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To contribute to the debate on the importance of state vis-à-vis inter-firm competition in regional development, this paper examines a representative dataset of the relocation of manufacturing firms in Guangdong province of China with multinomial logistic regression models. To improve the competitiveness of manufacturing in the Pearl River Delta, the Guangdong government implemented pro-active policies to encourage the relocation of existing manufacturing firms to their designated industrial parks during the 2000s. Although the initial results appear to support the usefulness of relocation policy, further examination reveals its effectiveness depends on the industrial sector and profiles of the relocated firms. In fact, the relocation of large-scale labor-intensive firms is not driven by local government initiatives. The physical proximity of high-technology parks to airports/ports has a bigger impact on the relocation of small-scale locally-funded high-technology firms into designated parks. In the case of locally-funded firms in polluting sectors, they are expanding rather than relocating to designated industrial parks. The empirical evidence indicates the non-binary nature of the industrial relocation policy. The nuances of relocation policy and its multi-scalar effects on relocated firms rejects any simplistic generalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From a knowledge-based perspective, this paper highlights the need for a framework linking perceived competition of the industry and firms' strategic location choices of external knowledge search and examines whether the perceived competition increases the propensity of cluster firms to search more widely from extra-cluster knowledge sources than intra-cluster knowledge sources. Furthermore, we emphasise that cluster firms with varying degrees of tacitness in their knowledge base might respond to such competition differently when conducting external knowledge search activities. Using a sample of 310 cluster firms in the Zhejiang Province of China, we find that the cluster firm would increase the propensity for more geographic boundary-spanning search relative to local search while under the pressure of competition. Moreover, the positive relationship between perceived competition and the propensity towards geographic knowledge search is weaker when the tacitness of the cluster firm's knowledge base is higher. The findings contribute to the understanding of the relationship between competition and the choice of location strategies in external knowledge search. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses how the competition between China and the EU in export markets has affected the trade performance of European countries. It first draws on a comparison between Germany and France before turning to discuss the economic and social impact of China's internationalization on Europe's economies. The results suggest that even in the recent years when China has gained prominence, it should not be blamed for more than half of the measured effects for emerging countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper attempts to develop a better understanding of the evolution and future prospects of a container port by drawing on the changing international, national and local factors since the 1990s. Hong Kong, the world's busiest container port, is chosen as a case study. Against the background of four international megatrends of increasingly large containerships (and the restructuring of the liner shipping industry), the high spatial agglomeration of container traffic, the emergence of inland load centres and the growing importance of railways, the levels and the spatial dimensions of containerization in the People's Republic of China are systematically examined. Then, the relevancy of these factors in shaping the evolution and competitive position of Hong Kong's container port is highlighted at the local level. This paper finds that the changing policies of the Hong Kong government have not been consistent with the international and national trends associated with the development of a better integrated port – inland distribution system (and land bridges) based on road and railways. Market forces cannot explain the container port development satisfactorily. Political and other considerations have become equally, if not more, important. In the future, the competitive edge of Hong Kong's container port lies with serving the wider inland areas of Mainland China and the tapping of medium- and long-distance container freight, more economically transported by railways than by road or inland river. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the evolution of the industrial structure of global financial firms since the 1970s, during which time, free market policies dominated theoretical and practical policy discussion. It examines the logic behind and evidence on consolidation in the international financial services industry. It analyses the impact of Washington Consensus policies upon the expansion of global banks in developing and transition economies. It contrasts the evolution of the international banking structure during the era of modern globalisation with that in China, which has followed a fundamentally different path. Although Chinese banks have large profits and market capitalisation, their international competitiveness is still limited. Global banks have only a small role in the Chinese economy and Chinese banks have a small role in the international economy. The contrast between the two systems is of central importance for the way in which competition and regulation develops in the global financial sector. