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In this article, I address the saliency of the concept of "authenticity" in contexts of international law and anthropological inquiry. Using my research findings in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam, I show that although Vietnamese shoppers distinguish between what they term real and fake goods, they do not share with foreign corporations and international trade organizations a preoccupation with product and brand authenticity. To make this point, I describe four types of goods—model goods, mimic goods, real goods, and fake goods—employed by shoppers in HCMC, and discuss why they have little in common with notions of "authenticity" and "ownership" inherent in international standards of intellectual property. I argue that these conceptual differences in the commercial sphere challenge claims about the universal applicability of intellectual property rights laws and also encourage anthropologists to ask whether authenticity is always a useful tool of cross‐cultural understanding.

China's rural consumer market has exhibited extraordinary growth. Over the past decade, the consumption growth rate and average propensity to consume of rural residents have surpassed those of their urban counterparts, with the former's consumption patterns becoming increasingly similar to the latter's. Such a phenomenon prevails in rural areas that neighbor 2nd and 3rd tier cities whose urbanization is progressing rapidly. Accordingly, Korean companies must diversify their products in line with China's expanding rural markets while further differentiating product composition to satisfy the heterogeneous demands in urban markets. As for the government, efforts must be placed in strengthening the export cooperative system targeting China between domestic manufacturers, distributors (operating in China) and logistics companies. - This study aims to analyze the growth of and changes in China's consumer market to gain a better understanding and to discuss the future direction of governmental and corporate responses - China's consumer market started to grow in full swing in the mid-1990s and exhibited continued explosive growth since the mid-2000s. - China's consumer market grew to the world's second largest in 2013 with a market scale of $3.4 trillion. - Over the past three decades, the nominal consumption expenditure of urban and rural residents has expanded over 20 fold. - Overall, the consumption growth of rural residents have surpassed that of urban residents since 2004. - The APC of rural residents exceeded that of urban residents in 2005. - When limited to cashonly consumption, rural residents' APC has improved continuously. - Consumption growth rate by item is found to be higher in rural residents than in urban residents. - China's rural areas today are also experiencing servitization in line with the increases in income and consumption. - Consumer markets in the 2nd and 3rd tiers have spurred the consumption growth in rural areas. - Urban areas are showing slower growth due to the reduced consumption by residents in 1st tier cities. - Consumption growth in urban 2nd and 3rd tiers has been steadily maintained at a relatively high 11%. - Urbanization rate has risen fast mainly in prefecture-level cities in 2nd and 3rd tiers, and there is enough room for additional increase. - A 1%p rise in the urbanization rate equals an increase of 93 yuan in the annual average per capita consumption and 123.6 billion yuan in China's total consumption. - Urbanization which results in the rise in consumption goes beyond urban areas to reach neighboring rural areas. - The contribution of urbanization to the rise in consumption is confirmed in all estimated results. - Domestic consumer goods manufactures need to be actively encouraged to enter China's rural markets with diverse products. - Product composition targeting urban consumer markets must be differentiated, relying on the collaboration between Korean distributors in China and domestic consumer goods manufacturers. - The Korean government should strengthen the cooperative export system targeting China between Korean distribution companies operating in China and domestic consumer goods companies as well as the logistics companies that link them.

This paper focuses on entrepreneurial opportunities in a consumer market setting. The purpose is to explore how the corporate branding process influences emerging entrepreneurial opportunities. The empirical results show the importance of symbols and images influencing emerging opportunities, rather than isolated product innovations. Here the importance of examining all the people involved in the entrepreneurial process, rather than just focusing on the entrepreneur or the entrepreneurial organization, is emphasized. The case illustrates the intensity and the devotion invested in the creation of a context that holds the Nav products. In this process the interplay between identity and image is described in a corporate branding perspective. I show how, by whom, and where, the creation of context becomes distinct. Introducing the creation of context to entrepreneurship theories change the opportunity discussion from a situation where organizational aspects are primarily focused on, to a situation also emphasizing the consumer market side of entrepreneurial opportunities. The theoretical results illustrate how branding theory and marketing/entrepreneurship interface theories shift the interest from organization aspects to market related aspects of the entrepreneurial process. The overall conclusions are that branding aspects of the entrepreneurial process are becoming more challenging in a society and on a market generally characterized by fragmentation.

The primary strategic tasks for development of the Russian Federation and its regions are the increase of the level and quality of life and increase of the share of the middle class on the basis of modernization and restructuring the economy, the growth of entrepreneurial and innovative activities and competitiveness. For the solution of these problems the development of the consumer market should play an important role, performing important economic and social functions. In the article the results of the study of scientific views of foreign and national scientists on the category "consumer market" are shown from the perspective of the principle of historical and logical unity, theoretical and conceptual approaches to its formation and development are systematized, positive trends in its development are revealed; negative social consequences associated with excessive consumption growth and the formation of a consumer society are proved (violation of the ecological balance, people health aggravation, change of people's attitudes). The necessity of government regulation of the consumer market on all the levels is proved (federal, regional and municipal) based on the prospective vision and its development strategy in the context of globalization, Russia's accession to WTO and the implementation of the sanctions against Russia by the United States, several European and Asian countries. As a methodological approach to solve identified problems on the regional level it is proposed to use the program-targeted regulation of the consumer market, which allows connecting the objectives with the resources and deadlines for their implementation by particular executives. Its use also allows authorities to develop alternative solutions for the tasks on the basis of the justification of priorities in the development of the consumer market and assessment of the risks associated with the implementation of program activities. ; peer-reviewed

PurposeTime banking is a form of alternative consumer market where members trade services, non-reciprocally creating a local marketplace for services. Time Banks facilitate dyadic exchanges, meeting members' practical needs and building diverse skills. The purpose of this research was to determine the broad capabilities developed in the Time Bank economy, and to demonstrate how these capabilities were mobilised following a series of earthquakes, contributing to the larger community's resiliency.Design/methodology/approachTaking an ethnographic approach, data were collected using a variety of methods including interviews, focus groups, participant observation and secondary research.FindingsOver time, this alternative consumer market developed a significant communication and social network that members activated to solve diverse practical problems facing the community. Similar to other exchange communities, the Time Bank also fostered a strong sense of community based on reciprocity and egalitarian values. Although the Time Bank was created as a marketplace to exchange local services, during a series of devastating earthquakes, it galvanised adaptive capacities, increasing the resiliency of the local community during disaster relief and reconstruction.Research limitations/implicationsThe data were drawn from one alternative exchange system in New Zealand.Practical implicationsThe study shows how grassroots alternative consumer markets like Time Banks build community capacities alongside the formal economy. During normal times, this system meets consumer needs, but in extraordinary times, this system provides community shock absorbers, thereby enhancing community resiliency.Social implicationsThe Time Bank was particularly adept at leveraging local knowledge to provide social support to those residents who were most vulnerable.Originality/valueData were collected before, during, and after the earthquakes, providing a rare opportunity to explore the process of community resiliency in action. This research extends existing theories of community resiliency explaining the development and activation of capacities by a local alternative consumer market.