125 research outputs found
MSE Response during Times of Crisis: The Roles of Budgeting Micro Functions and Guanxi
No full textThis study explores how micro and small enterprises (MSEs) rely on and adapt their budgetary practices to guide their activities during times of crisis, specifically during the COVID-19 global pandemic that began in early 2020. While the existing literature has mainly focused on large enterprises during economic crises, this paper will specifically consider MSEs in Southeast China during and since the pandemic. The primary data were collected via an online survey distributed in Wenzhou municipality, with 397 responses included in the analysis. The results indicate that within the budgeting process, the micro functions of planning and performance evaluation had less importance during the pandemic while the importance placed on the function of resource allocation was unchanged. The findings suggest that MSEs during crises placed less importance on the budgeting process and more on guanxi-related considerations for maintaining financial liquidity, including customer and government relationship building. Our findings add a resource-based view of the capability of guanxi during times of crisis. In addition, the limitations and future research are discussed
Dialects, motivation, and English proficiency: Empirical evidence from China
No full textWithin the context of China, this study seeks to examine the relationship between English language proficiency, the native dialect of the learner, and the learner’s reason, or motivation for learning English. English language proficiency can be an important vehicle for accessing high quality higher education, for interacting with non-Chinese, and for enhancing employment and career opportunities Data was gathered through an online survey with 985 usable responses recorded. Respondents included a distribution of speakers from five of the major distinct dialects of China. The analysis provides empirical evidence of a diversity of propensities and motivations for English language acquisition among learners from different regions and native dialects. Access to international higher education as a type of motivation is found to have a moderating effect on English proficiency. Other findings suggest that learners in regions with more historic exposure to foreign interaction are more likely to be motivated for social reasons, those from regions with export focused commerce will be motivated for business related reasons. The results of this study may be of interest to policy makers, linguists, educators, and those with an interest in socioeconomic sustainability through language acquisition and education as a method of socioeconomic mobility
The nexus of social cause interest and entrepreneurial mindset : driving socioeconomic sustainability
No full textThe importance of entrepreneurial activity as a driver of sustainable economic growth is well established. Interest in social enterprises as a means to fill gaps that exist in society is growing. With the emerging concept of social entrepreneurship in China, this paper aims to examine the relationship between entrepreneurial mindset, individual intention to start an enterprise, the likelihood of actually starting a business and personal interest in social causes. Theoretical models in the field of entrepreneurship study indicate that personal entrepreneurial desire is a strong factor in predicting future business behaviour but there is little in the existing research about entrepreneurial mindset as a predictor of actual activity. Considering entrepreneurship and psychological research and theory, four main psychological entrepreneur traits including chance alertness, risk tendency, tolerance of vagueness and intentional optimism are considered to measure the aptitude towards starting a business. Based on the results of 590 online surveys, the role of entrepreneurial mindset as a predictor is analysed using Correlation, Linear Regression and Multiple Regression Analysis. The findings of this research indicate that social cause interest is unlikely to drive entrepreneurial activity in the absence of structured intervention. The findings contribute to the future development of social entrepreneurial programs, and to the role and assessment of the entrepreneurial mindset of potential social entrepreneurs. The study also provides insight into the perspective of the individual towards the concept of social responsibility
Exploring the Impact of Peer Influence on Online Shopping
No full textCommercialization of social media is no longer optional for businesses, especially online businesses. An effective online presence is crucial for creating awareness of new products or services and triggering activity. The objective of this chapter is to investigate peers\u27 influence on Chinese millennial consumers\u27 purchase behavior. To be specific, this study examines the relationship between peers\u27 purchase histories and consumers \u27 purchase decisions among Chinese millennials. Specifically, this study explores whether and to what extent peers\u27 purchase histories affect consumers\u27 purchase perception, such as perceived usefulness, perceived risk, and purchase intention. Analysis of online surveys shows how peer influence affects Chinese millennial\u27s purchase intention and decision in online shopping. Furthermore, perceived usefulness positively also affects purchase intention, while perceived risk has a negative influence. This chapter provides suggestions for online retailers to attach importance to peer influence when advertising their products
Investor Behavior during Periods of Crises: The Chinese Funds Market during the 2020 Pandemic
No full textThis study seeks to contribute to the body of research on economic sustainability during periods of crisis by examining investor behavior in China during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Economic conditions in China during 2020 can be separated into the first half of the year, a period of extreme economic uncertainty, and the second half of the year when there was almost no COVID and was a period of relative economic stability. Unexpectedly, Chinese funds showed consistent, strong growth throughout all of 2020. This study applies behavioral finance theory to interpret data gathered through an online survey to examine several factors in the psychology of investors during these two periods. Factors included; risk avoidance, heuristic, prospect, and herding. The heuristic factor was further divided into: representativeness, anchoring, overconfidence, gambler fallacy, and availability bias. The prospect factor included loss aversion and regret aversion. The analysis indicates that low-risk funds\u27 investments grew significantly during the first half of the year due to risk avoidance behavior. During the second half of 2020, as the level of uncertainty and risk in China was considerably reduced, investment in low-risk funds continued with robust activity and growth due to the investment psychology of the herding effect. The findings contribute to the body of knowledge on investor behavior and market resiliency during periods of crisis
