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Purpose: This paper aims to study how state ownership influences the innovation process in terms of allocating resources toward searching for new solutions and converting these efforts into economic value. On one hand, deep pockets of the state provide slack resources that may facilitate risk taking and innovation. On the other hand, soft budgets can create incentive problems and dampen the efficient use of resources. The authors suggest how accounting for competitive context can disentangle these countervailing forces. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use a panel of over 240,000 Chinese firms over the years 2004–2008. The broad sample and period afforded substantial variability in terms of state ownership within and across firms. The authors use a two-stage model and a within-firm (i.e. fixed-effects) design, controlling for all time-invariant firm characteristics and the problematic unobserved heterogeneity that can often lead to erroneous inferences. Furthermore, the relatively short window limits the likelihood of time-varying unobserved firm characteristics biasing the empirical results. Findings: The authors found that private-sector competition has the opposite effect on the relationship between state ownership and the second step of the innovation process. In industries where there is robust private-sector competition, state ownership diminishes the firm's ability to convert R&D efforts into economic value. Private-sector competition competes away any advantages state-owned firms may have in terms of developing or accessing the complementary resources needed for commercialization. Ultimately, the inefficiencies of state ownership in terms of relatively undisciplined selection and monitoring of R&D activities outweigh any potential resource advantages derived from state ownership. Originality/value: The state remains a prominent player in many economies throughout the world. The authors explored how state ownership of firms influences the resources they expend in searching out new solutions, and their success in converting such resources into economically valuable new products and services. State ownership has potentially countervailing effects on innovation. The authors disentangle these countervailing effects through consideration of how accounting for competitive context could determine whether the beneficial effects of state ownership dominate its detrimental effects for both searching for new solutions and converting these efforts into economically valuable new products. With a focus of market competition as an external force that drives the difference in innovation between SOEs and the private-sector, this study serves as a parallel effort to Jia et al. (2019) who investigate the joint effect of public and corporate governance on SOEs' innovation performance, and Zhou et al. (2017) who concern the balance of the institution and efficiency logics on the comparative advantage of SOEs over privately owned enterprises in innovation performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold to examine the factors that contribute to local bias of venture capital in China and to explore the relationship between local bias and performance of venture capital institutions. Design/methodology/approach: Local bias was measured in line with the model developed by Cumming and Dai (2010). Regression techniques were performed for our long-term cross-sectional data to analyse the potential determinants of local bias. This is followed by the Probit model to test the relationship between local preference and successful exit. Findings: The overall finding indicated that local bias in China increased over time. The stiff competition among venture capital institutions reduced local bias, but the enhanced innovation capabilities of a particular geographical area amplified local bias because of the knowledge spillover effect. Finally, the results suggested that venture capital institutions with less local bias enjoy a greater likelihood of making successful exits. Research limitations/implications: This study used successful venture capital exit as a proxy for venture capital institution's performance because of the unavailability of information such as internal rate of return. Future research should try to adopt other way of measuring venture capital institution's performance. Practical implications: This study sheds light on the various possible causes of local bias that the policymakers need to be aware of. Despite the rapid rise of China's venture capital market in recent years, venture capital institutions have yet to make inroads into the local high-tech industry. This study implies to the policymakers that to reverse this trend, they should formulate policies that foster the long-term performance of venture capital institutions, mitigate the severity of local bias and raise the competitiveness of the Chinese venture capital market. Originality/value: Because of data limitations, there is currently lack of prior empirical research on local bias of Chinese venture capital institutions based on large-scale data. This study intends to fill the gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of competition on credit risk, liquidity risk, capital risk and insolvency risk in the Chinese banking industry during the period 2003-2013.Design/methodology/approach This study uses a generalized method of moments system estimator to examine the impact of competition on risk. In particular, translog specifications are used to measure the competition and insolvency risk.Findings The results show that greater competition within each bank ownership type (state-owned commercial banks, joint-stock commercial banks and city commercial banks) leads to higher credit risk, higher liquidity risk, higher capital risk, but lower insolvency risk.Originality/value This paper is the first piece of research testing the impact of competition on different types of risk in banking industry and it further contributes to the empirical literature by using a more accurate competition indicator (efficiency-adjusted Lerner index) and a more precise insolvency risk indicator (stability inefficiency). