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1 – 10 of 210
Article
Publication date: 5 September 2018

Linhao Ouyang, Zijian Zhang, Xiaoling Huang and Shi Xie

The purpose of this study is to restore the spatial distribution of overseas remittance businesses in Shantou during the 1940s. It explores various socioeconomic factors that…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to restore the spatial distribution of overseas remittance businesses in Shantou during the 1940s. It explores various socioeconomic factors that influenced the concentration of local remittance business investment in real estate. By reconstructing the spatial distribution of remittance business activities in Shantou, this study hopes to lay a foundation for further analysis of the business strategies of Chaoshan merchants.

Design/methodology/approach

This research draws on information from the published Swatow Guide, archival sources and cadastral maps to identify the location of remittance enterprises and the native place and overseas networks of property owners.

Finding

This study reveals that the spatial distribution of the remittance enterprises was determined by the native place origins of local property owners, and that the inflow of overseas Chinese capital contributed to real estate development in Shantou.

Research limitations/implications

Despite the limited access to Chinese official archives, this paper manages to identify several building blocks and neighbors in Shantou for spatial analysis.

Practical implications

This study is the first attempt to use the geographical information system (GIS) method in Chinese urban history research and hopes to establish a larger historical database of Shantou as a sample for comparison.

Originality/value

This investigation advances the spatial study of urban history and overseas Chinese remittances in the maritime society of South China.

Details

Social Transformations in Chinese Societies, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1871-2673

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 October 2018

JongHo Kim

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the survival capability of Chaoshan people in the maritime world of the South China Sea amidst the changing monetary systems of the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the survival capability of Chaoshan people in the maritime world of the South China Sea amidst the changing monetary systems of the rival empires and political regimes from 1939 to 1945. It particularly focuses on overseas Chinese remittance business in Shantou under the Japanese rule. Local societies in coastal China and overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia experienced severe hardships due to the Sino-Japanese War, the Pacific War and the Chinese Civil War. As fighting among the rival empires and regimes intensified, Chinese migrant communities straddling between Southeast Asia and South China had to negotiate and adapt to survive these crises, regardless of whether they were government-affiliated or local autonomous subjects.

Design/methodology/approach

This research draws on archival materials to investigate the reactions of Chinese migrant communities in Chaoshan region in times of war and regime change. How did local maritime societies and overseas Chinese adapt to the harsh realities of the wartime? How did the Japanese Empire use Wang Jingwei’s puppet government in Nanjing to control the Chaoshan remittance network? How did the remittance network shift its operational structure in face of a wartime crisis?

Findings

Faced with the wartime crisis and the Japanese occupation, Chaoshan communities used a variety of survival strategies to protect and maintain the overseas Chinese remittance business. In dealing with remittances from Singapore, British Malay and Indonesia, they cooperated with the Japanese military authority and its puppet government to maximize the autonomy of their business operation in the Japanese-controlled East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere. On the other hand, to secure the flow of remittances from French Indochina and Thailand, the indirectly controlled territories in the Japanese Empire, Chaoshan merchants sought an alternative path of delivering remittances, known as the Dongxing route, to bypass the Japanese ban on private remittances from these two regions.

Research limitations/implications

It would be a better research if more resources, including remittance receipts and documents during the Japanese occupation, could be found and used to show more detailed features of Chaoshan local society.

Originality/value

This research is the first one to investigate the contradictory features of local Chaoshan society during the Japanese occupation, an under-explored subject in the Chinese historiography.

Details

Social Transformations in Chinese Societies, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1871-2673

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 July 2018

Stephen M. Leahy

This scholarly work aims to investigate the business career of Alfred J. Kohlberg, an American importer of hand-embroidered handkerchiefs in 1922-1957.

Abstract

Purpose

This scholarly work aims to investigate the business career of Alfred J. Kohlberg, an American importer of hand-embroidered handkerchiefs in 1922-1957.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses archival resources from the National Archives, the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library, the Hoover Institution Archives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Custom Courts records, Japanese Government records and other government documents.

Findings

Scholars have focused on how Kohlberg’s political activities paved the way for McCarthyism. The sources of his vast wealth have not received attention. Kohlberg parlayed a 1922 trip to Asia into a highly lucrative importing business specializing in Chinese napery. By 1930, he mostly imported hand-embroidered handkerchiefs for sale in upscale American department stores. He employed as many 12,000 people in his Shantou godown and contracted for the employment of at least 100,000 embroiderers and perhaps many hundreds of thousands more. Despite American Government policy and the wishes of other importers, Japanese occupation authority documents show that Kohlberg negotiated a bribe to keep the port open. This paper concludes that Kohlberg’s business reflected traditional Chinese business organization. While he stressed his patriotic activities during the Second World War, Kohlberg promoted his business interest over the national interest. Finally, the Chaoshan Region prospered by providing the modern world with traditional hand-produced goods.

