Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Free Essays on Chinas Great Step Forward

Bill Powell explains in his article China’s Great Step Forward, found in the September 17, 2001 issue of FORTUNE, about the many positive and negative aspects of China as a World Trade Organization member. Being the biggest and most populated country in the world, China is also one of the fastest growing economies in the planet. China is growing at 8 % a year, on the back of vibrant exports and strong domestic demand. With a cheap and abundant working force, they are a very appealing country for foreign investment, which is already one the forces moving China is this fast step growing. Joining the WTO will make radical changes in industries in China, but at the same time will provide â€Å"more protection† for them. Most of the smaller companies will end up allying with global companies. Also, the Banking system will endure radical changes. Banks are now dominated by a handful of huge state owned institutions whose basic job aver the years has been to shovel money to lousy state owned manufacturers. No wonder those banks suffer from Japanese levels pf bad debt. Instead, with the changes brought by the WTO, it’s believed that with personal income growing rapidly for millions of Chinese, an all out flog of credit cards and home mortgages makes eminent sense. But one of the most important changes will be he distribution of the products. Right now in China, industries can’t create or set up their own distribution chains, service centers or dealer networks. This means that they need to rely on local partners, which can bring in a lot of trouble. Imagine that the local partner a company has is the same one for their main competitor. But the WTO is supposed to change all of that. Although China is prospering on their own, an isolation policy like the one they are using will not last for long. The fact that they are one of the last remaining socialist countries in the planet, make most of their leaders fearful of cha... Free Essays on China's Great Step Forward Free Essays on China's Great Step Forward Bill Powell explains in his article China’s Great Step Forward, found in the September 17, 2001 issue of FORTUNE, about the many positive and negative aspects of China as a World Trade Organization member. Being the biggest and most populated country in the world, China is also one of the fastest growing economies in the planet. China is growing at 8 % a year, on the back of vibrant exports and strong domestic demand. With a cheap and abundant working force, they are a very appealing country for foreign investment, which is already one the forces moving China is this fast step growing. Joining the WTO will make radical changes in industries in China, but at the same time will provide â€Å"more protection† for them. Most of the smaller companies will end up allying with global companies. Also, the Banking system will endure radical changes. Banks are now dominated by a handful of huge state owned institutions whose basic job aver the years has been to shovel money to lousy state owned manufacturers. No wonder those banks suffer from Japanese levels pf bad debt. Instead, with the changes brought by the WTO, it’s believed that with personal income growing rapidly for millions of Chinese, an all out flog of credit cards and home mortgages makes eminent sense. But one of the most important changes will be he distribution of the products. Right now in China, industries can’t create or set up their own distribution chains, service centers or dealer networks. This means that they need to rely on local partners, which can bring in a lot of trouble. Imagine that the local partner a company has is the same one for their main competitor. But the WTO is supposed to change all of that. Although China is prospering on their own, an isolation policy like the one they are using will not last for long. The fact that they are one of the last remaining socialist countries in the planet, make most of their leaders fearful of cha...

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Informative Essay Sample on Go Ask Alice by Grace Slick

Informative Essay Sample on Go Ask Alice by Grace Slick In the book Go Ask Alice , by Grace Slick, the main character Alice had suffered in a way that forced her to escape from her home to avoid her family. She was in too much trouble. She was on drugs and her parents did not know anything but they had a notion that she was hiding a secret from them. In the book, Alice was into drugs and was trying to stop using drugs when she was 14 and 15 years old. On the day that she want to a party she was raped. The day she first tried marajuana at a party there was also drugs in her drink and she did not know until the next day when her best friend told her what happened. She kept the secret and she never told her parents that she had tried drugs. Before Alice ran away from home she was wondering what it would be like to smoke a joint. After that she began to like it and she began become addicted to drugs. That was the time her parents noticed there was something going on with Alice Anonymous. Alices best friend helped her and got her things that she needed. For example she helped her get a job, a house and things that would make her stop thinking about drugs and stop her from using drugs. In the end, Alice came back home clean and didnt have any more trouble with drugs. Alice and her mother began to solve all the problems she had been through and they made a promise to each other that if she has any problems, they would talk about them. The part I disliked about the book was when she was raped and what people made her go through. People kept telling her to try the drugs and when she went to school people tried to sell it to her. Some of the other kids using drugs tried to blame everything on Alice to get her in trouble so she would get kicked out of school. The part that hurt is when she couldnt tell her mother how school was when she would come home from school crying and suffering. I am interested in this book because it showed me what my family went through when they were teenagers and other people I know too who had trouble using drugs. The book also made me experience a lot of feelings like sadness, happiness, excitement, etc. I like this book because it explained what a person had been through and where they went when they needed to run away from their problems. I also read this book because when my aunt was a teenager she read this book and I was wondering what kind of book she was reading when she was young. This book is interesting because it shows people and teenagers what it is like to be addicted to drugs and to help them understand what they might be going through if they start up on drugs. I found this book a good example of someone suffering and having a hard time trying to solve a problem by themself when they dont want to tell their parents or family members. You can order a custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis or dissertation on Go Ask Alice topics at our professional custom essay writing service which provides students with custom papers written by highly qualified academic writers. High quality and no plagiarism guarantee! Get professional essay writing help at an affordable cost.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Places-in the Bay Area Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Places-in the Bay Area - Research Paper Example Places too can be defined by nature of their occurrence, the people residing in them or the biology of the area which is inclusive of flora and fauna. Commerce and business are too ways of defining a place, while cultural reference gives an area its originality and unique features. The candid manner in which a place is defined determines the understandability of the place by the intended audience. In defining a place, various elements are put into consideration. Therefore, this paper while seeking to define The Bay Area, will address the cultural, social, geological and biological history of the place. In essence, how the place came into existence is important in understanding the kind of flora and fauna. Moreover, its location in the map helps to define the place by the very nature of its placement. In conclusion, the essay will give the full picture and relative understanding of Bay Area of San Francisco. The Bay Area of San Francisco is located in the northern region of California . The geographically diverse region, rich in business is extensively a metropolitan place, offering home to a staggering 8 million inhabitants. In the Bay Area, cities such as San Francisco, occupying the most part of the region, Oakland and San Jose contribute to its huge population and rich commerce industry. However, what puts Bay Area on the financial map and at the same time giving increasingly winning it popularity is its lifestyle, liberal nature of its politics and the high-tech industry. Hosting the famous Silicon Valley, the Bay Area has been the center of attraction for investors and technology experts. Moreover, the area is an attraction site, owing to its rich culture. The geography of the area, defined in the simplest language as easy to understand makes it easy for new visitors to trace their location. Some geographers hold that although many people find the area to be as big and very confusing, the reality is quite opposite. The complexity of its nature makes the who le picture understandable, yet it is a small and compact place. Barringer and Ryan (Web) points out that by the fact that the life of the city resonates in various levels, the city life is morally binding to the people. In defining San Francisco Barringer and Ryan â€Å"It has spectacular landscapes, it is prone to earthquakes, it is a coastal town with a thriving gay culture†Ã‚  (Web). Surprisingly, a number of cities of the Bay Area are thronged with the gay culture, a recent development in its moral culture that has exploded among the youth. People generally listen to rock music, with night clubs and blaring music filling the nights of the cities. These are the kinds of images triggered by the mention of San Francisco to any individual who has ever set foot in the area. The bay area has a rich history, dating to thousands of years ago. Geologists trace the origin of the bay area to melting of ice bergs. Estimated to date back 12,000 years ago, the melting of the ice raised the sea level. Subsequently, this brought into existence the San Francisco bay. Without any known economic importance, the bay remained unknown, with only about 20,000 Native Americans residing in villages formed in the area in the 1700s. what was an unknown region started receiving quite some attention in the year 1776, when a Spanish expedition led by Anza established a presidio right in front of the entrance to the then San Francisco Bay. Such visits

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Final Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Final - Term Paper Example international market regions of Europe, it had to bear varied types of challenges and issues such as barriers in international trade, mitigation as well as investment (Beall, 2010). But due to the support of municipal government, all such international barriers reduced significantly that amplified its position and brand image in the entire globe among other rival players such as General Motors, Toyota etc. As a result of which the total sale and profitability of the organization enhanced that proved effective for the government of the Europe among other neighboring nations. The economic condition of the country enhanced as well as the rate o unemployment and poverty reduced to a significant extent (Ford.com, 2014). Other than this, at the time of expansion in the new market region of Europe, the organization of Ford Motors had to analyze the taste and preferences of the customers so as to improve its prosperity and portfolio in the market (Bradley, 2012). Moreover, due to the active participation of municipal government, the policy related issues such as tariff barriers, subsides to local firms etc reduced significantly that amplified its reputation and market share in the markets of Europe among others (Ford, 2014). The organization of Ford Motors had to bear varied types of political challenges such as tariff rates, trade restrictions due to political instability in the nation of Europe. As a result of which, the brand image and competitiveness of the organization of Ford Motors attained a serious set-back (Kazmi, 2010). Economic factors: inflation is one of the important causes that hindered the total sale and prosperity of the organization of Ford Motors within the region of Europe as compared to many others. As a result, the organization had failed to enhance its profit margin and demand of the products that hindered its portfolio and prosperity in the market among others. Social factors: as the preferences of the customers are changing at a rapid pace so

