Trade Show Industry in Germany Dissertation

Significance of the Study



This study is significant because it sheds light on a very important contributor to local and international trade. Trade fairs have a long history in providing a meeting place for buyers and sellers. They are an important channel of communication for B2B buyers and sellers. This is a significant area for study because there are limited channels of communication between B2B buyers and sellers. The previous sections have diversified the importance of communication to trade. B2B buyers and sellers cannot use mass channels of communication such as television advertising or newspaper advertising. In this market usage of personal visits and demonstrations are the common channels of marketing and communication. The B2B selling and marketing activities are less highlighted in research than B2C activities. Therefore, this study is significant because it explores a very important channel of marketing and communication in the B2B market.



The study is important for a second reason that international trade is becoming a cause for concern after the global recession. The economies of various countries have been affected after a decline in their purchasing power. It is said that economic recovery is possible through an increase in trade and opening up of markets (OECD, 2009). As a result, governments are trying to find new ways of stimulating trade in order to increase demand in the national economy and create more jobs to reduce unemployment. Trade shows can be an effective means of stimulating trade activity by bringing together buyers and sellers in a single location. This study will be useful for governments because it will help them to identify the economic, regulatory, legal, and logistical issues that need to be controlled to organize successful trade shows. By using the information in this study, they will be able to promote economic growth through increased local and international trade.



Study Components



This comparative study on the trade show industry in Germany and South Korea will follow a systematic analysis of the most significant aspects affecting the industry in each country. The study begins with a historical analysis of the evolution of trade from a local level to an international level. It will then discuss how trade shows evolved to facilitate the growing trade between countries. The study will then discuss the dynamics of the trade show industry in modern times including the political, legal, economic and regulatory issues that affect the industry. An analysis of the issues involved in organizing successful trade fairs will follow that will help the reader to understand how international trade shows should be conducted so that positive effects for the participants can be guaranteed. The study will address the issue of effective booth management to explain how exhibitors can improve their booth management practices to make trade show participation successful.



The study will then focus on how the dynamics and issues discussed above affect the trade show industry in Germany. It will focus on how the German economic and trade policies have shaped the evolution of the trade show industry. The contributions of the German trade show industry to the German economy and international trade will also be discussed. Examples of successful German trade shows like CeBIT in Hanover (CeBIT, 2012) will also be discussed to illustrate the working of the trade show industry.



This will be followed by a similar discussion on the trade show industry in South Korea. The regulatory changes taken by the government to facilitate the growth of trade and the trade show industry will be discussed. Examples of successful trade shows will be used to illustrate the information provided.



Study Aim and Objectives



The aim of this study is to present a comparative analysis of the trade show industry in Germany and South Korea. Such an analysis would be of use to governments in various developed and developing countries to take steps to enhance their capacity and skill in developing the trade show industry in their respective countries. The study does not aim at providing a prescriptive study of how to conduct a successful international trade show. On the other hand, it provides a discussion of the various factors that enable the growth of the trade show industry in the two countries under study. This information can be adapted to the local environment of individual countries so that the local concerns are addressed to support the development of a national trade show industry.



The study aims to highlight the role of historical and geographical factors in the emergence of Germany as the world leader in the trade show industry (AUMA 2011, p. 5). The importance of economic policies is also addressed. Similarly, the rise of South Korea as an impressive emerging economic power in Asia is also rooted in a systematic process of economic growth and expansion. The two industries when compared with one another are expected to provide insight from which individual governments and businesses can extract the principles for organizing successful trade fairs keeping in mind their geographical and economic situation. The study aims to benefit individual governments from the varied experiences of the two countries in developing their trade show industries and the benefits that such benefits have brought to them. This should help governments to take the development of the trade show industry more seriously given the global economic situation. This should help governments and businesses to cooperate with one another in exploring new and bigger markets for increasing international trade.



CHAPTER II: literature review



The History of Trade



The earliest form of international trade was probably carried out by travelling along rivers on rafts. The objects of trade were minerals that were only available in certain regions and could only be exchanged with people who had access to those regions. The minerals could be used to make protective headgear and tools for farming and hunting. Farming produce began to be traded later on. The regions comprising Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley were important centers of trade during prehistoric times. They took advantage of more favorable located Persian Gulf mineral sources. There is written evidence of just before 3000 BC, which indicates fleeting sight of enormous copper grain trade flourished through this route (Bernstein 2009, p. 26). Trade thus became a means of cultural and diplomatic exchange between communities



However, trade also became a cause of war in some cases. The Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sicily was motivated by a desire to expand trading posts in the Mediterranean to gain easy and reliable control over the grain trade, an essential commodity that was extremely scarce in the mountainous terrain of Greece. Greece wanted to expand its empire across the Mediterranean by controlling the important trade routes with the east and with Egypt. In this way, trade played an important part in shaping the history of the world (Bernstein 2009, p. 25).



. The Crusades of the tenth and eleventh centuries resulted in violent conflict between the East and the West. These crusades also resulted in increased trade between the two regions as the people came into greater contact with one another. Through such international trade, the communities learned to co-exist with one another in peace again. The greatest impetus to international trade came during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when western European powers entered the age of industrialization. Along with industrialization, the naval and seafaring traditions of these powers enabled them to discover new markets for their manufactured goods and new sources of raw materials. This increase in economic activity is as a result of discovery of new methods of production and new markets stimulated intellectual thought about international trade and commerce. Intellectuals like Adam Smith, Ricardo, and Keynes presented their models of national economies and theories of international trade. International trade was thus carried out based on comparative advantage with the government playing merely a facilitating role.



Communism emerged as a major revolution in the twentieth century and came into direct conflict with the capitalist model of international trade. However, the power of communism waned towards the end of the twentieth century, paving the way for globalization through the emergence of international and regional trade agreements like GATT, WTO, European Union, ASEAN, NAFTA, MERCUSOR and SAARC. Globalization was a controversial ideal that encouraged the reduction of national barriers to international trade such as tariffs, quotas, and import duties. This created some conflict between developed and developing countries because the developed countries were at a technological superiority and could manufacture goods more efficiently.



Other than development of sophisticated trade models, Trade industry faced various ups and down in the 20th century. The West has been repositioned and this…