The globalisation of Chinese brands

China has taken over Japan over the last decade to become the largest manufacturer and exporter of more than one hundred consumer products. However, China, as “the world factory”, has yet to create a single brand that is recognised worldwide. The recent acquisition of IBM’s PC business by China’s Lenovo may signal the beginning of the globalisation of Chinese brands. This paper considers the current brand revolution in China, focusing on the unique challenge faced by major Chinese enterprises: how to sustain their brands in domestic competition and how to expand in the global markets. The paper is divided into two parts: it first gives a brief review of the development of marketing and branding in China since the start of economic reform in 1978, and then discusses current issues in the domestic market: changes from price competition to brand competition, as well as diversification and the role of the government. The second part examines the routes to internationalisation taken by some of China’s biggest brands; differences in their entry modes and branding strategies are analysed

The State of Illinois Manufacturing

The strength of the manufacturing sector is fundamental to the overall economic performance of Illinois and the U.S. as a whole. The manufacturing sector in Illinois create large numbers of jobs that pay high wages to workers, purchases more goods and services from within the state than any other sector, and constitutes a main component of the state export economy. For these and other reasons, manufacturing needs be at the center of all government discussions on economic policy.The Center for Labor and Community Research (CLCR) was commissioned by the Illinois Manufacturers' Association to analyze the condition of the Illinois manufacturing sector. We found that Illinois manufacturing is essential to Illinois' economy, and although it is among the top manufacturing states in the country, it faces a number of challenges. This report demonstrates why and how Illinois manufacturing matters, explains the current challenges it faces, and recommends actions to overcome some of these challenges. In addition to looking at manufacturing as a whole, this report looks at four key manufacturing sectors, or clusters, that together account for 64% of manufacturing employment in the state. These are the metals, electrical, printing, and food manufacturing sectors.A few key findings that CLCR uncovered in this study include the following: Manufacturing is vital to the state's economy and workers. Manufacturing exports create significant employment opportunities in Illinois, and the state's manufacturing workers are the most productive in the nation by far.Like other U.S. states, Illinois faces increasing competition from low-wage producers in the developing world as well as from highly skilled producers in developed countries. In order to remain competitive into the future, the sector requires increased investments in its infrastructure and workers and an improved workforce development system in order to increase the value-added component of their products.The Illinois manufacturing sector needs a "High Road" partnership with government and labor to increase investment in infrastructure and workforce development, to support the sector by creating specialized service centers that provide assistance to Illinois companies, and to effectively using public subsidies to reward and assist those companies that are pursuing High Road strategies of innovation and development

What a Difference a DV Makes ... The Impact of Conceptualizing the Dependent Variable in Innovation Success Factor Studies

The quest for the "success factors" that drive a company's innovation performance has attracted a great deal of attention among both practitioners and academics. The underlying assumption is that certain critical activities impact the innovation performance of the company or the project. However, the findings of success factor studies lack convergence. It has been speculated that this may be due to the fact that extant studies have used many different measures of the dependent variable "innovation performance". Our study is the first to analyze this issue systematically and empirically: we analyze the extent to which different conceptualizations of the dependent variable (a firm's innovation performance) lead to different innovation success factor patterns. In order to do so, we collected data from 234 German firms, including well-established success factors and six alternative measures of innovation performance. This allowed us to calculate whether or not success factors are robust to changes in the measurement of the dependent variable. We find that this is not the case: rather, the choice of the dependent variable makes a huge difference. From this, we draw important conclusions for future studies aiming to identify the success factors in companies' innovation performance

The U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement: Effects After Five Years

