Anton Kriz

A systematic review of the Chinese outbound tourism literature: 1983–2012

ABSTRACT This study follows the evolution of Chinese outbound tourism literature over a 30-year period, from 1983 to 2012. A systematic review is undertaken of articles published in the three leading tourism journals to identify research trends. The review uses an evolutionary metaphor to chronicle the main contributions over three distinct stages: crawling out (1983–1992), scurrying about (1993–2002), and walking erect (2003–2012). The article concludes with a discussion of the key findings and suggestions for future research. Walking erect is appropriate and suggests this body of knowledge is still developing and has a considerable way to go. It also denotes that Chinese outbound tourism is likely to impact on Western research and will increasingly make its own contributions to generating new theory within the broader international tourism domain.

Financial risk and its impact on new purchasing behavior in the online retail setting

This paper examines the effect of financial risk on perceptions of service quality and relationship-marketing quality in the online retail environment. Perceptions of financial risk were found to be negatively associated with service quality. In particular, a well-designed and attractive Web site was found to mitigate perceptions of financial risk during early trial-buy purchasing. Relationship-marketing quality was not affected by financial risk. This study adds to an enhanced understanding of how risk perceptions influence assessment of service quality and relationship-marketing quality. While the drivers of service quality and relationship-marketing quality have been examined extensively in the online setting, a surprising lack of research investigates the role of risk perceptions in the early stage, buy-trial purchasing behavior. This emerging area of research interest is deserving of more attention. Our findings provide valuable normative guidance to researchers interested in the affects of perceived risk (particularly financial risk) on new online shoppers, emphasizing the interdependency between Web site design and risk perceptions.

Methodology meets culture: relational and guanxi-oriented research in China

Guanxi has been well documented for its critical business role in China but rarely has it been investigated for its important methodological implications. This article focuses on the ways in which researchers can utilise the sociocultural phenomenon of relational and guanxi-orientation as a tool for more effective Chinese-related data collection. This article arose as an unanticipated methodological outcome of a preceding qualitative study of Chinese perceptions of interpersonal trust. The article has empirical foundations but is largely conceptual in nature. One of the key aspects presented in the article is the construction and illustration of a researcher-developed guanxishu or tree of connections. Such insights are likely to prove invaluable to novice investigators interested in management research in Mainland China and overseas Chinese markets. Experienced researchers understand the importance in Chinese markets of accessing and utilising connections in the process of data collection. However, seldom has this process been discussed or comprehensively documented. The article identifies some of the important intricacies around using guanxi in management research.

Mediating role of relationship quality in online services

This paper is the first to examine the mediating role of relationship quality in the online context. By investigating this major tenet of customer relationship management theory in this nascent service setting, this paper clarifies the interaction between service quality and relationship quality, as they impact on customer loyalty. The findings reveal some fundamental differences in the way that strong relationships and loyalty develop in the online setting vis-à-vis the offline setting. The findings of this empirical research support the existence of a partial mediating relationship. While effective service delivery was found to enhance the quality of customer-firm relationships, and consequently, the customers perceived loyalty to their main financial institution; there was also evidence of a concurrent link between service quality and loyalty. This finding suggests that a strong relationship does not make customers immune to poor future services, and that firms operating in the online environment should maintain high service standards if they are to enjoy continued loyalty from their customers.

Chinese Outbound Tourism: an Epilogue

ABSTRACT As an epilogue to this special issue, this paper offers a brief critical review of Chinese-outbound-tourism literature, developed so far in conjunction with the articles accepted in this special issue. In doing so, we provide an overview of the state-of-the-art knowledge with regard to Chinese outbound tourism. Issues other than those presented in the special issue articles are also discussed and highlighted. These include the social and environment issues that could possibly prove not as positive as economic benefits in destination countries.

