Management and Business Research on Commercial Diplomacy: Examining Trends and Themes

This article reviews the literature of commercial diplomacy during the period 1960–2014 from a management angle and is organized around four major themes: (1) government’s export/trade promotion function; (2) institutional/organizational arrangements; (3) managerial roles and activities; and (4) interaction between commercial diplomats and businesses. A complementary quantitative analysis tracing current research trends reveals the emergence of relevant publications at the end of the 1970s and a real increase after 2000. It also confirms the relative scarcity of commercial diplomacy literature focusing on the business and management dimension. Gaps in current literature are identified, and suggestions for further research are presented.     

营销的本质是管理交易而非买卖交易——兼论营销与销售的区别

"营销的本质"和"营销与销售的区别"是市场营销理论和实践的基本问题。从制度经济学的视角看,营销的本质是企业的一种管理交易,而不是产品买卖交易。营销具有管理交易的本质特征:生产性、效率性和层级性,而销售具有买卖交易的本质特征:分配性、价格性和平等性。营销本质上是生产者的行为,是产业资本的行为,而销售本质上是商人行为,是商业资本的行为。     

Analytical Support to Negotiations: An Empirical Assessment

Twenty-three cases of international negotiation are analyzed and compared to better understand the role of analytical and informational tools in supporting practical negotiators. For each case, data were gathered through interviews with Austrian diplomats on the type and amount of analytical support provided, associated bureaucratic support, and problems encountered, along with a host of key factors about the case itself-the issues, situation, strategies, process, structures, and outcomes. These data were coded and analyzed statistically. It was found that most analytical support is qualitative in nature and can be categorized as information organizing tools, comparison methods and creativity techniques; economic negotiations, in particular, tended to be supported more by quantitative methods, including forecasting and statistical models. Analytical support is particularly important to understand own and other side positions and strategies and to bolster complex negotiations that require issue packaging. A generational gap between senior and mid-level diplomats emerged: junior practitioners expressed a greater interest in analytical support tools. In general, the application of analytical support was perceived positively among practitioners and was correlated with the achievement of treaties and comprehensive solutions. These findings suggest that there needs to be greater investment in developing and providing practical analytical support to negotiators, more supporting infrastructure to facilitate the use of these techniques, and increased training opportunities.     

Negotiating in the European Union: Comparing Perceptions of Eu Negotiators in Small Member States

Negotiation is one of the major tasks of the 15 member states comprising the European Union (EU). However, not much is known about the behavior and perceptions of those negotiating on behalf of these member states. On the basis of the responses to a survey of EU diplomats and civil servants of the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, and Portugal, an attempt has been made to develop a profile of "the" European Union Negotiator. The EU negotiator is less outspoken and more likely to compromise than an "ideal" profile of the diplomatic negotiator. While negotiators from these member states share important behavioral and attitudinal proclivities, they also differ in many significant ways. This healthy diversity of negotiating approaches is likely to be nurtured by the cooperative and synergistic atmosphere within the European Union.     

The Intersection of Law and Ethics – at 600 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA: Is it Ethical to Assert a Legal Technicality to Avoid Liability for a Debt Created by Fraud?

A considerable literature exists regard-ing the moral obligation to keep one's promises. Several authors have focused on the exceptional circumstances which may or should excuse this moral duty. Less frequently discussed is the question of how this general moral obligation and its possible exceptions play out in the context of negotiable written promises to pay money, i.e., so-called "commercial paper."This paper focuses on the application of the legal rules governing commercial paper, and on the ethical implications involved in the application of those rules. More specifically, it asks whether the assertion of the technical doctrine known as "holder in due course," and the denial of that status in some cases, promotes ethical behavior in the marketplace. By examining the circumstances of one case, involving a substantial investment and a large bank, I hope to shed some light on how the legal and ethical rules do in fact "intersect."     

The Environmental Commitment of Consumer Organizations in Denmark, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Belgium

Consumer organizations have traditionally been concerned with protecting, informing, and educating the "weak" consumers. These policies were deemed necessary because of the unequal power balance and conflicts of interests between consumers and producers. Since there are also conflicts between the interests of nature on the one hand, and consumers and producers on the other, this article discusses the rationale of consumer organizations' involvement in environmental issues while considering their original objectives. More specifically, it is aimed at identifying the commitment of several European consumer organizations with respect to environmental issues during the past two decades in order to assess whether and how environmental issues are internalized in consumer policy across time.     

"Blessed Are the Meek, for They Shall Inherit the Earth" – An Aspiration Applicable to Business?

