ABSTRACTS

features summary of articles published in Indian and international journals with special emphasis on India and other emerging markets

Management Research in Emerging Economies

Mitali Sarkar

Financial Management
1. Drivers of Option Liquidity: Evidence from India 2. Market Interdependence and Financial Volatility Transmission in East Asia 3. Are Devaluations Contractionary in Emerging Economies of Eastern Europe? 4. Minimum Shareholding Requirements for Insiders: Evidence from Taiwanese SME 5. East Meets West? Board Characteristics in an Emerging Market: Evidence from Turkish Banks 6. Does Insurance Market Activity Promote Economic Growth? A Cross-country Study for Industrialized and Developing Countries

Human Resource Management

19. Individualism-Collectivism as Predictors of BPO Employee Attitudes toward Union Membership in India 20. Effectiveness of Corporate Employment Web Sites: How Content and Form Influence Intentions to Apply 21. Public Service Motivation and Job Satisfaction in China 22. Foreign Firms and Chinese Employment 23. Contract Labour: The Achilles Heel of Corporate Codes in Commercial Value Chains

34. Categorization of Disaster Decision Support Needs for the Development of an Integrated Model for DMDSS 35. A Three-Perspective Model of Culture, Information Systems, and their Development and Use

Strategic Management
36. Value-for-Money Strategies for Recessionary Times 37. Radical Innovation across Nations: The Preeminence of Corporate Culture 38. Internationalization of Chinese and Korean Firms 39. Recent Evidence of Small Business Development in CIS Transition Economies 40. Institutions, Resources, and Entry Strategies in Emerging Economies 41. The Global Expansion of SRI: Facing Challenges, Meeting Potential

Operations Management
24. The Year 2007 Survey: CEO Perspectives on the Current Status and Future Prospects of the Third Party Logistics Industry in the Asia-Pacific Region 25. Continuous Supplier Performance Improvement: Effects of Collaborative Communication and Control 26. Horseshoes, Global Supply Chains, and an Emerging Chinese Threat: Creating Remedies One Idea at a Time 27. Single or Dual Sourcing: Decisionmaking in the Presence of Supply Chain Disruption Risks 28. A Comparative Study of Manufacturing Practices and Performance Variables 29. Examining the Impact of Reverse Logistics Disposition Strategies

Marketing Management
7. In a Downturn, Provoke Your Customers 8. Would Indian Consumers Move from Kirana Stores to Organized Retailers when Shopping for Groceries? 9. Cross-cultural Analysis of Gender Roles: Indian and US Advertisements 10. Pay What you Want: A New Participative Pricing Mechanism 11. Unprofitable Customers and their Management 12. Why do Customers Utilize the Internet as a Retailing Platform? A View from Consumer Perceived Value

Economics
42. Impacts of Food and Energy Price Hikes and Proposed Coping Strategies 43. Proliferating Regional Trade Arrangements: Why and Wither? 44. The Effects of Foreign Acquisition on Domestic and Export Market Dynamics in China 45. Globalization and Industry Agglomeration in China 46. The Rise of China and East Asian Export Performance: Is the Crowding-Out Fear Warranted?

Organizational Behaviour
13. Making Mobility Matter 14. A Model of Face Practices in Chinese Business Culture: Implications for Western Businesspersons 15. Organizational Slack and Firm Performance during Institutional Transitions 16. Coping with Negative Social Identity: The Case of Mexican Immigrants 17. Political Strategy of Chinese Private Ventures: An Organizational Life Cycle Framework 18. Picking the Right Transition Strategy

Information Systems Management

30. Sustainability Failures of Rural Telecentres: Challenges from the Sustainable Access in Rural India (SARI) Project 31. Content and Design of Corporate Governance Web Sites 32. Making Sense of Technology Trends in the Information Technology Landscape: A Design Science Approach 33. Complementary Effects of Information Technology Investment on Firm Profitability: The Functional Forms of the Complementarities

Agriculture/ Rural Management

47. Impacts of Microfinance Strategies on the Economic Changes of Small Farmers in Northern Thailand: A Case Study 48. Heterogeneity and Collective Management: Evidence from Common Forests in Himachal Pradesh, India 49. Influence of Environmental and Managerial Factors on Efficiency of Improved Pulse Production in Bangladesh 50. Urban Proximity, Agricultural Potential and Rural Non-Farm Employment: Evidence from Bangladesh

Abstracts is sponsored by the Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi and is intended to facilitate Indian management research.

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FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
1. Sehgal, Sanjay and Vijaykumar, N (2008), Drivers of Option Liquidity: Evidence from India, Journal of Accounting Business & Management, 15(2), 37-54. The financial derivatives market in India has a more recent origin compared to the stock market. In 2001, Badlathe indigenous trading systemwas banned for causing excess speculation and was replaced by the option trading system. This universally accepted system was believed to encourage the investors to hedge portfolio risks systematically. This paper examines the relationship between stock market characteristics and option market liquidity for equity options to see if the findings differ from those for matured markets. The determinants of equity option liquidity are identified using a sample of 38 firms for the years 2004-2005. Option liquidity is found to be positively related with underlying stock price, trading volume as well as returns volatility and negatively related to the uncertainty in the information environment. There also seems to be a day of the month effect for at least one of the years. The findings are in conformity with those for mature capital markets and should be useful for institutional investors who actively trade in the options market owing to lower transaction cost, leverage advantage, and short sale restrictions on the underlying stocks. 2. Gallo, Giampiero M and Velucchi, Margherita (2009), Market Interdependence and Financial Volatility Transmission in East Asia, International Journal of Finance & Economics, 14(1), 24-44. In view of the international financial crises in the last decade, it is considered important to analyse if there are common structural causes that simultaneously result in a breakdown or the shock arising in one country diffuse to other countries as the result of a contagion effect. This paper addresses the issue of the network of interdependencies existing among financial markets through which innovations spread over from one market to another. The multiplicative error model (MEM) is adapted to investigate the mechanisms of volatility spillover from one market to another. The interdependence and dynamic transmission mechanism of volatility are examined across seven selected Asian stock markets between 1990 and 2005 Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan. Of these economies, some markets had long run linkse.g., Malaysia and Indonesia, Malaysia and Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia. On the other hand, some interdependencies got activated during the crisise.g., Hong Kong and South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea. Moreover, Taiwan, Singapore, and Korea were found to be extremely vulnerable to the external pressure. 3. Bahmani-Oskooee, Mohsen and Kutan, Ali M (2008), Are Devaluations Contractionary in Emerging Economies of Eastern Europe? Economic Change, 41, 61-74. Currency depreciation is stated to stimulate aggregate demand by increasing its net export component. On the other hand, it is believed to discourage aggregate supply by increasing cost of imported inputs. In the context of developing countries, devaluation or real depreciation is believed to be contractionary in the short run while it is neutral in the long