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Colonial period from 1607 to 1750 Essay Example for Free

Colonial period from 1607 to 1750 Essay During the colonial period from 1607 to 1750 an American way of life emerged, differing from Old World European culture. This new lifestyle developed from the interaction of five major groups, including the; Native Americans, Chesapeake colonies, New England colonies, Indentured servants, and African slaves. Each of these peoples contributed ideas, principals, practices, and beliefs to the melting pot that would later become the United States of America. Native Americans had a significant impact on Europeans as early as Americas discovery in 1492 (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 14), during which time, the Columbian Exchange occurred. This initial exchange had a larger influence on Native American life than European, as the Old World explorers introduced diseases to which the Indians had no natural immunity (Yazawa, Melvin 46). According to Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey (15), in the Centuries after Columbus landfall, as many as 90 percent of the Native Americans perished. When Europeans returned to America in the 1600s to develop permanent settlements, Native Americans reintroduced to them planting techniques and crops, such as corn and tobacco, that would revolutionize the early colonies economies and diet allowing them to grow and flourish and making them an important aspect of American culture (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 15). Additionally, Native Americans shared in the celebration of the first Thanksgiving with the Plymouth pilgrims (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 52), a holiday still important and beloved today. Later interactions between the Native Americans and Colonists were mainly hostile, as a result of the Europeans insatiable land-lust, evident in such conflicts as the Pequot War (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 52). The aid Native Americans provided to early settlers allowing them to sustain themselves would result in the downfall and destruction of numerous Indian tribes, who had already dwindling populations as a result of European diseases (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 31). However, conflict forced Native Americans to band together, displaying a way in which Europeans shaped Indian history in America as well (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 32). The Chesapeake colonies were another group that largely influenced the development of the American culture. Virginia was the first colony; founded in 1607 by a joint-stock company hoping to find gold and a passage through America to the Indies (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 28). This company, named the Virginia Company of London, received a charter from the King for a settlement in the new world (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 28). This charter was important to the formation of an American pride. The document guaranteed the New World settlers would be guaranteed the same rights of Englishmen at home. However, this document later fueled the colonists desire for independence from their intrusive and controlling mother country (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 29). The introduction of tobacco to early settlers played a large role in the growth of the Chesapeake colonies, especially Virginia. In fact, tobacco growth was so important to colonists they threatened themselves with starvation by choosing to plant the cash crop over food crops (Wheeler and Becker 29). Without tobaccos economic contribution to the survival of Virginia, contributions made by the colony might not have been made. Virginias House of Burgesses was the first representative legislative assembly in British North America (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 33). This was the first of many parliaments to emerge in America, justifying the efforts of the Colonists to eventually breakaway from British rule, as they believed themselves fit to oversee their own nation. The other Chesapeake colonies also contributed to the formation of a uniquely American way of life. Maryland, founded in 1634 (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 33), was haven to Roman Catholics seeking refugee in the new world. Without a place for this minority religion to survive, it might not have been sheltered in the new world. The Carolinas were composed of large expanses of open land, resulting in a large plantation agriculture system in the south (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 38) that resulted in the use of indentured servitude and slavery throughout southern America. However, the colony founded last in 1733, Georgia (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 38), slowed the immediate development of slavery in the Chesapeake colonies. As Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey stated, Georgia was a religiously tolerant settlement, which was slavery free until 1750. The New England colonies were formed largely so those settling in the colonies could be free of religious persecution, especially in Massachusetts Bay (Wheeler and Becker 30). According to Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey, The Mass. Bay colony was formed in 1628 (37), although the puritans who merged into the Massachusetts Bay colony from Plymouth arrived in 1620 (37). The Pilgrims who arrived in Plymouth influenced American ideals of freedom from oppression, through the Mayflower Compact. This document became quintessential to the creation of later constitutions. It was an agreement to form a crude government and submit to the will of the majority ( Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey). The Massachusetts Bay colony contributed early concepts of a liberal government to America. Local affairs and issues were eligible for discussion by a large percentage of adult men, and voting was completed by majority rules (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 47). However, religious leaders held significant power in the lives of the settlers, influencing the beliefs of those residing in the Massachusetts Bay colony. As a result, those threatening Puritan views such as Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams, were banished (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 48). This was actually advantageous for the development of a diverse American culture, as those forced outside of Massachusetts Bay moved to more accepting colonies, such as Rhode Island. Rhode Island was a region of varying religious beliefs and ways of life as there was a lack of religious oath or taxation present in so many of the other colonies (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey). The Dutch contributed names and settlers to the renamed New York colony after it was surrendered to the Duke of York in 1664 (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey). Pennsylvania, founded in 1681 according to Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey (60), was home to the passive Quakers. Pennsylvania influenced American ethnicity, as the colony attracted people of various backgrounds (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 61). Indentured servants played a large role in the growth of an American lifestyle. Prior to the popularity of slavery in the South, colonies such as Virginia and Maryland utilized indentured servants to tend large plantations (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 33). Indentured servants supported the cash crops that helped the early colonies thrive financially, without which finances, the colonies might not have survived (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 67). Once indentured servants had completed their terms, they became freemen, but remained much in the same position as before. They were penniless and searching for land and a job. These freemen also contributed to a rebellious and headstrong American people, willing to fight for what they believed in. During Bacons Rebellion in 1676, a group of young freemen led by Nathaniel Bacon attacked Indians near jamestown in retaliation of Indian attacks on frontier settlements (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 68). African slaves during the colonial period influenced the development of the American way of life. Due to economic change in colonies in the 1680s (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 70), it was financially possible for plantation owners in the south to purchase African slaves as opposed to using indentured servants. Additionally, by 1662, distinctions between a white indentured servant and african slave were made in Virginia (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 72), which made blacks and their children the property of their white masters for life. African slavery in America made it possible for southern plantations to truly develop, at the cost of a peoples rights. African slaves were subject to a plethora of harsh conditions, including harsh hours and intensive labor in the blistering heat (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 72). This resulted in a large part of American economic success being reliant on the exploitation of a group of people. The American way of life developed as a result of the interaction of numerous groups including the Native Americans, the Chesapeake colonies, the New England colonies, the Indenture servants, and the African slaves. Native Americans contributed staple crops which would support the early settlers and modify the American diet permanantly. Chesapeake colonists, although originally settling the Americas in order to attain wealth, found a permanent home that they would later fight to rule. The New England colonists wrote up the Mayflower compact, a primitive agreement which would inspire later constitutions. The indentured white servants led to the eventual treatment of people solely as property in the case of African American slaves after indentured servitude ended. Slavery would prove to be a social barrier and issue for numerous years to come, as africans struggled to acquire the same rights as granted to white citizens.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Children Transition In Life Children And Young People Essay

