International Business Commons^™

Manufacturing And Supply Chain Management In China:: A Survey Of State-, Collective-, And Privately-Owned Enterprises, David Pyke Phd, Ma, Mba, Ba, David Robb Phd, Mba, Be, John Farley Phd

School of Business: Faculty Scholarship

Because of the booming economy, interest in China has soared in recent years. The government has decided to privatize many State-owned enterprises (SOEs), so foreigners can much more easily invest in existing firms than ever before. Is it wise to consider investing in these SOEs? Certainly, many have major problems. How sophisticated are Chinese manufacturing firms? Do they understand modern principles of manufacturing strategy and supply chain management? What is the level of installed technology, from traditional production planning systems, like MRP, to robotics? This paper attempts to answer these questions based on a survey of 100 firms in the …

The Etic/Emic Dimensions Of Organizational Citizenship Behavior In Mexico: A Cross -Cultural Research Study, Luis Ortiz

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this dissertation is to use field research data gathered from Mexican maquiladora administrative professionals in order to develop a new scale of Mexican Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (MOCB—“going beyond the norm”). A major tenet from the literature states that to correctly capture an entire phenomenon such as MOCBs in a different culture, researchers must use both the emic/etic dyad, triangulation, and should use employee samples.

The methodology in this dissertation utilizes a preliminary study and a main study. The first study uses two large multinational enterprises (MNEs) to empirically test six propositions. The preliminary study determined that organizational …

An Analysis Of Financial Issues Faced By Microenterprises In Mexico, Heikki Heino

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The economic and social role of microenterprises in developing countries is well recognized. Research has shown that the importance of microenterprises in economic development derives from the fact that small firms use labor intensively rather than capital. In the case of Mexico, microenterprises employ over 20 percent of the working age population. Moreover, from 1991 to 1995 the number of microenterprises operating in Mexico increased from 5.7 to 6.1 million firms.

Given the role that microenterprises play in employment creation, a natural research question that arises is then, “how microenterprises are created and survive under credit market imperfections.” A general …

Sectoral Labor Choice In Post-Revolutionary Nicaragua: The Evolution Of The Informal Labor Sector In The 1990s, Michael Jack Pisani

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This dissertation focuses on the contemporary informal labor sector in Nicaragua. Central to the study are four research questions concerning the informal labor sector in Nicaragua; they are: (1) Are Nicaraguans positively or negatively selected into the informal/formal sector? That is, do Nicaraguans participate in their respective sector by choice (e.g., positive selection) or by force (e.g., negative selection)? (2) Are Nicaraguans working in the informal sector queued to work in the formal sector? (3) How has the queue changed, if any, for informal sector workers desiring formal sector employment over the course of the 1990s? and, (4) How have …

Motives For Corporate Philanthropy In El Salvador: Altruism And Political Legitimacy, Carol M. Sanchez

Peer Reviewed Articles

This paper discusses how Salvadoran companies practice corporate philanthropy in El Salvador, and what might motivate it. First, I briefly discuss three principal theories of corporate philanthropy, and explore some current trends in international corporate philanthropy to highlight some of the motives Salvadoran companies may have to participate in charitable activities. Then, I discuss the history of the Salvadoran private sector to help us understand philanthropic activity today. Next, I suggest that philanthropic acts by Salvadoran firms are driven by altruistic and politically strategic motives, and reflect individualistic and paternalistic attitudes. In the discussion, I include examples of Salvadoran corporate …

Nationalism In The People's Republic Of China: A Consequential Chameleon, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes how nationalism among political leaders in the People's Republic of China (PRC) can be the linchpin of divergent views on the desirability of the PRC's future in a globalized economy.

Trends. Blowing Smoke: Tobacco Machinations And The World Health Organization, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses actions of agents of the tobacco industry and their attempts to undermine World Health Organization (WHO) tobacco control activities as reported in a WHO report.

The Antecedents And Consequences Of Customer Loyalty: The Roles Of Customer Satisfaction And Consumer Trust -Commitment, Sergio Alonso

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The objective of this dissertation is to develop and test a model of customer loyalty. This model can help explain the process that a customer follows to pledge loyalty, sometimes even subconsciously, to a product or service provider. From the provider's perspective, this process enables a firm to have a superior marketing performance based on the consideration that a loyal customer always is going to repurchase from the same provider. The whole model is composed of two sides: the firm and the consumer side. The firm is the entity that starts the process with the production of a consumer value …

Women's Income-Generating Activities In Turkey, Nihan Kayaardi

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Home working has recently reemerged in both less-developed and developed countries. It is observed in both unskilled and highly skilled work. In general, there are no estimates of the number of women who bring work into their homes. Home working is part of the informal economy that is disguised and shadowed in the economy. Most of this type of employment is hidden in official statistics. In Turkey, for example the female informal labor force is about 68% (Kumbetoglu, 1993). Most of the work done by the women is piecework, and their earnings depend on the piece-rate.

This thesis utilizes existing …

Trends. Licit And Illicit Human Trafficking: The Ultimate Violation Of Human Rights, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses human trafficking for economic reasons and its context.

