Baoguo Xie, Xun Xin and Guanglin Bai
Applying the theory of work adjustment (TWA), the purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the effect of hierarchical plateau on the turnover intention of employees at the…
Abstract
Purpose
Applying the theory of work adjustment (TWA), the purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the effect of hierarchical plateau on the turnover intention of employees at the career establishment stage is mediated by job satisfaction and moderated by person-job fit.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey method was used and data were collected from 248 Chinese employees at the career establishment stage. Hierarchical regression analysis and moderated mediation analysis were used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results demonstrated that hierarchical plateau was positively related to the turnover intention of employees at the career establishment stage and that job satisfaction played a mediating role in the relationship. Person-job fit moderated the relationship between hierarchical plateau and job satisfaction, and the indirect effect of hierarchical plateau on turnover intention via job satisfaction.
Originality/value
This research offers new insights into the links between hierarchical plateau and employees’ work attitudes and withdrawal behaviour within the TWA. The results suggest that managers can lessen the negative effects of hierarchical plateau on employees’ attitudes and withdrawal behaviour by improving employees’ overall person-job fit.
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Tanja Carmel Sargent and Xiao Yang
Textbook content and curricula are artifacts that can serve as indicators of social contexts and societal values. In this chapter, we use qualitative and quantitative content…
Abstract
Textbook content and curricula are artifacts that can serve as indicators of social contexts and societal values. In this chapter, we use qualitative and quantitative content analysis to examine the content of Chinese language arts textbooks for basic education during a period of curriculum reform in China at the start of the 21st century. Given the important role of the Chinese language arts in the socialization of students into official societal values, this study seeks to provide insight into the nature of the official world view in China and addresses the societal ambivalence between global vs. national/local and traditional knowledge vs. Western/contemporary knowledge. We find that there is a slight increase in themes that reflect contemporary global concerns such as creativity and social justice. We also find that, in the face of the globalizing cultural influences of the new millennium, there is a sustained emphasis on the role of the Chinese language curriculum in the transmission of traditional Chinese cultural values and on the cultivation in Chinese students of an appreciation of their rich cultural traditions.
Fidelis Mutisya and Omwoyo Bosire Onyancha
The study examined users' perceived level of service at the African Union Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (AUCHPR) library in Arusha, Tanzania.
Abstract
Purpose
The study examined users' perceived level of service at the African Union Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (AUCHPR) library in Arusha, Tanzania.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted a quantitative approach in line with the tenets of the LibQUAL and SERVQUAL protocols, which were used as theoretical lenses and informed the development of questionnaires which were used to collect data. The target population consisted of 94 library users.
Findings
The study found that the library's best services, in terms of their quality and as perceived by users, lie in its human resources (i.e. affect of service, assurance and responsiveness). On the other hand, the lowest perceived level of services was recorded in the aspects related to information collection and physical facilities (i.e. library as a place and tangibles).
Research limitations/implications
This study was based on the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights library in Arusha, Tanzania. The study covered both internal and external users of the library.
Practical implications
The study identified strengths and weaknesses of the African Court library as far as the perceived level of service is concerned, and the findings can therefore be used to inform decisions on the improvement of quality of the library services. In so doing, the library will be in a stronger position to offer quality services and assist the court in attaining its objectives of promoting and protecting human rights in Africa. With improved library service quality, the non-judicial staff, external users and society in general will stand to benefit from the library.
Originality/value
While drawing lessons from previous service quality studies, this study is the first quality assessment study to be done in the African Court library. It is also the first to use a combination of LibQUAL and SERVQUAL models in the context of the African Court library services.
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Jiawu Dai, Xun Li and Hailong Cai
The purpose of this paper is to measure and examine the relationships between market power, scale economy and productivity for several important food and tobacco industries in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to measure and examine the relationships between market power, scale economy and productivity for several important food and tobacco industries in China.
