Search results

The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of mainland Chinese hotel firm internationalisation relative to traditional Western internationalisation theory through an analysis of the Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels Group’s joint venture with the Thayer Lodging Group to acquire Interstate Hotels & Resorts.

The case study method was used to examine the three firms involved in the joint venture acquisition. The technique of elite interviews was used to collect primary data. Semi-structured personal interviews were conducted with senior corporate executives who were engaged as principals with the conception, execution and administration of the joint venture. Content analysis was performed with the interview data, seeking themes and patterns consistent with the study purpose.

The findings demonstrated specific characteristics that distinguish the internationalisation that Jin Jiang has pursued. The five distinctive characteristics were as follows: a “leap” market entry mode, a pattern of “a small fish eats a big fish”, a preference for purchasing hotels in the West, capital sourcing from Chinese banks and strategic rather than operational control of the acquired firm.

The findings indicate both similarities and differences between the China context of hotel firm internationalisation and that of Western firms. Theoretical implications are examined through an analysis of Dunning’s OLI (ownership, location, internalisation) framework. Generalisability of empirical findings may be limited by the China context and the unique combination of three firms.

The findings advance our understanding of the relationship between Chinese and Western practices, particularly in the approaches that firms take in internationalisation.

The story reported in this paper is about the first firm internationalisation endeavour in the mainland Chinese hotel industry. This is a landmark event for the international hospitality industry that will have historical significance, and represents the leading edge of mainland Chinese hotel firm cross-border expansion. This study contributes an early analysis of how the Chinese hotel sector may approach internationalisation.

The purpose of this paper is to present an investigation of the effect of different gravity conditions on the penetration mechanism using the two-dimensional Distinct Element Method (DEM), which ranges from high gravity used in centrifuge model tests to low gravity incurred by serial parabolic flight, with the aim of efficiently analyzing cone penetration tests on the lunar surface.

Seven penetration tests were numerically simulated on loose granular ground under different gravity conditions, i.e. one-sixth, one-half, one, five, ten, 15 and 20 terrestrial gravities. The effect of gravity on the mechanisms is examined with aspect to the tip resistance, deformation pattern, displacement paths, stress fields, stress paths, strain and rotation paths, and velocity fields during the penetration process.

First, under both low and high gravities, the penetration leads to high gradients of the value and direction of stresses in addition to high gradients in the velocity field near the penetrometer. In addition, the soil near the penetrometer undergoes large rotations of the principal stresses. Second, high gravity leads to a larger rotation of principal stresses and more downward particle motions than low gravity. Third, the tip resistance increases with penetration depth and gravity. Both the maximum (steady) normalized cone tip resistance and the maximum normalized mean (deviatoric) stress can be uniquely expressed by a linear equation in terms of the reciprocal of gravity.

This study investigates the effect of different gravity conditions on penetration mechanisms by using DEM.

This paper aims to give a snapshot of planning, building and developing the information commons at a comprehensive research university library in China. It seeks to frame and confirm a new and effective strategy for the future development of university libraries illustrated by its actually positive outcomes.

The paper begins with an overview of information commons as a major international concern that represents a strategic direction of library development, followed by the changing academic landscape in China. It then explains the background and process of building the information commons at Sichuan University Jiang'an Library with its emphasis on its positive outcomes, illustrated by the latest factual data compared with other university libraries in Sichuan. It also discusses the future prospects of developing the information commons.

The paper reveals that information commons is undergoing its international journey from theory to practice and has proved its positive impact on improving the usage of physical and virtual space, resources and services of university libraries in the changing information environment.

Detailed recommendations regarding the construction and development of information commons in Chinese university libraries are provided.

This case study offers insight into practical and effective approaches to enhancing the usage of university libraries in China and emphasizes the importance of integrating the actual situation and background of the university, the region and the nation.

The purpose of this study is to present a newly proposed and developed sorting algorithm-based merging weighted fraction Monte Carlo (SAMWFMC) method for solving the population balance equation for the weighted fraction coagulation process in aerosol dynamics with high computational accuracy and efficiency.

In the new SAMWFMC method, the jump Markov process is constructed as the weighted fraction Monte Carlo (WFMC) method (Jiang and Chan, 2021) with a fraction function. Both adjustable and constant fraction functions are used to validate the computational accuracy and efficiency. A new merging scheme is also proposed to ensure a constant-number and constant-volume scheme.

The new SAMWFMC method is fully validated by comparing with existing analytical solutions for six benchmark test cases. The numerical results obtained from the SAMWFMC method with both adjustable and constant fraction functions show excellent agreement with the analytical solutions and low stochastic errors. Compared with the WFMC method (Jiang and Chan, 2021), the SAMWFMC method can significantly reduce the stochastic error in the total particle number concentration without increasing the stochastic errors in high-order moments of the particle size distribution at only slightly higher computational cost.