Children Transition In Life Children And Young People Essay Bereavement This can be a very traumatic time for a child or young person, bereavement can affect concentration, memory and learning. New sibling A challenging transition for young children, it may affect the childs behavior as they may act out, wanting to gain attention. Parental Separation This can affect children and young people in many different ways and must be dealt with in accordingly in a sensitive manner. Moving Home Moving house can be a big upheaval, it can affect the child or young person because they are being taken out of their safe and familiar environment. Illness or Injury Whether it be the child/young person directly affected or a family member, either way the child may need help dealing with the change of circumstances. Divorce This is a difficult period for a child or young person, they may be affected in many different ways and must have endless emotional support. Taken into the care system This can be a difficult transition where the school and social services must work together to make the process run as smoothly as possible for a young child. Abuse Neglect Abuse and neglect can affect all areas of development. Children and young people are affected by abuse in different ways, outcomes of abuse vary. Moving countries Moving countries can have a negative affect upon children and young people, socially, academically and emotionally. These types of transitions are generally unplanned, or occur with little or no warning and in turn can be damaging if not responded and dealt with in the correct way. These unplanned transitions will also however affect children and young people in different ways. Some children and young people may also experience transitions such as: The introduction of Step Siblings Changing schools Change of carer Pet dying Parental change of partner It is a known fact that all children and young people are faced with transitions, although some may be affected positively and some negatively. When children are faced with planned or unplanned transitions they may experience feelings such as anger, guilt, rejection and sadness. Other ways that children and young people may show the affects made by transition i.e. attention seeking behavior, friendship/peer problems, and becoming withdrawn and quiet or displaying uncharacteristic habits. Children and young people moving from primary to secondary high school may find it hard to adjust to being taught more formally. They are suddenly expected to study a wider variety of subjects, to take on more responsibility and sometimes make a new circle of friendships. Involving changes like learning more and having less free time. For most children and young people going through a transition such as moving school can have an impact on their learning and achievements, sometimes affecting them academically. Suddenly a child is removed from their comfort zone and taken away from a familiar environment, from their friends and teachers etc. The child is completely thrown of track and put into a new environment which can be extremely difficult for a child or young person to adjust too. It can have affects on a childs learning, self esteem and sometimes resulting in them no longer wanting to go to school, although some children and young people do adapt well to this type of transition. For example when I was attending secondary school a young girl moved from her original school due to her parents moving country, when she began attending my secondary school she settled in and adapted very well, proving to be quite popular with her peers. It appeared to have a positive affect on the young girl but then suddenly her peers turned against her, this then resulted in the young girl becoming a victim of torment and bullying. She became unhappy, quiet, withdrawn and reserved. Her parents decided it was in their childs best interests to change schools once again, where she began to regain her self esteem and confidence which was extremely affected by the bullying, changing schools and moving countries. Fortunately the next change of school had a positive affect on the young girls education and learning which dramatically improved. She began making friends, displayed more confidence and began to enjoy attending school again. Moving school can have a negative and/or positive impact on a child or young persons behavior and development. In the beginning a change of school proved to have a negative affect upon the young girl but fortunately the second period of moving school resulted in having a positive affect upon her, improving her behavior and development. Therefore I feel it is important that a childs parents consider their childs happiness before making this choice, due to the positive and negative affects it can have on a child and young person. Although changing schools unfortunately cannot always be prevented due to unforeseen circumstances in life. Parental Change Of Partner A parent introducing their new partner to their child can also be a challenging and difficult time. It can result in affecting a child or young persons behavior and development. For example when I was a teenager my mother introduced me to her new long term partner which at the time felt like a stranger was trying to replace my father, I also felt that her new partner was taking away my mothers attention. Suddenly a new authoritative figure was brought into the family. From my personal experience it had a bad affect on my behavior and development as I began to misbehave, smoke, drink and act out because I was extremely angry inside and wanted to regain my mothers attention which I no longer felt I had. I became an angry, depressed, withdrawn and isolated teenager, clearly displaying signs that I was negatively affected, no longer being my usual bubbly, happy self. My education also began suffering because of this transition as I could no longer concentrate in school. However this does not always have a negative impact on children and young people but it does need to be handled cautiously and sensitively. It can be a very challenging time for the child and young person but also for the parents, family members and anybody else involved.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Sustainable Production Practices and Determinant Factors of Green Supply Chain Management of Chinese Companies

Business Strategy and the Environment Bus. Strat. Env. 21, 1–16 (2012) Published online 16 February 2011 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary. com) DOI: 10. 1002/bse. 705 Sustainable Production: Practices and Determinant Factors of Green Supply Chain Management of Chinese Companies Xianbing Liu,1* Jie Yang,2 Sixiao Qu,2 Leina Wang,2 Tomohiro Shishime1 and Cunkuan Bao2 1 Kansai Research Centre, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan 2 College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, ChinaABSTRACT This paper explores the green supply chain management (GSCM) of companies based in the Yangtze River Delta, China. The companies’ overall GSCM practice level (LGSCM) is measured by using the data from 165 valid respondents in a questionnaire survey conducted during April and May 2009. The relationships between LGSCM and the classi? ed determinant factors are analyzed. It is indicated that Chinese companies are still at a preliminar y stage of GSCM practices. Their environmental management in cooperation with external members of the supply chain is very marginal.A company’s LGSCM is signi? cantly and positively associated with the external pressures from regulatory, domestic clients and business competitors. As an internal factor, a company’s learning capacity greatly determines LGSCM. We also con? rm that the internal factors function as intermediate variables of external pressures in in? uencing a company’s GSCM. A company’s environmental management capacities will be strongly enhanced by frequent internal training of employees to increase its involvement in GSCM practices.Copyright  © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. Received 5 July 2010; revised 14 December 2010; accepted 16 December 2010 Keywords: sustainable production; green supply chain management; practices; determinant factors; China Introduction environment, in the forms of pollutant generation, ecosystem disruption and depletion of resources (Fiksel, 1996). The pressures and drivers from abroad accompanying globalization have pushed manufacturers in developing economies like China to improve their environmental performance (Zhu and Sarkis, 2006).Environmental concerns gradually become part of the overall business culture and, in turn, help re? engineer the development strategies of corporations (Madu et al. , 2002). Corporate environmental management (CEM) has been moving from traditional pollution control and risk management towards product life? cycle * Correspondence to: Xianbing Liu, Kansai Research Centre, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Hitomirai Building 4F, 1? 5? 2, Wakinohama Kaigan Dori, Chuo? ku, Hyogo, 651? 0073, Japan. E? mail: [email  protected] or. jp Copyright  © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment OUT OF ALL BUSINESS OPERATIONS, MANUFACTURING PROCESSES ARE VIEWED TO HAVE THE HIGHEST IMPACTS ON THE 2 Xianbing Liu et al. manageme nt and industrial ecology. Recently, CEM has extended to certain boundary? spanning activities like green procurement, product stewardship, reverse logistics and so on (Zsidisin and Siferd, 2001; Snir, 2001; Prahinski and Kocabasoglu, 2006). These practices are related to supply chain management, which requires various interactions between the core manufacturer and the other entities along the supply chain, either the upstream suppliers or downstream distributors and customers.The concept of supply chain management for environmental protection was ? rst put forward by Drumwright (1994), which identi? ed the characteristics of those companies introducing new manufacturing ideas. Later, green supply chain management (GSCM) was de? ned as a new term by the Manufacturing Research Association at Michigan State University, USA (Hand? eld, 1996). The fast economic growth of China has greatly relied on the extensive expansion of manufacturing industries which produce resource? intensive but cheap goods for foreign markets.The regulatory requirements in developed economies, such as the familiar European Union (EU) Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive and the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, have forced electronics manufacturers in China to actively practice certain GSCM activities. The relatively high position of Chinese manufacturers in the global supply chain offers the possibility, and an ideal setting, to explore their actual GSCM involvements. Zhu et al. (2008) studied the emerging GSCM practices at company level in a Chinese context, and con? med that GSCM is still a new concept for most Chinese companies as they change their environmental management from internal efforts to the whole supply chain. In terms of determinant factors for GSCM practices, this previous study mainly focused on a company’s internal issues, such as the importance of the company’s learning? oriented programs and support of top manage rs. The pressures from externally related stakeholders bear further study due to their importance to a company’s environmental behavior (Zhu et al. , 2008).Subsequent studies employing both external pressures and internal factors would provide a more comprehensive understanding of the relationships between GSCM practices and the determinant factors. In addition, Zhu et al. (2008) conducted their survey in the northern cities of China. Surveys of companies based in the other geographical areas of China would be necessary and meaningful. In order to close the research gap described above, this paper identi? es the external pressures which determine the level of a company’s GSCM practices while using internal factors as the intermediate variables.The Yangtze River Delta, including Shanghai and surrounding regions, is selected as the study area mainly due to its relatively developed economy compared with other regions of China. The improved background of CEM provides us wi th the possibility of monitoring a company’s GSCM practices there. Considering the complexity of GSCM practices, which may be attributed to the wide scope of environmental activities at different phases of the supply chain, this paper classi? es four categories of typical GSCM activities by referring to the existing literatures (e. g.Sarkis, 2005). Two topics are mainly discussed in this paper: (1) the current status of GSCM practices of the companies in the study area; and (b) determinant factors, external and internal, predicting the level of a company’s involvement in GSCM practices. Literature Review Although there is no uniform de? nition for GSCM so far, basic and common understandings have been formed theoretically and in practice. GSCM emphasizes the concerns for the environment along the whole supply chain and requires long? term and strategic collaborations between the supply chain members.GSCM covers the management of the life cycle of a product, from its ma nufacture and consumption until the end? of? life (Nagel, 2000). GSCM practices may be separated according to the stages of production, distribution and utilization, and thus can be categorized into internally green manufacturing activities, green procurement, eco? design, green retailing and green consumption by individuals (Walton et al. , 1998; Zsidisin and Hendrick, 1998; Carter et al. , 2000). Research on GSCM has been building gradually, but still remains sparse (Vachon and Klassen, 2008).GSCM studies were previously conducted by addressing the following aspects: general and basic issues like designing the framework for GSCM (Geoffrey et al. , 2002); implementation of GSCM strategies (Sarkis, 2003); environmental assessment of GSCM practices (Vijay et al. , 2003); relationship between a company’s performance and GSCM practices (Klassen and Mclaughin, 1996); and speci? c GSCM activities like green purchasing (Min and Galle, 1997), Copyright  © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, L td and ERP Environment Bus. Strat. Env. 21, 1–16 (2012) DOI: 10. 