Consumers’ intentions to adopt 3G in regional cities in China : a comparative study

Rapid mobile technological evolution and the large economic stake in commercial development of mobile technological innovation make it necessary to understand consumers' motivations towards the latest advanced and updated technologies and services. 3G (the third generation of mobile communication technology) recently started its commercial development in the world‘s largest mobile communication market, China, after being delayed for a few years. Although China fell behind in commercially developing 3G, it is difficult to ignore studying this area, given the size of the market and promising future developments. This market deserves focused research attention, especially in terms of consumer behaviour towards the adoption of mobile technological innovation. Thus, the program of research in this thesis was designed to investigate how Chinese consumers respond to the use of this newly launched mobile technological innovation, with a focus on what factors affect their 3G adoption intentions. It aimed to yield important insights into Chinese consumers‘ innovation adoption behaviours and to contribute to marketing and innovation adoption research. Furthermore, it has been documented that Chinese consumers vary widely between regions in dialect, lifestyle, culture, purchasing power and consumption attitudes. Based on economic development and local culture, China can be divided geographically into distinctive regional consumer markets. Consequently, the results of consumer behaviour research in one region may not necessarily be extrapolated to other regions. In order to better understand Chinese consumers, the disparities between regions should not be overlooked. Therefore, another objective of this program of research was to examine regional variances in consumers' innovation adoption, specifically to identify the similarities and differences in factors influencing 3G adoption, contributing to intra-cultural studies. An extensive literature review identified two gaps: current China-based innovation adoption research studies are limited in providing adequate prediction and explanation of Chinese consumers' intentions to adopt 3G; and there was limited knowledge about the differences between regional Chinese consumers in innovation adoption. Two research questions therefore were developed to address these gaps: 1) What factors influence Chinese consumers' intentions to adopt 3G? 2) How do Chinese consumers differ between regional markets in the relative influence of the factors in determining their intentions to adopt 3G? In accordance with postpositivist research philosophy, two studies were designed to answer the research questions, using mixed methods. To meet the research objectives, the two studies were both conducted in three regional cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan, centred in the three regions of North China, East China and Central China respectively, with sufficient cultural and economical regional variances. Study One was an exploratory study with qualitative research methods. It involved 45 in-depth interviews in the three research cities to gain rich insights into the research context from natural settings. Eight important concepts related to 3G adoption were generated from analysis of the interview data, namely utilitarian expectation, hedonic expectation, status gains, status loss avoidance, normative influence, external influence, cost and quality concern. The concepts of social loss avoidance and quality concern were two unique findings, whereas the other concepts were similar to the findings in Western innovation adoption studies. Moreover, variances in 3G adoption between three groups of regional consumers were also identified, focusing on the perceptions of two concepts, namely status gains and normative influence. The conceptual research model was then developed incorporating the eight concepts plus the dependent variable of adoption intention. The hypothesized relationships between the nine constructs and hypotheses about the differences between regional consumers in 3G adoption were informed by the findings of Study One and the literature reviewed. Study Two was a quantitative study involving a web-based survey and statistical analysis procedure. The web-based survey attracted 800 residents from the three research cities, 270 from Beijing, 265 from Shanghai and 265 from Wuhan. They comprised three research samples for this study and consequently three sets of data were obtained. The data was analysed by Structural Equation Modelling together with Multi-group Analysis. The analysis confirmed that the concepts generated in Study One were influential factors affecting Chinese consumers' 3G adoption intention, with the exception of the concept external influence. Differences were found between the samples in the three research cities in the effect of hedonic expectation, status gains, status loss avoidance and normative influence on 3G adoption intention. The two Studies undertaken in this thesis contributed a better understanding of Chinese consumers' intentions to adopt advanced mobile technological innovation, namely 3G, in three regional markets. This knowledge contributes to innovation adoption and intra-cultural research, as well as consumer behaviour theory. It is also able to inform international and domestic telecommunication companies to develop and deliver more effective marketing strategies across Chinese regional markets. Limitations in the research were identified in terms of the sampling techniques used and the design of the two Studies. Future research was suggested in other Chinese regional markets and into consumer adoption of other types of mobile technological innovations.

