Control and co-ordination of Japanese subsidiaries in China: problems of an expatriate-based management system

This paper analyses the international management control (IMC) system that Japanese multinational companies (MNCs) employ to co-ordinate the activities of their subsidiaries in China. It focuses on the role of Japanese expatriates in this IMC system and assesses their performance. In the process, it offers a comprehensive evaluation of the organizational fit of the Japanese IMC model within the current Chinese business environment. Taking Japanese firms as the subject, the analysis identifies areas of incongruity and explains the underlying reasons for problems with expatriate-focused IMC models. In doing so, this paper argues that the Japanese expatriate-based control system in China (as in many other parts of the world) continues to be characterized by an insider-outsider mentality that prevents a real internationalization of overseas operations in the 'transnational' sense.     

A comparative study of human resource management practices in international joint ventures: the impact of national origin

This paper presents a comparative study of the effects of national origin, a company's strategic orientation and its investment profile on preference for the application of human resource management (HRM) practices as conducted in international joint ventures (IJVs). The approach extends understanding by offering a broader exploration of how national differences generate additional barriers that impact on specific HRM practices. The evidence from the study presented suggests that there is little support for national origin being a major independent influence. National distinctiveness does define the types of integration between parent companies and IJVs, but these collaborations do not necessarily reflect any specific national institutional bias. Examination of eighty-seven IJVs suggests that IJV management has a high degree of organizational autonomy in the implementation of a company's task-related inputs regardless of the national background of the foreign partner. The presence of a company's task-related effects on HRM practices plays a significant contextual role where the major attributes are the technology, management development and the compatible use of an IJV's resources. The results confirm that there is little evidence to suggest that partner-related influences derived from the partners' complementary resources and competences in the field of HRM development that are national origin specific have had significant influence over HRM development in the IJVs studied.     

Does foreign direct investment transfer technology across borders? New evidence

Based on industry-level data of seventeen OECD countries we examine FDI as a potential channel for knowledge diffusion. We find that FDI-receiving countries benefit strongly from FDI-related knowledge spillovers. We do not find evidence for positive outward-FDI-related technology sourcing effects.     

Pure joint production and international trade: a note

This paper applies the principles of the neo-Ricardian (or Sraffian)theory of international trade to certain joint production systems.It is shown that, in contrast with single-product systems, (i)there is not always a pattern of international specialisation,which would entail the increase of the real wage rate in botheconomies, and (ii) the ‘law of comparative advantage’has no general validity. Furthermore, not only the existenceof such a pattern of specialisation but also the validity ofthis law depend on the values of the variables of distributionof income. The analysis is wholly based on two of the numericalexamples formulated by Bidard in 1997, and further generalisedin an elementary way only when this is considered necessary.     

Regional and Global Responses to the Asian Crisis

This paper examines how economic policy-making changed as a result of the Asian crisis of 1997–1998, in the countries affected, in the region, and at the global level. It is perhaps surprising how little change has occurred in the broad approach to economic policy, but there is a much greater awareness of the vulnerabilities posed by large international capital flows. The broad tenets of the Washington Consensus, with its market-based policies, remain in place, but there is a recognition that well-functioning markets require complex institutions, rules, and procedures, and that these take time and effort to develop. Most of this institutional development will have to take place at the national level, but regional arrangements can offer support, and multilateral agencies, such as the International Monetary Fund, have learned from the crisis.     

关于商业银行财务管理创新的探索

本文通过深入探索商业银行财务管理理论,结合近年来我国商业银行财务管理改革的主要进展以及存在的问题,提出推进我国商业银行财务管理创新,从而提升我国银行业在国际上的竞争力。笔者认为,当前财务管理改革的思路是建立一个“以成本效益原则为基础,以信息系统为平台,以预算管理为导向,以内部控制为手段,以业绩评价为依据,通过内外部审计强化监督”的财务管理体系。     

数据挖掘技术在客户关系管理(CRM)中的应用

首先介绍当今消费者的购物和消费心理,从而指出在零售业中的CRM应将重点放在哪些方面,最后介绍了DM在零售业中的CRM中的运用,就如何获取客户、客户保持及客户忠诚度方面与DM结合进行了阐述。     

环境成本内部化及其对国际贸易的影响

当前,许多国家加强了对环境的管制,加快了环境成本内部化的进程。本文阐述了环境成本内部化的涵义,对其效应做了理论分析,并分别论述了其对国际贸易理论和实践两个方面的影响。     

西方对外直接投资理论的演进及评述

对外直接投资反映了一个经济体中某一居民实体(直接投资者)在另一经济体的某一企业(直接投资企业)中获得永久利益的目的,同时这种永久利益意味着直接投资者和直接投资企业之间存在着一种长期的关系以及对该企业的管理产生了重大影响。西方学者对该问题的研究主要按照三条路径演进:渐进的演化路径、间断的演化路径和经过临界点的演化路径。本文主要将西方对外直接投资理论中目前引用率较高的观点分别按照其演进方式进行归纳、介绍和评价,认为有必要在学习西方对外直接投资理论的基础上,结合我国的经济实践,建立适合中国国情的对外直接投资理论。     

论国际资本流动的货币冲击效应

在我国现行的有管理浮动汇率制度下，国际资本流动通过储备资产的变动、资本外逃等途径对中央银行基础货币投放量发生冲击，这种冲击影响着货币政策的有效性，为增强中央银行对货币供应量的控制能力，应该从操作资产、操作目标、操作手段三个方面改善公开市场业务，提高冲销操作的有效性。