From aperture satellite to "Internet finance": Institutionalization of ICTs in China's financial sector since 1991

China's financial industries started the process of marketization only two decades ago, but by 2017 its financial technology or fin-tech sector had taken half of the global market. The exponential diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in Chinese financial contexts have generated new organizational structures and socio-political relations that have the capacity to change China's position in the world economy. Drawing upon the sociological concept of institutionalization, this paper examines how the Chinese state has integrated ICT diffusion in its formal policies and its informal rules in China's financial development since 1991. Further, it addresses the political and socio-economic consequences of these developments. Based on the analyses of government documents and sources, trade journals, and statistic data from business databases, this paper divides the Chinese institutionalization of financial technologies into three stages and identifies the primary actors and paradigms for ICT diffusions in each stage. ICT diffusion has been constitutive but also disruptive to the existing financial policies, instrumental to the commercialization of state-owned banks, and has gradually transformed into a set of formal and informal rules accepted by a network of professionals, corporations, and government agencies. The institutionalization of ICT diffusion has engendered the continuous adjustment of financial policies and propelled innovations in China's financial economy.     

Universal service in China and India: Legitimating the state?

This paper examines the contrast between China's and India's universal service policies as manifestations of the two states' differing self-conceptualizations and legitimation strategies. We examine the timeline of universal service policies in the two countries, differentiating between the territorial, demographic and layered dimensions of universal service. The analysis reveals many similarities between the two countries, as well as some differences primarily related to the mode of funding universal service programs and the lead China has taken in deploying informatization services. We identify some of the proximate causes that resulted in these policy decisions. But in addition, we also examine how universal service policies are related to contrasting models of state legitimation.     

开发区之变

1979年1月31日,一个叫袁庚的人在北京中南海请求中央领导在深圳给他划一块工业用地,中央领导在地图上大笔一勾,很爽快地给了他包括现在的宝安区到华侨城的近80平方公里的土地,袁庚没敢要这么多,最后,只要了深圳南头半岛东南部一块面积10.85     

Telecommunications reforms in China: towards an analytical framework

This paper reviews and analyzes changing telecommunications policies in China since the inception of the so-called “Open Policy”. It is argued that these changes should be understood as the results of a delicate balance between (1) government considerations (including the state's desire to provide universal coverage, control the telecommunications industry and, more recently, improve the efficiency of state-owned enterprises), (2) the call from foreigners (sometimes made through their governments) to open China's telecommunications industry and to seek profits, and (3) the overwhelming demand of the Chinese population and the business sector (including foreign firms operating in China) to have freer and more rapid movement of information. Over time, the interplay of these forces has led to the liberalization of China's telecommunications industry. These moves towards liberalization took place in four stages. During stages one (Pre-1994) and two (1994–1997), only half-hearted reforms were introduced to separate government administration from business enterprises and to foster very weak domestic competition. During stage three (1998–1999), there were reforms to the regulatory framework and measures towards liberalization. From 2000 onwards, a solid legal foundation was laid after nearly a decade of gradual reform. Moreover, there has been some remarkable organizational restructuring since June 2001.     

China's intellectual property protection strength and its evaluation – based on the accession to TRIPS Agreement (Agreement On Trade‐related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights)

This paper builds China's intellectual property protection strength from the aspects of intellectual property legislation protection strength and law enforcement protection strength, and calculates by using the actual data from 1985 to 2010. The results show that China's intellectual property protection strength has always been enhanced, and Chow test shows that the structural breakpoints appeared in China's intellectual property protection strength in 2001(when China joined TRIPS Agreement). The further Granger causality test shows that the economic development level and technological innovation ability are the factors promoting China's intellectual property protection strength, which, however, has not effectively promoted economic development and technological innovation ability due to the impact of the overall economic development level.     

A suicide survivor: the life of a Chinese worker

In 2010, 18 employees working for Foxconn in China attempted suicide. These shocking events focused the world's attention on the manufacturing supply chains of China's export industry and the experience of working within them. What had driven these young, migrant, assembly line workers to commit such a desperate act? This article provides a first‐hand account of the experiences of one of those who survived a suicide attempt, 17‐year‐old Tian Yu. Her personal narrative is embedded within the broader context of labour process, work organisation and managerial practice at Foxconn, the Taiwanese‐owned multinational that provides products and components for Apple and others. The factory conditions are further shaped by the company trade union and Chinese government policies. The paper concludes with additional contextualisation indicating the emergence of an alliance of workers, students, scholars and transnational labour movement activists who are campaigning for Chinese workers' rights.     

Investor Confidence as a Determinant of China's Urban Housing Market Dynamics

China's urban housing market dynamics suggest that evolving investor confidence may be a relevant demand shifter. Such investors are continually updating their beliefs about the state of the macroeconomy and the policy uncertainty related to national and local housing policies. We build a 35 Chinese city real estate confidence index that varies over time and across cities. This index predicts subsequent house price appreciation and new housing sales. We document evidence of heterogeneous effects of investor confidence depending on a city's demographics and the city's elasticity of housing supply. Our results based on a new household‐level expectations survey bolster the case that investor expectations are an important determinant of real estate price dynamics.     

