Does servicification of manufacturing increase the GVC activities of firms? Case of India

Does greater use of services’ inputs in manufacturing increase the global value chain (GVC) activities of the firms? In this study, we analyse the effects of servicification on the GVC activities of manufacturing firms in India. Using panel data of 4608 Indian manufacturing firms from 2001 to 2018, we examine the effects of servicification of manufacturing firms on their decision to participate in GVCs. The study examines the overall service inputs in manufacturing activities and its impact on GVC activities of firms. The results indicate that servicification of manufacturing tends to have a positive impact on GVC activities of firms. We also observe positive impact on Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to participate in the GVC through the servicification of manufacturing. Further, the results also indicate the differential impact of servicification between high- and low-technology industries.     

Bringing the China Association of Insurance Industry Into Play, Perfecting the Control System of China''''s Insurance Industry

1. The history of China Association ofInsuranceThrough repeated negotiations be-tween the leading executives of theformer Chinese life Insurance Co.,China Pacific Life Insurance Co., Ltd.Ping An Insurance Company of China.,and under the auspices of the People'sBank of China, the preparation group ofChina Association of Insurance Indus-try was officially founded on Januny, 192000. It was approved by the Ministryof Civil Affairs on March, 12, 2001. Andits registration with the govern…     

What are the functions of corporate home pages?

Researchers have identified a number of functions performed by corporate home pages on the World Wide Web. Although commerce and marketing functions are growing, they may be of minor importance in the evolving Internet strategies of corporations. The research presented here examined the functions of corporate home pages in the United States, Germany, and Japan, guided by theories in management studies and communications technology research. Results suggest that image creation rather than marketing, cost control, stakeholder relations, or disclosure is the major function of corporate home pages in each of the countries studied. This raises the question of why image creation is so important.     

Is the influence of the industrial district on international activities being eroded by globalization?: Evidence from a traditional manufacturing industry

This study provides insight into the impact of industrial districts on the international activities of firms, in the particular context of one traditional manufacturing industry: the Spanish home-textile industry. Using a sample of 128 manufacturing firms, the paper shows how location influences the timing and levels of exports and imports. Moreover, our results demonstrate how these influences have been diluted in recent years as the home-textile industry becomes more involved in the global arena. Our findings challenge some key arguments exploring the advantages of the district in the international activities of firms; in particular, first, in questioning the capacity of the district to prevent international sourcing, and second, its vulnerability to the threats created by the growing integration of the world economy.     

What do we know about fashion adoption groups? A proposal and test of a model of fashion adoption

The purpose of this paper is threefold: (1) to identify gaps in the literature and inconsistencies between empirical data and Rogers' diffusion of innovations model originally outlined in 1962; (2) to propose a model of fashion adoption; and (3) to conduct an empirical test of the proposed model. The proposed model varies from Rogers' model as follows: four (vs. five) ideal‐type adopter groups with unique names and clear operational definitions; proportional distribution of consumers among groups; clear method of statistically identifying group members; categorization based on fashion innovativeness and opinion leadership; and standard procedure for identifying groups based on mean and standard deviation. The proposed model offers greater precision and provides results that are comparable across studies. The model was analyzed empirically using four methods of categorizing participants into fashion adoption groups (independent variable) and fashion involvement as the dependent variable. Participants in the study were 309 students from two universities. The analysis using the proposed model provided clear‐cut results that supported the hypothesis that higher levels of consumers' fashion involvement increased the probability of earlier adoption. Results from the other three analyses were not as clear‐cut. Based on the model for fashion adoption presented in this paper, the foundation is primed for development of a theory of fashion adoption. The proposed model offers a solution to the problem of identifying fashion adoption groups, plus, the solution achieves the desired effect with the simplest effort and is undertaken with appropriate methods.     

Does and How Does Globalisation Matter at the Industry Level?

In this paper we develop a concept of globalisation at the micro level defined as the exposure of a productivity follower industry in one country to the productivity leader in another country. Globalisation is measured by the intensity of contacts through trade and foreign direct investment. In a simple model and empirically we show that the exposure of a productivity follower to competition with the leader is highly correlated with the productivity gap of this industry. Competition restricted to one region such as Europe, or North America, or the Far East, is not sufficient to achieve highest productivity levels. Moreover, it turns out that foreign direct investment (FDI) has a weight in the globalisation index at least equal to trade. FDI can contribute directly to higher levels of domestic productivity by transferring the best production practices, and put pressure on other domestic producers to improve. The impact of trade on globalisation can be weakened by tariffs and non‐tariffs.     