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Agglomeration theory argues that locating close to competitors can be beneficial in terms of gaining from heightened demand - more frequent consumer visits and subsequent purchases through reducing consumer search costs. This paper examines the trade-off between competition and the agglomeration effects of physical proximity in the Beijing hotel industry. It seeks to answer two questions: (1) What types of hotels contribute more to agglomeration? (2) What types of hotels benefit more from agglomeration? The results suggest that only high star-ranking joint venture hotels contribute to heightened demand while hotels of all star rankings benefit similarly from agglomeration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conducts an analysis of Macau's strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) as related to its gaming development strategy in the wake of its issuance of multiple gaming licenses. The analysis shows that copying the Las Vegas style is non-optimal for Macau because it will force Macau to compete with Las Vegas and other Las Vegas-style Asian gaming destinations for casino visitors and fight with Hong Kong for non-gaming tourists in the future. Furthermore, this approach will change Macau's current market position as a gamblers' destination and cut into operation profits. Taking advantage of its cultural heritage and unique market segmentation, Macau may develop Chinese- and/or Portuguese-theme casinos heavily leaning toward gaming activities. By creating its own gaming model, Macau may not only maintain its market niche in the future but also develop its gaming industry in a more profitable way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior to Hong Kong's 1997 handover to China, some political economists predicted that a regime shift from London to Beijing would result in a deterioration of Hong Kong's economic and institutional freedoms. Such predictions would seem to have proven accurate according to annual indices of international economic freedom and competitiveness. These have seen Hong Kong's previously high ranking decline. However, whether Chinese sovereignty or local Hong Kong government ineptitude is responsible for such decline is uncertain; both have been blamed for a series of incidents that have brought Hong Kong's competitiveness and economic, civil and political freedoms into question. Using data collected from 130 domestic and foreign firms in Hong Kong, this paper disentangles the degree to which the `high politics' of the city now being part of China or the `low politics' of local government action account for Hong Kong's diminished international reputation for economic freedom and competitiveness. Results for all firms suggest that both Chinese sovereignty and local government actions are equally to blame, but that Chinese sovereignty mediates adverse local government actions. However, results differ by firm origin, and those for domestic Hong Kong firms cast doubt on the general success of China's `one country two systems' policy and raise specific concerns about the policy's potential applicability to Taiwan. Overall, results highlight the importance of macro-political economy factors in assessing comparative international competitiveness and provide objective evidence in support of international political economy theory suggesting that a shift from liberal to more authoritarian regimes will adversely affect already affluent economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, China's container ports have experienced a significant expansion in throughput and capacity. This paper provides a review of the sector and analyses the recent development of container ports and terminals within Mainland China. It then focuses in more depth on the competition between the ports of Shenzhen and Hong Kong. In particular, the port of Shenzhen is analysed in the context of Robinson's criteria for hub port development to try to discern whether it will become the dominant regional hub. The discussion concludes that despite Shenzhen's current competitive advantages, Hong Kong will, in all probability, retain its dominant role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the China Development Forum in Beijing, March 2002, I was asked to be discussant to Governor Dai Xianlong, but his paper, as in most cases, was not made available beforehand, so my own comments had to be made independently. Following that event, I can now remark on the Forum as well as reproducing my discussant paper. In this latter, I emphasize the importance of developing professional skills, greater competition and the application, through regulation, of appropriate incentives for the continued improvement of China's financial system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fierce competition in today's global markets has forced enterprises to improve their quality, cost, delivery, new product introduction speed, customer services, and the ability to be innovative. These six competitive factors are vital to the success of an enterprise. Enterprises in China are now facing a life and death transition in the dynamic market-driven economy. China's entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will create more fierce competition in China's market and will, inevitably, speed up the life and death process of Chinese enterprises. In this paper, we study the competitive priorities of 138 enterprises in mainland China by investigating the importance of these different priorities over the next 5 years, and their perceived strength relative to their primary competitors. We assess the reliability of the competitive priority instrument used in the Boston University Manufacturing Features Survey. The result shows that innovativeness, after-sale services, quality, and flexibility will become the most important competitive priorities among these Chinese enterprises in the next 5 years. Most