Who is left behind? Exploring the characteristics of China's broadband non-adopting families

China has made significant progress in broadband development. As of September 2018, 95% of China's population was covered by 4G networks. However, our estimates show that nearly 30% of China's families did not use broadband that year. This study attempts to investigate the characteristics of China's broadband left-behind families. Overall, consistent with the findings for other countries, families with a lower socioeconomic status are more likely to be broadband non-adopters. In the information society, older, poorer, rural and less educated families are left behind. It is recommended that the Chinese government shift from a top-down investment-driven policy to a user-centered demand-driven policy to address the digital divide.     

IBM怎么做生意

IBM的角色越来越不像乙方,更希望成为客户的伙伴。深圳的华为公司总部近两年来总是不定期地接待一些拜访者。这些人不是来谈合作或生意的,而是来向华为"取经"的。他们来自长虹、苏宁、工商银行等国内知名的大企业,而把他们和华为联系在一起的却是IBM。     

考虑结构突变的大宗商品价格波动对中国经济的影响分析

本文从结构突变的视角,考察国际大宗商品价格波动对中国经济的影响规律。首先,运用内生多重结构突变的Bai-Perron检验,发现从1990～2015年的国际原油价格指数、工业投入品（包括金属和农产品）价格指数、中国工业增加值增长速度、消费物价指数等4个指标均存在结构突变现象。然后,利用退势处理方法去除这4个指标的结构突变影响,并运用结构向量自回归（SVAR）模型,建立了这4个指标之间的动态关系系统。脉冲响应分析表明,国际原油价格上升,短期内会减缓我国经济增长速度,但中期内反而会对经济有小幅刺激作用,同时会逐渐拉升我国物价水平;工业投入品价格上升也会减缓我国经济增长速度,但会先拉升后降低物价水平。本文通过考虑结构突变这一重要因素,能更精确地揭示国际大宗商品价格波动对中国经济的影响情况。     

The third-generation-mobile (3G) policy and deployment in China: Current status, challenges, and prospects

Since the inception of telecom reform in 1994, structural reform has been a main thread surrounding the course of the development of China's telecommunications industry. In structuring the 2008 reform and the 2009 3G rollout China's government adopted a relatively balanced approach in the hope of creating level-playing-field in 3G era. Nevertheless, due to the presence of substantial switching costs, substitution effects from the present technology mode, that is, 2.5G, the absence of killer applications, among other technological and institutional factors, China may not have a realistic 3G era before moving toward 4G and beyond. At the bare minimum, currently there is a lacking of either adequate technological-push or demand-pull for a full-scale 3G commercialization—there is no sign that this situation will change in the near term. Triggered by recent initiatives of market convergence between the telecommunications, Internet, and cable, a renewed circle of market, and regulatory reform is probably necessary to cast a sounder industry basis for a timing migration toward the next-generation-networks (NGNs). The timing migration toward 4G (and beyond) may provide a chance for a late-mover nation like China to leapfrog its western counterparts in leading the industry in the era of NGNs. To this end, China is confronted with a challenge in re-examining its industry policy as well as technological strategies for a sustainable development in the era of NGNs. This study offers heuristic analysis and insights on the above issues based on archival documents and interviews. While implications are suggested for China's circumstances, the Chinese experiences may also be considered by other countries and investors when it comes to 3G (and beyond) policies, regulations, deployments, and evolutions.     

Productivity analysis of the telecommunications sector in China

This paper applies the data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to measure the productivity performance of China's telecommunications sector at the provincial level. The results indicate that the efficiency scores for different provinces and regions are diverse: the efficiency scores of the provinces in the eastern region are significantly higher than those in the central and western regions. The differences in efficiency scores are mainly due to the differences in the operating environments of different provinces, rather than the efficiency performance of telecommunications enterprises. The results also suggest that labour redundancy and excess capacity of long-distance optical cable lines are major problems in China's telecommunications sector. After a period of rapid growth in investment and number of subscribers, it is time for the telecommunications sector to consolidate and to put more emphasis on productivity growth in order to meet the challenges posed by the World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments.     

Competition and regulation in China's 3G/4G mobile communications industry—Institutions,governance, and telecom SOEs

When it comes to the analysis of the intrinsic mechanism of market behaviors and hence competition development and regulatory imperatives in the Chinese telecommunications industry, currently there is no consistent pattern offered in the literature. In China's emergent 3G/4G era, market behaviors can be affected by various institutional factors, along with various forms of informal forces, which may translate into different implications for competition regulation. Based on extensive archival research and interview, this current study aims to bridge the gap by following an interpretive approach. An input–output model was substantiated for pattern-matching in the Chinese context base on the postulation of a series of propositions and hence Industry-Gray-Box. Accordingly, two categories of market behaviors, that is, market-driven vs. institutions-driven, were arguably delineated as being underpinning the competition development. Policy implications and future reform imperatives were discussed. This study may advance knowledge in terms of: (1) the establishment of a relatively consistent pattern for mapping the landscape of China's communications industry; (2) the substantiation of the inner working mechanism of China's SOE system in the telecommunications sector; and (3) original first attempt in identifying different roles of telecom SOEs and the governing forces that affect them. The paper also offers extensive and cohesive insights on China's formal and informal institutional environment in general and for telecommunications in particular. Measurements developed in this study may serve as basis for future study.     