run in most countries. This paper examines the impact of real depreciation in effective exchange rate on the domestic output of emerging economies. The experience of seven countries of the European Union are consideredCzech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovak Republic. It uses the bounds testing approach to cointegration and error correcting model that distinguishes the short-run effects from the long-run effects. The results are found to be countryspecific. In the short-run, real depreciation is expansionary in Belarus, Latvia, Poland, and Slovak Republic; contractionary in Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, and Russia.; and has no effect in Lithuania. In almost none of the countries, the shortrun effects lasted in the long run. The findings imply that exchange rate changes may not hurt the catching-up efforts of the member EU countries in the sample towards the European Monetary Union. 4. Hung, Jung-Hua and Chen, Hsiang-Ju (2009), Minimum Shareholding Requirements for Insiders: Evidence from Taiwanese SME, Corporate Governance, 17(1), 35-46. Emerging markets, such as Taiwan, often suffer from a lack of shareholder protection, an active takeover market, and strong institutional investors. Research suggests that insider ownership, an internal control, is one of the key determinants in agency problems. This paper evaluates the suitability of Taiwans minimum shareholding requirement for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and examines whether stewardship theory and both incentive and entrenchment effects can characterize the ownership-performance relationship simultaneously. New empirical methods are applied to a balanced panel dataset including 496 firm-level observations of 62 Taiwanese SMEs publicly traded from 1999 to 2006. The results show a nonlinear ownership-performance relationship, first negative then positive, with a single threshold value of insider ownership. This indicates that both effects combine and that the current regulated minimum level of insider shareholdings for public SMEs may be too high. The stewardship theory is found to work in Taiwan. Insiders behave as loyal stewards rather than motivated by desire for entrenchment. Empirical evidence suggests that Taiwanese authorities should lessen ownership obligations, thereby leading to improved corporate governance by increasing the independence of the boards of directors. Emerging markets can learn from the Taiwan experience and formulate their own regulations, the authors suggest. 5. Kaymak, Turhan and Bektas, Eralp (2008), East Meets West? Board Characteristics in an Emerging Market: Evidence from Turkish Banks, Corporate Governance, 16(6), 50561. Firms in emerging markets are faced with two opposing pressures. On the one hand, there are the forces of globalization and its ensuing corporate governance mechanisms, and on the other hand, there are country-specific practices that may eschew shareholder rights. Turkey is an emerging market drawing large amounts of foreign investment but board composition issues have rarely been analysed. The objective of this study is to uncover whether prescribed western style governance practices surface in the characteristics of board of directors in Turkish banks, and to see if these characteristics influence firm performance. Data on financial and board-related variables of 27 commercial banks operating in Turkey are used. On the
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surface, the banking sector is adhering to many prescribed practices inspired by potential EU membership and imposed by IMF rules. However, some legal and institutional arrangements do persist that are much to the detriment of the small shareholder. Convergence with Western practices is evident. A striking difference is, however, found in the size of the bank boardsTurkey has an average of only eight members in comparison with an average of 17 members for European banks and 18 members for US banks. The findings suggest that the presence of insiders has a positive impact on return on assets while duality and board tenure are negatively associated with performance. In fact, duality could lead to potential principalprincipal conflict. Strategic investors and portfolio managers are suggested to challenge this arrangement before making sizable outlays in the Turkish financial sector. 6. Arena, Marco (2008), Does Insurance Market Activity Promote Economic Growth? A Cross-country Study for Industrialized and Developing Countries, The Journal of Risk and Insurance, 75(4), 921-946. Insurance Market activity, both as financial intermediary and as provider of risk transfer and indemnification, may promote economic growth by allowing different risks to be managed more efficiently. It would encourage the accumulation of new capital and mobilize domestic savings into productive investments. This article provides a systematic assessment of the causal effect of insurance market activity on economic growth, taking into account the effects that life and non-life insurance could have because of the different benefits that they provide to households and corporations. For this, measures of insurance premiums are used as proxies of insurance activity for a set of 55 countries between 1976 and 2004. An estimation method known as the generalized method of moments (GMM) that is suited to panel data is also used. The study finds robust evidence of a causal relationship between insurance market activity and economic growth. Both life and non-life insurance premiums have a positive and significant effect on economic growth. In case of life insurance, the impact on economic growth is found to be driven by high-countries only. On the other hand, in the case of non-life insurance, the impact is driven by both high-income and developing (middle and lowincome) countries. The results, however, suggest that non-life insurance has a larger effect in high-income countries than in the developing ones.

senior executive who can sponsor and secure approval for the kind of sales commitment one is seeking. To begin a provocation-based sale, it is important to first, identify a critical issue that will resonate with a line executive in the target organization; then, develop a provocative point of view about that problem; and finally, lodge that provocation with a decision maker who can take the implied action. This approach may not be right for every selling situation in a downturn nor does it apply only under challenging economic conditions; it makes most sense when a significant business opportunity is at stake, the authors conclude. 8. Goswami, Paromita and Mishra, Mridula S (2009), Would Indian Consumers Move from Kirana Stores to Organized Retailers when Shopping for Groceries? Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing, 21(1), 127-143. India has seen a remarkable change in the retail scenario with organized retailers making a foray into the grocery market at a rapid rate and posing a threat to the livelihood of kirana shopowners. On the other hand, there is the highly price-sensitive consumer forcing market players to operate on thin margins. This paper examines the demand-side effectiveness of grocery retail formats existing in India in terms of dimensions of satisfaction of customers needs and consequently relate it to customer patronage in order to predict whether customers of traditional kirana stores would move to organized grocery retailers in India. It looks at whether loss of livelihood looms large on the kirana store operators. The study was carried out with four grocery formatskirana stores, upgraded kirana stores, supermarkets, and hypermarketsin four Indian cities: two major metrosKolkata and Mumbaiand two smaller citiesNagpur and Jamshedpur). The organized retailer is found to be preferred for their cleanliness, offers, exclusive stores brands, whereas kiranas are preferred because of their location and possibility of multi-store shopping. Although kiranas have a locational advantage, yet with corporate involvement and large business houses like Reliance, Subhiksha, Bharti, and RPG Enterprises opening stores in residential areas, kiranas are facing a threat from the organized retailers. Kiranas are therefore suggested to make a realistic and critical examination of their potentialities and vulnerabilities and accordingly upgrade their facilities to be in business. 9. Khairullah, Durriya HZ and Khairullah, Zahid Y (2009), Cross-cultural Analysis of Gender Roles: Indian and US Advertisements, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing, 21(1), 5875. In todays global economy, gender has become an important component of cultural identity, but a cultural gap may exist between the gender role portrayals by advertisers in different countries. This paper examines whether such a cultural gap exists between the portrayal of men and women in advertising in India and the United States. It also examines the impact of socio-cultural influences on the portrayals of gender role in magazine advertisements of these two countries. Advertisements for five durable and non-durable products appearing in popular Indian and US magazine were analysed: airlines, cars, cigarettes, computers, and hotels. The overall results indicate that there are more differences than similarities in portrayals of gender roles in Indian vs US advertisements due to

MARKETING MANAGEMENT
7. Lat Philip; Hewlin, Todd and Moore, Geoffrey (2009), In a Downturn, Provoke Your Customers, Harvard Business Review, March, 4856. In a time of downturn, when the budget allowances are disappearing, customer relationships are losing their power, and with less money going around, proposals are being subject to high levels of review, it is indeed tough to be selling to business customers. To ensure that room is created in a customers budget, the authors suggest provocative-based selling, which dramatically differs from the conventional product-based selling or the solution selling approaches. It helps customers see their competitive challenges in a new light that makes addressing specific painful problems unmistakably urgent. Success in provocation-base selling hinges on a single dialogue with a

