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the media need to showcase the advantages of entrepreneurship and put in place incentives that reduce the risk calculation for would-be entrepreneurs. Furthermore, they need to encourage universities to give students the confidence and skills necessary to start new businesses. Veteran entrepreneurs should discuss their failures and successes openly with the younger generations and should support promising young entrepreneurs with capital commitments. Japan can also look to the Israeli model, which generated a 14 Knowledge@Wharton • The Lauder Global Business Insight Report 2013 robust venture capital and entrepreneurship sector by encouraging FDI; promoting immigration; reallocating government spending; building private-sector incubators; aligning research institutions, the military and entrepreneurs; and highlighting entrepreneurship in schools across the country. This article was written by Andrew R. Karlin, member of the Lauder Class of 2014.
dating in a digital World: Trends in 21st Century China Wandering into the main gate of People’s Park, a large public gathering space in the heart of shanghai, one might think he or she has stumbled upon a bustling flea market. Rows of colorful stalls line the walkways, which are crowded with old couples elbowing each other to examine the thousands of offerings. But the “goods” being hawked by the seasoned ladies behind the stalls are not scarves or souvenirs, but rather singles. Welcome to the People’s Park “marriage market,” where thousands of adults — mostly aging parents — come daily to scan the sea of personal ads, meet with matchmakers and chat up other parents eager to find a partner for their overworked, unwed children. These marriage markets are a logical extension of the traditional Chinese matchmaking culture, where family elders drive the screening for, and selection of, their child’s future mate. At the same time, however, there is an entirely different market in operation, one where millions of exchanges happen daily, and the “shoppers” are the singles themselves. This is the world of Chinese online dating, a nascent industry that has taken off and is expected to break two billion RMB (US$318 million) in total annual revenue by 2014, according to a recent report by Analysys International. What is interesting about this industry is not only its rapid growth in a conservative society that frowns upon courting more than one person at a time, but also its potential to change the social norms that are part of dating both online and offline. That is not to say that online dating has changed the values and criteria of Chinese singles completely. On the contrary, the primary players in this space — Jiayuan, Zhenai and Baihe — advertise themselves explicitly as marriage websites focused on helping singles find their future life partner. While the mean age of marriage is rising, marriage is still nearly universal among the Chinese. More than 99% of women between the ages of 35 and 39 in mainland China have been married at least once, according to a study by Gavin W. Jones at the Asia Research Institute. The traditional emphasis on finding a partner with a similar educational pedigree and economic standing is still followed in the digital world. According to Shang-Hsiu Koo, CFO of Jiayuan, China’s largest online matchmaking website, what users value most in a potential match are education level, age, height and residency (in China, having a residency permit, hukou, in a top-tier city is highly desirable because only those with permits have access to public services and certain employment opportunities in that city). In addition, for men today to be taken seriously, they must own a car and hold a deed to an apartment. (A generation ago, a washing machine and refrigerator would have sufficed.) All these personal facts can also be found on the profiles hanging in the People’s Park marriage market. So why have so many singles gone online? According to the United Nations, 2011 marked the first year ever that the number of people living in Chinese cities exceeded the number living in the countryside. As the Chinese government gradually relaxed its control over urban migration — by loosening the restrictions of the 1958 Hukou System, which afforded social benefits only to those who could prove identification from the Building Blocks for the Global Economy 15
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Page 13 and 14: How Does Japan Compare to Other Adv
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Page 29 and 30: europe Water scarcity: a daunting C
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Page 43 and 44: more than six million attendees and
Page 45 and 46: size of the breweries. This is slow
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Page 63 and 64: education in brazil: Can the public
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Tourism in Colombia: breaking the s
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2013 The Lauder GLobaL business ins
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