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Two paradigm orientations exist in the emerging field of knowledge management (KM). In one paradigm, information technology predominantly influences ideas about knowledge management. In the other, organizational learning is the major influence. For KM to contribute effectively to organizational strategy, organizations must build and strengthen the linkages between KM, human resource management (HRM), and business development. The dual paradigm nature of KM suggests that strategies driven by information technology exhibit quite different characteristics to those driven by organizational learning, the former being driven by technology, while the latter is dominated more by a focus on people. It is important for HR practitioners to understand how certain paradigm orientations to KM can lead to very different paths into thinking about HRM practices and can result in a lack of continuity between various strategic initiatives in an organization. In turn, quality initiatives in HRM will be affected. Suggestions for dealing with the dual paradigm nature of KM are also offered.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the Chinese cultural architecture on motivating workplace behaviour for enhanced productivity in Chinese workplaces.

The paper describes the Chinese cultural architecture and presents a cursory review of the substantive literature in this field. Based on this review, a conceptual framework for managing within Chinese organizations is presented, based on the first‐hand experience in the field as well as anecdotal evidence provided by practitioners in international management.

In the light of research, which suggests that the realities about motivation in the context of Chinese workplaces are more complicated than originally thought, this paper moves away from viewing Chinese workplace behaviour from a purely systems‐based perspective. Although ideas about collectivism and individualism certainly explain important aspects of workplace behaviour, an orientation to practicality and the emotive side of life in Chinese workplaces also affects behaviour in quite subtle ways.

While the development of a conceptual framework for practicing managers provides a guide to managing in China, work that is more empirical is necessary to test the resilience of the framework.

The paper offers practical steps to improve the performance and productivity of both managers and employees in Chinese organizations.

The framework presented utilizes the conventional collectivism/individualism dichotomy with notions of practicality and emotion in Chinese workplaces. This is one potential step forward to the development of a more motivating management style in China.

Investigates the impact of national culture on organisational learning in a global context, as well as implications for international management development. Studies on organisations generally accept the existence of two “cultures” within an organisation – the “systems” culture and the “organisational” culture. National culture too has a significant, yet often underestimated, impact on organisational learning in international joint ventures. Motivated by national culture, stakeholders strive continuously to create sufficient shared meaning and management practices to make a joint venture viable. Using examples drawn from an Australian/Malaysian collaboration, explores the ways in which organisational learning and management behaviour are shaped by the often intangible influence of national culture. Offers a model to suggest means by which managers on both sides of a joint venture can improve understanding of the impact of national culture through critical inquiry and reflection. Also suggests that while cultural ways of knowing sometimes collide rather than converge, internal organisational processes can have a positive impact on the operations of a joint venture.

Using an open interview technique, information about the challenges facing Australian and Vietnamese managers working in joint ventures was gathered from ten Australian and 26 Vietnamese respondents. Our analysis suggests that salient differences exist along several dimensions: collectivism/individualism, the nature of relationships and attitude to work; use of public and private space and attitude towards causality. A model of management development is presented to deal with the challenge of inter‐cultural management development.

The purpose of this paper is to examine if corporate entrepreneurship in terms of innovation and proactivity that has been developed in the international joint ventures (IJVs) in the Chinese cultures.

A structured questionnaire with a systematic sampling approach was adopted and sent to 800 firms (400 from the manufacturing industry and 400 from the servicing industry) in Beijing. Descriptive statistics, correlation analyses and stepwise multiple regression were used.

Corporate entrepreneurship exists in the IJVs, yet the Western‐Chinese JVs are more innovative and proactive. It is found that organisational variables such as flexibility, operational delegation, control system and the implementation of differentiation or growth strategy are significantly related to both innovation and proactivity. However, organisational variables on strategic delegation and risk‐taking culture are significantly related to proactivity only. On the other hand, the implementation of cost leadership is found to be unrelated to either innovation or proactivity.

Since the sample was drawn from IJVs in Beijing, comparative studies could be done on IJVs across different cities in China.

The significant results provide insights for studying the cultural context of China's IJVs.