Comparative Advantage In Production And Trade In Nigeria., Emmanuel U. Ukeje

Bullion

The Nigerian economy is generally large and very diverse. The country is endowed with a highly productive agricultural base and generally favourable climatic conditions, which provide the potential for intensive production, both for domestic consumption and for exports. This paper reviews the production and trade pattern in Nigeria with a view to identifying major structural changes with regard to the relative comparative advantage enjoyed by the sectors, the other parts of the paper focuses on some theoretical and conceptual issues. The rest of the paper is divided into five sections. Section 2 focuses on some theoretical and conceptual issues. Section …

Managing A Microcosm Of India, J Ramachandran

IIMB Management Review

The Tata Group, involved in diverse sectors ranging from automotives and engineering products to energy and consumer products, is held together by its common pursuit of improving the quality of life of people. The Group accomplishes this by targeting sectors that impact the national economy. Jamsetji started a steel plant because he said India must have steel. There was a bit of pioneering, patriotism and philanthropy, and of course profits all P’s by the way. In the same way, the Tata Group went into hotels, chemicals and automobiles. The Tata Group is all about leadership with trust in chosen areas …

Performance Improvement In International Environments: Designing Individual Performance Interventions To Fit National Cultures, Carol M. Sanchez

Peer Reviewed Articles

This article examines how internationalization might affect the design of individual performance improvement approaches in organizations. It begins by examining knowledge that has been learned principally from the North American context of what improves an individual's performance. Then, we discuss motivators, attitudes. and behaviors of workers and how they may vary among workers in different national cultural contexts. In short, we examine individual performance improvement for its cross‐border effectiveness, using various models of national cultural differences. By doing this, we hope to provide an understanding of how performance improvement systems might require modification to fit with non‐North American work environments.

Different Minds And Common Problems: Geert Hofstede's Research On National Cultures, Carol M. Sanchez, Dawn M. Curtis

Peer Reviewed Articles

This article discusses Geert Hofstede's work on national cultural differences. It explains how Hofstede's model of the dimensions of national culture might be of use to performance improvement professionals as they try to solve familiar, and perhaps not so familiar, problems in international settings. Hofstede's work, first published in 1980, argues that many management theories, such as those of Herzberr, Mausner, and Snyderman (1959), Maslow (1970), and McGregor (1960), are not valid worldwide be cause the authors are subject to cultural bias that is manifested in their own cultural makeup. Hofstede's research has shown that national cultures tend vary on …

Manipulating Ethos And Pathos: Accents, Product Complexity, And Promotional Messages In Chile, Victor Ramon Davila

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This dissertation is motivated by fundamental questions about source effects in persuasive communications: Do receiver attributes influence perceptions about the source and about the object of the message? Do source and object cues influence receiver perceptions about the source? Do source and object cues influence receiver perceptions about the object of the message?

Traditional conceptions of receiver responses to a source have focused on character trait inferences. Of these character trait inferences, the literature on source credibility appears to converge on two categories: source expertise and source trustworthiness. A more recent stream of research has grown around the concept of …

The Import Of Importing And Unnatural Acts: The Political Psychology Of Bioengineered Plants, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes political psychological aspects of opposition to the importing of bioengineered plants.

Trends. The People's Republic Of China And Permanent Normal Trading Relations: A Run-Up And Aftermath Of More Smoke Than Fire?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the vote of the United States (US) House of Representatives to approve permanent normal trading relations (PTNR) with the People's Republic of China (PRC). Human rights violations are discussed.

Factors Affecting Learning Effectiveness In International Joint Ventures (Ijv): An Empirical Analysis Of Indian Ijvs, Sameer P. Vaidya

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Increasing globalization of the business environment has prompted companies to form cross-border alliances. The need to form joint ventures is evident from the increase in the number of international joint ventures (IJV) in the US as well as in other nations. Researchers are also attempting to identify relationships that foster longevity in IJVs. This study contributes to the research in the field of IJVs by examining issues relating to the learning effectiveness of IJVs. Research (Harrigan, 1985; Kogut, 1998; Beamish, 1994) has shown that there are three main approaches for joint venture formation, which are transaction cost approach, strategic behavior …

Financial Information Resources For Special Librarians, Di Su

Publications and Research

Speed has always been a competitive factor and corporate asset in business world. The growth of the Internet has created an equal opportunity for information service professionals in both big and small companies to improve their efficiency. The prominent advantages of Web source are currency, accessibility, and thus, the speed. You are provided with instant updates on issues like rules, official statements, interpretations, statistics, etc., and these documents can be accessed twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. There are so many valuable Web sites on the Internet that it is impossible to include them all in this article, …

An Assessment Of The Links Between International Diversification, Product Diversification, Performance And Risk Within Service Corporations, Sally Ann Sledge

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Services currently account for the dominant share of the workforce in all developed nations and are the fastest growing sector of employment in most developing nations. Services comprise approximately two-thirds of the GDP (gross domestic product) or total domestic output of final goods and services in highly industrialized nations from the OECD (Organization for Cooperation and Development). They make up almost half of the GDP in developing nations. All economic forecasts predict that services will continue to grow and account for the vast majority of future economic expansion throughout the world. Despite these facts, services have been studied infrequently among …

Explicating Sex Differences In Marketing Managers' Egoist Versus Utilitarian Ethical Orientations: The Effects Of The Enactment Of Agentic Versus Communal Social Roles, Jason Blair Macdonald

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study examines the issue of sex differences in ethical orientations and suggests that the enactment of social roles and the associated use of information processing strategies influence the presence of sex differences in managers' ethical orientations. Managers' ethical judgments and intentions to use punishments or rewards to encourage ethical behavior are the two dependent variables in the study.

