Information direction, website reputation and eWOM effect: A moderating role of product type

This article examines how the electronic word of mouth (eWOM) information direction (positive vs. negative) and a website's reputation (established vs. unestablished) contribute to the eWOM effect. The article describes a study focusing on the moderating role of the product type (search vs. experience). The results of the experiment show that the eWOM effect is greater for negative eWOM than for positive eWOM, greater for established websites than for unestablished websites, and greater for experience goods than for search goods. The results support the moderating effects of product type on the eWOM information direction-website reputation-eWOM effect relationship. The impact of negative eWOM on the eWOM effect is greater for experience goods than for search goods. Similarly, the impact of website reputation on the eWOM effect is greater for experience goods than for search goods. The findings provide managerial implications for an Internet marketing strategy.     

Total factor productivity growth for 12 Asian economies: The past and the future

This study examines the importance of TFP growth in the long-term past and future economic growth of 12 Asian economies. We analyze the pattern of past growth based on a calculation of TFP growth, investigate the TFP dynamics by estimations of a TFP growth model, decompose the factors affecting TFP growth, and offer long-term projections of TFP growth. The main findings are as follows. First, results suggest that the growth accounting paradigm has shifted in the recent decade toward a productivity-based growth paradigm. Second, the catch-up effect is the major source of TFP growth in past decades, and the human capital contribution to TFP growth is gradually rising in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan in the most recent decade but is stagnated or weakened for other Asian economies. Third, the results project strong TFP growth for the two subperiods of 2010–2020 and 2020–2030 and thus suggest that the productivity-based growth will continue in the future long-term growth of the Asian economies.     

How does sales force automation influence relationship quality and performance? The mediating roles of learning and selling behaviors

Sales force automation (SFA) technologies are increasingly used to support customer relationship management strategies. However, previous studies have reported mixed results about the performances of SFA technologies. Therefore, this study seeks to further examine the impact of SFA usage on both customer relationship quality and sales performance. Additionally, the mediating roles of learning and adaptive selling behaviors on the outcomes of SFA usage are investigated. The results highlight the mediating role of salesperson learning and adaptive selling behaviors in the SFA usage and sales performance relationship. Especially noteworthy is the impact of learning through adaptive selling on those outcome variables. Implications for SFA research and practice that may further improve our understanding of this increasingly relevant topic are also offered.     

Social identity salience: Effects on identity‐based brand choices of Hispanic consumers

The purpose of this study was to examine the combinatorial effects of enduring and momentary mechanisms of cultural identity salience on identity‐based apparel brand choices of three Hispanic acculturation segments (Hispanic‐dominant, mainstream‐dominant, and balanced‐bicultural). The hypotheses were empirically tested among Hispanic students at a midwestern university in the U.S. employing a two‐session online experiment. Results revealed that the influence of cultural primes (momentary salience of the cultural identity) on subsequent brand choices of Hispanic consumers is moderated by their bidimensional acculturation (enduring salience of the cultural identity). As posited, the current study found that the same cultural primes had differential effects among the three Hispanic acculturation segments, with the largest effect size among the balanced‐bicultural segment. Specifically, the results indicated that Hispanic‐dominant and mainstream‐dominant consumers were less responsive to cultural cues in the environment and were less likely to demonstrate significant preference shifts in response to cultural primes. However, balanced‐bicultural consumers demonstrated significant shifts in their attitudes and purchase intent for Hispanic and mainstream apparel brands when exposed to cultural primes, such that their brand choices assimilated toward the primed identity. Results are discussed in the context of social identity theory, the self‐stereotyping process, cultural frame shifting, and the bidimensional acculturation model. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Firm size,age, industrial networking,and growth: a case of the Korean manufacturing industry

This paper investigates the roles of firm size, age, and industrial networking in determining firm growth. Analyses using the 2-year panel data of 7,889 Korean manufacturing firms between 1994 and 2003 confirm that firm size and age have significant negative effects on firm growth and significant positive impacts on firm survival. R&D and export activities are found to facilitate both firm growth and survival. The primary focus of this study is to examine the effects of industrial networking, such as subcontracting and clustering, on firm growth. The results show that subcontracting does not yield any positive effect for firm growth, but encumbers survival, which may be accounted for by the high subcontracting intensity among small firms. Clustering, on the other hand, is found to promote firm growth and survival. There is, however, little evidence that such a positive effect of clustering is derived from network externalities through cooperation and competition among firms in a cluster per se.     

Effects of ideal image congruence and organizational commitment on employee intention to leave

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among employee self-image/store image congruence, employee–store commitment, and employee intention to leave within the context of retail stores. Data were collected using a survey method. Usable questionnaires were completed by 276 retail store employees. Path analysis was used to test the hypotheses. Results revealed employee self-image/store image congruence was positively related to store image attractiveness. In turn, store image attractiveness was positively related to employee–store commitment both directly and indirectly through intrinsic job satisfaction. Lastly, both intrinsic job satisfaction and employee–store commitment were negatively related to employees’ intention to leave.     

The role of interactivity in e-tailing: Creating value and increasing satisfaction

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between three dimensions of interactivity (controllability, synchronicity, and bi-directionality) and consumers’ perceived value composed of utilitarian and hedonic values on e-shopping, finally determining the level of overall satisfaction on using interactivity features in e-tailing service. A total of 451 respondents participated and the usable sample size was 427 after the screening process. The results indicate that bi-directionality is a key interactivity feature for consumers’ hedonic value creation in e-tailing service settings while synchronicity is a key for utilitarian value.     

华侨网络和对华投资特点浅析

目前,对华侨还没有统一的概念,但华侨的大量存在却是不争的事实,华侨投资在中国经济发展中的作用也是非常显著的.在华侨网络形成过程中,方言曾经起着非常重要的作用,并通过血缘、地缘和业缘紧密联系在一起.华侨对华投资往往与故乡有机结合,与香港企业共同投资,并充分利用中国政府的优惠政策,又有向北京、上海等中心城市扩展的趋势.     

The co-movement of stock markets in East Asia: Did the 1997–1998 Asian financial crisis really strengthen stock market integration?

This paper examines the integration and causality of interdependencies among seven major East Asian stock exchanges before, during, and after the 1997–1998 Asian financial crisis. For this purpose, we use daily stock market data from July 1, 1992 to June 30, 2003 in local currency as well as US dollar terms. The data reveal that the relationships among East Asian stock markets are time varying. While stock market interactions are limited before the Asian financial crisis, we find that Hong Kong and Singapore respond significantly to shocks in most other East Asian markets, including Shanghai and Shenzhen, during this crisis. After the crisis, shocks in Hong Kong and Singapore largely affect other East Asian stock markets, except for those in Mainland China. Finally, considering the role of the USA shows that it strongly influences stock returns in East Asia – except for Mainland China – in all periods, while the reverse does not hold true.