Antecedents of consumer attitudes toward mobile marketing: A comparative study of youth markets in the United States and China

The purpose of this study is to examine factors influencing consumers' attitudes toward mobile marketing across two major markets—the United States and China. Drawing upon the technology acceptance model (TAM), the theory of reasoned action (TRA), and the perceived characteristics of innovations theory (PCI), we develop and test a conceptual model examining the joint influences of TAM constructs (perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness) and individual characteristics (personal attachment, innovativeness, risk avoidance, and privacy concern) and on consumer attitudes toward mobile marketing practices. Focusing on youth consumers, we empirically test the model using data collected in an established (United States) and an emerging market (China). Findings across these two markets reflect cross‐market similarities and differences related to consumers' attitudes toward mobile marketing. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Linking international adaptation strategy,immigrant effect,and performance: The case of home–host and cross-market scenario

Previous studies suggest that a proper fit between business strategy and human resource management can enhance a firm's financial performance. Building on prior findings, this study proposes that an ideal match could occur on the choice of international adaptation strategy and immigrant effect (IE). This match would have a significant effect on firms’ financial performance. The proposed framework is examined using the experience of 121 firms operating across the Greater China region in the home–host and cross-market scenarios. It is found that the extent of adaptation strategy is positively associated with the choice of IE in both home–host and cross-market scenarios and that IE has significant direct and indirect effects on market share and profitability in the cross-market scenario. This study proposes a new strategy–human resource management-performance framework. The findings established provide some implications for researchers and managers.     

Chinese Private Firms’ Outward Foreign Direct Investment: Does Firm Ownership and Size Matter?

This article investigates and explains the behaviors, motives, and characteristics of Chinese privately owned enterprises’ (POEs’) outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), and compares this with the behaviors, motives, and characteristics of Chinese state‐owned enterprises (SOEs), using the institutional perspective and resources‐based view. Through in‐depth interviews with senior managers and an extensive secondary data analysis of Chinese POEs’ OFDI, we found that Chinese POEs are increasingly active in committing both market‐ and strategic asset–seeking OFDI due to the unfavorable institutional environment they face in China and the different types of resources possessed. POEs cluster with their business partners or domestic peers for international market expansion and adopt several approaches to acquire strategic assets. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Managerial Commitment to Sustainable Supply Chain Management Projects

Most companies are under pressure to improve the environmental sustainability of their supply chains. However, there is considerable variance in companies' ability to successfully deploy environmental management projects. One important factor, according to articles in the academic and business press, is the ability of champions of sustainable supply chain management (SCM) projects within organizations to gain the commitment of colleagues (e.g., other managers from a variety of functions) to help these projects succeed. Therefore, this paper examines variables that affect a project champion's ability to gain this commitment from colleagues. In particular, building on existing research, this research employs a video‐based experimental design to examine the effect of the influence approach that the project champion employs, the values of the person the champion is trying to influence, and the organizational climate. The results suggest that organizational climate and certain individual values directly affect commitment. There are also interactions between values and influence tactics. The research adds to the field's growing knowledge on the antecedents of sustainable SCM within companies while providing valuable guidance for environmental champions and for top managers.     

Financial Sector Volatility,Banking Market Structure and Exports

This paper assesses the impacts of financial sector volatility and banking market structure on industrial exports. By utilising the specification of Rajan and Zingales (American Economic Review 1998; 88 , 559) on the cross‐country, cross‐industry data from Manova (Journal of International Economics 2008; 76 , 33), we find that financial sector volatility, measured as the standard deviation of the growth of private credit, and banking market structure, measured as the share of the three largest banks’ assets in a country, respectively exert significantly negative and positive impacts on industrial exports, particularly for those industries that are more externally financially dependent. The findings are robust to a variety of kinds of sensitivity analysis and thus lend support to the notion that a more stable and concentrated banking system is important to the exports of those industries that rely more on external finance.     

跨文化背景下商业广告设计的视觉元素关注度研究——以餐饮类平面广告为例

本文以餐饮类平面广告为实验材料,研究了中国和美国被试者对平面广告中的图形、色彩、文字、编排及构图等视觉元素的关注度。本研究从文化认知理论出发,以文化认知差异为前提,探寻了东西方族群对商业广告中出现的视觉信息的不同处理方式。以商业广告中视觉设计的原则为标准,解构了平面广告设计中的视觉构成元素并进行一一比较,得出商业平面广告设计中中美两国被试者的视觉元素关注度差异。最终获取了各种视觉元素的评估结果和相对权重,形成了商业图形广告设计元素关注度的先后顺序。这一实验结果对跨文化认知心理理论在跨国广告设计中的应用有借鉴和启发作用,可以为跨国公司和设计师提供技术指导,设计出更符合消费者需求的商业广告。     

Portfolio characteristics of outward foreign direct investment and dynamic performance of emerging economy firms: An option portfolio perspective

In recent decades, emerging economy (EE) firms have taken an aggressive approach to international expansion. Drawing upon option portfolio theory, this study develops the characteristics of the OFDI portfolio based on two attributes of a portfolio and two dimensions of host environments. We examine how the characteristics of the OFDI portfolio dynamically influence the OFDI?performance linkage. Using a sample of 545 Chinese listed multinational firms during the period 2009–2018, we find EE firms’ OFDI contributes more to short-term performance when the OFDI portfolio features a higher overall quality of host institutions or a higher diversity of strategic factor market developments in the host countries. However, over a relatively long period, EE firms’ OFDI contributes more to long-term performance when the portfolio features a higher overall diversity of strategic factor markets and institutional environments. These findings offer further knowledge on the OFDI?performance link in emerging economies.     

中国城市边界效应下降了吗?-基于一价定律的研究

不同区域内部的价格分布的差异会干扰到边界效应的估计,即异质效应的存在。本文基于一价定律修正了边界效应模型,利用2004—2007年长三角和珠三角25个城市的六大类商品价格信息,估计了城市边界效应值并考察了城市边界效应的时间趋势。实证结果表明:考虑了异质效应能够有效降低不同地区价格分布差异的干扰,修正后的中国城市平均边界效应从45.9万公里下降至6.6万公里,且每年以0.2%的速度呈下降趋势。行政边界对城市边界效应的影响较大。     

Firm Networking and Bribery in China: Assessing Some Potential Negative Consequences of Firm Openness

Economic openness, both in terms of increased international trade exposure and enhanced inter-firm networking, has been a key element of China’s economic emergence since the implementation of market reforms and the “opening-up policy” over 30 years ago. Unfortunately, these changes have also coincided with the increased incidence of bribery and corruption. Both in general, and in the specific context of China, research on the relationship between a firm’s tendency toward openness and its propensity to engage in bribery is scarce. This study seeks to fill this gap based on empirical evidence provided by a large sample of Chinese firms. The findings of the study reveal that firms’ increased networking and openness tend to occur contemporaneously with greater bribery and corruption. We suggest that this may be due to the misuse of guanxi-based networks that coincide with the presence of firms’ open network strategies, heightened by the potential loss of resource and capability heterogeneity (and hence reduced competitive advantages) in the context of openness. We further find that firms paying bribes do so as an attempt to overcome unnecessary bureaucratic processes and ineffective institutional support that might tend to hinder their development.     

A framework for the selection of Six Sigma projects in services: case studies of banking and health care services in Taiwan

This study develops a framework for effectively implementing service Six Sigma projects. The framework is composed of four phases: (1) initial project identification, which deploys candidate projects in accordance with a firm’s strategic goals, (2) project value assessment, which evaluates project’s value based on the financial return, cost, and its impact on employee behavior, (3) project complexity assessment, which examines scope, data availability, and risk associated with the project, and (4) project prioritization, which identifies Six Sigma projects and categorizes them into black belt and green belt categories. Two cases in banking and health care services are discussed to demonstrate the proposed framework.