79,183 research outputs found

    The measurement of guanxi: Introducing the GRX scale

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    This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Industrial Marketing Management. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2010 Elsevier B.V.This study posits and examines a measurement scale for measuring guanxi based on three Chinese relational constructs – ganqing, renqing and xinren. Focusing on Anglo-Chinese buyer–seller relationships, the research reports the findings from six qualitative in-depth interviews and survey data obtained from over 200 Taiwanese trading companies. Based on exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses the findings from the final second-order confirmatory factor analysis of the guanxi model identified 11 items for measuring ganqing, renqing, xinren and guanxi respectively. The results offer a useful starting point in order for business practitioners to assess their guanxi and at the same time provide academics with a scale for operationalizing the measurement of guanxi

    Managing ubiquitous eco cities: the role of urban telecommunication infrastructure networks and convergence technologies

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    A successful urban management system for a Ubiquitous Eco City requires an integrated approach. This integration includes bringing together economic, socio-cultural and urban development with a well orchestrated, transparent and open decision making mechanism and necessary infrastructure and technologies. Rapidly developing information and telecommunication technologies and their platforms in the late 20th Century improves urban management and enhances the quality of life and place. Telecommunication technologies provide an important base for monitoring and managing activities over wired, wireless or fibre-optic networks. Particularly technology convergence creates new ways in which the information and telecommunication technologies are used. The 21st Century is an era where information has converged, in which people are able to access a variety of services, including internet and location based services, through multi-functional devices such as mobile phones and provides opportunities in the management of Ubiquitous Eco Cities. This paper discusses the recent developments in telecommunication networks and trends in convergence technologies and their implications on the management of Ubiquitous Eco Cities and how this technological shift is likely to be beneficial in improving the quality of life and place. The paper also introduces recent approaches on urban management systems, such as intelligent urban management systems, that are suitable for Ubiquitous Eco Cities

    Broadband Internet and Social Capital

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    We study how the diffusion of broadband Internet affects social capital using two data sets from the UK. Our empirical strategy exploits the fact that broadband access has long depended on customers' position in the voice telecommunication infrastructure that was designed in the 1930s. The actual speed of an Internet connection, in fact, rapidly decays with the distance of the dwelling from the specific node of the network serving its area. Merging unique information about the topology of the voice network with geocoded longitudinal data about individual social capital, we show that access to broadband Internet caused a significant decline in forms of offline interaction and civic engagement. Overall, our results suggest that broadband penetration substantially crowded out several aspects of social capital.Comment: Internet & Society; Economic

    Estudios acerca del establecimiento de conexiones entre enunciados hablados: ¿qué pueden contribuir a la promoción de la construcción de una representación coherente del discurso por parte de los estudiantes?

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    The aim of this article is to provide an overview of how the establishment of discourse connections among spoken statements has been studied by approaches to discourse analysis and psycholinguistic studies, in order to highlight what variables appear to be important for understanding how comprehension of spoken discourse can be facilitated. The consideration of discourse analysis approaches allows us to think about the role of the establishment of discourse connections among speech acts in the classroom, the uses of contextualization cues by bilingual students, the identification of social and cultural notions in teachers’ discourse, and the interactional effects of teachers’ interventions. Preliminary psycholinguistic studies contribute to our understanding of the role of establishing causal connections and integrating adjacent statements through the presence of discourse markers in the comprehension of spoken discourse by college students. The results of these approaches and studies provide insight into students’ comprehension of classroom discourse, and hold the potential for implications for instruction.El propĂłsito de este artĂ­culo es realizar un recorrido a travĂ©s de enfoques de anĂĄlisis del discurso y estudios de psicolingĂŒĂ­stica que han investigado el establecimiento de conexiones entre enunciados hablados, a fin de destacar las variables que parecen ser centrales para facilitar la comprensiĂłn. La consideraciĂłn de los enfoques del anĂĄlisis del discurso nos permitirĂĄn pensar acerca del rol del establecimiento de conexiones entre actos del lenguaje en el aula, las funciones de las claves de contextualizaciĂłn, la identificaciĂłn de las nociones sociales y culturales en el discurso de los profesores, los efectos de las intervenciones de los profesores en la interacciĂłn con los estudiantes. Los estudios preliminares de psicolingĂŒĂ­stica contribuirĂĄn a nuestra comprensiĂłn del rol del establecimiento de conexiones causales e integraciĂłn de enunciados adyacentes a travĂ©s de marcadores del discurso por parte de estudiantes universitarios. La consideraciĂłn de estos enfoques y estudios nos ayudarĂĄn a pensar acerca de las contribuciones que sus propuestas y mĂ©todos pueden hacer al enriquecimiento de nuestro entendimiento de cĂłmo los estudiantes comprenden el discurso producido durante las clases.Fil: Yomha Cevasco, Jazmin. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂ­ficas y TĂ©cnicas; ArgentinaFil: Broek, Paul van den. Leiden University; PaĂ­ses Bajo