1002/bseGreen Supply Chain Management in China 3 total quality and environmental management (Sarkis, 1999), green marketing (Karna and Heiskanen, 1998), and environmental performance evaluation of suppliers (Hines and Johns, 2001). Cooperation among the companies on the supply chain is the key to drive them to improve the environmental compatibility of their businesses (Ken et al. , 2000). Generally, the bene? ts of collaborative practices with upstream suppliers are much broader. In contrast, collaboration with downstream customers yields mixed outcomes Vachon and Klassen, 2008). By exploring the operational performances due to green partnership along the supply chain, Vachon and Klassen (2006) indicated that partnership with customers was positively related to product quality and ? exibility, whereas partnership with suppliers was associated with better delivery operations. Thun and Muller (2010) interviewed m anagers from the automotive supply industry in Germany and con? rmed the need for GSCM on the one hand but corresponding problems in terms of required resource on the other.Case studies of the British and Japanese food retail sector and the British aerospace industry showed that it would be easier to adopt GSCM if certain suppliers could play a leading role in a group of similar suppliers (Jeremy, 2000). While large companies can mandate their supplies to comply with certain environmental initiatives, cooperative approaches are likely to be more fruitful. Sharfman et al. (2009) suggested that inter rm trust, uncertainty and proactive environmental management most directly affect the extent of a company’s engagement in GSCM.Jeppesen and Hansen (2004) examined the conditions for environmental upgrading of Third World companies led by foreign companies. They argued that environmental upgrading on the value chain must be understood partly as a result of external industry and mark et forces, and partly as a result of the internal resources and competitive strategies of the companies involved. Two typical models are found for better application of GSCM strategies. One is to develop more environmentally friendly goods through cooperation like joint research.The other is to request that the suppliers satisfy higher environmental standards, for example achieving ISO14001 certi? cation, and the limitation of speci? ed materials in products. The construction of cooperative strategies and the evaluation of suppliers help improve the compatibilities of supply chain to the environment (Lamming, 1996). The extent of GSCM practices adopted by Chinese companies was examined by a survey of companies in several industrial sectors such as power generation, petrochemicals, electric and electronics and automobiles (Zhu and Geng, 2006).It was hard for the surveyed companies to integrate environmental issues into their business operations with suppliers and customers. Some lead ing companies have made efforts in internally proactive CEM practices like pursuing ISO14001 certi? cation, but most have just started to consider external GSCM activities. In China, environmental pressures are stronger for large companies than for small and medium? sized ones (Zhu and Geng, 2001). Automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have been required by the automobile assemblers to operate in an environmental manner since Chinese entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001.Chinese electronic enterprises are found to be performing better in GSCM practices (Zhu and Sarkis, 2006). Development of an Analytical Framework and Research Hypotheses As mentioned earlier, this study tries to expand the determinant factors of GSCM practices in China from a company’s internal explanatory variables, which have been explored in previous studies (e. g. Zhu et al. , 2008), to the external pressures. Different alternative theoretical viewpoints, such as stakeholder t heory, institutional theory and the resource? based view, have been used to look at GSCM practices.As typical inter? organizational collaborations, the stakeholder theory with broad acceptance would be appropriate for discussing GSCM issues rather than intra? organizational management activities. In practice, stakeholder theory and institutional theory are rather similar in grouping a company’s external ‘others’, including the input and output environment of the company (suppliers and product consumers), its competitive environment (companies producing similar services or products) and its regulatory environment (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983; Delmas and Toffel, 2004).In this study, we identi? ed the determinant factors of GSCM practices by referring to existing literature and developed an overall analytical framework as shown in Figure 1. The relationships between the determinant factors and a company’s GSCM activities and research hypotheses are explained as follows. Copyright  © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Bus. Strat. Env. 21, 1–16 (2012) DOI: 10. 1002/bse 4 Xianbing Liu et al. Figure 1. Overall analytical framework of this studyHypothesis a (Ha): External Pressures The importance of external factors lies in the complementary nature of the factors behind Chinese companies’ adoption of GSCM practices at the early stage of environmental policy transformation. Besides the requirements of governmental regulations, domestic and foreign clients, competitors and neighboring communities may exert pressures on the companies (Hall, 2000). These external pressures have jointly prompted companies to become more aware of environmental problems and to practice certain GSCM activities (Sarkis, 1998; Hervani et al. 2005). Customer expectations have become the most important external pressure (Doonan et al. , 2005). To achieve sustainable solutions and business goals, the environmental properties of products and ser vices have to satisfy customer demands (Zhu and Sarkis, 2006). ‘Communities’ refer to those who are not necessarily involved in the business partnership directly but have knowledge of local companies (Nelson et al. , 1999). The community perspectives shoul be adequately represented as they may in? uence a company’s decision? aking process (Kearney, 2004). It has been indicated that communities have the ability to in? uence the social reputation of a company (Henriques and Sadorsky, 1996). According to Zhu and Sarkis (2006), Hall (2000) and Sarkis (1998), external pressures are believed to be important factors affecting a company’s GSCM practices. This generates the ? rst integrative hypothesis of this study as: Ha: companies that face higher pressures from external stakeholders are more likely to adopt GSCM practices.Hypothesis b (Hb): Internal Factors Business strategy is not only in? uenced by external stakeholders since companies subject to the same lev el of external pressure may perform differently (Prakash, 2000; Gunningham et al. , 2003). It is argued that companies also adopt different environmental practices due to their individual interpretations of the objective pressures from the outside. The difference between ‘objective’ and ‘perceived’ pressures would lead to diverse responses from companies.Therefore, our analytical model adds two internal organizational factors, namely support by top managers and a company’s learning capacity, to jointly explain a company’s GSCM practices. Management support by top managers is critical for the introduction and implementation of innovations in a company, especially environmental management systems (EMSs) (Daily and Huang, 2001). Top management support can affect the success of new initiatives by facilitating employee involvement or by promoting a cultural shift in the company, for example. Previous research suggests that cross? unctional programs need support from senior management, and indicates that top management support is associated with the success of environmentally preferable purchasing (Carter et al. , 1998). As GSCM is a broad? based organizational endeavor, Copyright  © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Bus. Strat. Env. 21, 1–16 (2012) DOI: 10. 1002/bse Green Supply Chain Management in China 5 it has the potential to bene? t from top management support. Meanwhile, a company’s learning capacity is viewed as especially important in a resource? ased view. GSCM practices are amenable to the bene? ts derived from learning since they are human resource? intensive and greatly rely on tacit skill development by employee involvement, team work and shared expertise (Hart, 1995). The capacity for implementing innovative environmental approaches is usually enhanced by employee self? learning, professional education and on? the? job training. The education level of employees and the frequency of internal environmental training are often used as proxies of a company’s learning capacity.The above discussions suggest two sub? hypotheses on internal factors which may be expressed as Hb1 and Hb2: Hb1: a company’s level of GSCM practices is positively associated with the support of top managers. Hb2: a company’s level of GSCM practices is positively associated with the company’s learning capacity. Hypothesis c (Hc): the Linkage of External and Internal Factors As discussed above, the addition of internal factors reasonably complements the pressures from external stakeholders in explaining the practice of GSCM.A company’s internal factors may be viewed as intermediate variables to adjust the in? uences of external pressures. A company will be unlikely to implement GSCM activities if it does not have the necessary capacity, no matter what pressures it faces. This generates one more hypothesis on the relationship of external pressures and internal factors in determining a company’s GSCM practices in this study, which may be documented as: Hc: the relationships between a company’s external pressures and adoption of GSCM are mediated by internal factors. MethodsSamples and Data Collection The data for this study were collected by a questionnaire survey conducted in the region of the Yangtze River Delta during April and May 2009. Two small areas in the delta were selected for the survey implementation. One was Taichang, a county? level city in Jiangsu Province. Another was Kangqiao Industrial Park based in Shanghai. Developed from traditional environmental policies, local environmental agencies have tried some innovative measures for improving CEM by encouraging the public’s involvement against industrial pollution.With aims to reduce the compliance cost and maintain ? nancial value, the companies there have adopted some proactive environmental practices. The better background of CEM in the study area compar ed with other regions of China provides the possibility for us to monitor companies’ GSCM activities in this study. According to the literature overview and preliminary understandings about the contextual background of the study area, a questionnaire was developed to measure companies’ GSCM practices, determinant factors and organizational performance.The questionnaire format consisted of four major components: general information on the companies; GSCM activities such as environmentally preferable procurement; the degree of external pressures felt by the companies; and the evaluation of environmental and economic performances. The environmental managers were chosen as focal points in the survey to answer the questions concerning GSCM issues in their companies. Due to the large scope for GSCM activities, the environmental manager discussed matters with the purchasing manager and production manager as necessary.Over a period of approximately 2 months, the survey was con ducted in two phases. In the ? rst stage, local government of? cials and seven companies were contacted in order to test the validation and feasibility of answering the survey document. The questions are listed in a concise but accurate manner to avoid misunderstanding by the respondents. The ? nalized format was sent to 210 enterprises on a name list provided by the local environmental protection bureaus Copyright  © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Bus. Strat. Env. 21, 1–16 (2012) DOI: 10. 