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This study examines generalized trust and trust in institutions in Confucian Asia, covering six countries namely, China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam, and one dependent region, Hong Kong. Using data from the 2006 AsiaBarometer Survey, our study affirms the reliability and validity of using a two-item scale to measure generalized trust. Our analysis suggests that due to demographic differences, there are variations in the level of generalized trust of countries in Confucian Asia, despite the fact that these societies share a similar background in Confucian philosophy. The relationships between generalized trust and political trust, and between generalized trust and trust in public institutions, are weak but positive. The positive relationship between generalized trust and trust in economic institutions is only significant for some of the economies, while trust in international institutions has the weakest relationship with generalized trust for all societies. We conclude the paper with research implications.

Respondents from five Asian countries were surveyed in terms of their consumer ethnocentrism, animosity, and attribution towards the USA and Japan in the context of the Asian economic crisis. The results indicated that the more severely hit a country was, the more ethnocentric respondents were. In general, animosity towards the USA was higher than towards Japan with regard to the Asian crisis. Koreans held the greatest stable animosity towards the Japanese because of the atrocities experienced during the Second World War. Respondents attributed the blame of the Asian crisis more to themselves. They also felt that they and the Japanese could have controlled the turn of events during the crisis. Implications arising from the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the existing literature discusses strategies available to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), they do not address the plight faced by SMEs, namely resource limitations in their strategy formulation. Drawing on deductive logic, this paper identifies and conceptualizes three marketing strategies which are generic to SMEs and which specifically take into consideration the competitive reactions of bigger incumbent firms. These three generic marketing strategies are substitution, free riding and strategic deterrence. Successful substitution calls for the SME to offer differentiated yet substitutable products to that of an incumbent so as to force accommodation by the latter. Free riding allows the SME to enter a served market segment without having to incur market development expenses. Finally, strategic deterrence aims to deter a bigger incumbent firm from embarking on aggressive counteractions against the SME. This can be achieved by the formation of strategic alliances and/or incurring sunk costs in order to signal the SME's commitments to stay in the market credibly. Examples from Asian SMEs are given to illustrate the three generic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]