of the companies also believe that they are stronger than their major competitors in the most important competitive priority areas. However, they believe that they have a lower level of relative strength in the area of innovativeness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What does the decision to designate China as a "long-term strategic competitor" imply for U.S. defence strategy? To address this question, we draw on net assessment and competitive strategies, two complementary frameworks developed in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) during the Cold War to understand and manage long-term competition with the Soviet Union, respectively. Net assessment and competitive strategies are tailored around specific competitors and follow a characteristically dialectical approach to strategic planning, based on complex, recursive calculations of move and countermove. We argue that the identification of China as a long-term strategic competitor has paved the way for an increasingly systematic application of net assessment and competitive strategies within DoD, even if obstacles to such application still remain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes whether competition with China displaced domestic manufacturing jobs in Chile using a panel of 4-digit ISIC manufacturing industries during 1995–2006. The study estimates empirical models for six job aggregates that are matched to occupational types that are either replaceable by technological change (routine) or not (non-routine). Results show that due to tougher competition with Chinese imports, jobs held by men in non-routine and routine manufacturing occupations contracted, whereas jobs held by women in routine manufacturing occupations increased. Only one type of non-routine occupation, managerial jobs, held by women contracted due to the competition with China. HIGHLIGHTS Import competition with China during 1995–2006 reduced men's manufacturing jobs in Chile, but had mixed results for women. Men's jobs declined in management, administrative, clerical, and custodial occupations. Women's jobs decreased in managerial positions, but increased in low-skilled positions. Low-skilled women workers may be substituting men's jobs like machines. A rise in women's routine jobs does not suggest improvement in employment conditions or wages, nor in attachment to the labor force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the impact of Chinese supply and demand shocks on Peruvian firm-product exports. Our results indicate that Chinese competition has a positive and significant effect on Peruvian firm exports, which suggests that firms are either (1) concentrating on markets where competition is tougher, (2) increasing R&D efforts, and/or (3) benefiting from a comparative advantage. The demand from China also has an overall positive and significant effect on Peruvian exports, but negative effect on the subset of data pertaining to minerals. This suggests that Peruvian commodities are being redirected from other markets to China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines two aspects of trade, dependence and competition, between China and Asian countries. The study first outlines China's evolution from a small trading nation that is highly dependent on the Soviet Union to the world's largest trading nation with a diversified trade structure. After being dependent on the Soviet Union during the 1950s, China was dependent on Japan in terms of trade from the 1970s to the 1990s. However, during the first two decades of the 21st century, the relationship between the two countries completely changed. This study further examines bilateral trade relationships of South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, vis-à-vis China. The study shows that Asian countries have become increasingly dependent on China in terms of trade, at the expense of trade with their conventional partners, namely Japan and the United States. Intra-ASEAN trade is also eclipsed by the growth of trade with China. Additionally, the study reveals, competition in export markets between China and Asian countries has intensified. The high-income countries in Asia have been caught up by China, while the low-income countries are also facing increasing competitive pressure from China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese entry to the WTO in December 2001 marks a new phase in agricultural trade, both nationally and globally. After a context review of Chinese agriculture and WTO-related policy issues, this paper first uses a Balassa index approach to examine Chinas relative competitiveness in some major food products over the period since 1985, followed by an analysis of price-cost ratios and production cost structures for these products. It is found that China has revealed comparative advantages in meat products but disadvantages in cereals. With limited land resources, its production and trade competitiveness has declined despite rapid substitution of capital for labour, due to a marked rise in relative labour price in agriculture. In the long run, it is expected that WTO membership will boost Chinese agricultural trade, but its impact on competitiveness will probably depend more on production costs, and will differ between crops and animal products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Asia-Pacific region has the highest number of active smokers in the world. Efforts to reduce tobacco use should implement evidence-based measures. The Association of Pacific Rim Universities is a non-profit network of more than 50 universities representing 18 economies. In 2017, it held a virtual global health case competition relating to the use of universities as platforms for tobacco control. This study is a content analysis of tobacco control proposals submitted by 24 teams