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Examines the recent research on advertising in mainland China over the 1979‐1998 period. Suggests that findings show a sustained effort in academic research/publications on advertising in China is in the early stage of its development and whilst many areas have been researched, there are many more yet to be touched. Concludes that the research is seldom based on established theoretical or conceptual framework and the research methods and types of analysis used have not been very advanced when compared to general advertising research.

Data from 295 salespersons of a life insurance company in Hong Kong were used to test the relationships among organizational variables, role stress variables, job satisfaction, and propensity to leave. Based on previous conceptual and empirical work on role stress, an integrative method was estimated and analyzed by using a confirmatory methodology. Findings showed the data fitted the proposed model well. The results suggest that an awareness of the antecedents and consequences of role stress among life insurance salespersons can be of value to both marketing academicians and professionals.

The market orientation concept has received increasing research attention, although the vast majority of published work has focused on organizations based in western countries, especially in the USA. Given the importance of globalization, this western focus limits our understanding of the concept in global markets. The purpose of this study is to examine how the context of country/economy affects: levels of market orientation; and the strength of linkages between a company's market orientation and its business performance. Data were collected through a survey of firms in both mainland China and Hong Kong. These two economies were selected because they have similarities in cultural dimensions on the one hand, and differences in economic dimensions on the other. While the results suggest that the proposed conceptual model does generalize to a Chinese context, they also show that the country/economic context influences the impact of market orientation on business performance. However, contrary to our prediction, the country/economic context does not appear to affect the levels of market orientation. The implications of our findings are discussed and the limitations of the study as well as future research directions are also addressed.

A study was conducted to determine the relationship between a firm's role in the competitive environment and the appropriate strategies to use. Using firms sampled from China, it was found that market‐oriented and relationship marketing‐oriented strategies are both important for market leaders, and market‐oriented strategies are the best for market challengers, while relationship marketing‐oriented strategies serve market followers and market nichers best.

Women’s current high levels of education and participation in the labor force have focused attention on their changing lifestyles and consumption patterns, which create a challenge to marketers who are desperate to explore this new market opportunity. This study investigates the significance of the emerging roles of Chinese women in Hong Kong to marketers and also helps to identify some common roles held by Hong Kong females, who are influenced by Chinese and western cultures. Through personal interviews, data were collected in the form of a structured questionnaire from a sample which consisted of 1,000 Chinese females randomly selected in Hong Kong – one of the most important cities in Southern China. This study successfully segmented Hong Kong’s females into three different groups based on six female role orientation dimensions: individualists, traditionalists, and pro‐docietalists. These three groups were found to be statistically significant in demographic characteristics, such as age, educational level, martial status, and number of children, as well as in consumption values associated with purchase decisions. Implications were drawn for marketing practitioners and directions for future research were provided.

Business practitioners are increasingly concerned about stakeholder issues. Although stakeholder orientation (StkO) has important bearings on a company's performance, to date no systematic attempt has been made to develop a valid scale of StkO, or to assess its influence on business performance. The present paper aims to look into ecological validity by attempting to construct and validate the StkO scale developed in China.

Given the literature reviewed, a model is proposed of company performance based on StkOs, which is identified as a one‐dimensional construct consisting of four components. Using a survey design, data were collected from 400 firms in three most important commercial cities of Mainland China with a response rate of 25 percent. Both item analysis and split‐half method were used to purify the measurement scale and to assess its stability. An exploratory factory was used to assess the dimensionality. Its result was subject to a confirmatory factory analysis using AMOS 4.01, which examined the construct, convergent and discriminant validities of StkO. The nomological validity of the scale was assessed by constructing a structural equation model with encouraging indices of goodness of fit.

The findings support the assertion that StkO is a multi‐facet construct consisting of four dimensions. The data indicate that these components are convergent on a common construct and that the relationship of the scale developed in this paper has acceptable discriminant validity and nomological validity.

For practicing managers, the findings reconfirm the long‐held belief that StkO is a crucial factor for business performance. First, the proposed scale could be used as a diagnostic tool to identify areas where the specific improvements are needed and to pinpoint aspects of a firm's StkO that require work. Second, the four components in the StkO model may serve to identify training needs by helping human resources managers so as to better develop a relationship with various stakeholders. Finally, firms may use this framework to develop relevant and effective business strategies and tactics and to set clear policies that balance the relationships and benefits among customers, shareholders, and employees.

Although a large body of research theoretically asserts a positive association between relationship marketing orientation (RMO) and business performance, a valid measure of RMO has not yet been proposed and systematic analysis of its effect on business performance has thus far not been possible. This paper addresses some conceptual and measurement issues related to the study of RMO and its impact on business performance in a service context. It first reviews the concept of RMO and its important dimensions. Next, a measurement scale with acceptable reliability and validity is developed to capture the dimensions of RMO. In turn, analysis of data shows that RMO is positively and significantly associated with sales growth, customer retention, market share, ROI, and overall performance. The implications of these findings are discussed and the limitations of the study as well as future research directions are addressed.

Addresses two important and interrelated questions: (1) Do firms showing an identifiable set of organizational cultural values demonstrate superior strategic marketing effectiveness? (2) What effect does strategic marketing effectiveness have on business performance? The findings from 388 service firms located in Hong Kong suggest that organizational cultural values are related to dimensions of strategic marketing effectiveness. Furthermore, the findings suggest that dimensions of strategic marketing are related to profitability but not to market share. Finally, the findings further show that organizational cultural values affect both directly and indirectly the performance of the company through its impact on marketing effectiveness.

Marketing academics and practitioners have been examining the relationship between relationship marketing orientation (RMO) and business performance and yet, to date, there has been no systematic analysis of its effect on a business’s performance across various industries. This paper compares RMO with market orientation (MO) in terms of their impact on firms’ business performance, with particular interest in three industries. It first reviews the concept of relationship marketing and its relationship with business performance, leading to the development of two hypotheses. Next, a measurement scale was used to capture the dimensions of RMO. The reliability and validity of the scale were briefly described to provide readers the background for data analysis. Then several stepwise regression analyses were performed to test the hypotheses. Results indicated that the hypotheses received support, suggesting that RMO is for every industry with particular importance in the manufacturing industry.

To develop a reliable and valid measuring scale for customer relationship management (CRM).

A series of studies were conducted for the development and validation of multiple measures for the dimensions of CRM. Once the dimensions of CRM were identified, data from study 1 (n=150 business executives attending a part‐time MBA program) were used to select items based on factor analysis. Then, confirmatory factor analyses was used on data obtained from a mail survey of Hong Kong financial firms in study 2 (n=215) to examine factor structure, as well as to provide evidence of dimensionality, scale reliability and validity. Finally, in study 3, data from 276 business executives attending a seminar on CRM were used to test the scale generalizability of CRM measures in various industries.

A reliable and valid scale was developed to measure the four dimensions of CRM: key customer focus, CRM organization, knowledge management and technology‐based CRM.

Since this study was conducted in Hong Kong only, the generalizability of the CRM scale has to be tested in other countries. In addition, cross‐sectional data were used in this study. Future studies should collect time‐series data for the testing of the causal relationship between CRM and business performance.

The findings validate the long‐held belief that CRM is a critical success factor for business performance. Firms wishing to improve their relationships with customers need constantly to monitor their behavioral and internal processes. The proposed scale in this study could be used as a diagnostic tool to identity areas where specific improvements are needed, and to pinpoint aspects of the firm's CRM that require work.

This is the first study to provide a comprehensive, psychometrically sound, and operationally valid measure of a firm's CRM.