scholarly journals Hong Kong, a gateway for mainland China? Examining the impact of luxury fashion retailers’ ownership structures on expansion strategies

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (9) ◽  
pp. 850-869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huifeng Bai ◽  
Julie McColl ◽  
Christopher Moore

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine luxury fashion retailers’ ownership structures at their internationalisation strategies in Hong Kong and mainland China. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a pragmatic mixed methods approach, comprising a quantitative mail survey and ten qualitative executive interviews. Findings This study found that group-owned luxury fashion retailers usually encounter fewer difficulties when internationalising into mainland China than their individually owned counterparts because of parenting advantage, particularly functional and service support. However, the success of some individually owned brands has demonstrated that branding strategies, management culture, international experience, financial power and local partners’ know-how are as important as parent company support and although the luxury market in mainland China has become developed, many foreign luxury fashion retailers still enter Hong Kong prior to mainland China. However, in relation to post-entry management and expansion strategies, the importance of Hong Kong has weakened because the emergence of capital cities, the growth of the middle class and fewer political restrictions. Research limitations/implications The research findings are generated in the context of Hong Kong and mainland China, they are therefore limited in explaining luxury fashion retailers’ internationalisation strategies in other markets. Despite the challenge of the sample size, 63 out of 130 survey respondents (48.5 per cent response rate) and ten interview participants are felt to be sufficient to represent the market. Practical implications This research can be used by practitioners when assessing appropriate entry strategies to the Chinese luxury fashion market. Originality/value This is a pioneering study of the Chinese luxury market from the perspective of international retail strategies. It differentiates between Greater China (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) and mainland China, and examines the impact of luxury fashion retailers’ ownership structures on their internationalisation strategies.

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 473-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Ling-hsing Chang ◽  
Jim Q. Chen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of Chinese culture on the information ethics perception gaps between Chinese and American students. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative approach, this study utilizes Kohlberg’s Cognitive Moral Development model and an open-ended questionnaire to measure and analyze the gaps among information ethics perceptions of students from Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, and the USA, and to assess the extent to which the gaps are influenced by Chinese culture. Findings Students’ perceptions of intellectual property, information accuracy, privacy, and accessibility (PAPA) are deeply influenced by national culture. Sub-cultures have significant impact on the perceptions. Political systems, history, and legal environment may also play a role in the differences of PAPA perceptions among the three Chinese societies. The study also revealed that accuracy and intellectual property are the most deficient areas of moral developments in both Chinese and American samples. Research limitations/implications The sample sizes from Hong Kong and the USA were relatively small due to resource and time constraints. In addition, the subjects from Hong Kong and the USA were a little bit older than the subjects from Taiwan and Mainland China due to the fact that universities in HK and USA tend to have more non-traditional students than in universities in Mainland China and Taiwan. Second, the questionnaire is a limited means of studying moral reasoning because the results are likely to reflect espoused theory rather than theory-in-use. Practical implications The educational implication of this study calls for a renewed approach to educate students on the importance of information ethics for the sake of sustained economic development. Originality/value The novelty of this research lies in its interpretation of students’ PAPA perceptions and fresh insights from a Chinese guanxi perspective.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chi Hung Leung ◽  
Yan Mu

PurposeThe rates of emotional distress have risen in many countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study assessed the emotional distress of adolescents and young adults in Hong Kong and mainland China in the first year of the pandemic and tested whether spirituality was a protective factor against this emotional distress.Design/methodology/approachCross-sectional data were collected in two samples of students aged 17–25 in Hong Kong (N = 503) and 13–20 in mainland China (N = 649). Participants completed the Spiritual Health and Life Orientation Measure (SHALOM) to evaluate their spiritual health (personal-communal, environmental and transcendental domains) and the short form of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) to assess their emotional distress.FindingsBased on the DASS-21 scores, there was a high rate of adolescents and young adults categorized as showing extremely severe symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress in both Hong Kong and mainland China. Structural equation modeling showed that in both the Hong Kong and mainland China samples the personal and communal and environmental domains of spiritual health were significantly and negatively correlated with all three forms of emotional distress. However, transcendental spiritual health was uncorrelated with psychological distress in Hong Kong and positively correlated with psychological distress in mainland China.Research limitations/implicationsThe high rate of severe emotional distress in this sample of adolescents and young adults under COVID-19, and the fact that not all aspects of spiritual health protected again psychological distress are cause for concern, with implications for government, education systems and students.Originality/valueHealthy spirituality can be found among youths who are upbeat, self-confident, optimistic and constructive and have also been shown to have a higher quality of life in the form of mental, physical and psychological health. The present study is the first study to examine the spiritual and mental health of high school and university students under the impact of COVID-19 in mainland China and in Hong Kong.