from 10 economies. Content analysis of the 10-min videos examined (1) general tone and scope of videos; (2) contextual analysis; (3) intervention approaches; (4) theoretical framework; (5) primary versus secondary prevention; (6) individual versus structural approaches. Proposals were not comprehensive; most included some but not all elements recommended by the WHO FCTC. Smoking was often referred to as a 'habit' (instead of an addiction), which likely explains the predominance of individual-level behavior change interventions (smoking cessation) over structural interventions (tobacco ad or sales bans). The most common intervention was the enforcement of current bans on smoking (proposed in 78% of videos), perceived as a major barrier to tobacco control. While most proposals emphasized individual components (e.g. health education and peer support), some also proposed to create more supportive smoke-free environments through billboards, posters and cues to action, such as 'no smoking' reminders and signs with cessation hotline numbers. University faculty, students and campus-wide organizations are well positioned to lead tobacco control efforts. More work is needed to support the establishment of smoke-free campus environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the online travel industry, many hotels collaborate with online travel agencies (OTAs) to attract new customers to book hotels. Meanwhile, hotels and OTAs compete with each other for repeat customers because hoteliers are unwilling to pay a commission to OTAs for the same customers again. The purpose of this study is to investigate the collaboration and competition between OTAs and hotels. The quality of OTA websites and customer values of hotel booking services are key factors in attracting customers in the online-to-offline-to-online (O2O2O) commerce. In particular, the data were collected from China and Vietnam in the travel industry. The results compare the differences and similarities of cross-country customer perceptions and the behavioral intentions of OTAs and hotels. The findings provide insights into the collaboration and competition between OTAs and hotels from a global perspective. Managerial implications for hotels that partner with OTAs are also offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A new policy which required deregulation on prices of off-patent medicines for women's health during procurement was introduced in China in September 2015. The current study examines this policy's impact on the affordability of essential medicines for women's health.Methods: Based on product-level panel data, a fixed effect regression model is employed by using procurement records from Hubei Centralist Tender for Drug Purchase platform. In the model, Affordability was measured with prices. The Competition consists of two parts: generic competition and therapeutic class competition which are measured with generic competitors and therapeutic substitutes. Instrument variable is used to deal with endogeneity.Results: The policy helped control prices of essential medicines for women's health. Generic competition helped control prices, however, therapeutic class competition caused higher prices.Conclusions: The new policy helped enhance the affordability of essential medicines for women's health as expected, which provides empirical evidence on price deregulation. Besides, generic competition is important in price control despite strict regulatory system in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing importance of transparency practices and the improving status of bank competition in China are rarely explored in nonperforming loans (NPLs) literature. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine banking system transparency and competition along with macroeconomic and bank-specific variables as determinants of NPL. We use the two-step system GMM dynamic panel model for Chinese banks based on annual data from 2000 to 2014. Our results indicate that high transparency in the Chinese banking system decreases poor-quality assets but not in the case of government-owned banks, whereas increase in competition increases NPL. Moreover, we find mixed results in the context of macroeconomics and bank-specific variables. Our study has practical implications in risk management practices and macro prudential policies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Many empirical studies suggest that financial reform promoted bank competition in most mature and emerging economies. However, some earlier studies that adopted conventional approaches to measure competition have concluded that bank competition in China declined during the past decade, despite progressive reforms implemented since the 1980s. We show that this apparent contradiction is the result of flawed measurement. Conventional indicators such as the Lerner index and Panzar–RosseH-statistic fail to measure competition in Chinese loan markets properly due to the system of interest rate regulation. By contrast, the profit elasticity (PE) approach does not suffer from these shortcomings. Using balance sheet information for a large sample of banks operating in China during 1996–2008, we show that competition actually increased in the past decade when the PE indicator is used. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: The National Clinical Skills Competition has been held in China for 5 consecutive years since 2010 to promote undergraduate education reform and improve the teaching quality. The effects of the simulation-based competition will be analyzed in this study. Methods: Participation in the competitions and the compilation of the questions used in the competition finals are summarized, and the influence and guidance quality are further analyzed. Through the nationwide distribution of questionnaires in medical colleges, the effects of the simulation-based competition on promoting undergraduate medical education reform were evaluated. Results: The results show that approximately 450 students from more than 110 colleges (accounting for 81% of colleges providing undergraduate clinical medical education in China) participated in the competition each year. The knowledge, skills, and attitudes were comprehensively evaluated by simulation-based assessment. Eight hundred and eighty copies of the questionnaires were distributed to 110 participating medical schools in 2015. In total, 752 valid responses were received across 95 schools. The majority of the interviewees agreed or strongly agreed that competition promoted the adoption of advanced educational principles (76.8%), updated the curriculum model and instructional methods (79.8%), strengthened faculty development (84.0%), improved educational resources (82.1%), and benefited all students (53.4%). Conclusions: The National Clinical Skills Competition is widely accepted in China. It has effectively promoted the reform and development of undergraduate medical education in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does the rate of return from the Chinese real estate industry correlate with the intensity of competition among real estate firms? If China’s equity market performs efficiently, the rates of return of real estate firms should vary indirectly with their level of monopoly power. Greater monopoly power reduces earnings risk and leads to lower costs of capital. The authors analyze empirical evidence and indicate no relationship exists between returns and competition. Speculation may induce stock prices to deviate from normal values. Because normal values assume no speculation, Chinese markets are not likely to be economically efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Using provincial panel data for Chinese commercial banks in the period 2002–2007, this article investigates the impact of competition and privatization on bank lending efficiency. We find evidence of noncommercialization in lending activities. In comparison with privatization, competition plays a more important role in improving lending efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Academic considerations of African communications, media and journalism are in their embryonic stages, to the extent that they trail other strands of engagement within highly dynamic China-Africa relations. Yet, media reporting of China by Chinese, African and global media have been in flux since the inauguration of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2000. Three layers of perspective on China-Africa media confluences are discernible: the re-entry of Chinese media into the African media space; China-Africa communication/media scholarship is only now beginning to gain traction; and finally, a distinction can be made between media reporting on China-Africa relations and academic/scholarly considerations. Motivated by these hypothetical perspectives, this article broadly describes and discusses four emerging trends and patterns in China-Africa media links, extrapolating trends in policy documents, recent media reporting and scholarly perspectives on the topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State-owned hotel (SOH) management is highly controversial given its poor economic performance, state ownership, and unique management structure. This article identifies the challenges of SOHs and discusses how the SOHs can improve their performance. The results, based on 15 semistructured interviews with state-owned hotel senior managers and employees, suggest that the SOHs in Hangzhou are encountering various problems in relation to their ownership, human resources, market competition, and management. Suggestions to improve the performance of SOHs in China are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The structure–conduct–performance (SCP) paradigm posits that market structure determines market performance, and the generally low productivity of China’s construction industry is a reflection of the irrationality of its market structure. Currently, the main approaches for measuring market structure can be classified as either structural approaches or non-structural approaches. Because the statistical data on structural approaches is one-sided, the indicators for the Panzar–Rosse model (a non-structural approach) for the construction industry can be selected by examining the Panzar–Rosse model and comparing the characteristics of the construction industry with those of the banking industry. The Panzar–Rosse model is employed to assess the market structure of 21 listed companies in China’s construction industry during the period from 2009 to 2011. The analysis revealed that China’s construction industry operates under conditions of monopolistic competition with free-entry equilibrium. The methods and results of the research are expected to contribute to the advancement of theories related to and methods of analysing the market structure of industries other than the banking industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's previous strict adherence to a policy of peaceful development has been offset in recent years by a more proactive and assertive stance in pursuit of core national interests, creating considerable concern among its regional neighbors. International relations experts in China and elsewhere are divided about whether its future relationship with the United States will be predominately competitive or whether economic interdependence and a common interest in a peaceful and stable Asia-Pacific will encourage a renewed emphasis on cooperation. Support for a cooperative approach is evident on both sides, however. This may be sufficient, with appropriate policies, to reverse the current