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The purpose of this paper is to develop a nuanced understanding of premium customers’ intent to adopt an interactive electronic channel (IEC) and the moderating role of social capital on perceived relative advantage (RA) in adoption.

Study findings are based on a field survey that investigates the launching of an IEC by a leading international bank in Hong Kong.

Among social capital dimensions, cognitive capital significantly weakens the relationship between efficacy of information acquisition and IEC adoption, while relational capital enhances the relationship between trust and adoption.

This paper provides a theoretical lens based on social capital theory for evaluating the moderating effects of social capital on the relationship between RA and IEC adoption by premium customers in the banking industry.

Findings provide insights for the practice of banks when trying to deliver financial services via an IEC to the premium customer segment.

This research extends the channel choice theory to the context of banking channel adoption of premium customers; provides a better understanding of the IEC and its adoption in the more complex setting of financial consultation services; and offers insights for a better understanding of fragmented findings on the relationships between adoption intention and its antecedents in response to calls for studies on contingent factors.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the emergence of civil disobedience (CD) movements in Hong Kong in the context of the notion of civil society (CS).

The paper begins by rigorously defining the notion of CD, as well as the concept of CS and tracing its development in Hong Kong over the past several decades. By using a model of CS typology, which combines the variables of state control and a society’s quest for autonomy (SQA), the paper aims to outline the historical development of CD movements in Hong Kong. It also discusses the recent evolution of CS and its relationship with CD movements, particularly focusing on their development since Leung Chun-ying became the Chief Executive in 2012. Finally, by using five cases of CD witnessed in the past several decades, the relationship between the development of CS and the emergence of CD in Hong Kong has been outlined.

Four implications can be concluded: first, CD cannot emerge when the state and society are isolated. Second, the level of SC and the scale of CD are positively related. Third, as an historical trend, the development of SQA is generally in linear progress; SQA starts from a low level (e.g. interest-based and welfare-based aims) and moves upwards to campaign for higher goals of civil and political autonomy. If the lower level of SQA is not satisfied, it can lead to larger scale CD in future. Fourth, the CD movement would be largest in scale when the state-society relationship confrontational and when major cleavages can be found within CS itself.

This paper serves to enrich knowledge in the fields of politics and sociology.

Wool fabrics were treated with plasma under the influence of different plasma gases were assessed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy with Attenuated Total Internal Reflectance mode analysis (FTIR-ATR). Experimental results showed clearly that the surface feature and chemical compositions of LTP treated wool were varied much dependable on the nature of plasma gas used and the variations were finally discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the intra-party conflicts in Hong Kong’s Democratic Party (DP) and their implications for broader democratic processes in the territory. It also examines some other thematic issues including: the party’s policy decision-making process, candidate selection, party membership and mergers, and their overall relevance for democratisation in Hong Kong.

The study gives a historical review of intra-party conflicts. The concept of factionalism is applied to better understand the DP in Hong Kong’s political space.

Hong Kong is unique and popular models of party conflicts are hardly applicable to the country. Intra-party conflict is an obvious, expected conflict because of differences in formation, leadership, manifestoes and ideologies. The present author tries to examine the case with a view to making a novel contribution.

The study of political factionalism is not uncommon in Hong Kong but this paper intends to study intra-party elite conflicts and self-democratisation of the Hong Kong DP as a case study which is seldom addressed. Consolidation is a possible scenario and its presence is evident when political elites increasingly demonstrate commitment towards creating a democratic regime and when they hold strong beliefs in democratic procedures and institutions as crucial to governing public life.

There is no doubt graduates in marketing from the Michigan State University (MSU) doctoral program have a distinct flavor. Alumni are known for their work ethic and bold minds. Coming from Australia, I take pride in this image and try to uphold this reputation at every opportunity. The transition from student to graduate was a memorable experience in every way. Upon arrival in East Lansing in January of 2001, I was struck by the realization I had found a place where thinking was as admired as physical perspiration (Australians love their sports above all else). I immediately felt a sense of inclusion into the department as other students showed me where to shop and how to find journal articles. The doctoral seminars were intense at times where every waking moment was dedicated to reading and formulating frameworks. Each week was a blur of papers, summaries, critiques and research ideas. As each semester ended panic ensued as class papers became due. With the stated goal of journal submission quality, each class paper was a simulation for the future job of a professor. I recall the nervousness and pressure of presenting original work in a peer setting, and the pleasure of sharing new ideas with one another. I trudged across campus with my fellow students to take courses in statistics, across to Owen Hall for the pizza and soup lunch, and I became one with coffee. My officemate Destan Kandemir and I even ran a quasi café from our office. Unexpectedly, I found it was sometimes hard to explain the nature of our department to outsiders.“Oh, so you're studying in the marketing department”“Yes I am”“Do you do advertising?”“No, we have a separate school for that”.“What about communication?”“No, we have a separate school for that, and for packaging too”.“Well what do you do in the marketing department?”

