What should we call this color? The influence of color-naming on consumers' attitude toward the product

Many companies use unique color names to differentiate products, attract consumer attention, and promote sales. This study categorizes the names of colors in detail, and uses schema incongruity and affect regulation theory to elucidate the effects of color names with different typicality and ambiguity. We identify the underlying mechanism and explore how color attribute importance and color name valence moderate the effects of the color name. The results of five studies show the following: (a) atypical-low ambiguity color names (vs. atypical-high ambiguity and typical color names) create a more favorable consumer attitude toward the product; (b) when color is the primary attribute of the product, typical color names are more effective; when color is a secondary attribute, atypical color names yield more favorable effects; (c) for positively-valenced color names, an atypical-low ambiguity naming method yields a better response, while for negatively-valenced color names, an atypical-high ambiguity naming method yields a more favorable response; and (d) the color-naming effects are mediated by perceived product uniqueness or playfulness, depending on different conditions.     

Relationship learning and innovation: The role of relationship-specific memory

This study investigates the relationship between relationship learning and innovation. It discusses the difference and relationship between knowledge flow and knowledge stock as embodied in relationship learning. Results show that information sharing and joint sensemaking (knowledge flow) are positively associated with relationship-specific memory (knowledge stock), and indirectly influence both explorative and exploitative innovation through their effects on relationship-specific memory. This study also examines the role of learning intent of individual firms in relationship learning. Results indicate that stronger learning intent enhances the effect of information sharing on relationship-specific memory. Finally, the study discusses several implications of this research and offers suggestions for future research.     

The impact of third-country effects and economic integration on China's outward FDI

The study employs a spatial econometric model to explore the impact of third-country effects and economic integration on China's outward FDI (OFDI). The results show that the pattern of China's OFDI tends toward a complex FDI without third-country effects. The degree of economic integration and host country's political risk both have a negative influence on China's OFDI. Furthermore, greater cultural proximity between China and the host country, as well as greater per capita income (market size), both have significant benefits to China's OFDI. The host country's market opportunity has a significant negative effect on China's OFDI.     

Determinants of futures contract success: Empirical examinations for the Asian futures markets

This study examines key factors that influence the success of exchange-traded futures contracts of Asian futures markets. The results show that successful futures contracts benefit from a large and volatile spot market. In addition, a smaller contract size has a positive effect on the futures trading volume, which in turn contributes to the success of the futures contract. For specific institutional factors, the choice of the trading platform and the relative size of exchanges are both important to the success of futures contracts.     

How useful is venture capital prestige? Evidence from IPO survivability

This study examines the effect of venture capitalist (VC) prestige on the post-issue survivability of IPOs and how VC characteristics influence the effect. We find that IPOs backed by prestigious VCs are less likely to delist for performance failure and have longer listing duration relative to those without VC backing; however, IPOs backed by ordinary VCs are as likely to delist as IPOs without VC backing. The finding is robust for Internet and high-tech firms. We further examine heterogeneous VC characteristics and find that the ability of prestigious VCs to improve IPO survival is a function of their investment experience and managerial ability. VC prestige characterized by industry specialization and syndication networks is not related to IPO survival. Overall, the results suggest that the VC characteristics that produce prestige, rather than the prestige itself, drive the long-term survival of IPOs.     

The Influence of Place Change on Place Bonding: A Longitudinal Panel Study of Renovated Park Users

People-place relationship has received increasing attention in recent decades. However, the effect of place change on bonding has rarely been discussed in recreation studies, especially with the use of a longitudinal approach. This study tracked the changes of park users’ place bonding and behaviors in three different phases of park renovation (original, closed and reopened). Results indicated that place bonding is subject to change when a place is unavailable, and the magnitude of the bonding change is related to users’ initial place bonding. While the higher bonding respondents exhibited decreasing bonding after park renovation, the bonding of the lower group increased after renovation. Besides, the positive effect of evaluation on the bonding changes, and the association between level of bonding and decision to return were also confirmed.     

Labour quality in Taiwan: measurement and contribution to economic growth

This article compiles labour input indices that capture both employment changes and quality improvement of labour in Taiwan, from 1994 to 2011. Up to 77.19% of average annual labour input growth is from quality improvement. Further decomposition reveals that the most important source of growth is educational attainment, followed by age structure. Moreover, we find that Taiwan’s average annual GDP growth rate does not result from capital investment but from the contribution of a stable labour input to economic growth. Taiwan is a newly industrialized country, but because of the diminishing returns to capital, the catch-up effect has been slower than hoped. Additional capital investment has a relatively small effect on productivity, and the main source of the continuous economic growth rate is from labour quality, especially from highly skilled human capital. Making good use of these human resources creates a stable source of sustained economic growth.     

Attendance of board meetings and company performance: Evidence from Taiwan

This paper empirically investigates board meeting attendance and its effects on the performance of Taiwanese listed corporations. Directors with higher qualifications attend board meetings more often by themselves. The ownership of the largest shareholder of a company also has a positive effect on director’s own meeting attendance. High meeting attendance by directors themselves can enhance a firm’s performance but high attendance by their representatives has an adverse effect. Independence of directors or a board is also positively associated with firm performance. These results largely hold even when the sample is decomposed to count for different ownership structures and director types.     

A Dynamic Model of Auctions with Buy‐It‐Now: Theory and Evidence

In the ascending‐price auctions with Yahoo!‐type buy‐it‐now (BIN), we characterize and derive the closed‐form solution for the optimal bidding strategy of the bidders and the optimal BIN price of the seller when they are both risk‐averse. The seller is shown to be strictly better off with the BIN option, while the bidders are better off only when their valuation is high enough. The theory also implies that the expected transaction price is higher in an auction with an optimal BIN price than one without a BIN option. This prediction is confirmed by our data collected from Taiwan's Yahoo! auctions.