International Development Strategies of Luxury-goods Players in China

The aim of this paper is to study and analyse the intemationalisation strategies chosen by the main luxury-goods players in the Chinese market, demonstrating the business intemationalisation processes. The research questions are： ttow luxury companies have developed distribution strategies in the Chinese markets？ What are the main formats of distribution for the Chinese markets？ Are there any differences in the internationalization process between the main players of the luxury markets and the smaller ones？ The methodology is based on the analysis on multiple-case ~.nalysis on a sample of luxury-goods companies and identifies and compares the different strategies used by the players analysed. The research process starts from identifying and selecting the most well-known companies operating in the luxury branded sector, which have established a presence in the Chinese market with their own brand, collecting secondary data for the selected companies （website, corporate profile, articles on websites and in trade magazines and interviews with the management）, analysing the data collected and interpreting the main results to have emerged from the research. The main findings and conclusions are that the route to development in the Chinese market taken by the players in the luxury-goods sector, historically undertaken by delocalising production operations, has in recent years begun to accelerate with new forms in play, principally linked to distribution. The Chinese market tbr luxury brands is ever more an outlet market rather than a production hub. The ability to create brand awareness will become a key factor for successful consolidation of the competitive position in this market, an operation that can only be performed through distribution. Moreover, Chinese high-end consumers are becoming ever more demanding, seeking out an ever more sophisticated shopping experience. Just as happening in other markets, opening directly operated stores is a strategic choice for reaching and convincing end-consumers, sinc     

Return threshold model analysis of two stock markets： Evidence study of Italy and Germany＇s stock returns

This paper discusses the model construction and the association between the Italy and the Germany＇s stock markets. The period of study data is from January 3, 2000 to June 30, 2008. This paper also utilizes Student＇s t distribution to analyze the proposed model. The empirical results show that the two stock markets are mutually affected each other, and the dynamic conditional correlation （DCC） and the bivariate asymmetric-GARCH （1, 2） model is appropriate in evaluating the relation between them. The empirical result also indicates that Italy and Germany＇s stock markets show a positive relationship. The average value of correlation coefficient equals to 0.8424, which implies that the two stock markets return volatility have a synchronized influence on each other. In addition, the empirical result also shows that there is an asymmetrical effect between Italy and the Germany＇s stock markets, and demonstrates that the good news and bad news of the stock returns＇ volatility will produce the different variation risks for Italy and the Germany＇s stock price markets.     

The impact of environmental regulations on international competitiveness of textile industry in China

A greater focus of environmental protection is directed toward environmental regulations in China. This paper focuses on environmental regulations and their impact on textile industry. The academic circle does not reach a consensus on the relationship between environmental regulations and international competitiveness. Some hold the view that environmental regulations lower international competitiveness while others think that environmental regulations improve both environment and economic performance. This paper aims to analyze the impact of the environmental regulations on the international competitiveness of textile industry in China. This study starts with theories relative to this subject; the second part, based on the impact mechanism of environmental regulations on competitiveness, analyzes the environmental impact on textile from the perspective of cost and market. The conceptual exploration comes to the conclusion that environmental regulations make a negative impact on the international competitiveness on the cost side and improve it by means of innovation and product differentiation on market side; the third part gives time series evidence to examine the impact. In this part the Pearson Correlation Analysis is conducted based on the data of China＇s textile industry of the period from 1991 to 2005. It turns out to prove that the negative environmental impact on cost side exceeds the positive environmental impact on market side, namely, environmental regulations deteriorate the international competitiveness in textile industry as a whole during the inspected period.     