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is often argued lately that some regional transit systems should be integrated to improve the transit services across jurisdictional borders. One of the important issues concerning this integrated transit system is how to make proper use of the competition and regulation to improve its performance and to increase relevant benefits to the authorities, the operators and the passengers. This paper deals with this problem in a new integrated transit system across jurisdictional borders. An optimization model is used to investigate the competition of transit operators in oligopolistic competition transit market (OCTM). An optimization model with nonlinear complementarity constraints is proposed to guide the competition of transit operators using transit subsidy as the regulation means in system optimum transit system (SOTM). By analyzing and comparing the performances of the integrated transit system in two markets, numerical studies show that the competition mechanism should be made full use of and transit subsidy is an important regulation means that should be valued by the transit authorities in the integrated transit system. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the large-scale investments of both China and the EU in climate-change mitigation and renewable-energy promotion, the prevailing view on China-EU relations is one of conflict rather than cooperation. In order to evaluate the prospects of cooperation between China and the EU in these policy fields, empirical research has to go beyond simplistic narratives. This paper suggests a conceptual apparatus that will help researchers better understand the complexities of the real world. The relevant actors operate at different levels and in the public and private sectors. The main message of the paper is that combining the multilevel governance and value-chain approaches helps clarify the multiple relationships between these actors [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the price dispersion among China's "Big Three", namely, Air China, China Eastern and China Southern in the presence of high-speed rail (HSR). It has been found that HSR is positively and significantly associated with airline price dispersion on the long-haul routes, which may suggest that the presence of HSR can facilitate airline cooperation in setting prices and outputs, thereby leading to greater price dispersion. However, on the short-haul routes where HSR is highly substitutable, the HSR competition effect dominates, and smaller price dispersion is observed. All the market structure and competition variables included in this study support the conclusion that price dispersion is greater in more concentrated and more densely travelled markets. The contribution of airline cost to price dispersion is limited. • This paper examines the price dispersion among Chinese main carriers in the presence of high-speed rail (HSR). • The presence of HSR is positively and significantly associated with airline price dispersion. • Price dispersion is greater in more concentrated and more densely travelled markets. • The contribution of airline cost to price dispersion is limited. [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]

Copyright of Natural Gas Industry is the property of Natural Gas Industry Journal Agency and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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]

As geopolitical rivalry intensifies, Western states have moved to compete with China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). However, the mobilisation of funds for global infrastructure remains paltry, suggesting that Western states cannot contest Chinese dominance here. Why? Through comparative political economy analysis of China and the United States, we argue that serious competition cannot be willed into being by state managers thinking geostrategically. States' strengths and weaknesses are rooted in structural political economy dynamics. Where state managers' plans jibe with, or express, the interests of powerful social forces and the capital and productive forces they command, a powerful impact results. This is true of China, whose BRI is principally a spatio-temporal fix for industrial overcapacity and over-accumulated capital. Conversely, where geopolitical ambitions are divorced from powerful groups' interests and material realities, results are lacklustre. This applies to the United States, characterised by infrastructural decay, industrial hollowing-out and a dominant financial sector largely disinterested in infrastructure. Although US state managers are turning towards increased state spending on domestic infrastructure, internationally, the West's continued neoliberal approach still relies on the already-failed approach of mobilising private capital into infrastructure investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) and Maritime Silk Road (MSR) provide important avenues for cargo transport between China and Europe. This paper addresses the issues of the subsidy for China-Europe Railway Express (CERE) on the SREB and the sulfur emission control for liner shipping on the MSR from a perspective of building a community of shared future for mankind. Two welfare maximization models are proposed for determining the optimal subsidy and the optimal sulfur emission control coverage within which the sulfur in ships' fuel oil is required to be less than 0.1%. One considers the competition between two transport modes (CERE and liner shipping), in which their own net profit is maximized. The other concerns the cooperation between two modes, in which their total net profit is maximized. The properties of the two models are analytically explored and compared. The results show that intermodal competition outperforms intermodal cooperation in terms of social welfare, consumer surplus, and environmental pollution, though at the cost of carrier profit and total subsidy from the regulator. The regulator may efficiently control the adverse impacts of an increase in the fuel oil price or in the marginal cost of air pollution on the social welfare of the system through adjusting the CERE subsidy and the sulfur emission control coverage. • Address the issues of the optimal subsidy for China-Europe Railway Express and the optimal emission control coverage for liner shipping on Maritime Silk Road. • Propose social welfare maximization models under the competition and cooperation of the China-Europe Railway Express and liner shipping. • Intermodal competition outperforms intermodal cooperation in terms of social welfare, consumer surplus, and environmental pollution, though at the cost of carrier profit and total subsidy from the regulator. • The regulator may efficiently control the adverse impacts of fuel oil price rise through adjusting the subsidy for China-Europe Railway Express and the sulfur emission control coverage for liner shipping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Latin American Studies is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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]

The fast development of mobile networks calls for the massive consumption of materials, land, and energy in building and maintaining infrastructures, which is always intensified by the repetitive constructions of competing network operators. To reduce the resource consumption for social benefit, one business solution, implemented in the Chinese telecom industry, is forming a joint venture responsible for building and maintaining common infrastructures. The novelty of this practice is that the joint venture is shared by the competing operators who also rent infrastructures from the joint venture. We note that such a solution can be potentially generalized to other industries for reducing resource consumption. However, before generalization, an understanding of the pros and cons from the economic perspective of the business model is urgently needed. In this paper, we study this business model from a game theoretic approach. Our results show that if we properly regulate the joint venture, the market can converge to equilibriums with desirable properties which cannot be achieved without the joint venture. Furthermore, we also study the investment reduction in the presence of the joint venture. Our numerical results show that under a moderate user density, the total investment on the infrastructures can be significantly reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose Using the sample between 2005 and 2011, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of a new fund entry on incumbents using the overlap measure in portfolio holdings.Design/methodology/approach Empirical methodology is used in this study.Findings The authors find that incumbents that have a higher overlap with the entrants underperform subsequently. Based on the characteristic-based approach of Daniel et al. (1997), the authors find that the characteristic selectivity component is negatively correlated with the overlap measure, and thereby the decline in performance is driven by the stock-picking ability. The authors also discuss the unobserved actions of incumbents using the approach proposed by Kacperczyk et al. (2008) and find that incumbent unobserved actions do not benefit mutual fund investors in China. Finally the authors find that investors respond to the supply-side competition between entrants and incumbents quickly. These findings help us understand the mutual fund completion in China.Originality/value The findings in this study can help scholars, industry experts and regulatory authorities to understand the effect of competition in Chinese mutual fund industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study investigates the interrelationships between efficiency, competition and risk in the Chinese banking industry. Design/methodology/approach: Parametric stochastic frontier analysis is used to estimate bank efficiency; the Lerner index is used as the competition indicator; accounting ratios and a translog function are used to measure different types of risk and finally, the three-stage least square estimator is used to investigate the interrelationships. Findings: The results of this study show that the impact of competition on different types of risk is significant and positive, while there is a significant and positive impact of credit risk, liquidity risk and capital risk on bank competition. In addition, the findings demonstrate that the interrelationships between efficiency and competition are significant and negative. The authors do not find any robust interrelationships between different types of risk and different types of efficiency; the authors find that diversification and higher levels of profitability reduce bank credit risk. The results suggest that a higher developed banking sector reduces the level of bank competition in China. Originality/value: This is the first piece of research that comprehensively investigates the interrelationships between different types of risk, competition and different efficiencies in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the existence of strong policy intervention in China, this paper introduces policy uncertainty into standard Real Options framework, and provides a theoretical explanation for the land development decision in an emerging market. Based on survival analysis, we examine the determinants of timing of land development empirically, using a sample of 783 residential projects in Hangzhou, China from 2005 to 2011. We use monetary policy indices as measurement of policy environment, and results verify our theoretical prediction that when the expected policy is positive, an increase in policy uncertainty significantly lowers the likelihood of land development; otherwise, policy uncertainty accelerates land development. However, market uncertainty fails to meet the prediction of standard Real Options, which indicates that developers in China focus more on policy uncertainty rather than market uncertainty in exercising their real options. We further find that in the face of declining demand, price volatility significantly accelerates land development, which verifies Grenadier, The Journal of Finance, 51(5), 1653-1679, (1996)'s prediction of 'Recession-induced Construction Booms'. Empirical finding also verify that competition alone exerts a negative effect on development timing and also has a positive crossing effect with policy uncertainty. [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]