1002/bse 6 Xianbing Liu et al. EPBs). A total of 165 respondents were con? rmed to be useful for the analysis, meaning a relatively high (78. 6%) valid response rate due to the coordination of local EPBs. The distribution of usable responses by industrial sectors is listed in Table 1. As expected, the samples from the sectors of machinery manufacturing, chemicals and textile and dyeing account for nearly half of the total, which are the representative industries in the st udy area. Operationalization of the Variables Dependent Variable The dependent variable in this study is LGSCM, a company’s overall GSCM practice level.LGSCM may be represented by a series of practical activities since it is dif? cult to directly measure the degree of GSCM involvement. Twelve items of GSCM activities were identi? ed to estimate a company’s overall level of GSCM practices in the current Chinese context, as listed in panel A of Table 2 and abbreviated as GA1 to GA12. This study addresses the GSCM practices as a company’s proactive environmental efforts in the manufacturing phase by excluding the end? of? pipe pollution control measurements and reverse logistic management of used products.Four categories of GSCM practices, represented by C1 to C4, respectively, are included: internally proactive environmental activities (C1); environmentally preferable procurement (C2); environmentally conscious design (C3); and supplier managed inventories and ser vices (C4) (Walton et al. , 1998; Carter et al. , 2000; Zsidisin and Hendrick, 1998). Achieving ISO14001 certi? cation, implementation of cleaner production auditing and reutilization of byproducts and other waste are chosen as internal proactive environmental activities of the companies.A company’s procurement strategies have strong impacts on the upstream producers in the supply chain, e. g. by buying non? toxic materials (Sarkis, 2003). In this study, four types of activities are de? ned as environmentally preferable procurement by the companies: requiring suppliers to offer cleaner products, evaluating suppliers’ environmental performances, providing education and technical assistance to suppliers, and providing education for internal procurement staff.Environmentally conscious design primarily focuses on technological improvements of products and processes to mitigate environmental impacts. Three items of activities, namely working closely with suppliers in produc t design, reducing waste in cooperation with suppliers and providing product? related environmental information for customers, are selected to assess the environmentally conscious design practices of companies. The last type of GSCM practice is supplier managed inventories and services which are found in chemical industries.Certain chemical companies commissioned their inventory management to the providers of raw materials due to the higher potential risks and the management experiences of the suppliers (PPRC, 2002). Since many chemical companies are located in the study area, two items are included to represent a company’s GSCM activities in this aspect. One is to entrust suppliers to manage company inventories. Another is to offer inventory management services for clients. Sector Paper Textile and dyeing Chemicals Plastics and rubber Metals Machinery and equipment manufacturing Electronics Automobile Printing Construction Others In totalNumber of samples 5 19 24 7 5 35 6 13 3 5 43 165 Percentage 3. 0 11. 5 14. 6 4. 3 3. 0 21. 2 3. 6 7. 9 1. 8 3. 0 26. 1 100. 0 Table 1. Distribution of the usable respondents by industrial sectors Copyright  © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Bus. Strat. Env. 21, 1–16 (2012) DOI: 10. 1002/bse Green Supply Chain Management in China Variable Description of the proxy 0 A: GSCM activities Internal proactive Achieving ISO14001 certification (GA1) environmental Cleaner production uditing (GA2) management (C1) Reutilization of byproducts and other wastes (GA3) Require suppliers to offer cleaner products (GA4) Environmentally Evaluate environmental performances of suppliers (GA5) preferable procurement (C2) Provide education and technical assistance for suppliers (GA6) Environmental education for internal purchasing staff (GA7) Work closely with suppliers in product design (GA8) Environmentally Work with suppliers on waste minimization (GA9) conscious Provide environmental information for products (GA10) design (C3) Supplier managed Entrust suppliers to manage some of the inventories (GA11) inventories (C4) Offer inventory management services for clients (GA12) 1 Valuation 2 3 4 5 7 LGSCMB: Determinant factors REGULATORY DCLIENT COMPETITOR COMMUNITY FCLIENT TSUPPORT EDUCATION TRAINING Pressure of environmental regulations Importance of domestic client’s environmental expectation Importance of competitors’ green strategies Pressure of complaints from neighboring communities Pressure of foreign customer’s environmental expectation Degree of support from company’s top managers Education level of the employees Frequency of internal environmental training External pressures Internal factors C: Control variables Characteristics of the companies Company’s size (LSIZ) Industrial sector belongings (SECTOR) Natural log of turnover Table 2. Definition and valuation of GSCM activities, the determinant factors and the controls The companies were requested to p resent a ? ve? oint Likert scale for each item of the 12 activities. The scales are de? ned as: 1 = not considering the activity at all; 2 = planning to consider; 3 = considering currently; 4 = partially implementing; and 5 = implementing successfully. The average score for all 12 items was used to represent the company’s LGSCM. In a similar way, the average score for the items of each GSCM category was used as the level of practice of that category. Independent Variables Recalling the section on ‘Development of Analytical Framework and Research Hypotheses’, the determinant factors behind companies’ adoption of GSCM activities include external pressures and internal factors. As listed in panel B of Table 2, ? e external pressures and three internal factors are classi? ed. In a similar way, a ? ve? point Likert scale was used to measure the importance, strength or degree of each factor: 1 = not at all; 2 = to some degree; 3 = moderate; 4 = relatively high; 5 = very high. The score for each factor was used to estimate its relationship with LGSCM. The only exception is for FCLIENT (pressure from foreign customers). The company’s export ratios were used as the proxy for this variable. It is assumed that the higher a company’s export ratio was, the higher the Copyright  © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Bus. Strat. Env. 21, 1–16 (2012) DOI: 10. 1002/bse 8 Xianbing Liu et al. ressure from foreign markets that would be felt by the company. The export ratios were classi? ed into four levels in the questionnaire format with consideration of easier responses from the surveyed companies. Control Variables Two more variables are introduced into the analytical framework as the controls. One is company size and another is the industrial sector to which it belongs. The existing literature suggests that larger companies are more likely to be under public scrutiny and are expected to have a higher propensity to be involved in innovative environmental practices (Hettige et al. , 1996). Larger companies are also likely to have superior resources for environmental activities.Companies with higher environmental sensitivity are more willing to improve their environmental performances. Panel C of Table 2 lists the methods for evaluating control variables. A natural log of the turnover in 2008 was used to represent a company’s size. A company’s industrial sector af? liation is classi? ed into two types, with ‘1’ referring to environmentally sensitive industries (ESI) and ‘0’ being non? ESIs. ESIs in China include mining, thermal power, construction materials, pulp and paper products, metallurgy, petroleum, brewing, fermentation, textiles, pharmacy, tanning and chemical industries (SEPA, 2003). The others are classi? ed as non? ESI.Results and Discussions Result for GSCM Practices of the Companies SPSS was used for the statistical analysis in this study. Cro nbach’s ? was calculated in order to test the consistency reliability of the values given to the items of GSCM activities. The estimated ? for all 12 items is 0. 912, which is higher than the 0. 9 that would imply a high validity of the dataset constructed. An exploratory factor analysis was performed on the 12 GSCM items to ? nd if there are different dimensions of these activities. Two factors were extracted. However, the ? rst factor accounts for 49. 9% of the variance in total and the second only accounts for 11. 6%.The rotated component matrix of the factor analysis is listed in Table 3. All the items relating to external GSCM practices (GA4 to GA12) are highly associated with factor 1. The results for internally proactive environmental activities (GA1, GA2 and GA3) are not clear since they have nearly equal loadings on both factors. The factor analysis result proves the rationality of using the average score of all the classi? ed GSCM items (LGSCM) as the dependent vari able for the regression analysis in this study. Table 4 gives a statistical summary of the scores of the de? ned GSCM activities. LGSCM of the respondents achieved an average score of 3. 9, indicating that Chinese companies are still at a very preliminary stage in their GSCM items 1 GA11 GA12 GA10 GA5 GA9 GA6 GA7 GA8 GA4 GA1 GA2 GA3 0. 814 0. 803 0. 779 0. 767 0. 749 0. 747 0. 730 0. 725 0. 691 0. 578 0. 490 0. 500 Component 2 ? 0. 119 ? 0. 107 – 0. 273 ? 0. 271 – 0. 321 ? 0. 303 0. 207 0. 492 0. 622 0. 583 Table 3. Rotated component matrix of factor analysis of GSCM items Copyright  © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Bus. Strat. Env. 21, 1–16 (2012) DOI: 10. 1002/bse Green Supply Chain Management in China 9 GSCM practices. The surveyed companies have started to implement internally proactive CEM activities to some degree (averaged at 3. 41–3. 93).Most of them plan to think about or are considering the environmental activities which would be jointly practiced with external actors in the supply chain. As examples, GA6 (provide education and technical assistance for suppliers) and GA8 (work closely with suppliers in product design) only obtained average scores of less than 3. 00. Nevertheless, slight improvement was observed in this study compared with the previous survey conducted in north China by Zhu and Sarkis (2006). This change may be attributed to the different location of the study areas. As described earlier, the region for this study has a relatively developed economy, and the companies there may be performing better on the environment than those in other areas. The surveyed companies react differently to the classi? d GSCM activities. Figure 2 provides details of the score distribution of GCSM activities practiced by the respondents. Many companies are implementing certain proactive Categories and items of GSCM activities Internal proactive environmental activities (C1) GA1 GA2 GA3 Environmentally preferabl e procurement (C2) GA4 GA5 GA6 GA7 Environmentally conscious design (C3) GA8 GA9 GA10 Supplier? managed inventories and services (C4) GA11 GA12 Overall level of GSCM practices (LGSCM) Obs. 158 159 160 160 159 160 159 160 162 153 159 159 156 157 158 158 148 Mean 3. 