The 2007-2009 Financial Crisis on Emerging Markets： Quantitative Identification of Crisis in Continent-based Regions

This paper focuses on a direct quantitative identification of crisis periods in selected emerging stock markets from four continent-based regions of Europe, Latin America, East Asia, and Middle East and North Africa （MENA）, in the context of an influence of the 2007 U.S. subprime financial crisis. The 17 emerging stock markets and, for comparison, the U.S. stock market are investigated. A statistical method of dividing market states into bullish and bearish markets, based on monthly logarithmic returns of major stock market indexes, is employed. The analyzed sample period begins in January 2003 and ends in December 2013. As there is no unanimity in the literature about the crisis periods in the continent-based regions, a formal statistical identification of crises is worthwhile to conduct. Furthermore, the effect of increasing cross-market correlations in the crisis compared to the pre-crisis period in the context of contagion is examining. To address this issue, both standard contemporaneous cross-correlations and volatility-adjusted cross-correlations are applied. The results are consistent with the literature and confn＇m that tests for contagion based on cross-market correlations are problematic due to the bias introduced by changing volatility in market returns. As contagion can be confused with globalization, the globalization tests in the group of international investigated markets are employed. The results generally do not confirm a global world market integration effect, i.e. there is no reason to reject the research hypothesis of no globalization during the 2007-2009 financial crisis.     

Mixed Market Competition in a Quality Differentiated Duopoly Model An Approach to Banking Sector

This paper attempts to develop a theoretical framework to investigate the competitive implications of quality choices of financial institutions whereby they charge prices to consumers based on their willingness to pay for the service qualities in the mixed market scenario under vertical product differentiation model. Initially, it analyzes benchmark equilibrium solutions of monopoly and duopoly to establish the degree of quality differentiation between two private banks in an uncover market configuration. Further, it estimates the quality differentiation between private and public banks, and examines the interaction between two market structures keeping public bank as both leader and follower, and then measures the social welfare from different prospectives. The explicit operation of two stages Nash equilibrium game forecasted that public banks＇ monopoly seems to be still better than a private banking, and it is socially optimal. The outcome demonstrates a significant importance of vertical quality differentiation for policy implication in banking industry and provides an insight on the reasons of particular co-existence of public and private banking services in the specified location. In this context, it is concluded that the presence of public banks in banking industries is a crucial condition for obtaining the higher range of social welfare.     

An Intermediary Organization Finds Potential Needs By Exploiting Serendipity

This paper intends to clarify the needs serendipity in creating new business. The authors will show that serendipity is capability method of finding potential needs and/or new markets. In economic society, potential needs and/or new markets are only partially exposed, such as an iceberg. Serendipity is a capability that can expose the potential hidden part through accidental opportunity. Something more concrete can be formed from the exposed parts. The authors describe cases that demonstrate the usefulness of serendipity. In one case, a high-tech start-up had intended to use medical electronic equipment and/or industrial electronic equipment as the first application of their core technology. In these markets, they were competing with established major companies, so this start-up had difficulty entering these markets. However, a specific distributor found potential needs that were met by the start-up＇s products, and has created a new market by combining their core technology with social needs. The authors define serendipity capability by analyzing this case example and argue that serendipity can contribute to finding opportunities and solving social issues.     

Corporate Social Responsibility——From the Perspective of Polish Enterprises

Corporate social responsibility （CSR） is becoming more and more frequently emphasized part of management in the structure of Polish enterprises. These results from the fact that growing awareness of consumers, destructive impact of industry on the natural environment, economic scandals, unethical behavior among entrepreneurs, bring about redefining the principles of a business activity on the market by entrepreneurs. As a result of the above, such values as honesty, trust, or responsibility take on greater importance. Additionally, more and more often, Polish entrepreneurs pay attention to the influence of the company on the environment, the way the stakeholders are treated, while striving to maximize profit. The present paper looks into the subject of social responsibility from the point of view of Polish enterprises. To verify this objective, there was the analysis of the due literature performed, and also carried out the survey among 174 entrepreneurs running their business activity in the area of Southern Poland. The research tool used in the research was the questionnaire （PAPI and CAWI）. In the conducted research, there were factors analyzed referring to knowledge of social responsibility among the people holding both managerial and lower-level positions, in particular opinion, is it important for enterprises to be driven by ethical standards？ How to implement CSR in their structures？ How to understood concept of CSR？ What are the reasons for the implementation of CSR in the strategy of the company？ The considerations （both the theoretical and practical ones） confirmed that the Polish enterprises feel the increased need to implement the activities in the field of social responsibility, which, in the present conditions, constitutes an important part of running a business activity.     

