Can Facebook popularity help albums to remain in the sales charts?

We empirically investigate the impact of Facebook popularity on the survival of mainstream albums in the sales charts, with our results indicating that running an official Facebook page can improve such survival. Nevertheless, for artists running pages, even in Taiwan, where more than 75% people use Facebook, a blind pursuit of the popularity of all posts will not ensure better survival in the charts.     

Online Discussion and Learning Outcomes

This paper describes how we used Facebook as a discussion tool in the instruction of a principles level economics course and reports empirical estimates of the affect of that use on learning outcomes. Social media as a tool for promoting classroom discussion has advantages and disadvantages. For example, its omnipresence and flat learning curve can promote academic discourse. However social media can promote nonacademic “chatting”, and its omnipresence means the user needs more than a passing knowledge of the privacy settings to have control of their “digital identity”. For a Principles of Microeconomics taught in 2011 we collected data, with permission from our institution’s Institutional Review Board, on student use of Facebook, academic and demographic characteristics, learning style preferences and learning outcomes. Our research hypothesis is that an empirical analysis will find a positive correlation between student in-class use of Facebook and learning outcomes. Among our findings are that students should receive more coaching on the use of privacy settings, and qualified evidence that there is a positive net effect on learning outcomes of using Facebook as a discussion tool.     

解读互联网发展的新阶段:Web 2.0

Web 2.0是一个有创意的新术语,其概念反映了互联网发展阶段中一个必然的过程。Web 2.0所代表的互联网目前的发展状况及特点是人们研究和讨论的重点。只有对互联网发展历史和特点有全面和正确的了解,才能把握住互联网发展的脉搏和动向,作出正确的判断,使互联网得以健康发展,并让互联网真正成为推动人类社会变革和发展的有力科技工具。     

“互联网+”下制造企业服务化悖论的平台化解决思路

服务化转型已成为制造企业应对时代挑战的必然选择,其要求企业竞争关键点、价值流程、组织结构和创新模式发生彻底转变。这一巨大挑战催生了“服务化悖论”相关研究。“互联网+”相关研究大多强调互联网对服务化转型的积极影响,但其作用机理尚不明确。现有“服务化悖论”的研究较为零散,从价值创造视角将其系统地归纳为3个方面;深入阐释“互联网+”模式对“服务化悖论”的缓解机制,强调“脱媒”功能可以克服顾客接近悖论,以同步协同缓解战略一致性悖论,以互联网导致的“单边锁定弱化”克服行业资源能力悖论;设计了基于互联网的服务化运行机制,强调制造企业以“平台”模式实现服务化经营,而平台领导者、知识经纪人、模块化供应商借助互联网进行价值协同,通过“产品+服务”组合包实现需求面而非供给面范围经济,以个性化服务推动企业价值创新。     

高管政治关联助推公司媒体报道了吗?—来自民营企业IPO期间的证据

媒体报道对资产定价具有重要影响,致使其日益受到公司管理层的重视.文章以2006?2014年民营企业IPO为样本,基于公司管理层经历或背景,研究高管政治关联对公司媒体披露的影响及其市场效应.研究发现:(1)高管政治关联有助于公司在IPO期间获得更高的媒体关注度和更正面的报道倾向;而且,政治关联层级越高,媒体报道对其越有利.(2)高管政治关联对媒体报道的影响主要通过非证监会四大信息披露媒体和地理邻近媒体来实现的;而地区制度环境可在一定程度上抑制高管政治关联对媒体报道的影响.(3)由政治关联所带来的媒体报道水平的改善,有助于促进IPO首日抑价的上升;但中长期会导致股价反转.文章不仅丰富了公司治理对媒体(信息)披露管理影响方面的文献,而且为民营企业的政商关系研究提供了新的经验证据.     

互联网环境下国家“开放—共享—协同”创新体系研究

互联网时代的到来不仅会对科研活动产生重要影响,而且会促进国家创新体系的变革和创新。从互联网基本属性分析和相关理论研究回顾出发,以开放创新、资源共享和分工协作为理论基础,构建了基于互联网的国家“开放—共享—协同”创新体系,并分析了体系构成、建设内涵、逻辑关系及技术作用,同时,探讨建立相应的科研数据开放机制、科研资源共享机制、科研生产协同机制和强化支撑策略,以加快国家创新体系的发展与完善。     

无形资产和竞争国际化程度对互联网企业经营绩效的影响

近年来,随着信息技术的高速发展,中国互联网企业实现了快速发展,成为中国科技型、创新型企业的代表。与传统企业相比,无形资产是互联网企业竞争力最重要的来源,互联网企业面临来自全球的竞争。对中国互联网上市企业的研究表明,中国互联网企业,网站浏览量、研发强度与企业的经营绩效存在显着的正相关关系,而研发投入、媒体曝光度以及竞争国际化程度与企业的经营绩效存在显著的负相关关系。     

Financial functional analysis: a conceptual framework for understanding the changing financial system

The financial system is currently undergoing a revolution brought about by e-finance, digital convergence, new market entrants and government-encouraged competition. New market entrants such as Apple, Alibaba, Facebook and Google come from industries such as IT, retail, social media and telecoms, and, therefore, do not fit comfortably within traditional financial institutional structures. A functional perspective might provide more practical insights into this revolution; however, the functional perspective has had a limited impact. This paper will investigate the benefits and limitations of financial functional analysis; probe the underpinning principles of sociology’s structural functional analysis; revisit Merton and Bodie’s (1995) six core financial functions in relation to new entrants in the financial landscape; and, finally, argue that in the new financial environment, functional analysis provides a more coherent and explanatory framework of the financial system for students and practitioners alike.     