The paper's broad aim is to provide a wider understanding of a complex virtue, "meekness". This interest is pragmatic. Contemporary research by Collins (2001) has identified "meekness" as a personal quality for highest-level leadership at great businesses, a theme identifiable also in religious and ancient philosophical narratives. Two strands of enquiry are pursued. Firstly, features of "meekness" are inferred by reference to Plato, Aristotle and Xenophon, as also to the gospel writer, Matthew, source of the title's quotation. It concludes that "meekness" is not about powers foregone but "powers controlled and exercised with discernment". The second strand addresses whether there are intrinsic differences between the ethics of business and religious activities. Narrative of a New Testament incident, apparently condemning traders, is briefly explored as a case study. Closer examination points how an inappropriate fusing of regulatory and commercial roles had created market abuses. The timeless account warns against inadequately controlled powers and provides an enduring example of how "the meek" should respond assertively against unethical conduct and avoid it themselves. While the paper acknowledges that there may be distinctive "guardian" and "commercial" syndromes for ethical prioritisation, a spiritual virtue, such as "meekness", transcends individual and organisational purposes, being aspirational for any activities that involve providing services and being accountable.     

改善网购“柠檬”化的博弈探讨

"柠檬"问题是信息不对称的具体表现,Internet商务市场以其独特的虚拟性和开放性,在具备很多优势的同时,也出现了严重的弊端。通过从经济学角度,对网络市场交易中的"柠檬"做出说明,运用博弈论方法,对如何在电子商务中有效解决这一问题给予一定理论探讨。     

生物进化、种群生态学及商业集群

商业集群并不是僵化的"中间性组织",而是生命有机体,商业集群的形成是商业企业之间不断竞争的结果,商业集群的发展与生物进化之间必然存在很多相似性。文章基于商业集群的特点,应用生物进化理论及种群生态学相关理论对商业集群进行分析。研究结果表明,合作与竞争机制在商业集群保持生态均衡过程中起着非常重要的作用,集群内商业企业之间存在既竞争又合作的关系。一方面,商业集群内的商业企业之间通过共享资源,实现集群内商业企业之间的互利共生与优势互补,进而提高整个商业集群系统循环的效率与质量,降低交易费用,相互合作的商业企业之间也可通过相互学习获得技术溢出效应,在共同利益与各自利益基础上,实现运营效率的提高;另一方面,商业集群内企业之间通过竞争,实现稀缺性资源的有效配置,提高整个商业集群系统的效率,防止商业集群内商业企业之间发生因合作而导致的损害消费者利益的"串谋"现象。这种商业集群内各商业企业之间既竞争又合作的关系,使得商业集群就像一个完整的生态系统一样,通过自然选择,最终实现优胜劣汰,效益好的商业企业得到了进一步的发展,而亏损的商业企业则面临破产的命运。     

解读“亚当·斯密问题”

两百多年前,斯密以其《道德情操论》和《国富论》两部巨著奠定了他在伦理学和经济学上的历史地位,也正是源于这两部著作中对人性的论述所呈现出的不一致,才构成了“亚当.斯密问题”。鉴于此,如何剖析、认识和解读“亚当.斯密问题”便成为研究的线索,而对与这一中心相关联的经济自由主义思想所蕴含的深刻哲理的探究,则是对“亚当.斯密问题”的合理延伸。     

对商业银行管理层激励与约束问题的思考

商业银行管理层激励与约束机制要根据商业银行自身的特殊性来设计,选择低报酬--业绩敏感性的经理层报酬补偿激励机制、完善的经理人市场、健全的现代企业制度以及外部监管.     

The nature,extent, causes,and consequences of problematic debt situations

The paper reports on the most important and salient results of an investigation which was carried out in the Netherlands in 1980/1981. The object of the research was to establish the actual number of borrowers with a problematic debt situation and to provide an answer to the question of how the problems have arisen and what their consequences are for the borrowers and their families. The research was divided into two parts:

--an investigation of the nature, extent, and causes of problematic debt situations (the survey part)

--an investigation of their consequences (the qualitative part).

In the explanation of how a problematic debt situation comes about, institutional, socioeconomic, personality, and decision-behaviour factors were taken into account. The results of both investigations provide an impetus for policy-makers to modify their policies aimed at preventing problematic debt situations from arising. Some starting points for such a re-orientation are discussed in this paper. The first point relates to the predictability of problematic debt situations and the implementation of an early warning system; the second point relates to the acceptance policy of financial institutions, in particular the use and functioning of credit score systems; the third point suggests restraint in the granting of additional credit to borrowers who have already taken out one or more credit; the fourth point relates to advice which could be provided to improve borrowers' (information-seeking) behaviour and level of knowledge.     

Advertising time expansion, compression, and cognitive processing influences on consumer acceptance of message and brand

This article examines the nature of consumer process involvement and cognitive processing of advertising content as mediating variables between commercial message executions (e.g., broadcast time compression and expansion and using broadcast versus print media) on attitude and behavioral intentions. The article proposes a framework that builds on the prior work of Krugman, Wright, and MacInnis and colleagues; the framework includes hypotheses of an advertising execution and processing involvement interaction effect on cognitive processing of commercial messages and a substantial direct effect of cognitive processing on attitude and behavioral intention. The article includes details of an experiment testing hypotheses in the framework. The findings provide strong support of the hypotheses. Implications for advertising strategy include adopting a conservative view on the use of time compression in advertising commercials and nurturing low consumer processing involvement of commercial messages.     

