China''''s development of scientific and technological undertakings

With the full implementation ofthe country's strategy ofreinvigorating the nationthrough science and education and thestructural reforms in scientific research,China's scientific and technological strengthhas been boosted markedly, narrowing itsgap with the developed countries. In the reform of scientific researchinstitutions, 869 of the formerlygovernment-affiliated scientific researchinstitutions or academies were incorporatedinto enterprise groups, or transformed intoenterprises by the e…     

Abiding by the guideline of implementing concept of scientific development and seeking sustainable development, CCPIT Beijing established its medium and long-term development plan

To fulfill requirements of concept of scientific development and ensure that Beijing‘s trade promotion cause could maintain sound and sustainable development,CCPIT Beijing centralized wisdom of all staff members and established 2004-2008 Plan for Reform and Development of CCPIT Beijing, CCOIC Beijing and World Trade Center Beijing.     

Am I cheap? Testing the role of store personality and self-congruity in discount retailing

This study examines whether consumer perceptions of store personality (SP) differ according to the store's format (hard-discount versus soft-discount and value retailing). A consumer survey (n?=?306) is conducted in which respondents are asked to rate these retail formats on five SP dimensions and in terms of self-congruity (SC). The findings of both repeated measures ANOVA and hypothesis testing of proportion difference indicate that the three formats differ significantly in terms of all five SP dimensions. Moreover, consumers perceive a greater match between their self-concept and the value retailer's personality than the discounter's. A PLS model is estimated linking SP and SC to store loyalty and word-of-mouth intentions (WOM). The SP measurement model is only partially confirmed by the data. The effect of SC is found to dominate in explaining loyalty and WOM. These results provide valuable insights for optimising retail positioning strategies.     

Effects of time pressure,type of shopping,and store attributes on consumers’ satisfaction with grocery shopping

The aim of this study is to investigate whether satisfaction with grocery stores is affected by type of grocery shopping in conjunction with time pressure, and which attributes are important for satisfaction. Fictitious grocery stores are constructed according to a fractional factorial design by varying access, price level, supply quality/range, and service quality. In an Internet survey, 1023 Swedish consumers rated satisfaction with major vs. fill-in shopping imagining they were under high or low time pressure. The results showed that satisfaction is higher for fill-in shopping than major shopping, that time pressure has no effect on satisfaction, and that price level, service quality, and product quality/range are more important for satisfaction with major shopping, whereas access is more important for satisfaction with fill-in shopping. It is also found that the importance of attributes for satisfaction depends on type of shopping more than on individual characteristics.     

Does reducing spatial differentiation increase product differentiation? Effects of zoning on retail entry and format variety

This paper investigates the impact of spatial zoning restrictions on retail market outcomes. We estimate a structural model of entry, location and format choice across a large number of markets in the presence of zoning restrictions. The paper contributes to the literature in three ways: First, the paper demonstrates that the omission of zoning restrictions in the extant literature on entry and location choice leads to biased estimates of the factors affecting market potential and competitive intensity. Second, the cross-market variations in zoning regulations helps us test and provide evidence for the theory that constraints on spatial differentiation will lead to greater product differentiation. Finally, we provide qualitative insight on how zoning impacts retail entry and format variety; in particular we evaluate the impact of prototypical zoning arrangements such as “centralized,” “neighborhood,” and “outskirt” zoning on entry and format variety.     

Retail store managers' and students' perceptions of ethical retail practices: A comparative and longitudinal analysis (1976–1986)

Considerable attention is currently being directed to ethics in business, government and academia in both the professional and popular media. Most of these studies propound that ethics have eroded over time, resulting in their current low state. However, few, if any, of these articles provide comparative or longitudinal data to support their arguments. In this investigation, both comparative and longitudinal data were collected between 1976 and 1986 from retail store managers and retail students concerning their current perceptions of ethical retail practices. The results indicate a significant increase in the ethics of retail store managers, and a significant decrease in the ethics of retail students. Donald G. Norris is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Miami University. His research has been published in the Journal of Advertising Research, the Journal of Retailing and the Proceedings of the Association of Consumer Research and the American Marketing Association.John B. Gifford is a Professor of Marketing at Miami University and the Associate Dean for the School of Business Administration. He has published a number of articles in the field of retailing, and currently serves as Vice President of the American Collegiate Retailing Association.     