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the socio-economic and cultural differences between the two countries. The number of female models was under-represented in Indian advertisements for the products used by both male as well as female consumers. In US advertisements, both male and female are more evenly represented. The results suggest that in developing advertising campaigns for international markets, international advertisers must reflect the cultural values of the society in which they wish to do business. 10. Kim, Ju-Young; Natter, Martin and Spann, Martin (2009), Pay What you Want: A New Participative Pricing Mechanism, Journal of Marketing, 73(1), 44-58. Pay what you want (PWYW) is a participative pricing model in which a buyers control over the price setting is at a maximum level; the buyer can set ant price above or equal to zero, and the seller cannot reject it. Given greater purchase intentions and the preference for participative pricing mechanisms, consumers may prefer PWYW because of the level of control offered and the novelty of the mechanism. The obvious risk is that customers can exploit their control and pay nothing at all or a price much below the sellers cost. In such a situation, the seller would not survive for long. However, PWYW have been found to be successfully used by many sellers. This paper explains buyers pricing behaviour in PWYW and analyses the impact of PWYW on sellers revenues and unit sales. Through three field studies, PWYW is experimentally tested. The findings show that final prices paid are significantly greater than zero for all three cases. The results indicate that the final price paid depends on the buyers internal reference price and the proportion of how much the buyer is willing to share of his or her (potential) deal profit with the seller. This proportion is mainly found to be driven by the consumers fairness, satisfaction, price consciousness, and income. A more detailed examination of each study separately revealed that loyalty and altruism also influence prices. 11. Haenlein, Michael and Kaplan, Andreas M (2009), Unprofitable Customers and their Management, Business Horizons, 52(1), 89-97. The widespread use of customer relationship management (CRM) applications has provided companies with increasingly detailed insights into the profitability of their individual-level customer relationships. Historically, this information has been used primarily to identify the most profitable customers and to define ways for serving them in an optimal manner. Unfortunately, however, all customers do not turn out to be profitable. Companies are now becoming more aware of the unprofitable clients, and the fact that these relationships can account for a substantial share of their total customer base. Drawn from a series of research projects, this paper proposes a six-step approach for dealing with such unprofitable customers, a framework that is referred to as the ABC of Unprofitable Customer Management. The steps include: (1) Avoid their acquisition in the first place; (2) Bear in mind potential rescue operations; (3) Catch the possibility of abandonment; (4) Draw up a cost-benefit analysis; (5) Ensure familiarity with your environment and (6) Facilitate biting the bullet. A series of recommendations are offered regarding how best to break up with customers, in order to ensure that firms can separate themselves from unprofitable accounts in the least painful way.

12. Cheng, Julian Ming-Sung; Wang, Edward Shih-Tse; Lin, Julia Ying-Chao and Vivek, Shiri D (2009), Why do Customers Utilize the Internet as a Retailing Platform? A View from Consumer Perceived Value, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 21(1), 144-160. With the increasing preference for using internet as a shopping venue, there is a call for predicting consumers behavioural intentions. This study investigates the impact of perceived value on customer intention to use the internet as a retailing platform and, more specifically, the impact that perceived value has on Taiwanese customer intention to conduct the two distribution channel functions, i.e., information collection and order placement, through the internet. The basic premise of the study is that the intention to use the internet as a retailing platform depends on the perception of value associated with the use of the medium. It specifically examines the impact of functional, social, emotional, and epistemic dimensions of value associated with the internet on customer intention to use the medium for e-shopping purposes such as to collect information or to place orders. The results show that these value dimensions possess considerable explanatory power, explaining the relevance of value as a determinant of the intention to use the internet as an e-shopping environment. Both functional and epistemic values have a significant impact on information collection and order placement, but while social value has an impact only on information collection, emotional value has a significant impact only on order placement. The study suggests that websites should place particular emphasis on the provision of information that goes beyond the functional or technical aspects of the offering, including, e.g., arousal of curiosity, perceptions of novelty and other forms of knowledge enhancement.

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
13. Nalbantian, Haig R and Guzzo, Richard A (2009), Making Mobility Matter, Harvard Business Review, March, 77-84. Mobility is a popular tool for developing general management breadth and retaining talentbut only when the right facts guide decisions about the frequency and nature of moves. Used carelessly, it can create unfortunate unintended consequences, disrupting operations. This paper looks at companies that have rotated employees roles too often or too rarely and offers a framework for solving the mobility equation in a way that is just right for an organization. People experience mobility at two levels: within-property moves involving transfers from one job to another, and out-of-property moves, involving a change in geography, function, or/and brand. Marriott uses mobility as its primary leadership development tool, reaping the developmental gains of mobility without incurring businesses losses while another companys policies reflect potential destruction. The challenge in developing a mobility strategy is to ensure its fit with the companys context which in turn would require answers to three essential questions: (a) what kind of mobility? (b) mobility for whom? (c) How much mobility? The answers will vary in light of company-specific facts which can be brought to bear on the mobility decisions by describing the organizations current state of mobility, assessing impact, and modeling future states. The message is to use the available information to get a clear picture of what works and then build a programme tailored to ones business circumstances.
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14. Cardon, Peter W (2009), A Model of Face Practices in Chinese Business Culture: Implications for Western Businesspersons, Thunderbird International Business Review, 51(1), 19-36. While the prevailing wisdom about China suggests that business success hinges on addressing face in business relationships, some experts have discarded this notion as a myth. This study develops a model of how face practices of Chinese businesspersons vary depending on the relationships of parties involved in interpersonal interactions, including those that occur between Chinese and Western businesspersons. The dominant face practices (giving face, protecting face, vying for face, not considering face) were analysed in terms of horizontal insider (HI), vertical insider (VI), and outsider (O) relationships and the associated strategies used with each of these business relationships determined. In-depth interviews with 34 Chinese and 8 American businesspersons operating in major mainland Chinese commercial centres provided authentic examples to illustrate related behaviours. The dominant face practice in HI relationships is giving face, and associated strategies most often include granting of favours, hosting banquets, and giving gifts and praise. In VI relationships, the norms associated with face practices differ markedly for behaviour directed from superior to subordinate versus from subordinate to superior. Western businesspersons should understand the dominant face practices in interactions between the Chinese so that they can effectively implement policies and strategies that affect interactions between Chinese individuals, the author suggests. 15. Su, Zhongfeng; Xie, En and Li, Yuan (2009), Organizational Slack and Firm Performance during Institutional Transitions, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 26(1), 75-91. There has been an extensive debate on the effect of organizational slack on firm performance. Existing research based on the resource-based view, organizational inertia perspective and other theories has produced conflicting findings. This study finds that institutional theory is insightful to add a deeper understanding on what is behind the relationship between organizational slack and firm performance during institutional transitions. Organizational slack is broadly divided into absorbed slack (which is not easy to deploy) and unabsorbed slack (which is more easily deployed). Since firms operating in transition economies confront a high level of environmental uncertainty, the impact of unabsorbed slack on firm performance is stated to be more critical than that of absorbed slack. This paper therefore focuses on the performance implication of unabsorbed slack. Based on the data of publicly held firms during 2004-05, unabsorbed organizational slack is found to play a critical role on firms to sustain their competitive advantages. Such a positive impact is particularly likely to be profound for firms confronting resource scarcity and environmental dynamism caused by institutional transitions. Accordingly, the Chinese firms are suggested to focus on accumulating unabsorbed slack. The firms are also suggested to make use of their slack to fit the institutional transitions, especially firms facing resource scarcity and environmental dynamism caused by institutional transitions. 16. Shinnar, Rachel S (2008), Coping with Negative Social Identity: The Case of Mexican Immigrants, The Journal of
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Social Psychology, 148(5), 553-575. Social identity theory suggests that an individuals self-concept is shaped through group identification. When ones ingroup is negatively in comparison to an out-group, perceptions of negative social identity may form. Because of the motivation to maintain a positive self-concept, this perception creates a need to cope. This study addresses work-life issues for Mexican immigrants in the US and the implications for social identity. On the basis of face-to-face interviews it examines the ways in which negative social-identity perceptions triggered different coping mechanisms. Of the three earlier identified coping mechanismsindividual mobility, social creativity, and social competition, the first two are found to be mainly used in the study sample. Individual mobility, in the form of career progression, was seen as a way to dissociate themselves from conforming behaviours of coethnic peers. Social creativity was used more often among Mexican immigrants in different ways. Although there was no mention of collective action, there was some indication that participants used social competition at the individual level in an effort to engage in behaviours that would change the perceptions held by Anglos of Mexicans in the US. 17. Li, Jun (2008), Political Strategy of Chinese Private Ventures: An Organizational Life Cycle Framework, International Journal of Entrepreneurship, 12, 107-124. By developing political strategies, firms can create favourable environment for their market competition, and thus gain economic rents or sustain their competitive advantages. Given the increasing influence of private sector in Chinese national, and the significant power of government policies on the development of private ventures in China, it is considered important to study the political strategies of Chinese private ventures. Drawing upon insights of multiple theories, it proposes a life cycle model to explain the major drivers of political strategies at each developmental stage of the venture. The basic premise of the study is that during its life cycle, a Chinese private venture exhibits different motivations, objectives, and specific approaches as to its political strategies toward government. The choices of political strategies are largely determined by the external constraints they face and the internal organizational dominant problems they have for that particular stage. The model proposes that at the start-up stage, enhancing organizational legitimacy is the first priority of the venture. At the emerging and growth stage, alleviating market and administrative adversities for achieving operational excellence becomes the major driver of the ventures political strategy. Finally, in the mature stage, developing and maintaining various forms of political resources with the authorities act as the main driver. 18. Watkins, Michael D (2009), Picking the Right Transition Strategy, Harvard Business Review, January, 47-53. Transitions into significant new roles are the most challenging times in the professional lives of managers. There is, however, no one-size-fits-all approach to making successful leadership transitions. Research suggests that executives can follow certain fundamental principles to accelerate their immersion in a new role or company. Leaders in transition reflexively rely on the skills and strategies that worked for them in the past, but those approached would not necessarily work