The role of social support on relationship quality and social commerce

Empowered by social media, individuals are active content creators in social networking sites. This has brought new changes in business environment, of which social commerce is one of them. Social commerce, a new stream in e-commerce, highlights the role of technological advancements to develop a new social commerce era. In social commerce era, individuals share their knowledge, experiences, and information about the products and services with peers, providing a supportive environment in an online context. Drawn from social support theory, relationship quality, and social media concept this research proposes a model to investigate the role of social factors that impact on relationship quality and social commerce intention. A survey conducted on Facebook, a popular social networking site, and PLS-SEM method was applied to empirically test the proposed model. The results offer a valuable picture of social factors that influence relationship quality and social commerce intention. Towards these ends, the study highlights a new picture of consumers' behaviour in social commerce era. It provides a new theory in the area of research — social commerce. Practical implications of the research also highlight new technological changes in e-commerce platform and provide new strategies to firms to adopt these new technological advancements.     

互联网发展对企业家精神的影响——基于互联网资源量与普及度双重视角

以2006—2018年中国（内地）30个省区市面板数据为样本，基于企业家创业精神和创新精神两个维度测度区域企业家精神水平，并从互联网资源量和互联网普及度双重视角，全面探究互联网发展对企业家精神的影响。结果表明：互联网资源和互联网普及不仅能够显著推动企业家精神水平提升，而且有利于缩小区域之间的企业家精神差距，互联网可以成为新时代下激发企业家精神的新动能。由面板门槛模型进一步研究发现，互联网发展对企业家精神的影响具有显著非线性门槛特征且存在明显空间异质性。其中，互联网资源对企业家精神的作用呈现正向边际效率递增规律，具有网络效应；互联网普及与企业家精神之间呈现倒U型关系，存在高水平陷阱。据此，提出具有针对性的“互联网＋企业家精神”融合策略。     

The Political Cause of the Movement of RMB Exchange Rate：A Research Based on the Spillover Effects of US Political Cycle

Movement of the renminbi (RMB) exchange rate is not only affected by economic factors, but also by political factors home and aboard. This paper analyzes the transmission mechanism of political cycles on the RMB exchange rate first, and then sets up a “political cycle spillover effect model” followed by an empirical analysis. We find that: (1) the US political cycle has a direct effect on the RMB exchange rate in the short run, which is mainly transmitted by capital flows and China’s exchange rate policy control; (2) the RMB exchange rate changes periodically in accordance with the US presidential election and midterm election cycle, with the appreciation ratio significantly lower in the first year of the election cycle, while significantly higher in the year after the midterm election; (3) The effect of the political cycle will not be affected by which party holds power, though it will be affected if the president and parliament are ruled by the same party. This paper not only extends the research of the influencing factors of the RMB exchange rate to the political field, but also sets up a use theoretical model to analyze the impact of political issues on the RMB exchange rate, providing a new perspective to fully understand the external environment of RMB exchange rate reform.     

互联网对制造企业创新的影响机制及实证研究

在我国深入实施创新驱动发展战略、推动中国制造业由“中国制造”向“中国创造”跨越的历史背景下，构建互联网促进制造企业创新理论分析框架，运用中介效应模型揭示互联网促进制造企业创新的机制。结果发现，互联网对制造企业创新存在显著促进作用；机制检验表明，互联网可以通过成本和人力资本的中介促进制造企业创新，即互联网能通过加速人力资本积累，降低交易成本和代理、治理成本，成为制造企业创新的重要驱动力；拓展性分析中，制造企业面临的融资约束和传统公司治理方式显著负向调节互联网对制造企业创新的促进作用。从降低成本和加速人力资本积累两个方面，解释互联网如何激发制造企业创新活力，为解析互联网促进制造企业创新机制的“黑箱”提供新视角。     

Internet Economics and Policy: An Australian Perspective

Publicly available information indicates that the demand and supply of Internet and Internet–related services are continuing to expand at a rapid pace. Since 1997 the number of Internet service providers (facilities–based and resellers) has increased by nearly 40 per cent; the number of points–of–presence per Internet service provider has increased by five times; the number of hosts connected to the Internet has more than quadrupled; and Internet traffic has increased from six to 10 times. The emergence of electronic commerce (e–commerce), driven by this rapid adoption of Internet services and continual technological innovation, is likely to have profound economic and social impacts on Australian society. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the impact of the Internet and e–commerce, ranging from the changes in the market structure of the telecommunications industry, its role in changing the organisation of traditional markets, the emergence of new markets, and the structural shifts to employment, productivity and trade. The paper also analyses contemporary Australian regulatory responses.     