“基于项目的团队学习”教学模式的应用研究——针对经管类课程

经管类课程作为商科院校的主要教学内容具有显著的综合性、实践性和应用性等特点,而传统的填鸭式教育模式严重阻碍了学生创新、思考能力的发展。"基于项目的团队学习"教学模式将学生团队导入一个仿真的情境中,在引导、启发、鼓励学生协作完成教学项目的过程中掌握知识和能力,该模式可为经管类课程的教学改革提供良好的借鉴。     

Cynthia Lee Henthorn. From Submarines to Suburbs: Selling a Better America, 1939-1959

Cynthia Henthorn has written a thoughtful, wide-ranging analysisof commercial propaganda and its meaning in mid-twentieth centuryAmerica. Demonstrating that wartime marketing strategies promoted"better living" after the war, she argues that commercial messagesabout technology and management were tied to human engineering,promising a socially hygienic future for all Americans. The author begins with a retelling of the 1959 "kitchen debate,"when U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon argued with Soviet PremierNikita Khrushchev about     

Exchange‐rate Misalignments in Duopoly: The Case of Airbus and Boeing

We examine the effect of exchange‐rate misalignments on competition in the market for large commercial aircraft. This market is a duopoly where players compete in dollar‐denominated prices while one of them, Airbus, incurs a large fraction of its costs in euro. We estimate price elasticities for big aircraft, and construct a simulation model to investigate how companies adjust their prices to deal with the effects of a temporary misalignment and how this affects profit margins and volumes. We conclude that, due to the duopolistic nature of the aircraft market, Airbus will pass only a small part of the exchange‐rate fluctuations on to customers. Moreover, due to features specific to the aircraft industry, such as customer switching costs and learning‐by‐doing, even a temporary departure of the exchange rate from its long‐run equilibrium level may have permanent effects on the industry.     

浅析顾维钧的"联美制日"外交思想

享有"民国第一外交家"美誉的顾维钧,从民国初年步入外交界伊始,服务于外交界长达44年之久.在其外交生涯中,"联美制日"可以说是其外交思想的核心."联美制日"是联合美国来制约日本,以达到维护国家主权、废除各国不平等务约的目的,从而逐步争得中国的权利.本文主要探讨民国初期顾维钧"联美制日"外交思想形成的历史背景和思想特点,并对其进行简要评价.     

"Intrapreneurship as a Peaceful and Ethical Transition Strategy Toward Privatization"

The problem this article is concerned with is the failure ofmany large organizations in formerly socialist countries and inpublic sectors of market economies to make effective, peaceful,and ethical transformation from command to market responsiveorganization and privatization. There are at least threeimportant behavioral causes of this problem. First, organizationtransformation is blocked because the organization tries tochange "all at once" before the organization has learned how toact successfully in a new for the organization environment as amarket responsive instead of a command organization (Churchman,1971; Quinn, 1980; Nystrom and Starbuck, 1984; Mintzberg andWaters, 1985; Mintzberg, 1994; Goldman, 1994). Second,organization transformation is blocked because "all at oncechange" stimulates so much fear and political opposition thatchange is politically not possible (Argyris and Schon, 1974;Argyris, 1990; Goldman, 1994; Sachs, 1992). Third, organizationtransformation is blocked because the "guardian" ethics syndromeof command organization is less appropriate for market responsiveorganization than a "commercial" ethics syndrome (Jacobs, 1992;Harris, 1995). Gradual intrapreneurship (Burgelman, 1983; Nielsenet al., 1985) can serve as a peaceful and ethical transitionstrategy. Intrapreneurship can help bridge some of thecontradictions between "commercial" vs. "guardian" ethicssyndromes (Jacobs, 1992; Nielsen, 1996).     

流通领域的价值创造与实现

本文根据马克思关于流通领域的价值创造与实现的论述,结合我国现阶段社会主义市场经济的实践,论证了如何坚持和发展马克思的流通经济理论问题。文章认为,在我国现阶段社会主义市场经济实践中,必须在坚持马克思流通经济理论的基础上,对其进行不断的丰富和发展:扩大劳动和生产劳动的概念;承认服务业也创造价值和剩余价值,从事信息生产、应用和传播活动的劳动也创造价值;肯定信息生产、流通、消费生产性不断增长和非生产性不断减少的趋势;要深入探讨生产过程在流通领域中继续的劳动性质,商业人员的劳动性质,金融资本流通的性质以及流通领域价值的创造与计量等重要问题。