Off the cliff and back? Credit conditions and international trade during the global financial crisis

We study the collapse of international trade flows during the global financial crisis using detailed data on monthly US imports. We show that credit conditions were an important channel through which the crisis affected trade volumes, by exploiting the variation in the cost of capital across countries and over time, as well as the variation in financial vulnerability across sectors. Countries with higher interbank rates and thus tighter credit markets exported less to the US during the peak of the crisis. This effect was especially pronounced in sectors that require extensive external financing, have limited access to trade credit, or have few collateralizable assets. Exports of financially vulnerable industries were thus more sensitive to the cost of external capital than exports of less vulnerable industries, and this sensitivity rose during the financial crisis. The quantitative implications of our estimates for trade volumes highlight the large real effects of financial crises and the potential gains from policy intervention.     

Did Liberalization Impact Productivity of the Indian Electronics Hardware Industry?

In this paper, we analyse the trends in productivity, both partial and total, in the four sectors of the Indian electronics hardware industry after liberalization. Using an innovative combination of two established but independent methodologies, we estimate the contributions of technical efficiency change and technological progress to total factor productivity growth (TFPG) and thereby to output growth. Contrary to expectations, we found that none of the four sectors in the industry achieved impressive growth in capital productivity and TFPG despite the new economic reforms. The firms emphasised technological progress at the cost of technical efficiency change but failed to sustain TFPG as the liberalization of policies intensified further. Surprisingly the firms’ effort to employ skilled labour, larger scales of production and their strategy to improve production technology through R&D and/or imports did not benefit productivity substantially. In a comparative study with China, we found that the Indian electronics hardware industry did not perform as well as that of China due to the persistent rigid and bureaucratic procedures, labour market inefficiencies and inadequate infrastructure, among others.     

CSR Business as Usual? The Case of the Tobacco Industry

Tobacco companies have started to position themselves as good corporate citizens. The effort towards CSR engagement in the tobacco industry is not only heavily criticized by anti-tobacco NGOs. Some opponents such as the the World Health Organization have even categorically questioned the possibility of social responsibility in the tobacco industry. The paper will demonstrate that the deep distrust towards tobacco companies is linked to the lethal character of their products and the dubious behavior of their representatives in recent decades. As a result, tobacco companies are not in the CSR business in the strict sense. Key aspects of mainstream CSR theory and practice such as corporate philanthropy, stakeholder collaboration, CSR reporting and self-regulation, are demonstrated to be ineffective or even counterproductive in the tobacco industry. Building upon the terminology used in the leadership literature, the paper proposes to differentiate between transactional and transformational CSR arguing that tobacco companies can only operate on a transactional level. As a consequence, corporate responsibility in the tobacco industry is based upon a much thinner approach to CSR and has to be conceptualized with a focus on transactional integrity across the tobacco supply chain. Guido Palazzo is Assistant Professor for Business Ethics at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland). He graduated in Business Administration at the University of Bamberg (Germany) and earned his PhD in Political Philosophy (1999) from the University of Marburg (Germany). His research interests are in Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Branding, Democratic Theory, and Organizational Ethics. Ulf Richter is a doctoral student at the University of Lausanne. He is writing his thesis on Corporate Social Responsibility, conceptualizing the concept from a multidisciplinary perspective. He has studied in Germany, Peru and the US, and graduated from the European Business School, Oestrich-Winkel, majoring in International Management and Real Estate.     

Does foreign investment benefit the exporting activities of Vietnamese firms?

Using firm-level data, this paper examines the effects of foreign investment on the exporting behaviour of domestic firms in the Vietnamese manufacturing and service sectors. Applying the Heckman selection model on panel data and following the Wooldridge approach, we find that investment by foreign firms has a significant positive effect on the decision of domestic firms in the same and upstream sectors to export. The proportion of exports of domestic firms declines through horizontal and forward linkages, but increases through backward linkages in the manufacturing sector. However, there is only weak evidence in support of export spillovers on domestic firms in the service sector. We also find that the presence of foreign firms has differing effects on the exporting activities of low- versus high-tech firms in the manufacturing sector.     

