David Yoon Kin Tong and Xue Fa Tong
The purpose of this paper is to explore accountancy students’ pre‐employment decisions as regards pursuing a career after completing an internship. The paper aims to analyse the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore accountancy students’ pre‐employment decisions as regards pursuing a career after completing an internship. The paper aims to analyse the mediating effect of aspects of students’ training experience in firms as direct/indirect factors which influence their career decisions.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected from a class after the students had completed internships and analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The aim was to establish a model after nesting the second‐order confirmatory analysis of the data. The final stage was to analyse multiple mediating factors, such as the type of company (TOC) and the students’ opinion of the company.
Findings
The interns perceived opportunities for promotion in accounting firms as a long‐term advantage over salary and benefits and as a key criterion for pursuing a career in accountancy. The results indicate that person‐job (P‐J) fit affects students’ career choice more than person‐organisation (P‐O) fit, and that students’ negative opinion of the company environment mediates their intention to pursue a career in the firm after graduation.
Research limitations/implications
The sample size of 121 students was limited by the number of student intake per year and the study was conducted based on per intake. This may limit the generalisability of the results.
Practical implications
The internship coordinators should provide sufficient information to students about the expectations of accounting firms before embarking on them and encourage an open feedback loop when they return from training to improve the internship programmes. Accounting firms, in turn, should prepare comprehensive work schedules that balance out routine administrative work with challenging auditing or tax tasks. These would improve the students’ judgement and lead them to better decisions to pursue the career and reduce turnover.
Originality/value
This study highlights the importance of the transitional career decisions of graduating students as regards pursuing a career in accountancy, and therefore adds to the second cycle of early employment among college graduates in the vocational literature. It also confirms the mediating factors which indirectly affect students’ career decisions and therefore how firms can improve these circumstances for future recruitment.
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David Yoon Kin Tong, Kim Piew Lai and Xue Fa Tong
The purpose of this paper is to examine ladies' buying behaviour during shoes sales promotions in Malaysia, using the highly validated Belk's Model.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine ladies' buying behaviour during shoes sales promotions in Malaysia, using the highly validated Belk's Model.
Design/methodology/approach
Using this validated model, the main research framework consists of Social Surroundings (SS), Temporal Perspective (TP), Task Definition (TD), Physical Surrounding (PS), used as predictors for Sales Promotion Purchase (SPP). Ethnic groups are used as a moderator for this study.
Findings
The results identify few key predictors during shoes sales promotion. Ladies expressed the importance of first day sales for first buyer's advantage, and they preferred large shops with music. Moreover, due to the multi‐racial society in the country, ethnic group interaction on the model did not indicate impact of consumer differences affecting the sales promotion purchase. That is, during a specific festive season sale, all ethnic groups take full advantages of the sale.
Research limitations/implications
This implies that Belk's Model is still applicable even in multi sales promotions for a specific product – shoes. However, the study may have the slight possibility of biases due to the retrospective accounts of recalling purchase involvement in retails shop(s) during sale promotions. Nevertheless, it is assumed that these biases are minimal as there are six sales per year in the country, averaging one sale per two months.
Originality/value
This study provides an insight of ladies' purchasing behaviour and their preferred types of retail outlets, which contributes to retail owners' sales promotional strategies to attract consumers during festive seasons.
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David Yoon Kin Tong, Xue Fa Tong and Evon Yin
This study has two aims: first, to develop a conceptual model for infused drinks innovation using the subjective norm and lifestyle as predictors; and second, to adapt the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study has two aims: first, to develop a conceptual model for infused drinks innovation using the subjective norm and lifestyle as predictors; and second, to adapt the beverage science experimental variables and assess young consumers' experience of the taste, mood and health of infused drinks using the moderated mediation method.
Design/methodology/approach
Using quota sampling, the data were collected from three faculties in a private university. The conceptual model was developed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The model was validated by the first‐ and second‐order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of SEM. The multi‐dimensional variables of the taste, mood and health of the infused drinks were computed by the moderated mediation process and the final mediation effects were confirmed using Aroian tests.
Findings
The subjective norm and lifestyle variables predict innovation in infused soft drinks. The results from the moderated mediation analyses indicate that both male and female young consumers prefer the innovation of drinks to suit local tastes and be produced locally; the drinks should also have health and well‐being benefits.