Shopping streets versus shopping malls – determinants of agglomeration format attractiveness from the consumers' point of view

The decline of shopping streets and the rise of shopping malls have been major trends in European retailing for decades. So far, research has failed to investigate this shift of agglomeration format (AF) patronage from a marketing perspective, including the consumers' point of view. This paper presents a theoretical discussion of the generic similarities and conceptual differences between shopping streets and shopping malls. Subsequently, the AF-specific characteristics perceived by consumers are compared and discussed with respect to their impact on agglomeration attractiveness. This leads to the development of a conceptual framework which is empirically tested using a web-based survey of almost 1000 consumers representing a typical urban central European retail market. The relative importance of nine distinctive AF characteristics on attractiveness was analysed using structural equation modelling. The findings proved to be quite similar for both shopping streets and shopping malls; the retail tenant mix and atmosphere had the highest relative importance.     

The development of Shanghai＇s service industry

The development of Shanghai‘s service industry should be choreographed in the following steps: (1) Actively promoting for the development of the industry through awareness of the general laws for its developmertt; (2) Speeding up the monopolies existing in some service sectors so as to open to the private some     

Does state ownership facilitate outward FDI of Chinese SOEs? Institutional development,market competition,and the logic of interdependence between governments and SOEs

Outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) of manufacturing state-owned enterprises (SOEs) from emerging economies (EE) has emerged as a significant phenomenon in global markets. Although previous research has emphasized the bright-side of state ownership in facilitating SOEs’ OFDI, the stream of research largely overlooks its dark-side effects. Drawing on resource dependence theory (RDT), we argue that state ownership creates dependence of SOEs on their home governments, which may undermine manufacturing SOEs’ willingness to conduct OFDI, autonomy and market orientation, and legitimacy in overseas markets. Thus, substantial state ownership may counteract with manufacturing SOEs’ OFDI from EE. Our empirical results, based on a sample of 507 Chinese publicly-listed manufacturing SOEs during 2007–2013, show that a high percentage of state-owned shares exerts negative effects on SOEs’ OFDI. Relative to local SOEs, central SOEs are less likely to engage in OFDI. Further, the negative effect of the percentage of state-owned shares on SOEs’ OFDI will be alleviated by institutional development and competition intensity. The study contributes to literature by making a real theoretical case for the dark-side effects of state ownership on manufacturing SOEs’ OFDI from EE.     

Consumers’ perception of store image of joint venture shopping centres: first-tier versus second-tier cities in China

Studies on consumer behaviour and the modelling of attributes representing store image of shopping centres in the context of a developed country have been the focus of many researchers. In contrast, although China has the largest consumer market in the world, the consumer behaviour and consumption psychology of this enormous market remain relatively unknown due to a previously “close-door” policy as well as a high degree of government intervention within the retail sector. This paper discusses the unique nature and development of the retail industry in China, and formulates a model to represent the store image of joint venture shopping centres, which are the only approved form of direct foreign investment into China's retail sector. Research on store image of shopping centres in the west as well as in China has been applied in the formulation of the model, which consists of 21 attributes. The relative importance of these 21 shopping centre image attributes is subsequently analysed between consumers in a first-tier and a second-tier city in China. By being the first of its kind to reflect on China's retail market and its joint venture shopping centres, and to compare the consumer behaviour within different levels of cities in China, this paper provides both researchers and retailers with a better insight and understanding into the psychology of Chinese consumers, and the retailing business in China.     

Business and State in the development of the steel industry in Spain and Italy (c.1880–1929)

In the mid-nineteenth century, the Spanish and Italian steel industries were significantly less developed than those of the more advanced countries in Europe. From the mid-1880s, heavy industry in these two countries experienced considerable growth, particularly the steel sector, due to two very different strategies. In the case of Italy, state intervention was so frequent and significant that it has even been referred to as an early state capitalism. In Spain, on the other hand, the sector’s development was based principally on the private initiative. This article seeks to shed light on the interaction between government institutions and business organisations in the implementation of the development strategies of the two countries.     

Running for pleasure or performance? How store attributes and hedonic product value influence consumer satisfaction

Previous retailing studies have linked consumer satisfaction to perceived hedonic or utilitarian product value. This research extends previous studies by examining how the context in which the product is purchased (store attributes) and product value influence consumer satisfaction. We conducted a field study with 213 consumers attending two major running events. The findings from structural equation modelling suggest that a specific combination of store attributes (tangible and intangible) and hedonic product value has a positive influence on satisfaction. Results also show that tangible store attributes have a stronger positive impact on utilitarian (vs. hedonic) product value, and that intangible store attributes have a positive impact on hedonic product value. However, we found that only hedonic product value has a positive impact on satisfaction. This research contributes to theory by showing that a match between store attributes (tangible and intangible) and hedonic product value can positively influence satisfaction. In managerial terms, the findings provide insights on how to improve consumer satisfaction in retail environments through store attributes and hedonic product value.     