Asian‐Chinese JVs have to improve corporate entrepreneurship posture in their management. This will attract professionals with international experience from different parts of the world to work in China's IJVs.

The entrepreneurial posture of an IJV can be measured in terms of its ability on innovation and proactivity. It provides benefits to both foreign and local partners in terms of local knowledge, access to market, and cost consideration as well as technological and skills transfers.

The purpose of this paper is to examine aspects of the social, cultural, political and legal architecture of intellectual property rights (IPR) in China. The paper aims to identify inhibiting and facilitating factors in the Chinese environment as they pertain to establishing of a workable regime for IPR in China. The paper also offers some practical strategies that foreign managers can employ to reduce the risk of piracy of intellectual property (IP) in China.Design/methodology/approach – A literature review of the main influences on the formation of Chinese attitudes to IPR are identified and discussed. Against this background, a model for the establishment of a new regime for IPR in China is proposed.Findings – While the cultural architecture of IPR in China is often identified as the major influence on the level of IP piracy, other aspects of the Chinese political, business and social environment may actually facilitate the acceptance of, and respect for, IPR. Indeed, the experience of Taiwan in building new norms for IPR suggests that a new regime for IPR in China is clearly possible. This is because new norms of respect for IPR can emerge when sufficient facilitating factors are present in the environment. Nevertheless, while the potential to reduce IP piracy exists, foreign managers must continue to remain vigilant in the marketplace and use a combination of strategies to protect IP as new norms of respect for IPR emerge in the coming period.Research limitations/implications – Foreign managers in China can gain significant advantages by understanding the deeper influences of the social, cultural, political and legal architecture on the formation of attitudes to IP and IPR in China. Through such knowledge, this group will be better equipped to contribute to the process of establishing new norms of respect for IPR in China in the medium term.Practical implications – This study contributes to the literature on IPR in China. Armed with this knowledge, foreign managers are better placed to negotiate the difficult and complex Chinese business environment.Originality/value – This paper presents a model for developing a workable IPR regime in China and describes low‐cost strategies to reduce the current level of IP piracy.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze different challenges for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India and China following globalization. It aims to describe the status of these enterprises and examine the roles of government policies and strategy development for competitiveness.

A questionnaire‐based survey was conducted, which produced 241 valid responses. Of these, 80 percent were from SMEs. Statistical analysis of the data acquired from survey used a reliability test, t‐test and correlation analysis. A relevant literature review pinpoints salient issues in the environment of the SMEs.

The governments of China and India have launched various promotional schemes for SMEs. Various challenges for SMEs in these countries are similar; however, the rate of growth is different. Indian SMEs give more attention to supplier development, total productive maintenance and the organization's culture. Chinese SMEs pay more attention to relationship management and cost reduction. Human resource development and quality improvement are also highly correlated with competitiveness.

SMEs should focus on developing their human resources and improving product quality. This effort will help SMEs retain human capital as well as increase the demand for their products. Similar studies could explore Chinese SMEs in‐depth for additional comparisons.

This paper will help SMEs in shaping their competitive strategies and policy formulation by respective governments.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a comprehensive approach to the valuation of an infrastructure concession right and quantitative risk management projects in the People's Republic of China.

The paper outlines a methodology, incorporating an economic model to appraise the dynamic value and risk of concession investment in the context of the design of concession contracts.

The framework of the study simulates the present value of net cash flow and identifies probability with different parameters in concession contracts as a way to establish a correlation between parameters and net present value distribution. Moreover, the paper uses the technique of value‐at‐risk to set up an economic model to appraise the dynamic value and risk of a concession investment and analyse the key issues in the concession contracts design phase.

It is difficult to estimate precisely the distribution of parameters in the model. In particular, estimating shortfalls in the rate of return of the concession project, the appreciation rate of the future operating cash flow and the market rate of return all have significant impact on the results.

This study frames examines the concession rights mode in a traffic infrastructure construction project and provides potential developers and potential host governments with a reasoned approach to evaluating risk and capital investment in potential concession projects.

The paper offers insights into the risk management, financing and valuation of infrastructure concession rights concerning the Guangshen Freeway in China.