Research limitations/implications

This work explains how the Chaoshan Region functioned in the global economy. It calls for a deeper examination of this entire industry in China and around the world.

Originality/value

This work uses documents from multiple archives, including Japan and the USA. It also includes declassified documents from the Federal Bureau Investigation. This work constitutes a template for international business history.

Details

Social Transformations in Chinese Societies, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1871-2673

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2015

Shao-Dong Hu and Si-Yan Chen

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of cultural beliefs on governance in a business network without a legal institutional framework. Particular emphasis is…

1226

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of cultural beliefs on governance in a business network without a legal institutional framework. Particular emphasis is placed on the cross-country remittance mail operating network in Chaoshan, China, during the period 1860-1949. This investigation builds on Greif’s business governance theory and develops an analytical framework that considers cultural beliefs, agency relationships and multilateral punishment mechanisms. Furthermore, it uses the institutional analysis method to identify the institutional factors that sustained the remittance mail operating networks and their underlying mechanisms.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts the qualitative research method. First, it investigates the history of the remittance mail operating network and agency relationships by searching through the contents of the relevant historical documents preserved in the official archives and information found in other records. Thereafter, it summarizes and demonstrates the cultural beliefs inferred from that research. The archival materials permit analysis of the interactions between cultural beliefs, agency relationships and multilateral punishment mechanisms by the institutional analysis method.

Findings

Due to the lack of legal institutions in China during the period under review, cultural beliefs played a central institutional role in cross-country business relations. Network governance was coupled with clan cultural beliefs in the remittance mail operating network. This relationship was the key to sustain the efficient operation of the remittance mail network.

Originality/value

In the West, corporate governance has been influenced by and has become an integral feature of Western culture and values. This is not necessarily so for the corporate governance in terms of Chinese culture and values. Thus, instead of mimicking the modes of developed countries, it is important for Chinese enterprises to seek a mode of corporate governance that is in accord with their local cultures. This may be an important focus for enterprise development.

Details

Chinese Management Studies, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-614X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2011

Fan‐qi Zeng, Xiang‐zhi Bu and Li Su

The purpose of this paper is to find the characteristic of entrepreneurial process for the student in free enterprise (SIFE) team in China, and to provide theoretical guidance for…

7564

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to find the characteristic of entrepreneurial process for the student in free enterprise (SIFE) team in China, and to provide theoretical guidance for the entrepreneurial process of SIFE student team through a new Timmons model.

Design/methodology/approach

Taking an entrepreneurial project of Shantou University SIFE team as example, a Timmons model was proposed describing the SIFE student team entrepreneurial process based on the famous entrepreneurial process model established by Jeffry A. Timmons. The application value of the new Timmons model was proved by case analysis.

Findings

The paper summarized the main characteristics of the entrepreneurial model for the SIFE student team as: the nature of creation free enterprises, the excellent entrepreneurship networks, and the spirit of social entrepreneurship orientation. By case study, the paper proved the practical value of the new Timmons model by analysis of the key factors such as business opportunities, resources and entrepreneurial team, and their dynamic balance process.

Practical implications

The new model proposed in the paper will have theoretical value to provide a direction for student entrepreneurial practice, the analysis of the characteristics of the new model will also enrich the research on entrepreneurship theory.

Originality/value

This paper is the first research on SIFE student entrepreneurial process in China. In the past two years, the authors observed dozens of successful worldwide SIFE students' practical projects, but few of them appeared in the literature. It is hoped that this paper can offer some constructive advice to the entrepreneurial process of the SIFE student team and enrich the theory of general entrepreneurial education.

Details

Journal of Chinese Entrepreneurship, vol. 3 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-1396

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 October 2008

Zongling Xu, Jiali Lin and Danming Lin

This paper aims to investigate structural characteristics of a business network comprising small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), and to explore the relationships between such…

2112

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate structural characteristics of a business network comprising small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), and to explore the relationships between such network characteristics and innovative capabilities of the participating firms.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts a survey approach and conducts empirical analysis by drawing data from 92 firms operating in the packaging and printing industry in Shantou City, Guangdong Province.

Findings

In relation to the participating firms' innovative capabilities, density, reciprocity and multiplicity of the business network are figured out as factors with positive association, while hypotheses concerning intensity, non‐redundancy and betweenness of the network are not supported.

Research limitations/implications

The authors only conducted a survey in a single industry in one location. Thus the extent to which the results of this study can be generalized remains to be further investigated.

Practical implications

Small and medium‐sized enterprises can enhance their innovative capability by understanding and leveraging the structure of the business network in which they participate.

Originality/value

This paper sheds additional insights to the relationship between a business network and firms' innovative capabilities in a Chinese context.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 15 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 October 2008

Minfen Shen, Jialiang Chen and Bin Li

The purpose of this paper is to present a novel algorithm for image inpainting, which has been widely used for removing unwanted objects from images or reconstructing damaged…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a novel algorithm for image inpainting, which has been widely used for removing unwanted objects from images or reconstructing damaged photographs.

