A tale of two cities – the development and reform experiences of Shenzhen and Shanghai

Following gaige kaifang, the twin strategy of reform and opening up, Shenzhen has been designated as a Special Economic Zone. The city appeared to have bright future and would serve as the growth engine in China. Despite having an impressive record of economic development since 1979, the prestige of Shenzhen as a commercial centre has always been overshadowed by Shanghai and Hong Kong. A breakthrough finally came when the State Council of China decided to develop Qianhai, a town near Shenzhen, into an international commercial centre. However, shortly after, the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone representing an unprecedented degree of openness in relation to foreign investment and international trade was launched. No one seems to remember the once-hopeful Qianhai area. The aim of this paper is to examine the path of development of the two leading commercial centres in China amidst the wider context of Chinese economic reform. A common issue facing both cities is, although the state generally has no problem in outlining a vision of reform, a translation of this vision into actual credible measures that could be implemented is often problematic.     

The Effect of Workplace Negative Gossip on Employee Proactive Behavior in China: The Moderating Role of Traditionality

In this study, we examined the relationship between workplace negative gossip, as perceived by the targets, and proactive behavior by focusing on the mediating role of the target’s emotional exhaustion and the moderating role of the target’s traditionality. Our results from dyadic data on 234 supervisor–subordinate relationships in China revealed that (1) workplace negative gossip was negatively related to proactive behavior; (2) emotional exhaustion mediated this relationship; and (3) traditionality strengthened both the relationship between workplace negative gossip and emotional exhaustion and the indirect effect of workplace negative gossip on proactive behavior via emotional exhaustion. Our findings have a number of theoretical and practical implications for the research on mistreatment and proactive behavior.     

Preferred shopping destination: Hong Kong versus Singapore

Visitor shopping is an important contributor to the economy of Hong Kong as it accounts for more than half the total visitors' expenditure. Owing to its significance, and strong competition from Singapore, Hong Kong must re‐examine the city's attraction to shoppers. The tourism and retail industries of Hong Kong must formulate effective strategies to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the shopping environment in both cities. This study surveys 309 international visitors about their shopping expectations and perceptions of Hong Kong and Singapore in 15 attributes. Results were analysed by SPSS software (Statistical Package for Social Science) using the techniques of frequencies and paired t‐tests. Singapore outperforms Hong Kong notably in many areas, such as language ability, attitude and efficiency of service staff. The findings indicate an urgency for Hong Kong to strive harder. In conclusion, the article provides some recommendations for the city to re‐establish its reputation as the ‘shopping paradise’ of the Asia Pacific region and to meet the challenge of Singapore as the preferred shopping destination. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of employee satisfaction on quality and profitability in high-contact service industries

The extant operations management literature has extensively investigated the associations among quality, customer satisfaction, and firm profitability. However, the influence of employee attributes on these performance dimensions has rarely been examined. In this study we investigate the impact of employee satisfaction on operational performance in high-contact service industries. Based on an empirical study of 206 service shops in Hong Kong, we examined the hypothesized relationships among employee satisfaction, service quality, customer satisfaction, and firm profitability. Using structural equations modeling, we found that employee satisfaction is significantly related to service quality and to customer satisfaction, while the latter in turn influences firm profitability. We also found that firm profitability has a moderate non-recursive effect on employee satisfaction, leading to a “satisfaction–quality–profit cycle”. Our empirical investigation suggests that employee satisfaction is an important consideration for operations managers to boost service quality and customer satisfaction. We provide empirical evidence that employee satisfaction plays a significant role in enhancing the operational performance of organizations in the high-contact service sector.     

Entrepreneurial financing in new business ventures: a help-seeking behavior perspective

How and from whom prospective entrepreneurs seek their start-up capital for new venture formation represent fundamental questions in entrepreneurial financing. Drawing on research of help-seeking behavior, we propose that apart from economic rationale entrepreneurs’ decisions to seek financing may be influenced by socio-psychological factors. Using a scenario experiment (venture risk x relational proximity) to investigate how prospective entrepreneurs considered funding from family and outsiders, it was found that they tended to seek family financing when the family was close and the risk was high, and inclined to seek outsider funding when the venture risk was high and the family was not close. The findings might seem paradoxical but they actually underscore the influence of socio-psychological factors in entrepreneurial financing decisions and offer novel contributions to the entrepreneurship, informal investment, and education literatures.     

Family ostracism and proactive customer service performance: An explanation from conservation of resources theory

Asia Pacific Journal of Management - Despite the burgeoning interest in work-family conflict, little is known about how family stressors influences employees’ attitudes and behaviors in the...     

Effects of sexual harassment on employees’ family undermining: Social cognitive and behavioral plasticity perspectives

This study examined the effects of workplace sexual harassment on family undermining. The investigation focused on the mediating role of moral identity and the moderating role of organization-based self-esteem (OBSE). The results, which were based on employee-spouse dyadic data collected in China, indicated that employees’ perceptions of sexual harassment were negatively related to their sense of moral identity and positively related to family undermining behavior. Moreover, reduced moral identity mediated the relationship between sexual harassment and family undermining. Furthermore, OBSE attenuated the main effect of sexual harassment on moral identity and the indirect effect of sexual harassment on family undermining via reduced moral identity. Our findings offer insightful theoretical contributions and managerial implications that indicate new directions for research on sexual harassment and work-family relations.     

The Great Halls of China? Meeting Planners’ Perceptions of Beijing as an International Convention Destination

This research focused on meeting planners’ perceptions about selecting Beijing as an international convention destination. Twenty-three convention destination site selection criteria organized into five categories were identified. It was found that, with respect to Beijing, the importance of site selection criteria has changed since the late 1990s, with meeting planners now attaching more weight to the quality of convention services, quality of convention planning assistance, and city image. The meeting planners who had previously held international conventions in Beijing attached greater importance to research and development cooperation opportunities and choice of accommodations than those who had not. They rated Beijing's performance lower on the convenience of the application process (required by Chinese governments) and government support. It was concluded that Beijing needs to improve most on the quality of convention services and convention planning assistance, and by relaxing government policies related to the holding of international conventions.     

REGIONAL OFFICES IN SINGAPORE: SPATIAL AND STRATEGIC INFLUENCES IN THE LOCATION OF CORPORATE CONTROL

This paper reports a postal questionnaire survey of 130 regional offices in Singapore. The survey examines location decisions, current location evaluation and business objectives of regional offices. The extent to which competition for regional offices is possible among Asian business centers and the regional development consequences of business strategy linked to regional offices are assessed. Variations among regional offices according to country of origin and year of establishment are analyzed. The survey concludes that Singapore retains its lead as a center for regional offices, but that the sources of its attractiveness are changing and that it is not gaining from any relocation of corporate control out of Hong Kong. Public policy incentives to attract regional offices in competition to Singapore may be most successful if aimed at Asian organizations. Promotion to offices from North America and Europe should emphasize the relative growth opportunities in Southeast and East Asia.     

Profit or principles: Why do restaurants serve organic food?

Dining organically has become a popular trend globally, but is still a niche concept in New Zealand. This exploratory study presents a small sample of restaurateurs’ views on the concept of organic dining, and their motivations for entering the organic food service sector. The study employs a qualitative approach, using data from five semi-structured interviews with Auckland restaurateurs offering organic menus.