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This paper seeks to develop a business model depicting the relationship between harmony, cooperation, and international joint ventures (IJV) performance.

The paper takes the form of a quantitative empirical study with the aim of making a contribution to the knowledge of the effects of harmony and cooperation on IJV performance. An interviewer‐administered questionnaire survey method was used for data collection.

The business model supports the proposed existence that harmony has both direct and indirect effects on IJV performance. While interorganizational harmony directly affects the performance of the company, it promotes cooperation and in turn enhances performance.

Owing to the exploratory nature of this study, the findings are indicative rather than conclusive. Future studies should be conducted to examine the validity and generalizability of this model in other cultural contexts.

This study provides empirical support for the importance of harmony and cooperation in conducting business in China, and it has significant implications for international marketers. When formulating new venture strategies in the greater China market, the model developed in this study can help to gauge the degrees of harmony and cooperation held by IJV partners.

This study demonstrates and validates the importance of harmony and cooperation in business ventures in general and in the Chinese business environment in particular. This study also signals that there are important implications for future research in emerging or transitional economies.

This research outlines the Hong Kong film industry with examination of key actors, directors, films, and production companies within the martial arts genre of Hong Kong Action Cinema. Hong Kong Film Award winners and nominees, core films within genres, and core reference works both general and theoretical from experts in the field of Hong Kong martial arts film research have been highlighted. Web sites are suggested that provide reviews of Hong Kong martial arts films, biographical information on a variety of actors and actresses as well as comprehensive bibliographic information on select films. Also included are commercial Web sites that provide Hong Kong martial arts films.

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.

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.

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.

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.

China’s economy is transforming at a brisk pace. A partially dismantled command economy and introduction of competition have fueled consumer demand for a greater selection of innovative new products in the retail market. The challenge for retail buyers is to adjust their procurement processes to respond to consumer needs in an efficient and effective manner. This study examines factors influencing buyer‐supplier relationships in a transition economy. We present a model to explain the factors driving retail buyer dependence on suppliers. We find that retailer evaluation of supplier credibility mediates the relationship between retailer perceptions of a supplier ability to add value to its business and the ability to achieve its desired goals. In part, this is due to the supplier’s market orientation. Interestingly, guanxi ties have no impact on the retailer perceptions of the supplier credibility, but have a positive affect on retailer dependence on its supplier partners.

Drawing on the theoretical underpinnings of job crafting, this study aims to investigate how and when internal marketing orientation (IMO) promotes employees’ positive word of mouth (PWOM).

The two-wave, multisource data came from frontline employees and their supervisors in a hotel located in Eastern China. The hypothesized relationships were tested with Mplus with multilevel path analysis.

The results reveal that IMO encourages frontline employees to change the task, cognitive and relational boundaries of their jobs. Nevertheless, it is through relational crafting that IMO ultimately affects employees’ PWOM, especially when they work with supervisors high in felt responsibility for constructive change (FRCC).

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first studies to investigate how organizations and supervisors can work together to encourage frontline employees’ PWOM.

The findings carry important implications for practitioners on how to encourage frontline employees’ PWOM in the service sector.

First, this research adds to the limited knowledge of how organizations and supervisors can work together to promote frontline employees’ PWOM in the service sector. Second, by proposing job crafting as a key intermediary mechanism underlying IMO’s impact on employee PWOM, this research not only offers a new theoretical perspective to understand how to promote frontline employees’ PWOM but also sheds new light on the underlying mechanisms through which IMO exerts its influence on frontline employees. Third, supervisors’ FRCC as a boundary condition of IMO can help service organizations more effectively capitalize on IMO to motivate frontline employees’ engagement in job crafting and subsequent PWOM.

The purpose of this paper is to propos a new measuring instrument for relationship marketing which is uniquely designed for the foodservice industry. In particular, the underlying dimensions of relationship marketing as perceived by customers are identified, and strategies for the enhancement of relationship marketing program are put forward.

The proposed 31-item instrument has been empirically tested for unidimensionality, reliability and validity using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis

A factorial analysis suggests that relationship marketing is a multidimensional construct consisting of four key dimensions namely communication, trust, empathy and commitment.

Communication emphasizes the necessity to communicate in understandable way; trust refers to the ability to inspire confidence; empathy stresses on the importance of exhibiting sympathy and reassurance; and commitment describes the desire to provide excellent service. A subsequent multiple regression analysis reveals that all the dimensions are positively correlated with customer loyalty and trust was the most important dimension.

Building strong relationships with customers to gain competitive advantage and customer loyalty is crucial for survival and success in today's business environment. As competition is becoming more intense, customers are increasingly demanding and price sensitive. Although the relationship marketing discipline is relatively well researched, the measuring instrument is limited and practically non-existent in the foodservice industry.