Impact of Shari’ah on Consumers’ Behavior Toward Sales Promotion Tools: Focus on Egyptian Convenience Products

This study measures to what extent compliance with Shari’ah moderates the relationship between different sales promotion tools—namely, price discount, product demonstration and sampling, buy one get one free (bonus pack), sweepstakes/lucky draws, scratch and win offers, and free samples—and three consumer behavioral responses (product trial, stockpiling, and spending more) for buying convenience products from supermarkets in Egypt. A total of 381 selected Muslim consumers/shoppers were surveyed via face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. Overall correlation analysis between the six proposed sales promotion tools and consumers’ response behavior in general demonstrated a significant relationship. However, some specific tools did not indicate a significant relationship with specific response behaviors. Furthermore, correlation analysis initially indicated that there is a positive significant relationship between all sales promotion tools and compliance with Shari’ah, with the exception of sweepstakes and scratch and win offers, which demonstrated a significant negative relationship. Furthermore, after running linear stepwise regression, the model was fit (62%), indicating the moderating role of compliance with Shari’ah in the relationship between specific sales promotion tools—namely, sweepstakes/games and scratch and win offers—and Muslim consumers’ behavioral responses. Generally speaking, marketers should consider Shari’ah and ethical principles in Islam before creatively crafting promotional tools to attract Muslim consumers, and new tools could be developed with an Islamic orientation to attract Muslim consumers.     

The influence of entrepreneur’s personal characteristics on MSEs growth through innovation

Research in the separate areas of innovation and growth has considerably intensified in recent years. However, little scholarly attention has been paid to the entrepreneurs’ personal characteristics that might explain the growth of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) through innovation. This study examines the key entrepreneurs’ personal characteristics affecting micro and small enterprises (MSEs) upgrading, defined here as substantial growth through innovation. Six major determining types of entrepreneurs’ characteristics were identified from the innovation and the growth literature: education, work experience, gender, motivations, nationality and age. The empirical results which are based on t-tests of the differences between upgraders and non-upgraders, the linear probability model and the logit model, all suggest that work experience and motivations are cornerstones in the likelihood that an MSE will upgrade. The policy implications of this study on promoting MSEs upgrading are also discussed.     

Managerial mindset as the mechanism of the country-of-origin effect: evidence from Chinese multinational enterprises’ approach to employer associations

The country-of-origin effect (COE) on employment practices in multinational enterprises (MNEs) has become an important area of international human resource management research. However, research on the mechanisms of the COE, a fundamental and critical aspect of the country-of-origin phenomenon, is scant. This study seeks to empirically explore the mechanisms through which country-of-origin influences Chinese MNEs’ approach to host-country employer associations. Analysis of qualitative data from 13 Chinese MNEs revealed that country of origin affected the approach of Chinese MNEs to host-country employer associations in the form of transfer of managerial norms. It also revealed that it was the mindset of those home-country nationals who were key decision-makers at subsidiaries that enabled the COE in Chinese MNEs. This paper highlights the importance for future studies of international strategic human resources management to pay attention to micro-foundations of cross-border practice transfer and to incorporate analyses of managerial cognition in the investigation of MNEs’ management practices.     

统筹城乡发展中农民权益保障问题思考——以成都改革为对象的分析

农民问题的核心是农民的权益保障问题。论文对成都统筹城乡改革中有关农民权益保障,包括经济权益、社会权益、政治权益的基本情况进行了调研分析,在经验归纳的基础上指出,在坚持中国共产党及其政府作为制度的整体设计者与公共资源的主体供给者前提下,从农民的权益诉求出发,落实并保障农民的权益。     

The implications of monetary expansion in China for the US dollar

We examine the influence of rapid growth in China's money supply on the US dollar within a framework of monetary models of exchange rates. We develop out-of-sample forecasts of the US dollar exchange rate using US and global data on price level, output, and interest rates, and money supply data for the US, China, and the rest of the world for the period 1996–2013. Monetary model forecasts significantly outperform a random walk forecast in terms of mean squared forecast error in the long run. A monetary error correction model with sticky prices performs best. Rolling sample analysis indicates changes over time in the influence of Chinese money supply in forecasting the US dollar. The expectation is that rapid money growth in China would increase the demand for dollars thus raising the value of the dollar, yet our forecasts are to the contrary for the mid 2000s. This is consistent with anticipation of renminbi appreciation under China’s managed exchange rate, which made holding renminbi more attractive. With the break from a dollar peg in 2005 and subsequent currency appreciation, the distortion was alleviated and the forecast direction for the dollar became as expected.     

The synchronization club: classification of global economic groups by inequality

We find that, from 1970 to 2006, the GDPs of 181 countries are described by a log-normal with a power law tail before 1992, but by a kinked power law distribution after 1992. In the 15 years from 1992 to 2006, there are two obvious scale-free zones for annual GDPs, ranked from the largest to smallest. If the countries in each scaling region are regarded as a group, the world is divided into two groups, each with a roughly stable number of members. The power exponents of the two groups are different and hence lead to different inequalities. Therefore, the basis for classification is the macro-consistent inequality within each group. The wealth grows in a synchronous nonlinear manner within groups that have a stable wealth distribution and rank structure. If each group is considered as a club, we name it a ‘synchronization club’.     

构建用户参与型数字参考咨询服务系统的探索

本论文以目前数字参考咨询服务的现状为起点,根据数字咨询的主要服务模式,对用户参与型数字参考咨询服务模式进行分析,并由此提出lib2.0下的用户参与型数字参考咨询平台的系统初步构想。     

农民专业合作经济组织发展的制约因素:基于企业家能力的视角

农民合作经济组织发展中存在着诸多问题,这些问题与企业家能力缺失都有一定的关系。本文从企业家能力的视角,分析了在企业家能力缺失的背景下,农民合作经济组织的发展困境,并提出通过建立企业家培育机制来破解这些问题的措施。     

后金融危机时代金融消费者保护的若干问题——以美国2010年的新法案为视角

本文以2010年7月美国《多德—弗兰克华尔街改革与消费者保护法》为探索视角,简要回顾了美国金融消费者保护的历史和教训,指出消费者保护的思想不仅应该明确体现在金融监管目标中,还需设置达至目标的适当监管机构,同时提出金融消费者保护的立法力度与金融创新速度相匹配的问题。就中国学界对新法案高涨的借鉴热情,文章认为:国外先进立法经验的本土植入需考量现实条件,我国目前亟须完成的工作是提升金融消费者概念的认同程度并设置适宜的金融消费者保护性机构。     

信任视角下的家庭借贷行为研究

基于2015年和2017年中国家庭金融调查数据,本文实证研究发现,信任能够提高家庭正规信贷可得性,降低家庭使用非正规信贷的概率。进一步地,信贷可得性的差异带来家庭负债结构的变化,信任能够提升家庭正规信贷占比,降低非正规信贷占比。信任提升家庭资金借出概率,但这种关系并不是单调递增的,而是存在适度信任现象。异质性分析表明,在户主文化程度低的家庭和农村地区家庭,信任对借出的影响更大。因此,本文的结果表明,信任能够在一定程度上缓解家庭融资的困难。