A New Retail Technology in Asia: Warehouse Clubs
Cecilia Chi-Yin Yu, Research Associate; Dr. Neil C. Herndon, Jr., University Lecturer, Department of Business and Management, The City University of Hong Kong | Retail technologies vary in their success in countries other than where they were developed to some degree based on the nature of the environment that they encounter. Elements that contribute to the success of a retailing form in one country's culture may be absent in the culture of another country making the international transfer of retailing technology less successful. This study examines the entry of warehouse clubs into the Asian environment in terms of how well this retail technology, primarily developed in the West, meets the needs of Chinese customers. Warehouse clubs - also called wholesale clubs - are usually thought of as large scale, members only, selling operations that combine features of cash-and-carry wholesaling and discount retailing. The main strategic focus is on keeping costs low and turnover high; the main attraction for customers tends to be the comparatively lower price they pay for goods. Customers are thought to be willing to give up certain conveniences in order to obtain these low prices. However, it is likely that some minimum level of service is necessary in order for the customer to be willing and able to use this retailing form. This study examines value received by the customer through service offerings, atmospherics, and locational convenience. It finds that some service elements are more important to shoppers than others. Locational convenience appears to be a large concern for respondents. Based on these findings, implications for managers and researchers are offered. | The Quest for Quality Management: Profiling the Pioneers in Hong Kong
Maris G. Martinsons, Associate Professor, Department of Business and Management, The City University of Hong Kong | The ISO 9000 standards have been rapidly accepted by business communities around the world. An on-going research programme focuses on the implementation of quality management systems based on these standards. This article presents data collected from the managers of the first cohort of firms to receive ISO 9000 certification in the export-driven Hong Kong economy. The results indicate that their managers typically made a non-compensatory choice to pursue quality certification and only subsequently elaborated a quality-based strategy. Quality systems implementation was perceived to have resulted in greater control, higher employee morale and fewer production errors. The presence of such a system was also linked to higher quality outputs and more satisfied customers. Despite the absence of substantial improvements in either quality costs, sales levels or profit margins during the initial post-certification period, the informants expected tangible long-term benefits. | Exploring Chinese Conflict Management Styles in Joint Ventures in The People's Republic of China
Daniel Z. Ding, Assistant Professor, Department of Business and Management, The City University of Hong Kong | This paper centers on the exploration of Chinese conflict management styles in the context of international joint ventures in The People's Republic of China (PRC). Based on interviews conducted with directing managers in U.S. - Chinese joint ventures and seminars held in China on conflict management in such ventures, major characteristics of Chinese conflict management styles are discussed. Influenced by the traditional Chinese values, norms, and philosophies, Chinese managers in joint ventures tend to adopt contigent, long-term, contextual, and holistic approaches to conflict resolution. | Chinese Cultural Values and Segmentation of Youth Apparel Market: A Hong Kong Experience
Vincent S. Fok, Lecturer; Viola K. Chong, Research Associate Department of Business and Management, The City University of Hong Kong. | This paper examines the usage of cultural values in market segmentation. The study involved young Chinese consumers apparel in Hong Kong. The Chinese Cultural Values Scale (CCVS) (Yau 1994) was adopted as the measurement instrument of the value construct. Samples were asked to rate the importance of various store attributes in their choices of where to purchase. The analysis involved multivariate statistical methods. Respondents were segmented into four clusters and contrasted. It revealed that clusters with different value orientations rated differently the importances of ten store attributes. Implications for marketers were proposed. | The Impact of Moral Ethos on How Ethical Dilemmas are Experienced and Resolved in Six Hong Kong Companies
Robin S. Snell, Almaz M.K. Chak, and Keith F. Taylor, Department of Business and Management, Faculty of Business, The City University of Hong Kong | The moral ethos profiles (MEPs) of six Hong Kong companies were investigated via questionnaires and in-depth qualitative interviews and analyzed according to the Kohlberg stages model. In five of the companies, the MEPs obtained via interviews were consistent with those obtained from the questionnaires. Interviews and questionnaires were also used to investigate how managers in these companies tackled ethical dilemmas (both real work-based ones of their own and hypothetical ones). In the company with the consistently least virtuous MEP, managers used more lower-stage ethical reasoning to tackle ethical dilemmas. There was, however, no difference between managers in companies with the most virtuous and moderately virtuous MEPs in terms of the stage-level of ethical reasoning they used to tackle ethical dilemmas. The study helped to refine a moral ethos questionnaire. |
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