Design/methodology/approach

An image piecewise inpainting technique based on radial basis function (RBF) is used to transform the 2D image inpainting problem into 3D implicit surface reconstruction problem. And a RBF center reduction method is proposed. By RBF resampling, the algorithm can nicely fix the damaged image or remove specific objects.

Findings

Experimental results show that the proposed algorithms can prevent the edge blur caused by the isotropic character of RBF, and effectively reduce the RBF centers without a loss in accuracy.

Originality/value

The proposed inpainting approach is interesting for its combination of RBF method and region segmentation that can handle the restoring of high‐variation areas.

Details

International Journal of Intelligent Computing and Cybernetics, vol. 1 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-378X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 September 2013

Yi Wang, Yuan Liu, Yeyuan Dai and Danming Lin

– The purpose of this paper is to elicit the rich implications of IT business value for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from the perspective of IT leaders.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to elicit the rich implications of IT business value for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from the perspective of IT leaders.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses case study and the repertory grid technique to explore cognition of IT business value of the IT leader in Guangdong CHJ Industry Co., Ltd (CHJ), a fast-growing jewelry company in China. The paper further examines this cognitive structure of IT business value by using cluster analysis technique.

Findings

This paper develops a six-category framework of IT business value from IT leaders' perspective, which provides insights for future research of IT applications in SMEs.

Originality/value

This study contributes to IT business value research by providing empirically grounded insight from perspectives of IT leaders in SMEs. The identified IT business value framework can also serve as a practical tool to help managers comprehensively assess and evaluate IT applications in SMEs.

Details

Journal of Chinese Entrepreneurship, vol. 5 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-1396

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2006

Anita M.M. Liu, Zhang Shuibo and Leung Meiyung

In recent years, China is exerting effort to improve the performance effectiveness of its construction industry. This paper aims to report a preliminary study on organisational…

4316

Abstract

Purpose

In recent years, China is exerting effort to improve the performance effectiveness of its construction industry. This paper aims to report a preliminary study on organisational culture of five selected construction enterprises from different geographical locations in China and to discuss a framework for developing effectiveness measurement criteria for Chinese construction enterprises.

Design/methodology/approach

The research approach focuses on the culture profiles of the selected enterprises which have similar size, number of employees, general reputation (in terms of quality of construction), business type (building works) and tax bracket. The measuring instrument of organisational culture is adopted from previous tested research.

Findings

It is found that the hierarchy culture is dominant in four cases; Shantou in the Special Economic Zone is the exception. The Shantou enterprise has a market culture and Shantou was one of the first regions to embark on economic reform. Further analysis is required of the spread of the culture profiles in terms of geopraphcial regions and developmental stages of the construction enterprises in China.

Originality/value

The result of the five case studies is indicative of the presence of the dichotomy in hierarchy – market culture dominance. Evaluation of operational effectiveness of such organisations must depend on their developmental stages in line with their stated objectives, and a framework for effectiveness measurement is proposed.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 May 2019

Xiaoning Li, Xinbo Liao, Qingwen Zhong, Kai Zheng, Shaoxing Chen, Xiao-Jun Chen, Jin-Xiu Zhu and Hongyuan Yang

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influencing factors of patients’ financial burden through a case study of hospital on public‒private partnerships (PPP) model (Chaonan…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influencing factors of patients’ financial burden through a case study of hospital on public‒private partnerships (PPP) model (Chaonan Minsheng Hospital of Guangdong Province) and provide some useful information to policymakers for better development of hospitals on PPP model.

Design/methodology/approach

There are total six indicators that are defined as patients’ financial burden, basing on the policy of “indicators of medical quality management and control on the third level large general hospital (2011 edition),” issued by Chinese Government. In total, 23 potentially influencing factors of patients’ financial burden for hospital on PPP model were chosen from the above policy. The five-year (2007‒2011) data for the above 29 indicators come from statistic department of hospital on PPP model. Grey relational analysis (GRA) was applied to analyze the influencing factors of patients’ financial burden for hospital on PPP model.

Findings

A clear rank of influencing factors of patients’ financial burden is obtained and suggestions are provided from results of GRA, which provide reference for policymakers of hospital on PPP model. The five main influencing factors of patients’ financial burden for hospital on PPP model, in sequence, are rescuing critical ill patients on emergency, rescuing critical ill inpatients, inpatient bed occupancy rate, working days per bed and medical building area.

Originality/value

The study on the influencing factors of patients’ financial burden for hospital on PPP model not only provides decision-making for policymaker of hospital and controlling of medical expenditure but also contributes to release patients’ financial burden for hospitals on PPP model.

Details

Grey Systems: Theory and Application, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2043-9377

Keywords

1 – 10 of 210