabi Author-X-Name-First: Joshua Adeyemi Author-X-Name-Last: Afolabi Author-Name: Chinonyerem Emmanuel Oji Author-X-Name-First: Chinonyerem Emmanuel Author-X-Name-Last: Oji Title: Nigeria-China bilateral relations: a skewed or balance relation? Abstract: This study examined the China-Nigeria bilateral relation with a view to ensuring a balanced relation between the countries. The study showed that Nigeria has had more official visits to China than China to Nigeria and that while Nigeria has had series of balance of payment deficits trading with China, China continues to enjoy surplus balance of payment. This contrast has been attributed to the nature of goods and services traded between these countries. The study also showed that China has invested massively in different sectors of the Nigerian economy notably the manufacturing sector, construction sector, oil and gas sector and in technological services and these Chinese investments in Nigeria benefits from special incentives including tax holidays, expatriation quota and tariff-free imports, among others. Based on these findings, China and Nigeria need to review their relation with each other with a view to ensuring a balanced relation. Journal: Int. J. of Diplomacy and Economy Pages: 129-145 Issue: 2 Volume: 7 Year: 2021 Keywords: China; Nigeria; bilateral relation; trade; diplomacy. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=118854 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijdipe:v:7:y:2021:i:2:p:129-145 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Bart Kamp Author-X-Name-First: Bart Author-X-Name-Last: Kamp Title: Normative diplomacy to support market positioning: postures of Basque international niche market leaders Abstract: This paper presents insights from 24 international niche market leaders from the Basque Country and their participation in international committees where product or material safety and quality standards are adopted for the markets that they operate in. It finds that approximately half of them participate in these 'arenas'. Those that do so participate primarily for the following reasons. 'Competitive' purposes: proposing ideas to improve the positioning of the own company (corporate diplomacy); 'Informational' purposes: participating to keep abreast of new developments and regulations, and to contribute with information about own novelties (business diplomacy); Acting in an 'ombudsman' spirit: supporting requests expressed by customers (business diplomacy). Altogether, it discerns a tendency among the analysed firms to attach an increasing importance to diplomacy acts. This suggests that it may be of interest to encourage more companies to take an active role in the standard-setting processes that affect their products and markets. Journal: Int. J. of Diplomacy and Economy Pages: 146-162 Issue: 2 Volume: 7 Year: 2021 Keywords: diplomacy; norms; standards; regulations; niche markets; international business; hidden champions. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=118855 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijdipe:v:7:y:2021:i:2:p:146-162 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Lin Wang Author-X-Name-First: Lin Author-X-Name-Last: Wang Author-Name: Vito Bobek Author-X-Name-First: Vito Author-X-Name-Last: Bobek Author-Name: Anita Maček Author-X-Name-First: Anita Author-X-Name-Last: Maček Author-Name: Tatjana Horvat Author-X-Name-First: Tatjana Author-X-Name-Last: Horvat Title: Potential impact of 'belt and road' initiative on trade of Euro-Mediterranean countries with China Abstract: European Union (EU) is facing several challenges, including the disparities in the development, the rise in the populist political parties, and the debt crisis from Greece and Italy. China's One Belt and One Road Initiative provides an opportunity for the EU to overcome the challenges and offers a cooperative strategy for Eurasian countries. It will significantly benefit the lagging behind EU countries by orienting them for culture, commerce, technique, exhibition, and logistics centres for Eurasia. The Mediterranean ports (e.g., Trieste in Italy and Piraeus in Greece) should be revitalised. While the dominant exports from the EU to China are still machinery and electrical products and the room to export them are becoming smaller in the future, the most potential in China is vegetables and food products due to the huge consumer market and the concern on a combination of environmental pollution and food safety. The railways and the seaports from the Mediterranean are the key networks under One Belt and One Road to improve the market connectivity and facilitate bilateral trade between the EU and China. Journal: Int. J. of Diplomacy and Economy Pages: 33-57 Issue: 1 Volume: 7 Year: 2021 Keywords: one belt and one road initiative; China; Greece; Italy. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=114825 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijdipe:v:7:y:2021:i:1:p:33-57 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Efe Sevin Author-X-Name-First: Efe Author-X-Name-Last: Sevin Title: The missing link: cities and soft power of nations Abstract: This theory-building research identifies how cities generate soft power for nation-states through their communicative and diplomatic practices. Building on the relatively nascent studies of city diplomacy and city branding, the main objective is to establish a taxonomic categorisation of cities as soft power assets. The reason for conducting a research is three-fold. First, the excitement about the potential of cities to lead in providing solutions to global problems overshadows their role as sub-state units. Second, mega-cities and metropolitan areas dominate the research carried. Third, cities and nations do not have to share the same policy priorities, images, or even landscape. Against this background, the research asks one main question: What are the different ways through which cities generate soft power assets? The answer is presented as a taxonomic categorisation that defines five different roles for cities to generate soft power. Journal: Int. J. of Diplomacy and Economy Pages: 19-32 Issue: 1 Volume: 7 Year: 2021 Keywords: city diplomacy; public diplomacy; city branding; communication; soft power; small cities; mega cities; reputation; resources; relations. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=114826 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijdipe:v:7:y:2021:i:1:p:19-32 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Wilfried Bolewski Author-X-Name-First: Wilfried Author-X-Name-Last: Bolewski Title: Compass for public/private management in turbulent times: corporate diplomacy Abstract: The 21st century is characterised by grand challenges, external shocks and global fragilities, such as economic volatility and societal upheaval in our interconnected communities. International business managers must adapt to consider geopolitics as relevant to their activities, to integrate political risk analyses into their business decisions. International society is in need of content-sensitive orientation knowledge to reassess, adjust and accommodate diplomacy's essentials (human factor interactions) to new expectations of the public sphere. In a qualitative leap towards a change of mindset, decision-makers should learn to think and act responsibly through the middle of conflictual situations towards compromise and consensus, thus managing politics through diplomacy. Transnational corporations can profit from traditional state diplomacy in order to create a reliable working environment and to anticipate and avoid costly conflicts, if they practice Corporate Diplomacy as a key concept of trusted and coordinated collaboration with government and local host communities. Corporations adhering to the diplomatic communication tool of Corporate Diplomacy are also gaining legitimacy and political influence over the development of societies. Journal: Int. J. of Diplomacy and Economy Pages: 4-18 Issue: 1 Volume: 7 Year: 2021 Keywords: corporate diplomacy; societal diplomacy; privatised diplomacy; diplomacy as third culture; orientation knowledge; Covid-19. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=114827 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijdipe:v:7:y:2021:i:1:p:4-18 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Tara E. Jordan Author-X-Name-First: Tara E. Author-X-Name-Last: Jordan Title: China's role in denuclearising North Korea Abstract: While the trajectories of China and North Korea are very different, both countries remain Communist nations. Even with this shared political ideology, China is not the ally Western powers wish it to be. As North Korea continues its nuclear weapons program and to push the limits of peace on the Korean peninsula, China appears to hold an unpredictable foreign policy. In reality, its foreign policy is one that is focused on protecting Chinese interests. To understand China's reactions to North Korean aggression, it is important to reflect on the history of diplomatic affairs between China and North Korea. For China, maintaining peace and economic stability is more important than North Korea denuclearising. With that in mind, the USA and other Western powers must develop strategies that recognise the balancing act China is in. The more China pushes North Korea, the more North Korea will turn away from China. Journal: Int. J. of Diplomacy and Economy Pages: 58-65 Issue: 1 Volume: 7 Year: 2021 Keywords: North Korea; China; USA; United Nations; nuclear proliferation; diplomatic affairs; global power; communism; foreign policy. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=114831 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijdipe:v:7:y:2021:i:1:p:58-65 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Tanja Sedej Author-X-Name-First: Tanja Author-X-Name-Last: Sedej Title: The change management process in the contemporary environment Abstract: The success of change management is vital to every organisation as it ensures changes are implemented smoothly and have the planned impact. The literature review raises different questions regards to the change management process as only a few of articles copes with it profoundly. The fact is that organisations have been experiencing tremendous pressure for strategic change in last decade and even more intense in the last year. The central aim of this article is to provide a critical review of the main theories to change management with the focus on the change process. The article also provides fresh empirical data on change management process from top management point of view. The article concludes with constructing a change process model and recommendations for managing change in the contemporary fast-changing environment. Journal: Int. J. of Diplomacy and Economy Pages: 66-78 Issue: 1 Volume: 7 Year: 2021 Keywords: globalisation; contemporary environment; change management; organisational culture; internal communication; human resource management; transformation; strategy; organisational change. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=114832 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:ijdipe:v:7:y:2021:i:1:p:66-78