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Downward line extension is a valuable growth strategy that enables multiple products and services to meet diverse customer needs. However, downward extended products launched by high-status brands may be challenged by horizontal extended products launched by relatively low-status brands when these two types of products target similar consumers. This study aims to examine the impact of product type (horizontal extended versus downward extended) on consumers’ purchase intentions, the underlying mechanism and the moderating role of power distance belief.

Four scenario-based experiments were conducted to probe the research questions.

Consumers develop lower purchase intentions for downward (versus horizontal) extended products due to the reduction of perceived fit and self-congruity (Study 1). Beyond that, power distance belief moderates the impact of product type on consumers’ purchase intentions, as a low power distance belief reduces the negative effect of downward line extension (Studies 2a, 2b and 2c). Perceived fit and self-congruity mediate the interaction effect between product type and power distance belief on consumers’ purchase intentions (Study 2c).

This study provides marketing practitioners with guidance on implementing the strategy of downward line extension.

This study serves as a preliminary effort to compare consumers’ responses between downward and horizontal extended products, which deepens the understanding of downward line extension. It also contributes to the body of knowledge about line extension and power distance belief by demonstrating the moderating role of power distance belief in a line extension context.

Outlines the theory of public choice (i.e. the equilibrium of a formal political model based on functions: not politicians) and identifies some reasons why US politicians may actually vote for rent seeking (“pork barrel”) projects. Suggests that they include the need for election, campaign contributions and financial or non‐financial (ideological) personal gain; and considers the implications for political reforms such as term limits, rules on campaign finance etc. Discusses how the motives of individual politicians can be discovered and some additional applications of this idea.

Transformations taking place in China are of crucial importance in the development of the world economy. The international community is turning its attention to China's move towards a market economy and assessing the likely impact on the years ahead. This paper aims to plot the evolution of administrative reforms in China with particular reference to the state (and therefore public sector), because the modernization of the state is an issue that will persist into the future, and because the state itself was driving the country's transformation towards a market economy in a deliberate way.

The paper revisits the debate on administrative reforms at different levels, i.e. fiscal, budgeting, government organizations, and public sector units (PSUs). In addition to reconstructing the evolution of norms and procedures as part of deliberate strategies by the center, the paper also investigates how actual practices at the micro level have followed this process of reform, with reference to the administration of cultural heritage at the municipal level, based on a field research project.

A lack of understanding of the role played by actual accounting transformation seems to characterize the current debate on policies. Serious discrepancies can be found between expectations and actual changes; between macro and micro policies, and micro practices.

An holistic focus on various trend of reforms is taken, looking at debates that are usually separated, also linking them to actual changes in accounting practice.

This study aims to investigate how the supply chain (SC) experts from the UK manufacturing organisations (MO) interpret the drivers and barriers to adopting Industry 4.0 technologies from a technological, organisational and environmental (TOE) point of view. Furthermore, this study evaluates how adoption drivers and barriers influence innovative practices that support Industry 4.0 adoption.

A qualitative narrative inquiry strategy, involving nine semi-structured interviews with leading SC experts including group executives, global directors and vice presidents was adopted.

The people factor across the SC is found critical for successful Industry 4.0 adoption. It was also found that the firm size is an insignificant factor; rather, Industry 4.0 readiness in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is driven by flexibility and agility, while larger organisations are driven by resource availability and scalability. Evidently, the culture and attitude of the MO tend to facilitate or hinder the Industry 4.0 adoption, therefore, innovative practices in building an expert team, establishing a systematic change management process, actively involving suppliers in the adoption process and continuously monitoring the adoption process were introduced.

By addressing the relationships between the drivers, barriers and innovative practices from a business perspective, a detailed Industry 4.0 adoption framework for the UK Manufacturing Supply Chains (MSC) was developed as a unique theoretical and practical contribution. This study also highlights the lessons learnt from applying Industry 4.0 in the UK context. The findings can also be informed in applying Industry 4.0 technologies in emerging market contexts.

This study aims to investigate how market orientation (MO) motivates firms to develop business model innovation and how such effects are moderated by strategic flexibility.

In this study, a questionnaire-based survey was undertaken to test the proposed hypotheses. The empirical study was conducted on a sample of 204 firms using two key informants (408 respondents) in China. The regression model is used to test the proposed model.

This research finds that both responsive market orientation (RMO) and proactive market orientation (PMO) have a positive effect on business model innovation. The effects of RMO and PMO on business model innovation are contingent on resource (coordination) flexibility in different ways. More importantly, this study finds that resource flexibility enhances the positive effect of RMO and weakens the positive effect of PMO. The study also finds that coordination flexibility enhances the positive effect of PMO.

Future research can explore the internal mechanisms through which RMO and PMO promote business model innovations. Although the study finds that both the MOs promote business model innovation, they may promote business model innovation through different mediating effects. Future research can explore the role of external dynamic capabilities. This research mainly focuses on the internal dynamic capability of focal firms. However, as a focal firm-centered boundary spanning activity system, to transform into a new business model, firms not only need to reconfigure internal resource base, but also need to realign external collaboration network.

This research also bears important managerial implications. First, firms should be aware of the positive effect of MO on business model innovation. Firms with higher level of RMO or PMO can promote business model innovation. Second, when firms implement RMO for business model innovation, managers should focus on resource flexibility. Where MO is responsive, marketing managers need to be concerned with ensuring various applications of existing resource so as to understand effectively the current customers and market domain. Third, to leverage PMO for business model innovation, firms should adopt coordination flexibility. For firms with higher level PMO, firms should try to find the new internal coordination process for customer latent needs.

The conclusion extends the business model innovation research from the view of dynamic capabilities. As one of types of dynamic capabilities, MO is also the important antecedent of business model innovation. Further, this research also discusses the role strategic flexibility plays in business model innovation.

This study aims to empirically study the effect of process constraints and the combinative effects of different constraints on enterprise digital transformation.

This paper selects the World Bank's business environment survey of Chinese enterprises in 2012 as the research sample to empirically study the effect of process constraints and different kinds of constraints on enterprise digital transformation.

The authors find that process constraints have an inverted U-shaped effect on enterprise digital transformation and that employee digital literacy plays an intermediary role in this process. That is, process constraints have a too-much-of-a-good-thing effect on employees' digital literacy, which further affects enterprise digital transformation. The increase in the number of input and output constraints will make the inverted U-shaped relationship between the process constraint and digital transformation steeper.

The constraints faced by enterprises are everywhere and of many kinds. This paper not only discusses the influence of process constraints on enterprise digital transformation but also analyzes the interactive influence of different kinds of constraints on enterprise digital transformation and explores its micromechanism. This approach is helpful for enterprise managers in thinking about how to make full use of different kinds of constraints to activate the power of enterprise digital transformation, regard constraints as challenges and opportunities, and use them to stimulate the ability to improve the resource integration and utilization.

This study aims to identify the attitudes of Chinese residents towards tourists and tourism development. Based on periods of observation, temporary residency and several visits for more than a decade, and supplemented by data collected from 478 residents, the study examines to what extent the rural villagers identify the tourism induced changes as being an outcome of official Chinese policies. The villages, Xidi, Hongcun and Nanping, are three heritage villages in Anhui Province and represent appropriate case studies for such an examination due to their differing histories of tourism administrative procedures. Findings contribute to scholarly knowledge by putting pro-poor tourism and community participation under scrutiny in Chinese context. A change of residents’ perceptions towards tourism could potentially be consequential for tourists’ experience and the sustainability of tourism development, particularly in emerging rural destinations.