Products liability in Finland — A maximalist version of the products liability directive

The paper describes some features of the new Finnish Products Liability Act. The Act is mainly based on the EEC Directive on Products Liability from 1985. In implementing the directive, Finland has chosen a maximalist approach. Development risks as well as damages caused by primary agricultural products are covered by the Products Liability Act. In addition to this, the Finnish Act does not contain any threshold for damage to property corresponding to the threshold in art. 9 of the Directive. Damages caused by pharmaceuticals are compensated through a special semi-voluntary collective insurance scheme, covering both development risks and even some damage due to non-defective products.In the paper some arguments for these solutions are presented. The perspectives concerning the possibilities to retain these special features of Finnish law if Finland joins the European Economic Area are also touched upon.

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Produkthaftung in Finnland — Eine Maximalposition in der Umsetzung der Produkthaftungsrichtlinie

Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag geht auf die Besonderheiten des neuen finnischen Produkthaftungsgesetzes ein. Das Gesetz basiert auf der EG-Richtlinie von 1985. In der Übernahme dieser Richtlinie hat Finnland eine Maximalposition vertreten. Entwicklungsgefahren und Schäden von landwirtschaftlichen Urprodukten werden vom Produkthaftungsgesetz erfaßt. Weiterhin enthält das finnische Gesetz keine Selbstrisiko für den Schadenersatz. Schäden aus der Verwendung von Arzneimitteln werden durch eine freiwillige kollektive Versicherungslösung aufgefangen, die sowohl Entwicklungsrisiken als auch bestimmte Schäden von nicht fehlerhaften Produkten umfaßt.Als ein Detail von besonderem Interesse kann die Empfehlung des finnischen Parlamentes, das Gesetz auch auf Tabakwaren anzuwenden, genannt werden. Personen, die gesundheitliche Schäden durch Tabakwaren erleiden, sollen Schadenersatzanspruch an die Tabakwarenhersteller geltend machen können.Als wichtigstes Argument für die Maximalposition des finnischen Gesetzes führt der Beitrag an, daß ein Selbstrisiko die Anwendung des Gesetzes stark eingrenzen würde. Dennoch wird Finnland das Selbstrisiko bei Annäherung an den europäischen Wirtschaftsraum vermutlich einführen.

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Thomas Wilhelmsson is Professor of Civil and Commercial Law at the Department of Private Law, Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, Vuorikatu 5, SF-00100 Helsinki, Finland.     

An independent assessment of the unidimensionality,reliability, validity and factor structure of the LibQUAL+™ scale

This empirical study provides a thorough measurement analysis of the LibQUAL+? scale for measuring library service quality. In particular, the study assesses the unidimensionality of the scale, the scale's psychometric properties and its factor structure. Data were gathered using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to a sample of university library users: 189 in Canada and 374 in Mexico. Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the study confirms the assumption of unidimensionality in only two of the three current sub-dimensions of the scale. The results of this study also show that the LibQUAL+? scale consists of four dimensions. The remainder of the CFA results in the study provides strong support for the general reliability and validity of the four-dimensional structure.     

Resource Acquisition,Internationalization, and the Catch-up Path of Chinese Construction Machinery Champions—The Case of Sany,XCMG, and Zoomlion

This study investigates the internationalization and resource accumulation process of the three largest Chinese construction machinery companies: Sany, XCMG and Zoomlion. It takes a longitudinal approach to analyze the internationalization process of the three companies over the last 25 years. Although the three companies’ paths in the early acquisition of technologies and firm-specific advantages (FSA) differ significantly, however, their internationalization process exhibits similar pattern. They all exploit the same home-country based FSAs in their south-south expansion into other emerging markets, and seem to mimic each other in their strategic moves. In the south-north expansion into advanced economies they skip the export stage and rely almost exclusively on foreign direct investment of both forms, greenfield and M&A, to pursue asset augmenting objectives and overcome their “liability of origin”. The study concludes by discussing several topics of interest, such as the implications of accelerated resource accumulation, the impact on competition with advanced multinationals in the home market or possible effects on the level of state support and risk taking behavior in the internationalization process by the companies’ ownership type.     