Purpose -- The purpose of this research is to analyze brand competition in China using the Duplication of Purchase (DoP) law, with important implications for understanding Chinese buyer behavior in comparison with Western buyers. Discovered in the Western markets, the DoP law holds across a variety of product categories. Design/methodology/approach -- Multiple sets of new data are examined to extend past research in the application of the DoP law in Chinese buying behavior. This study draws on panel data and self-reported data, utilizing bootstrapping to identify partitions where excess sharing occurs. Findings -- This paper finds the DoP law holds across six categories (two personal care, two impulse categories and two durables), as well as over multiple years. Brands in China share customers with other brands in line with the market share of the competitor brand. There were few partitions where brands shared significantly more customers than expected. Partitions occur due to the same umbrella brand or ownership, and geographic location. Research limitations/implications -- Areas for further research include extended replication in other categories, investigating partitions and whether a different consumer path to purchase occurs in China. Practical implications -- DoP can be applied across a wide range of categories in China to understand market structure. New entrants to China can use this approach to understand a category from a consumer behavior perceptive. DoP provides guidelines for marketers to identify competition and allocate resources appropriately. Originality/value -- This research provides a comprehensive, unparalleled examination across six very different categories of brand competition in China. This gives confidence in the robustness and generalizability of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that an important reason why Russia's performance and China's performance under capitalism have differed dramatically is that different arrangements governing the determination of prices and work practices evolved during the transition process. In Russia, the arrangement, which conferred monopoly rights to industry groups leftover from socialism, prevented the adoption of better technology. In China, the arrangement that evolved contained no such monopoly elements. The key factor in determining which arrangement evolved was the strength of the central government. We put forth a model that implements these ideas and provide evidence in support of this theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contexts: The expansion of fast-growing Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) into forests is likely further favored by climate change, creating more transitional regions within forests. Such forest-bamboo transitional zones provide windows to look at ecological processes driving bamboo's interaction with competing species across space. Objectives: We tested the hypothesis that spatial patterns at different scales of the ecotone can inform bamboo's invasive spread and its competitive engulfing strategy, with the allocation of biomass and resources within a bamboo colony being a key life-history strategy to facilitate its spatial spread. Methods: We used remote sensing imagery and field survey data to analyze the dynamics of bamboo-tree transitional boundaries in Tianmu Mountain Nature Reserve (TMNR) in southeastern China. We evaluated bamboo's spatial spread and its allocation of resources along the transitional gradient. Results: Both remote sensing and field data showed bamboo recovery and advancement into tree territories after the extensive logging of bamboo but with a slower spread compared to historical records. The spatial distributions of bamboo and tree stems were not random at their transitional interfaces and were affected by competition. Successful bamboo expansion into trees required close coordination between stems and rhizomes within a colony, as they served different functions in clonal integration. Conclusions: Our study initiates a scale-dependent analysis of shifts in bamboo-tree boundaries, which provides insights on how to accurately predict future bamboo distributions under climate change accounting for interspecific competition and bamboo's clonal integration of resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The rapid economic development of China has intensified the country's environmental problems such as pollution and waste. As industry is the main contributor to environmental deterioration, the development mode of industry has attracted attention from the government and the public. In this paper, we have assumed that the industry is permitted a fixed total amount of pollution in order to avoid excessive pollution. If one province shows increased pollution, other provinces are required to reduce pollution by the same amount to maintain the total level of pollution. However, so far, few studies have considered such competition over outputs. This paper presents a new data envelopment analysis approach, which considers both the fixed and the variant sum desirable outputs in the performance improvement of a decision making unit, to evaluate the environmental efficiencies of China's industry from 2007 to 2011. The analysis results demonstrate that some economically developed provinces have better performance than less developed provinces; in particular, all efficient provinces are the developed ones. The Chinese government should focus on the increasing differences in environmental efficiencies among regions and take measures to address them. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Descriptions of the political order of the Xiongnu empire rely heavily upon Chinese historical narratives and, as a result, often simplify steppe politics and gloss over provincial political agents. This paper therefore discusses the entire spectrum of "kings" and regional elites in the steppes in order to elucidate shifting power politics over the course of the Xiongnu empire. Furthermore, a comparison of historical dynamics with the archaeological record suggests that competition from local leaders against the ruling factions spurred changes in material regimes of the imperial political culture, leading to a bifurcation of the steppe elite and pronounced expressions of authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Motricidade is the property of Silabas Didaticas LDA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Selecting an appropriate competition strategy in bidding is the ambition of most contractors. The multiple requirements of clients encourage contractors to consider other strategies to deliver additional benefits besides offering a low-price bid. Offering low bids will reduce contractors' profits and potentially make development less attractive. Contractors need to understand their specific resources that generate competitive advantage and accordingly develop strategies to win contracts. This paper reports the findings from a recent survey on competition strategies in the Hong Kong construction industry. Thirteen typical bidding strategies, their used frequency in bidding, and their effectiveness for winning contracts of different types and between different groups of contractors are studied. The analysis of findings is explored to provide local contractors and clients with new insights into competition strategies in bidding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Access to in-building wiring for buildings with multi-dwellings is crucial for local fixed network competition. Otherwise the first operator servicing consumers in a building will obtain a de facto monopoly since it is very doubtful that there will be more than one rolling out of in-building wiring because of costs, lack of space in cable trays and refusal of co-ownership property representatives to grant access to more than one operator. In this paper, Hong Kong''s experience regarding access to in-building wiring of the local fixed network is used to illustrate the importance of regulatory action. Since sharing of in-building wiring is crucial for facilitating the roll-out of fibre-to-the home, this is an issue that is of continuing importance even in an NGA (next generation access) environment since it could constitute a formidable ‘last-link’ barrier to competitive entry for delivery of high-speed broadband if the first operator deploying fibre becomes the de facto monopoly. The layered model consisting of three types of interconnection, which is proposed in this paper, makes the regulation of access to in-building wiring to facilitate local fixed network competition explicit and flexible. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper analyzes technical efficiency in China's banking system by large banks and small city banks as well as the pre-WTO and post-WTO accession periods. Using an unbalanced panel dataset for 63 banks over 1997–2006 and employing the stochastic frontier function approach, the empirical results reveal that the new entrants, small city banks, experienced a slightly higher efficiency score than incumbent large banks, on average. Compared with the pre-WTO accession period, the efficiency score is found to have improved significantly after entry into the WTO as a result of the competition effect. This competition effect is particularly relevant for small city banks. Finally, determinants of X-inefficiency are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

A proper method to assess contractor competitiveness is important both for assisting clients in the selection of proper contractors and for assisting contractors in the development of more competitive bidding strategies. Previous studies have identified various indicators for assessing contractor competitiveness, and several assessment methods have been introduced. Nevertheless, these studies are limited because they are unable to tell which indicators are more important in different market environments. This paper identifies the key competitiveness indicators (KCIs) for assessing contractor competitiveness in the Chinese construction market. An index value is used to indicate the relative significance of various competitiveness indicators based on which KCIs are identified. The data applied in this study are from a survey of the construction industry in mainland China. The research findings provide valuable information for both existing businesses and the construction professionals who plan to compete for construction works in the Chinese market. The study provides useful references for further studies that compare the KCIs used in the Chinese construction industry and those used in other construction industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China’s entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will allow both domestic and overseas construction firms to compete under the same market conditions. This development will lead to a more rigorous participation from overseas construction professionals in the Chinese construction market. Nevertheless, this participation can only be effective or successful when there is a proper understanding about the construction procurement practice in China. The Chinese construction practice has its own characteristics, such as governmental regulations, professional qualification systems, and procurement systems. These characteristics present a different practice in awarding construction contracts from that in the West. This paper investigates the characteristics of construction business environment in China and identifies the key parameters used in assessing contractors’ competitiveness for awarding construction contracts in the market. The parameters are useful tools for assisting contractors in identifying their strength and weakness, thus reengineering actions can be adopted for improving competitiveness. A case study is used to demonstrate how these multiple parameters are used in the process of awarding contracts in the local market. [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]

