Marina Yue Zhang

Methodological Challenges Confronted when Conducting Management Research in China

This article addresses some fundamental methodological issues confronting management researchers undertaking research in China. Among other things, it considers the following: cultural factors that might impact on what is a researchable question; sampling issues; difficulties in developing valid research instruments; problems pertaining to data collection; and the challenges of data interpretation. While the issues are by no means unique to China, there are a number of matters that require special attention in the Chinese context. Failure to consider such methodological problems might potentially call into question the findings of otherwise important management studies. Specific recommendations are provided as to how these challenges can be successfully dealt with.

The fit between business model innovation and demand-side dynamics: catch-up of China’s latecomer mobile handset manufacturers

Abstract This paper aims to answer an important question: whether and how, in emerging markets, latecomer firms with limited technological endowments can catch up with industry incumbents that dominate the technological and market frontiers. Adopting the perspective of demand-side dynamics and analyzing the case of China’s mobile handset manufacturing industry between 1998 and 2008, the paper finds that in emerging markets, latecomer firms with limited technological innovation capability are able to achieve market share catch-up by using effectiveness-centered business model innovation. Specifically, business model innovations that provided the most effective (though not necessarily the most efficient or novel) solutions to cater to changing customer preferences were the winners in helping latecomers achieve catch-up.

In researching emerging markets, anthropology often trumps statistics

Brand attributes play an important role in tracking customer-based brand equity. Therefore researchers need an effective approach for eliciting attributes. This paper has two aims: to determine which of four different techniques elicit(s) better results; and to test if online data collection is a viable alternative to face-to-face collection. The techniques compared are: Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET), Free Elicitation (FE), Repertory Grid (RG) and Projective Elicitation (PE). These approaches are compared on the number and variety of attributes generated, as well as respondent evaluation. FE is the best-performing technique in a face-to-face context, generating the most attributes, evaluated positively by respondents and providing a typical distribution of attribute types. We also provide evidence that online is a viable data collection method for attribute elicitation studies, except ZMET due to respondent drop-out. Online we recommend a combination of FE and PE to obtain a range and variety of responses.

Windows of opportunity, technological innovation, and globalization: Huawei's global catch-up

Our focus in this paper is on the dynamic process by which Huawei, one of China’s few truly multinational firms, responded strategically to various windows of opportunity as technology, policy and demand changed during the evolution of the telecommunication industry between the late 1980s and 2013. We identified two strategic capabilities that Huawei built during this time: technological innovation and globalization capabilities. Many latecomer firms, after initial catch- up, often stall. Though having accumulated basic technology capabilities to achieve cost advantages in production, many latecomer firms have failed to reach the technological frontiers and to forge ahead against global competition. Our in- depth case study uncovers how Huawei achieved on both. From the firm level, our findings confirm key theoretical frameworks in the catch-up literature, specifically that, to be sustained, catch-up in market share or productivity, should be backed up by increases in technological capabilities. We add significantly to this literature by showing that in order to go through the transition from a technology follower in a domestic market to a technology leader in the global market, latecomer firms in emerging countries need to build strategic capabilities in technological innovation and globalization in tandem.