60 3. 41 3. 51 3. 93 3. 38 3. 84 3. 47 2. 76 3. 48 3. 32 2. 93 3. 45 3. 54 3. 11 3. 10 3. 2 3. 39 SD 1. 07 1. 49 1. 35 1. 14 1. 01 1. 16 1. 19 1. 27 1. 27 1. 04 1. 30 1. 22 1. 27 1. 23 1. 24 1. 33 0. 91 Min. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Max. 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Table 4. Statistical summary of GSCM activities of the surveyed companies One 100% 90% 80% Two Three Four Five Ratio of the score 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% GA1 GA2 GA3 GA4 GA5 GA6 GA7 GA8 GA9 GA10 GA11 GA12 Items of GSCM activities Figure 2. Distribution of the scores of company’s GSCM activities Copyright  © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Bus. Strat. Env. 21, 1–16 (2012) DOI: 10. 1002/bse 10 Xianbing Liu et a l. internal CEM practices.Nearly 70% of the surveyed companies are reusing byproducts and other generated waste to some degree. Around half of them are making efforts to achieve ISO14001 certi? cation and are pursuing a cleaner production audit. The companies are selective about those GSCM activities requiring cooperation with external actors on the supply chain. About 70% of the respondents are asking their upstream suppliers to provide cleaner materials or products to avoid possible environmental risks. The number of companies which arrange internally environmental education for their procurement staff and work closely with their suppliers for waste minimization is also around 50%.Another item of GSCM activity practiced relatively better by the companies is to provide product? related environmental information for their clients. However, most of the companies do not supply technical assistance to their suppliers. About 65% of the companies have not taken any action concerning envi ronmentally conscious design with their suppliers. In summary, the surveyed companies’ GSCM activities are obviously due to individual business needs and bene? ts from their own perspectives. GSCM is still a new concept for most Chinese companies. More time is needed for them to recognize the importance of strategic cooperation with other members of the supply chain. In? epth GSCM practices within a wider scope would be adopted if companies could unite as a group with a shared strategy on business and environmental issues. Descriptive Statistics of the Other Variables Table 5 summarizes the variables describing the determinant factors of GSCM activities. Companies gave higher scores to the pressures from external stakeholders. Among the external pressures, the regulative requirements and domestic client’s environmental expectations are viewed as highly important, achieving an average score of 4. 41 and 4. 29, respectively. Keeping up with competitors in the same sector is also regarded as an important factor (averaging 4. 08). The sampled companies usually carry out internal environmental training two or three times a year.The education level of employees is relatively low, probably because most of the companies are from traditionally labor? intensive industries. An average score of 2. 87 is presented for top managers’ support, which implies that company managers do not care much about GSCM efforts. This ? nding shows for a fact that the managers of Chinese companies do not seriously considering environmental activities other than basic compliance. Regarding the control variables indicating company characteristics, most of the samples are small and medium? sized. Large companies, with an annual turnover of more than 300 million Chinese yuan (CNY), only account for 7. 4% of the total.Small enterprises, which have fewer than 300 employees or yearly sales of less than CNY 30 million, account for 64. 2%. The remaining 28. 4% are medium? sized companies. According to the classi? cation criteria of the Chinese national environmental authority, half of the samples are categorized as ESI (49. 1%). The other half is non? ESI. Most of the respondents (71. 4%) process raw materials or produce components for downstream manufacturers. Result of the Relationship Between LGSCM and the Determinant Factors Pearson rank correlation was used to give a preliminary observation of the relationships between the overall level of GSCM practices and the determinant factors identi? ed earlier. The correlation matrix is shown in Table 6. ThisVariables and abbreviations REGULATORY DCLIENT COMPETITOR COMMUNITY FCLIENT TSUPPORT EDUCATION TRAINING Obs. 156 156 152 162 150 159 160 159 Mean 4. 41 4. 29 4. 08 3. 88 2. 46 2. 87 3. 30 4. 15 SD 0. 75 0. 86 0. 85 1. 73 1. 27 1. 35 1. 03 0. 75 Min. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Max. 5 5 5 5 4 5 5 5 External pressures Internal factors Table 5. Statistical summary of the determinant factors Copyright  © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Bus. Strat. Env. 21, 1–16 (2012) DOI: 10. 1002/bse Green Supply Chain Management in China LGSCM LGSCM REGULATORY DCLIENT COMPETITOR COMMUNITY FCLIENT TSUPPORT EDUCATION TRAINING 1 b 0. 195 a 0. 361 a 0. 391 ? 0. 083 0. 022 0. 113 a 0. 441 a 0. 559 REG.DCLIENT COMP. COMM. FCLIENT TSUP. EDU. 11 TRAINING 1 a 0. 395 a 0. 506 0. 035 0. 041 b ? 0. 176 b 0. 197 a 0. 477 1 a 0. 538 0. 008 0. 064 ? 0. 105 b 0. 354 a 0. 447 1 a 0. 038 0. 055 ? 0. 085 a 0. 238 a 0. 395 1 ? 0. 015 a ? 0. 471 0. 037 0. 150 1 ? 0. 086 0. 073 0. 139 1 ? 0. 041 ? 0. 073 1 a 0. 421 1 Table 6. Correlation coefficients of LGSCM and the determinant factors a Correlation is signi? cant at the 0. 01 level, two? tailed. b Correlation is signi? cant at the 0. 05 level, one? tailed. indicates that LGSCM is signi? cantly correlated with the external pressure variables DCLIENT and COMPETITOR, and internal factors like EDUCATION and TRAINING.Standard multiple regressions were performed wi th LGSCM as the dependent variable and each of the determinant factors and controls as independent variables. The results are listed in Table 7. The level of multi? collinearity between the variables was tested by an inspection of the condition index and variance proportions in the SPSS collinearity diagnostics table. According to the criteria given by Tabachnick and Fidell (2001), multi? collinearity is not a problem in this analysis since each condition index is less than 30 and the variance proportions are much less than 50. The regression result in Table 7 indicates that Ha is supported in general.Among the external pressures, DCLIENT and COMPETITOR are signi? cantly and positively associated with LGSCM at P = 0. 000. This implies that domestic clients’ environmental preferences and competitors’ green strategies for differentiation are major external drivers for companies to adopt GSCM activities. One more external factor which has a slightly positive correlation w ith LGSCM, signi? cant at P < 0. 01, is REGULATORY. Government regulations were believed to be dominant forces for CEM in the past since a company’s environmental strategies are imposed coercively via environmental sanctions (Delmas, 2002). However, this study classi? ed GSCM practices as those beyond basic environmental compliances.The governmental requirements may become a relatively minor factor for the adoption of GSCM practices. No signi? cant associations are found between the other two external pressures, COMMUNITY and FCLIENT, and LGSCM. The surveyed companies greatly valued the pressure from their neighboring communities. However, community pressure cannot account for a company’s GSCM efforts, probably because the communities mainly complain about the environmentally illegal activities of companies rather than lobby for proactive efforts such as GSCM practices. The pressure from foreign clients is not strongly felt by manufacturers in the current phase. Regard ing the internal factors, Hb1 is not supported. The support of top managers is not found to be signi? antly associated with a company’s LGSCM in this survey, which is in contrast to the result of Carter et al. (1998). Nevertheless, Hb2 is fully con? rmed. The two variables representing a company’s learning capacity, education level of employees (EDUCATION) and frequency of internal environmental training (TRAINING), are signi? cantly and positively associated with LGSCM at P = 0. 000. This result is identical to that of Zhu et al. (2008), which con? rms the hypothesis that the extent of GSCM practice engaged in by Chinese companies is positively related to the level of organizational learning capacity. Result of the Mediating Function of Internal Factors The egression result of LGSCM and the determinant factors in the previous section con? rm the causal chains existing between each of the three external pressures (REGULATORY, DCLIENT and COMPETITOR) and two internal fa ctors (EDUCATION and TRAINING) with LGSCM. Signi? cant relationships are found between each of the three external pressures and each of the two internal factors, as shown in Table 8. The t? statistic of all the regressions is greater than 2. 00. Copyright  © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Bus. Strat. Env. 21, 1–16 (2012) DOI: 10. 1002/bse 12 Variables entered (a) REGULATORY ? 0 REGULATORY LSIZ SECTOR F? value R2 (adjusted) (c) COMPETITOR ? COMPETITOR LSIZ SECTOR F? value R2 (adjusted) (e) FCLIENT ? 0 FCLIENT LSIZ SECTOR F? value R2 (adjusted) (g) EDUCATION ? 0 EDUCATION LSIZ SECTOR F? value R2 (adjusted) 0. 708 0. 374 0. 151 0. 178 1. 846 5. 721 4. 592 1. 299 18. 884 0. 294 0. 067 0. 000 0. 000 0. 196 1. 804 0. 033 0. 156 0. 253 4. 026 0. 544 3. 959 1. 573 5. 281 0. 097 0. 000 0. 588 0. 000 0. 118 0. 409 0. 356 0. 155 0. 258 0. 859 4. 224 4. 457 1. 772 13. 382 0. 226 0. 392 0. 000 0. 000 0. 079 0. 497 0. 266 0. 176 0. 293 0. 851 2. 760 4. 856 1. 960 9. 673 0. 169 0. 397 0. 007 0. 000 0. 052 Coef? cient t? statistic P? value Variables entered (b) DCLIENT ? 0 DCLIENT LSIZ SECTOR F? alue R2 (adjusted) (d) COMMUNITY ? 0 COMMUNITY LSIZ SECTOR F? value R2 (adjusted) (f) TSUPPORT ? 0 TSUPPORT LSIZ SECTOR F? value R2 (adjusted) (h) TRAINING ? 0 TRAINING LSIZ SECTOR F? value R2 (adjusted) ? 0. 310 0. 597 0. 128 0. 126 1. 803 ? 0. 021 0. 167 0. 278 1. 507 0. 041 0. 177 0. 260 0. 439 0. 342 0. 147 0. 322 Coef? cient Xianbing Liu et al. t? statistic P? value 0. 896 3. 890 4. 172 2. 210 12. 583 0. 214 0. 372 0. 000 0. 000 0. 029 3. 117 0. 840 4. 452 1. 680 7. 112 0. 123 0. 002 0. 402 0. 000 0. 095 4. 695 ? 0. 341 4. 018 1. 765 6. 188 0. 109 0. 000 0. 734 0. 000 0. 080 ?0. 726 7. 001 4. 031 0. 955 26. 249 0. 370 0. 469 0. 000 0. 000 0. 342 Table 7.Regression results for LGSCM and each of the determinant factors According to Baron and Kenny (1986), a third condition has to be met in order to con? rm the mediating function of internal factors as hypo thesized in this study. The signi? cant relations between the external pressures and LGSCM shall be strongly reduced if the internal factors are controlled. We tested Hc by repeating the OLS regressions in three steps. In step 1, LGSCM is individually regressed against each of the three external pressures which have signi? cant relations with LGSCM. In step 2, each of the three pressures and EDUCATION, as an internal factor, jointly enter into the regressions as independent variables.In a similar way, step 3 is carried out by substituting the variable of EDUCATION by TRAINING. The regression results are listed in Table 9. The robustness of the result was checked by doing the regressions with the control variables added for each case. The corresponding regression results are described in Table 10. There are no obvious changes in the signi? cances of the regression results listed in Tables 9 and 10. The mediation function of internal factors does occur and Hc is supported. In the case of introducing the internal factors into regressions, the signi? cances of external pressures to LGSCM are all reduced signi? cantly or even removed completely.This implies that the low level of GSCM involvement of Chinese companies could be fundamentally attributed to a lack of the necessary internal capacities for GSCM practices. The strong pressures Copyright  © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Bus. Strat. Env. 21, 1–16 (2012) DOI: 10. 