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in the new environment. Drawing from his experience of observing hundreds of executives navigate their way through a range of management roles in various industries over the years, the author suggests that a different mind-set is in order and therefore develops the STARS modela framework for assessing business situations and helping new leaders figure out how to tailor their strategies (and themselves) accordingly. STARS stands for five common situations leaders may find themselves moving into: start-up, turnaround, accelerated growth, realignment, and sustaining success. The model outlines the characteristics and challenges of, respectively, launching a venture or project; saving a business or initiative that is in serious trouble, dealing with rapid expansion, reenergizing a once-leading company that is now facing problems, and following in the footsteps of a highly regarded leader with a strong legacy of success.

making, information systems, and web site effectiveness, the paper investigates how applicants perceptions and attitudes influence intentions to apply for a job through online recruitment via corporate web sites. Data shows web site content and style to be the important precursors of organizational attraction. This influence is found to occur indirectly through the potential candidates overall attitude toward the web site. Ease of using corporate recruitment web site is found to be the strongest determinant of web site attitude. The findings also indicate that attraction towards the organization mediates the effect of web site attitude on intentions to apply for a job. In conclusion, attitude toward corporate employment web sites contributes to the organizations internet-based hiring potential, in an indirect manner as conceptualized, but at a higherorder level of abstraction than hypothesized. 21. Liu, Bangcheng; Tang, Ningyu and Zhu, Xiaomei (2008), Public Service Motivation and Job Satisfaction in China, International Journal of Manpower, 29(8), 684-699. Studies on public service motivation (PSM) in the US context find public employees having a greater interest in altruistic or ideological goals. Because of the differences between Western and Chinese society, it is not known if the Western studies could be used in a meaningful way in China. This study evaluates how well the construct of PSM, observed in Western societies, can be generalized to China. It also examines the effects of PSM on public employees job satisfaction. Exploratory factor analyses and confirmatory analysis techniques are applied to survey data of 191 public servants in China to investigate the generalizability of Western PSM. Using hierarchical regression analysis, the paper examines the effects of the dimensions of PSM on job satisfaction. The results show that the public service motivation observed in the West exists in China, but the generalizability of the construct is limited. Three of the four dimensions of PSMattraction of public policy making, commitment to the public interest, and self-sacrificeexist in China, but the fourth dimensioncompassionis unconfirmed. The analysis of the effects of PSM dimensions and respondents demographic variables on job satisfaction demonstrate that attraction to public policy making and selfsacrifice as well as age variable significantly contribute to respondents job satisfaction, while commitment to public interest unexpectedly has no significant effect on job satisfaction. 22. Karlsson, Sune; Lundin, nannan; Sjoholm, Fredrik and He, Ping (2009), Foreign Firms and Chinese Employment, The World Economy, 32(1), 178-188. While FDI is considered to be one of the key driving forces behind Chinas economic growth, the effect of FDI on employment has been vastly ignored in the academic and public policy circles. This paper examines this effect, based on firm-level information from the Chinese manufacturing sector during the period 1998-2004. It captures both direct employment effect, i.e., jobs created in foreign MNEs, and indirect employment effect, i.e., the effect of FDI on jobs created in domesticallyowned firms. The descriptive statistics suggest that both FDI and private domestic firms have relatively high employment growth, as compared to non-private domestic firms. The crossownership comparison also shows that foreign firms, in general, have more advantageous firm characteristics as compared
ABSTRACTS

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

19. Sarkar, Shantanu (2009), Individualism-Collectivism as Predictors of BPO Employee Attitudes toward Union Membership in India, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 26(1), 93118. BPO industry is often criticized for exploiting Indian workers and making them work as cyber coolies. However, workers in this industry do not seem to be interested in unions and consider them unnecessary. Employee attitudes towards union membership play a crucial role towards the understanding of union and its future role. Drawing on data from a survey of employees from three BPO organizations in India, this study examines whether cultural variables of individual cultural orientation and organizational culture, and their interaction were predictive of employees attitudes toward union membership in BPO organizations in India. The regression analyses reveal that over and above the effects of demographic and job-related variables, and work stress and job satisfaction, horizontal individualism could predict union attitudes significantly and negatively whereas vertical individualism and collectivism could predict the attitudes significantly and negatively. Similarly, organizational collectivism could predict employees attitudes toward union membership significantly and negatively. The contrast between personal value and organizational culture of an individualist working in a collectivistic organizational culture or collectivist working in an individualistic culture are found to have stronger influence on union attitudes compared to the congruence of an individualist working in an individualistic culture or collectivist working in a collectivist culture. 20. Birgelen, Marcel JH van; Wetzels, Martin GM and Dolen, Willemijn M van (2008), Effectiveness of Corporate Employment Web Sites: How Content and Form Influence Intentions to Apply, International Journal of Manpower, 29(8), 731-751. Online recruitment contributes to recruitment process effectiveness by informing potential candidates about employment oppo1rtunities available at an organization. The focus of this paper is on the role of Internet in recruitment activities, particularly the use of corporations own web sites for recruitment. It develops and tests a model of job seekers psychological mechanisms behind online recruitment effectiveness. Drawing from literature on job applicant decision

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to firms with other kinds of ownership. Investigation of direct ownership effect shows that employment growth is strongly correlated with firm characteristics such as high productivity, capital intensity, and wage. Looking at indirect effect of FDI, the study finds spillover effect to be more important than the competition effect. The authors conclude that FDI has contributed to employment in Chinese manufacturing sector through its access to international markets and other firm characteristics which favour growth in employment, and through positive effects on employment in private domestic firms. 23. Barrientos, Stephanie (2008), Contract Labour: The Achilles Heel of Corporate Codes in Commercial Value Chains, Development and Change, 39(6), 977-990. Codes of labour practice have arisen against the background of rapidly changing dynamics of global production, characterized by increased outsourcing of production by large global buyers and retailers to a network of suppliers across large numbers of countries. Case study evidence from workers portrays a gloomy picture indicating that the benefits of codes for workers fail to reach the most vulnerable workers, particularly those employed by labour contractors who face the worst employment conditions. This article draws on the analysis of global production networks and global civil society, to explore how the interplay between commercial and social dynamics plays out. It examines how lead firms, simultaneously pursuing high quality and low cost, fuel the rise of codes of labour practice and intensified use of vulnerable workers as two sides of the same coin in their sourcing base. The author argues that the commercial dynamics of global production networks provides an opening for civil society organizations to pressure for codes, but simultaneously drives the use of a vulnerable and insecure workforce that is the Achilles Heel of codes. Whilst codes have a role to play, inherent tensions underpinned by a commercial logic mean they should only be viewed as one strand in broader strategies that address the rights of the most vulnerable workers in global production.