Foreign entry and firm R&D: evidence from Chinese manufacturing industries

By making use of firm‐level panel data from 2005 to 2007, this paper empirically examines the relationship between research and development (R&D) behaviour and the presence of foreign firms in China's four major manufacturing industries. The manufacturing industries considered are (1) car manufacturing, (2) household electrical appliances, (3) electronics and (4) communication equipment manufacturing. We find that the presence of foreign firms has resulted in a significant increase in R&D intensity of all four manufacturing industries in China. While the average R&D intensity in communication equipment manufacturing is the highest, the electronics industry, which has the highest level of foreign presence, has experienced a relatively large increase in R&D intensity. This suggests that China's electronics manufacturing sector is responding to rising competition from foreign firms located in China. Foreign presence in China's car manufacturing sector is relatively small, and this industry has experienced a relatively small increase in R&D intensity because of foreign presence.     

中国芯片业熬冬

市场环境惨淡,融资环境不利,依靠单一产品打天下的大多数中国芯片企业能否摆脱兴亡轮回?"你好,这里是中纬吗?"10月20日,当记者按照宁波中纬公司网站上提供的联系电话打过去,那头一位接听电话的男士说:"现在是比亚迪!"宁波中纬因资金亏空破产,于10月6日以1.7亿元的价格拍卖给半导体产业"圈外"的企业——深圳比亚迪有限公司。     

淘宝效应

无论你愿意与否喜欢与否,淘宝正在形成一股能够左右这个商业社会的巨大力量。这已经是海尔第三次登陆淘宝了。从2006年开始,海尔便在淘宝上进进出出。     

Brand innovation and social media: Knowledge acquisition from social media,market orientation,and the moderating role of social media strategic capability

The study examines the relationships between knowledge acquisition from social media, two forms of market orientation (proactive and reactive), social media strategic capability, and brand innovation strategy in the context of China's online technology industry. Analysis of 357 online technology ventures, created during the past 6 years, suggests that brand innovation is affected by both knowledge acquisition from social media and market orientation. Social media strategic capability positively affects brand innovation and acts as a moderator between knowledge acquisition, market orientation, and brand innovation. It further enhances both types of market orientations in achieving brand innovation, suggesting that on social media, customer's needs, both expressed and latent (or unexpressed), can be identified more comprehensively than that of the traditional setting. Hence, the context of social media provides a different set of rules for competition and strategic behavior, in which online technology ventures should note. Implications are useful to improve the current understanding of social media brand innovation strategy, here in China's dynamic social media scene.     

李宁奥运之战

看李宁公司如何把握2008北京奥运这个既能扬名立万,又可从中获利的良机。2008年5月,李宁公司在北京发布为赞助2008年北京奥运会运动队和运动员特别定制的运动装备。70多天后,全世界人都必然看到以下场景:     

Measuring convergence of China's ICT industry: An input-output analysis

The convergence of the information and communication technology (ICT) industry is ubiquitous phenomena, which can be classified from the supply/demand side or complementary/substitute relation. According to the classification, the paper measures the convergence of China's ICT sectors based on its 2002 input-output (IO) table, including five manufacturing sectors and two service sectors. Then, using IO table cross-entropy updating technique, the paper investigates the convergence evolution of four ICT manufacturing sectors from 1997 to 2002. The research finds the following conclusions. In 2002, the supply side convergence of manufacturing sectors was higher than that of service sectors, while service sectors featured a higher degree of the demand side convergence. The year of 2002 witnessed high complementary convergence between some China's ICT manufacturing and service sectors. During the period from 1997 to 2002, the supply side convergence dominated the convergence of China's ICT industry, while the demand-side convergence experienced little structural change.     

Reaping digital dividends: Digital inclusive finance and high-quality development of enterprises in China

The digital economy is progressively emerging as a new driving force for high-quality development in China and has been paving a new avenue for enterprise development through the progress of the digital inclusive finance (DIF) system. Under this paradigm of development, this research examines whether and how DIF exerts an influence on the China's economy which is currently experiencing a transition development of enterprises (HQDE). Using a sample of China's listed companies from 2011 to 2019, the results demonstrate that DIF has a significant favorable impact on HQDE. Furthermore, our analysis finds that reducing financial leverage and alleviating financial constraints are intermediary mechanisms of the effect. Moreover, the beneficial effect of DIF varies in terms of different regions, enterprise property rights, and industrial nature—it is observed to be more pronounced in the eastern region, non-state-owned enterprises, and tertiary industry enterprises. Our results provide empirical evidence that DIF enables enterprises to achieve high-quality development.