I would like to acknowledge, with thanks, the many, many people who contributed to this book directly and indirectly. Without the help of my family, friends, and colleagues, this book could never have been completed. These people have encouraged and helped me; for this I owe them a great deal of gratitude. There are just too many people to thank, so I cannot thank everyone individually. But I do want to identify some individuals who have been especially helpful in the long and arduous process of writing this book. Several colleagues have expressed their support and contributed substantially to the final product. Particularly, I want to thank the following:
Erdener Kaynak, Professor, Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg; Leo Sayavedra, Vice-Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, the Texas A&M University System; Khosrow Fatemi, Dean of the Imperial Valley Campus, San Diego State University, California; my colleagues at Texas A&M International University: President J. Charles Jennett; Provost W. Larry Boyd; Provost Ray M. Keck; Dean John P. Kohl; Faridoun Farrokh; Kamal Fatehi; Jacki Mayfield; George Kostopoulos; Ourida-Zoe Farah Kostopoulos; Michael Landeck; Michael Pisani; and Rose Rodriguez Rabin.
Special thanks to Manouchehr Mohseni Parsa, Professor of Sociology, University of Teheran, Iran; Alain Genestre, Associate Professor of Marketing, American University-Cairo, Egypt; Professor Charles W. Rudiger, Dowling College; Professor Faramarz Damanpour, James Madison University; Professor Vic Heller, College of Business, The University of Texas at San Antonio; Jacqueline Rowley Mayfield, Associate Professor and Co-Chair, Department of Management and Marketing, Texas A&M International University.
I want particularly to thank Peg Marr, Senior Production Editor, The Haworth Press Book Division. I must also acknowledge the staff at The Haworth Press, Inc. They have been especially helpful in encouraging and guiding me through the project from beginning to end. I appreciate the time and effort that they put into this project.
Finally, I owe my family a special debt of gratitude for putting up with me during the many hours that a project like this consumes. My family’s support was vital to the completion of this project. More important, I appreciate the support and encouragement from my wife, Ozra Mitra Esfandiari, and three children, Suzan, Robert, and Fuzhan. Extra special thanks to my youngest daughter, Fuzhan, who has patiently tolerated my absence from home and not being with her on a regular basis.
I hope that this textbook is worthy of interest in its contribution toward understanding and comprehending the world in which we live.
Kamal Dean Parhizgar, PhD