Significance The violence was the worst Hong Kong has witnessed since protesters clashed with police during the 2014 'Umbrella Protests' which demanded greater political autonomy from mainland China. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong's top political official, swiftly denounced the violent attacks on police officers and journalists and vowed to prosecute instigators. Impacts Local outbreaks of violent protesting will have little impact on tourism or international business in the short term. Public anger will prompt the chief executive's administration to distance itself from mainland Chinese authorities. China will support some measures that lessen Hong Kong anger over the impact of Chinese tourism, such as further curbs on visitor numbers. Pro-localisation forces will seek greater representation in the Legislative Council elections slated for September 2016.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yafeng Qin ◽  
Zikai Yang ◽  
Min Bai

PurposeThis study examines the impact of the $60 billion tariff announcement of the US government on the Chinese exporting firms. In particular, it focuses on the firms whose revenues are highly dependent on the US economy.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses an experimental analysis and the event study methodology. The sample includes firms listed in mainland China and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges that have the highest revenues from exporting to the USA. The data are obtained from China Stock Market and Accounting Research (CSMAR) and DataStream.FindingsThe authors find that the tariff announcement has significantly negative impacts on stock performance both before and after the announcement, and the impacts are heterogeneous across all sample firms. For A shares listed in Mainland China, firms with more revenues from the US experience greater price drops on the announcement day, regardless of being in the targeted industry or not. But such finding is absent from H shares listed in Hong Kong. The authors also find that for all the firms, greater pricing power can alleviate the impacts of the tariff announcement.Research limitations/implicationsThe results provide implications to investors, policymakers and regulators on the further US-China cooperation in the future.Originality/valueThis is the first study documenting the heterogeneity of the impact of the tariff announcement and thus contributes to the prosperous studies on the varied firm-level responses in the Chinese stock market, and to the burgeoning literature by filling the gap of the financial market responses to the protectionist policy announcement.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 532-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tommy Lau ◽  
Man Lai Cheung ◽  
Guilherme D. Pires ◽  
Carol Chan

Purpose The abolishment of the wine tax in Hong Kong has led to increased wine consumption and increased demand for wine-related professionals, such as sommeliers. Yet the importance of sommeliers’ value-adding performance in the context of upscale Chinese restaurants has not been examined. To address this gap, the SERVQUAL framework is adopted to examine the influence of sommeliers’ service quality (SQ) on customer satisfaction (CS) and loyalty in the context of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach The survey method is used to collect data from 302 units of the population of interest, partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is used to test the links between constructs. Findings Four of the seven dimensions of sommeliers’ service quality, namely, empathy, tangibles, credibility and assurance, have a significant positive impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, whereas the impact of perceived value and responsiveness on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty is positive but only marginally significant. Reliability has a weak and non-significant impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Research limitations/implications Examining a small number of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong limits generalisation of the findings to other contexts. Replication of the research in different contexts will enhance generalizability. In terms of implications, the discussion highlights the importance of sommeliers’ service performance on customers’ SQ perceptions SQ, CS and loyalty, all of which are important variables for restaurateurs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of the influence of the quality of sommelier’s SQ on CS and loyalty in upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. Given the lack of attention to this service role in the literature, the study contributes theory from which further understanding can develop.


2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 481-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei-yung Leung ◽  
Chen Dongyu ◽  
Anita M.M. Liu

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of personal values on students’ learning behaviours. Hong Kong construction students are often criticized, by both practitioners and educators, as rote learners. To improve students’ learning processes, extensive research on a variety of aspects of construction education has been conducted. However, limited attention has been paid to the influence of personal values on students’ learning behaviours. The impact of personal value factors on the learning approaches of Chinese construction students in Hong Kong is investigated. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was conducted to ethically Chinese construction students in four universities in Hong Kong. A total of 820 questionnaires were distributed and 431 valid returns were collected. Findings – The survey identified six influential values (namely, personal integrity, conservatism, determination, discipline, interpersonal relationships, and achievement), and shows that students who emphasize the virtues of personal integrity, determination, and a positive attitude toward achievement are better able to handle their interpersonal relationships, which will eventually lead them to engage in deep learning. Originality/value – Work to develop appropriate value systems is thus recommended in freshmen courses, as is the use of cooperative learning approaches. Such value systems will have a long-term influence on the learning approaches of construction students.


Author(s):  
Liz Jackson ◽  
Ming Fai Pang ◽  
Emma Brown ◽  
Sean Cain ◽  
Caroline Dingle ◽  
...  