1002/bse Green Supply Chain Management in China Variables entered Coef? cient t? statistic P? value Coef? cient t? statistic 13 P? value (a) EDUCATION as dependent variable ? 0 REGULATORY F? value R2 (adjusted) ? 0 DCLIENT F? value R2 (adjusted) ? 0 COMPETITOR F? value R2 (adjusted) 2. 131 0. 268 4. 409 2. 479 6. 145 0. 033 3. 806 4. 671 21. 819 . 0120 5. 280 2. 982 8. 894 0. 050 0. 000 0. 014 (b) TRAINING as dependent variable 2. 014 0. 83 6. 196 6. 667 44. 445 0. 222 8. 689 6. 144 37. 748 0. 195 9. 751 5. 216 27. 211 0. 1 50 0. 000 0. 000 1. 503 0. 421 0. 000 0. 000 2. 451 0. 396 0. 000 0. 000 2. 125 0. 288 0. 000 0. 003 2. 727 0. 350 0. 000 0. 000 Table 8. Regression results of internal factors and external pressures with significances to LGSCM Variable entered Coef? cient Step 1 t? statistic P? value Coef? cient Step 2 t? statistic P? value Coef? cient Step 3 t? statistic P? value (a) REGULATORY as the independent variable ? 0 REGULATORY EDUCATION TRAINING F? value R2 (adjusted) 2. 331 0. 241 5. 126 2. 367 0. 000 0. 019 1. 502 0. 146 0. 375 3. 358 1. 540 5. 338 17. 416 0. 89 0. 001 0. 126 0. 000 0. 747 –8. 783E? 02 0. 728 5. 601 0. 031 1. 699 ? 0. 895 7. 580 32. 931 0. 312 0. 092 0. 372 0. 000 (b) DCLIENT as the independent variable ? 0 DCLIENT EDUCATION TRAINING F? value R2 (adjusted) 1. 637 0. 407 4. 237 4. 619 0. 000 0. 000 1. 077 0. 286 0325 2. 813 3. 319 4. 634 22. 731 0. 236 0. 006 0. 001 0. 000 9. 139E? 02 0. 174 0. 612 21. 331 0. 124 0. 220 2. 206 6. 622 35. 351 0. 328 0. 826 0. 045 0. 000 (c) COMPETITOR as the independent variable ? 0 COMPETITOR EDUCATION TRAINING F? value R2 (adjusted) 1. 675 0. 423 4. 776 5. 031 0. 000 0. 000 0. 978 0. 319 0. 338 2. 787 4. 010 5. 101 27. 949 0. 279 0. 006 0. 000 0. 00 0. 100 0. 226 0. 570 25. 314 0. 147 0. 251 2. 811 6. 342 36. 265 0. 337 0. 802 0. 006 0. 000 Table 9. Regression results of LGSCM for mediating function test Copyright  © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Bus. Strat. Env. 21, 1–16 (2012) DOI: 10. 1002/bse 14 Variable entered Coef? cient Step 1 t? statistic P? value Coef? cient Step 2 t? statistic P? value Coef? cient Xianbing Liu et al. Step 3 t? statistic P? value (a) REGULATORY as the independent variable ? 0 REGULATORY EDUCATION TRAINING LSIZ SECTOR F? value R2 (adjusted) 0. 497 0. 266 0. 851 2. 760 0. 397 0. 007 ? 0. 197 0. 194 0. 357 0. 162 0. 190 ? 0. 355 2. 177 5. 270 4. 99 1. 375 15. 139 0. 310 0. 723 0. 031 0. 000 0. 000 0. 172 ? 0. 220 ? 0. 029 0. 611 0. 125 0. 128 ? 0. 419 ? 0. 294 6. 159 3. 811 0. 944 19. 319 0. 368 0. 676 0. 769 0. 000 0. 000 0. 347 0. 176 0. 293 4. 856 1. 960 9. 673 0. 169 0. 000 0. 052 (b) DCLIENT as the independent variable ? 0 DCLIENT EDUCATION TRAINING LSIZ SECTOR F? value R2 (adjusted) 0. 439 0. 342 0. 896 3. 890 0. 372 0. 000 0. 008 0. 212 0. 322 0. 144 0. 214 0. 018 2. 453 4. 573 4. 373 1. 552 15. 598 0. 317 0. 986 0. 016 0. 000 0. 000 0. 123 ? 0. 638 0. 137 0. 540 0. 124 0. 153 ? 1. 343 1. 592 5. 842 3. 883 1. 139 20. 317 0. 380 0. 182 0. 114 0. 000 0. 000 0. 257 0. 147 0. 322 4. 72 2. 210 12. 583 0. 214 0. 000 0. 029 (c) COMPETITOR as the independent variable ? 0 COMPETITOR EDUCATION TRAINING LSIZ SECTOR F? value R2 (adjusted) 0. 409 0. 356 0. 859 4. 224 0. 392 0. 000 ? 0. 237 0. 275 0. 329 0. 148 0. 168 ? 0. 511 3. 472 4. 911 4. 592 1. 236 17. 453 0. 345 0. 610 0. 001 0. 000 0. 000 0. 219 ? 0. 742 0. 183 0. 524 0. 127 0. 124 ? 1. 589 2. 268 5. 753 3. 994 0. 928 21. 233 0. 393 0. 115 0. 025 0. 000 0. 000 0. 355 0. 155 0. 258 4 . 457 1. 772 13. 382 0. 226 0. 000 0. 079 Table 10. Regression results for robustness test of the mediating function from external stakeholders do not necessarily lead to GSCM in reality. More speci? ally, REGULATORY is completely mediated by the two internal factors, while DCLIENT and COMPETITOR are only partially mediated. This indicates that the adoption of GSCM practices of Chinese companies is probably more responsive to non? coercive and competitive factors such as pressures from the domestic clients and leading companies in the same sector. This interesting ? nding also con? rms that governmental regulations in China do not play an active role in encouraging industrial practices in GSCM. In addition, the greater reduction of signi? cances in step 3 than in step 2 demonstrates that the variable of TRAINING is indeed potent as an intermediate variable.The internal environmental training of related employees may strongly enhance a company’s capacity to deal with external pressures by being proactive in environmental management such as GSCM practices. Conclusions This paper explores the current status and determinant factors of GSCM practices adopted by companies located in the Yangtze River Delta of China. The surveyed companies perform slightly better than the companies sampled in a Copyright  © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Bus. Strat. Env. 21, 1–16 (2012) DOI: 10. 1002/bse Green Supply Chain Management in China 15 previous survey in North China (Zhu et al. , 2008). However, the overall level of GSCM practices does not differ dramatically. This con? ms that Chinese companies are still at a preliminary stage of GSCM practices. In particular, the companies’ environmental management in cooperation with external members of the supply chain is very marginal. Among a larger range of determinant factors classi? ed in this study, external pressures from domestic clients and competitors are signi? cantly and positively ass ociated with LGSCM while the regulatory pressure shows slightly positive in? uence. Learning capacity of the company signi? cantly determines LGSCM as an internal factor. Differing from the result of Zhu et al. (2008), the support of top managers has less in? uence on GSCM activities.These results are consistent with those of Jeppesen and Hansen (2004), which attributed the environmental improvement of Third World companies on the value chain to external market forces and the internal resources of the companies. Another meaningful ? nding of our analysis is that the internal factors are greatly mediating the in? uences of external pressures. Our analysis may provide essential policy implications for promoting the GSCM practices of companies in China. Many more concerns about a company’s environmental performance from its external stakeholders will be facilitated, which may generate pressures for the company’s efforts in GSCM practices. It is very necessary to educate c ompanies to better understand the advantages and approaches of GSCM as an innovative strategy for sustainable production.The diffusion of successful cases would be an effective method, as it helps increase a company’s capacity to actually adopt GSCM practices. As an empirical study of GSCM in China, this paper develops a comprehensive analytical framework and conducts an integrative analysis. Nevertheless, a few questions remain for subsequent studies. As examples, the working mechanism of determinant factors identi? ed for GSCM practices needs to be observed in more detail. 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Sunday, November 10, 2019

New Product Launch Marketing Plan Essay

Our company is Audi AG. Audi is headquartered in Germany and is a subsidiary of Volkswagen since 1966. Founded in 1909 by automotive pioneer August Horch, Audi specializes in high end and luxurious automobiles (â€Å"Audi Club North America Northeast â€Å", 2014). Audi’s cars collection is comprised of sedan, SUVs, convertible, coupe, diesel and hybrids. Audi is one of the three biggest luxury cars companies in the world. Our plan is to launch our newest headlights technology along with thousands of new cars around the globe. The automobile market is driven by technology and Audi intent to be the premium brand (â€Å"Audi Ag†, 2014).We intent to do so, by delighting our customers worldwide (â€Å"Audi Ag†, 2014). Safety is the number one decision motivator when purchasing a car regardless of where you live and Audi wants to capitalize on that. To predict our consumer’s buying impulses, we will rely on social, cultural and personal factors (Kotler & Keller, 2012).Now is the best time to launch such a product as people drive more and more due in part to recent planes crashes and disappearance. By making night rides safer, Audi intent to gain an edge against its competitors and increase annual sales. Germany and the USA will be our launching platform. We intend to maximize our sales by putting together a strong advertising campaign. We will be utilizing social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, we will also advertise via television, radio, billboard, etc. Our advertising team is composed of Me Philippe Biboum, Kevin Mobley, Kirkland Browne, Dana Cannon, Tameika Mclean and Johanna Gutierrez. We are highly qualified and we have combined over twenty years of experience in this field. Here are the components of our plan. Executive summary Situational analysis Market growth potential and competitive analysis Segmentation, target market, and positioning Pricing and distribution strategies Marketing communication plan Financial information(including forecasting demand, break-even, sales, promotional budget, and marketing expense) Intended marketing objectives for Y1, Y2, and Y3 Evaluation and control metrics and methodology to measure performance Contingency planning Situational Analysis The â€Å"Audi of America News Channel† (2014) website stated that in July 2014, Audi increased its sales by 11.9%. This represents the 43rd consecutive record sales for our brand. The launch of our new headlights technology will increase sales even more. Germany and America will be our test launch and we are confident that it will be a success. Our target markets are rich men and women as well as families. Our product will be sold to every individual who is able to purchase and maintain a luxury car. We have a wide collection of cars to will fit everyone lifestyle. In terms of demography, our product aims at people between the age of 25 and 60 who have a lot of money. We recently have been making cheaper car to capture the consumers less than 25 years of age. Audi is aware of the fact that gender, family status and age influence car buying, that is why we built certain models fit younger generation like the A6, SUVs and sedan for families and coupe for single people. Geographically speaking, Audi knows that car buying differ according to the location. Our product will be appealing to individuals who live in the outskirts of big cities, or deep in the country because they often have to drive on roads that are not well lit. Social class, personalities and lifestyles divide the market into psychographic segmentations. Audi’s cars are aimed at upper social classes. We target individual who like a flashy lifestyle and want to show their wealth because we know they can afford the technology. About the market growth, we know that there is a need for a product such as our new headlights. According to the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), good quality headlights are one of the best ways to avoid car crashes (â€Å"Insurance Institute for Highway Safety†, 2012). The recent  plane crashes along with airfare are driving people to drive more and more. We know we will increase our sales as long as we have a strong marketing campaign to advert ise our product. SWOT analysis One of the strength here is that our product provides a safer nighttime driving experience for drivers who do long distance driving. The cost to add the feature will increase the purchase price of the vehicle and this is a weakness. An opportunity could be the effective utilization of marketing approaches will help to determine market need (i.e. surveys) and gain a competitive advantage (promotion, placement/positioning. Audi’s