Concerning trust and information

Communication and the associated information exchanges are key drivers of the development of relationships and of the trust embedded within them. This paper considers the development of business relationships in terms of the continuing co-evolution of trust and information exchange and the issues associated with researching these processes. The interconnections of trust and information exchange are examined in a survey of business relationships involving information exchange (n = 355). Analysis of variance shows few, if any, of the aspects of the standard conceptualizations of information exchange are associated with increased levels of trust. It is information exchange norms that have the greatest (positive) association with the level of trust. These norms emerge as part of the long term co-production of the relationship itself. This has important managerial implications. We conclude there are few managerial actions involving managing communication that can “manufacture” trust and improve or develop relationships in the short term. The paper concludes with a discussion of alternative ways of envisaging communication and relationship management and the nature and future of research into the evolution of business relationships.     

What's next in key account management research? Building the bridge between the academic literature and the practitioners' priorities

This research contrasts the academic literature on key account management (KAM) with the topics in this subject that are most critical to practitioners. Sixty four academic articles published in 17 journals, and ninety practitioners' articles appearing in the Velocity Magazine — published by the Strategic Account Management Association — were content analyzed and classified under ten ‘topic’ categories. Similarities and differences in the results for academics and practitioners are discussed. In addition, two specific topics were identified as being extremely important to managers but still under-researched by academics: the role of senior management in KAM, and the importance of internal alignment in determining KAM success.     

Effect of supervisor–subordinate guanxi on supervisory decisions in China: an empirical investigation

As China is becoming an important market and there are a lot of foreign ventures operating there, different lines of research have been providing useful information for foreign ventures to manage effectively in China. In this paper, we discuss one of the critical factors leading to successful management of Chinese subordinates, i.e. building and maintaining good guanxi (i.e., interpersonal connection) with them. We conducted an empirical investigation to illustrate (1) the supervisor-subordinate guanxi concept is different and unique when compared to other similar concepts in the Western literature such as leader-member exchange (LMX) and commitment to supervisor; (2) the supervisor-subordinate guanxi will affect the Chinese supervisor's administrative decisions; (3) guanxi can be measured by concrete behaviour/activities. Data on 189 supervisor-subordinate dyads were collected in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Results indicated that supervisor-subordinate guanxi is a distinct concept from LMX and commitment to supervisor. It also has additional explanatory power over supervisory decisions on promotion and bonus allocation after controlling for performance. Implications for foreign ventures and expatriates are discussed.     

乡镇中小企业融资问题及对策研究

近年来,乡镇中小企业融资问题一直被理论界与实务界的广泛关注和讨论,对此本文分析了乡镇中小企业融资问题产生的原因,并在此基础上提出了我国金融市场改革应该分三阶段进行并最终达到利率市场化程度的政策建议.     

农产品批发市场购销商客户关系形成机制研究

本文使用实地调查数据,运用Logit模型对农产品批发市场购销商客户关系的形成机制进行了探索性的研究.研究发现,供销两个方面的客户关系相互之间具有显著的正向影响;批发市场提供信息和加入商业协会对购销商建立客户关系没有显著的影响;认为市场内竞争程度越激烈、长期雇工越多的购销商更可能拥有固定供货关系;投入设备价值越大、运营资金越多、社会交往广泛、购销业内亲朋好友越多的购销商更容易建立固定销货关系.     

2006年日本经济问题研究综述

对日本经济研究的文献近年来呈不断萎缩趋势。本研究通过综述发表于2006年的659篇关于日本经济的核心期刊论文,回答了"谁在研究日本经济、研究的主要内容、怎样研究"等3个主要问题。可以发现,国内学者的研究兴趣不但取决于日本经济状况,还受中国国内的热点经济问题影响。     

An assessment of market-based approaches to providing ecosystem services on agricultural lands

Market-based approaches are increasingly being advocated as tools for achieving the conservation of ecosystem services. We examine the reasons why markets so far appear to have failed to provide an efficient allocation of many ecosystem services, and identify the conditions under which markets deliver efficient resource allocation. We discuss different forms of market-based approaches to ecosystem services and identify the characteristics of services that make them better suited to one or another of these approaches. We find that lack of low-cost measurability and valuation currently precludes efficient allocation of many ecosystem services through market-based approaches. Still, some forms of market-based approaches hold promise for cost-effectively managing some ecosystem services provided by and to agricultural lands. In many cases some form of well-designed government involvement will be required to seek outcomes that protect the public interest.     

Human Resource Ecosystem and its evolutionary rules

The paper, based on the concept and the elements of human resource ecosystem （HR Ecosystem）, studies the function and structure of HR Ecosystem, introduces the entropy theory to define the content of entropy of HR Ecosystem, constructs the corresponding distinctive model to distinguish the direction of the evolution of HR Ecosystem and the evolutionary entropy model, and applies the models to demonstrate the evolutionary rules of HR Ecosystem. The study shows that the entropy theory can be well applied to the analysis on HR Ecosystem and that it opens up a new field in the research of human resource management and provides a new effective technical method.     

宜宾市复合生态系统的能值评价及其可持续发展探析

随着经济总量的增加,作为能源型城市的宜宾在经济增长方式、经济生产结构和城市消费结构上急需进行科学而快速的调整,进而步入人口、资源、环境协调发展的可持续之路。因此本文通过能值分析方法,对宜宾市生态、经济、社会3个子系统的发展状况进行定量化的分析评价,为其科学经济规划提供基础数据平台。     

Understanding relationship quality and online purchase intention in e-tourism: A qualitative application

This study explores the formation of relationship quality and online purchase intention in the service context of tourism, and a model is also introduced. This study tries to conceptualize a model based on a mediating mechanism of relationship quality that may be applied to understand online purchase intention in tourism. Learning the critical role of relationship quality in e-tourism can guide tour service providers to design different strategies for different online customers, and consequently achieve high customer online purchase to tourist service and product. In the proposed model of this study, the perceived incentive, perceived service quality, perceived ease of purchasing and perceived usefulness influence customer online purchase intention indirectly via the mediation of relationship quality. Additionally, five propositions are derived accordingly based on the proposed model and literature review. Finally, discussion, limitation and future research are also provided.