Determinants of customer brand loyalty in the retail industry: A comparison between national and private brands in South Korea

Finding motivations for customer brand loyalty is one of the most popular academic and practical research fields; in this regard, some scholars have explored motivations in the retail industry. As the concept of private brands has been one of the most widely employed strategies for business success in the industry, comparing private and national brands in terms of customer loyalty is an important topic in the retail industry. Thus, the current research focuses on exploring antecedents of customer loyalty in private and national brands, as well as investigating whether there are notable structural differences between the brands. The results, based on 1,631 responses, indicate that customer perceived service/product quality, satisfaction, trust, and cost are notable determinants of brand loyalty, while the relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality of private brands is not supported. Moreover, both indirect and direct effects of the employed factors on customer brand loyalty are reported.     

Nurturing International Business research through Global Value Chains literature: A review and discussion of future research opportunities

This article offers a comprehensive and systematic review of the literature on Global Value Chains (GVCs). The GVC framework has received growing attention in the last decade, providing theoretical concepts and analytical tools to understand and assess patterns of value creation in view of the new international division of labour. In this area, a broad overlap of research interest exists with the international business (IB) literature. Yet, few interactions between the two fields of study have been recorded so far. Performing a quantitative content analysis on all academic publications on GVCs in the period 1994−2018, this paper describes the evolution of GVC studies, emphasizing points of contact and potential synergies with the IB literature. It also identifies research opportunities along the four key dimensions of the GVC framework: geographical and industrial scope, governance, upgrading, and institutional context.     

Global talent management: A life cycle view of the interaction between human and social capital

We present a theoretical model that describes the interaction between social and human capital and the different forms that such an interaction may take – positive and negative. Extending the concepts of stocks and flows of knowledge, this model evaluates social capital flows against human capital stocks. When we compare these flows to the value of human capital, we are able to better understand how these resources can interact with each other, influence global talent development, and change over time. We discuss the implications for practices in global talent management in selecting, developing, and harnessing talent.     

National culture, networks and ethnic entrepreneurship: A comparison of the Indian and Chinese immigrants in the US

This paper uses a combination of national cultural frameworks and social capital theory to explain the formation and management of entrepreneurial ventures among immigrant communities. The varying rates of venture formation and performance among different ethnic groups points to the role that the different dimensions of culture play in how immigrants use their social networks to start such firms. We use the specific example of the Indian and Chinese communities in the US to demonstrate this effect and explain how businesses created by members of these communities could have potentially different ways of starting and operating that can be directly traced to the differences in cultural orientation of their owners. What emerges can be summarized as: (a) different immigrant communities have different ways of accumulating and using social capital in starting and managing their ethnic ventures; (b) these dissimilarities manifest themselves in variations in the motives for forming these ventures, human resource practices and termination rates; and (c) that these variations can partly be explained by the differences in their respective national cultures.     

Legal rights,national culture and social networks: Exploring the uneven adoption of United Nations Global Compact

We develop and test a novel framework for explaining cross-country differences in corporate participation in a prominent initiative often associated with social responsibility, United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). Drawing upon neo-institutional and cross-country comparative literatures, we explore the impact of (a) stakeholder legal rights; (b) national culture, and (c) the country's social network position, as reflected by international trade patterns. Results suggest that firms from countries with strong labor rights, collectivist cultures, and long traditions of stock trading join UNGC at higher rates. Our framework can be modified for future cross-country research on the adoption of practices.     

The North–South politics of necessity: regulating for basic rights between national and international levels

The paper explores three key initiatives at the international level in relation to access to water that demonstrate a convergence between consumerism, markets and a right of access to basic goods and essential services. It argues that these initiatives are an instance of a regulatory politics that is increasingly the common coin of debates about providing basic necessities in the context of a strong policy preference for market-based systems of provision. The paper begins with an overview of some key contemporary policy issues relating to access to water, followed by a conceptual analysis of how these issues link regulation, markets and rights. The second half of the paper draws an empirical map of current developments in the area, focusing in particular on the political implications—both explicit and implicit—of the global politics of necessity for relationships between developed and developing countries.     