Distribution trade sector output and productivity performance : a case study of Singapore and Hong Kong 2001-2008

This paper employs the industry of origin approach to compare value added and productivity of Singapore and Hong Kong's Distribution Trade Sector for the period 2001-2008. The direct comparison between these two economies was motivated by the statements of the Singapore government: Its services sector, especially in Retail Trade, lags behind Hong Kong's productivity levels. The results show that since 2005, Singapore's Distribution performance in terms of labour productivity was below Hong Kong's level, which was largely due to poor performance in its Retail Trade sector arising from an influx of foreign workers. Results from total factor productivity (TFP) between these two economies also suggest that Hong Kong's better performance (since 2005) was largely due to its ability to employ more educated and trained workers with limited use of capital. The results suggest that polices that worked in Hong Kong may not work for Singapore because its population is more diverse which poses a challenge to policy-makers in raising its productivity level.

Developing sustainable fish farming in the Western Pacific : a viewpoint on potential reasons for why many attempts failed

Capture fisheries and aquaculture have been a major source of food and providers of economic benefits to many communities around the world for a very long time. While the history of aquaculture or fish farming can be traced back for more than 2000 years in some corners of the globe, notably in China, Japan and the Mediterranean, this is not true everywhere, where in general, fish farming is a relatively new industry. Rapid human population growth and increasing urbanisation over the last 20 to 40 years has meant that while fish consumption has doubled globally, returns from capture fisheries have remained static or have declined due to overexploitation and rising pollution levels, with some fisheries either closing or becoming economically unviable. Data from studies suggest that this trend is unlikely to be reversed unless appropriate fisheries management allows depleted wild stocks to rebuild. This has occurred during a time when demand for fish products has grown, in part due to improved purchasing power in some developing countries and changing dietary habits where fish are now considered to have a positive impact on health. Based on the projected population growth over the next two decades, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimates that at least an additional 40 million tonnes of aquatic food will be required to maintain the current per capita consumption (FAO 2006).

Analysis of resource efficiency : a production frontier approach

This article integrates the material/energy flow analysis into a production frontier framework to quantify resource efficiency (RE). The emergy content of natural resources instead of their mass content is used to construct aggregate inputs. Using the production frontier approach, aggregate inputs will be optimised relative to given output quantities to derive RE measures. This framework is superior to existing RE indicators currently used in the literature. Using the exergy/emergy content in constructing aggregate material or energy flows overcomes a criticism that mass content cannot be used to capture different quality of differing types of resources. Derived RE measures are both ‘qualitative’ and ‘quantitative’, whereas existing RE indicators are only qualitative. An empirical examination into the RE of 116 economies was undertaken to illustrate the practical applicability of the new framework. The results showed that economies, on average, could reduce the consumption of resources by more than 30% without any reduction in per capita gross domestic product (GDP). This calculation occurred after adjustments for differences in the purchasing power of national currencies. The existence of high variations in RE across economies was found to be positively correlated with participation of people in labour force, population density, urbanisation, and GDP growth over the past five years. The results also showed that economies of a higher income group achieved higher RE, and those economies that are more dependent on imports and primary industries would have lower RE performance.

Technical efficiency of blood component preparation in blood centres of 10 European countries

Various reasons, such as ethical issues in maintaining blood resources, growing costs, and strict requirements for safe blood, have increased the pressure for efficient use of resources in blood banking. The competence of blood establishments can be characterized by their ability to predict the volume of blood collection to be able to provide cellular blood components in a timely manner as dictated by hospital demand. The stochastically varying clinical need for platelets (PLTs) sets a specific challenge for balancing supply with requests. Labour has been proven a primary cost-driver and should be managed efficiently. International comparisons of blood banking could recognize inefficiencies and allow reallocation of resources. Seventeen blood centres from 10 countries in continental Europe, Great Britain, and Scandinavia participated in this study. The centres were national institutes (5), parts of the local Red Cross organisation (5), or integrated into university hospitals (7). This study focused on the departments of blood component preparation of the centres. The data were obtained retrospectively by computerized questionnaires completed via Internet for the years 2000-2002. The data were used in four original articles (numbered I through IV) that form the basis of this thesis. Non-parametric data envelopment analysis (DEA, II-IV) was applied to evaluate and compare the relative efficiency of blood component preparation. Several models were created using different input and output combinations. The focus of comparisons was on the technical efficiency (II-III) and the labour efficiency (I, IV). An empirical cost model was tested to evaluate the cost efficiency (IV). Purchasing power parities (PPP, IV) were used to adjust the costs of the working hours and to make the costs comparable among countries. The total annual number of whole blood (WB) collections varied from 8,880 to 290,352 in the centres (I). Significant variation was also observed in the annual volume of produced red blood cells (RBCs) and PLTs. The annual number of PLTs produced by any method varied from 2,788 to 104,622 units. In 2002, 73% of all PLTs were produced by the buffy coat (BC) method, 23% by aphaeresis and 4% by the platelet-rich plasma (PRP) method. The annual discard rate of PLTs varied from 3.9% to 31%. The mean discard rate (13%) remained in the same range throughout the study period and demonstrated similar levels and variation in 2003-2004 according to a specific follow-up question (14%, range 3.8%-24%). The annual PLT discard rates were, to some extent, associated with production volumes. The mean RBC discard rate was 4.5% (range 0.2%-7.7%). Technical efficiency showed marked variation (median 60%, range 41%-100%) among the centres (II). Compared to the efficient departments, the inefficient departments used excess labour resources (and probably) production equipment to produce RBCs and PLTs. Technical efficiency tended to be higher when the (theoretical) proportion of lost WB collections (total RBC+PLT loss) from all collections was low (III). The labour efficiency varied remarkably, from 25% to 100% (median 47%) when working hours were the only input (IV). Using the estimated total costs as the input (cost efficiency) revealed an even greater variation (13%-100%) and overall lower efficiency level compared to labour only as the input. In cost efficiency only, the savings potential (observed inefficiency) was more than 50% in 10 departments, whereas labour and cost savings potentials were both more than 50% in six departments. The association between department size and efficiency (scale efficiency) could not be verified statistically in the small sample. In conclusion, international evaluation of the technical efficiency in component preparation departments revealed remarkable variation. A suboptimal combination of manpower and production output levels was the major cause of inefficiency, and the efficiency did not directly relate to production volume. Evaluation of the reasons for discarding components may offer a novel approach to study efficiency. DEA was proven applicable in analyses including various factors as inputs and outputs. This study suggests that analytical models can be developed to serve as indicators of technical efficiency and promote improvements in the management of limited resources. The work also demonstrates the importance of integrating efficiency analysis into international comparisons of blood banking.

Consumerist Predators"? Emerging lifestyles between McDonaldization and sustainability perspectives: the case of highly qualified employees (HQEs) in India

In industrializing countries new groups of consumers with remarkable purchasing power are emerging. Representing a ?new middle class? they are seen as a carrier and promoter of a so-called ?western way of life? beyond the OECD countries. They are presented as having a consumerist predator lifestyle which stands in conflict with the requirements for a sustainable future. Furthermore, they are imputed a profound lack of a sense of responsibility towards society. However, such a ?civil society spirit? is a core prerequisite for coping with the challenge of changing existing lifestyles to insure a more sustainable future....

Tendência temporal do índice de massa corporal em alistados do Brasil (1980-2005)

Apesar da crescente prevalência da obesidade em países desenvolvidos e em desenvolvimento, há pouca evidência da associação com fatores ambientais. Objetivos: Investigar a evolução temporal do IMC em jovens alistados do sexo masculino de 18 anos no Brasil entre 1980 e 2005; identificar pontos específicos de maior variância na série temporal e comparar pontos específicos no tempo, a evolução temporal do IMC com as mudanças socioeconômicas no Brasil. Métodos: O presente estudo explorou uma série temporal de 26 anos em homens brasileiros que se alistaram no período de 1980 a 2005. A amostra compreendeu cerca de 35-40% de todos os jovens brasileiros de 18 anos de idade. O peso corporal e a estatura foram obtidos no momento do exame médico durante o alistamento militar. Todas as mensurações antropométricas foram realizadas por pessoal especializado e treinado. As prevalências do sobrepeso e da obesidade foram calculadas com intervalos de confiança de 95%. Com a finalidade de testar a presença de heterocedasticidade na série do IMC, realizou-se o teste de Multiplicador de Lagrange (LM). Para os pontos no tempo, com oscilações acima da média do IMC, variáveis dummies foram testadas utilizando-se o modelo ARCH (Autoregressivo de Heterocedasticidade Condicionada), com um nível de significância de p <0,05. Para aqueles pontos no tempo com oscilações acima da média do IMC (anos de 1985, 1994 e 2000), variáveis dummy foram incluídos sob a hipótese foi de que a taxa de crescimento do IMC não fosse a mesma ao longo da série temporal. Para as possíveis explicações para os aumentos bruscos na curva do IMC, foram consideradas as alterações nos principais indicadores econômicos do Brasil (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística e Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada). Os fatores econômicos analisados foram: taxa de inflação anual, produção de alimentos, pobreza (%), o consumo de refrigerantes e o rendimento médio anual. Resultados: A prevalência de sobrepeso também passou de 4,5%, em 1980, para 12,5%, em 2005, um aumento de 2,6 vezes, enquanto a prevalência de obesidade aumentou de 0,5%, em 1980, para 1,9%, em 2005, um aumento de quase 300%, mas por comparação internacional estão abaixo da média. Particularmente em 1985-6 e 1994-5, houve um aumento acentuado e significativo do IMC. Em 1985-6, a média do IMC aumentou de 21,4 kg/m2 para 21,5 kg/m2 e, em 1994-5, a média do IMC médio aumentou de 21,7 kg/m2 para 21,9 kg/m2. Nesses dois pontos (1985-1986 e 1994-1995) ocorreram logo após duas grandes mudanças políticas econômicas que aumentaram o poder de compra da população. Em 1985-6, as mudanças foram principalmente relacionadas a fatores econômicos, tais como: a redução do nível de desigualdade social; aumento da renda familiar; redução da pobreza; o controle da inflação; aumento do tempo assistindo televisão e aumento do consumo de alimentos. Em 1994-5, além das mudanças no poder de compra, houve uma modificação na atividade física obrigatória nas escolas. Conclusão: O presente estudo mostrou um aumento abrupto da obesidade na população de homens jovens no Brasil em duas ocasiões durante esta série temporal (anos de 1985-6 e 1994-5), quando uma possível redução no gasto calórico e aumento do consumo de alimentos da população foram observados.

O direito ao entretenimento na função social da cidade

O art. 6 da Constituição Federal estabelece que o lazer é um direito social. A referida proteção constitucional conquistada com a Carta Cidadã de 1988, somada a previsão internacional da Declaração Universal dos Direitos Humanos por si só ensejam a elaboração de estudo detalhado do tema. Além disso, a ascensão de uma nova classe média com maior poder de consumo, a efervescência da terceira revolução industrial e a eleição do Brasil, e especificamente da cidade do Rio de Janeiro, como sede de diversos eventos de entretenimento internacional, são os argumentos que introduzem o estudo a cidade e a satisfação do direito ao (do) entretenimento. Assim, a partir da conceituação de entretenimento à luz da comparação com as outras ciências humanas e o direito alienígena, enseja-se a propositura de um conceito próprio para o ordenamento jurídico pátrio, que delimita os deveres do Estado na satisfação deste direito, e na regulação e fomento da atividade econômica que circundam o lazer, denominada indústria do entretenimento. O estudo aborda ainda a compreensão de que a cidade pode ser concebida como oikos do entretenimento, permitindo uma análise das formas como as cidades devem comportar conteúdo mínimo que viabilize a satisfação do lazer. Ao final, tendo por paradigma a cidade do Rio de Janeiro, se analisa como determinadas cidade podem possuir características geográficas, históricas e culturais próprias que permitem que sua vocação econômica seja a satisfação do entretenimento em nível internacional.

A imagem de um destino turístico cultural

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências Empresariais.

Vietnam’s political economy: a discussion on the 1986-2016 period

Being a member of the thriving ASEAN and successfully implementing economic renovation (Doi Moi) have drawn the world's attention on Vietnam around the turn of the millennium. Some even expected a much faster pace of transformation, and renewed economic, AND political, reforms in Vietnam, or Doi Moi II.However, in the recent transition turmoil the Vietnamese economy has experienced some significant setback, and the solution for getting the country out of the downward spiral of low productivity, waning purchasing power and increasing costs of doing business cannot be worked out without addressing those political economy issues that have shaped the modus operandi of the nation's economic system. This article discusses the post-Doi Moi political economy in Vietnam, from 1986 to 2016 – when the 12th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam takes place – and prospects of reviving reform momentum in subsequent years.

