China launched the largest ($4.26 billion) energy-efficient appliances subsidy program in June 2012. This paper investigates the impact of this program on consumers by surveying 2630 consumers in 10 cities with different socioeconomic statuses. The results showed that the Chinese consumers were...

In order to explore the displacement evolution of a creeping landslide stabilized with piles, an analytical model is proposed in this paper. Mechanical behaviors of the sliding surface and the sliding layer in the model are assumed to be visco-plastic and elastic, respectively. Equilibrium of a...

Purpose This study examines the potential of foreign business-to-business (B2B) firms to select high-status local partners in emerging markets to achieve positive relationship outcomes. Because a domestic firm’s high status may also promote opportunism, the study also examines if the foreign...

Firm-level stock volatility has increased significantly since 1962 and varies widely across industries. Recent literature shows that the excessive and persistent stock volatility can be well explained by fundamental uncertainties. This paper conducted panel data analyses on 415 firms during...

The concept of the water footprint has been recently introduced as an important indicator for human-induced water consumption. The water footprint is defined as the total volume of water used during production and consumption of goods and services as well as direct water consumption by humans....

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of high-status local exchange partners on foreign firms. Design/methodology/approach – Bridging status research and international business literature, the study develops a framework that describes three prominent effects of...

Purpose – User-generated content (UGC), i.e. the feedback from consumers in the electronic market, including structured and unstructured types, has become increasingly important in improving online businesses. However, the ambiguity and heterogeneity, and even the conflict between the two...

Great attention has been paid to the origin of observed wild price fluctuations of solar PV Si feedstock in both contract and spot markets during 2004–2009. This paper sheds light on this issue and tries to resolve it by addressing the following questions: what kind of structural shock is...

Concept of rural elite in China is introduced. And rural elites are classified into governing elite, economic elite, social elite and cultural elite with phenomenon of overlapping among the four types. Definitions of science nationalization and elite politicalization are introduced. Based on the...