Purpose – Although researchers have identified correlations between specific attitudes and particular behaviors in the pro-environmental domain, the general relationship between young people’s development of environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors is not well understood. Past research indicates that geographic context can play a role, while social factors such as age and gender can have a more significant impact on predicting attitudes and behaviors than formal education. Few studies have systematically examined the relationships between education and environmental attitudes and behaviors among youth in Hong Kong. The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a study comparing secondary school students’ environmental attitudes and behaviors with age and related factors in two international schools and two government schools in Hong Kong. Students’ attitudes and behaviors were compared based on school type (curriculum), while the authors additionally compared the significance of social factors and attitudes on students’ behaviors. Design/methodology/approach – Attitudes were measured using the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) and the NEP for Children (NEPC), the most commonly used, internationally standardized tools for investigating environmental attitudes and values of adults and young people for comparative purposes. The authors compared NEP/NEPC scores and student self-reported environmental behaviors using a short questionnaire. Findings – No significant differences were found in attitudes or behaviors based on school type. However the authors did observe a significant effect of gender and age on students’ attitudes, and a significant correlation of student attitudes in the NEP with students’ self-reports regarding air conditioning consumption. Originality/value – This study builds a foundation for cross-national studies and for evaluating the impact of curricula over time.


Author(s):  
Hongyi Chen ◽  
Andrew Tsang

This chapter uses the factor-augmented vector autoregression framework to study the impact on the Hong Kong economy of the diverging monetary policies by the Fed, the European Central Bank (ECB), and the Bank of Japan (BoJ), as well as the slowdown of the Mainland economy. The empirical results show that shocks in US monetary policy rate mainly affect interest rate-sensitive sectors in Hong Kong and that monetary easing from the ECB and the BoJ somewhat offsets the impact of tightening of the Fed. Real variables such as real GDP growth and the unemployment rate are more sensitive to the economic slowdown in Mainland China. However, Hong Kong’s financial stability, particularly with regard to loan quality, banks’ capital and liquidity, is well maintained by macroprudential policies, suggesting that Hong Kong’s financial system is resilient to external shocks.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 250-273
Author(s):  
Francis L.F. Lee ◽  
Hai Liang

Abstract Typically grounded in a discussion of contact vs. threat theory, much research has examined the impact of the presence of ethnic minorities in residential contexts on people’s attitude toward immigration. Yet, there has not been much evidence regarding whether the presence of a linguistically-defined minority can create similar impact under specific political conditions. This article examines Hong Kong, where the arrival of immigrants from mainland China has aroused controversies. The presence of Mandarin speakers, under the contemporary conditions, could be perceived as representing the cultural threat posed by China onto the city. Data from representative surveys were combined with district-level census data. The analysis shows that people living in a district with higher proportions of residents using Mandarin as the usual spoken language indeed favored more restrictive immigration policies. Contextual presence of Mandarin speakers also moderated the impact of tolerance and holding of negative stereotypes on attitude toward immigration.


Facilities ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick T.I. Lam ◽  
Daniel Lai ◽  
Chi-Kin Leung ◽  
Wenjing Yang

Purpose As smart cities flourish amidst rapid urbanization and information and communication technology development, the demand for building more and more data centers is rising. This paper aims to examine the principal issues and considerations of data center facilities from the cost and benefit dimensions, with an aim to illustrate the approaches for maximizing the net benefits and remain “green.” Design/methodology/approach A comprehensive literature review informs the costs and benefits of data center facilities, and through a case study of a developer in Hong Kong, the significance of real estate costs is demonstrated. Findings Major corporations, establishments and governments need data centers as a mission critical facility to enable countless electronic transactions to take place any minute of the day. Their functional importance ranges from health, transport, payment, etc., all the way to entertainment activities. Some enterprises own them, whilst others use data center services on a co-location basis, in which case data centers are regarded as an investment asset. Real estate costs affect their success to a great extent, as in the case of a metropolitan where land cost forms a substantial part of the overall development cost for data centers. Research limitations/implications As the financial information of data center projects are highly sensitive due to the competitive status of the industry, a full set of numerical data is not available. Instead, the principles for a typical framework are established. Originality/value Data centers are very energy intensive, and their construction is usually fast tracked costing much to build, not to mention the high-value equipment contents housed therein. Their site locations need careful selection due to stability and security concerns. As an essential business continuity tool, the return on investment is a complex consideration, but certainly the potential loss caused by any disruption would be a huge amount. The life cycle cost and benefit considerations are revealed for this type of mission-critical facilities. Externalities are expounded, with emphasis on sustainable issues. The impact of land shortage for data center development is also demonstrated through the case of Hong Kong.


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