Research limitations/implications
The sample size of 350 students was sufficient but the generalisability of the result was limited by the students being recruited from one university.
Practical implications
Parents may influence their children to change their favourite drinks if they are expensive. For this reason, the pricing strategy is important to price‐sensitive consumers. Offering favourite infused drinks to friends is often part of the lifestyle in Malaysia. In practice, implied recommendation is possible. If this happens, there is the likelihood that it may be communicated through the social network. Marketers should use this platform for promoting new drinks. Beverage innovators should learn from the local popular infused drinks as the baseline for drinks innovation and should innovate to suit local tastes. In particular, beverage manufacturers should consider satisfying the market segmentations for flavour lovers and health seekers. Lastly, for effective soft drinks advertising, it is recommended that beverage marketers should use trendy components in promotions.
Originality/value
The study highlights the possibility of conducting social research by incorporating variables from experimental studies. By using this method, external validation is possible when the measures are applied in an uncontrived setting. In addition, it could provide a better assessment of consumers' needs for product innovation.
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Ying Ye and Kwok Hung Lau
The purpose of this paper is to put forward a demand chain management (DCM) framework underpinned by the alignment theory and applies it to investigate the fashion apparel (FA…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to put forward a demand chain management (DCM) framework underpinned by the alignment theory and applies it to investigate the fashion apparel (FA) industry in China under the impacts of the latest economic transition.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory multiple case study methodology involving five Chinese FA firms, each with a different business model and ownership type, was employed. Semi-structured interviews, onsite observations and review of company documents were conducted to collect information for analysis.
Findings
Using a conceptual DCM framework as a guide for analysis, the study finds that companies with a higher level of alignment with the external market situation and among the three internal DCM dimensions, namely, market management, supply chain management (SCM), and organization management, appear to perform better under the rapidly changing economic conditions in China.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to knowledge by reviewing thoroughly the literature on SCM evolution and develops a DCM framework based on alignment theory that represents the state of the art in this area. By extending the administration-integration-production-development (A-I-P-D) logic set adopted in the alignment theory, this study has also equipped the proposed framework with an empirical tool to measure alignment.
Practical implications
By applying the framework to examine the Chinese apparel industry under the impacts of the latest economic transition, this study provides practitioners in the industry with a framework to help formulate strategies and a tool to measure alignment. The findings of the case study also offer insights to the industry to thrive in the rapidly changing businesses environment with dynamic uncertainties.
Originality/value
This study extends the application of the A-I-P-D logic set under the alignment theory to the SCM field. This endeavor successfully transforms the proposed DCM framework from a theoretical concept to a practical tool to help evaluate empirically the alignment and strategic fit of a firm and potential relationship with firm performance. As the Chinese FA market has increasingly evolved under the impact of the globalization, the findings of this study not only assist the local FA companies in coping with the dynamic uncertainties but also shed light on the future developments of the global FA industry. Besides, the alignment measurement tool embedded in the proposed DCM framework can help enhance the chances of business success during implementation.
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Since the beginning of the new millennium, Confucian doctrines on one’s self-cultivation have been re-introduced to curriculum in China. The revived cherish of the Confucian…
Abstract
Since the beginning of the new millennium, Confucian doctrines on one’s self-cultivation have been re-introduced to curriculum in China. The revived cherish of the Confucian legacy in the twenty-first century is a reverse from the official rejection of Confucianism in the Mao era (1950–1976). It also appears as a counterweight to the individualism proliferating among the Chinese youths born at the beginning of the new millennium (Gen Z). The re-introduction of Confucianism is thus ideologically purposeful. Yet how does the mixed exposure to Confucius’ legacy and the modern idea of self-awareness impact this cohort of young people, in particular their way of learning? This chapter focusses on Chinese Gen Z studying in Australia. Using the Bourdieuan theory of human habitus, this chapter examines how these students negotiate between the ideas of self-cultivation and self-awareness, and what implications such experiences have in an intercultural academic community.
