The Significance of Enterprise Anthropology in Asia

Abstract

Anthropology is known for its qualitative methods and its body of theory which is based on 150 years of study of human origins and cultures. This vast body of knowledge provides a base for the continuing study of humans in all contexts and twenty-first-century anthropology includes an array of subfields specializing in human behavior in diverse contexts. Enterprise anthropology is one of these subfields and this volume captures some of the valuable work being conducted in this field in Asia. It is a welcome addition to the literature on business anthropology not only for the quality of the research but also because it demonstrates the growth of the field in Asia. In this chapter, I first discuss enterprise anthropology and its relation to the field of business anthropology. Then I provide a brief history of the field’s development to put the importance of this current volume in context.     

A theory of exploitative child labor

We develop a model in which some child labor is exploitative.Since exploited child laborers are paid less than the valueof the marginal product of labor, there is scope for policyintervention to be Pareto improving. We illustrate this by showingthat a system of inspection and fines targeted on exploitativechild labor increases the aggregate output produced by children.We also establish that such intervention secures the releaseof children from exploitative working conditions, to their benefit.The distributional implications of the intervention among employersand among children who had not been exploited depends on whethercapital is mobile internationally, and can depend on whetherthe elimination of exploitative child labor is partial or complete.     

Billion Dollar Baby: Local Foods and U.S. Grocery

This study reviews consumer purchasing of locally produced foods in retail grocery stores. A U.S. sample of 590 consumers was drawn via an online survey, with structural equation modeling used to assess hypothesized relationships of attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, intention to purchase, extent of purchase, and the moderating effects of shopping channel type. Results from structural model testing suggested that all hypothesized relationships except that of purchase intention and extent of purchase were found to be significant, with group differences existing between supercenters/warehouses and farmers’ market shopping channels. Implications and future research directions are provided.     

Quality-Labeled Vegetable Consumption in Malaysia: Factors Affecting Attitude and Purchase Intent

The rising rate of foodborne diseases has caused not just consumers but also food producers to become increasingly concerned about food safety. As a result, the government of Malaysia, together with relevant bodies, have introduced quality-assurance agencies to certify food products that are produced, processed, and handled with methods that are acknowledged by the certification agencies as clean and safe for consumption. This study aims to identify the factors influencing consumer purchasing behavior toward quality-labeled vegetables. A survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire and distributed randomly to consumers in public places in the Klang Valley. Four hundred and sixteen respondents were approached. The results indicate that most of the respondents are aware of food quality labels. Using factor analysis, four latent factors that influence consumer attitude toward quality-labeled vegetables were identified, and the importance of quality attributes (sensory, health, safety, and social attributes) in shaping those attitudes was also shown.     

Photo-elicitation: Using photographs to read retail interiors through consumers' eyes

Researchers studying experiences in retail environments have typically focused their attention towards positivistically examining the influence of individual atmospheric variables upon customer behavior. In this respect photographs are common environmental simulation techniques. This approach concerns not only researchers active in consumer culture, but also interior architects and retail designers, working in a disciplinary tradition that maintains that interiors function as “Gestalt” environments, interacting with their users. In this paper, the authors aim to develop understanding of retail environments as sites of complex sensory experiences and the application of photo-elicitation as an interpretive research methodology concerning experiences in retail environments. The paper discusses the results of two exploratory studies within selected retail environments, and demonstrates the value of photo-elicitation in gaining insight into experiences in retail interiors. Photo-elicitation thus contributes new knowledge of the retail environment, and adds value to positivistic research approaches that have predominated in this field.     

California regonal regstered nurse workforce report card

Various reports and opinion papers have offered suggestions to alleviate the national and California RN shortages. The methodology of using the report card concept for comparing the number of RN jobs per 100,000 populations regionally with the national database further highlights the severe shortage of RN's in various regions in California. This report card method may potentially be used as a planning or forecasting tool, as well as a monitoring tool to initiate workforce development strategies and projects, and to evaluate their effectiveness over time.     

瞄准美国市场的中国企业

著名的联想集团和RCA,海尔、TTE和中芯国际现在名气还不够大,但如果这些公司找到适合他们的发展之路,他们很快就能做到这一点。上述所有企业都位于中国——这一当今全球发展最快的工业化国家,而且,他们都欲在美国市场分一杯羹。超越全球发展最快的市场这一想法听起来有些违背常理,但中国企业目前正在这么干,而且他们有很好的理由:“考虑到很多商业决策需要在美国做出,大多数意欲插足美国市场的中国公司纷纷开始建立市场部门。”中芯国际美国公司的总裁Samuel T．Wang表示。     

Cross-country diversity and non-IFRS financial performance measures

We investigate the disclosure of non-IFRS performance measures by 400 companies from eight countries using IFRS Standards (Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Singapore, Sweden and the United Kingdom) in the years 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2013 (1595 company-years). The incidence of disclosure is higher in UK and France but lower in Hong Kong, Germany and Singapore. Exclusions relating to impairment, tax, and mergers and acquisitions are frequent. Firms making non-IFRS disclosures are more likely to be larger, have higher leverage, and exhibit greater volatility in their reported income. Additional tests show national reporting traditions and practices affect non-IFRS disclosures.     

Disclosure regulations work: The case of regulation G

Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting - Regulators and standard setters strive to enhance the transparency of corporate disclosures. To address concerns regarding the improper use of...