Citation
Carraher, S.M. (2014), "Consumer behavior, online communities, collaboration, IFRS, and Tung", Journal of Technology Management in China, Vol. 9 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTMC-01-2014-0002
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Consumer behavior, online communities, collaboration, IFRS, and Tung
Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Technology Management in China, Volume 9, Issue 1
Welcome to Volume 9 Issue 1. We currently have moved up to an h-index of 16 and a g-index of 23 with a total of 947 citations – an increase of 187 citations since the last issue. Our age weighted citation rate has also increased to 174.95.
On the personal front I just came back from a conference in Thailand where I got to talk with junior faculty about suggestions for publishing in the Journal of Technology Management in China as well as our sister journal – the Journal of Management History and my goals for the journals over the next couple of years. In terms of the suggestions for publishing in the JTMC I told them that while it might be a good idea to cite works from leading researchers like Michael Harvey, M. Ronald Buckley, Rosalie Tung, Michael Hitt, Greg Dess, Michael Peng, Sherry E. Sullivan, Geert Hofsteade, Anne Tsui, Lucy Lu, Richard Li-Hua, etc. that this really is not necessary, just like citing work from me is not necessary. It is a good idea to not include more than about 20 percent of the citations to papers from the Journal of Technology Management in China. Some of the reviewers have also commented to me that they like to see if authors can include references to other journals from Emerald Group Publishing but I doubt that it is very likely that this would really influence an acceptance or rejection decision – it has mostly been that they have been impressed with the ability of a couple of authors to include references to a very wide array of journals. I am also having a male bonding weekend with my sons as my wife is on a retreat with her internal auditing books. She is in a Masters of Professional Accounting program and finished reading her texts before the first day of class so now she has checked out other books that she is sneaking into the retreat to read.
I just finished my first semester at the University of Texas at Dallas and seemed to do pretty well. I had 14 papers accepted for presentation at the Cambridge Business & Economics Conference coauthored with my students, 13 papers accepted for another conference at which my dean also received the John Fernandes Distinguished Leadership Award, and then four papers at the conference in Thailand. My average GPA was 2.805 out of 4 which apparently was the lowest GPA in my group but the student ratings were 4.395 out of 5 for the quality of the class and 4.51 out of 5 for the quality of me as an instructor. I also took them from the 50th to the 98th percentile for their potential to deal with individuals from different cultural backgrounds from the beginning of the semester to the end, and was asked to do a TED talk about the time that I should be doing the next editorial. The GPAs would have been higher but 14.8 percent failed due to the lack of completing work. I have taught since 1988 and one of the most unusual comments I have ever received I received this last semester. A student wrote:
[…] his guidance will be the difference between you making $30,000 a year out of college and $130,000 a year out of college. While some of the concepts incorporated in this course can help guide people to that kind of success, its not for everyone. Just teach us the standard material.
She did well in the class (she told me who she was) but so many people – whether faculty, students, or administrators – seem to fear success. This issue is filled with individuals who do not fear success – and hopefully the JTMC shall continue to be successful in the future and become even more successful. Please continue to cite papers from the JTMC and submit your best work. In this issue we have seven exciting articles including an interview with one of the top Chinese scholars – Rosalie Tung who I am proud to be able to say I have known for almost two decades.
We begin this issue with “Consumer behavior dynamics of Chinese minorities” by Zafar U. Ahmed of Lebanese American University, Osama Sam Al-Kwifi of Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, Buerhan Saiti of the University of Kuala Lumpur, and Nor Bin Othman of the University of Malaysia. They argue that meat consumption decisions within a religious context can differ significantly from purchase decisions where religion does not play a key role. The purpose of their study was to investigate the determinants of Halal meat consumption within a Chinese Muslim population using the “Marketing Theory of Planned Behavior”. The study was based on a questionnaire survey with cross-sectional data of 368 Muslim participants, mainly from Xinjiang province in China. The results indicate that motivation to comply with religious requirements, and personal conviction, have a positive attitude toward behavioral intention to consume Halal meat. However, perceived control has a negative relationship with behavioral intention to eat Halal meat among Muslims. Results also show that in general, Halal meat consumption is determined by the pressure of others, personal conviction, and perceived control. For managers seeking to market their products Muslims with a low Muslim identity can be motivated to buy Halal meat by communicating through slogans that focus on the individuals opportunity to make their own choice(s).
The second article “Factors affecting online community commitment in China: a conceptual framework” is by Yuan Zhou of Beifang University of Nationalities and Dr Muslim Amin of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. They introduce a conceptual framework for identifying the antecedents that affect members online community commitment in the context of China. Understanding members online community behaviour can be important for e-marketers as it has been predicted that the online communities bring new opportunities and challenges to the business. The framework is derived from the resource-based perspective. It addresses the main variables and explains the key stages of conducting the study. They propose a conceptual framework of the antecedents of individuals online community commitment in the context of China on the basis of previous research in this domain and suggest that an empirical study might be beneficial in supporting this framework and suggesting needed modifications.