The WFMC method (Jiang and Chan, 2021) has a stringent restriction on the fraction functions, making few fraction functions applicable to the WFMC method except for several specifically selected adjustable fraction functions, while the stochastic error in the total particle number concentration is considerably large. The newly developed SAMWFMC method shows significant improvement and advantage in dealing with weighted fraction coagulation process in aerosol dynamics and provides an excellent potential to deal with various fraction functions with higher computational accuracy and efficiency.

The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of the internationalisation prospects of Chinese domestic hotel firms.

This study examined the Jin Jiang Hotel Group, China's largest domestic hotel firm. The qualitative method of semi‐structured personal interviews was selected in the design of this exploratory study to address the research question: What are the factors guiding Jin Jiang's considerations for internationalisation? Personal interviews were conducted with the senior corporate headquarters' management in Shanghai.

The findings indicate that the firm is in a stage of pre‐internationalisation in its organisational development, and has adopted a cautious and passive approach on its path towards internationalisation. This paper identifies company abilities, government support, marketing and brand strategy, network and management standards, state‐owned enterprise (SOE) related problems, human resources and other external opportunities/challenges as factors that may affect the firm's internationalisation.

This paper develops a better understanding of the evolution of Chinese SOEs' internal capabilities as internationally competitive providers of hospitality management services. It also explores the nature of relevant relationships that will determine the activities, pace, and progress along such firms' internationalisation paths. The paper specifically provides understanding of a firm's prospects of internationalisation, internationalisation activities that the firm has already undertaken, factors that support or inhibit internationalisation, and future intentions and plans for internationalisation.

This paper analyses factors underlying a Chinese SOE domestic hotel firm's approach to internationalisation. While most internationalisation studies are conducted after the firm has already internationalised, this study examines the pre‐internationalisation stage.

This study investigate the correlation between authoritarian leadership and organizational deviance. Furthermore, it seeks to explore the mediating role of emotional exhaustion in this relationship.

The data were obtained from 398 frontline service employees and their immediate supervisors at 25 five-star hotels. Data were collected on different occasions.

The results indicate that authoritarian leadership has a positive and significant relationship with organizational deviance. We also conclude that emotional exhaustion mediates the relationship between authoritarian leadership and organizational deviance.

The present research suggests that managers can decrease emotional exhaustion and, consequently, organizational deviance, by avoiding an authoritarian leadership style. Additionally, the theoretical and managerial implications of the present study can be utilized to reduce organizational deviance.

The present study adds to the existing literature on authoritarian leadership, emotional exhaustion and organizational deviance by offering a possible explanation for how emotional exhaustion mediates the relationship between authoritarian leadership and organizational deviance.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the key factors in generating trust, and the effects of trust on the intention to cooperate in energy performance contracting (EPC), from the perspective of energy saving companies (ESCOs).

A questionnaire survey was undertaken to collect the data from the experienced project managers in ESCOs. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.

The results revealed that competence, integrity, communication, reciprocity and contract had positive effects on calculative trust and relational trust. Both calculative trust and relational trust, in turn, were found to have positive effects on the intention to cooperate.

The conclusions are derived from the Chinese cultural background and may apply to a certain geographical scope. In addition, this study focused on the perspective of ESCOs but did not consider that of facility owners.

This research would supply guidance for facility owners or users to cultivate trust from ESCOs and achieve cooperation in EPC.

Most of the existing studies have focused on the perspective of facility owners while few have attempted to investigate the perspective of ESCOs. This study contributes to the knowledge body relating to EPC by investigating the relationship between trust and the intention to cooperate from the perspective of ESCOs. In addition, most EPC studies recognized trust as a condition for the successful execution of EPC projects but failed to consider the role of trust in setting up the cooperation relationship prior to project execution.

This study aims to examine the role of face consciousness, materialism and risk of embarrassment in determining consumer purchase intention toward counterfeit luxury brand. In addition, the authors explore boundary conditions of these relationships.

Study 1, a survey research (N = 321), examines the mediating role of risk of embarrassment between face consciousness on the purchase intention toward luxury counterfeits. Study 2 (N = 345), an experimental study, examines the moderating role of brand prominence of counterfeit (i.e. whether it contains prominent brand signals). Study 3 (N = 315) explores how the above-mentioned relationships are moderated by consumers’ moral rationalization (i.e. whether consumers seek rationalization when behaving unethically).

First, this research shows that risk of embarrassment mediates the negative relationship between face consciousness and Chinese consumers’ purchase intention toward luxury counterfeits, whereas this relationship was not found between materialism and counterfeit purchase intentions. Second, this negative mediating effect holds only when the counterfeit brand is highly prominent. Third, the mediating effect depends on consumers’ moral rationalization, with a positive impact on the purchase intention toward luxury counterfeits, regardless of brand prominence.