Financial sector development and access to finance. Does size say it all?

This paper analyzes what features of financial systems can strengthen the linkages between banks and economic development. We investigate whether a set of banking and capital market characteristics can improve the ability of banks to provide increased credit flows to the private sector, while simultaneously improving financial inclusion for the poor. We analyze the determinants of both macro-level lending conditions and micro-level access to finance using a set of Panel Vector Error Correction Models and GMM estimations in a panel of 138 countries for the 2002–2009 time periods. Results converge to suggest that rather than focusing solely on banking sector size, financial policy should seek to foster inter banks competition, develop appropriate macro-prudential safeguards, promote capital market development. In addition, improved access to finance requires adequate civil rights and support to entrepreneurship.     

Why did the equity home bias fall during the financial panic of 2008?

Investors tend to put most of their wealth in local stocks; theories of portfolio choice and uncertainty aversion jointly predict that this home bias should increase during a financial crisis. Yet, using a sample of 45 countries, I document that the equity home bias fell during the financial panic of 2008. Exploiting bilateral stock holdings, I find that investors actively increased their home bias, but large valuation changes subsumed these trades. Across countries, the change in home bias is consistent with partial portfolio rebalancing and increased information asymmetries during the crisis.     

Why does the diffusion of environmental management standards differ across countries? The role of formal and informal institutions in the adoption of ISO 14001

This research explores the factors underpinning the international diffusion of environmental management standards (EMSs), focusing on how macro-level institutions explain differences in the extent to which ISO 14001 has penetrated into each country. We argue that macro-level institutions affect the diffusion of ISO 14001 by shaping both how managers assess it and the pressures that stakeholders exert on firms to adopt it. Our results, based on a sample of 49 countries between 2000 and 2014, show that informal and formal institutions, namely, uncertainty avoidance and market-supporting institutions, contribute to explaining cross-country variations in the number of firms implementing ISO 14001.     

Expanding near the home base or venture far? The influence of home country state on the economic distance of foreign direct investments

The extent of the economic distance between a firm's home origin and its foreign direct investment (FDI) is an important strategic decision for the investing firm. This study fills an important knowledge gap by investigating the home institutional antecedents of FDI economic distance. Drawing insights from comparative institutionalism, we argue that home-country states vary in both their power to coordinate the economy and the external and internal channels through which they exercise that power. These variations have implications on a firm's motivation and capability to escape external dependencies on the home-country state by investing in economically distant foreign locations. Empirically, using a dataset of 891 new international entrants from 2004 to 2011, we found support for our hypotheses that home-country state power is positively associated with FDI economic distance, and that the influence of the home-country state is contingent on the state's governance quality and its ownership in firms.     

Longing for the past and embracing the new: Does nostalgia increase new product adoption?

Existing research has mostly focused on the salutary impact of nostalgia on nostalgia-related products (e.g., childhood products, classic brands). The current research examines whether this effect can extend to nostalgia-unrelated products: new products. We demonstrate that nostalgia fosters social support, which in turn encourages consumers to adopt new products, and this effect is weakened when individuals have independent self-construal. Three studies provide support for these predictions. Study 1 revealed that nostalgia increases new product adoption. Study 2 demonstrated that this positive effect of nostalgia on new product adoption is mediated by social support. Study 3 showed that this salutary effect occurs only when consumers’ interdependent self is activated. The marketing implications of these findings are discussed.

     

Maanshan Iron and Steel Design Institute under the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry

Founded in July 1962.Maanshan Iron and Steel DesignInstitute is an important design institute directly under theMinistry of Metallurgical Industry,and a state Class A designinstitute registered in World Bank and Asia DevelopmentBank,also a member unit of China International ConsultantsCompany and China Metallurgical Construction GroupCompany.It boasts a staff of 1.500,including 1,200 engineeringand technical people(400 senior engineers included).It has 22research offices,such as iron-smelting,steel making,steel-rolling,mining,dressing and sintering,34 engineering designfaculties,has well-equipped electronic computer stations,experimenting labs and printing factories,and has divisions inShanghai and Zhuhai. The institute is engaged in the engineering design,technical consultancy,supervision and general contract for