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Mian Wang and Yajing Feng
Special education in China has lagged behind regular education for many years, however, the past few decades, the government has made considerable efforts to develop and improve…
Abstract
Special education in China has lagged behind regular education for many years, however, the past few decades, the government has made considerable efforts to develop and improve the special education system. While the citizens of China have had a generic moral interest in disability since ancient times, the development of special education schools did not occur until American and European missionaries started schools for the visually and hearing impaired in the 19th century. The next major influence in the development of the special education system occurred with China’s Cultural Revolution in 1978. Interestingly, there is not any exclusive legislation on special education but in the 1980s, the government started Learning in Regular Classrooms (LRC), which is China’s version of inclusion. LRC has progressed rapidly the past two decades; however, the quality of instruction is low due to a lack of specialists, a shortage of personnel, inadequate funding, and limited technology as well as other barriers that are delineated in the chapter. The chapter emphasizes the government’s recent efforts in in-service teacher training, the preparation of preservice teachers, working with families, developing community rehabilitation training programs, and implementing evidence-based practices. Special education in China today is at a good place but it has quite a way from the ideal situation.
Considers TQM from a cultural perspective using the influence of Confucian work dynamism and Chinese cultural beliefs on Hong Kong companies. Asks if these cultural beliefs…
Abstract
Considers TQM from a cultural perspective using the influence of Confucian work dynamism and Chinese cultural beliefs on Hong Kong companies. Asks if these cultural beliefs conflict with modern quality management philosophy and presents the findings of research covering Chinese literature, experts in Chinese philosophy and Hong Kong TQM experts. Outlines research methods and concludes that there are relevant principles which can be used when implementing TQM.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyze long-term institutional causes and consequences of preference falsification by studying the evolution of China’s patriarchal clan system.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze long-term institutional causes and consequences of preference falsification by studying the evolution of China’s patriarchal clan system.
Design/methodology/approach
The historic study shows that although the clan system was abolished in the Qin dynasty, it re-emerged among high-standing families in the Han dynasty and spread to common people after the Tang dynasty.
Findings
The author submits that the clan system was an institutional response to the preference falsification problem that arose due to the dictatorial political institutions first established in the Qin dynasty. It helped people to take collective action by themselves and also opened a back door to influence government decisions. A piece of clear evidence is the co-evolution of the clan system and government personnel system.
Social implications
In this sense, the clan system probably also helped to prolong the political institutions for 2,000 years.
Originality/value
This is the first institutional study on the clan system in China.
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Rihui Ouyang, Wenjun Jing, Zhongyuan Liu and Aidi Tang
China has fully capitalized on the opportunities presented by the latest wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation, paving the way for a path with Chinese…
Abstract
Purpose
China has fully capitalized on the opportunities presented by the latest wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation, paving the way for a path with Chinese characteristics in the development of the digital economy. This paper analyzes the development of China’s digital economy, outlining its path, advantages and challenges. It aims to provide insights into how China capitalized on technological and industrial transformation to foster a digital economy with distinct Chinese characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts a descriptive analytical approach to outline the evolution of China’s digital economy through various stages of development. It highlights the pivotal role of market demand, the intricate government-market relations and technological advancements in shaping this evolution. The approach also identifies key factors that have contributed significantly to China’s success in digital economy development.
Findings
The key findings reveal that China’s digital economy has grown rapidly, driven by market demand, technological innovation and government support. The “Chinese path” prioritizes consumer internet, leverages scale advantages and emphasizes data-driven development. However, challenges exist in balancing governance systems, endogenous growth and external environments.
Originality/value
This paper offers original insights into the unique development path of China’s digital economy, highlighting its advantages and challenges. It provides valuable insights for other countries seeking to foster their own digital economies, especially in managing government-market relations and leveraging domestic market demand.
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China has a bad reputation — justified or not — for corruption: in a recent Transparency International survey, it was listed by US and European businesspeople as one of the three…
Abstract
China has a bad reputation — justified or not — for corruption: in a recent Transparency International survey, it was listed by US and European businesspeople as one of the three most corrupt countries in Asia, though its ranking fell slightly in 1996. A national survey revealed that ordinary Chinese regard corruption as the most serious problem after inflation, though 52 per cent expressed doubt that the Government could do anything about it. In 1995, in Beijing alone, 1,085 cases of corruption were uncovered. In 1996, in the Working Report of the Supreme Peoples's Procuratorate, the Chief Procurator Zhang Siqing observed: