Consumer attitudes toward in-flight shopping

This study examines the relationship between perceived risk, perceived value, convenience and attitudes toward in-flight shopping and behavioral intentions using a sample of international air travelers in Taiwan. The results suggest that both perceived value and convenience have significantly positive effects on attitude, but the path between perceived risk and attitude is not significant. In addition, the findings also demonstrate that attitude has significant effects on customer intention. Specific theoretical and managerial implications are discussed at the end of this work.     

基于协同创新机制的校企合作研究

为了能够行之有效地培养企业急需的技术技能型、复合技能型人才,本文以案例形式探讨了基于协同创新机制下的校企深度合作的有效模式,以满足新形势下人才培养、竞争环境和就业市场需求等方面的变化,从而支持校企互惠互利、良性发展。     

Human resources planning on terrorism and crises in the Asia Pacific region: Cross‐national challenge,reconsideration, and proposition from western experiences

Since the 9/11 attacks in the United States (2001) and the two bombing events in Bali (2002, 2005), there has been renewed interest in emergency prevention policies in many organizations around the world. Functional terrorism preparedness requires changes in organizational thinking about external environmental threats. This shift in organizational thinking could be led by human resource departments. In order to achieve this goal, HR departments must redefine their role in terms of crisis management, and then four key planning measures for insuring postemergency operations should be observed. Using system dynamics (SD) methodology, this article examines the causes of states in which organizations operate after terrorist attacks. Based on the qualitative analytic approach of causal loops, this article explores the major challenges for HR development prompted by terrorism. Specifically, we focus on changes both to organizational communication and to workforce planning and succession. These activities are a tremendous challenge immediately following a disaster. A functional HR plan must include elements for proactive alertness, the ability to dispatch inventory, evacuation plans, and record preservation coupled with dissemination to employees and explicit employee training and cross‐cultural management. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The effects of knowledge interaction for business innovation

The objective of this paper is to examine the effects of knowledge interaction on different types of business innovation. We first identified three indicators that reflect on the quality of the interaction between customers and technological knowledge, and then classified business innovations as product innovation, problem-solving innovation, or general innovation capability. Hypotheses about the impact of different qualities of knowledge interaction on business innovations were tested by collecting data from 178 high-technology firms in Taiwan. The results revealed that product innovation requires both wide-ranging and deep interaction between customers and technological knowledge, that problem-solving innovation requires either wide-ranging or deeper interaction between customers and technological knowledge, and that wide-ranging knowledge interaction is the most important driver for building general innovation capability. The research results enhance our understanding of knowledge interaction, with a special focus on the content and quality of the knowledge interactions within an enterprise. It also helps business managers in allocating resources and facilitating interorganizational communications for different situations related to innovation.     

Using a modified grey relation method for improving airline service quality

This study applies a modified grey relation method to improve service quality among domestic airlines in Taiwan. First, we replace the referential alternative (sequence) with an aspired alternative, which should better reflect the reality of today’s competitive markets. Second, because the compared alternatives do not usually have the same criteria/aspects, traditional methods are unsuitable to deal with them. Our model fixes this problem, allowing decision-makers to understand the gaps between alternatives and aspired levels in practice. Third, we develop a new ranking index to measure the airlines’ competitiveness in terms of service quality. To validate the effectiveness of our model, we conduct a large sample survey. We also provide managerial improvements needed by each carrier to achieve the aspired level of customer satisfaction.     

Introduction

This study decomposes the unconditional stock return volatility into two categories: systematic versus idiosyncratic risk, to re-examine the link between size and risk in the banking industry. The feasibility of the model is tested using data for US banks from 1998 to 2007. The evidence uncovered suggests that the practice of size-related diversification obtained with large banks reduces the firm-specific risk, and thus weakens stock return variances. However, rather than eliminating firm-specific risk, it is being transformed into systematic risk. Additionally, our empirical findings can potentially explain why a bank's size-related diversification does not result in a reduction in its unconditional stock return volatility reported in Demsetz and Straha [Historical patterns and recent changes in the relationship between bank size and risk. Federal Reserve Bank of New York Economic Policy Review, 1(2), 13–26 (1995); Diversification, size, and risk at bank holding companies. Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, 29, 300–313 (1997)].     

Evaluating corporate image and reputation using fuzzy MCDM approach in airline market

In today’s highly competitive airline market, preferable corporate image is acknowledged as having high potential to impact customer loyalty. Corporate image provides a powerful way of differentiating a company from its competitors and stimulating purchases. In the past, corporate image has been a vague concept and has been difficult to measure quantitatively. A fuzzy MCDM (Multi Criteria Decision Making) model is thus proposed. It can quantify corporate image and reputation so that management can fully comprehend the relative positioning of company in the markets to make informed judgments and marketing strategies. A study of international airlines serving in Taiwan is conducted for verification. The results indicate that safety record and service emerge as the critical factors of the air transport market while the incentives seem to have little attraction for customers.     

Out of Africa: The role of institutional distance and host-home colonial tie in South African Firms’ post-acquisition performance in developed economies

The colonial ties and institutional distance affect the cross-border acquisition performance of internationalizing South African firms who acquire targets in developed economies. Along with these main effects, this paper examines the moderating effect of the colonial tie on the effects of institutional distance on post-acquisition long-term operating performance. Using data on South African acquisitions in developed economies, this study finds that the colonial tie has a negative impact on the long-term operating performance of South African acquirers. Yet, the colonial tie also moderates the effects of institutional distance. This work contributes to the discussion on host-home country institutional distance and its impact on post-acquisition long-term operating performance and how colonial past can influence the performance of acquirers from South Africa and other such countries with colonial history.     

Unpacking Institutional Distance: Addressing Human Capital Development and Emerging‐Market Firms’ Ownership Strategy in an Advanced Economy

As latecomers to global business competition, emerging‐market multinational companies (EMNCs) utilize cross‐border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) to quickly acquire strategic assets, resulting in an improved competitive position. Advanced markets with well‐established firms and well‐developed market‐supporting institutions become particularly important destinations for EMNCs’ foreign operations. Institutional distance, which represents conflicting legitimacy requirements between the host and home institutional environments, is expected to be negatively associated with the foreign acquirer's ownership position. The current study examines a sample of EMNCs’ cross‐border M&As in the United States between 2005 and 2011 and reveals the unique nature of EMNCs’ ownership strategies. Taking both formal and informal institutions into consideration, our findings suggest that EMNCs originating in countries with lower levels of human capital development may have more urgency in seeking ownership control in advanced markets and are less influenced by the negative association of institutional distance in their ownership strategy. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

征收水污染税的设想

随着水污染问题的日益严重,世界各国,尤其是西方一些发达国家,纷纷采取措施来保护水环境,改善水质。在诸多的保护措施中,征收水污染税已被证明是一种行之有效的新举措。在我国,水环境污染已相当严重,加剧了水资源的供需矛盾。因此,借鉴国外先进经验,开征水污染税,在不断完善防止水污染的法律法规的同时,充分发挥税收杠杆的调节作用,是我国治理和保护水环境的有效途径。