Design/methodology/approach
The model applied in this paper is based on Hall’s framework (Hall, 1988, 1990) and Klette (1999). The paper relaxes the assumption of constant returns to scale, and estimates market power and rate of returns to scale simultaneously, and then employs a covariance approach to examine the relationship between market power, scale economy and productivity via an unbalanced panel data at firm level.
Findings
Empirical results indicate that all the selected seven food industries are characterized with significant market power, especially for China’s cigarette industry whose markup is as almost five times as the smallest one. In addition, China’s soybean and cigarette sectors are manifested to have scale economy, with return to scale being larger than 1, while the other five sectors are proved to have decreasing returns to scale. Empirical results also provide evidence to support significant negative correlations between market power and scale economy in all sectors, and negative correlations between market power and productivity in most of the selected sectors. While more heterogeneous relationship between scale economy and productivity are found across the selected sectors.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to examine the relationship between market power, scale economy and productivity empirically for Chinese food manufacturers using a firm-level unbalanced panel data. Results which coincide well with the reality provide policy implication on understanding the situation of market structure for China’s food and tobacco industry.
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Jinyun Duan, Dilin Yao, Yue Xu and Linhan Yu
Although domestic research on Chinese management is emerging, a suitable domestic theory is still needed to support and explain Chinese management practice. Given that, this paper…
Abstract
Purpose
Although domestic research on Chinese management is emerging, a suitable domestic theory is still needed to support and explain Chinese management practice. Given that, this paper aims to extract ideas of cultivation from Confucianism and propose a theoretical framework of self-cultivation with a purpose to provide new explanations for domestic (nondomestic as well) management practice.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing from pre-Qin cultivation discourse and management practice, this paper develops a theoretical framework of self-cultivation and discusses its implications.
Findings
This paper argues that self-cultivation emphasizes self-consciousness, initiative and selflessness. It also includes self-reflection, self-discipline, self-study and self-improvement, as well as self-dedication, all of which reflect the ideal realm of “self-cultivation.” This “realm” refers to the process of pursuing an ideal personality and high moral standards.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature by identifying various potential applications of self-cultivation theory to domestic research on organizational behavior in China.
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Irina N. Belova, Yining Cheng and Xizhe Wang
Cooperation in agriculture and agricultural products trade is a new driving force for Sino-Russian cooperation in economy and trade in recent years. Driven by the interests and…
Abstract
Cooperation in agriculture and agricultural products trade is a new driving force for Sino-Russian cooperation in economy and trade in recent years. Driven by the interests and needs of both countries, a Free Trade Zone (FTZ) on the Chinese territory facing Russia, the Heilongjiang FTZ, has been established, and agricultural cooperation has attracted much attention within the FTZ framework. This chapter aims to analyze and explain the prospects of Sino-Russian agricultural cooperation under the framework of the Heilongjiang FTZ based on the current situations of cooperation. The author concludes that the Heihe and Suifenhe Areas in Heilongjiang FTZ are developed with a focus on Sino-Russian agricultural cooperation. This chapter is innovative because it combined the traditional research perspective on Sino-Russian agricultural cooperation with that under the FTZ framework. The author thinks that to facilitate the cooperation between the two countries in agriculture under the FTZ, the two governments must cooperate more extensively. Besides, they need to discuss the establishment of infrastructures like a joint agricultural product R&D centre and a digital development centre for agriculture. Meanwhile, the schemes of dispute settlement and risk-sharing should be addressed as well.
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Jun-Shan Li, Pei-Pei He and Rui-Bo He
The purpose of this paper is to provide theoretical model about supplier-induced demand (SID) in health care market in China. Then, an empirical analysis will also be carried out…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide theoretical model about supplier-induced demand (SID) in health care market in China. Then, an empirical analysis will also be carried out according to the theoretical model above. At last, some advices will be provided in order to control or eliminate the SID in Chinese health care market.
Design/methodology/approach
SID has in fact been one of the most contentious topics in the economics of health care. According to the SID theory in health economics, the theoretical model about SID in China has been provided, then, based on the co-integration theory, the empirical analysis has been brought out.
