Consumer Experience of Foreign Products in China: The Role of Digital Media

Digital media are relevant touch points that contribute to shape the customer journey and allow consumers to engage more with firms. In particular, they play a primary role in the largest web-user base in the world, China. Internet also represents an increasing channel for Chinese consumers to purchase any type of products, including foreign brands. In this market, the main Internet access point is represented by mobile phones. This has led firms to substantially increase their expenditure in mobile advertising and e-commerce platforms’ implementation. This article aims at contributing to the recent marketing literature that conceptualize customer experience as a dynamic process by analyzing the customer journey in China related to foreign brands. A mixed method approach is adopted, consisting of focus groups and a preliminary questionnaire. Results show that digital media play a main role in the consumer journey of Chinese consumers, as information tool and increasing purchase channel

The Chinese market as an opportunity to innovate distribution strategies? Evidences from Italian firms

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the distribution strategies implemented by foreign firms in emerging markets, and to investigate whether they represent an opportunity for firms to innovate their practice. China is selected as the setting of the investigation as distribution is a critical determinant of business success for international firms operating there. A multiple-case study approach is adopted by investigating the distribution strategies of four Italian firms in China. The collected data consist of interviews with firm managers and their distributors. To ensure triangulation and cross-verify the findings from the primary data, secondary data consisting of sector reports and newspaper articles were analyzed. Results discuss how foreign firms develop their distribution system in China and suggest that emerging markets can enable reverse innovation in their distribution strategies. Managerial implications are discussed on the extent to which the Chinese distribution system still represents a key issue for foreign firms, but it also provides with opportunity for innovation

Managing digital marketing strategies in emerging markets: The case of China

Since Internet has been seen as global, few studies have examined the influence of the context in the digital marketing strategies. This paper wants to contribute on the debate about standardization-adaptation, focusing on the digital strategies, defining how companies adapt them to the Chinese market identifying the drivers that call for this adaptation. China is selected because it is a contradictory market: more advanced than the Western one but also with many restrictions. We carry out a qualitative research based on interviews with nine key informants operating in the digital Chinese market with different roles. Our findings suggest that there are drivers that force companies to create an online presence and drivers that impact the digital localization. The main adaptations concern international distribution strategy and communication related to contents and media as well as organization

Correction to: Cultural dimensions in online purchase behavior: evidence from a cross-cultural study

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At Least 10-fold Higher Lubricity of Molecularly Thin D2O vs H2O Films at Single-Layer Graphene−Mica Interfaces

Interfacial water is a widespread lubricant down to the nanometer scale. We investigate the lubricities of molecularly thin H2O and D2O films confined between mica and graphene, via the relaxation of initially applied strain in graphene employing Raman spectroscopy. Surprisingly, the D2O films are at least 1 order of magnitude more lubricant than H2O films, despite the similar bulk viscosities of the two liquids. We propose a mechanism based on the known selective permeation of protons vs deuterons through graphene. Permeated protons and left behind hydroxides may form ion pairs clamping across the graphene sheet and thereby hindering the graphene from sliding on the water layer. This explains the lower lubricity but also the hindering diffusivity of the water layer, which yields a high effective viscosity in accordance with findings in dewetting experiments. Our work elucidates an unexpected effect and provides clues to the behavior of graphene on hydrous surfaces.Peer Reviewe

Leveraging domestic and foreign learning to develop marketing capabilities: The case of the Chinese company Goodbaby

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of different learning sources in the process of capability building of Chinese firms (CFs) approaching international markets. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on the case study of the company “Goodbaby.” The primary data sources are two semi-structured interviews with one of the firm’s managers, which have been triangulated with point of sale visits, interviews with industry experts, and secondary data such as corporate records, patent and trademark data, industry reports and news articles. Findings Both the home-country and foreign markets act as sources of learning to support the development of CFs’ marketing capabilities. Learning at home is triggered by the complexity of the national market and the exposure to foreign entrants. Foreign learning is stimulated by the relationships with leading foreign partners and the exposure to advanced final markets. Moreover, each learning source has a positive effect on the development of CFs’ marketing capabilities in both market contexts in which they compete, i.e. the home-market and international markets. Practical implications CFs’ managers should be simultaneously receptive to the domestic and foreign contexts, as both may support the development of marketing capabilities. CFs’ managers should recognize the learning opportunities embedded in each of these contexts, and identify the markets where these can be effectively redeployed. Originality/value The authors distinguish between different sources of learning in the context of CFs’ internationalization, and explore their triggering factors and their role in the development of an underinvestigated type of capabilities, i.e. the marketing capabilities

NOD2 controls the nature of the inflammatory response and subsequent fate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. bovis BCG in human macrophages

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/92022/1/j.1462-5822.2010.01544.x.pd

Overview of Stabilizing Ligands for Biocompatible Quantum Dot Nanocrystals

Luminescent colloidal quantum dots (QDs) possess numerous advantages as fluorophores in biological applications. However, a principal challenge is how to retain the desirable optical properties of quantum dots in aqueous media while maintaining biocompatibility. Because QD photophysical properties are directly related to surface states, it is critical to control the surface chemistry that renders QDs biocompatible while maintaining electronic passivation. For more than a decade, investigators have used diverse strategies for altering the QD surface. This review summarizes the most successful approaches for preparing biocompatible QDs using various chemical ligands