基于全球价值链的产业升级与金融支持问题研究——以我国第二产业为例

以我国第二产业为例,运用各地2000年到2009年的面板数据探讨并实证检验了在全球价值链分工条件下的产业升级和金融支持之间的关系。研究结果表明,资本市场的发展对我国第二产业的升级具有显著的促进作用,而信贷市场的发展和我国第二产业的升级之间仅存在较为微弱的负相关关系。此外,政府引导在我国第二产业的升级进程中发挥了较为重要的作用。     

美国对华太阳能“双反”案的法律考察与启示

美国对华光伏太阳能双反案反映了美国政府(商务部)的裁决准则和贸易政策的新近变化。该案中涉及的调查范围、替代国选择、单独税率、双重救济等法律问题颇具代表性,并且对今后的双反案件具有很强的指示效应。目前,对中国企业实施双反调查是主要贸易伙伴的常用救济方式,通过本案的考察,再次证明企业积极应诉和内部治理在贸易救济中的作用。本案中的启示也为相关企业今后应对贸易救济提供了参考。     

A comparison between North and South business ethics: the concepts of Renzhi and Fazhi in China

The purpose of this study is to compare the ethical standards of business practitioners of Northern provinces of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) who follow the ‘rule by man’ (i.e. the Renzhi system) versus those of southern provinces who follow the ‘rule by law’ (i.e. the Fazhi system). Our Shanghai survey represented the south Chinese sample, and our Shijiazhuang mailing represented our north Chinese sample. We received 95 completed responses for the former and 102 completed responses for the latter. Our results found that the south Chinese practitioners were more likely to be idealistic, possessed virtue epistemic traits and were more sensitive to ethical practices than north Chinese practitioners were.     

中、马、泰三国电子产品在美国市场的出口竞争力

20世纪90年代以来,东亚地区的电子产业迅速发展,电子产品已成为中国、马来西亚和泰国的主要出口产品。随着中国工业化进程的不断推进,特别是中国的入世,东盟国家,尤其是马来西亚和泰国担心面临中国电子产品的竞争。为此,本文采用变动市场份额分析法、出口产品结构相似度指标和显性比较优势指标对中、马、泰三国电子产品的出口竞争力进行比较分析,并在研究成果的基础上提出相关的建议。     

中外应对全球金融危机的政策比较

全球金融危机对世界各国经济造成了严重的负面影响,主要国家纷纷出台针对性的政策措施以应对。文章对比分析了美、日、英等发达国家和中国的政策措施,归纳出中国政策措施的特点,并提出了中国进一步应对全球金融危机的政策建议。     

中美两国影视产业国际竞争力的比较研究——基于全球价值链视角

本文基于2002-2010年的UNCTAD数据,选取贸易竞争力指数、国际市场占有率指数、显示性比较优势指数、纯出口比较优势指数四个指标,测度中美两国影视产业的国际竞争力状况。结果表明:中国影视产业国际竞争力与美国存在巨大差距,但其差距呈现递减趋势。从全球价值链视角而言,中国影视产业尚处于全球影视产业价值链低端,核心价值链环节自我构建尚未完成;影视产业高端价值链运营能力不足,影视衍生品开发不够。因此,积极嵌入全球价值链,促进影视产业价值链的整合与升级才是提升中国影视产业国际竞争力的根本之道。     

美日物流法律制度比较及对我国的启示

美国和日本拥有世界上最发达的物流业,他们的物流法律制度各有特点。通过两国物流法律制度的比较可以为刚刚起步的我国物流法律制度提供经验和发展方向。本文总结美日两国物流法律制度的特点并从中得到一些启示。     

Global value chain and its impact on the linkage between exchange rate and export: Cases of China,Japan and Korea

The link between exchange rate and trade has been studied for a long time, but there is no consensus about their relation. This paper tests the old argument, whether depreciation of real effective exchange rates (REERs) raises exports. We differentiate the test with earlier studies by employing a new measurement of REER and incorporating the effect of GVCs. We measured REER at industry level with value‐added trade weights. We analysed the topic with LSDV and system GMM for China, Japan and Korea since these counties are known to participate actively in GVCs. Our main finding is that exchange rate has significant impact on trade for three countries. However, the movement of elasticity of export to REER varies by country. While the elasticity in China decreased over time, Korea and Japan experienced increasing patterns between mid‐1990s and mid‐2000s and decreasing trends afterwards. This study also tests whether the level of incorporation in GVCs causes a change in elasticity. The results show that growing participation in GVCs lowers the elasticity of export to REER in absolute value. However, this result is only statistically significant in Korea.     

