PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the ethical dimensions in China. It reviews the extant business ethics literature on China, collects data on ethical conduct from a large Chinese university, and analyzes the data to examine emerging trends.Design/methodology/approachFactor analysis and multidimensional scaling (MDS) are applied to an established survey instrument after reliability is confirmed.FindingsPrincipal‐components factor analysis uncovers six main factors. MDS further reduces the explanatory variables into four ethical dimensions, while increasing the number of useable observations. These four dimensions are then correlated with some demographic and psychographic variables. Results reveal four quadrants with different characteristics: Quadrant I “Unsympathetic, ethically challenged, self centered” have lower grade‐point index (GPA); Quadrant II “Ethically challenged, other directed” have higher GPA, watch more TV, and are more likely to be female; Quadrant III “Community orientation, ethically centered” are more likely to be female with higher class ranking and Quadrant IV “Challenge avoidance, controlling, religious” are more likely to have a lower GPA and lower level of religiosity.Research limitations/implicationsInferences from this paper may be limited to the sample group. Further expansion of the paper may suggest additional insights.Originality/valueEthics is often ignored in China's business education. While well researched in the USA, this topic is rarely studied in China. This is of concern to businesses looking for managers in the Chinese market and for individuals and researchers who want a framework to better understand ethical dimensions of Chinese management.

Relevant intellectual and human capital growth in China is necessary for sustainable business development and to achieve China's ambition for global leadership. This can only be achieved through fundamental improvements in the management education system. This is difficult to manage because a history of family, friends and party membership were more relevant to ones career than a sound education. Using a creative and fun framework of the Chinese zodiac, we attempt to theorise the varying levels of human capital and training needs for an MBA in China. In this way, we relate a widely-accepted Chinese framework to better understand the relevant needs of the educational community.

This paper describes the development of an innovative undergraduate business programme. The programme is distinctive in the emphasis on international business, international experience, international internships and assessment of student learning.

On 22 January 2006, Shufu Li, the Director of International Marketing for Geely Motors, was rushing to the check-in counter at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport in order to travel back to Shanghai, China. He had just come from the Detroit International Auto Show where his company had presented its new car models. Geely (pronounced 'Gee-Lee') had been selling cars in China since 1997. In 2004, they had begun exporting cars to North Africa and Latin America. Geely had now set their sights on the USA, the largest automobile market in the world. Geely's management was planning to sell cars in the US market for under US$10,000 by late 2008. The International Auto Show in Detroit was crucial in order to get feedback from and establish relationships with potential business partners, customers and the press. While he was boarding the plane, Mr. Li began to reflect on Geely's transition from a regional manufacturer focused on the domestic Chinese market to an international player. Would the last few years of their marketing effort turn Geely into a global player in the auto market? Would US consumers warm to the cars Geely had shown at the auto show? How could Geely overcome the lack of brand name and the negative country-of-origin quality image that Chinese manufacturers have?

