Joyce Xin Zhou

Rural Entrepreneurship in an Emerging Economy: Reading Institutional Perspectives from Entrepreneur Stories

Rural entrepreneurs are of extreme importance in Chinas progress toward a more market‐oriented economy as the vast majority of hinese live in rural areas. From an institutional perspective and based on content analysis of 91 publicly published stories about rural hinese entrepreneurs broadcast by hina entral elevision, this paper addresses several key aspects of rural entrepreneurship in hina and specifically probes into how different institutional elements (i.e., regulative, normative, and cognitive components) affect the strategic behaviors of rural hinese entrepreneurs. We found that due to weak regulatory protection of intellectual rights, rural entrepreneurs in China tend to work on innovations on their own or with close family members instead of collaborating with external sources; these entrepreneurs use guanxi strategically to deal with constraints from the institutional environment; it is important to build legitimacy by either building alliances with large, established firms, or acquiring approval from people of authority.

Communicating Corporate Environmental Citizenship: An Examination of Fortune 500 Web Sites

Due to the importance of environmental issues to the public, corporations have paid more attention to these issues in recent years. This article aims to explore how Fortune 500 companies’ Web sites are used to convey corporate environmental messages. The findings indicate that these leading firms do try to communicate a number of different environmental issues or activities. However, most of these communications occur on the second- or third-level Web page rather than on the company home page. It has also been found that there is a clear association between most of the environmental issues and firm sales. Implications of the research are discussed.

Does the Value of Global Brands Apply to Both Foreign and Domestic-Based Global Brands?

Abstract The purpose of this study is to explore how the value of being global brands is experienced differently based upon foreign versus domestic origin of a brand. The conceptual framework is tested on samples from three countries – United States, India, and China. The data are analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The belief that global brands are of higher quality, more socially responsible, and deliver a sense of belongingness to a global community led to an orientation toward globally available consumption alternatives, or global consumption orientation (GCO). High GCO has been associated with preferences for global brands; however, we find that while this preference indeed extends to global brands based in foreign countries, it does not extend to global brands based in the home country. The study of global brands seldom distinguishes among types of global brands. This research examines global brands based on their foreign versus domestic origin; thus it offers a more nuanced understanding of the boundaries for the value of global brands.

Substantive and Associative Claims in Environmental Communication: A Study of Fortune 500 Websites

Corporations have increasingly used their websites to communicate their environmental policies with their stakeholders. Their claims fall into two categories: substantive claims, which include product- or process-related claims, and associative claims, which are not directly related to a firms products or its processes. This paper aims to explore the use of these two types of claims on Fortune 500 websites. The findings indicate that both types of claims are used, although there are more substantive claims than associative claims. Both types of claims are positively correlated with firm sales. Implications of the research are also discussed.