adversarial trend. Given the huge stake that China, the United States, and the international community have in a workable bilateral relationship, hopes to get it back on track are realistic, but both sides will need to address inconsistencies in their current foreign policies and exercise greater mutual restraint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As emerging economies integrate their markets with the rest of the world, competition-driven changes in profitability are increasingly affected by shocks of various types from the business environment. We examine the dynamics of profitability distributions under such conditions using China’s WTO accession as a natural experiment to carry out before and after comparisons. Our results suggest that after WTO accession, the long-run (ergodic) distribution of conditional profitability rates of Chinese firms has become more dispersed. Due to the large proportion of firms at the poor performance end, this suggests that the financial stability of the Chinese economy will be endangered if the business environment were to deteriorate. There is an urgent need to reduce the widening span of the distribution of profitability at the lower end by accelerating the restructuring of Chinese companies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the current study, an integration of insights from institutional theory and organization ecology is used to explain the relationship between industry-level ownership structure and the establishment of foreign invested firms in the Chinese construction industry. It is argued that in a stated-owned enterprises dominated environment, where the market forces are weak, legitimation is the major driving force harming the proliferation of foreign firms, whereas in a private-enterprise dominated environment, where the market forces are strong, competition is the major driving force inhibiting the viability of foreign firms. Thus, concentration of either state ownership, implying lower legitimation of the foreign firm form, or concentration of private ownership, triggering tough competition from domestic private firms, is hypothesized to have a negative impact on the number of foreign firms. Using a regional data set from 1994 to 2007, estimation of a cross-section-time series model largely confirms our theoretical claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study assesses the past, present, and future prospects of the China Import and Export Fair, commonly known as 'Canton Fair.' It provides a chronological analysis of the fair's characteristics and management, exhibitor and buyer profiles and interactions, appraises aspects of the venue and community impacts, and examines future prospects. Secondary research, observations, and in-depth interviews with relevant industry executives form the basis of this case study analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the global marketplace, managers and employees must work together even though they may have suspicions based on their different countries' historical rivalry. Social psychological research suggests that co-operative goals and applying abilities for mutual benefit can strengthen the leader relationship between Japanese managers and their Chinese employees. Working in Japanese enterprises in Shanghai, China, 100 employees in private Japanese companies in China indicated their goal interdependence with their Japanese and Chinese managers, their applying abilities for mutual benefit and their conclusions that their manager had valuable abilities and was an effective leader. Structural equation analysis suggested that applying abilities for mutual benefit mediates the relationship between goal interdependence and leader resourcefulness and effectiveness, especially when the manager is Chinese and less so when their manager is Japanese. These results, coupled with previous research, were interpreted as suggesting that co-operative goals and applying abilities for mutual benefit contribute to effective leadership even when managers and employees have different nationalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates whether Singapore can maintain its competitive advantage in manufacturing from a labour productivity perspective vis-àvis China and Malaysia, which are generally viewed as Singapore's competitors in manufacturing. We also investigate the extent to which China is closing the labour productivity gap with Singapore and Malaysia in technology-intensive segments of manufacturing. Our analysis reveals that China has the potential to develop a high labour-productivity and low-wage manufacturing sector. In terms of manufacturing labour productivity, China is moving towards convergence with Malaysia. Compared with Singapore, China's manufacturing labour productivity is still far behind, especially in key technology-intensive industries like electronics and chemicals, such that it is unlikely for China to catch up with Singapore within a decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Authors of this article looks for both continuity and change in human resource management (HRM) practices since the time the contribution on the People's Republic of China was written and whether relative convergence been taken one - or more steps - further. The main theoretical proposition we will explore below is the relationship between greater marketization and the pragmatic, step-wise adoption of HRM norms and practices, arguing that the faster the former proceeds, the more widespread the diffusion of the latter. The authors of this article have reviewed the pragmatic, step-wise path to HRM in China. As the non-state owned sectors expand and the state-owned enterprises shrink correspondingly, the impact of World Trade Organization entry is predicted to lead to more competition and greater marketization.

