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The Effects of Perceived Brand Globalness and Perceived Brand Localness in China: Empirical Evidence on Western, Asian, and Domestic Retailers

Internationalizing retailers have shifted their attention to developing countries in which they pursue different forms of adapted-format transfer strategies to succeed locally. However, little is known about whether such retailers can use their core advantage of a global retail brand and how consumer perceptions of such global retail brands drive retail patronage. To expand knowledge on this issue, the authors use data from 1188 Chinese consumer surveys on 36 Western, Asian, and mainland Chinese retailers. They find that retailers’ perceived brand globalness and perceived brand localness enhance retail patronage only by affecting consumers’ functional and psychological values. These value creation routes to success change according to retailers’ origins. Although Western and Asian retailers draw equally strong benefits from their global perceptions, Asian retailers convince consumers predominantly through functional values, whereas Western retailers also influence consumers emotionally. Chinese retailers gain consumers by being perceived as “glocal” brands. Furthermore, perceived brand globalness enhances retail patronage most strongly for global identity consumers. Thus, retailers in emerging countries benefit from perceived brand globalness depending on retailer- and consumer-specific boundary conditions.

Evolution and institutional foundation of the hawala financial system

Abstract This article examines the evolution and the institutional foundation of the century-old Islamic hawala financing system. Analysis of the functional principles of this system will show that it is a highly efficient, extremely robust institutional arrangement for overcoming the risks of opportunism among the transaction partners. It is an institution that was developed against the backdrop of a lack of formal legal systems. Thus, hawala can be seen as club-like arrangements, which are able to provide the transaction parties with an institutional framework to assure enforcement of contracts without relying on any national law. Today, therefore, it is able to expand outside and independently of existing laws and regulations. It is able to move large amounts of money without recourse of the formal banking system and even without retaining any bookkeeping notes. Instead, it is based on the trust of the participating parties and its social and religious embeddedness within the Islamic community.

Anatomy of cluster development in China: The case of health biotech clusters

Focussing on China’s health biotech clusters the study explores the anatomy of interaction in as well as between various clusters. While the literature has identified the existence of a dense network of durable interactions among firms and between firms and academia at a particular location as one of the most important prerequisites for well-performing clusters, we show that network ties extending beyond regional boundaries are equally valuable for the innovative capacity of China’s biotech firms. Analysing the demographic process of cluster emergence we show that there exist different types of biotech clusters in China, which are closely linked and exchange knowledge and technology amongst each other. It appears as if further analysis of these cross-cluster links may provide important insights of how learning and innovation works in China’s health biotech industry. Although China’s science parks and industrial bases may on an individual basis appear to be badly structured, the organization of China’s health biotech industry turns out to be substantially enhanced once these external linkages are taken into consideration.

Regional specialization in China's biopharmaceutical industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore patterns as well as determinants of regional specialisation in Chinas biopharmaceutical industry. It identifies and characterizes different types of enterprises engaged in the biopharmaceutical sector in terms of their business organisation and regional set up.Design/methodology/approach – Based on data compilations not yet employed in academic analysis as well as personal interviews in China, structural determinants and driving forces of development are analysed against the background of the innovation systems literature.Findings – The geography of innovation in Chinas biopharmaceutical industry is determined by both, government policy and the strategic location decisions of entrepreneurs. While local‐government support of firm clustering has contributed to a dispersion of industrial activity throughout China, the firms” networks are spanning clusters. Effectively, domestic firms are turning into multi‐regional companies locating activities such as R&D ...

Institutional Variety in East Asia

This illuminating book broadly addresses the emerging field of ‘diversity of capitalism’ from a comparative institutional approach. It explores the varied patterns for achieving coordination in different economic systems, applying them specifically to China, Japan and South Korea. These countries are of particular interest due to the fact that they are often considered to have developed their own peculiar blend of models of capitalism.