as the most important regional opportunities. A continuing shortage of management talent, the regions regulatory structure, and inferior transportation services were the most significant regional problems identified by the CEOs. 25. Joshi, Ashwin W (2009), Continuous Supplier Performance Improvement: Effects of Collaborative Communication and Control, Journal of Marketing, 73(1), 133-150. The typical manufacturer of today depends on enhanced supplier performance to create better quality products. Although manufacturing firms use a range of tools to effect continuous supplier performance improvement, this paper focuses on two that are particularly importantcollaborative communication and control. It empirically documents the theoretical pathways through which collaborative communication affects supplier performance. It also explores the combined effects of collaborative communication and control on supplier performance improvement. The results from a survey of 153 manufacturersupplier dyads show that collaborative communication fosters continuous supplier performance improvement by enhancing supplier knowledge (of manufacturer needs) and by building supplier affective commitment (toward the manufacturer). With respect to the combined effects of communication and control, the results show that capability control enhances the positive effects of both supplier knowledge and supplier affective commitment on continuous supplier performance improvement, whereas process control undermines the effect of supplier knowledge on the outcome. This pattern of results suggests that manufacturing firms should emphasize capability control and deemphasize process control to foster continuous supplier performance improvement. 26. Strutton, David (2009), Horseshoes, Global Supply Chains, and an Emerging Chinese Threat: Creating Remedies One Idea at a Time, Business Horizons, 52(1), 31-43. The horseshoe provides a model to visualize the relationship among three aspects of tradeideation and product development; manufacturing; and positioning, branding, and supply chain managementthat will shape Chinese-American economic relationships for years to come. The supply chain as horseshoe metaphor applies fully only if the horseshoe is inverted and each vertical prong is embedded in American soil. Many Chinese firms already possess the capabilities necessary to secure the upper hand in the horseshoe tug-of-war that would allow them to break away from the near exclusive manufacturing and assembly they have traditionally performed. However, neither this threat nor Chinese firms capabilities can be eliminated as they exist independent of any US firms possible response. The solution to this emerging global threat is stated to lie in creativity. To address this need, this paper develops a supply chain creativity matrix model. The model demonstrates how domestic supply chain firms can stimulate and identify superior ideas amongst their managerial and subordinate ranks, thereby expanding the firms creative efficiency in the strategic execution of key supply chain functions. It demonstrates why more creative domestic firms can check Chinese firms efforts to secure more desirable positions more effectively inside the supply chains that link them. 27. Yu, Haisheng; Zeng, Amy Z and Zhao, Lindu (2009), Single or Dual Sourcing: Decision-making in the Presence of

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
24. Lieb, Robert (2008), The Year 2007 Survey: Provider CEO Perspectives on the Current Status and Future Prospects of the Third Party Logistics Industry in the Asia-Pacific Region, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 38(6), 495-512. Recognizing the opportunities created by the economic expansion in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, major third party logistics (3PL) companies have entered this region. Drawing on the annual surveys of the chief executive officers of many of the largest 3PL companies, this paper provides insights into their operations, their perceptions of market opportunities,, and the problems they face in the marketplace region. The focus was on a variety of issues including the key marketplace, dynamics in the APAC 3PL industry, the industrys service offerings in the region, and the current status and future prospects of the industry in the region. The companies anticipate substantial regional revenue growth with nearly one-quarter of it coming from acquisitions. Price compression, market entrance of foreign 3PLs, and increased pressure to internationalize services were identified as the most important regional market dynamics. Continued growth of intra-Asian business and possible expansion of transportation services were cited
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Supply Chain Disruption Risks, Omega, 37(4), 788-800. Managers and decision makers are increasingly becoming aware of the fact that disruption risks exist in every link of a supply chain and that effective risk management should be on the top of their agenda. This paper explores how to select between single and dual sourcing modes in the presence of supply chain disruptions. It considers a two-stage supply chain in which the buying firm faces a non-stationary, price-sensitive demand of a critical component for its final products and two suppliers are available. A set of expected profit functions (EPFs) are formulated with the consideration of supply disruptions when the buying firm uses single and dual sourcing strategies, respectively. Based on the EPFs, the performance of these two sourcing methods is compared and the critical factors governing the choice between the two sourcing alternatives identified. It is found that either single or dual sourcing can be effective depending on the magnitude of the disruption probability. A set of sensitivity analyses of the buyers expected profit function is conducted in the case of dual sourcing, the results of which indicate how the buyers profit would change with respect to the different parameters in each supply cycle. The results apply to the situations where the buyers demand is sensitive to the suppliers wholesale price, the market shift during a supply disruption can be estimated, two suppliers are available but differ in price and reliability, and each supplier has no capacity limitation. 28. Karim, MA; Smith, AJR; Halgamuge, SK and Islam, MM (2008), A Comparaytive Study of Manufacturing Practices and Performance Variables, International Journal of Production Economics, 112(2), 841-859. As global markets evolve, manufacturers are faced with continually changing market dynamics, new global markets, and stressful competitive environments. World-class manufacturing practices in their original form are no longer applicable in todays manufacturing environment. This study compares and contrasts current manufacturing practices between two countries, Australia and Malaysia, and identifies the practices that significantly influence their manufacturing performances. Newly emerging industrialized Malaysia appears to be significantly ahead of Australia on many facets of advanced quality and manufacturing practices. Malaysian manufacturers place significantly more emphasis on practising advanced quality practices compared with their Australian counterparts. While they outperform Australian manufacturers in effective manufacturing practices, they are still lagging behind Australia in manufacturing performance Results suggest that product price has become a relatively less important factor for both Australian and Malaysian manufacturers. Product quality and reliability came out as the main competitive factor. 29. Skinner, Lauren R; Bryant, Paul T and Richey, R Glenn (2008), Examining the Impact of Reverse Logistics Disposition Strategies, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 38(7), 518-539. Reverse logistics processes generally include authorization of returns, transportation, auditing, product disposition, and creating information about the kinds of products being returned. The focus of this study is on empirically examining the impact of different disposition strategies on performance and on examining the role of returns policy in the consumer decision

making process. A number of options are available for disposition of a product within the supply chainsell as new, repair or repackage and resell as new or as used, resell at a lower value to a salvage house. Disposition options are often industry or product-specific and depend upon characteristics of the product such as price/value, cost to transport, shelf life of the product, and market demand patterns. When products are of high value and can be remanufactured for re-sale, efficient reverse logistics can even function as a profit centre. A survey of the senior supply chain professionals in auto parts industry shows that under instances of active resource commitment to reverse logistics programme, operations and supply chain managers may expect superior performance by choosing destroying, recycling, refurbishing, and/or remanufacturing of product. In firms focusing on reverse logistics as a compulsion, a strategic approach examining outcomes rather than dayto-day operations is suggested. In cases where managers do not have adequate resource support for reverse logistics, they are suggested to destroy the product.

INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT

30. Best, Michael L and Kumar, Rajendra (2008), Sustainability Failures of Rural Telecentres: Challenges from the Sustainable Access in Rural India (SARI) Project, Information Technologies and International Development, 4(4), 3145. Over the last decade, there has been a huge increase in the number of projects using information and communication technologies (ICT) for social, economic, and political development in the developing countries. These projects employ telecentres which provide shared public access, often intermediated by an operator, to ICTs and services via computers and the Internet. This article examines an ICT for development project in India, the Sustainable Access in Rural India (SARI) project in Tamil Nadu, over more than four years. The project started in 2001 with four computer and Internet kiosks run by selfemployed rural entrepreneurs, operated successfully for over three years, but failed to sustain thereafter. This paper examines the reasons for the sustainability failure of the kiosks, particularly focusing on the systemic and institutional factors. Drawing generic lessons from them, it finally develops a general sustainability failure model that captures the reasons for failure of such projects. The best explanation for variation in a kiosk lifespan was the level of satisfaction with n-Logue Communicationsa rural internet start-up that was incubated through the SARI project. Those sites that expressed satisfaction with their institutional and technical support were in service for, on average, an additional year compared with the dissatisfied sites. Apart from technical and operational support issues, lack of long-term financial viability was a major reason for closure of private telecentres. 31. Jiang, Yabing; Raghupathi, Viju and Raghupathi, Wullianallur (2009), Content and Design of Corporate Governance Web Sites, Information Systems Management, 26(1), 13-27. Web sites are useful resources for communicating corporate governance information to stakeholders. They facilitate timely information disclosures, which leads to greater transparency and can help to improve investor perceptions. Positive per-

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ceptions, in turn, have the potential to boost a firms performance. This paper develops a descriptive framework of governance content and web site design features, which is used to evaluate web sites of companies in the S&P 100 in order to determine differences among various sectors as well as companies with different corporate governance quotients (CGQ), a measure of effective governance assigned by Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). The analysis presents a mixed picture. On the one hand, companies in the manufacturing and technology sectors were inclined to use more advanced design features while on the other hand, most companies complied with basic disclosure of corporate governance content as mandated by law and regulation. However, voluntary disclosure and additional information was largely absent, and several content features varied across sectors. In terms of CGQ, both design and content features did not show much variation across the two groups, high and low. Although companies in the sample were found to use their web sites to present corporate governance related information, the usage was most basic, advanced content and design features being almost absent. 32. Adomavicius, Gediminas; Bockstedt, Jesse C; Gupta, Alok and Kauffman, Robert J (2008), Making Sense of Technology Trends in the Information Technology Landscape: A Design Science Approach, MIS Quarterly, 32(4), 779-809. In the event of constantly changing information technology (IT) landscape, a major problem for firms making IT investment decisions is to predict and understand the effects of future technological developments on the value of present technologies. The sheer number of available technologies and the complex set of relationships among the make IT landscape analysis extremely challenging. This paper proposes a new theory-based conceptual approach, a set of new constructs, and a novel methodology for formally analysing the IT landscape and identifying trends in IT evolution. A process theory perspective is adopted and a combination of visual mapping and quantification strategies is used to develop the artifacts and a state diagram-based technique to represent evolutionary transitions over time. Specifically, the artifacts provide tools for (a) codifying technological innovations based on the role they play within an ecosystem of interrelated technologies, (b) identifying dominant technology roles within an ecosystem using real-world data, and (c) visually representing patterns of technological change over time based on dominant technological roles. The face validity of the proposed approach and their applicability to real-world business problems is illustrated using two cases studiesa qualitative study of digital music technologies and a quantitative study of wireless networking technologies. 33. Lee, Johnny Jiung-Yee (2008), Complementary Effects of Information Technology Invetsment on Firm Profitability: The Functional Forms of the Complementarities, Information Systems Management, 25(4), 364-371. Economic complementarity occurs when some inputs are used together within consumption/production bundles and some additional utility/output are generated by the bundles other than the individual inputs. IT investment is believed to significantly contribute to firm accounting profitability when the interactions between IT components are included in their emVIKALPA VOLUME 34 NO 1 JANUARY - MARCH 2009

pirical model. This paper focuses on developing economic theory on the interrelation between information technology investment components. Three functional forms to model the joint effects between components of investment on firm accounting profitability are identified and empirically tested. The results suggest that the complementarities between components of IT investment can best be modeled by using the multiplicative functional forms, providing a framework to model the joint effects of different factors that impact firm profitability. The main effects of investment are negatively associated with profitability. For practitioners, the results indicate that the mix of investments effect should be taken with caution. Firms commonly invest in information systems as packages in hardware, software, training, labour and other infrastructure at the same time without evaluating the firms IT capacity as a whole. Without a global view of the mix in IT capacity, these kinds of decisions may consequently lead to poor profitability, warns the author. 34. Asghar, Sohail and Alahakoon, Damminda (2008), Categorization of Disaster Decision Support Needs for the Development of an Integrated Model for DMDSS, International Journal of Information technology & Decision Making 7(1), 115145. The wide variety of disasters has led to the demand for separate decision support system (DSS) models to manage different requirements. Model integration is a method that can help to reduce the complexity and inefficiency in dealing with several DSS models. This paper uses the modular approach to model management to provide a framework with which to use model integration for building a disaster management decision support system (DMDSS). The broader view of this approach is to provide the flexibility to organize and adapt a tailored DSS model according to the dynamic needs of a disaster. For this purpose, the existing modular subroutines of DSS models are selected and integrated to produce an integrated model focused on a given disaster scenario. The paper describes the technique used to identify suitable modular subroutines which is important before model integration is performed. The proposed scheme of modular subroutine selection can be considered a preliminary step for model integration. It was validated by using a subroutine known as Calculating Limit of Distance for Fire Spread. The approached used to identify such needs are also identified and mapped against traditional activities of disaster management. 35. Kappos, Antonio and Rivard, Suzanne (2008), A ThreePerspective Model of Culture, Information Systems, and their Development and Use, MIS Quarterly, 32(3), 601-634. In todays era of outsourcing and offshoring of information systems services, culture plays an important role in information systems initiatives. This paper proposes an integrated model of the relationships between culture, the development and use processes, and an information system. In order to integrate these three conceptualizations of culture, no single perspective is considered sufficient to capture the complexity of interplays between culture, the processes of developing and using an information system, and the information system itself. Therefore a three-perspective conceptualization is adopted that views culture along integration, differentiation, and fragmentation perspectives and it is hypothesized that all three

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come into play simultaneously and jointly to explain human action. The findings suggest that culture influences the development process; it moderates the relationship between the development process and the characteristics of the IS. Further, culture was found to moderate the relationship between the characteristics of the IS, acceptance and resistance, and use process. Finally, IS use was found to influence culture.

veals that commercialization of radical innovations translates into a firms financial performance; it is a stronger predictor of financial performance than other popular measures, such as patents. Innovative firms are those that understand these facts and adopt appropriate decisive practices. 38. Yang, Xiaohua; Lim, Yong-Taek; Sakurai, Yuka and Seo, Sun-Yea (2009), Internationalization of Chinese and Korean Firms, Thunderbird International Business Review, 51(1), 37-51. While there is a growing importance of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) from emerging economies, the understanding of this phenomenon is quite limited. This study examines the parallels and asymmetries in international expansionary activities and experiences between Chinese and Korean multinationals in order to contextualize how domestic competitive conditions precipitate and shape firms internationalization in emerging markets. The goal of this article is thus to contribute to the literature by shifting focus on hostcountry conditions to home-country conditions in explaining the drivers for firms internationalization. It specifically examines motivation for internationalization of Chinese and Korean firms in the framework of Porters Diamond. Porter argues that four broad interrelated attributes of a nation shape the environment and create a diamond of national competitive advantagefactor endowments, demand conditions, relating and supporting industries, and firm strategy, structure and rivalry. This study proposes that absence or deficiency of one or more diamond attributes in their domestic market may propel firms from emerging economies to go abroad. However, the propensity to internationalize may vary greatly with different domestic diamond conditions. It is believed that such a schema for understanding the conditions under which firms expand abroad could help in understanding the rise of MNEs from emerging markets as well as rationales behind their particular expansion behaviour and strategies. 39. Lee, Jung-Wan; Brahmasrene, Tantatape and Tai, Simon W (2008), Recent Evidence of Small Business Development in CIS Transition Economies, International Journal of Entrepreneurship, 12, 71-85. Due to the promotion and assistance given to small business sector by the governments and foreign agencies, there has been a proliferation of small private businesses in the CIS (Commonwealth Independent States) economies. This study investigates the role of small business development (SBD) in transitional economies of CIS and offers economic and financial recommendations for international policy makers. An economic research paradigm was developed to provide a macro view of CIS countries and applied to Kazakhastan in Central Asia. It has been observed that in addition to understanding the difficulties of entrepreneurship and private business startups, entrepreneurs and small business firms in transition economies may also have to cope up with an institutional environment that is usually unpredictable and keeps changing in a short period. A survey of 119 entrepreneurs and small business owners conducted in Kazakhastan found shortage of start-up capital as the major problem. Governments and small business supporting agencies are suggested to develop various financial support and tax incentive policies and programmes to enable entrepreneurs to raise sufficient capital for developing and sustaining small businesses.
ABSTRACTS