[Excerpt] The U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA) (P.L. 108-78) went into effect on January 1, 2004. This report provides an overview of the major trade and economic effects of the FTA over the three years ending in 2006. It also includes detailed information on key provisions of the agreement and legislative action. The U.S.-Singapore FTA has taken on new importance in trade policy because the United States is engaged in negotiations to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP negotiations are the first major market-opening initiative of the Obama Administration. On December 14, 2009, United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk notified Congress of the intent to enter into the TPP negotiations. The objective is to shape a high-standard, broad-based regional free trade agreement with Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. The first round of negotiations began March 15, 2010, in Sydney, Australia. The U.S.-Singapore FTA has provided greater access for U.S. companies, has been instrumental in increasing bilateral trade, and has provided reassurance to Singaporeans of U.S. interest in the country. As a city-state, Singapore operates as an entrepot with essentially free trade. Under the FTA, concessions dealt mainly with providing greater access for American service providers and with strengthening the business environment in areas such as the protection of intellectual property rights and access to government procurement. In 2009, the United States ran a $6.6 billion surplus in its balance of merchandise trade with Singapore, up from$1.4 billion in 2003, but down from the $12.0 billion in 2008. U.S. exports of goods to Singapore surged from$16.6 billion in 2003 to a peak of $27.9 billion in 2008 before declining to$22.3 billion in 2009. Even with this rapid increase in U.S. exports to Singapore, the U.S. share of Singapore’s imports has declined from 16% in 2003 to 12% in 2009. The main reason for this is that Singapore’s overall trade is booming. Still, Singapore imports more from the United States ($28.5 billion) than from China ($26.0 billion).The U.S. balance of trade in services with Singapore declined from a surplus of $4.0 billion in 2001 to$1.2 billion 2005 but has risen to $4.2 billion in 2008. A significant increase has been in income from U.S. direct investments in Singapore. U.S. access to the Singaporean market for multinational corporations seems to have been enhanced considerably under the FTA. U.S. income from assets in Singapore rose from$6.7 billion in 2003 to $21.1 billion by 2008. On the U.S. import side (Singapore’s exports), a noteworthy development is that U.S. imports of pharmaceuticals from Singapore have risen from$0.09 billion in 2003 to $3.0 billion in 2007 before declining to$2.0 billion in 2008. Singapore has developed as a regional center for multinational pharmaceutical companies. This apparently was partly triggered by provisions in the FTA that required Singapore to strengthen its intellectual property protection. Negotiations for the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade agreement were launched under the Clinton Administration in December 2000. The FTA became the fifth such agreement the United States has signed and the first with an Asian country. This report will be updated as circumstances warrant

Models of internationalisation: The New Zealand experience

This paper examines the models of internationalisation adopted by thirty firms from New Zealand. Analysis of the international model is based on five key dimensions: firm sector and size; international market scope; market entry and servicing strategies; and speed of internationalisation. Drivers and constraints to internationalisation are also considered in the analysis. Evaluation of these dimensions over time finds evidence of both traditional ‘stages’ and emergent ‘born (again) global’ models of internationalisation, and reveals that over one third of these firms experience dramatic change to their international activities and resources initiated by divestment or change of ownership. We refer to the alternative internationalisation trajectory adopted by these firms as the ‘transformational’ model of internationalisation. The paper makes a contribution to the extant literature by providing synthesis of the New Zealand internationalisation and by building on our understanding of how patterns of internationalisation from a small open economy are changing in response to global environmental pressures

The external water footprint of the Netherlands: quantification and impact assessment

This study quantifies the external water footprint of the Netherlands by partner country and import product and assesses the impact of this footprint by contrasting the geographically explicit water footprint with water scarcity in the different parts of the world. Hotspots are identified as the places where the external water footprint of Dutch consumers is significant on the one hand and where water scarcity is serious on the other hand.\ud The study shows that Dutch consumption implies the use of water resources throughout the world, with significant impacts at specified locations. This knowledge is relevant for consumers, government and businesses when addressing the sustainability of consumer behaviour and supply chains. The results of this study can be an input to bilateral cooperation between the Netherlands and the Dutch trade partners aimed at the reduction of the negative impacts of Dutch consumption on foreign water resources. Dutch government can also engage with businesses in order to stimulate them to review the sustainability of their supply chains

The market potential for privately financed long term care products in the UK

This paper considers the market potential for privately financed long term care products in the UK. It finds that since the present market is undeveloped there is scope to increase the range of products available to suit people with different means and circumstances. Currently the UK spends about £19 billion on long term care (LTC) of which around a third is privately funded and two thirds publicly funded. The cost of informal care for older people is estimated to be worth £58 billion a year making a total of £77 billion. The paper finds that very few people can afford to pay for LTC out of their own pockets from income alone, but that this number is increased if savings are taken into account and significantly increased if housing wealth is included as well. Insurance for LTC is normally considered to be part of the product mix usually associated with the private funding of LTC. However, as the US market demonstrates, LTC insurance products can be complex and difficult to understand and yet still not meet all needs, whilst US research suggests that policies are also over priced and unaffordable for many. In this paper the case is made for other kinds of products which produce an income at the point of need and therefore make a contribution towards LTC costs. These products include equity release, ‘top up insurance’, disability linked annuities, and immediate needs annuities. Although they may not cover all possible risks, and therefore all needs, they would bring much needed new money into LTC as well as lead to an increase in personal responsibility. With large numbers of older people on very low incomes not everybody would be able to afford these products and so the concept of LTC bonds is considered. These would work like premium bonds and pay prizes but would only be cashable at the point of need. Taken together all of the products considered would extend choice and there would be something to meet most circumstances. The government’s role would be five fold: (1) to facilitate the introduction of the LTC products and provide regulation; (2) to provide appropriate incentives for people to take them up; (3) to clarify the role of the state in terms of the minimum entitlement people can expect; (4) to make it easier to get advice and direction at points of initial contact, for example with social and health care services; and (5) to cover risks that the market cannot handle