Title: An empirical investigation of the failure of Eastern German products in Western German markets

Authors: Wolfgang Hinck, Angelica Cortes, Karen James

Addresses: Louisiana State University in Shreveport, USA. ' University of Texas – Pan American, USA. ' Louisiana State University in Shreveport, USA

Abstract: More than a decade after the German reunification, products from the Eastern regions of Germany still don|t have a market in the West. Although popular sources have blamed several factors for the failure of Eastern German products, no academic literature can be found that empirically investigates why Western consumers do not purchase products from the Neue Lander. The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the contribution of selected factors to the phenomenon under consideration. It is established that demand-related reasons, rather than supply-oriented factors appear to explain the phenomenon.

Keywords: East German products; West German markets; German reunification; product demand.

DOI: 10.1504/JIBED.2004.007847

Journal for International Business and Entrepreneurship Development, 2004 Vol.2 No.1, pp.104 - 111

Published online: 26 Sep 2005 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article