Inequality and Heights

This chapter discusses opportunities and limitations of height inequality, especially the role of social status and income distribution in determining height inequality. The more unequal the income distribution in a society, the more unequal the corresponding height distribution. At one time, the height gap between rich and poor teenagers in industrializing England was as high as 22 cm (8.7 inches); today, height inequality tends to be much lower (on the order of a few centimeters) because the gap between rich and poor in developed countries tends to be smaller. Results presented here suggest that height inequality is driven by differences in purchasing power, education, physical workload, and epidemiological environment. In a modern setting, social safety and redistribution of income is also relevant. An introduction into the literature helps illustrate opportunities this methodology has to offer to understand better the dynamics of the way populations experience economic development.

Rentabilidade e risco na comercialização agregada de energia elétrica

Dissertação para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica na Área de Especialização de Energia

Internationalization strategy of Skypro Shoes to Japan

Skypro is a footwear brand targeted at the aviation professionals’ niche market, explored by the Portuguese microenterprise Abotoa Lda..The saturation of the Portuguese market led Skypro to expand to different worldwide countries and to be a footwear supplier of Airlines from the USA, Qatar or Australia, among others. Abotoa aims for its 2014’s exports to represent around 80% of total sales and this Internationalization Plan for Japan represents the possibility of further exploring the Asian market. Japan appears as the 2nd worldwide footwear importer and the 5th footwear consumer, with a high purchasing power – GDP per capita (PPP). This country possesses two enormous Airlines (ANA and JAL) that employ more than 15000 on-board personnel, the world’s 4th busiest Airport in 2013 (Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport) and a geographic structure with more than 6500 islands, implying high frequency of aerial transportation in the medium-run. These aspects make Japan an adequate country to invest in. At the course of this Work Project, trustworthy recommendations are provided for the current state of Abotoa and for the introduction and implementation of this Internationalization Plan. These findings strongly suggest that Skypro should indeed penetrate Japan’s market.

Foreign exchange reserves in India and China

Professor Irma Glicman Adelman, an Irish Economist working in California University at Berkely, in her research work on ‘Development Over Two Centuries’, which is published in the Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 1995, has identified that India, along with China, would be one of the largest economies in this 21st Century. She has stated that the period 1700 - 1820 is the period of Netherlands, the period 1820 - 1890 is the period of England the period 1890 - 2000 is the period of America and this 21st Century is the century of China and India. World Bank has also identified India as one of the leading players of this century after China. India will be third largest economy after USA and China. India will challenge the Global Economic Order in the next 15 years. India will overtake Italian economy in 2015, England economy in 2020, Japan economy in 2025 and USA economy in 2050 (China will overtake Japan economy in 2016 and USA economy in 2027). India has the following advantages compared with other economies. India is 4th largest GDP in the world in terms of Purchasing Power. India is third fastest growing economy in the world after China and Vietnam. Service sector contributes around 57% of GDP. The share of agriculture is around 17% and Manufacture is 16% in 2005 - 2006. This is a character of a developed country. Expected GDP growth rate is 10% shortly (It has come down from 9.2% in 2006 - 2007 to 6.2% during 2008 - 2009 due to recession. It is only a temporary phenomenon). India has $284 billion as Foreign Exchange Reserve as on today. India had just $1 billion as Foreign Exchange Reserve when it opened its economy in the year 1991. In this research paper an attempt has been made to study the two booming economies of the globe with respect to their foreign exchange reserves. This study mainly based on secondary data published by respective governments and various studies done on this area

Provisional coverage for independent workers

The study examines how, from the traditional work of the independent artisan, we have moved to autonomous work integrated within networks of specialized businesses. This modality is owed not only to the manner in which labor is organized today, to government stimuli, to actions of multilaterals, but also to unemployment. With the purpose of humanizing independent work and rationalizing business costs, an intermediate category of autonomous worker has been created; the semi-dependent who moves between legal freedom and economic independence. The administration, for its part, focuses on broadening social coverage, not always developed for bureaucratic reasons, which is connected to the low density of contributions from the autonomous workers. The challenge put forth is that of provisional coverage for the independents, which is possible whenever citizens participate to resolve social inequality, resulting from the lack of job opportunities, low purchasing power and educational level.