A paradox of price–quality and market efficiency: a comparative study of the US and China markets

The price–quality schema rests on an assumption that price is credible information about product quality. However, the credibility of price information varies across different markets. In an inefficient market, consumers would believe in the price–quality relationship to a lesser extent because price information is less credible. Paradoxically, in such a market, sometimes consumers have to rely more on price to infer quality because other product information is less available. With a cross-national perspective, this study investigated the influences of market efficiency and consumer risk aversion on the price–quality schema between the China and the US markets. We found that due to the inefficient market environment, Chinese consumers possess a weaker price–quality schema than American consumers. Chinese consumers are more risk averse than their American counterparts. However, in China, risk-averse consumers are more likely to use price to infer product quality. Implications for global marketing are discussed, and directions for future research are suggested.     

The notion of informal learning within policies for the validation of nonformal and informal learning: A comparison between Austria and Italy

In 2012, European Union Member States committed to implement policies for the Validation of Nonformal and Informal Learning (VNFIL). In this article, we examine Austria and Italy and ask how VNFIL policies in these two countries relate to informal learning (IL) and how this can be interpreted from a workplace learning (WPL) perspective. The notion of IL in VNFIL is largely based on a psychological understanding of learning. We argue that a WPL perspective complements this understanding and serves to better understand learning at work. Based on assumptions concerning the influence of national education and training systems on VNFIL, a comparison is made along three categories: the preferred type of VNFIL, the notion of IL, and the references to workplaces. Despite preferences for summative types of VNFIL, Austria acknowledges a range of types, while Italy is still in the process of development and prefers the so-called autonomous type. Findings suggest a minimalistic understanding of IL in Austria contrasting with Italy, in which IL is seen as firmly embedded within Lifelong Learning. The references to workplaces are weak in both countries. We finally address the role of employers as a delicate issue for VNFIL, when embedded in educational policies.     

Consumer engagement with brands on social network sites: A cross-cultural comparison of China and the USA

To advance theoretical understanding of consumer engagement on social media, this cross-cultural study evaluates how culture influences consumers’ engagement levels and activities on brand pages of social network sites. It further evaluates the underlying motivations and engagement mechanisms in two culturally distinct countries, China and the USA. Specifically, social media dependency, parasocial interaction, and community identification are examined as the key antecedents of consumer-brand engagement. The results confirm the effects of the proposed antecedents and reveal both cultural differences and similarities between Chinese and American consumers’ engagement with brand pages on social network sites.     

Understanding the influence of submission devices on online consumer reviews:A comparison between smartphones and PCs

Online consumer reviews (OCRs) are of immense value to businesses and consumers. With the rapid development of mobile Internet, smartphones have become an important device for consumers to publish OCRs. Information input is more difficult on smartphones than on PCs because of the screen size, the convenience of using keyboard and the interference of use situation. Based on cognitive cost theory, this study compares the differences of the statistical characteristics of OCRs (study 1) and the narrative content of OCRs (study 2) submitted via smartphones and PCs about material purchases in B2C websites. In study 1, an analysis of 24,933 OCRs across six products shows that OCRs submitted via smartphones have fewer words, more images, higher star rating, and shorter time interval than via PCs. In study 2, by coding and analyzing 1001 OCRs, the results show that OCRs submitted via smartphones are less likely to mention price, product functionality, product quality, product aesthetics, service quality, logistics quality, and attitudinal loyalty than via PCs, whereas no significant difference is observed in the dimensions of seller trustworthiness, cognitive attitude, emotional attitude, and recommendation expression. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

A values approach to understanding ethical business relationships in the 21st century: A comparison between Germany,India, the People's Republic of China,and the United States

The purpose of this study was to examine howmanagerial values may differ between future managersfrom Germany, India, the People's Republic of China(PRC), and the United States (U.S.) and to considerhow these differences may influence current and futureethical business relationships. The results show thatthere are significant differences between countries onthe acceptance of authority with the exception of theU.S. and the PRC. All countries sampled were high onneed determined expression with nonsignificancebetween the means of the PRC/U.S. and Germany/U.S. Allcountries sampled were significantly high onequalitarianism and individualism was high for allcountries except the PRC and India, which were notsignificant. The results point to the increasedcommonality between future managers across the fourcountries as opposed to the traditional stereotypesassociated with each culture. Possible implicationsare discussed relative to the 21st century andorganizations that are involved in interculturalhiring.