Paradigm Shift in the Eurozone? The Market-Based Convergence Rationale

To prevent divergence in a downturn and help cushion economic shocks, capital markets and banks both need to be integrated and assets diversified across Eurozone member states.     

Hartz IV: The Solution to the Unemployment Problems in the Eurozone?

The Hartz IV reforms are consistently regarded as a successful German model for the reduction of structural unemployment. Is it therefore appropriate to advise other member states of the European monetary union to carry out similar reforms? This paper strongly disagrees, arguing that the reduction in unemployment in Germany since 2005 is mainly due to cyclical factors and to the petering out of the negative employment effects caused by the economic transformation after German unification.     

Internationalization Strategies of Business Schools: How Flat Is the World?

Business school strategy has become extremely complex, especially regarding internationalization. Using different paths, experiencing failure and success, business schools have internationalized, attracting many of the international students who contributed $27 billion¹ to the US economy in 2014. Some business schools are global, training global managers, while others serve national markets. How do business schools strategize about internationalization? Can we use existing models to explain this process? Are internationalization and globalization similar? Using a comparative analysis of six case studies in the United States and Europe, we found that the engine of internationalization influences its paths and outcomes. We contribute to international business (IB) research by discussing how business schools strategize their internationalization toward uniformity or diversity under isomorphic pressures from accreditation bodies (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business [AACSB], 2011) and rankings. The so‐called Uppsala model should be extended to address three tensions: internationalization versus globalization, enacted dimensions of audiences, and respective risks of different internationalization pathways. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Will the Chinese Economy be Caught in Stagflation？

Normally speaking, to tell whether an economy will run into stagflation we will see whether the inflation rate exceeds the economic growth rate. The author thinks that China＇s price rise speed still fa...     

How Large is the ChinaMarket?An Analysis by Chinese Experts

OnehastosubdueChinabeforeheconquerstheworldisamenacingsloganputforwardattheFOrtuneGlobalForumheldinthesecondhalfofSeptember1999inShanghaiChina.ThechiefthemesoftheforumwereThesituationoftherisingChineseconsumermarbet,ExportstOChin4,,FormulatingaChinastrategyforyourcompanyandtomordayandtomorrowoftheChinesesecuritiesmarket.Theyconveyedsuchinformalnon:EnterpreneursaroundtheworldareconcernedaboutandattachgreatimportancetoChina,withitsvastterritorybigpopulationandmanybusinessopportunit…     

Why Is the Progress of Marketisation Slow in Russia?

Summary

The paper highlights economic and socio-cultural conditions representing constraints for marketisation of Russia and explains why marketisation has been out of step with other highly significant macro- and microeconomic developments. Marketisation is unlikely to make headway unless economic conditions and market requirements will make its importance unequivocal to all market agents. Standard marketing techniques and activities require appropriate adaptations in an ideologically neutral manner. Consequently, the transfer of know-how may play only a very limited role following the discrepancy in business conditions in developed market economies and transition economies.     

Is the Country of Origin the Fifth Element in the Marketing Mix of Imported Wine?

Abstract

The research builds a theoretical understanding and managerial debate of country of origin effects for agricultural produce for which the growing country and region have been regarded as important bases for differential advantage. Especially, it is focused in the wine industry, which has faced unprecedented competitive marketing challenges over the last decade.     

Is Beauty in the Aisles of the Retailer? Package Processing in Visually Complex Contexts

Visual appeal is an important consideration in the design of brand packages because attractiveness guides behavior. The visual complexity of a context (i.e., the quantity, irregularity, detail, and dissimilarity of objects) in which a retailer displays a package may impact its attractiveness by influencing attention and processing fluency. Employing consumer samples, and stimuli ranging from the abstract to the realistic, three studies provide evidence that people process a package more fluently, thus increasing its attractiveness, when it is presented in a low rather than high complexity context. This effect is more pronounced with inherently appealing packages, and with people who are more field-dependent or pursuing utilitarian shopping goals. Study 1 establishes effects by employing psychometric measures and abstract stimuli; study 2 corroborates findings with another product category and realistic stimuli; and study 3 complements psychometric measures with eye tracking data to demonstrate that visually more complex contexts divert viewer attention, hereby lowering processing fluency and target attractiveness. The authors discuss the theoretical contribution and strategic insights the research provides for retailers, brand managers, and designers.     

How Do Risk Attitudes Differ within the Group of Entrepreneurs? The Role of Motivation and Procedural Utility

Starting a business involves risk and, thus, requires a risk‐taking attitude. The concept of risk and entrepreneurship has been widely discussed in the entrepreneurship literature; most studies compare entrepreneurs with nonentrepreneurs such as managers or bankers. So far, little research exists on the risk attitudes of the different types of entrepreneurs—those who pursue a new business because of opportunity and those who do so through necessity. This study aims to fill this gap. Our particular focus is on individuals' motivations to start their businesses and the nonmonetary returns from entrepreneurship. The results show that opportunity entrepreneurs are more willing to take risks than necessity entrepreneurs. In addition, those who are motivated by creativity are more risk tolerant than other entrepreneurs. The study contributes to the literature about both risk attitudes of entrepreneurs and necessity and opportunity entrepreneurship.     

