Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business and Government

This study develops a model for the drivers of loyalty, drawing literature from both service quality and relationship marketing. It investigates how advertising agencies’ creativity and inter-firm relationships influence their clients’ perceived value and overall satisfaction, and in turn how these influence clients’ loyalty towards advertising agencies. A validated survey instrument was used to collect quantitative data. Responses from 119 clients of advertising agencies were analysed using the Partial Least Square (PLS) technique. The model was robust in that inter-firm relationships, overall satisfaction and value followed by creativity explained 72% of variation in loyalty. The findings reveal that the inter-firm relationship is a more important determinant of satisfaction with an advertising agency than creativity, however this relationship is reversed when considering clients’ value perceptions. Service providers such as advertising agencies need to ensure that they focus on all the aspects of service provision to fulfil varying needs and expectations of their clients

Although global Chinese migration is not a new phenomenon, its nexus with investment and specifically into Europe has had a significant impact on the economic landscape. This is largely a result of the rapid Chinese economic growth of the past thirty years. The impact of this phenomenon, though, is not only felt on an economic level; Chinese migration and investment into Europe have also been shown to have important political, cultural and societal aspects. For decades scholars have largely treated research into migration and investment as two parallel but separate phenomena with virtually no studies investigating the relationship between the two, in particular in relation to Europe. This is partially explained by the speed with which China became an economic powerhouse and the unique relationship between investment and migration. A further layer of complexity is added by China’s unique economy as state-owned enterprises (SOE) and their ability to globalise are quite distinct from the normal firm investment scenario. This article outlines and describes the characteristics of Chinese migration into Europe. By separating the discussion into Western and Eastern Europe, the article presents a theoretical explanation of China’s approach to European investment and explores the nexus between migration and investment. The article then goes on to identify the drivers, trends, and immigration policies in the relevant geographical areas as well as examining the four major methods used by Chinese migrants as the vehicle for entry into Europe. The article uncovers the special nature of SOEs, which distinguishes investment coming from Chinese public and private sources, concluding with a discussion on the importance of Chinese migration and investment into European firms as well as the implications and impacts of this strategy

In the last decade, there has been a significant growth in applications of e-business as well as e-government in many countries. Research shows that e-business and e-government contribute to the economic performance of countries. The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between e-government as well as e-business and economic performance of developing and developed nations, separately. This paper argues and finds that the relationship between e-government as well as e-business and economic performance varies based on the development status of a country given the differences in the technological, organisational and environmental factors between developed and developing nations. More specifically, the results show that e-government is significantly related to economic performance in the case of developing countries and e-business is significantly related to economic performance in developed countries.

The article examines whether Japan’s involvement in preferential trade agreements (PTAs) has benefited the country’s foreign merchandise trade. At first reluctant, from the beginning of 21st century Japan has become active in signing PTAs. The research confirms positive effects of PTAs on Japan’s foreign trade. After PTAs had been entered into force, Japan’s exports to partner countries improved. Although Japan currently runs a trade deficit with PTA countries in aggregate, positive trends in the trade deficits with individual countries are observed. Arguably, Japan will achieve a total trade surplus with PTA countries in the foreseeable future if the positive trend continues.