Information Content of Advertising in the United States,Japan, South Korea,and the People's Republic of China

The results of this four country-four media study indicate that different countries/cultures have varying degrees of information cues in their advertising. Broadcast media (television and radio) have lower information content than do print media (magazine and newspaper) in all countries. Overall, the average number of cues per advertisement for all four countries was: 3.10 for magazine, 2.91 for newspaper, 2.14 for television, and 2.05 for radio. The study found that the information content (number of cues) and the type of cues varied by media within each country. This implies that international advertisers need to consider their strategies in developing advertising themes for various target audiences in different countries.     

A cross cultural comparison of ethical perspectives and decision approaches of business students: United States of America versus New Zealand

While differences do exist, there are many ethical issues which transcend national barriers. In order to contribute to the development of understanding of global ethics, this study documents the existing ethical perspectives of collegiate business students from two countries and identifies the determinants of their ethical orientations.A survey instrument was administered to USA and New Zealand (NZ) students enrolled in undergraduate business programs. The research instrument measured students' ethical perspectives across multilayered ethical domains and their self-professed decision method used in evaluating ethical scenarios.The results indicate that USA students were less tolerant than the NZ students of situations involving the ethical constructs of fraud, coercion and self-interest. Additionally, females are less tolerant than males in all ethical domains in both countries. Within the group of students who reported experience in an ethics course there was no significant difference in the ethical values of the USA and NZ students. The implication is that educational experience in an ethics course produces homogeneity and is beneficial towards obtaining cross cultural understanding and agreement in ethical values.Marilyn Okleshen is an Associate Professor in the Accounting Department, College of Business Administration, Mankato State University.Richard Hoyt is an Associate Professor in the Finance Department, College of Business and Economics, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He spent one year on sabbatical leave with the Property Group, Department of Accounting and Finance, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand. His dissertation topic was on the social responsibility of business. He has published in academic and professional journals.     

Retailing in the 21st century: reflections and prologue to research

Retailing in the 21st century will no doubt be very different from retailing in the 20th century, just as retailing in the 20th century was very different from retailing in the 19th century. To understand and explain current retailing phenomena and retailing-related phenomena, and accurately predict such phenomena, it is necessary to have a coherent and consistent definition of retailing as well as comprehensive retailing theories based on this definition. This introduction to the special issue argues for such a definition and related comprehensive theories.     

How to date your clients in the 21st century: Challenges in managing customer relationships in today's world

Since its first entry into the literature discussion in the 1980s, customer relationship management (CRM) has found its way into nearly every company. Concepts like personalization, loyalty programs, and customer valuation are used regularly to interact with and prioritize customers. Unsurprisingly, this more widespread use has changed our understanding of CRM substantially and as a consequence, the field has seen a remarkable transformation in the past 3 decades. Yet, the CRM strategies implemented by many firms today are frequently still fundamentally based on an understanding of CRM from the early days. The purpose of this article is to outline the origins of CRM and to present the main wisdoms that firms believed to be true about customers 3 decades ago. I then discuss the key insights that academics and managers have obtained in recent years that increasingly challenge those wisdoms. The article ends with an outlook of CRM in years to come and presents some of the major challenges practitioners and researchers will have to deal with in the near future.     

Cuba: A comparison of work values on Castro's Island with those in the United States

In this empirical study of work values differences between Cuba and the United States, the data reveal findings that confirm the expectations of the conventional wisdom on individualism for a comparison between a Latin culture‐communist system and an Anglo culture‐capitalist system. However, the study findings for collectivism defy this conventional wisdom. Given the dearth of empirical research on Cuba for 50‐plus years, this study should serve as a starting point for subsequent investigation of Cuban work values. Additionally, it should provide preliminary information on the Cuban work attitudes and behaviors for U.S. business interested in engaging in commerce in postembargo Cuba. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

