Meng Yuan Jen and Shun-mei Wang
The purpose of this paper is to provide an exploratory study of how Taiwanese consumer concerns about sustainability issues relating to pork are linked to their purchasing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an exploratory study of how Taiwanese consumer concerns about sustainability issues relating to pork are linked to their purchasing behaviours, using the case of “warm” meat.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews of a cluster random sample of meat-purchasing consumers in Taiwan. The study data are analysed in light of grounded theory, to provide a clearer understanding of interviewees’ sustainability concerns arising from meat consumption.
Findings
Results indicate that consumers do make meat-purchasing decisions based on to their sustainability concerns, and that there are a wide variety of such concerns, which can be broadly categorised as food security, animal welfare, and the environment. These implicate a variety of factors including ways of selling (e.g. fresh or frozen), the provision of information about production methods, certification, and traceability. By comparing consumers in supermarkets and traditional markets, the paper identifies divergent perspectives on food security in the context of local dining culture, and concludes that trust is a significant factor influencing purchasing behaviour.
Originality/value
Prior research about consumers’ meat-purchasing habits and sustainability concerns is limited and de-contextualised. The present findings have implications for future communications to consumers, in that greater emphasis should be given to the local cultural contexts of food. It will be valuable to academics, livestock producers, consumer organisations, and policymakers interested in enhancing communication and trust between and among producers, consumers, retailers and government agencies.
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This paper aims to collect and compile the historical data of Guanfu Salt Farm, officially built by the Song Dynasty (960–1279) within modern Hong Kong territories, to reconstruct…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to collect and compile the historical data of Guanfu Salt Farm, officially built by the Song Dynasty (960–1279) within modern Hong Kong territories, to reconstruct its history for the reflection of Hong Kong society of the time.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is largely based on identification and analysis of historical documents, including keyword search on electronic databases and verification with the original sources, with reference to archaeological findings when necessary.
Findings
This paper reconstructs the history of Guanfu Salt Farm based on documentary sources with reference to archaeological findings. English translation of Chinese sources is also provided when necessary.
Originality/value
There has been an absence of systematic compilation of historical data of Hong Kong during the Song Dynasty, which are limited in quantity and scattered across different sources. This paper seeks to fill the vacuum of knowledge about pre-colonial Hong Kong, with a more comprehensive reconstruction of the history of Guanfu Salt Farm.
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This paper is a study of the current trends and conditions of electronic resources for Chinese studies, based on a recent survey on the Internet of 29 Chinese libraries in North…
Abstract
This paper is a study of the current trends and conditions of electronic resources for Chinese studies, based on a recent survey on the Internet of 29 Chinese libraries in North America and eight Chinese libraries in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The survey discussed current electronic resources for Chinese studies, with a union list of major Chinese language databases currently used in libraries in Asia and the US. Current views on the use and development of electronic resources for Chinese studies were summarised.
Florin Aliu, Simona Hašková and Ujkan Q. Bajra
The stability of exchange rates facilitates international trade, diminishes portfolio risk, and ensures that economic policies are effective. The war in Ukraine is showing that…
Abstract
Purpose
The stability of exchange rates facilitates international trade, diminishes portfolio risk, and ensures that economic policies are effective. The war in Ukraine is showing that the European financial system is still fragile to external shocks. This paper examines the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on five Euro exchange rates. The final goal is to empirically test whether the ruble caused the euro to depreciate with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Design/methodology/approach
The exchange rates analyzed are Euro/Russian Ruble, Euro/US Dollar, Euro/Japanese Yen, Euro/British Pound, and Euro/Chinese Yuan. The data collected are daily and cover the period from November 1, 2021, to May 1, 2022. In this context, the changes in the FX rates reflect two months of the ongoing war in Ukraine. The FX rates used in the study contain 137 observations indicating five months of daily series.
Findings
The results from impulse response function, variance decomposition, SVAR, and VECM indicate that the EUR/RUB significantly influenced the Euro devaluation. On the other side, the FX rates used in our work altogether hold long-run cointegration. The situation is different in the short run, where only EUR/RUB, EUR/USD, and EUR/CNY possess significant relations with other parities.
Originality/value
The Ruble is not among hard currencies, but its position strengthened during this period due to the importance of Russian gas to the Eurozone. The results indicate that even weak currencies can be influential depending on the geopolitical and economic situation. To this end, diversification remains a valid concept not only in portfolio construction but also for the preservation of the national economy.
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The Communist revolution in China has led to the appearance in this country of increasing numbers of Chinese books in Russian translation. The Chinese names in Cyrillic…
Abstract
The Communist revolution in China has led to the appearance in this country of increasing numbers of Chinese books in Russian translation. The Chinese names in Cyrillic transcription have presented many librarians and students with a new problem, that of identifying the Cyrillic form of a name with the customary Wade‐Giles transcription. The average cataloguer, the first to meet the problem, has two obvious lines of action, and neither is satisfactory. He can save up the names until he has a chance to consult an expert in Chinese. Apart altogether from the delay, the expert, confronted with a few isolated names, might simply reply that he could do nothing without the Chinese characters, and it is only rarely that Soviet books supply them. Alternatively, he can transliterate the Cyrillic letters according to the system in use in his library and leave the matter there for fear of making bad worse. As long as the writers are not well known, he may feel only faintly uneasy; but the appearance of Chzhou Ėn‐lai (or Čžou En‐laj) upsets his equanimity. Obviously this must be entered under Chou; and we must have Mao Tse‐tung and not Mao Tsze‐dun, Ch'en Po‐ta and not Chėn' Bo‐da. But what happens when we have another . . . We can hardly write Ch'en unless we know how to represent the remaining elements in the name; yet we are loth to write Ch'en in one name and Chėn' in another.