Conceptions of modern management and of skill in China have developed out of quantitative, production oriented traditions that have tended to downplay the human side of management, training and development. Based on recent survey and case study research this paper argues that some organisations are moving away from such narrow definitions. These tend to be resource rich, larger enterprises, often in modern growth sectors and organisations exposed to foreign practice (either by virtue of foreign ownership or investment, or as a result of exposure to the pressures of global competition through operation in international markets). Skills shortages are faced by organisations throughout China. However, employers do not generally feel that the education system is serving to address these skills needs. The varying conceptions of modern management shape the manner in which organisations recruit from, and build, on formal education provision. Many resource rich employers are using formal education as a selection mechanism, selecting the educational elite and continuing to develop them. Those organisations that have limited access to highly qualified recruits are also least likely to be in a position to provide extensive or high quality training. Consequently the divide between resource rich and resource poor organisations, in terms of both organisational resources and employees’ opportunities for skill acquisition, learning and development, seems likely to widen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the extent to which Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) serves as an “intelligent hub” to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of enterprises, particularly the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), in Hong Kong.The scope of this paper covers the following: (i) the profile of SMEs in Hong Kong; (ii) the role of HKPC as an industry support organization; (iii) HKPC’s “3388” strategies to serve as an “intelligent hub”; (iv) HKPC’s SME initiatives; (v) the SME Centre as a key initiative; (vi) Compass North to facilitate China–Hong Kong cooperation; (vii) supporting innovative enterprises and (viii) marketing through industry groups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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]

Simple Summary: Invasive exotic plant species are threats to native flora and other taxa. No effective and environmentally friendly approaches are available for controlling Solidago canadensis, an aggressively invasive plant species in China and Europe. We determined that in addition to the traditional measure of clipping, planting plants of two co-occurring and competitive species can further suppress regrowth of clipped S. canadensis plants and both the aboveground and belowground part of S. canadensis contributed to its suppression effects on planted co-occurring species. These results suggest that incorporation of utilizing biotic resistance from some highly competitive plant species and overcoming belowground priority effects of invasive species into a comprehensive management plan will substantially increase the efficiency of invasive plant control. The restoration of native plants in invaded habitats is constrained with the presence of highly competitive exotic species. Aboveground removal, such as clipping or mowing, of invasive plants is required for successful restoration. The effects of clipping an invasive plant species, Solidago canadensis, grown at five densities (1–5 plants per pot), and planting two co-occurring and competitive species, Sesbania cannabina and Imperata cylindrica, on the growth of both the invasive species and the co-occurring species were investigated in a greenhouse experiment. The established S. canadensis suppressed the growth of planted seedlings with 47.8–94.4% reduction in biomass, with stronger effects at higher densities; clipping significantly reduced 97.5–97.4% of biomass of S. canadensis and ameliorated the suppression effects (with only 8.7–52.7% reduction in biomass of the co-occurring plants), irrespective of density. Both the aboveground and belowground part of S. canadensis contributed to its suppression effects on planted co-occurring species. Seed sowing of co-occurring species reduced the belowground growth, but not the underground growth of S. canadensis. S. cannabina appeared to be more effective at reducing the growth of S. canadensis than I. cylindrica. Therefore, clipping together with planting competitive species that can overcome the belowground priority effects of S. canadensis could be a promising strategy for controlling S. canadensis invasion and restoring native plant communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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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]

