Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze to what extent and in what ways signaling theory has been explored within the field of international marketing. This paper systematically reviews the use of signaling theory in the field of international marketing. Communication is a core aspect of the international marketing process. Research in this field has explored effective and unique ways of improving the communication flow to reduce the asymmetry of information between international consumers and the firm. This notion is adopted, enhanced and strengthened by signaling theory. Signaling theory has recently received the attention of international marketing scholars.Design/methodology/approach: The systematic review methodology was applied for the purpose of identifying the relevant studies. We extracted academic articles over the last 23 years from the domain of international marketing that directly contribute to signaling theory based on 57 journal articles extracted through the systematic review process.Findings: Based on systematic research the results reveal that the topic has grown and continues to expand within the broader international marketing field. We offer a theoretical conceptual framework to better understand signaling theory in the context of international marketing.Originality/value: The authors map and critically evaluate the use of signaling theory in international marketing. Relevance of signaling theory in international marketing is growing and authors present an integrative framework that organizes the existing literature, and provides scholars to further expand on emerging themes of the domain. The paper offers some useful future research directions.

This paper traverses the domains of leadership and decision-making within various types of systems with different levels of complexity. The article presents some background about both leadership and decision-making, and then explores the concept of leadership decision-making and some of the factors involved. The paper then reviews complex systems and provides examples to differentiate complex systems from other systems. Finally, these strands are brought together with a consideration of leadership decision-making in complex systems and presentation of a framework to assist managers faced with decision-making in complexity, based on data collected in a survey. The aim and practical contribution of this paper is to improve the outcomes of leadership decision-making within complex systems, based upon the findings and on a decision aid model derived from them. The paper, therefore, should help people in real life and leaders within organizational settings to improve their decision-making effectiveness within the ever-increasing range of complex situations which are now widely encountered.

Making decisions is a key task for leaders and managers. Senior leaders are currently exposed to increasing amounts of data which they must process quickly in our current dynamic world. Complex factors in the business world are not always best approached through an analytical framework. Using tacit knowledge gained through intuition can enable a more holistic understanding of the deep nature of today’s problems. This paper takes an expansive view of decision-making with intuition right at the centre and canvasses understandings of intuition arising from philosophy, psychology, Western and Eastern beliefs; and proposes a model that relates intuition to other problem-solving approaches. The paper presents the results of interviews with senior leaders who must make difficult decisions in complex turbulent environments. The interview schedule is based on questions raised in a prior literature search concerning the relationship between intuition and analysis in complexity decision-making and problem-solving, the usefulness to this group of respondents, the possibilities of combining both approaches and any conflict arising from that combination, and understandings of the concept of intuition by these respondents. The resultant model presents a visual description of a process that moves from exterior assessment achieved via sensing and analysis, through to deeper understandings and a more holistic discernment gained through intuition. The model has the potential to assist leaders faced with difficult-to-solve problems in providing a better understanding of the steps involved in tackling problems of increasing levels of complexity.

Literature review suggests that little attention is paid to the interpretation of a World Cultural Heritage (WCH) ensemble such as the Historic Center of Macao (HCM). The present study aims to investigate tour guides' interpretation of the HCM and how their interpretation affects tourists' appreciation and understanding of a visited heritage site within the HCM, as well as tourists' interest in other under-used HCM sites. Methodologies include in-depth interviews with tour guides, on-site observations of tour guides and surveys of package group tourists. The findings indicate that tour guides tended to interpret an HCM heritage site as an independent WCH site. In turn, this results in tourists' misunderstanding of Macao's WCH and a lower level of authentic experience at the visited heritage site. It is advocated that the interpretation of any one heritage site of the HCM should connect to the HCM ensemble and other heritage sites within the HCM. The inter-cultural relationship among the heritage sites should be further explored and highlighted in narratives.

The present study aims to explore how tour guides' interpretations influence tourists' experience and their interest in heritage tourism. To examine tour guides' interpretation quality, style, and their impact on the tourist experience, a comparative study of sightseeing and on-site guides was conducted. The results suggest that tour guides should provide tourists with an insightful interpretation and provoke tourists' emotional thoughts in order to help them to achieve a high level of tourist experience with the visited heritage site and arouse their interest in visiting other relevant heritage sites. In addition to communication competence and knowledge, tour guides' motivation for interpretation is also an important factor influencing the quality and style of their interpretation.