Yamin Xie, Zhichao Li, Wenjing Ouyang and Hongxia Wang
Political factors play a crucial role in China's initial public offering (IPO) market due to its distinctive institutional context (i.e. “economic decentralization” and “political…
Abstract
Purpose
Political factors play a crucial role in China's initial public offering (IPO) market due to its distinctive institutional context (i.e. “economic decentralization” and “political centralization”). Given the significant level of IPO underpricing in China, we examine the impact of local political uncertainty (measured by prefecture-level city official turnover rate) on IPO underpricing.
Design/methodology/approach
Using 2,259 IPOs of A-share listed companies from 2001 to 2019, we employ a structural equation model (SEM) to examine the channel (voluntarily lower the issuance price vs aftermarket trading) through which political uncertainty affects IPO underpricing. We check the robustness of the results using bootstrap tests, adopting alternative proxies for political uncertainty and IPO underpricing and employing subsample analysis.
Findings
Local official turnover-induced political uncertainty increases IPO underpricing by IPO firms voluntarily reducing the issuance price rather than by affecting investor sentiment in aftermarket trading. These relations are stronger in firms with pre-IPO political connections. The effect of political uncertainty on IPO underpricing is also contingent upon the industry and the growth phase of an IPO firm, more pronounced in politically sensitive industries and firms listed on the growth enterprise market board.
Originality/value
Local government officials in China usually have a short tenure and Chinese firms witness significantly severe IPO underpricing. By introducing the SEM model in studying China IPO underpricing, this study identifies the channel through which local government official turnover to political uncertainty on IPO underpricing.
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Yi-Chun Huang, Elaine Quintana Borazon and Jen-Ming Liu
Environmental sustainability is one of the most pressing issues faced by the electric and electronics industry today. Industries are being challenged to incorporate environmental…
Abstract
Purpose
Environmental sustainability is one of the most pressing issues faced by the electric and electronics industry today. Industries are being challenged to incorporate environmental initiatives in their corporate strategies. Thus, this study aims to investigate the impact of stakeholder pressures (regulatory, internal and market) on green supply chain management and green corporate resources as well as their effects on the economic and environmental performance of Taiwan's electric and electronic industry.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 194 valid questionnaires were collected out of the 1,000 questionnaires distributed to Taiwan's electric and electronic product manufacturers. A structural equation modeling, using Amos 22.0, was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results of the analyses show that stakeholder pressure has a significant positive impact on corporate green resources and green supply chain management practices while green supply chain management practices have a significant and positive impact on organizational performance. Moreover, corporate green resources provide a mediation between organizational stakeholder pressure and green supply chain management.
Practical implications
The results may be of value and interest to supply chain managers and policymakers on the push factors for implementing green supply chain management practices and their consequences.
Originality/value
This paper shows the complementarity of stakeholder and resource-based theories in influencing organizational performance in the electric and electronic industry in the context of sustainable development. This also enhances the understanding of the antecedents and consequences of green supply chain management and provides robust findings on the relationship between environmental and economic performance.
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Francisco Peco-Torres, Ana I. Polo-Peña and Dolores M. Frías-Jamilena
This study aims to determine whether the consumer’s information literacy self-efficacy plays a role in their intention to resume their consumption of tourist services �…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to determine whether the consumer’s information literacy self-efficacy plays a role in their intention to resume their consumption of tourist services – specifically, hotel accommodation – in the context of the “new normal” brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative empirical study is performed on hotel accommodation consumers and a structural equation modeling analysis is used to verify the proposed relationships.
Findings
The findings reveal that the tourist’s information literacy self-efficacy – their ability to find the information they need, use it efficiently and discount fake news – positively influences their perception of hotel safety; and perceived hotel safety increases tourist intention to return to consuming hotel services.
Practical implications
The results show how the consumer’s intention to return to using hotel services can be enhanced because of their management of information, especially in a crisis context. Hotel firms must position the provision of safety information at the heart of their marketing and communications strategies, and adapt this information to the different processing capabilities of consumers.
Social implications
This study provides valuable insights into the hotel industry – a major contributor to gross domestic product and employment worldwide that is being particularly hard-hit by the COVID-19 crisis.
Originality/value
This study represents an advance in the literature as it demonstrates – as a novelty – the vital role of consumer information literacy self-efficacy in encouraging people to begin visiting hotels again in the “new normal.”
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Wanyi Chen and Fanli Meng
Unpredictable economic landscapes have led to a continuous escalation in global economic policy uncertainty (EPU). Improving risk management and sustainability in an environment…
Abstract
Purpose
Unpredictable economic landscapes have led to a continuous escalation in global economic policy uncertainty (EPU). Improving risk management and sustainability in an environment with high macro risk is critical for business development. This study aims to explore the impact of corporate sustainable development on corporate tax risk.
Design/methodology/approach
After using a sample of companies that were A-share listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2011 to 2021, this paper applies ordinary least squares and a moderate effect model.
Findings
Better environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance can weaken corporate tax risk by improving green innovation capability, reputation and information transparency. Meanwhile, the restraining effect of ESG on tax risk was more significant amid high EPU. These impacts were amplified amid higher market competition, lower tax supervision and a lower degree of corporate digital transformation.
Practical implications
The findings emphasize the need for the government to establish a healthy business and tax environment so that enterprises can improve sustainable development and increase their risk management abilities, especially post-COVID-19.
Social implications
This study guides enterprises and the entirety of society to in paying attention to and promoting ESG practices, which can enhance enterprise tax management.
Originality/value
This study expands the research on the economic consequences of sustainable development and the factors influencing corporate tax risk and EPU.