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the youth narratives of Mr Leung Chun-ying, the Chief Executive (CE) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government between 2012 and 2017, which steered the directions of youth policies in Hong Kong.

Informed by the ideational school of institutionalism, a qualitative documentary study was conducted to analyse the policy addresses, speeches, and blog posts delivered by the then CE, which were all available on the website of the HKSAR Government. It was through a thematic analysis of the database that themes and sub-themes were generated for the discussion. Representative verbatim quotes are used for illustrating some of the youth policy ideas and discourses promoted under the Leung’s regime.

The findings suggest that the governing youth narratives could be categorised into two interrelated themes: behavioural patriotism and economic opportunism. The notions of youth development constructed in the narratives of Leung shape the definition of youth-related problems and solutions in relation to national identity and global competition.

This study focusses on the previous term of HKSAR Government that cannot fully reveal the extent of policy continuities and changes. Yet, it could outline the overall picture and address the shortcomings of Hong Kong’s current youth policies viewed from both normative and cognitive perspectives. Methodological and analytical implications can be drawn for further studies on policy ideas and discourses.

The paper has two major contributions; the first of which is the illustration of an analytical framework connecting contents, tools, and justification of policies for capturing the dynamics and complexities of youth policies. Second, the findings of this study develop a critical understanding of neoliberal youth policies in both economic and moral senses that pose new challenges to young people and policy makers.

The deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) in higher education institutions is beneficial and critical for attaining sustainable campus goals. However, various barriers hamper the adoption of the technology, and unless these challenges are identified, formulating tailor made solutions to boost deployment will be challenging. Thus, this study aimed to identify the barriers to the deployment of PV in the public university sector in South Africa.

A critical review of the literature was conducted to identify the factors that negatively impact PV deployment. By screening the barriers identified from the literature using a conceptual framework, the barriers that were considered relevant to deployment within a university context were selected. Thereafter, the selected barriers and additional barriers recommended by panellists were verified through a three-round Delphi survey. The factors were either accepted or rejected as barriers in the sector based on the factors' mean score and interquartile range values.

The study observed that 12 barriers hamper PV deployment in the public university sector. The findings indicated that the top five barriers were the lack of incentives, lack of green building targets, lack of financial resources, high initial cost, and lack of clear policy direction. However, the study found that deployment was not hindered because there was resistance to change or uncertainty of recouping investment costs. The deployment was also not hindered because there was a lack of demand from electricity end-users or a lack of suitable installation space.

Given the lack of empirical studies on the subject in the region, the present study contributes to the body of knowledge by identifying the significant barriers that impede PV deployment in the public university sector. Furthermore, insight is provided on measures that relevant stakeholders can take to motivate and support universities to deploy the technology further.

The purpose of this paper is to provide the historical and social contexts for the three protests in Macau in the Summer of 2014, while examining the popular discourse of the protests. These include simultaneous eruptions toward immediate issues, the political apathy of Macau residents and Castell’s model of “networked social networks.” It also discusses the competition for youth after the protests.

This paper first reviews the history of Macau, in particular the people’s struggle against corruption and privilege, and its little-discussed history of protest. Its innovation in communications, political structure and education development are also explained to illustrate the foundations which make possible protests against an obsolete social structure.

The author finds that the history of Macau since the nineteenth century does not lack protests, with goals ranging from protests against colonialism to national and local demands. Macau youth are now more able and willing to mobilize themselves to make demands on the administration, and activists find it necessary to pass down such experience for generations to come.

The paper deconstructs the traditional image of Macau’s politics, by appealing to the linkage between continuity and contemporary events, and calls for the reader’s attention toward its social activism.

This paper aims to examine the UK’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) policies under Margaret Thatcher’s era in the 1980s, with a view to understand the success stories, historical development and the structures of Chinese family business through a case study of See Woo Holdings Ltd.

The authors have achieved the objective on the study of the SMEs policies under Margaret Thatcher through critical evaluation of the historical literatures, books, journals and newspapers. The study on overseas Chinese business and the case of See Woo Holdings Ltd. is mainly through the research of the Chinese overseas in the UK and Southeast Asia, and the companies report from the Companies House in the UK. The authors have used the latest 2011 UK Census statistics and academic reports to locate the most current demographic changes and Chinese business characteristics in the UK and the Northeast of England.

First, the UK’s SMEs policies under Margaret Thatcher were quite receptive towards the ethnic business. Second, the case of See Woo Holdings Ltd. indicates that family business networks are still one of the characteristics of Chinese business. Finally, the broader UK’s SMEs policies play an important role in this case study.

The authors provide a tentative linkage between the UK’s SMEs policies under Margaret Thatcher and Chinese family business. In addition, the case study of See Woo Holdings Ltd. improves the current understanding of Chinese family business with a clearer picture about their structure, practice, characteristics and development.