Firm resources and entry-related advantages: An empirical study in China

The majority of research on order of market entry has focused on market pioneer advantages or the specialized assets that industry incumbents would need to possess. However, relatively little attention has been paid to whether and how certain firm resources or capabilities may provide latecomers with entry-related advantages. This issue is of particular interest when multinational organizations decide to enter emerging markets, such as China, where the transitional economy provides both opportunities and challenges. This study attempts to bridge this gap by discussing the entry-related advantages in terms of pioneer advantages, early follower advantages, and late entrant advantages, and by investigating how each of the entry-related advantages has unique impacts on market performance. In particular, this study examines the relations between innovation management, firm resources, entry-related advantages, and market performance simultaneously with cross-sectional data from 191 firms in China. Our findings reveal that technical resources and skills (R&S), marketing R&S, and market intelligence are associated with different advantages for market pioneers, early followers, and late entrants. Technical R&S is also found to have significant impacts on order of market entry as pioneers. Furthermore, the findings show that remarkable differences exist among the three entrant types (i.e., market pioneers, early followers, and late entrants) in their strategic approaches to attain market performance. We offer implications to foreign firms operating in China or intending to enter China's markets.     

Estate tax and lifetime income inequality

This paper constructs a heterogeneous, intertemporal general equilibrium framework which integrates both intended and unintended bequest motives to examine the long-run effects of an estate tax on the inequality of lifetime income. The results are ambiguous in general and sensitive to the type of transfer motive involved. We find that in the purely intended bequest case, an estate tax increases the steady-state inequality of net lifetime income in the case where people's elasticity of intertemporal substitution is greater than one. However, in the purely unintended bequest case, the effect of an estate tax on inequality is dependent on the probability of survival.     

Evaluating business value of IT towards optimisation of the application portfolio

Information technology has become heavily embedded in business operations. As business needs change over time, IT applications are expected to continue providing required support. Whether the existing IT applications are still fit for the business purpose they were intended or new IT applications should be introduced is a strategic decision for business, IT and business-aligned IT. In this article, we present a method that aims to analyse business functions and IT roles and to evaluate business-aligned IT from both social and technical perspectives. The method introduces a set of techniques that systematically supports the evaluation of the existing IT applications in relation to their technical capabilities for maximising business value. Furthermore, we discuss the evaluation process and results that are illustrated and validated through a real-life case study of a UK borough council and followed by discussion on implications for researchers and practitioners.     

Ten Highlights for the Central Economic Work Conference

The Central Economic Work Conference is the barometer for the macro-economy in which the economic work of previous year is summarized,the current economic situation is analyzed and work for next year is planned.What are the major highlights for the Central Economic Work Conference that closed at the end of 2019?     

Kunming—A City of Spring on the Plateau

As ever y Chinese knows, Kunming (昆明) of Yunnan Province enjoys a pleasant climate all year round and lives up to its nickname of "the City of Spring". There is neither severe winter nor extremely hot summer. Since long ago, Kunming has been the political, economical and cultural center of Yunnan Province     

Rural development through industrial clustering： A case study from China

In recent years, as cluster theory evolves and more countries and regions implement industrial stimulation policies rooted in cluster theory, empirical research on industry clusters has likewise gained momentum. With the spread of clusters and regions instituting cluster policies, cluster formation has come to be seen as a promising tool for regional development. However, compared with industrial clusters in general, rural development clusters exhibit a higher level of diversity, namely in the purposes behind their formation, the parties that participate in or operate them, and the conditions in which they are formed. In terms of China, there is a considerable degree of diversity in clusters related to agriculture and rural communities depending on the particular sub-sector, the leaders of the sector, the socioeconomic conditions of the particular region, and other factors. For this reason, rather than the clusters themselves, in this research, we focused on cluster initiatives （CI）, i.e. the efforts to facilitate regional cluster growth and competitiveness. Firstly, we conducted a brief survey of previous studies of clusters. Secondly, we analyzed the effects of industrial clustering on rural economy in China econometrically. Thirdly, we examined the cases of vegetable cluster in Shanghai and the naturally colored cotton and hops cluster in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. By concluding the above-mentioned analysis, we finally explored the potential and outstanding issues for rural development using cluster initiatives models.     

The Direct and Reposting Effects of Advertorials on Sales

Advertorials have been shown to influence advertising recall and brand evaluation. However, no research has examined their impact on sales. This study uses longitudinal data on durable consumer goods in China to assess the extent to which advertorials influence sales. The study finds that advertorials have dual, positive effects on firms’ sales: a direct effect through original copy and a reposting effect through online exposure.     

When Beauty Backfires: The Effects of Server Attractiveness on Consumer Taste Perceptions

The current research tests whether and how being in the presence of attractive individuals alters consumers’ evaluations of their expected dining experience and the taste of the products consumed. Our results uncover a novel phenomenon in the domains of physical attractiveness and taste perception: attractiveness does indeed impact taste perception, but its influence varies as a function of the valence of the food consumed. When the server is attractive, good food tastes better but bad food tastes worse. Six studies demonstrate this effect and, importantly, show that it occurs for male, but not female consumers and only if the male consumers are low in need for cognition. The implications of this work and potential avenues for additional research are discussed.     

Do extrinsic cues affect purchase risk at international e-tailers: The mediating effect of perceived e-tailer service quality

The inherent nature of the international e-tailing environment leads to the consideration of purchase risk. In this study, an attempt is made to investigate the effect of three extrinsic cues, e-tailer brand equity, Country-Of-e-tailers (COE) and guarantee quality, within such an environment in Taiwan. The research findings support the proposed hypotheses that these exogenous factors affect a mediator, i.e., perceived e-tailer service quality, which in turn affects purchase risk perceived by online shoppers in a borderless marketplace. In conclusion, managerial implications of the research results as well as future research directions are presented and discussed.