Rationality of escalating commitment in information systems project management： An inter-disciplinary perspective

Escalation of commitment has been linked to losses in information systems （IS） projects. Understanding the nature and the rationality of escalation allows the firm to promote optimal project management practices. This study takes an inter-disciplinary approach and draws on research from economics and management to create a model of irrational escalation and a model of rational escalation. The forces that contribute to irrational escalation include the responsibility of the same manager for both the project selection and project continuation decisions that create proneness to self-justification, the potential for negative framing of decision options due to large sunk costs, the proximity of project completion and the presence of organizational inertia. Identifying these irrational escalation factors helps design appropriate de-escalation techniques. The rational escalation model draws on the real option theory and the bandit process theory to identify conditions when project continuation is justified by the value of information and the value of flexibility that the firm receives from continuing the project.     

Application of Fuzzy-AHP method in the evaluation of logistics capability in e-commerce environment

In order to solve the complex problem of evaluation of logistics capability in e-commerce environment, an index system model of logistics capability is established based on the method of Fuzzy-AHP in this paper. The results show that the method of Fuzzy-AHP is a powerful and flexible multi-criteria decision-making tool for dealing with complex problems where both qualitative and quantitative aspects need to be considered, and the human preference model is uncertain and decision-makers are reluctant or unable to assign exact numerical values to the comparison judgments. The evaluation model of logistics capability based on method of Fuzzy-AHP can help to make an effective decision in the evaluation of logistics capability. By this way we can effectively deal with the uncertainty and vagueness in the evaluation process of logistics capability. Logistics companies can diagnose their own weaknesses in the area of logistics and enhance their competitiveness.     

A study of venue marketing mix for MICE industry in Thailand

The objectives of the research are to determine the important factors and the performance factors of the attributes in selecting venues （particularly convention hotels and convention centers） through investigating the meeting planners＇ set of needs and to identify factors and attributes relating to the venue marketing mix for MICE industry in Thailand. This paper has applied the hospitality and the tourism marketing mixes that are important to the MICE destination selection （particularly venues） for creating a new venue marketing mix. Therefore, the study is based on the importance levels of venue selection through each marketing mix factors including all attributes in the meeting planners＇ perspectives on behalf of their organizations, which will be able to reflect a set of their real needs that could bring about development of a venue marketing mix model that exclusively accommodates MICE organizers. The data was collected using self-administered questionnaires from 229 meeting planners. Statistically significant determinants of the meeting planners＇ overall importance levels indicated that in all of the 8 marketing mix factors （68 attributes）, the people factor was perceived to be the most important factor. The package factor was perceived to have a moderate level of importance. The other factors perceived to be important included Product, Price, Place, Promotion, Physical evidence and Process. It is also found from the factor analysis that the new venue marketing mix contained 8 marketing mix factors with 61 attributes for venue business in Thailand. It is recommended from the research findings that venue management be more concerned with and focus on the attributes of the people factor.     

The importance of product positioning and global branding for sustaining competitive advantage within the companies＇ global marketing strategy

In today＇s globally competitive world, because of the globalization, new business patterns and the changing nature of consumers, the companies feel the necessity to act strategic in the market and to reach up the target markets and sustain maximum customer satisfaction in order to compete and survive. In this context, within the study it is tried to define product positioning in international markets and global branding strategies conceptually and to focus on their contributions to the overall competitive advantage of the company. Initially, the study tries to present the association between product positioning and global branding approaches of the companies and sustaining competitive advantage. Justifications for the examination of the importance of companies＇ international product positioning and global branding orientations as a basis of creating competitive advantage were derived from the literature. It is suggested that the companies＇ product positioning and global branding orientations and sustaining competitive advantage are the important aspects in multinational management and international business areas. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of product positioning and global branding strategies of the companies with special references to various industries and global brands.     