God＇s will, Favorable Geographical Position and Support of People Shanxi Phoenix Road of Rain and Shine, Song of Work Energetically for the Prosperity of the Enterprise

Shanxi Phoenix Conveyor Belt Co., Ltd. situated at the beautiful garden city, Changzhi, which is at the south side of Taihang Mountain with convenient transportation, preponderant geographical position and one of the national key energy chemical industry bases,     

God‘s will, Favorable Geographical Position and Support of People Shanxi Phoenix Road of Rain and Shine, Song of Work Energetically for the Prosperity of the Enterprise

Shanxi Phoenix Conveyor Belt Co.,Ltd. situated at the beautiful garden city, Changzhi. which is at the south side of Taihang Mountain with convenient transportation, preponderant geographical position and one of the national key energy chemical industry bases, known as “home to coal“. The output of coal in Shanxi and Shaanxi accounts for 50% of the national coal output. So, the “Foreign Phoenix“settled down in this city.……     

On the Eve of the Enforcement of the Arbitration Law——An interview with Xu Dayou, vice-chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission

The Arbitration Law of the People's Republic of China will go into effect on September 1, 1995, which has become the focus of world attention. This is an important law promulgated by China for handling economic disputes. All the parties concerned are making intense preparations for the successful enforcement of the Law. As the first nongovernmental organisation engaged in arbitration affairs, the China Council for     

Who are the Stakeholders Now? An Empirical Examination of the Mitchell, Agle, and Wood Theory of Stakeholder Salience

Two environmental accidents in the mining industry provide the context for this study of the Mitchell, Agle, and Wood (1997, The Academy of Management Review 22, 853–886) analysis of stakeholder salience. I examine the reactions of two stakeholder groups: shareholder response is examined in terms of changing share returns and risk; management response through change in disclosure. I find the two decision-makers reacted at different times. Management responded to the first accident, though not the second. Shareholders responded to the second accident alone. My findings support the Mitchell, Agle, and Wood (MAW) assertion that stakeholder status is impermanent, and determined through the eyes of the decision-maker.     

Brief of the NPC and CPPCC

History In 1949,The Chinese People's Politi- cal Consultative Conference(CPPCC)was established. The CPPCC held its First Plenary Ses- sion from September 21st to 30th,1949,in Beiping(now Beijing),in which exercised the functions and powers of the National     

Official bailouts,moral hazard and the ‘speciality’ of the international interbank market

We analyse the evolution of emerging market loan spreads at a more disaggregated level than other studies on the subject, providing statistical support to the assumption of the ‘speciality’ of the international interbank market, to the extent that the pricing of interbank credit is insensitive to the nature (public or private) of the borrower. In sharp contrast, the public or private nature of other borrowers, such as corporates or financial firms, causes significant differences in spreads. These results could be interpreted as evidence of the possible role played by implicit government guarantees in the international interbank market, which lower the incentives for participants to monitor counterpart risk very closely. Furthermore, the specificity of banks is witnessed by the fact that only spreads on loans to emerging market banks have clearly declined following the 1995 Mexican bailout, whereas evidence on the pricing of lending to corporates and financial firms is more ambiguous. Although, on the one hand, this might support the view that financial assistance from the IMF gives rise to moral hazard, on the other hand, contrary to expectations, spreads on loans to Asian banks, among the major candidates in the current policy debate on moral hazard, have been unaffected by the IMF's response to Mexico's crisis.     

What affects the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement? Impact of interplay among congruence,identification, and attribution

This study draws upon congruence theory, identification theory, and attribution theory as a means of examining how celebrity endorsement works. The study proposes that the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement may be influenced by the following three factors: congruence between a celebrity endorser and endorsed brand/product, identification with a celebrity endorser, and consumers’ attribution styles (i.e., internal vs. external). To test the proposed hypotheses, the study employs a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subject factorial design. A total of 317 college students participated in the study in return for course credits. The study findings suggest that congruence, identification, and consumers’ attribution styles indeed have impacts on consumers’ attitude toward ad, brand, or purchase intention. The study also finds that there is a relationship between congruence (low vs. high congruence) and attribution styles (internal vs. external). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Unselfish? Understanding the Role of Altruism,Empathy, and Beliefs in Volunteering Commitment

This study explores the extent to which young volunteers perform voluntary service for selfless reasons by investigating the role of altruism, empathy, and beliefs in their commitment to voluntary projects that last for an extended period of time. A sample of young volunteers who have begun a voluntary long-term project completed a survey on the theoretical constructs under investigation. An objective measure of actual volunteering behavior was taken from the voluntary organization’s records from 4 to 6 months after the questionnaires had been completed. Results show that volunteers fulfilled their agreement to take part in the projects independently of the motivation underlying their behavior, whether egoistic or altruistic. Volunteers do not differ in terms of altruism, empathy, and attitudinal and normative beliefs when compared by levels of committed volunteering behavior, but they do differ in terms of two control beliefs: lack of time and the hindrances to volunteering work.     