Towards a Theoretical Framework for Examining Societal-Level Institutional Change

Institutional economics at the societal level focuses on the examination of interpersonal and impersonal economic, political and social institutions within a given polity and how such institutions might change and evolve over time. Such examination is critical to both international business scholars and practitioners if they are to successfully navigate variations in the rules of the game in international trade and commerce. Whilst institutional economics offers an immense body of literature on institutions, it offers surprisingly few theoretical or conceptual tools for empirical analysis. This chapter discusses five extant frameworks and proposes an ontological theoretical framework developed from interdisciplinary sources to underpin extant frameworks and thereby guide international business researchers in designing more effective research instruments for examining institutional change across and between cultures.

An institutional analysis of Chinese business relationships

Understanding Chinese business practices and relationships has become increasingly important for international firms. One of the common threads for international firms is the importance of a special relational aspect of Chinese markets, called guanxi. The impact of guanxi on value chain management is under-researched but increasingly gaining attention. This paper takes a more novel approach by reviewing guanxi in terms of its institutional rather than simply its often-cited cultural implications. It adopts and adapts the ecocultural framework of John Berry and incorporates Robert Trivers theory of reciprocal altruism in an attempt to shed light on the practice of guanxi in eight Chinese related polities. The eight polities are investigated using a qualitative methodology. The design of the study incorporates two phases with focus groups and an online survey. The study acknowledges that the institution of guanxi has important implications for all polities researched but it remains an essential and powerful force in the mainland Chinese polities of Shanghai and Beijing. Subsequently, the relational dynamic of guanxi remains an essential element in value chain management in Chinese contexts, particularly for chains operating on the mainland. As the paper also contends, this has important implications for both Chinese and Western firms.

Understanding changing patron expectations of club offerings: a consumer behavioural approach

ABSTRACT This article adopts a consumer behavioural approach to investigating the needs, wants, and expectations of club patrons and reviews the differing requirements of three existing segments of club patrons and two demographic sub-groups. The article applies a consumer behavioural framework and suggests that demographics, culture, values, reference groups, and attitudes underpin the differing needs, wants, and expectations of patrons. The article suggests that attitude is the specific determinant of consumer behaviour that may be of most interest to club marketers and suggests the application of the Theory of Reasoned Action in order to change sub-group attitudes and increase patronage. This suggestion is illustrated through the presentation of a case study. The article concludes by suggesting that further research be conducted to determine how clubs may be able to remain true to their historical roots and traditional membership base, whilst actively catering to the market orientation of current and future generations of potential members.

Special issue on Chinese outbound travel: Emerging issues and implications

Tourism forecasts predict that growth in outbound tourism from China over the next decade will outstrip every other international market. Destination marketers are looking to academia for guidance on how best to respond to this opportunity. However, to date, there has been a scarcity of research examining the drivers of destination choice and effective marketing communication for Chinese travellers. The research that has been undertaken has relied largely on established tourism theory developed in a mature, Western context. This special issue responds to this need and has the goal of stimulating innovative new theory and approaches appropriate to the study of emerging tourism markets.

The global importance of innovation champions: insights from China

Some call them deviants, others call them heroes, but one commonality for what the literature has deemed “innovation champions” is that these individuals can play a vital role in modern organizations. The role of innovation in creative destruction and national economic growth is well documented. The role of entrepreneurs in this process was identified by Joseph Schumpeter and has since been extensively researched. Schumpeter also realized that it takes a range of individuals to make innovation happen. This chapter is focused on a particular individual in an organization: the innovation champion. The notion of an innovation champion is complex and has been labeled in various ways. Innovation champions (Howell & Higgins 1990a) have many of the characteristics of the independent entrepreneur, but they operate within an existing business, rather than operating a venture of their own. Classifying innovative champions more succinctly and understanding the role they play in global companies and rapidly developing countries like China is the key aim of this chapter. This chapter is conceptual, but refers to considerable investigations and research conducted on management practices and interpersonal and organizational relationships in China. Using China as the unit of analysis and a single case is not without precedent (Styles & Ambler 2003). The lead author has extensive experience in China and has conducted over 200 in-depth interviews and numerous empirical studies in this environment from 1999 to 2012.