T.K.P. Leung

The difference between Chinese and Western negotiations

Guanxi is the foundation of Chinese business negotiations. The paper explains the meaning of Guanxi and uses it to differentiate between the characteristics of Chinese and Western negotiations in the marketing context. Guanxi is a characteristic of Chinese culture and provides a starting point for understanding the Chinese negotiating style. Western cultures have inherently different characteristics. As culture is so important in the negotiation process, the paper also reviews the five dimensions of culture as outlined by Hofstede (1991) and places these in the Chinese context.

Face, favour and positioning – a Chinese power game

This study is an initial attempt to look at the relationships among “inducement factors”, “face work” and “favour” from a Hong Kong‐China intra‐cultural negotiation environment. The model in this paper was modified from Hwangs paper on the same subject that has not been followed up in the past 13 years. The findings suggest that “face work” has four dimensions, namely “reciprocity”, “response”, “respect”, and “reputation”. Hong Kong negotiators, because of their similar ethnical background, manipulate these four dimensions to align themselves with powerful Chinese parties so as to help them negotiate through the complex Chinese relational society. They have three positions in the Chinese market, i.e. the impresser, smoother and cruel. By positioning themselves as “impressers”, the Hong Kong negotiators have the least psychic distance and transaction cost with their Chinese counterparts. Foreign negotiators are advised to use “face work” as a cultural strategy to help them negotiate through the complex business network in China. Also, they remember to practice this strategy widely because a not‐so‐important person may become a very important person in the future and therefore foreign negotiators will benefit on a longer term basis. They should also position themselves as “impresser” to give a modest image in the eyes of their Chinese counterparts. Modesty is highly valued in the Chinese society.

The effectiveness of environmental claims for services advertising

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore how different types of environmental claims may affect the communication effectiveness of environmental advertising. Two two moderating variables include the perceived eco‐friendly image of the originating country and consumer involvement.Design/methodology/approach – The examination involves the analysis of the responses of 1,200 subjects in Shanghai, China, to mock advertisements containing environmental claims using a 2 x 3 factorial design.Findings – Environmental claims enhance the communication effectiveness of advertisements for both high‐ and low‐involvement services. For high‐involvement services, substantive environmental claims generate more favorable attitudinal responses than do associative environmental claims.Research limitations/implications – This research focused on a single Chinese city and on two service categories with contrasting degrees of involvement. While such a confinement can enhance the internal validity of the findings, their ...

Cronyism: One possible consequence of guanxi for an insider: how to obtain and maintain it?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine a model of how a foreign businessman obtains and maintains cronyism from his Chinese counterpart that emphasizes on an insider perspective to convert him from a new friend to an old friend of his Chinese counterpart through a guanxi adaptation mechanism. Design/methodology/approach – A vigorous analysis of extant literature and an investigation of insider dynamics within a new friend/old friend perspective. Findings – Gift‐giving is strategic and a foreign businessman must manage its monetary value very cautiously in order to alleviate the “face” and provide renqing so as to generate ganging and to obtain cronyism from his Chinese counterpart. In saying that, relativism prevails. A foreign company must establish a zone of ethical tolerance so that its executive knows the limits when practicing gift‐giving. In China, an old friend is a supporter and therefore a foreign business should not openly criticize his Chinese counterpart. Frequent visits to China must be maintained. Practical implications – A foreign businessman needs to understand the guanxi dynamics of renqing and ganging and their sequential arrangement in the adaptation mechanism. He should use gift‐giving to offer renqing so as to establish ganging with his Chinese counterparts. Originality/value – Provides a depth analysis of two emotional aspects in the guanxi adaptation mechanism, i.e. renqing and ganging which is a definitive device to convert a foreign businessman from a new friend to an old friend of his counterpart in the Chinese market.

Design and development of a context-aware decision support system for real-time accident handling in logistics

This paper describes the design and development of a context-aware fleet management system (CFMS) prototype for real-time accident handling in logistics using a design science approach. One of the most important decisions in fleet management is the optimization of vehicle scheduling during an accident, such as a vehicle breakdown and mechanical failure during delivery. The schedule planner has to assign another vehicle to take over the task; thus, accident handling needs the reassignment or re-scheduling of vehicles. The large number of available vehicles for reassignment and numerous trips in a day make rescheduling complicated and difficult to resolve. In this paper, we propose a CFMS integrated with global positioning system (GPS) for real-time vehicle positioning and eSeal enabled by the RFID technology, to help human planners with rescheduling. A CFMS prototype was built and evaluated in a real-world setting. The system prototype was satisfactory during evaluation. The system was found to be more effective by its potential users and field logistics experts in aiding real-time accident handling in logistics. The design science approach used to develop the prototype could form a basis for further research.

Managing information diffusion in internet marketing

Purpose – Information has created a new segment of knowledgeable customers. Marketers should pay attention to the reversed information sharing by this active group of customers. The major aims of this article are to provide the results of an in‐depth investigation of the relationship between antecedents of information diffusion and perceived cyber segments in the financial services industry and to discuss the importance of the perceived positioning of different segments. This study investigates how information diffusion antecedents and consequences affect the interconnectedness between customers and financial services providers.Design/methodology/approach – This study analyzes corporate attitudes towards using the internet to share information and identifies the major factors behind the information diffusion process. An investigation into information competence and information sharing was undertaken to examine how information was related to six factors, i.e. relevancy, readiness, response, recklessness, r...

Commitment and vulnerability in B2B relationship selling in the Hong Kong institutional insurance service industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of the antecedents of the exchange domain (use of coercive influence, ideational favor exchange, calculative resource‐dependence, and decision uncertainty) on relationship building. The paper examines the link between the two mediating dynamics of embedded trust and relationship‐specific customization and loyalty by developing a model of vulnerability‐based commitment.Design/methodology/approach – The links between the model elements are tested using data from a survey of clients in the Hong Kong insurance service. Structural equation analysis is used to test research hypotheses and to examine the extent to which vulnerability‐based commitment leads to the development of loyalty.Findings – The degree of embedded trust between parties is enhanced by the use of coercive influence, favor, and resource‐dependence. Embedded trust has a negative relationship with decision uncertainty. The antecedents of coercive influence, favor, and resource‐depen...

Is Total Trust Possible

Abstract Customers are passionately loyal about doing business with sellers who can always be trusted to act in their best interest over time. This research tries to identify how to develop a total trust relationship. The core antecedents behind this total-trust relationship are reciprocal responsiveness, shared understanding, personal disclosure, customization and cooperative concern. We examine how these antecedents affect satisfaction and trust en route to affecting loyalty. Based on data from insurance services, we empirically test and substantiate the roles of these antecedents in building loyalty. A total-trust framework incorporating services effectiveness and functional efficiency is proposed. Managerial implications and directions for future research are also given.