Impact of Selected Insolvency Indicators on the Recoveries of Creditors＇ Claims Against Closed Banks in the Philippine Context

Banks play a pivotal role in an emerging economy. They mirror the country＇s political and economic status. The more savings deposited in banks would mean the availability of cash provided to users of funds. On the other hand, their closure affects the creditors. The goals of the study include the minimization of losses imposed on creditors and the expeditious recoveries of their claims against the closed banks＇ assets. The study proved on the four significant impacts of selected insolvency indicators on the recoveries of creditors＇ claims against the assets of closed banks under the Philippine context from 1961 to 2011. The study uses various methods such as Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient to establish the strength of association of the independent variable to the dependent variable and time series technique （moving average and trend forecasting） in order to observe the pattern of data over a known period of time. Using the regression analysis, the researchers were able to establish a regression model. The ANOVA test, f-test, and R2-test were used to prove the model＇s goodness-of-fit, the significance of the predictors, and verification of the assumption of regression hold. Empirical evidence reveals that capital to estimated realizable value of assets ratio （ERVA） and debt to assets ratio （with respect to ERVA） were significant predictors of recovery. Further, the presence of high leverage on banks indicates that their liabilities exceed the value of their realizable assets. Thus, these banks fail to meet their maturing obligations, hence, imposing losses on the uninsured depositors and other creditors.     

Islamic economics versus market economics： The concept of taxations

Taxation plays a major role in both market economics and Islamic economics. The difference is that in market economics, the tax system has evolved throughout the centuries in order to address the constant change in market-based societies. In Islamic economics, however, the tax system bases on the writings of the Qur＇an and the principles of shariah. As a result, it did not flourish as the needs of Islamic society changed. Therefore, governments in Islamic countries that seek to follow Islamic law are facing major economic challenges. Recently, some Islamic scholars have asserted that Islamic governments can go beyond the explicit instructions of the Qur＇an and impose taxes as needed. They justify their arguments based on the interpretation of Qur＇anic verses. This paper briefly compares both rationality and the methods of taxation in both market economics and Islamic economics, and further elaborates on the shortcomings of the original Islamic tax laws.     

The Hukou and Land Tenure Systems as Two Middle Income Traps--The Case of Modern China

China＇s prevailing hukou （household registration） system and land tenure system seem to be very different in their applications. In fact, they both function to deny the exit right of rural residents from a rural community. Under these systems, rural residents are not allowed to freely exit from collectives if they do not want to lose their entitlements, such as their rights to using collectively owned land and their land-based properties. Farmers are neither allowed to sell their houses to outsiders, nor allowed to sell to outsiders their rights to contracting a piece of land from the collective where their households are registered. For migrant workers from rural areas, it is extremely difficult for them to obtain an urban hukou with all its associated entitlements at an urban locality where they currently work and live. The combined effect of the two systems leads to serious distortions in labor and land markets, resulting in discrimination against migrant workers, sprawling yet exclusive urbanization, housing bubbles, and depressed domestic demand. These distortions further entrench the existing and much widened urban/rural divide. Unless these two systems are thoroughly reformed, the rural residents in Chinese mainland will be trapped in their comparatively much lower income and remain unable to share the gains from the agglomeration effects of urbanization.     

Human security and sexuality in the IPPF Africa Region

The influence of human security components on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights （SRHR） of individuals was explored in four sub-Saharan Africa countries of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Uganda from November 2008 to April 2009. The present results suggest that the major threat to human security is the competing economic demands that make it difficult for the population to prioritize reproductive health services in their household budgets. This study concludes that there are potential benefits of human security approaches for furthering the goals of SRHR initiatives, in line with the principles and guidelines expressed in the Maputo Plan of Action and the Millennium Development Goals （MDGs）. The results of this study suggest that IPPF Africa Region can start to prioritize economic security, community security and health security which have greatest impact on the reproductive health of the sub-Saharan African population. The key lesson learnt is that the effective use of family planning services mitigates the effects of other human insecurities, including economic, food, and health insecurities as its application in the families will reduce family size and demand on available resources.     