The third article “Collaboration, product innovation, and sales: an empirical study of Chinese firms” is by Michael Louis Troilo of the University of Tulsa. The purpose of his paper was to examine the role that collaborations, both foreign and domestic, play on product innovation, sales mix, and sales revenue for Chinese firms. Both statistical correlations and marginal (economic) effects of collaborations were featured in the analysis. The study included 2,700 Chinese firms across 15 industry sectors and 25 cities from a World Bank survey conducted in 2012; the data is stratified by firm size. He finds that regarding the likelihood of product innovation, collaboration with domestic (Chinese) companies is significant for Chinese micro, medium, and large enterprises. Being a foreign subsidiary is significant for the proportion of new products in the sales mix for small, medium, and large firms. Domestic collaboration can boost the sales of innovating small firms and innovating medium companies by nearly 113 and 140 percent, respectively. The fourth article “IFRS and convergence in China and the USA” is by Randy Moser of the University of Texas at Dallas. He performs a brief examination of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the progress towards IFRS convergence in the accounting environments of China and the USA, providing useful information on the current status and future of IFRS convergence in these countries. A range of IFRS related literature from 1993 to 2013 was analyzed to provide current status of IFRS and to determine the past, present and future of IFRS convergence in the country examinations. He finds that IFRS convergence and adoption has occurred on a global scale due to the call for a single set of standards. Chinas most significant obstacles include training accounting professionals and becoming more involved in the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) standard setting process. The USAs most significant obstacle is completing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) roadmap milestones, which will progressively move the accounting industry towards IFRS convergence. He suggests that additional research opportunities exist by examining how successful countries have been in protecting individual economic interests by working with the IASB in the standard setting process for the IFRS, as opposed to being passive in the process. One economic indicator that should be examined is foreign direct investment (FDI), which has major impacts on country development and can be influenced by financial standards such as IFRS. He suggests that additional empirical studies should be performed at both the macro and micro levels.
The fifth article is “Ethnographic study on the Harley Davidson culture and community” by Jeromy Corey and Phil Millage both of Indiana Wesleyan University. As one of the most gifted ethnographic researchers, Dr Millage and his student note that one of the most powerful and organizing methods in the world today revolves around the activities that individuals participate in and the subsequent interpersonal relationships that give people meaning in life. That todays society longs to add meaning and identity to their lives in a variety of ways. A sense of belonging, or a sense of community has proven very impactful on the lives of many, and creates certain changes to an individuals mindset that relate to the specific subsets of culture and consumption to which they identify with. In order to accomplish this they examine the following of Harley Davidson in the USA and suggest that it might also have a very strong following in China as well. They attempt to define and better categorize a subset of the Harley Davidson following, while studying the habits, relationships, and reasoning behind both the new motorcycle owners, and the veterans of the Harley Davidson way of life. They also attempt to analyze the role relationships (spouse, significant other, and friends or relatives) play in the decision to join this niche subculture. Analyzing these potential and newly converted Harley Davidson customers to gain insight and understanding about the deciding social factors at play in choosing this brand over the others is a primary focus. In studying this unique subculture of consumption, they hope to better understand the development and rationale of new Harley Davidson riders, and to measure certain personal levels of enjoyment on an individual or group setting, and to analyze the impact on ones social image before and after purchase and suggest how research in this area could/should be performed in China.
The sixth article is a quasi-case study “CHALCO: building a global brand while passing industry crisis” by Osama Sam Al-Kwifi of Prince Mohammad University and Zafar U. Ahmed of Lebanese American University. As announced in April 2012, CHALCO, Chinas biggest aluminum producer, made a surprise move into the coal industry, confirming its proposal to pay $926 million for Ivanhoe Minings majority stake in South Gobi Resources (TSX: SGQ), a Canadian and Hong Kong listed mining company focused on Mongolia. CHALCO indicated that it has agreed to buy the 57 percent Ivanhoe stake for C$8.48 per share. The offered price for SGQs shares represents a 28 percent premium over the closing price of C$6.62 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on March 2012. CHALCO shares fall 1.6 percent; South Gobi shares jump 18 percent. As CHALCO is moving aggressively to expand globally, this news was shocking to the industry as CHALCO was having problems in Mongolia. They examine CHALCO and their aluminum business and question how to differentiate CHALCO from other competitors that focused on innovation. The answer could be in utilizing CHALCOs efficient base in China where CHALCO feels it has the capability to merge efficiency and innovation. That is why CHALCO is concentrating its activities on innovation to produce affordable products for consumers. To implement this strategy CHALCO prepared substantial collaboration contracts with other state-owned companies to launch new products. This strategy could assist CHALCO in building advertisement plans to develop a master global brand that stands for quality and innovation. They end their case by asking Can CHALCO succeed in reaching a global brand position? Can CHALCO seize opportunities and overcome market challenges? Can CHALCO sustain its past achievements in the Asian market? Can CHALCO thrive to make its dream a reality and reach Global Brand status? Or is it just another bubble?
Our final article in this issue is an interview with Rosalie Tung completed by Rocio Murillo of the University of Texas at Dallas. Rosalie was born in Shanghai but grew up in Hong Kong. She went to school in Canada earning her undergraduate degree at York University and her graduate degrees at the University of British Columbia. Looking at Publish or Perish her works have been cited 8,043 times in the last 36 years she has an h-index of 39, a g-index of 88, and an Age Weighted Citation Rate of 552.43. I trust that you shall enjoy these articles and find many good ideas for future research.
Shawn M. Carraher