Findings
The study tells that it is the reduction of government finance to hospital, not the increase of supply that is the long-term steady determinants of growth of health care expenditure and that the difference of marginal return to hospital among all kinds of services and medicines is the external factor.
Originality/value
To provide theoretical model about SID in health care market in China is the main originality value.
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Discussion of China's one-child policy generally centres on its demographic effects. Bereavement among parents of singleton children and the role of social capital in the…
Abstract
Purpose
Discussion of China's one-child policy generally centres on its demographic effects. Bereavement among parents of singleton children and the role of social capital in the bereavement process have been under-explored. The purpose of this paper is to focus on mothers who lost their only children during the Sichuan earthquake in 2008. The paper aims to discuss the under-explored yet crucial issues of the one-child policy – the ways in which Chinese bereaved mothers handle the death of their singleton children – and the roles that social capital can play in their bereavement process.
Design/methodology/approach
The author conducted eight case studies on bereaved mothers through home visits, semi-structured interviews and participation in public activities during August 2010 and May 2011. In-depth interviews were used to collect information from these bereaved mothers in Sichuan, China.
Findings
The case studies reveal two major experiences of bereaved mother whose familial support varies substantially. One major experience is shared by those who had received emotional support from husband (who offered bonding social capital), and were able to get through the psychological pain. Another experience is shared by bereaved mothers who lost their familial relations. Weak social ties (i.e. an NGO which offered bridging social capital) remained the only source of support. Policies can target at the latter group of mothers by helping them to organise themselves into community-based groups and help to relieve their frustration and grief.
Originality/value
These research findings have implications for the development of NGOs, as well as complementary support for community-based bereavement counselling and community care in China.
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Zhang Jie, Su Xinning and Deng Sanhong
This paper is written as an attempt to employ the Chinese Social Science Citation Index (CSSCI) in the evaluation of Chinese humanities and social science research.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper is written as an attempt to employ the Chinese Social Science Citation Index (CSSCI) in the evaluation of Chinese humanities and social science research.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses statistics in the CSSCI (2000‐2004) to analyze the academic impact of researchers, papers and works, institutions and regions on Chinese humanities and social science research.
Findings
The authors identify 100 highly cited people, 50 highly cited papers, 50 highly cited works, 20 highly productive institutions and 20 highly cited institutions. Also provided is some regional information about Chinese humanities and social science research.
Originality/value
It is hoped that the CSSCI, as well as the analysis and evaluation based on it, will give researchers a better understanding of Chinese humanities and social science research.
Peng Luo, Eric W.T. Ngai, Yongli Li and Xin Tian
This study examines the dynamic relationships of visit behavior in the multiple channels [personal computer (PC) and mobile channels] on online store sales performance.
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the dynamic relationships of visit behavior in the multiple channels [personal computer (PC) and mobile channels] on online store sales performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical data were from an online store for the period between August 14, 2015 and May 15, 2016. The data consisted of consumer visit behavior and online store sales performance. Vector autoregression with an exogenous variables model was adopted to investigate the dynamic relationships.
Findings
The empirical results show significant relationships between visit behavior metrics (number of visitors, average number of visits per visitor and average length of each visit) in the two channels and online store sales performance. The number of visitors through the PC and mobile channels strongly and positively affects online store sales performance both in the short term and in the longer term. Moreover, the number of visitors in the PC channel has the strongest influence on sales performance metrics, followed by the number of visitors and the average number of visits in the mobile channel. The PC channel's visit behavior metrics explain a larger proportion of the sales performance variance than that in the mobile channel.
Originality/value
The previous literature on consumer behavior in multichannel marketing mainly focuses on channel selection or migration, and examines the different factors affecting channel choice behavior. Little is known about the impacts of visit behavior in the multiple channels. This study adopts the heuristic-systematic information processing theory to unveil the impacts of visit behavior metrics in the PC and mobile channels on online store sales performance.