Product evaluation and purchase intention : impact of country-of-origin and experience in living in a foreign country

This article presents the results of an experiment that compares the perceptions of product quality and purchase intentions of foreign versus home products by Chinese consumers who have had experience living in a western society compared to those living in China. The results indicate experience does affect purchase likelihood for home versus foreign products. Chinese, generally, find country of parts as the best cue in evaluating product quality and purchase intentions.

A resource-based view on China strategy

The research suggests that Chinese companies do not subscribe to ‘western’ strategy theory. As they rapidly internationalise through massive Foreign Direct Investment, Chinese companies are developing new perspectives on achieving competitiveness. A comparison of the Resource-Based View of strategy (RBV) constructs from western literature with identified (indigent) Chinese business strategies found that competitive advantage (CA) was derived from an adherence to the Confucian doctrines. This adherence to Confucian doctrines produced constructs common to both Western and Chinese business strategies. The most successful companies in China actually combined eastern and western strategic approaches, but focussed on the development of relationships to create and maintain CA, instead of focussing on the development of actual resources as recommended by the RBV.

The role of sister city relationships in the enhancement of trade : Latrobe City (Australia) and Taizhou (China)

Traditionally the role of Sister City relationships has been a political and cultural one involving local governments across the world. Over the decades this role has been questioned in both its efficacy as well as its
focus. Hundreds of Sister City relationships have developed and in Australia velY few can be said to have produced long term and worthwhile outcomes. New interpretations of the /ill1ctionality of Sister City relationships in Australia (and elsewhere) has resulted and has shifted towards an inclusion of a consideration of the commercial utility of such relationships and not solely cultural (0 'Toole 2001). Today especially with current strong trade relations with China, new models are sought to provide sustainability and long term prospects to such relations. This paper examines the possibility of special sister city relations between
Australian and Chinese cities using their sister city links. Specifically an examination in this paper is undertaken of the City of Latrobe and Taizhou as a case study of interest which provides sustainable trade potential between two strong small medium enterprise (SME) economies.

Doing business in China : how Australian companies make their decisions when entering the Chinese market

This report describes and analyses the experiences of Australian businesses which have established operations or conduct business in China, both successfully and unsuccessfully. The information was collected over the period from August to November in 2007. It involved interviews with 43 respondents from 40 different Australian businesses across both manufacturing and service industries. The project was motivated by the increasing significance of China to Australia’s economy (such as the demand for Australian iron and coal exports and the transfer of much of Australia’s manufacturing operations there) and its extraordinary growth and development over the past 10 years. Using the contemporary modes of international expansion as a framework, the research considered companies which had entered China through Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprises (WOFEs), Joint Ventures, exporting and other forms such as licensing and agents. Most of the participants had located their operations in China in the eastern region, including Shanghai, Beijing, Guanzhou, Shenzhen and Tianjin.

South Korea confronts the rise of China

The rise of China is one of the most discussed topics in the field of international relations. While few doubt that China is indeed “rising”, precisely how this process is unfolding and with what implications, is unclear. Should China’s growing prominence in regional and global affairs be treated as simply the latest in a natural process of states rising in influence, or is it somehow new, different or potentially destabilising? Given that the implications of China’s rise have been acutely felt in South Korea, this paper focuses seeks to typologise the responses of the South to the rise of China.

An exploration of the staffing choices, recruitment, skills shortages and retention issues of Australian based multinational corporations in China

The purpose of this paper is to explore the staffing choices, recruitment, skills shortages and retention issues that Australian based multinational corporations (MNCs) in China face. A qualitative research methodology was utilised, where 20 case study organisations were investigated. The firms investigated were all Australian owned and headquartered, and utilised Foreign Direct Investment and Joint Venture modes. It was found that Australian MNCs used an ethnocentric staffing model; they had issues with recruiting willing expatriate staff, and difficulties in finding skilled, qualified local nationals. They experienced significant skills shortages problems, and also reported retention issues. A number of strategies to improve these issues were articulated throughout the paper.

How Hollywood projects foreign policy

The interactions between popular culture and public policy in general, and foreign policy in particular, have always been an important area of scholarly enquiry and popular interest. However with the end of the bipolar world system and the emergence of a single world superpower in the form of the United States of America, which is waging a War Against Terror, this nexus has become critical. This is especially true because of the almost Manichean tendency of the United States to see other countries in terms of "good" or "evil". Indeed President Bush himself has coined the term "The Axis of Evil" for states, which in a kinder age were simply referred to by his predecessors as being "Rogue States".

This book draws together elements from several academic disciplines - politics, international relations, psychology, film and cultural studies and examines US foreign policy toward the so-called "rogue states" and the products of the Hollywood film industry in relation to these states, which promises to make a significant contribution to our understanding of the 'soft power' that is popular culture.

An international strategy taxonomy for entry into China

Taxonomies explaining internationalisation strategy are effective in relating connected variables to the decision-making process and entry mode strategies of organisations. The taxonomy developed in this paper from research into 40 Australian companies which had successfully and unsuccessfully internationalised into China identified resource transferability and international experience as connected variables that can categorise the factors of entry choice. High levels of resource transferability lead to joint ventures or wholly-owned foreign enterprises. Low levels led to exporting/importing or project/client based/licensing. High levels of international experience led to wholly-owned foreign enterprises or joint ventures. Low levels led to project/client based/licensing or exporting/importing.