Purchasing the Counterfeit: Antecedences and Consequences from Culturally diverse Countries

Counterfeiting is known as the cross-border crime of the 21st century and has been increasingly investigated in the academic literature within a national context. The present study addresses a cross-county examination and investigates antecedents of purchase intention toward counterfeits and its impact on consumers´ willingness to pay for the original in culturally diverse countries. Based on the theory of planned behaviour and the adoption level theory the developed framework is tested on consumer data from China, Romania, and Germany. Results of the partial least squares approach revealed significant differences in the antecedents’ impact on purchase intention toward counterfeits between the countries. While fairness does not appear as a significant driver of purchase intention in countries, which score high in ‘Confucian dynamism’, subjective norm accounts for a higher predictive value in collectivistic countries compared to individualistic ones.

Coordination between Inertia and Dynamic Development: An Overview of Issues and Contributions

This illuminating book broadly addresses the emerging field of ‘diversity of capitalism’ from a comparative institutional approach. It explores the varied patterns for achieving coordination in different economic systems, applying them specifically to China, Japan and South Korea. These countries are of particular interest due to the fact that they are often considered to have developed their own peculiar blend of models of capitalism.

China als Ziel deutscher Direktinvestitionen

Mit dem WTO-Beitritt ist die VR China in die abschlieβende Phase ihres okonomischen Transformationsprozesses eingetreten. Das China-Geschaft wird in den nachsten Jahren weiter an „Exotik“ verlieren und „normaler“ werden. Dessen ungeachtet bleibt China aber ein hochspezifischer Markt. Hohe Marktintransparenz, instabile institutionelle und gesamtwirtschaftlichen Rahmenbedingungen, ein stark segmentierter Wirtschaftsraum etc. stellen hohe Anspruche an das Management. Insgesamt gesehen bietet China aber sowohl fur ressourcen- als auch fur marktorientierte deutsche Unternehmungen sehr interessante Produktionsstandorte und potenzialreiche Markte. Ein Engagement in China ist aber nicht fur alle Unternehmen sinnvoll oder gar strategisch notwendig.

The implications of the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ on globalization and inclusive growth for the Eurasian continent

ABSTRACT The ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI) and other emergent forms of transnational institution building raise new fundamental issues for economists and social scientists. Can BRI become a template for a new phase in the globalization process – a stage in which China takes a more proactive role? Can BRI help Central Asian economies that until now had been standing on the sidelines become fully integrated into the global division of labor? This article tries to analyze China’s potential of assuming a more central role in international economic governance and globalization process, which would also be in line with the size of its population and GDP. Further, the article analyzes the potential impacts of the BRI on inclusive growth for the poorly integrated Eurasian landmass by inspecting several direct and indirect channels.

Investigation of Antecedents of Purchase Intention Toward Counterfeits – Implications From Culturally Diverse Countries

The sale of counterfeit products made up to seven percent of the world trade volume that amounts to an increase of 10,000 percent in the last two decades (IACC 2009). Since firms manage their brands across many markets, marketers should understand which are the relevant antecedents that impact illicit consumer behavior and how these antecedents vary across countries. Even counterfeiting is a cross-national phenomenon, its antecedents have rarely been investigated cross-nationally. Brand manufactures of illegally copied brands sustain damage: the brand’s equity is jeopardized and the consumer’s demand is diverted into gray markets (Green and Smith 2002). Nevertheless, Nia and Zaichkowski (2000) note that consumers’ majority “did not believe that counterfeits decrease the demand for original luxury brand name products” (Nia and Zaichowski 2000, 494). Commuri (2009) states that the impact of counterfeiting on consumers of genius goods (originals) is little-noticed. Thus, a further investigation of counterfeits’ impact on originals is needed. In their literature review Eisend and Schuchert-Guler (2006) note person-related antecedents such as demographics, product-related antecedents such as price, social as well as cultural context, and purchase situation that drive the purchase of counterfeits. They emphasize a more solid theoretical grounding for further studies and call for cross-cultural investigations to illuminate potential differences among the antecedents (Eisend and Schuchert-Guler 2006). The purpose of the following study is to examine antecedents of purchase intention toward counterfeits (PItC) and its influence on consumers’ willingness to pay for the original (WtPO).