AIB 2012 Conference Proceedings - Academy of International ...

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able to develop, a complex set of macro-economic, institutional and managerial conditions requires attention.
(For more information, please contact: Zita Stone, University of Kent, United Kingdom: z.stone@kent.ac.uk)
Internationalization and Entrepreneurship: Empirical Evidence on the Regional Formation of New Ventures in
China
Julie Elston, Oregon State University
Extensive market reforms targeted at increasing both internationalization and entrepreneurial activity over the
last three decades in China have resulted in dynamic but uneven growth across regions. This study examines
the importance of location on the empirical link between internationalization and firm formation across China.
Results indicate that location significantly impacts firm formation, with rural China outpacing highly
internationalized Shenzhen and Hong Kong regions in entrepreneurial activity. Empirical results suggest that
higher degrees of regional internationalization are significant in predicting lower levels of entrepreneurial
activity. From a policy perspective this suggests that reforms have been effective in stimulating entrepreneurial
activity in the mainland China region which not only has a high rate of necessity-based entrepreneurship but an
opportunity-based entrepreneurship rate more than double Hong Kong's. (For more information, please contact:
Julie Elston, Oregon State University, USA: julie.elston@osucascades.edu)
Rising Labour Disputes in China: Decoding of and Adapting to China's More Deamdning Labour Relations
Audrey Heung Heung Tsui, National University of Singapore
Roy Ee Jin Goh, National University of Singapore
China witnessed in the past few years mounting outbreaks of labour disputes, strikes, protests and suicides,
especially in the nation's coastal provinces that host many labour-intensive manufacturing investments. This
involves, in particular, tens of thousands of migrant workers from inland China. Most export-oriented
manufacturers, both local and foreign investments from Hong Kong and Taiwan, faced severe cash flow
problem due to factory order cancellations in the global financial crisis. Many drastically retrench or closed
shops as a consequence. In the bigger context, China's new aspirations of economic restructuring and
industrial upgrading , and its determination to raise minimum wage, to strengthen union support, and to
encourage arbitration and collective bargaining in settling disputes--all imply a tighter enforcement of laws to
protect labour rights. The paper presents some guidelines for companies to read the signals of change and
some action recommendations to address labour disputes by actively engaging relevant stakeholders.
Harmonious labour relations will be one key driver for success for investors aspiring to have a long-term
presence in the China market. (For more information, please contact: Audrey Heung Heung Tsui, National
University of Singapore, Singapore: bizathh@nus.edu.sg)
Cross-National Gender Differences in Microfinance: Impact of Societal Trust and Other Characteristics
Raj Aggarwal, University of Akron
John W. Goodell, University of Akron
Lauren Selleck, University of Akron
In this paper we investigate the reasons why there is international variation in the extent to which women
borrowers predominate with microfinance institutions. Using a measure of social trust from the World Values
Survey we find a negative association of the percent of women borrowers with social trust suggesting that a
preference for women borrowers reflects compensation for a lack of social trust. Consistent with the social
mission of microfinance institutions, we find a positive association of the percent of female borrowers with the
degree of "outreach" of the microfinance institution, especially as this positive association is even stronger for
nonprofit microfinance institutions and those that target the lower end of the social economic spectrum. We
also find a negative association between the percent of female borrowers with the average loan size, and with
the microfinance institution being from Latin America. These results should be of great interest to policy makers
AIB 2012 Conference Proceedings
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