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
36. Williamson, Peter J and Zeng, Ming (2009), Value-forMoney Strategies for Recessionary Times, Harvard Business Review, March, 66-74. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, companies like GE, Kelogg, and Procter & Gamble outmaneuvered their rivals and became leaders by developing value-for-money strategies. They learnt to do the same with fewer resources, thereby improving their efficiency or do less with far fewer resources and economize. In both developed and developing world, delivering value for money has once again become critical. This paper suggests the companies to develop cost-innovation capabilities instead of refining the cost-cutting techniques. They must learn to reengineer their cost structures in novel ways so that they can offer customers dramatically more for less. Todays emerging market companies are dominating value-formoney segments at home and abroad not just by taking advantage of lower labour costs but through sophisticated costinnovation capabilities, which generally take one of the three forms: (a) Selling cutting-edge technology at mass-market prices; (b) Offering a large choice or customizing products; (c) Blowing up niches into mass markets. Companies in the developed world can find ways to break into value-for-money segments by reexamining the role of emerging markets in their strategies. They should treat developing countries as more than cheap manufacturing bases, launch in their home markets the products their overseas as subsidiaries have developed; deploy at home the cost-effective marketing techniques used in developing countries, team up with emerging giants, and invest in growing mass markets in developing countries. 37. Tellis, Gerard J; Prabhu, Jaideep C and Chandy, Rajesh K (2009), Radical Innovation across Nations: The Preeminence of Corporate Culture, Journal of Marketing, 73(1), 3-23. Radical innovation simultaneously drives market growth, firms success, and nations economic growth and is thus considered critically important by managers and governments across the world. This study examines a critical output of innovationthe commercialization of radically new products and looks at the inputs that actually yield outputs in the form of innovative products and financial returns. Further, radical innovation is studied in a large number of nations, including both developed and emerging economies. Insights and data at the macro level are combined with those at the micro level to examine the relative importance of firm versus national factors in driving innovation in firms across nations. Finally, prior research in marketing and management is integrated with research on trends in the global economy to propose and test a theory of radical innovation based on the corporate culture of the firm. The theory posits that in todays converging economies, among the many drivers of radical innovation, those based on corporate culture are likely to be primary drivers of such innovation in firms across nations. The study further re-

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40. Meyer, Klaus E; Estrin, Saul and Bhaumik, Sumon Kumar (2009), Institutions, Resources, and Entry Strategies in Emerging Economies, Strategic Management Journal, 30(1), 6180. While addressing the question, what determines foreign market entry strategies, the focus has generally been on the resources and capabilities of the entering firm. Recent research, however, places more emphasis on the institutions in the host economy. Given that the institutional frameworks of the emerging economies are very different from those of the developed economies, this paper examines how multinational enterprises, while entering emerging economies, choose among three modes of entry involving foreign direct investment: Greenfield, Acquisition, and joint venture (JV). A unique archival data from the mid-sized emerging economies of Egypt, India, South Africa, land Vietnam are integrated for testing the hypotheses developed in the study. It is argued that in a weaker institutional framework, JVs are used to access many resources. However, wherever institutions are stronger and ensure a higher degree of market effectiveness, JVs become less important while acquisitions become a more significant tool to access resources that are intangible and organizationally embedded. 41. Umlas, Elizabeth (2008), The Global Expansion of SRI: Facing Challenges, Meeting Potential, Development and Change, 39(6), 1019-1036. Socially responsible investment (SRI) is the practice of incorporating environmental, social, and corporate governance factorsESGinto investment decision making. Although it still accounts for a very small percentage of overall investment, and has been popular primarily in Europe and North America, the SRI movement is now spreading to developing countries. This trend indicates the potential for broadening the incorporation of ESG factors in investment decision making, and eventually increasing leverage, via shareowners, to hold corporations accountable for their social and environmental impact. However, these developments raise concerns about the future of SRI and the challenges it faces. Responsible investment is not a silver bullet, and importing ESG Lite could bring more harm than good to the cause pf changing corporate practices. This article argues that there are several sources of relatively untapped potential that SRI can and must exploit, not only to survive these challenges and address its own weaknesses, but to succeed in changing corporate behavior. The ultimate objective is not to create islands of SRI surrounded by mainstream investors; rather it is fundamentally to change thinking about investment and its effect on corporations and society more broadly, and to harness investment for positive change, the author adds.

paper uses available statistics and sample survey data for the years 2006 and 2007 to show the impacts of price hikes on lowincome groups and the poor in terms of food and energy consumption in China. It also considers the public action needed to balance food security and energy requirements. Data reveal a slower movement of inflation of food and energy prices in China compared to the international market. While the livelihood of low income groups is significantly affected, urban sample households in low income groups are found to shift from the consumption of high value food to lower value substitutes and all of the rural sample households are reducing their total consumption expenditure in real terms. The policy options are suggested at three levels. The emergency-response steps include raising the level of minimum living standard programme in proportion to CPI in both rural and urban sectors and making food security the first priority in public resource allocation. The mid-term strategies should include anti-monopoly tactics, improving the market environment for the right competition, and eliminating price distortion. Finally, a longer-term policy option is suggested for correcting the factor price formation mechanism and transforming the pattern of economic growth. 43. Lee, Jong-Wha; Park, Innwon and Shin, Kwanho (2008), Proliferating Regional Trade Arrangements: Why and Wither? The World Economy, 31(12), 1525-1558. Even after the launch of the WTO multilateral trading system, regional trading arrangements (RTAs) have been proliferating. The question is whether this proliferation of RTAs be a building block or a stumbling block to global free trade. This study empirically analyses the trade creation or diversion effects of various types of RTA proliferation such as expansion of existing RTAs, duplication of separate RTAs or establishment of overlapping RTAs. An extended gravity model is used on a large panel dataset of 175 countries from 1948 to 1999. RTAs on average are found to increase global trade by raising intra-bloc trade without damaging extra-bloc trade. The net trade effect, however, differs substantially according to the types of RTA evolution over time. Countries excluded from an RTA can obtain more benefit from duplicating a separate RTA than from joining an existing one. Also, the net tradecreating effects of RTAs are found to be substantially lower for countries participating in overlapping RTAs. The possibility of sphagetti bowl phenomenon in overlapping RTAs suggests that the current proliferation of RTAs may not lead the world economy to global free trade. The net trade-creating effects depend heavily on the various strategic evolutions of RTAs. Thus policy makers in RTA participating countries and multilateral institutions are suggested to carefully examine the evolutionary process of RTAs. 44. Du, Jun and Girma, Sourafel (2009), The Effects of Foreign Acquisition on Domestic and Export Market Dynamics in China, The World Economy, 32(1), 164-176. China is now the most attractive destination of export-oriented foreign direct investment (FDI) and is even called the export processing zone of the world. It has, however, been argued that because of financial discrimination by the state-dominated banking system, private enterprises in China have been forced to sell off their assets to foreign investors in order to realize

