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The purpose of this paper is to theorize and empirically examine the effects of intra- and inter-regional geographic diversification on firm performance in China. Furthermore, it investigates they key firm capabilities, which moderate the relationships between intra- and inter-regional geographic diversification and firm performance.

In this research, the authors studied 366 listed companies that invest in mainland China. The authors used the Taiwan Economy Journal database to construct a panel data set from 2005 to 2014 and employed panel regression estimations as part of the empirical analyses.

The authors find that the effect of regional diversification on firm performance is significantly influenced by the contexts of the expansion. More specifically, the results show that the effect of intra-regional geographic diversification on firm performance takes the form of a U-shape relationship. In contrast, the authors find that inter-regional geographic diversification has a negative effect on firm performance. Firm marketing, research and development (R&D) and managerial capabilities moderate these relationships.

First, the companies studied in this research are mainly Taiwanese manufacturers with investments in mainland China. Second, the current model can be expanded by exploring additional process explanations and moderators in future research.

An important practical implication of this research is that when firms choose an intra-regional expansion strategy in China, they should adopt a moderate provincial diversification strategy in the invested region and reinforce its marketing capability to enhance firm performance. A careful consideration of a firm’s marketing, R&D and managerial capabilities is needed for successful regional diversification strategies in the China market.

The findings of this study contribute significantly to the existing literature on firms’ regional diversification. First, the authors explore and empirically test intra- and inter-regional geographic diversification strategies in China. The authors find that the effect of regional diversification on firm performance varies according to the contexts of the expansion (for instance, global, regional, in a single country). Second, this study furthers the research theme of intra- and inter-regional diversification by introducing and investigating previously unexplored firm capabilities as part of the framework.

The purpose of this paper is to visualize the collaboration network among regions in library science (LS) in China. Using various methods and tools of social network analysis and geographical visualization, results were obtained, showing the structure and patterns of research collaborations in topological and geographical views, as well as the geographical distributions of contribution.

The sample includes all studies published in the top journal in library science in China from 2006 to 2015. First, co-occurrence data representing collaborations among regions was extracted from author affiliations. Second, the topological network of collaboration was generated by applying social network analysis tools and descriptive statistics, network indicators of the collaboration network and research communities were calculated. Third, the topological network was projected into a geographical map with corresponding coordinates and distances using geographical tools. Finally, the topological network maps and the geographical maps were produced for visualization.

The levels of contribution are very unbalanced between regions, and overall research collaboration is low. Beijing, Hubei and several other areas are central and significant regions in China; other regions are mostly connected with central ones through direct collaborations. Research collaborations in LS research in China are mostly distributed in the east and south of China, being centralized in the “Beijing–Hubei–Shanghai” triangle zone, as well as within the triangle’s extending zones. Finally, there are three distinct research communities that connect closely within themselves and loosely between them. The Beijing community is relatively centralized in geography, while other communities are scattered.

This study applied various methods and tools of social network analysis and geographical mapping analysis to reveal the collaboration structure and patterns among regions in LS research in China. Visualized maps in topological and geographical views help shed new light on research efforts.

Matrix structures are complex and conflict prone, so multinational enterprises (MNEs) would utilize them only if they conferred some advantage over less complex organizational structures. Based upon the information-processing view, a theory of matrix advantage is proposed. It is supported by a secondary analysis of data from a major study of German MNEs. Matrix structures are shown to have an advantage over the elementary structural types. Specifically, the matrix structures fit higher levels of transnational strategy than elementary structures. Transnational strategy is assessed by two concepts: firm internationalization (involvement in foreign sales, manufacturing, and research and development (R&D)) and corporate integration (intracompany transfers). Moreover, three-dimensional matrices are associated with higher levels of transnational strategy than are two-dimensional matrices, confirming the gains from having additional structural dimensions. Matrix structures arise because of the need to simultaneously fit high levels of both firm internationalization and corporate integration. Matrices fit the transnational strategy type of Bartlett and Ghoshal. Implications are drawn for the relationship between the head office and the subsidiary. The matrix often subjects the subsidiary to conflicting expectations from the head office, which it can attempt to manage. Similarly, the head office is challenged by the task of integrating the information that comes from different dimensions of the matrix.

The purpose of this research is to explore the effects of regional geographic brand congruency (GBC) on brand trust, brand parity, perceived value, brand honesty and purchase intentions.

The research uses an experimental method in two studies to test hypotheses derived from the literature.

This research conceptualizes GBC as the relationship between products/services and geographic regions that are authentic, credible and fitting. Results from the two studies support the hypothesis that brands with regional GBC have higher levels of consumer evaluation compared to brands with geographic incongruence or with no geographic reference at all.

This research offers insight into the decision to name a brand. If one is going to associate a product with a regional geographic location, it is more effective to use a location that is fitting as it applies to that product; otherwise, it would be best to avoid a geographic association in a brand name.

