G

gap analysis: a marketing technique used to identify gaps in market or product coverage. In gap analysis, consumer information or requirements are tabulated and matched to product categories in order to identify product or service opportunities or gaps in product planning.  

gateway: E-Commerce: a point where two or more computer networks meet and can exchange data.  

GDP: Gross domestic product, the total flow of services and goods produced by an economy over a quarter or a year, measured by the aggregate value of services and goods at market prices.  

Globalization: the process of tailoring products or services to different local markets around the world.  

GNP: Gross National Product, GDP plus domestic resident's income from investment abroad less income earned in the domestic market accruing to noncitizens abroad.  

Gross profit: The difference between the selling price and the cost of an item. Gross profit is calculated by subtracting cost of goods sold from net sales.  

Growth capital: funding that allows a company to accelerate its growth. For new startup companies, growth capital is the second stage of funding after seed money. 

Growth rate: the rate of an economy's growth as measured by its technical progress, the growth of its labor, and the increase in its capital stock. .  

Guarantee: A pledge by a third party to repay a loan in the event that the borrower defaults.

Guarantor: a person or organization that guarantees repayment of a loan if the borrower defaults or is unable to pay.

Guerilla marketing: A marketing technique, the aim of which is to damage the market share of competitors.  

H

Hard sell: a heavily persuasive and highly pressured approach used to sell a product or service.  

Hedge fund: a mutual fund that takes considerable risks, including heavy investment in unconventional instruments, in the hope of generating great profits.  

High end: relating to the most expensive, most advanced, or most powerful in a range of things, for example, computers. 

High-pressure: a selling technique in which the sales representative attempts to persuade a buyer very forcefully and persistently.  

Holding company: a parent organization that owns and controls other companies.  

Home page: The "table of contents" to a Web site, detailing what pages are on a particular site. The first page one sees when accessing a Web site.  

Horizontal integration: The merging of functions or organizations that operate on a similar level. Horizontal integration involves the union of companies producing the same kinds of goods or operating at the same stage of the supply chain.  

Hyperinflation: very rapid growth in the rate of inflation so that money loses value and physical goods replace currency as a medium of exchange. 

I 

IMF: International Monetary Fund, the organization that industrialized nations have established to reduce trade barriers and stabilize currencies, especially those of less industrialized nations.  

Impaired capital: a company's capital that is worth less than the par value of its stock.  

Import: a product or service brought into another country from its country of origin either for sale or for use in manufacturing.  

Incentive program: an award or reward scheme designed to improve sales force or retail performance.  

Income redistribution: a government policy that seeks to restrain increases in wages or prices by regulating the permitted level of increase. 

Income statement: A financial document that shows how much money (revenue) came in and how much money (expense) was paid out.  

Income tax: a tax levied directly on the income of a person or a company and paid to the local, state, or federal government.  

Income statement: A financial document that shows how much money (revenue) came in and how much money (expense) was paid out.  

Indirect channel: the selling and distribution of products to customers through intermediaries such as wholesalers, distributors, agents, dealers, or retailers.  

Indirect cost: a fixed or overhead cost that cannot be attributed directly to the production of a particular item and is incurred even when there is no output.  

Inflation: a sustained increase in a country's general level of prices that devalues its currency, often caused by excess demand in the economy. 

Infomercial: a television or cinema commercial that includes helpful information about a product as well as advertising content. 

Initial public offering: the first instance of making particular shares available for sale to the public.  

Insolvency: the inability to pay debts when they become due. Insolvency will apply even if total assets exceed total liabilities, if those assets cannot be readily converted into cash to meet debts as they mature. Even then, insolvency may not necessarily mean business failure. Bankruptcy may be avoided through debt rescheduling or turnaround management.  

Income statement: A financial document that shows how much money (revenue) came in and how much money (expense) was paid out.  

Insurance: an arrangement in which individuals or companies pay another company to guarantee them compensation if they suffer loss resulting from risks such as fire, theft, or accidental damage.

Intellectual property: the ownership of rights to ideas, designs, and inventions, including copyrights, patents, and trademarks. Intellectual property is protected by law in most countries, and the World Intellectual Property Organization is responsible for harmonizing the law across different countries and promoting protection of intellectual property rights. 

Interest: the rate that a lender charges for the use of money that is a loan. 

Interest rate: the amount of interest charged for borrowing a particular sum of money over a specified period of time.  

Income statement: A financial document that shows how much money (revenue) came in and how much money (expense) was paid out.  

Internet: The vast collection in inter-connected networks that provide electronic mail and access to the World Wide Web.

Inventory: A list of assets being held for sale, The stock of finished goods, raw materials, and work in progress held by a company.

Invest: To lay out money for any purpose from which a profit is expected.  

Investment: The spending money on stocks, shares, and other securities, or on assets such as plant and machinery. 

Invisible exports: the profits, dividends, interest, and royalties received from selling a country's services abroad. 

Invoice: a document that a supplier sends to a customer detailing the cost of products or services supplied and requesting payment.  

J

joint account: an account, for example, one held at a bank or by a broker, that two or more people own in common and have access to.  

joint ownership:  ownership by more than one party, each with equal rights in the item owned. Joint ownership is often applied to property or other assets.  

junk bond: a bond with high return and high risk.  

K 

keystone: Setting a retail price at twice the wholesale price.