Outsourcing and Innovative Activity of the Companies From the Visegrad Group

Outsourcing is a change from horizontal cooperation （coopetition） to a vertical one. That is, the company, which up to now could be considered as a competitor, changes into a supplier. It is worth remembering that the company that is to become a supplier can either create a new one or be an already existing one. This article is based on empirical data coming from the companies from the Visegrad Group that is Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. The results presented here imply that outsourcing has a stimulating effect on innovative activity of a company both in terms of investment and implementation aspects. Also, innovative activity, in its investment and implementation aspects, positively influences the occurrence of outsourcing. This confirms the existence of feedback among these variables. It is worth noting however, that the probability of innovative activity among the companies using outsourcing is higher than the probability of outsourcing among the companies that are irmovatively active. It seems that the influence of outsourcing on innovative activity is stronger than the influence o f innovative activity on outsourcing.     

Defining the Entrepreneurial Capital Construct

The purpose of this paper is to show preliminary results from an international research project on intellectual capital and value creation led by Lappeenranta University of Technology （Finland）. In the case of this paper, results from Italy will be reported and specifically. The Italian analysis focuses on the entrepreneurial capital （EC） and it analyses how large Italian companies develop and enhance this intangible element. The main research question is： What is the current level of EC in Italian organizations and how does it affect value creation.＇？ To this end, the research addressed the different definitions of EC that literature offers. As a secondary step, this paper analysed the variables suggested by previous literature and proposed an original definition for the research project. The definition is that EC is a stock of competences and the personnels＇ attributes related to proactive, risky, and aggressive decision-making and behaviour. This research provides researchers and managers with unique insights into the evolutionary nature of the relationships between distinct 1C variables and draws a picture on the state of art of corporate EC in the selected sample. This research highlights and improves companies＇ abilities to manage their EC. Furthermore, this research will set the agenda for improving the EC practices of Italian companies and will allow future comparison with firms from other countries that are participating in the same project identifying different pathways to success.     

From compensation to development： the application and progress of RwD in China

Involuntary resettlenment caused by project construction is a difficult problem over world. In the past, therestoration of livelihoods in the event of involuntary resettlementhas been based purely on providing compensation to those who are displaced. Evidence has shown that compensation-based involuntary resettlement can not realize the objective of restoring and improving resettlers＇ living standard. With a view to improve this outcome, the concept of Resettlement with Development （RwD） was envisaged and is now generally heralded as the means to mitigate catastrophic failures of the past. However, few developing countries have included the concept of RwD into th, ational policies and China is one of them. The Chinese government has taken resettlement as an opportunity to help resettlers restore and improve their living standards and develop economy in reservoir areas by implementing RwD olicy including giving compensation and subsidies at early stage and offering production assistance at late stage, citing up reservoir construction fund, initiating partnership programs and preferential policy as well as enhanc infrastruture construction. The preliminary experience from the TGP resettlement has verified that the transformation from compensation-based resettlement to RwD is a right policy, choice. Meanwhile. because ofthe changing political environment and the complexity of involuntary resettlement there is still room for china to improve its RwD policy.     

Related factors and regional differences in energy consumption in China

This article used the Cluster analysis of statistical method to separate China＇s 30 provinces and municipalities into three categories according to their energy consumption discrepancies and characteristics from 1985 to 2007. The categories were high, moderate and low energy consumption areas and they had significant differences in energy consumption. Based on this classification, the authors analyzed the influencing factors of energy consumption in the three areas by means of panel data econometric model. The results showed that the influencing factors were obviously different. In order to support national goal of energy conservation and emission reduction, the energy measures and policies should be distinctly taken.     

Financial Integration Among the ASEAN 5 ＋ 3 Stock Markets： A Preliminary Look at the First 10 Years of the New Millenium

The purpose of this study is to investigate the financial integration of the stock markets of the ASEAN 5 ＋ 3 countries. These countries include Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, China, Japan, and South Korea. The research determined the stock return volatility for each country＇s index during the first decade of the new millennium. The findings showed that there is the presence of integration and co-integration with Philippine index＇s return with the index＇s returns of the following countries： Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. Furthermore, there is evidence of volatility clustering in these stock markets. The study concluded with the policy implications of greater integration in light of the planned cross trading among four ASEAN bourses, namely, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia by 2012.