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Business ethics are often ignored in China's educational system. While the topic is well researched in the USA, it is hardly studied in the Chinese context. This study is an exploratory study of ethical dimensions in China. It reviews the extant literature on business ethics in China, collects data on ethical conduct from a large Chinese university, and analyzes the data in detail to examine emerging trends. The study applies factor analysis and multidimensional scaling on a research survey instrument used in previously published articles on ethical behavior. The resulting factors and dimensions are discussed and future research is suggested. Keywords: Ethics, China, Factor Analysis, Multidimensional Scaling INTRODUCTION In the contemporary business environment, the ethical threshold is constantly being pushed leading to a myriad of problems. In an alarming survey consisting of 1300 employees and managers, 48 percent admitted to practicing some form of unethical conduct in the workplace (Mathis, 1999). Poor ethical behavior can lead to business losses and embarrassing scandals (Frank Navran, quoted at Onlineethics.org, 2004). The numerous ethical scandals that appear in several Western media also abound in the East. In emerging nations such as China, numerous prosecutions of bureaucrats have been noted (Lewis, 2001). In several Asian countries, chronic disregard for transparency, ethics, and democratic principles have been cited as causes for organizational failures (Kanaga, CIPE, 1999). Issues that pose challenges to ethical practices in China include the existence of corruption, inconsistent planning, poor regard for shareholder rights, and even market manipulation (Tarn, 2002; Chandler, 2004). While ethics research is abundant in the Western literature of business, few studies exist on ethical contact in the East and even fewer studies focus primarily on China. This study attempts to fill the void in the literature by focusing on ethical behavior in China, through a study of professionals attending graduate school in Beijing. There is diversity in the conceptualization and practice of business ethics worldwide. In the same manner, in the arena of international ethics, literature suggests that ideologies and practices vary across countries (Jackson et al., 2000; De Jong, Munoz & Pelaez, 2007). This diversity of ethical beliefs and practices would likely require an in-depth understanding and customization of practices in foreign locations. Even within a country, such as China, values and ideologies across regions can vary (Goodman, 1997). Accordingly, ethical management practices often require unique approaches (Carroll & Gamon, 1997; Snell, 1999). Meanwhile, with this diversity there is an emerging need to converge practices. Are there any absolutes in proper conduct? Are there limits to corruption, labor abuse, and environmental practices? With heightened globalization, there is a growing call for the commonality of ethical standards (Kung, 1997). There are several factors that may explain ethical diversity. One factor relates to the inherent characteristics of a person or a group of people. According to Kohlberg (1969) individual moral systems shape ethical nature and behavior. Moral judgments are either subject to relativism or idealism (Forsyth, 1980). Individuals make decisions based on the situation, practical tendencies, belief of what is perceived to be good and even altruism. Furthermore, much of the literature suggests that in Eastern and collectivist cultures, moral absolutes are not commonly practiced and ethical decisions are situational (Trompenaars & Hamden-Turner, 1997; Jackson et al., 2000). Demographics also seem to have an impact on ethical diversity. Gender: Several studies have shown higher incidence of ethical tendencies in women than men (Chonko & Hunt, 1985; Ferrell & Skinner, 1988; Goolsby & Hunt, 1992; Martin, 1981; Whipple & Wolf, 1991). …

This paper discusses the strategic motives, the markets entered, the methods used and the challenges faced by Chinese companies building their own brand or buying one to expand globally. We present a regression model enabling the analysis of recent Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) activities and the successes and failures between the Chinese and foreign target companies. The developed model considers the strategic motives to globalise, the type of country and acquisition. By using the Monte Carlo resampling methods, we can draw conclusions about the probability of success of the outbound M&A success. Our results show that brand-motivated acquisitions are more likely to be completed than resource-based acquisitions both in developed and developing markets. Our research found that all branding related acquisitions are in developed countries. However, the numbers of resource based acquisitions were evenly split between developing and developed countries, where in the developed countries, they were more likely to fail than in the developing ones. Nationalistic sentiments seem to be heightened by these resource-based acquisitions and were much more common in developed countries than in developing ones. It also seems that Chinese companies build brand recognition in developed countries by buying readily established brand names and are more likely to build their own brand in developing countries.

This paper is singular in its use of the PSED dataset for deriving a better understanding of the nature of nascent entrepreneurs as compared to franchisee entrepreneurs. We used previous studies on the differences between the two groups and developed variables divided into three dimensions: (1) prior experience, (2) growth objectives, and (3) motivation and risk. Jonckheere–Terpstra (J–T) tests, Chi-Square tests, F -tests and logistic regression models detected differences in all three dimensions. The conclusion is that franchisee entrepreneurs in the United States of America are distinctive in their characteristics. As compared to nascent entrepreneurs, franchisee entrepreneurs have less experience, less confidence in their skills, less capital, more aspirations for larger organizations, less confidence in their abilities to make the business a success, and more belief that their first-year incomes will be stable.

Investors often have much of their portfolios invested in equities that are exposed to interest rate risk. Hedging underlying exposures are not easy; whereas fixed income investors have duration to immunize bond portfolios from small fluctuations in interest rates. US equity duration estimates from dividend discount models result in long durations - often in excess of 50 years. Based on the UK data, we develop an alternative approach to generate equity duration as a by-product of asset pricing. Our analysis suggests that the equity premium puzzle may comprise an important element in reconciling this approach to equity duration, with traditional DDM alternatives.