    Developing operational competence in purchasing

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    This paper contributes to the emerging theory of purchasing competence. First, it replicates and cross-validates the construct with five underlying supply-side competence dimensions of Narasimhan, Jayaram and Carter (2001), using telephone survey data from 200 high-turnover European companies. The addition of an IT Competence dimension to the construct is proposed and empirically validated. In response to the growing importance of services, equivalence of the competence construct across manufacturing and financial services contexts was shown using the structural equation technique of invariance analysis. Using set correlation analysis competence dimensions were found to be significant drivers of multiple operational performance measures. All competence dimensions had significant positive impact upon at least one performance measure. IT Competence had the most significant positive impact, driving Quality, Purchase-Order Cycle Time and Professionalism. Certain dimensions had significant negative effects upon performance, providing evidence for the possible existence of "competency trap" phenomena.Operational Competence; Purchasing; Empirical Methods;

    Field Experiments with Firms

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    We discuss how the use of field experiments sheds light on long standing research questions relating to firm behavior. We present insights from two classes of experiments: within and across firms, and draw common lessons from both sets. Field experiments within firms generally aim to shed light on the nature of agency problems. Along these lines, we discuss how field experiments have provided new insights on shirking behavior, and the provision of monetary and non-monetary incentives. Field experiments across firms generally aim to uncover firms' binding constraints by exogenously varying the availability of key inputs such as labor, physical capital, and managerial capital. We conclude by discussing some of the practical issues researchers face when designing experiments and by highlighting areas for further research.field experiments, firms, organizations

    The role of supply chain integration in achieving competitive advantage: A study of UK automobile manufacturers

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    The competitive nature of the global automobile industry has resulted in a battle for efficiency and consistency in supply chain management (SCM). For manufacturers, the diversified network of suppliers represents more than just a production system; it is a strategic asset that must be managed, evaluated, and revised in order to attain competitive advantage. One capability that has become an increasingly essential means of alignment and assessment is supply chain integration (SCI). Through such practices, manufacturers create informational capital that is inimitable, yet transferrable, allowing suppliers to participate in a mutually-beneficial system of performance-centred outcomes. From cost reduction to time improvements to quality control, the benefits of SCI extend throughout the supply chain lifecycle, providing firms with improved predictability, flexibility, and responsiveness. Yet in spite of such benefits, key limitations including exposure to risks, supplier failures, or changing competitive conditions may expose manufacturers to a vulnerable position that can severely impact value and performance. The current study summarizes the perspectives and predictions of managers within the automobile industry in the UK, highlighting a dynamic model of interdependency and interpolation that embraces SCI as a strategic resource. Full commitment to integration is critical to achieving improved outcomes and performance; therefore, firms seeking to integrate throughout their extended supply chain must be willing to embrace a less centralized locus of control

    Surfing Alone? The Internet and Social Capital: Evidence from an Unforeseeable Technological Mistake

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    Does the Internet undermine social capital or facilitate inter-personal and civic engagement in the real world? Merging unique telecommunication data with geo-coded German individual-level data, we investigate how broadband Internet affects several dimensions of social capital. One identification strategy uses panel information to estimate value-added models. A second exploits a quasi-experiment in East Germany created by a mistaken technology choice of the state-owned telecommunication provider in the 1990s that still hinders broadband Internet access for many households. We find no evidence that the Internet reduces social capital. For some measures including children’s social activities, we even find significant positive effects.internet, social capital

    A PLS PATH MODEL TO INVESTIGATE THE RELATIONS BETWEEN INSTITUTIONS AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

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    The paper studies the relations between types of institutions on different components of human development. A role of aggregate demand in determining the material components of human development is assumed. We thus divide institutions into those that create demand and those that are determined by the whole process of development. Similarly we divide human development in its three traditional components (economic development, health, knowledge). Both human development and institutions are assumed as multidimensional constructs; all the main components of these constructs are defined as latent variables, and the relations between them as structural relations. A Partial Least Squares (PLS) path model is developed: it is the aggregation (and simultaneous estimation) of an outer model relating observed or manifest variables to their own latent variable and of a structural model (inner model) relating some endogenous latent variable to other latent variables. From the goodness of fit point of view, our results seem to validate our theoretical assumptions.Structural Equations Models, Institutions, Human Development

    Surfing Alone? The Internet and Social Capital: Evidence from an Unforeseen Technological Mistake

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    Does the Internet undermine social capital or facilitate inter-personal and civic engagement in the real world? Merging unique telecommunication data with geo-coded German individual-level data, we investigate how broadband Internet affects several dimensions of social capital. One identification strategy uses panel information to estimate value-added models. A second exploits a quasi-experiment in East Germany created by a mistaken technology choice of the state-owned telecommunication provider in the 1990s that still hinders broadband Internet access for many households. We find no evidence that the Internet reduces social capital. For some measuresincluding children's social activities, we even find significant positive effects.Internet, social capital
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