This study represents a preliminary inquiry into the dynamics between face consciousness and materialism in influencing Chinese consumers’ purchase intention toward counterfeit luxury products. Unlike their Western counterparts, whose materialistic views of possessions predict their counterfeit luxury consumption (Davidson et al., 2019), Chinese consumers are more likely to be driven by the social implications of counterfeit luxury to communicate a prestigious social image to others on account of genuine luxuries’ high social recognition.

While Chinese consumers are one of the most potent global luxury buyers, they are immersed in the world’s biggest counterfeit luxury market. By digging into the core value of Chinese consumers (i.e. face consciousness), this research provides a number of managerial implications for luxury goods companies to engage in international efforts to educate consumers against counterfeit luxury.

This study makes at least three contributions to the counterfeit consumption literature. First, this study represents a preliminary inquiry into the dynamics between face consciousness and materialism in influencing Chinese consumers’ purchase intention toward counterfeit luxury products. Second, this research identified the complex mechanism of face consciousness as an independent variable on consumers’ purchase intention toward luxury counterfeits. Finally, the authors examined the boundary conditions of brand prominence and consumers’ moral rationalization. The findings may help luxury brand managers identify strategies to discourage counterfeit consumption.

Workplace thriving is a psychological state that promotes employee health and development. In addition to presenting a useful instrument that captures the nature of a thriving work life in China, the purpose of this paper is to investigate important factors that influence one’s thriving status within this national context.

Using diverse approaches across different samples, Study 1 contextualized the content of a workplace thriving scale (WTS) to fit the Chinese context. Study 2 tested the effects of learning goal orientation, exploration at work and role ambiguity on workplace thriving, employing a mediation model. As a supplement, Study 3 examined the test–retest reliability of workplace thriving.

Study 1 confirmed that in the Chinese setting, workplace thriving is a higher order construct represented by both a sense of learning and a sense of vitality. Study 2 found that learning goal orientation and exploration at work fostered thriving, while role ambiguity reduced thriving. Also, exploration mediated the relationship between learning goal orientation and thriving. Study 3 verified that the WTS was reliable over time in the Chinese setting, further increasing the reliability of results from Studies 1 and 2.

By rigorously and formally contextualizing the concept/construct of workplace thriving in China, this paper is informative for future research on thriving at work in Eastern cultures.

This study aims to examine the joint impact of customer mistreatment (external stressor) and team performance pressure (internal stressor) on employees’ proactive customer service performance (PCSP) using the stressor-emotion model.

The sample consisted of 220 employees and 54 branch leaders from a large restaurant chain in China. This study conducted a multi-time and multi-source design study using Mplus 7.4 to examine the hypotheses.

Customer mistreatment has a positive effect on employees’ emotional exhaustion, which further reduces PCSP. Team performance pressure strengthens the dysfunctional effect of customer mistreatment on emotional exhaustion, whereas leaders’ positive affective presence mitigates the negative relationship between emotional exhaustion and PCSP.

This study investigates how internal and external stressors jointly affect employees’ PCSP. Thus, it provides a comprehensive perspective of employee stress management and active service management for organization managers.

基于压力源-情绪模型, 本研究旨在了解客户不当对待（外部压力源）和团队绩效压力（内部压力源）如何共同影响员工的主动对客服务绩效。

我们的样本来自中国一家大型连锁餐厅的220名员工和54名分店负责人。我们进行了多时间和多来源设计, 并采用Mplus 7.4检验所有假设。

客户不当对待会导致员工情绪衰竭, 进而降低主动对客服务绩效。团队绩效压力加强了客户不当对待对员工情绪衰竭的消极影响,而领导者积极情感体现可以减弱员工情绪衰竭对其员工主动对客服务绩效的负面影响。

本文的贡献是全面探讨内部和外部压力源如何共同影响员工的主动对客服务绩效, 从而为组织管理者提供一个更全面的员工压力管理和主动服务管理的视角。

Este estudio examina el impacto conjunto de los abusos de los clientez (estresor externo) y la presión sobre el rendimiento del equipo (estresor interno) en el rendimiento proactivo del servicio al cliente (PCSP) de los empleados utilizando el modelo estresor-emoción.

Nuestra muestra está formada por 220 empleados y 54 jefes de establecimientos pertenecientes a una gran cadena de restaurantes de China. Realizamos un diseño multitemporal y multifuente con Mplus 7.4 para examinar todas las hipótesis.

Los abusos de los clientes tienen un efecto positivo sobre el agotamiento emocional de los empleados, lo que reduce aún más la PCSP. La presión sobre el rendimiento del equipo refuerza el efecto disfuncional del abuso de los clientes sobre el agotamiento emocional, mientras que la presencia afectiva positiva de los líderes mitiga la relación negativa entre el agotamiento emocional y la PCSP.

Este artículo contribuye a investigar cómo los factores estresantes internos y externos afectan conjuntamente a la PCSP de los empleados. Proporciona una perspectiva más completa de la gestión del estrés de los empleados y de la gestión activa de los servicios para los directivos de las organizaciones.