Focuses on the competition between India and China in the software development industry. Factors that influence the industry; Overview of the information technology sector in both countries; Similarities and differences between the software industry in both countries.

Examines the factors influencing the success of firms competing in business-to-business markets in China. Level of market orientation; Outward-oriented organizational culture and climate; Innovativeness of business enterprises.

International indices of competitiveness have seen Hong Kong downgraded from its former position as possibly the world's most competitive business environment. Such indices have cited government actions as a prime cause of Hong Kong's competitiveness decline. Hong Kong's government, however, has dismissed such a conclusion as subjective and incorrect, thereby raising fears that it may not fully understand the nature of the problem and will therefore be unlikely to seek to effect any solution. Using quantitative data from 130 foreign and local firms operating in the city and from 98 LEGCO members and senior Hong Kong government officials, this research objectively examines the extent to which firms and government officials respectively (i) consider that Hong Kong's international competitiveness has diminished, and (ii) ascribe any such decline to government or other factors. Results show that firms do indeed consider Hong Kong's international competitiveness to have declined, whereas government officials do not. Moreover, government officials are found to consider that if there is any decline it can significantly be ascribed to cost and regional competition factors, whereas firms significantly ascribe competitiveness decline exclusively to government rather than to cost or competition factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's industrial state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have seen a secular decline in profitability throughout the reform period. Barry Naughton argues that this decline was in large part due to a decline in monopoly rents as competition with enterprises in other ownership forms increased. Fan Gang and Woo Wing-Thye, on the other hand, contend that profitability declined across all sectors independent of the degree of competition, and that excessive labor remuneration accounts for the broad decline in SOE profitability. Testing the two hypotheses with aggregate sectoral and provincial data from the mid-1980s to the late-1990s, neither appears convincing. Yet at closer inspection these are not competing hypotheses. The two causes affect overall profitability through different channels. Competition and labor remuneration have a highly significant impact on intermediate profitability measures that take the two channels into account separately. Together they explain most of the variation in overall profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method for analysing the competitiveness of a consultant's two-envelope fee tendering history is proposed and illustrated in an application to one of Hong Kong's larger quantity surveying practices. Separate measures for determining consultants' fee, quality score and overall competitiveness are considered to accommodate the special nature of the Hong Kong system, which makes cross-auction comparisons impossible. Maximum fee competitiveness is assumed to be the lowest submitted tender fee, while maximum quality score competitiveness is taken to be the highest quality score attained by a competing consultant. Fees and quality score are then expressed as separate competitiveness ratios relative to these maximums and aggregated for determining overall competitiveness. In analysing bidding performance it was found that this consultant's fee, quality score and overall competitiveness are all above the competitor average. These competitiveness measures reveal large differences in variability between quality score and fees, with quality score variability being considerably lower. Such a large imbalance in competitiveness variability effectively discounts quality and promotes the influence of the fee, since competitiveness ratio differences between fees are much larger than the competitiveness ratio differences between quality scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates whether the enterprise reforms were helpful for the technical efficiency of China's state-owned enterprises. A stochastic varying coefficients frontier approach is applied on enterprise survey data in 1992. The results suggest that exposure to market competition (or less state intervention) is positively correlated with firms' level of technical efficiency. There is no evidence, however, of positive contribution by adoption of the new enterprise institutions to technical efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]