Environmental Management Transfer and Environmental Performance by Japanese Firms in Thailand

This paper analyzes the determinants of environmental management transfer and environmental performance by Japanese firms in Thailand. For sustainable development, all actors need to contribute to the reduction of environmental loads. This requirement is part of a corporate social responsibility. Data obtained from a questionnaire survey on Japanese subsidiaries in Thailand are used in the analysis. Government regulation, environmental strategy, organization and environmental performance are the key factors in the analytical framework. This paper uses ordinary least square (OLS) method for estimation. The results of the analysis indicate that the environmental management system and green procurement by parent firms are significantly related to the international transfer of these practices. Top leadership and the goal of environmental management in the subsidiary are also significantly related to the transfer. The emphasis of environmental strategy leads to improved environmental performance. Specifically, water and air performance are related to top initiative. In contrast, CO2 and waste performance are related to the priority of environmental management. This paper presents new findings in environmental management.

Ambicultural blending between Eastern and Western paradigms : fresh perspectives for international management research

East and Southeast Asian worldviews are distinctly different from those of the West. Westerners and Asians construct their environments differently, not least because they construct the notion of \u27self\u27 very differently. This paper describes and exemplifies distinctions in cognitive and linguistic styles between the East and the West and outlines the implications of these styles for environmental perspectives and research paradigms. Examples from Thailand illustrate the philosophical roots and practical implications of an indigenous Eastern perspective for local business interactions. We explore the privilege afforded in Western, Cartesian paradigms in (Asian) management research and stimulate debate on the benefits of promoting alternative Asian indigenous perspectives for both management research and management practice. We support the idea that Asian management discourse needs more self-confidence and deserves a more prominent place in international research, not least because international management research will greatly benefit from freshly \u27blended\u27 perspectives that incorporate Eastern and Western perspectives

An assessment of beneficial image of a country for vacation destination

The aims of this study were: (1) to investigate the destination image which influences Australian potential tourists' decision to visit Thailand and the USA as vacation destinations, and (2) to apply a category-based (prototype-based) approach for operationalising the beneficial image. To achieve Aiml, the so-called 'beneficial image' framework, building upon the marketing image concept of Kotler and Barich (1992) and the consumption value theory of Sheth et al. (1992), was developed. This beneficial image framework was based on five values including functional, social, emotional, epistemic, and conditional. The model provided the basis for understanding destination images and how such images influenced tourists' vacation destinations. To accomplish Aim 2, the development of destination image measurement based on the category-based approach has been undertaken. The author was convinced that by using the category-based approach, destination images which were stored in prototype form can be assessed. The central idea of this approach is that an individual is able to compare the incoming data with prior information or schema stored in memory in evaluating products or things. Therefore, destination image can be assessed by comparing or matching incoming information and image stored in tourists' minds. Based on this assumption, proxy or dummy prototypes of five consumption values were developed from preliminary survey and then compared with tourists' existing beneficial images of those destinations. This methodological framework was applied to 247 subjects, who are students of Victoria University of Technology, and who have never visited the studied countries before. To operationalise this process, five statements representing these proxy prototypes were developed, then subjects were asked to freely express their congruence/discrepancy with these prototypes. On the basis of this matching process, the beneficial images of the two destinations were assessed