Technology transfer in East Asia and its implications for regional cooperation∗

The importance of technology in economic development is indisputable. A large part of the developmental process in East Asian countries has been greatly accelerated by the transfer of technology from developed countries. This paper, based on detailed data obtained from selected samples of about 100 companies in Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, examines several key determinants of the process of acquisition, assimilation and internalization of imported technology in business enterprises. Drawing on the findings, this paper also suggests several implications for regional cooperation in enhancing the process of technology transfer in East Asia.     

Aggregated or disaggregated information first?

Proliferation of reporting tools—such as “Online Analytical Processing” (OLAP)—and current practices of viewing information in a sequence from aggregated-to-disaggregated information are encouraged in the attention economy characterized by scarcity of human attention. The aggregated-to-disaggregated sequence in viewing information preserves scarce attentional resources by directing human attention. In a quasi-experimental setting, two sequences in viewing product profitability information—aggregated-to-disaggregated versus disaggregated-to-aggregated sequence—are contrasted. Results of 92 participating advanced accounting students reveal that consistent with conventional wisdom, the aggregated-to-disaggregated sequence directs human attention. On the other hand, the disaggregated-to-aggregated sequence facilitates knowledge application and discovery of previously undiscerned information that alters conventional understanding. Such findings shed light on the implications of directing human attention to preserve scarce attentional resources.     

Information and bargaining in the hold‐up problem

This article incorporates an information structure with partial information into the canonical hold‐up problem. The optimal information structure balances the tradeoff between ex ante efficiency (the “information rent” effect) and ex post efficiency (the “bargaining disagreement” effect). With one‐shot bargaining, it occurs at an intermediate level of information asymmetry; when there is repeated bargaining, it is attained with perfect asymmetry. Asymmetric information, the parameter that is frequently ignored in the literature, turns out to be an important welfare instrument for the hold‐up problem. Our results therefore provide a basis for institutional design regarding the optimal control of information flow.     

Feeling lonely at work: investigating the consequences of unsatisfactory workplace relationships

Although prior literature reveals that loneliness is a pervasive problem among adults, little research has evaluated the impact of loneliness in the workplace. Given that workplace relationships underlie many important organizational phenomena, it is important to understand whether and how workplace loneliness affects employee behavior. Based on the social exchange model, we hypothesize that in comparison with their non-lonely counterparts, lonely employees will experience lower quality leader‐member and organization‐member exchanges at work such that they will tend to be worse at in-role and extra-role workplace functions. Drawing on the results of our survey of schoolteachers, we present findings to support our hypotheses.     

Effective teamwork at the top: the evidence from China

Effective teamwork is an important topic of human resource management, and how top-level managers work effectively as a team is critical to business success. Prior research indicates that the diverse background of top managers influences the effectiveness of their teamwork, and the effects of top management team (TMT) diversity on organizational innovation varies. In this study, we propose that functional team dynamics plays a crucial role in facilitating TMT effectiveness. On the basis of a sample of Chinese firms, our findings support the distinction between demographic and network diversities and the moderating effect of functional team dynamics on TMT diversity–firm innovation relationships.     

A stochastic programming model to analyze ordinal preference data

Many marketing situations require analysis of ordinal preference data. Existing analysis methods include OLS, variations of the logit model and methods such as LINMAP. An alternative method is proposed that has the following features: 1) Tie rankings are allowed; 2) all rank order information is incorporated into the estimation — not just first preferences; 3) the procedure is formulated as a L.P. model, which is easily implemented with existing software; 4) statistical inference is supported by the underlying stochastic model; and 5) it supports estimation of individual and group preferences.     

Estimating Risk Attitudes in Denmark: A Field Experiment*

We estimate individual risk attitudes using controlled experiments in the field in Denmark. The experiments were carried out across Denmark using a representative sample of 253 people between 19 and 75 years of age. Risk attitudes are estimated for various individuals differentiated by socio‐demographic characteristics. Our results indicate that the average Dane is risk averse, and that risk neutrality is an inappropriate assumption to apply. We also find that risk attitudes vary significantly with respect to several important socio‐demographic variables such as age and education. However, we do not find any effect of sex on risk attitudes.     

What if Trading Location Is Different from Business Location? Evidence from the Jardine Group

We examine the price behavior and market activity of the Jardine Group companies after they were delisted from Hong Kong in 1994. Although the trading activity of the Jardine Group moved to Singapore, the core businesses remained in Hong Kong and Mainland China. Evidence indicates the Jardine stocks are correlated less (more) with the Hong Kong (Singapore) market after the delisting. This result cannot be explained by various hypotheses, such as relocation of core business, time‐varying betas, migration of trading activity, and currency and tax distortions. We conclude that price fluctuations are affected by country‐specific investor sentiment.     

Eastern Germany's quality as a business location

Private investment has a key role to play in the “economic take-off” in Eastern Germany. Can the region attract sufficient investment? What factors stand in the way of a rapid improvement in the quality of the new Länder as a location?     

Market orientation,HRM importance and competency: determinants of strategic HRM in Chinese firms

This study examined three factors leading to a firm's adoption of strategic human resource management (SHRM): market orientation, HRM importance and HRM competency. Using a sample of firms from China, empirical results showed that the three factors are significantly related to a firm's adoption of SHRM. Given the transitional nature of the Chinese economy, the moderating effects of ownership types and firm size were also investigated. However, the moderating effects were not as strong as predicted. Managerial implications and directions for future research of SHRM in an emerging economy context are discussed.