Water, energy and food (WEF) are three basic elements that safeguard human life and socioeconomic development. As the demand for water increases in food and energy production, water scarcity is more prominent globally. WEF Nexus plays an important role in evaluating and alleviating the contradiction between food and energy for water. Based on the water footprint of food and energy in China from 1997 to 2016, this paper used the "Structure-Conduct-Performance" analysis paradigm to evaluate the water competition mechanism. The newly constructed competition mechanism model includes type, conduct and performance. The results showed that the blue water footprint of energy increased from 3.25 Gm³ in 1997 to 12.54 Gm³ in 2016. The blue water footprint of food remained above 200 Gm³ for many years, and competition between food and energy production for water was intensifying. The gray water footprint of energy was increasing yearly, and food reached the maximum value of 181.01 Gm³ in 2014. Through model analysis, the South-to-North Water Diversion has not effectively alleviated water scarcity, and a few provinces were still classified in the water pressure-dominated area. The northern channel of West-to-East Power Transmission only transferred electric energy from water pressure-dominated area, causing the unsustainability coefficients of Inner Mongolia and Yunnan to increase from 0.09 and 0.03 in 1997 to 0.23 and 0.05 in 2016. This paper provides effective policy insights for global challenges facing WEF Nexus from the source, process and end of food and energy production. [Display omitted] • The WEF Nexus internal competition mechanism is evaluated by constructing a model. • The model analysed dominant factor, driving mechanism and feedback effect of competition. • The increasing energy water footprint yearly makes water security more prominent. • This study finds that water scarcity has not been effectively alleviated in China. • Many measures provide policy insights into global challenges facing WEF Nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The High-speed Railway (HSR) network in China is the largest in the world, competing intensively with airlines for inter-city travel. Panel data from 2007 to 2013 for 138 routes with HSR-air competition were used to identify the ex-post impacts of the entry of HSR services, the duration of operating HSR services since entry, and the specific impacts of HSR transportation variables such as travel time, frequency, and ticket fares on air passenger flows in China. The findings show that the entry of new HSR services in general leads to a 27% reduction in air travel demand. After two years of operating HSR services, however, the negative impact of HSR services on air passenger flows tends to further increase. The variations of the frequency in the temporal dimension and the travel time in the spatial dimension significantly affect air passenger flows. Neither in the temporal nor spatial dimensions are HSR fares strongly related to air passenger flows in China, due to the government regulation of HSR ticket prices during the period of analysis. The impacts of different transportation variables found in this paper are valuable to consider by operational HSR companies in terms of scheduling and planning of new routes to increase their competitiveness relative to airlines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper offers a synthesis of sociological and transactions cost economics perspectives on production networks. Sociological explanations of network effectiveness (competitiveness) stress the importance of trust, and transactions costs emphasizes asset specificity. The approach here is comparative, the capabilities of networks are assessed against those of the vertically integrated, managerially coordinated hierarchy. The argument is that the competitiveness of each form derives from different organizational capabilities. Neither is inherently superior – by supporting different strategies, networks and hierarchies can co-exist. A distinction is drawn between those networks that rely on communal support and trust and those networks whose dynamism relies on individualistic and autonomous entrepreneurship. The absence of trust (or the surfeit of entrepreneurial zeal) leaves firms reliant on generic assets. Trust creates the conditions under which communities of firms can develop industry-specific assets capable of delivering real services to network firms that are unavailable through market channels. The competitiveness of a production network is a function of the value adding activities undertaken by agents and the collective responses made to external threats or disturbances. The argument is illustrated with reference to the organization of watch (timepieces) production in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes the industrial concentration and competitive patterns of the manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries in Hong Kong using an entropy measurement. Performance of industrial concentration over time; Regression analysis of entropy index; Average entropy indexes and growth rates for manufacturing and services from 1976 to 1991.

(1) Background: The forest of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica is an important semi-arid ecosystem in Hulunbuir sandy land that plays a key role in the carbon cycle and wind erosion control. It is crucial to explore the main factors affecting the radial growth of trees of P. sylvestris var. mongolica. (2) Methods: The study established the tree-ring chronology of P. sylvestris var. mongolica and analyzed the relationships among the radial growth, competition index, and climate variables using correlation analysis and a linear mixed effect model to explore the influence of competition and climate on radial growth of P. sylvestris var. mongolica. (3) Results: The results indicated that tree growth is mainly affected by the maximum average temperature (Tmax) and precipitation in June and July of the current year and that tree growth significantly decreased with increasing competition pressure. Analysis of the linear mixed effect model showed that tree age, competition intensity, self-calibrating Palmer drought severity index (scPDSI) from May to July, and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) have a significant impact on radial growth. (4) Conclusions: The competition plays a dominant role in radial growth of P. sylvestris var. mongolica compared to climate factors. This study helps to understand the growth mechanism of P. sylvestris var. mongolica forests under climate change and provides a scientific basis for effective management of semi-arid forests. [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]