The relationship between the real exchange rate and balance of payments: empirical evidence for China from cointegration and causality testing

This article examines the relationship between the renminbi real exchange rate and China's foreign exchange reserves using cointegration and Granger causality testing. The main findings are that in the long run foreign exchange reserves Granger cause the real exchange rate. Meanwhile, in the short run there is unidirectional Granger causality running from foreign exchange reserves to the real exchange rate.

The saving and investment nexus for China : evidence from cointegration tests

The saving and investment nexus as postulated by Feldstein and Horioka (FH) (1980) is revisited. The saving investment correlation for China is estimated over the periods 1952-1998 and 1952-1994, the latter culminating in a period of fixed exchange rate regime. Amongst the key results, it is found that saving and investment are correlated for China for both the period of the fixed exchange rate and the entire sample period. With high saving-investment correlation, the results suggest that the Chinese economy is in conformity with the FH hypothesis. This is a valid outcome, for in China capital mobility was fairly restricted over the 1952-1994 period as indicated by the relatively low foreign direct investment.

Does the 'war for talent' exist for Australian multinational corporations in China?

This paper reports on skills shortages, recruitment and retention issues that Australian multinational corporations (MNCs) based in China face when staffing their foreign operations, with both managerial and non-managerial staff. A qualitative research methodology was used, investigating 20 organisations as case studies. It was found that Australian MNCs experienced a 'war for talent' in their Chinese operations. This meant that it was difficult for them to find and retain skilled staff. For managerial positions, Australian MNCs used an ethnocentric staffing model; however, they had issues recruiting willing expatriate managerial staff for China. It is recommended that Australian MNCs implement enhanced talen-management programs to recruit and retain the skills and talent they need for the Chinese market.

Overseas Chinese as expatriate managers in China : is their recruitment a solution to cross-cultural management problems for multinationals operating in China?

The rapid economic development has gravitated businesses into the Chinese market. It’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 made her an even more formidable player in the global economy and direct foreign investment surged. Yet it is acknowledged that for the foreign investor in China, cross-cultural issues create difficulty at every level, from the intercultural level relating to communication and negotiation, to the organizational level relating to decision making, human resource management practices, corporate legal institutions and dealing with governments. Western multinationals have considered the advantages of posting overseas Chinese, from Southeast Asian countries, Taiwan Hong Kong and etc. But has this policy been successful? In terms of language expertise and cultural literacy this would seem to be a good strategy, yet organizational case material contradicts this in reality. Overseas Chinese, while sharing some elements of Chinese culture with mainland Chinese, the Confucian heritage and other aspects such as language, diet, etc, nevertheless have different world views and values and behave differently from mainland Chinese in areas critical to business management. As a survival strategy, overseas Chinese often developed dual identities operating simultaneously. For many of them, for political and historical reasons, they have had to adapt to the local culture or even hide their own ethnicity in order to survive. On the other hand, the mainland Chinese are different in the sense that their behaviour has only had to be Chinese, but overlaid with this has been the experience of participating in a communist political environment for decades, which has left its mark on mainland Chinese culture. On the basis of this, in the current business environment in China confusion, difficulties and conflict may occur for the overseas Chinese. This paper aims to provide insights of the cultural differences between the overseas Chinese and mainland Chinese. It provides evidence that overseas Chinese are not often favoured by the local Chinese. This problem has yet to be researched in depth within international business and international management studies. It draws the attention to issues on how to manage the local Chinese.

China's 'two Koreas' policy : achievements and contradictions

China has long maintained a keen interest in events on the Korean peninsula, which Beijing considers to fall within the Sinic sphere of interest. The PRC has maintained a decades-long alliance with North Korea, and also achieved a rapprochement with South Korea, with whom China enjoys a burgeoning economic relationship. The PRC’s pursuit of a ‘two Koreas’ policy has tested Beijing’s diplomatic mettle during the past decade. In and of itself, the maintenance of strong ties to both Koreas represents a significant achievement. By reviewing recent developments in Chinese diplomacy towards the peninsula, this article highlights both the achievements and contradictions inherent in Beijing’s two-Korea policy. North Korea has risked China’s wrath by pursuing a nuclear deterrent, and by refusing to enact market reforms. In the case of the South, the government of Lee Myung-bak has strengthened its alliance with the U.S. and also sought to compensate for its growing economic interdependence with China by seeking FTAs with other states, including the U.S. The sinking of the Cheonan in March 2010 presents an opportunity to reflect on China’s efforts to balance its ties with both Koreas.

Understanding Chinese identity in international relations : a critique of Western approaches.

In international relations in the West, two main approaches to Chinese identity have emerged: the capability and the culture approaches. Though each takes a different view of China, they share common epistemological ground. positivism. This paper provides an overview of these two influential schools of thought and attempts to challenge their positivistic and ethnocentric assumptions about the identities of both China and the West. While they endeavour to make sense of China, particularly in the post-Cold War era, they fail to understand identity as a form of representation. From a critical perspective, both ’China’ and the ‘West’ are social constructs: each in part constitutes the other. The relationship between them is always relational and fluid. Posing Chinese identity in positivist terms is not only misleading analytically, but potentially dangerous in practice. It is important, therefore, that alternative critical approaches to the complexities of Chinese identity be further explored.

International standing, international reputation and Australian foreign policy

This thesis provides a systematic study of the concepts of international standing and international reputation in four significant episodes in Australian foreign policy in the second half of the Twentieth Century. These concepts are shown to have influenced Australian diplomacy, both as objects of policy and as instruments of policy.