中美微型博客发展现状与商业模式分析

微型博客现状 中国微型博客目前仍处于市场萌芽阶段,市场参与者数量不多。在新兴科技企业,最著名的企业发展规律便是Hype Cycle（炒作周期）模型,这个模型描述了许多新兴科技企业发展的必经之路。即一个新兴科技技术,一般会经历起步阶段,接着市场预期快建膨胀,被媒体和从业人士大为炒作,直到被夸大的预期峰值后,市场预期才会不断降温,进入产品与商业模式创新阶段,此时市场预期逐渐回归理性,直到预期的低谷后,进八市场稳步发展阶段。     

A comparison of productivity in the Federal Republic of Germany,Japan and the USA

The rise in unemployment is often blamed not only on the slowdown in economic growth but also on the increasing pressure to rationalise. Greater rationalisation should, however, have led to an increase in labour productivity, but this has not happened in the Federal Republic of Germany nor in a series of other major industrial countries. Instead, there has been a marked slowdown in the rate of productivity advance. Why is this, and what is the outlook for the future?     

The way we live: understanding the acquisition of living skills to facilitate the consumer empowerment of young people in the 21st century

This research seeks to understand the perceived sources of acquisition of living skills by young people and to examine the formal and informal channels of acquisition. The study focuses particularly on the concept of living skills. These are the skills of transition, of growing up, and independence. For the purpose of the research the skills investigated are those associated (or formerly associated) with the school subject of Home Economics and were distilled from past curricula and documentation (DES, 1985; SCP, 1971). They cover three types of skill: social/interpersonal, cognitive and manual. Social skills include awareness of others, and a sense of responsibility, which is the basis of child‐care and showing tolerance of and concern and consideration for others. Cognitive skills are those associated with decision‐making and management, they involve thinking, reasoning and the use of knowledge. Manual skills are concerned with the use of the hands, with dexterity and with the achievement of specific goals, for example the ability to use tools and appliances with emphasis on the safe handling of them. They can also be linked to knowledge in terms of, for example aspects of food safety and hygiene. Research to date has failed to tackle the concept of acquisition of the skills of transition from home to independent living. Most research is focused on skills pertaining to a particular occupation role (Newman and Newman, 1988; Blustein et al., 1989; Nurmi et al., 1994) rather than those of living skills. Respondents were asked where they had learnt most about manual, cognitive and social skills. To facilitate analysis the channels were condensed to family (mother, father, other family members), community (friends, voluntary organisations), self (trial and error, television, books and magazines), taught (at school, university and work), with a final category of ‘never learnt’ (categories adapted from Macbeth, 1989). The findings revealed that the perceived acquisition of these living skills was through informal channels. From this research it can be argued that the family, being the main perceived source of acquisition of living skills creates the right time, the right place and facilitates exchange efficiencies. However, in this over‐dependence on an informal framework it is unlikely that discrepancies of skill provision can be alleviated. Additionally, standardisation may be difficult if not impossible to achieve. Compounding this is the tendency of young people to have to resort to self‐learning, which it could be argued is acceptable for some skills but not for those reliant on correct information input (such as food hygiene and nutrition).     

Exporting and productivity in business services: Evidence from the United States

Does exporting make firms more productive, or do more productive firms choose to become exporters? This paper considers the link between exporting and productivity for a sample of firms in US business services. We find that larger, more productive firms are more likely to become exporters, but that these factors do not necessarily influence the extent of exporting. This conforms with previous literature that there is a self-selection effect into exporting. We then test for the effect of exporting on productivity levels after allowing for this selection effect. We model both the relationship between exporting and productivity, and a simultaneous relationship between export intensity and productivity after allowing for selection bias. In both cases we find an association, indicating that productivity is positively linked both to exporting and to increased exposure to international markets.     

Integrating soft factors into the assessment of cooperative relationships between firms: accounting for reputation and ethical values

Alliances and other forms of cooperation between firms often promise great benefits, for example, by the exchange of knowledge or co‐specialization of resources. At the same time, the necessary actions to realize these benefits can augment vulnerability to opportunistic behaviour of partners. In addition to formal contracts to mitigate the resulting behavioural uncertainties, often, mechanisms, such as reputation or ethical values, are suggested as important supplements. However, when it comes to assessment of a specific cooperation opportunity, it is difficult to account systematically for the economic consequences of these ‘softer factors’. Therefore, this paper aims to surpass mere financial analysis of chance and risk and to integrate systematically both reputation and ethical values into an economic assessment of cooperative relationships. For this purpose, we develop a theoretical framework that is based on a simple‐decision model to account for reputation and ethical values of potential partners as drivers of behavioural uncertainty reduction. We also discuss how this framework can be used to assess cooperative relationships and illustrate these ideas with reference to the inter‐organizational accounting practices of a large drugstore chain and its suppliers.     

