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Although the role of Guanxi in China as a form of relationship marketing (RM) has received increasing attention in recent years, few empirical studies have indicated that Guanxi has more impact on performance than RM in the Chinese market. Foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) may have some difficulty in fully practicing RM in China without considering the influence of Guanxi. In this regard, this study is guided by the following research question: “In China, which factors influence the differences in the impacts created by RM and Guanxi?” In this study, we first provide an overview of previous research on Guanxi, focusing on the fundamental differences between Guanxi and RM. We then provide an empirical analysis of the differential effects of Guanxi and RM on firm performance by investigating 297 FIEs in China. The results suggest that Guanxi and RM are not trade-off options in today’s Chinese market. Guanxi and RM have synergetic effects on firm performance, that is, they have differential effects based on the mode of market entry and the competitive structure. Guanxi is more likely to influence firm performance for collaboration-based entry firms rather than entry without collaboration firms, whereas RM is more likely to influence firm performance when FIEs’ main competitors are foreign firms than when they are local firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study attempts to explore the role of consumer's perception of quality within the new technology adoption process which is given little attention in the field of Information systems. In this regard, the authors developed an exploratory conceptual model in the level of consumer perception by exploring the antecedent of perceived quality. Three factors are introduced as determinants of perceived quality: perceived usefulness, perceived risk and trialability. Moreover, the authors investigate cross national differences among three countries including China, Korea and Japan by estimating our proposed model. An empirical study is conducted with analysis of the adoption mechanism for a new innovative product. Data analysis results support the authors proposed hypotheses, and significant differences are found among the three countries in regards to the new technology adoption process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet can make markets more competitive, but whether this holds for on-line price levels and price dispersion is unclear, perhaps because the maturity, or level of development, of Internet markets has not been widely studied. This paper explores how the maturity of an Internet market affects on-line market pricing in relation to types of products and retailers. It analyzes the pricing differences between pure on-line retailers (e-tailers) and hybrid retailers (multichannel retailers) for three categories of products (books, CDs, digital cameras) in two countries with different levels of Internet maturity (China and the United States). The results show that (1) e-tailer price dispersion is lower in the United States than in China, (2) price levels in the two countries vary with product types, and (3) in both countries, e-tailers have lower price levels and price dispersion than hybrid retailers. These findings suggest that the maturation of Internet markets may lead to lower prices and price dispersion, but with variations dependent on type of product and retailer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the metal concentrations in the Halda River in Bangladesh to determine the quality of the water and sediment in the natural spawning zone. Fe > Zn > Cr > Cd > Cu was the order of the metals in water, whereas Fe > Zn > Cd > Cu was the order in sediments. Almost all of the heavy metals in the water and sediment had been found within the established limits, with the exception of Cr and Fe in the river and Cu in the sediment. In the case of water, Cr vs. Zn was found to have the strongest correlation (r = 0.96). Due to the coagulation and adsorption processes, it was shown that Fe and Zn had a substantial correlation of 0.96, Cu and Cd of 0.91, and Cr of 0.78 with Zn. Hazard quotient values of Cd show the not potable nature of Halda river surface water and might give adverse health effects for all age groups except Cu and Zn. Pollution load index values indicated the uncontaminated nature of the river bottom sediments. Natural and human activities were the key factors influencing the accumulation and movement of heavy metals in the water and sediments. Contamination sources are industrial effluents, garbage runoff, farming operations, and oil spills from fishing vessels which are comparable according to multivariate statistical analysis. Ion exchange, absorption, precipitation, complexation, filtration, bio-absorption, redox reaction, and reverse osmosis were considered to be effective for the degradation of metal concentrations. The feasibility of the suggested metal reduction procedures has to be studied to know which is optimally appropriate for this river region. It is expected that this study could provide a useful suggestion to decrease the metal pollution in the river., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)