The Effects of Migration on Interregional Differentials in Consumer Behavior: Evidence from the Baise District, Guangxi, China

-- Zhao Chen, Ming Lu and Hui Pan

During China's economic transition and development, owing to imbalance of regional economic development and segmentation of both labor and goods markets, consumers' behavior differs greatly, so that migration might have significant effects on the decision structure, and thus, on the behavior of those migrants from less developed areas. The empirical study on the cross-section data from Baise District, Guangxi, China, shows that migration does have significant effects on consumers' future expenditure plan and their objectives of saving. Additionally, the difference in consumers' behavior can also be explained by variables of household characteristics, household income, and their expectation of household income. This paper has provided evidence for evolution of consumer behavior and new policy foundation of deregulating interregional migration.

© 2003 Zhao Chen, Ming Lu and Hui Pan (www.unc.edu). This paper was prepared for the UNU/WIDER Project Conference on Spatial Inequality in Asia, United Nations University Center, Tokyo, March 28-29, 2003. All Rights Reserved.

Wholly-owned Subsidiaries versus Joint Ventures: The Determinant Factors in the Catalan Multinational Manufacturing Case

-- Montserrat Álvarez

The aim of this paper is to investigate the factors influencing the choice between establishing a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary (WOS) or entering into a Joint Venture (JV), as made by Catalan manufacturing firms investing abroad. The validity of certain key transaction-cost hypotheses in this case is tested using binomial logistic regression. Results indicate that a Catalan manufacturing firm is more likely to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary if the firm is sufficiently large, has had substantial experience in the host country geographical region, even though it is young and possesses little general experience in the international sphere. Further, a Catalan firm is more likely to invest via a WOS, if the firm possesses intangible or tacit assets and operates within a technologically advanced sector. Finally, a JV is preferred by a Catalan firm if the potential host country is perceived to imply a high degree of instability and risk or has a high rate of growth.

© 2003 Montserrat Álvarez (www.pcb.ub.es). First draft of this paper was presented at the XXVIII simposio de Análisis Económico held in Seville in 2003. All Rights Reserved.

Strategic Learning within North-South Joint Ventures Operating in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Exploratory Study

-- Elie Virgile Chrysostome and Docteur Zhan SU

North-South joint ventures are initiated more and more nowadays. One justification for their creation is the acquisition of new know-how, with the aim of developing new competencies that favor a better competitiveness. Nevertheless, strategic learning in a North-South joint venture context still remains a poorly known area. The present research proposes examining the learning practices used by these joint ventures to see if they develop strategic competencies. The results of the research show that these practices are characteristic of vicarious learning and that new developed competencies are not profoundly strategic. The research therefore proposes a much more profound learning model that ultimately leads to the development of strategic competencies.

© 2002 Elie Virgile Chrysostome and Docteur Zhan SU (www.mgmt.dal.ca). Reprinted with permission.

Performance of European Joint Ventures in Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe

-- Pierre-Xavier Meschi, Franck Brulhart and Frédéric Prevot

The aim of this paper is to examine the internationalization joint ventures formed in emerging countries. More precisely, this consists in studying their survival rate and to relate it to variations in the relevant country risk of the emerging countries concerned. We will detail the method used for gathering and analyzing data and the characteristics of a sample of 139 internationalization joint ventures that were formed during the year 1996 by foreign partners from the European Union and local partners belonging to different emerging countries (mainly Latin American, Asian and eastern European countries). The survival analysis was applied to a sample of 139 joint ventures, together with a log-logistic analysis of the impact of different country risk variables on the hazard rate of these joint ventures. Time-related variations were observed in their termination rate (i.e., inverted double U variation) and their hazard rate (i.e., curvilinear distribution with honeymoon effect). Concerning the impact of country risk, the results obtained provided only a partial confirmation of this impact: The relation between country risk and the joint venture survival is confirmed empirically, but only when the emerging country concerned undergoes deterioration of its risk as time progresses. In conclusion, the relation between these two variables exists but it is a discontinuous one.

© 2003 Pierre-Xavier Meschi, Franck Brulhart and Frédéric Prevot (www.fgvsp.br). Reprinted with permission.

Mergers, Acquisitions, Joint Ventures and Strategic Alliances in Agricultural Cooperatives

-- Darren Hudson and Cary W "Bill" Herndon

A recent merger "wave" has occurred within the economy, including the agricultural sector. Some research has been conducted on publicly traded companies, but there is little information available on merger activity within agricultural cooperatives. This paper presents the results of a recent survey of agricultural cooperatives and attempts to identify major trends in merger activity within cooperatives.

© September 2000 Darren Hudson and Cary W "Bill" Herndon (http://www.agecon.msstate.edu). Reprinted with permission.