Lack of the Investment Channels, the Urban and Rural Residents' Deposit Accounts for 14 Trillion

Learnt from PBoC, by the end of Dec. last year.Chinese urban and rural residents' bank deposits have surpassed 14 trillion yuan. In last January. the remaining sum of residents' deposits once surpassed 12 trillion yuan. And what's more, in May, the number broke 13 trillion. Now it is the third     

Adult and Teenage Use of Consumer,Business, and Entertainment Technology: Potholes on the Information Superhighway?

Adults and teenagers were surveyed to determine their use and ownership of 32 consumer, business, and entertainment technology devices. Demographics, technology experience, and “technophobia” were examined as potential discriminators between Confident Users, Hesitant Users, and Nonusers of each technological device. Results indicated that older, technophobic adults with little computer training and lower income, black and Hispanic, technophobic teenagers did not use most technological devices.     

Yunnan,South of the Clouds

Yunnan Province is the most southwest region of China bordering the countries of Vietnam,Laos,and Burma.Yunnan encompasses 394,000 square kilometers （152,084 square miles） and has a population of more than 42 million people.     

The Retrospect of Partenariat and the Achievements

Since 1997 to 2000, CCPIT has organized domestic enterprises to participate in 7 Partenariats in Europe for 4 successive years, 146 Chinese enterprises had conducted598 rounds of business negotiations, and had reached53 cooperative agreements     

‘Murketing’ and the rhetoric of the new sincerity

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that marketing scholars should be paying a lot more attention to the rhetorical form which the economic historian Philip Mirowski – following the novelist David Foster Wallace – calls murketing. Combining philosophical, historical, economic and fictional resources, the paper first produces a synthetic account of what murketing is. Blurring calculated dishonesty with impassioned sincerity, murketing operationalises a double-truth dialectic which treats consumers as both subjects and objects within the process of their own persuasion. In order to indicate how murketing works, the paper then considers recent examples from murketing practice where allusions are made which are both cynical and gnostic, both conceited and intimate, and both earnest and ironic. The paper closes by indicating how its account of the theory and practice of murketing might inform the future study, consumption and regulation of advertising and marketing communications.     

Diana: a symbol of women entrepreneurs’ hunt for knowledge,money, and the rewards of entrepreneurship

This article discusses the questions and issues that prompted the founding of the Diana Project, a multi-university research program aimed at identifying factors that support and enable high growth in women-led ventures. Despite the fact that women business owners comprise a significant portion of the economy, women face challenges in acquiring the resources needed to expand their businesses. This article details both the myths and realities associated with women’s entrepreneurship in their quest for growth. In particular, we examine the strategies that women entrepreneurs use to position their firms for growth, especially those strategies related to growth capital. Our results show that women seeking venture capital (VC) have degrees, graduate degrees, and experience that should not preclude them from obtaining financing. We also found that even though women-led businesses are frequently clustered in industries less attractive to financiers, women seeking equity funding are in the appropriate industries. Further, women spend a considerable amount of time using both formal and informal networks in their search for capital and in seeking capital. Because of the importance of the VC industry as a provider of growth capital and its reliance on its network for investment referrals, we also examined the participation and role of women as decision-makers in industry. Women’s participation in the VC industry has not kept pace with industry growth, and women have exited the industry at a faster rate than men, thus creating a significant barrier for women entrepreneurs in that it is less likely that their networks will overlap with the financial supplier networks, despite any effort they may expend networking and seeking capital.

Regulation and the Promotion of Audit Ethics: Analysis of the Content of the EU’s Policy

Accounting literature has commonly judged the impact of regulation on auditors’ ethical commitment by studying daily audit practice. We argue that the content of the regulations themselves is an important determinant of such an impact. This paper evaluates the capacity of the content of regulation to promote audit ethics by reference to the European Union’s (EU) audit policy. Anchored in the extant conceptual perspectives on ethics, our analysis of relevant policy documents shows that the EU’s approach to audit ethics relates most strongly to the deontological perspectives on ethics and leaves largely unexplored other means of promoting auditors’ ethical stance, such as by stimulating virtue ethics. We find that it is the EU regulators’ restricted view of the conceptual foundations of audit ethics that limits the capacity of their policy to effectively stimulate auditors’ ethical commitment. The paper also discusses the potential implications of our analysis for the design of future audit policy.     

Comparison of the Investment Law between China and the ROK

China and the Republic of Korea formally set up the diplomatic relations,which has added more vitality to the cultural and economic exchanges betweenthe two countries.