The exploration of regional geographic brand congruency in relation to outcomes of brand trust, brand parity, perceived value, purchase intentions and honesty offers new insights into the nature and role of place images.

In this chapter, the authors discuss how the features of the business landscape affect policies aiming to promote regional development. Regional development policies have been central in the European Union and at the single-country level. Measures taken to promote development in a geographical area, based on the concept of clusters and (national or regional) innovation systems, often fall short of their objectives. That is discussed against the findings on features of the business landscape that emphasise its heterogeneity and the importance of specific couplings within and across geographical areas. Prior Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) research emphasised the importance of firm-specific linkages to places and across places. One consequence is the relatedness of one place with other places, which implies that crossing the (imaginary) boundaries of a place appears to be the essence of business activity. The chapter concludes by highlighting how regional policies can benefit from acknowledging and taking into account firm-specific interdependences.

I am honored to receive the Booz Allen Hamilton/strategy+business Eminent Scholar Award in International Management. I am even more honored to follow in the footsteps of such distinguished previous recipients of the AOM-IMD (Academy of Management-International Division) Distinguished Scholar Award as: John Child, Christopher Bartlett, Sumantra Ghoshal, John Dunning, and Yves Doz. Like them, I shall reflect here on my past contributions to scholarship, and then use this work as a building block for the major part of this paper, which is on the need for new and relevant theory in the field of international management.

Analyses data from the USA and UK to determine whether diversification within a region by property type is better than diversification between regions within a property type. Compares both strategies to full diversification by both property type and region. Calculates and compares property type and regional correlation matrices. Produces efficient frontiers and calculates principal components to determine if there are dominant property type or regional dimensions to real estate returns. Suggests that for the USA a purely retail portfolio diversified over all regions would have been almost as effective as a fully diversified portfolio. In the UK, there is less diversity across regions within retail property. Overall, there is no simple conclusion applicable to all regions and all property types in either country.

This chapter does three things. First, it estimates regional gross domestic product (GDP) for three different geographical levels in Switzerland (97 micro regions, 16 labor market basins, and 3 large regions). Second, it analyzes the evolution of regional inequality relying on a heuristic model inspired by Williamson (1965), which features an initial growth impulse in one or several core regions and subsequent diffusion. Third, it uses index number theory to decompose regional inequality into three different effects: sectoral structure, productivity, and comparative advantage.

The results can be summarized as follows: As a consequence of the existence of multiple core regions, Swiss regional inequality has been comparatively low at higher geographical levels. Spatial diffusion of economic growth occurred across different parts of the country and within different labor market regions. This resulted in a bell-shaped evolution of regional inequality at the micro regional level and convergence at higher geographical levels. In early and in late stages of the development process, productivity differentials were the main drivers of inequality, whereas economic structure was determinant between 1888 and 1941. The poorest regions suffered from comparative disadvantage, that is, they were specialized in the vary sector (agriculture), where their relative productivity was comparatively lowest.

This study aims to describe the development of hospitality research in terms of research methods and data sources used in the 2010s.

Content analyses of the research methods and data sources used in original hospitality research published in the 2010s in the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly (CQ), International Journal of Hospitality Management (IJHM), International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management (IJCHM), Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research (JHTR) and International Hospitality Review (IHR) were conducted. It describes whether the time span, functional areas and geographic regions of data sources were related to the research methods and data sources.

Results from 2,759 original hospitality empirical articles showed that marketing research used various research methods and data sources. Most finance articles used archival data, while most human resources articles used survey designs with organizational data. In addition, only a small amount of research used data from Oceania, Africa and Latin America.

This study sheds some light on the development of hospitality research in terms of research method and data source usage. However, it only focused on five English-based journals from 2010–2019. Therefore, future studies may seek to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on research methods and data source usage in hospitality research.

This is the first study to examine five hospitality journals' research methods and data sources used in the last decade. It sheds light on the development of hospitality research in the previous decade and identifies new hospitality research avenues.

A sample of 234 U.S. travelers was surveyed at various U.S. airports. A survey instrument was used to measure their perceptions of Mississippi as a vacation destination, their intentions to visit and to reveal their socio-demographic characteristics including their place of residence. The factor analysis of 14 tourist-oriented attributes related to participants' perceptions of Mississippi as a tourist destination revealed three factors: “Cultural and Natural Experience,” “Scenery and Environment,” and “Entertainment.” The environmental factor revealed a significant difference between groups; participants residing in the Western region were not strongly attracted by Mississippi's environmental factor. On the contrary, participants residing in the Southern region perceived strongly Mississippi's entertainment components, especially casinos. In term of intentions to visit, 73% of participants from the Southern region indicated that they would somewhat unlikely or very unlikely visit Mississippi compared to 71% of participants from the Western region who indicated a desire to visit the mentioned destination. This study offers substantial theoretical and practical implications about geographical and cultural distances and their effects on a destination's tourist image.