How Is the Financial Crisis Affecting China's Export Enterprises?

--CCPIT's Inspection of Export Enterprses in Zhejiang Province Being down-to-earth as always,China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT)has carried out its work based on the macroeconomic environment since the outbreak of the financial crisis. From October 24 to 26 in 2008, officials from CCPIT went to Zhejiang province and inspected about 30 private export enterprises in Wenzhou and Taizhou, covering textile,garment, footwear, valve, water pump,sewing machine, auto parts, motorcycle,pneumatic tools, sanitary wares, furniture and other industries.     

How Does Legitimacy Operate in Emerging Capital Markets? Investigating the Moderating Effects of Premium Listings and Firm Size on Risk

Drawing on an institutional theoretical perspective, we investigate the impact of the origins of organizational legitimacy on systematic risk using a sample of 358 Brazilian companies between the years 2002 and 2007. We regard three origins of legitimacy—formal–regulatory (presence in premium listings), cultural–cognitive (board of directors), and normative legitimacy (reputation)—to empirically investigate how a company's size and adherence to premium lists moderate other sources of legitimacy. Our results indicate that only under apparently better quality corporate governance conditions—presence in premium listings—do corporate reputation and the board of directors reduce systematic risk. In addition, we show that the effect of reputation on risk is positively moderated by firm size. Copyright © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How Much Does Wealth Matter in the Acquisition of Financial Literacy?

The acknowledged widespread lack of financial literacy casts serious doubts on the ability of individuals to make financial decisions. Some studies suggest that financial experience can affect financial knowledge and that household financial wealth can be a factor leading to the acquisition of financial literacy. This article investigated the determinants of financial literacy using the 2006 wave of the Italian survey on household income and wealth. Empirical results indicated that wealth has a positive but small effect on the degree of financial knowledge.     

Where Is the Economic Center of the West?

The China Western Forum 2000was held from 20 to 22 Octoberin Chengdu. Twenty policiesencouraging investment in the west wereput forward, and the western developmentwas further accelerated.Will Chengdu the No.4 City inChina?There are three generally acceptedmetropolises in China: Beijing, Shanghaiand Guangzhou.In a new round of competition, whichcity will become the No.4 after Beding,Shanghai and Guangzhou?Western cities are longing for thisposition.On the vast 56% of Chinese land inthe…     

Unlocking the Power of Integrated Marketing Communications: How Integrated Is Your IMC Program?

The future of advertising and marketing communications will be marked by an increasingly diverse collection of new digital options added to the traditional media and communication options already available to marketers. By taking advantage of the unique strengths of different communication options, and combining them and sequencing them strategically, marketers have the opportunity to drive sales and build brands in ways never before possible. Doing so, however, will require new concepts, new tools, and new thinking. Toward that goal, this article describes seven integrated marketing communications (IMC) choice criteria that marketers can use to judge how effectively and efficiently they have assembled their IMC programs. The article also outlines five priority areas for future research to help further guide the successful design and implementation of IMC programs.     

How do Expatriate Managers Draw the Boundaries of Moral Free Space in the Case of Guanxi?

Journal of Business Ethics - This paper explores expatriates’ ethical evaluations of and responses to guanxi in China through the lens of integrative social contracts theory. We conducted...     

How competent are consumers? The case of the energy sector in France

This paper discussed the notion of value co‐creation and the concept of customer competence as suggested by this notion. This led us to consider the competent customer as a social construction related to managerial representations. In order to examine this issue, a longitudinal exploratory research based on participant observation and in‐depth interviews with employees of a French energy supplier was conducted to explore whether customers are perceived as competent or incompetent market actors. The data analysis revealed four categories illustrating customers' profiles coping with the new situation of the ‘Utility X’ group in the energy sector. ‘Utility X’ employees define their customers according to four profiles: myopic, ignorant, uncreative and organizer of company resources. Even if the marketing studies that share the Service‐Dominant Logic point‐of‐view suggest that the customer would be competent at all times, our findings showed that customer competencies are in fact socially constructed and emerge partially from managerial representations. Therefore, the adoption by companies of a marketing philosophy (‘market with’ philosophy), in which the customer and supply chain partners are collaborators in the entire marketing process, seems only possible if they recognize customers' competencies and identify situations when customers do not activate their competencies or do not have the resources that enable them to develop their competencies.     

How Big Is the Gap Between China''''s East and West?

China's western region refers to Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai,Ningxia, Xingjiang, Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan,Guizhou, and Tibet, ten places in all, accounting for 56 percentof China's territory and with a total population of 285 million.The Development and Construction of China's WestRegionsThere are deposits of more than 120 kinds of minerals inChina's west regions, and some rare metal reserves there leadChina and even the world, and the west regions are superior inenergy, tourism and land …