Innovations in meta-analysis and social impact analysis relevant for tech mining

In the social sciences, non-utilization of knowledge is a major problem. Many publications stored in libraries or available on the Internet should be used more than they are now. Conventional approaches like providing abstracts and lists of keywords have proven to be insufficient. For more than thirty years already, meta-analysis is available for the accumulation and dissemination of scientific knowledge. In the social sciences, meta-analysis has been used on a limited scale only, mainly because there still remains a gap between the knowledge available and its application in policymaking. Recently, value transfer has been introduced as an additional method to bridge the gap between available knowledge and the demands for knowledge in new problem areas. Not only in the social sciences but also in the information sciences non-utilization of information is a major problem. It is the mission of tech mining to contribute to a mitigation of this non-utilization. In this article, we will show how tech mining could profit from innovations in meta-analysis and social impact assessment. Special attention will be paid to research on technology generations, research on social change in cohesive social systems showing solidarity at work, and tech mining in support of the Lisbon Strategy of the European Commission.     

"互联网+"、普惠金融与技术创新:影响机制及经验证据

“互联网+”与普惠金融深度融合对技术创新具有重要影响。通过系统阐述“互联网+”与普惠金融对技术创新的影响机制，基于2006-2016年中国内地30个省份面板数据进行实证研究。结果发现，“互联网+”通过规模效应和竞争效应促进技术创新；普惠金融通过激发社会底层动力和内在活力推动技术创新。由于东中西部地区互联网发展存在巨大差异，“互联网+”在东、中、西部地区对技术创新的影响效果出现明显的区域分岔。进一步研究发现，“互联网+”与普惠金融确实具有较强的联动性特征，其形成的交叉作用加强了“互联网+”对技术创新的推动作用。根据上述研究结论，提出相应政策建议。     

网络经济下的金融理论与金融治理

建立在信息革命基础上的网络经济 ,对传统金融产业和金融理论产生了深刻的影响。网络金融成为了本世纪金融业发展的主流 ,电子货币也将在社会经济生活中发挥更大的作用。金融产业组织的变化和货币形态的变革 ,使货币理论和货币供求关系出现了新的变化 ,并导致了货币政策、金融市场等的一系列演进。金融体系主客体的变化 ,使金融风险有了新的特点 ,金融治理需要进行相应的调整。     

Determinants of adoption of Internet in Africa: Case of 17 sub-Saharan countries

This study develops two-level hierarchical model that identifies factors that favor or hamper the use of Internet in Africa. We used data from a survey covering 17 African countries. Our results confirm that urbanization and the spread of Internet infrastructures play an important role in individual decisions to adopt this technology. They also reveal that an individual will have a larger probability to use Internet if he/she has at least completed primary education.Moreover, individual characteristics such as sex, age, level of education, and a social network membership greatly influence Internet adoption. Indeed, men are more likely to use Internet than women; this probability is larger if they are young (16–30 years old) or if they attained at least secondary education level or if they are members of a social network.     

"互联网+"特性及对企业创新绩效的影响

“互联网+”呈现出共生性、群智性、反馈性等特点，并对组织创新产生一定影响，而知识协同行为具有调节作用。基于调查数据，利用结构方程模型，分析知识协同行为在“互联网+”特性影响组织创新绩效过程中的调节机理。研究结果表明，“互联网+”特性对知识协同具有显著促进作用;团队知识协同对创新绩效有直接促进作用，而个体知识协同对创新绩效没有显著正向影响;个体知识协同与团队知识协同具有一定正相关性，“互联网+”特性可以通过知识协同的中介效应对创新绩效产生正向影响。     

Media’s role in the making of a democrat: Evidence from East Germany

This paper explores the causal influence of media content on voting behavior. We exploit a natural experiment involving access to West German TV within the German Democratic Republic. Focusing on federal and state election outcomes in the post-reunification decade (i.e., a time at which TV content was harmonized), we find that municipalities that had access to Western TV broadcasts before reunification have lower vote shares for left-wing and right-wing extremist parties. With regard to potential channels, we provide evidence based on survey data that GDR citizens with access to West German TV were less loyal to the socialist regime, less hostile toward foreigners, and exhibited higher levels of social capital. Our findings thus support the notion that access to free media influences political attitudes and facilitates the consolidation of democracy.     

The Impacts of WTO Membership on Economic/Trade Relations Among the Three Chinese Economies: China, Hong Kong and Taiwan

Based on CGE model simulations, the present study examines the impacts on the growth of GDP, social welfare, the terms of trade, the volume of trade and trade dependence, under alternative scenarios of a WTO with and without the membership of China and Taiwan. In general, the three Chinese economies, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, will be benefited by China and Taiwan's WTO memberships. The world trade will increase by more than $130 billions in real terms ($63.6 billions of exports and $66.5 billions of imports). Among them, more than 60 percent will be shared by China, and 10 percent shared by Taiwan. The intermediate role of Hong Kong in trade and investment relations across the Taiwan Strait will diminish, Taiwan's trade dependence on China will increase, but China's trade dependence on Taiwan will decrease. However, trade flows across the Taiwan Strait will focus more on intra‐industry trade.