Globalization and related technological developments have increased competition and put organizations in a struggle to survive in an extremely difficult market condition. Organizations adopt their technologies and infrastructures to today’s conditions to gain a sustainable competitive advantage and maintain their existence. However, all these efforts of organizations are easily imitated by rival companies and may cause the loss of competitive advantage.

The resource-based view provides additional information that strategic human resource is the scarce, valuable, inimitable and non-substitutable resources of organizations, thus enabling them to gain a competitive advantage. According to this view, the competitive advantage of the organization is achieved by combining valuable internal resources. Nowadays, sustainable competitive advantage is provided not by environmental factors or physical capital but by human capital (employees) efficiency. In this context, the attitudes and behaviors of employees who make up human resources are important for their organizational success. Many studies emphasize that positive attitudes and behaviors (e.g. innovative work behavior, work engagement, job satisfaction) in employees have important contributions to the success of the organization, while similarly negative attitudes and behaviors (e.g. organizational silence, turnover intention) are one of the main reasons for the failure of the organization.

In our book, literature has been created on the definition, antecedents, and organizational results of new and current concepts that are newly conceptualized in the literature and are still in their infancy. It is considered that this cumulative literature within the book will be a source for future studies on these subjects and will provide important insights for practitioners.

Türkiye jeo-politik önemi, Avrupa, Asya ve Afrika kıtalarına olan yakınlığı ve merkez konumda bulunmasının yanı sıra,  değişik iklim, coğrafi şekil, verimlilik vb. açıdan da farklı özelliklere sahiptir. Tüm bu özellikler, ülkenin farklı açılardan kalkınmasını gündeme getirmiştir. Kıyı kesimler daha çok turizm ve sanayi ile gelişme imkânına sahip iken, iç kesimler ve kırsal alanlar ise daha çok niş turizm, tarım ve hayvansal ürün ve sanayi ile gelişmesini sağlayabilecek durumdadır.

Türkiye doğal kaynakları, hayvancılık ve gıda ürünleri açısından dünyada eşine az rastlanır, şanslı olan ülkelerden biridir. Ülke genelinde, çoğunlukla kırsal alanlarda yetiştirilmekte olan ürün çeşitliliği bol,  katkı maddesi içermeyen güvenli organik gıdalar, hem ülke içindeki tüketiciler hem de uluslararası pazarlarda  gittikçe artan oranda tercih edilir duruma gelmiştir.

Ülke genelinde ve özellikle kırsal alanlarda üretilen ürün ve hizmetlerin değerlendirilmesi, ekonomiye kazandırılması ve satışa konu olması gerekmektedir. Çünkü ürünün mükemmelliği veya eşsizliği de ancak satışına ve tüketicilerce bilinmesine ve kullanılmasına bağlıdır. Bu bağlamda sektörel pazarlama önem arz etmektedir.

Kırsal kalkınmanın sunduğu imkânların sektörler itibariyle ortaya çıkarıldığı, elde edilen ürünlerin  ulusal ve uluslararası pazarlarda rekabetçi güce ulaşabilmesi için pazarlama disiplini çerçevesinde stratejik bir bakış açısına ihtiyaç duyulduğunun vurgulandığı, ciddi ve titiz bir çalışma ile hazırlanan bu eserin, öncelikle makro düzeyde stratejik karar vericilere, iş alemine ve akademik camiaya yol gösterici ve rehber olması dileği ile…

The change of the geopolitical realities, the emergence of new regional dynamics and the perception of security in Central Asia have also changed current perspectives in the region. Fully revised and updated to cover the latest informations and developments, the book will provide comprehensive, accessible and successful introduction for those who are interested in the Central Asia region. As the editors, we have filled a long-neglected gap by producing a volume that authoritatively covers the states of the region. The book will become a definitive text for the teaching as it presents in-depth explorations of systemic and sophisticated way of understanding the actors and processes and offers case study encompassing many subjects about Central Asia. It conbines old and new perspectives with discerning care.

This book –The Changing Perspectives of Central Asia in the 21^st Century- has provided readers with prominent knowledge of independence period, actors, minority issues, nation-state building process, energy, security, water, boundary, regional integration and foreign policies of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan with each other and with Russia, China, America, the EU and Turkey. The book claims that geopolitical realities, regional dynamics and the perception of security in Central Asia have changed. Thus, the book focuses on environmental degradation, cyber insecurity and social unrest triggered by sovereign debt traps. These discussions highlight the necessity to reconsider the traditional perception of security as the analysis has to go beyond the state to address a wide range of security threats.

Dr. Murat YORULMAZ is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management and Organization at Trakya University, Edirne.

Dr. Serdar YILMAZ is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Muğla.