The Effect of Time-Limited Promotion on E-Consumers’ Public Self-Consciousness and Purchase Behavior
No full textThis paper explores the relationship between consumers’ public self-consciousness, purchase behavior, post-purchase regret, and time-limited promotions in e-commerce. Time-limited flash sales have become a common promotion strategy in e-commerce, particularly in China, the largest e-commerce market. Firstly, the effect of public self-consciousness on consumers’ impulsive purchase tendency and post-purchase regret is examined. Secondly, this paper extends the scope of previous studies and investigates how time pressure affects the relationships between self-consciousness, impulsive buying tendency, and post-purchase regret. Data were gathered via an anonymous online survey of 580 online shoppers and subjected to empirical analysis including validity testing and ANOVA. The results provide both practical and theoretical contributions to existing models and offer empirical evidence showing the positive relationships between public self-consciousness and impulse buying, between public self-consciousness and post-purchase regret, and between impulse buying and post-purchase regret
Creating Sustainable Organizations through Knowledge Sharing and Organizational Agility: Empirical Evidence from China
No full textThis study explores the relationships among knowledge sharing, adaptability, and performance, and furthermore seeks to address a gap in the existing literature on how those relationships may vary between organizational sectors. Economic sustainability for firms of all sizes and sectors is likely to depend to a large extent on the creation of a sustainable organizational culture built on collaboration, innovation, and adaptability. The importance of knowledge management in developing sustainable and higher functioning organizations is well accepted in the literature. Likewise, the ability of organizations to realize competitive advantage by adapting and responding in a timely manner to changes in the landscape is well supported. Building on previous research, this study further examines how organizations in different sectors may experience that interaction differently. Based on data gathered through 720 online surveys and subjected to empirical analysis, the findings suggest that work groups that are more agile can more readily realize the benefits of a knowledge sharing organization culture. Further, in contrast to the main body of existing literature, the findings indicate that there is little difference in these benefits among organizations operating in different sectors, notably, within the context of mainland China. These findings may be of interest to those with an interest in knowledge sharing, organizational agility, organizational behavior, sustainable organizations, collectivistic cultures, to practitioners with an interest in developing higher functioning organizations, and to social scientists in related research areas such as cultural studies and psychology
AI in E-Commerce: Application of the Use and Gratification Model to The Acceptance of Chatbots
No full textThis study applies and builds on the Use and Gratification (U&G) theory to explore consumer acceptance of applied artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of Chatbots in online shopping in China. Data were gathered via an anonymous online survey from 540 respondents who self-identified as frequent online shoppers and are familiar with Chatbots. The results of the data analysis provide empirical evidence indicating that utilitarian factors such as the “authenticity of conversation” and “convenience”, as well as hedonic factors such as “perceived enjoyment”, result in users having a positive attitude towards Chatbots. However, privacy issues and the immaturity of technology have had a negative impact on acceptance. This paper provides both theoretical and practical insights into Chinese attitudes toward Chatbots and may be of interest to e-commerce researchers, practitioners, and U&G theorists
Shopping for an English Language Tutor
No full textEnglish is often considered to be the international language of commerce and, more recently, e-commerce. English is also the predominant language of the internet, science, and many, the language of higher education. As a result, English tutoring institutions are thriving in the Chinese Mainland in recent years in a substantial and competitive market. The objective of this chapter is to reveal what are the factors that affect Chinese college students\u27 selection of English tutoring institutions in China so that tutoring institution managers may focus on the most important criteria for their prospective customers. In this chapter, 212 Chinese college students participated in the online survey. The authors analyzed the correlation between purchase intention and price, brand image, service variety, and customer relationship. Through data analysis, they show that price, brand image, service variety, and customer relationships are all positively associated with Chinese college students \u27 purchase intention of English tutoring institutions
Scope for Sustainability in the Fashion Industry Supply Chain
No full textThis chapter seeks to determine whether entrepreneurial technological innovation can mitigate the intrinsic contradiction between short-termfashion and the long-term fashion industry in the supply chain to achieve environmental, economic, and social sustainability. The current fashion industry is driven by the ephemeral nature of fashion and its associated wastes which are not very sustainable. Although literature has demonstrated that operations research can be used to reduce inventory wastes, whether emerging technologies can reformat the whole mode of production in the fashion industry to be more sustainable remains unknown. Through interviewing professionals who specialize in the three key stages in the supply chain, this chapter concludes that the transition to sustainability is possible if technology is not just regarded as a tool to reduce carbon emissions, but used to materialize the sustainable design philosophy and integrated into the sustainability rebranding process in the whole supply chain from beginning to end
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