A 3 (prime: gender-role, work-role, no role) by 4 (ethical condition: positive egoist/positive utilitarian, positive egoist/negative utilitarian, negative egoist/positive utilitarian, and negative egoist/negative utilitarian) experimental design was applied in the efforts to answer the main research question: What is the role …

Trends. Labor And Environmental Standards And Human Welfare: Global Prescriptions, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the human consequences - labor and environmental impacts - of free trade, and the impact of possible standards for addressing those consequences.

The Marketing Challenge; By Laura Mazur And Annik Hogg, Hyderabad : University Press, 1998, Mithileshwar Jha

IIMB Management Review

No abstract provided.

Small Business Financing Sources And Self -Employment Trends Of Mainland And Island-Born Puerto Ricans, Yolanda Ruiz-Vargas

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

A growing interest in studying the self-employment decision can be attributed to the conventional wisdom that small business formation is necessary for economic development. Extant research has also begun to explore the self-employment determinants of emerging populations, such as immigrants and African Americans, emphasizing that there is need for better policies aimed at helping these populations. Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans epitomize this need to pursue these two areas of research. To specifically address these areas, this dissertation pursues two objectives: (1) to empirically analyze the self-employment trends of Puerto Ricans and mainland Puerto Ricans against other groups (Dominicans, Cubans, …

Searching For The Soul Of American Foreign Policy: The Cuban Embargo And The National Interest, Irving Louis Horowitz

Institute for Cuban & Cuban-American Studies Occasional Papers

No abstract provided.

Product And International Diversification Among Japanese Multinational Firms, Michael J. Geringer, Stephen Tallman, David M. Olsen

Management Faculty Publications

A study is presented that examines the relationship of performance with product and international diversification on Japanese multinational firms from 1977 to 1993. The relationships between diversification and performance are shown to change over time through the use of multiple time periods and accounting for keiretsu membership. Results show that while diversity strategies vary between keiretsu and non-keiretsu firms, performance is not much different. Across time periods, performance varies considerably, but strategies are less variable. Product diversity has weak effects on firm performance only in one time period, while international diversification has negative profitability and positive growth consequences in some …

Browsers Beware: Avoiding Legal Entanglements On The Internet, Michael Zugelder, Theresa Flaherty, James Johnson

Finance Faculty Publications

When Chicago resident David Loundy ordered a compact disk on the Internet from a British Web site, he received an e-mail confirming his order. Loundy expected to pay the advertised price of £8.99, or about $14. When he was subsequently charged £12.99, Loundy was incensed. He argued that he had accepted the set price of £8.99 and insisted that he pay no more for the disk. But when Loundy filed suit in England under the Consumer Protection Act of 1987, he was told that the Act did not apply to him because, under English common law, the place of the …

Foreign Market Entry Strategies Of Japanese Mncs, Charles R. Taylor, Shaoming Zou, Gregory E. Osland

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

While much prior research has focused on Japanese multi‐national corporations’ (MNCs) marketing strategies, little is known about the factors that influence Japanese MNCs’ foreign market entry mode choice. In this study, a survey of Japanese MNCs is conducted in order to assess the factors that are the most influential in the foreign market entry decisions of Japanese MNCs. Using bargaining power theory, eight factors are identified in the study. The findings indicate that five of the eight factors (stake of the host country, need for local contribution, riskiness of the host country, resource commitment, and host government restrictions) are significant …

Multinationality-Performance Relationship: A Review And Reconceptualization, Madan Annavarjula, Sam Beldona

WCBT Faculty Publications

Numerous empirical investigations have attempted to study the relationship between multinationality and firm performance. Results from these studies have produced conflicting findings about this relationship. It is argued that one of the causes of the conflicting findings may be an imprecise conceptualization of multinationality. A multidimensional conceptualization is proposed based on a methodological review of previous research.

The Impact Of Airline Alliances On Airlines, Saadah Huda Sholah

Student Works (2000-2009)

The study is aim at analysing airline alliances and their effect on the airlines. The effects of alliances on the factors critical to the choice of airline were ambiguous. An alliance's effect on conveniency, schedules, levels of service, reliability and other critical issues depends on the strategic decisions taken by the alliance partners. The only critical factor that is affected positively by the alliance almost without exception is the Frequent Flyer Programme that gains momentum with increased route network density. The business strategy of airlines forming collaborative alliances with each other to extend market reach, control costs and to limit …