中美内贸流通业发展对比研究及对我国的启示

目前,我国已迈入中等收入国家行列,正处于全面建成小康社会的决胜阶段,经济由高速增长转向高质量发展。为推进经贸强国进程、制定促进消费升级政策、提高企业经营效益、满足群众美好生活需要提供信息参考,本文对中美内贸流通业发展规模、速度、效益、效率、贡献等开展对比研究,找到我国内贸流通业发展的成就和不足。比较发现,我国建设现代化内贸流通体系成效显著,中美在很多领域的差距正在缩小,一些指标甚至超过美国。但我国内贸流通业发展不平稳不充分问题依然存在,在集约化、组织化、信息化等方面与美国等西方发达国家还存在较大差距。为此,本文在优化内贸流通资源配置、提高标准化组织化集约化水平、提升消费有效供给、促进产业提高对外开放水平、加大内贸流通统计监测等五方面提出政策建议。     

Corporate citizenship in Germany and the United States – differing perceptions and practices in transatlantic comparison

Because of the declining fiscal capabilities of the German welfare state and the resulting reductions in social services provided by the government, increasing attention has been given to the voluntary social engagement of businesses, often referred to as corporate citizenship. In that context, scholars and politicians alike have pointed to the United States as a country with a strong corporate citizenship culture and advocated a transatlantic transfer of the respective practices. Against this background, it is the first aim of this paper to examine the socio‐economic environment for corporate citizenship in both countries. Second, it will be investigated if corporate citizenship is really practiced more widely in the United States than in Germany and what forms of corporate citizenship are used by businesses. For that purpose, the corporate citizenship activities of the 100 largest companies in the United States and Germany each will be analyzed. Results show that more US than German companies undertake corporate citizenship activities and apply a wider variety of different forms. The possibilities for a transatlantic transfer are limited because of the differences in the cultural and political systems of both countries.     

21世纪的中国与老龄化:研究与实践的挑战

在21世纪,中国的不断崛起与人口的快速老龄化问题均备受世人瞩目.通过对原始案例的分析和有关文献的回顾,反思中国老龄化问题的研究意义,提出诸如烟草的使用、研究的空白和社会干预的缺失等重要议题,以展示研究者、从业人员以及决策者所面临的潜在挑战与机遇.从社会医学、行为健康、心理卫生、压力、社会支持网络、社区教育、社会福利以及公共政策等交叉学科视角,对这些问题及其解决措施进行了分析和探讨,为专家提出可能有用的建议,并指导有研究兴趣的学生从事相关领域的研究.     

21世纪的中国与老龄化:研究与实践的挑战

在21世纪,中国的不断崛起与人口的快速老龄化问题均备受世人瞩目。通过对原始案例的分析和有关文献的回顾,反思中国老龄化问题的研究意义,提出诸如烟草的使用、研究的空白和社会干预的缺失等重要议题,以展示研究者、从业人员以及决策者所面临的潜在挑战与机遇。从社会医学、行为健康、心理卫生、压力、社会支持网络、社区教育、社会福利以及公共政策等交叉学科视角,对这些问题及其解决措施进行了分析和探讨,为专家提出可能有用的建议,并指导有研究兴趣的学生从事相关领域的研究。     

日本电子产业21世纪战略转变及启示

20世纪的最后10年里，日本经济陷入了深度的不景气之中，使日本绝大部分公司受到波及，日立、松下等几家大型综合电子公司均表现不佳、虽然人闪很难忘记日本企业曾经的辉煌，但是毫无疑问，它们最近10年来一直在走下坡路。主要是由于日本政府大力推动的多角化投资经营战略，采取囊括所有研究和生产工序的垂直生产模式，不断更新设备，