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This article reviews and discusses issues in the translation of international brand names to Chinese, and provides a framework for international brand managers who want to expand into China. Linguistic differences between Chinese and English are wide and deep, making translation of brand names difficult. Cultural context, pronunciation, written vs. oral language, and the meaning of characters are just a few examples of such difficulties. We discuss four global product‐naming strategic alternatives available to country/brand managers, along with their usage. The four approaches include (1) dual extension, (2) brand meaning extension, (3) brand feeling extension, and (4) dual adaptation. We also provide examples of brands utilizing the different approaches.

The purpose of this article is to propose a framework for analyzing the comparative economic market size for service franchisors in emerging markets using current and available data from the World Bank.

Data is transformed through simple manipulations to derive information‐filled rankings of 20 popular emerging markets. Emerging markets constitute the largest and most dynamic markets for international franchisors.

The findings show that Brazil, Russia, and Mexico outranked China and India as the markets with the largest economies for service franchising. Future research should enhance the economic analysis and measures developed in the article and use them in conjunction with other environmental, industry, and company variables to estimate the market potential and select the appropriate markets for entry.

Attempting to estimate the market size of emerging markets is often only the first step in international market selection.

This paper encourages managers to think beyond simple measures of market size when considering the attractiveness of franchising opportunities which hitherto has been under‐emphasized in the extant literature.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on GDP growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with particular emphasis on Chinese FDI.

Based on the growth accounting model, a dynamic GMM estimation is used. To compare the results with previous findings, the paper also uses OLS and fixed effect estimates.

The paper finds that neither FDI net inflows in SSA nor Chinese FDI has a significant effect on economic growth in SSA. By testing other economic growth determinants in SSA countries based on growth accounting theory, the paper finds the change in capital stock per labor has a persistent and significant positive impact on growth in SSA.

This study provides new evidence on the influence of Chinese FDI on the growth of the SSA economies. There are very few empirical studies that analyze the growth of the SSA economies from a macroeconomic perspective using a partial equilibrium model. This paper tests the determinants of GDP growth using key macroeconomic variables and provides new insights into the determinants of GDP growth in the SSA countries.

Stewardship theory is an emergent approach for explaining leadership behavior, challenging the assumptions of agency theory and its dominance in corporate governance literature. This study revisits the agency and stewardship theories by seeking to answer whether chief executive officers (CEOs) in China are committed stewards or opportunistic agents.

Based on 5,165 observations of 1,036 listed companies in China over the period 2005–2010, the results suggest that the corporate governance mechanisms developed from the agency theory in the West are not necessarily applicable in the Chinese context.

This study supports the stewardship theory in its findings that empowering CEOs through the practice of CEO duality and longer CEO tenure have a positive effect on firm value in China. Additionally, the positive relationships between CEO duality, CEO tenure and firm value are strengthened by the number of executive directors on the board, and weakened by the number of independent directors on the board.

One size does not fit all. Leadership behaviors in China do not follow the agency assumptions inherent in Western practices, rather they favor the conditions of positive leadership expressed by the stewardship theory. Assuming that the motivations of managers in emerging markets such as China are similar to those in the West may lead to a poor fit between governance policies and the institutional context.

As one of the few studies to connect the theoretical debate between the agency and stewardship theories, this study presents new evidence to support the stewardship theory, thereby strengthening its theoretical importance and relevance in corporate governance literature.

Although China has claimed since 2005 that it will move towards a more market-oriented system of managing its foreign exchange, it has remained, in part, a managed economic system. This chapter examines the relative importance of fundamentalist, chartist and currency arrangements in determining the RMB exchange regime using both traditional linear and non-linear artificial intelligence models. We find that the emphasis on the US dollar as a reference currency has declined. Fundamentalist forces are becoming strong determinants of the currency exchange. The genetic programming approach is among the best performing in minimizing forecasting error.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how signaling support services and contractual arrangements that create value for incumbent franchisees can help to create value for the whole network by attracting prospective franchisees.

Using data from Bond's Franchising Report the study analyses franchisors operating between 1994 and 2008 via a Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) model for an unbalanced panel of 2,474 franchisors.

Training, financial assistance, sub-franchising and restrictions against passive ownership, and the use of area development agreements are found to be valuable for prospective franchisees. Experience and the number of company-owned and franchised units also attract prospective franchisees.

Our findings imply that not all value-creating services and contractual arrangements are interpreted in the same way by prospective franchisees. Franchisors should offer training and financial assistance to new franchisees in the early stages of a franchise. They should also allow sub-franchising but restrict passive ownership and offer the possibility for area development agreements as contractual arrangements to appeal to new franchisees. Franchisors should focus not only on expansion, but should view the chain in a holistic manner by sustaining and growing both franchised and company-owned units.

The findings contribute to the franchising literature by providing new evidence on how offering and signaling some contractual arrangements and support services can help franchisors create value for incumbent franchisees and can attract new franchisees. Our research shows that value in franchising is created differently depending on whether the franchisees are incumbent or prospective.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the status of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communications in Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) nations. The four countries are among the biggest emerging markets, forecasted to have increasing influence in economic and political spheres. How these countries manage their corporate communication in regards to CSR is, thus, the focus of the investigation.

This paper compares the extent and content of corporate communication with respect to CSR from a sample of over 100 companies from the BRIC nations by investigating the nature of CSR motives, processes, and stakeholder.

The results of the analysis show that CSR activities differ among BRIC nations with respect to CSR motives, processes, and stakeholder issues. China seems to be least communicative on a number of CSR issues.

The research shows that great variations exist in the implementation of CSR in BRIC nations. Even though India's GDP per capita is lower than that of China, for example, its communication of CSR is more intensive. This suggests that economic development alone cannot fully explain the differences in CSR communication. A full understanding of differences in CSR communications across BRIC is, thus, needed.

The paper is original in providing across BRIC country analysis of corporate communication relating to CSR activities.

The purpose of this study is to show how franchisor characteristics influence franchisee failure. To achieve this aim, we developed a heuristic model using the methodology and power of predictive analytics.

The authors use data from the World Franchising Council’s and from the Small Business Administration (SBA). The data cover 271 diverse USA franchise chains that are present in both databases.

The model predicts potential defaults of SBA-backed loans issued to American franchisees, and the authors identify 13 variables that help explain franchisee failure.

The authors offer guidance for stakeholder groups – lenders, franchisors and franchisees – to minimize the risk of lending and business failure.

The paper contributes to the franchising literature by considering parent firms’ characteristics to predict franchisee failure.