Partner selection and university-industry linkages: Assessing small firms' initial perceptions of the credibility of their partners

As promoting the engagement of firms and universities through collaborative linkages gathers pace among policymakers, it appears to be pertinent to examine in more detail the mechanisms that underpin their formation. This paper examines the processes by which small firms assess the credibility of their potential partner when engaging in collaborative links with universities. Here, credibility is defined as the ability to deliver the promised knowledge and experience of a particular field when entering into a collaborative linkage with a university, and represents the firms' assessment of the usefulness of the university as a potential partner. The paper presents two main findings; firstly, the credibility of potential university partners is based around the realism, comprehensiveness, and specificity of their knowledge. Secondly, credibility appears to be judged at an individual rather than institutional level. The implications of these findings to theory and practice are also discussed.     

Foreign ownership and bribery: Agency and institutional perspectives

In this study we examine the effectiveness of formal institutions (as the macro-level mechanism) and external auditing (as the micro-level mechanism) in controlling multinational firms’ engagement in bribery. We adopt World Bank’s data and investigate 38,673 firms in 113 countries. Our results suggest that a firm’s engagement in bribery is positively related to its foreign ownership. Furthermore, we demonstrate the substitute effects of formal institutions and external auditing in controlling this unethical activity. We argue that in a situation whereby formal institutions are weak, a firm’s internal governance mechanism plays a vital role in controlling bribery.     

论习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的层次结构

习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想是一个科学的理论体系,这个体系包含四个逻辑层次。对人的自由而全面发展的追求是这个科学体系的价值层,也是这个体系的核心;新发展理念是这个科学体系的理念层,是价值层到方法论层和制度实践层的中介和过渡环节;"五位一体"总体布局和"四个全面"战略布局是这个科学体系的方法论层,是连接价值层和制度实践层的中间环节;制度建设和社会实践是这个科学体系的制度实践层。     

Technological spillovers from multinational firms

This paper aims to identify genuine technological spillovers from multinational firms (MNEs). To this end, we use data on R&D from MNEs to measure spillovers, while most of the existing literature uses output to measure the foreign presence in an industry (what we call output-based spillovers). In line with the existing literature, we distinguish between horizontal spillovers (i.e., intra-industry linkages) and vertical spillovers (i.e., backward—or downstream—and forward—or upstream—inter-industry linkages). Our results show that the three types of technological spillovers from MNEs are positive, with the horizontal spillovers the larger ones, followed by backward spillovers. The effect of forward spillovers is much smaller in magnitude. Moreover, we find that not controlling for industry size (i.e., technological spillovers from all firms in an industry) leads to underestimating both horizontal and backward spillovers from MNEs, and to overestimating forward spillovers from MNEs. Finally, we find that the distinction between technological and output-based spillovers is of great relevance. The size of backward technological spillovers is approximately 44% of the size of output-based backward spillovers, while for horizontal spillovers both types of spillovers are quite similar. Importantly, output-based forward spillovers are negative while technological forward spillovers are positive.     

Soundscape and its influence on tourist satisfaction

The soundscape is a relatively neglected area of study in tourism and to a wider extent the service industries research. This paper examines the relationship between soundscape and tourist satisfaction from a tourist sensory experience perspective. Data were collected in a UNESCO world heritage site in China, which is well known for its unique soundscape. The structural equation model analysis shows that there is a significant correlation between soundscape satisfaction and tourist satisfaction. The analysis of the findings also suggests that sound preference has almost no influence on soundscape satisfaction and tourist satisfaction, while soundscape expectation has a strong influence on tourist satisfaction. This study extends tourism multisensory research by offering insights into the relationship between the soundscape perceptions and tourist satisfaction. The findings also make progressive contribution to destination management studies by validating the relationship between the soundscape and its effects on tourist satisfaction.     

When can Chinese competitors catch up? Market and capability ladders and their implications for multinationals

Chinese companies have been more successful in catching up with and sometimes surpassing, their global competitors in some industries but not all of them. This holds true for markets in China and international markets. In this article, we show how both the demand and the supply sides of an industry explain these differences, in terms of the existence of market and capability ladders that can help a new competitor climb from the low end, though the middle, and to the top. We then propose several alternative strategies that multinational companies can follow to respond to growing Chinese competition and recommend strategies with the most potential for a particular market and industry.     

Does news travel slowly before a market crash? The role of margin traders

We investigate how investor overconfidence and attention affect market efficiency around the 2015 Chinese stock market crash. We find that the price delay before the crash is about twice the price delay after the crash. Investors become more sensitive to market movements after the crash. Price delays are larger on market down-days than on up-days before the crash, but the differences are insignificant between up- and down-days after the crash, indicating that negative information travels slowly only when investors are overconfident. Margin traders follow market trends and intensify the pyramiding and de-pyramiding effects caused by market sentiment change.     

Some institutional design for shareholder socialism

Abstract

In times of a declining labour share and an intense international tax competition, some form of market socialism may contribute to hold income inequality in check. However, the concept of market socialism involves three major pitfalls: cronyism, technological stagnation, and power concentration. These pitfalls could be avoided by an appropriate institutional design that includes the combination of public ownership with an extensive use of the stock market, an incentive-compatible mechanism for the takeover of private firms, and participatory democracy.     

Harmony rules in Chinese backpacker groups

Despite recognition that Chinese backpackers travel in small, self-organised groups, studies have yet to examine how group dynamics affect the travel experience. Multi-sited ethnography and netnography were deployed to follow Chinese backpackers in Europe to explore their group dynamics. The findings reveal that Chinese backpackers sustain hierarchical group relations by applying cultural attributes of ‘respect for authority’ and ‘keqi’. A conflict-free status is achieved by following the codes of ‘guanxi’ and ‘conformity’. Harmony is practiced to either develop harmonious relationships or resolve potential discord. This study contributes to the literature on harmony by synthesising relevant cultural attributes to understand their applications in group dynamic. It furthermore contributes to the literature on backpacker tourism and self-organised travel group dynamics.     

Authenticity and nostalgia – subjective well-being of Chinese rural-urban migrants

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the subjective well-being of Chinese rural-urban migrants by examining the effects of nostalgia and perceived authenticity in the context of rural tourism. Founded on the concepts of tourist motivation and nostalgia and drawn on selected Chinese philosophical values, this study identifies the unique Chinese philosophical value of ‘old home’ as the key factor of motivation for migrants returning to rural destinations. Rural-urban migrants deem rural regions, as well as, mentalities, cultures, and environments in general, as their cultural and spiritual hometowns. The study also reveals that migrants pursue authentic rural destinations, which would have an emotional and memorable appeal, because it stimulates their nostalgic feelings. The study proposes the necessity of investigating Chinese issues through the lens of Chinese philosophical values and invokes an age-old value to understand their perception process of authenticity: ‘one can't have fish and bear at the same time.’ Returning to rural destinations improves these tourists’ subjective well-being because they achieve an important lifetime goal based on their traditional Chinese philosophical value of ‘searching for ancestral roots.’ The study suggests that preserving rural authenticity can improve the social and cultural welfare of hosting communities and the subjective well-being of tourists.