ECONOMICS
42. Zhu, Ling (2008), Impacts of Food and Energy Price Hikes and Proposed Coping Strategies, China & World Economy, 16(6), 35-45. The rising food and energy prices are significantly impacting people of all countries, particularly the economies that rely on energy and food imports posing a challenge for the international community to balance food security and energy needs. China has responded to this crisis with a number of measures, including export bans, price intervention and subsidies. This
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their growth potential. This paper addresses the question whether more acquisition FDI bring significant benefits to the acquired firms even after controlling for exporting and financing histories or is more acquisition FDI really less. It tests for the existence of a causal relationship between acquisition in China, and domestic and export market dynamics. The generalized propensity score method is applied to a rich micro panel data from China in order to trace the effects of successive changes in foreign equity share on domestic and export market dynamics. The paper documents robust evidence of causal relationships between foreign equity share and domestic and export market dynamics. It uncovers some interesting contrasts in the way foreign finance affects growth in the two markets. While the effect on exporting starts to decline once the share of foreign equity exceeds the 45 per cent mark, there is a monotonic relationship between domestic growth and foreign capital participation. Also, the authors find tentative evidence that foreign acquisition-induced domestic growth is increasing through time, indicating that acquisition FDI in China is simply motivated by the desire to use the country as an export platform. 45. Ge, Ying (2009), Globalization and Industry Agglomeration in China, World Development, 37(3), 550-559. Chinas economic development process reflects substantial regional disparity, especially the increasing income gap between coastal and interior areas. Several studies have shown the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on regional income growth. This paper investigates the linkage between globalization and industry agglomeration in China. With a focus on the spatial distribution of manufacturing industries, this study compares the degree of agglomeration of exporters and foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) with average level of total enterprises. It shows an upward trend in the degree of industry agglomeration during 1985-2005, and the exporters and FIEs being more geographically concentrated than other enterprises. They are also found to be located in regions with easy access to foreign markets and have a higher degree of agglomeration than other industries. The author discusses the several channels through which globalization-induced agglomeration may contribute to regional inequality. First, increasing disparity in regional industry structure might enlarge regional income gap. Second, industry agglomeration could generate positive externalities in local area and thus contribute to regional productivity disparity. Although Chinese government has initiated large projects to develop western interior area, through favourable fiscal policy, investment in infrastructure or direct state investment in manufacturing sector, yet these policies may not be effective in reducing the coast-inland gap, the author feels. 46. Athukorala, Prema-chandra (2009), The Rise of China and East Asian Export Performance: Is the Crowding-Out Fear Warranted? The World Economy, 32(2), 234-264. With Chinas emergence as a major trading nation, there has been an increasing fear in East Asian countries about the possibility of China crowding-out their export opportunities. This paper examines Chinas emerging trade patterns and their implications for export conformance of the other East Asian countries with a view to placing the policy debate on a firm factual and analytical footing. It is based on a comparative

analysis of both Chinas export performance in the global context and the emerging market opportunities in China, with a focus on the possible complementarities arising from Chinas rapid integration into global production networks. The findings suggest that the fear of export crowding-out has been vastly exaggerated in the contemporary policy debate on the implications of Chinas rise. In fact, Chinas rapid integration into cross-border production networks of vertically integrated global industries as a major assembly centre has opened up new opportunities for the other East Asian countries to specialize in parts and components production and assembly. Moreover, Chinas rapid world market penetration in traditional labour-intensive manufactured goods has occurred largely at the cost of the high-wage East Asian nations, which have been rapidly losing comparative advantage in these product lines as an integral part of the export-led industrial transformation.

AGRICULTURE/RURAL MANAGEMENT
47. Varamit, Suchaya and Pongquan, Soparth (2008), Impacts of Microfinance Strategies on the Economic Changes of Small Farmers in Northern Thailand: A Case Study, AsiaPacific Journal of Rural Development, 18(1), 57-80. The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) of Thailand changed its role from a formal financial institution, supporting the countrys agricultural development to a rural development bank, towards improving the quality of its microfinance services after the economic crisis. It has implemented various microfinance strategies (MFS) to rural farm and non-farm households for generating employment opportunities, increase local production as well as in the promotion of products network. This study assesses the impacts of the MFS on the economic changes focusing on household income, expenditures, savings occupational investments and loan repayment capacity of the rural households, especially the small scale farmers and the clients of BAAC. It also examined the feedback from the clients on the performance of BAAC in terms of the benefits they gained from the MFS and the problems encountered during its implementation for the improvement of MFS in the future. The results showed viable economic changes to the small farmers of the farm households (FHs) and the community enterprise households (CEH). Credit, insurance, debt suspension and debt burden reduction were the most effective strategies for improving the economic condition of the small farmers. The loan repayment capabilities of the FHs included loan repayment before participating in MFS, duration of enterprise engagement, and duration of being BAAC clients while for CEHs, it included amount of loan, duration of being BAAC clients, and income before participating in MFS. 48. Naidu, Sirisha C (2009), Heterogeneity and Collective Management: Evidence from Common Forests in Himachal Pradesh, India, World Development, 37(3), 676-686. While the concept of communities and participatory approaches are catching up in development and environmental fields, there is still an incomplete understanding about the heterogeneity within communities. One view advocates differential distribution of wealth within the community stating that provision of collective goods would be higher. On the

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ABSTRACTS

other hand, there are views suggesting an increase in discrimination against certain social and wealth classes due to heterogeneity. This paper conducts a statistical investigation into the impact of differences in economic benefits, wealth, and social classes within the community on collective management of forests. Contrary to conventional analyses, the statistical results suggest that caste parochialism is not a necessary characteristic of communities with high levels of collective management. Moderate levels of social diversity are associated with low collective management, but at high levels of social diversity, collective management is high. The results also indicate that wealth heterogeneity may not always be beneficial to cooperation. Controlling for heterogeneity in benefits (proxied by forest dependence), moderate levels of wealth heterogeneity may be beneficial to collective management, but very high levels of wealth differentiation lower the extent of collective management. 49. Hasan, Kamrul M; Miah, MA Monayem and Rahman, M Mizanur (2008), Influence of Environmental and Managerial Factors on Efficiency of Improved Pulse Production in Bangladesh, Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development, 18(1), 123-135. Bangladesh has a long history of producing pulse, cultivated using traditional methods, susceptible to diseases and insectspests, and having low yield. Adoption of modern agricultural technology is often stated to cause contamination of water, loss of genetic diversity, and deterioration of soil quality. Environmental problems along with physical resources and available technology are believed to greatly influence the production performance of crops. This paper measures the technical efficiency of pulse production at farm level with and without environmental factors to determine the effect of inefficiency variables on production and derive some policy implications for pulse production in Bangladesh. A set of environmental variables and managerial factors along with

input variables are included in the study to examine the production performance of improved pulse in Bangladesh. A parametric stochastic approach is fitted to farm level cross-sectional data for 360 improved pulse growers. Results reveal that environmental production conditions significantly affect technical efficiency and correlates of inefficiency. Increase in farmers education and training on pulse 50. Deichmann, Uwe; Shilpi, Forhad; and Vakis, Renos (2009), Urban Proximity, Agricultural Potential and Rural NonFarm Employment: Evidence from Bangladesh, World Development, 37(3), 645-660. Non-farm activities have emerged as a major source of income and employment in many developing countries especially for the asset-poor rural population. It has been observed that these activities thrive in areas with higher agricultural growth and are mostly located in and around towns and cities. Research so far seems to have studied farm and urban linkages in isolation. Using a simple conceptual framework that combines these separate approaches to examining urban and farm linkages, this paper sheds some light on the relative strength of these two forces in determining employment in different types of non-farm activities. The objective is to see how these two linkages jointly shape the spatial pattern of non-farm activities in the context of a developing country, Bangladesh. The econometric analysis results suggest that people are more likely to be employed in better-paid wage employment and self-employment in the non-farm sector if they are closer to urban centres. Those who are away from such centres are even less likely to be in well-paying non-farm jobs if they are living in areas with greater agricultural potential. The empirical results highlight the need for improving connectivity of regions with higher agricultural potential to urban centres for stimulating growth in high-return wage employment and self-employment in non-farm activities in Bangladesh.

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power. Alan Cohen

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