Friend or Foe? On the role of institutional reforms in the investment development path of Central and East European economies

Many existing studies on emerging markets and firms have concentrated on the separate effects of institutional reforms and quality of the institutional infrastructure for attracting inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and fostering outward FDI. We argue that both these perspectives should be considered in an interplay, as there are links between inward and outward FDI in a country's economic development, which is captured by the investment development path (IDP) concept. Moreover, while predominant attention has been paid to emerging markets, little has so far been done to evaluate the sustainability of the institutional development, including later post-transition stages. We extend the IDP with insights from the institutional theory and conduct a comparative analysis of the effects of institutional reforms on IDP paths of ten Central and Eastern European (CEE) post-communist European Union (EU)-members. We find that while most of the studied post-transition economies follow a quadratic relationship between the net outward investment (NOI) position and each country's economic development, the role of institutional reforms is not in all cases accelerating the movement through the stages of the IDP. We attempt to explain the ambiguous role of institutions in an ensuing detailed discussion of the investigated countries.     

Organisational rigidities and marketing theory: examining the US department store c.1910–1965

By analysing the US department store during the period c.1910–1965, this article deepens our understanding of the nature of the transition to phases of ‘maturity’ and ‘decline’ that are fundamental to models of retail change (retail wheel, retail life cycle). By employing a close reading of key marketing and management writing of the period, it finds that ‘lock-in’ to an organisational structure associated with a single downtown store posed significant obstacles to suburban branched expansion. Only partial organisational centralisation occurred with the formation of holding companies in the 1920s, which contrasted with chains of general-merchandise and some department store retailers that were efficiently structured and better able to exploit suburban growth. When major department store companies finally embraced branched expansion, they were forced to significantly revise their operational structures.     

Interpersonal relations in China: Expatriates’ perspective on the development and use of guanxi

The literature on social networks identifies relationship building through guanxi as an effective way for Western organizations to reduce their liability of foreignness in China. Even though it is individuals rather than organizations who build these relationships, the focus in previous literature has been on organizational outcomes, and only a handful of studies have attempted to explain how expatriates perceive guanxi relations are built and maintained. To help address this issue, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 36 Western expatriates working in China. Our findings suggest that guanxi is perceived to be an informal process that is used to build trust between individuals, which in turn can reduce the uncertainty around contract enforcement in China. We also find that the process for building guanxi between parties is initiated by the individual whose organization has less market power. Finally, the findings suggest that firms should be cautious if they elect to use agents as intermediaries to help connect to, and build relations with buyers and sellers.     

An evaluation scheme for product–service system models: development of evaluation criteria and case studies

A product–service system (PSS) integrates products and services to fulfill customer needs and create sustainability. PSS evaluation requires the use of diverse criteria because PSSs are complex systems with multiple stakeholders and perspectives. This paper proposes an evaluation scheme for PSS models that consists of a set of 94 evaluation criteria and an evaluation procedure. The proposed set of criteria encompasses both provider and customer perspectives, all of the 3P (profitability, planet, and people) values and various PSS lifecycle phases, whereas existing studies only partially cover these aspects of PSS. The proposed set serves as an evaluation criterion repository, and users can easily identify the criteria relevant to the evaluation targets. Using the proposed set is more efficient than starting from scratch. The proposed evaluation scheme can be used either to compare different PSS models or to evaluate a single model. Case studies show that the proposed scheme can sufficiently evaluate both existing and newly launched PSS models as well as models under development. The proposed scheme is expected to serve as an efficient and effective aid for practitioners in PSS development.     

Fice major problems hinder healthy development of telecommunication market

Telecommunication industry still faces a lot of problems which need to be solved immediately. Five major problems hinder the healthy development of the telecommunication market. Recently, Yiguan Consultancy has issued a “ Report on the Prosperity Degree of China Telecom Industry”, stating that the telecommunication market needs to make five major adjustments.     

Managing the paradox of unwanted efficiency: The symbolic legitimation of the hypermarket format in Finland, 1960–1975

Abstract

Occasionally, organisations are forced to adopt new practices that are inconsistent with the expectations of their stakeholders. An immediate adoption of the practices would risk the organisation’s legitimacy, but as previous research has noted, the perceptions of organisational stakeholders can be managed through symbolic actions. In this article, I examine how actors from four retail organisations symbolically legitimated the adoption of the hypermarket format within their individual contexts by means of internal professional magazines. The analysis suggests that the organisations buttressed their legitimacy by reversing Meyer and Rowan’s idea of loose coupling – adopting the new practice but maintaining their formal appearances.