competitors such as BMW, Mercedes Benz, etc. can use the same or similar product if there is no patent on the development of the product and this is a threat to our bottom line. Our key to success here is to respond to consumer demand by creating a product they want and need. That product is the new headlights technology. This product will separate us from our competition because it is an innovation, it will help save lives and increase our bottom line. Market growth potential Audi’s goal is to slowly integrate their LED headlight technology into all of their vehicles. They will begin by installing them in higher-level class of vehicles as an â€Å"upgrade† option. Brighter, longer lasting headlight bulbs will reduce the cost of replacing regular bulbs, and brighter headlights will increase driver visibility at night. Audi expects competitors to install similar devices in their vehicles; however, Audi believes their version is longer lasting, brighter and safer for Audi drivers as well as, other drivers on the road. Competitive Analysis The automobile industry is fiercely competitive in the United States as well as, internationally. In 2006-2008, the automobile industry suffered a significant financial loss, especially the big three in Detroit. Foreign automobile manufacturers took advantage and saw growth. While some Asian and European manufacturers also suffered, many upgraded base models to entice buyers to purchase their product. Automakers did what they could to gain the upper hand against their competitors. Audi was no different, seeing a drop in sales during this time. For many customers, safety, reliability, and  fuel efficiency are increasingly important, more so than flash, speed, and power. The safety and visibility of an Audi driver is a priority Audi is attempting to increase. Segmentation The market segmentation has spate, but distinct parts: geographical, psychographic, and demographic. Audi will use geographical sales statistics to determine where sales are highest. Introducing upgrades and changes to Audi vehicles to the customers who buy them more frequently will benefit Audi and satisfy customer demand. Audi is responding to increasing customer demand for safety; therefore, increasing driver visibility satisfies customer demand. Moreover, the longer lasting, brighter headlights benefit teen and elderly drivers who may become easily distracted or have difficulty seeing at night. The increase in safety may also decrease accidents, which will make insurance companies happy. Target Market Audi is not specifically targeting one particular group; however, brighter lights will benefit drivers with limited experience or with poor vision or night vision the most. Elderly drivers are more likely to benefit from brighter headlights to increase their visibility at night. The headlight feature is not limited to elderly drivers though, all drivers can benefit from the safety feature. Audi expects high customer satisfaction and will eventually implement the LED headlight in all of their models. Any driver concerned for safety is part of the market Audi is targeting. Longer lasting lights means less maintenance cost, and brighter lights means other drivers can see the Audi sooner, and the Audi driver can see the road or and any debris in the road, sooner. Positioning Positioning is important, and precise placement of the headlight translates to better driver visibility. However, regardless of how bright or long lasting the headlight is, defensive, non-distractive driving is key to reduce traffic accidents and avoiding road hazards. Moreover, the ability to see an item in the road sooner will help the driver prevent a collision; however, failure to pay attention to the road will increase the potential for at-fault accidents and collisions. While many discard some features as â€Å"unnecessary,† brighter, longer lasting headlights is a product Audi feels  confident implementing, and confident customers will respond in an overwhelmingly positive way. Pricing & Distribution When looking at pricing and distribution there are several factors to be considered. The wholesaler’s will always calculate its prices by adding the cost of the product itself (headlights), wages involved in the production, the overheads and cost to deliver such. Then, after the wholesaler calculates a reasonable mark-up, the product will then be sold to Audi. It is then Audi’s job to make the best out of this product by the promotion it carries out. Before Audi agrees to any business with a headlight manufacturer Audi strategizes and plans a how to price and distribute. Audi is a well-known luxurious vehicle where they now will have an added feature to promote safety. The sales potential are very high as we are targeting those that enjoy road trips, those that are behind the wheel for extended amount of hours. Audi then has to reanalyze its decision and consider losses, what if this does not work, how this will impact our business, what are other cost effective routes we can take. These are all considerations Audi has to take into play if the brighter headlights for their vehicles do not create more sales. This is going to be considered as a standard on all of Audi vehicles, it is not an add on feature Audi plans of charging extra for. Marketing Communication Plan Audi believes in its product. Before a company can be successful it must build its own awareness. Audi has built that awareness! Every day you see accidents caused by poor visibility due to poor lighting. Audi will use this to their advantage when marketing and communicating to its customers and potential customers the advantages of Audi’s new improved headlights. Furthermore, it is advantageous for Audi to stress the fact that the price tag of the vehicles have not changed due to the improved and upgraded headlights. Audi has been dedicated to communicate to its customers, potential customers and competitors that they have the solution for accidents caused by poor visibility due to poor lighting. They are advertising this through every mean of communication possible. Then internet/ media is a huge marketing communication source, the radio, newspapers, billboards, and the public itself by word of mouth. When driving  on the road if you see an Audi vehicle you will see the di fference in their bright headlights when compared to other vehicles. Asserting the fact that you communicate with all of your customers and potential customers plays a vital part in how successful this will be. Audi has identified families and one of their targets and this is the main target we are communicating our new product to. Audi has partnered and networked with different sources such as â€Å"safety programs† and/ or famous people, have also taken it a step ahead by recording infomercials on highways, dark roads and valleys to show its costumers the strength behind the new headlights their vehicles have. Audi has been servicing consumers upwards of one hundred plus years and Audi intends on being a provider until the end of time in order to stay relevant in the automotive industry Audi is aware of the evolving of automobiles. Audi has done its research throughout the years and through the years consumer safety has remained the number one factor when building an effective brand. Audi has continued to serve the consumer while remaining at the head of its class of Luxury automobiles. In past research through the National Highway Traffic Administration Audi found that one of the major issues of car accidents within the United States stemmed from blinding headlights (NHTA, 2013). The new product that Audi seeks is to install the LED headlights with objectives based around consumer safety first as well as profits. The objectives provided focused on the product from beginning to end starting from year one when Audi began searching for the new product to elevate the company. Audi will definitely captivate its target audience as well as reach its sales growth, once it begins manufacturing the product and getting the products in its show rooms. Objectives: Year 1 Completed research on issues surrounding vehicle safety Find the issue and find a product that will assist in increasing consumers comfort when driving Find target audience Year 2 build a Safe brand to suite consumers’ needs  implement the strategy in vehicles that target our initial consumer market (families) seek profits of upwards of 10-15 percent within the first year Year 3 Implement products in remaining vehicle models that service all consumers. Seek to increase Revenue another 10 to 30 percent Begin research on new product to assist with current features Financial Information It is imperative that the financial outlook of Audi for 2014 is predicated on the prior performance drivers. In 2013, the Audi A4, A6, Q5, and Q7 experienced increased sales from the previous years over the other vehicle models. The A4 and A6 belong to the sedan category and the Q5 and Q7 are in the SUV/crossover category. That being said, it is forecasted that these same vehicle category’s sales will continue to increase in 2014. Therefore, the introductory marketing of the new headlight designs should be donned in the aforementioned vehicle models. Moving forward, the following financial data, to include forecasted demand, sales, break-even point sales/units, and marketing/promotional budget expense, shall represent the four top selling vehicle models. Audi is looking to increase revenue by four percent annually over the next three years. With the addition of the enhanced headlights, Audi believes the projected forecasts will be successful. Figures A – D illustrate the proposed forecasts for each vehicle. Figure A. Figure B. Figure C. Forecasted Break-Even Point Analysis Figure D. Evaluation and Control Metrics Utilizing control metrics to measure the success rate of employed strategies is a very important aspect of the marketing plan. Ensuring the success of the chosen methods of marketing is needed to determine if changes should be and/or can be made to increase revenue. There are a variety of metrics tools that can be used to benchmark marketing data, but identifying four of  them will suffice for this particular analysis. 1 Market Size – the number of units sold to a market in a specific period of time (1 year). 2 Market Share – the number of units sold in a specific period of time that represents a percentage of the entire market size. 3 Brand Awareness – Actual and potential customers being able to identify the Audi brand. 4 Customer Satisfaction – Customer’s perception of Audi’s product and service delivery. (www.dobney.com, p.4-25). Contingency Planning The contingency plan for Audi headlights is very simple. As headlights are already used on every make and model, these advances in technology are not the reinvention of the wheel. These changes propose no danger to the continued success of Audi’s business operations. We will apply for a patent which will protect our new LED technology and lighting design for two years, and we actively pursue all copyright infringement to prevent any future instances. As it is inevitable that after the two year protected period that others will follow our lead we will use those two years to develop new designs with respect to LED lighting that will not only increase safety, but will also define Audi’s brand by a visual representation contained in our headlight assembly. A lighted trademark if you will. Our definition of success with respect to contingency planning will be to defend our position for the first two years while developing a trademarked light design for all future Audi models. References Anonymous. Understanding market metrics. Retrieved August 17, 2014 from http://www.dobney.com/Research/market_metrics.htm AUDI AG. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.audi.com/corporate/en/company/corporate-strategy.html Audi Club North America Northeast. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.neqclub.org/about-us/audis-history.html Audi of America News Channel. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.audiusanews.com/newsroom.do;jsessionid=B4BD8EEE4DAD44DA49C746C83D80A7BE?&id=65&allImage=1&name=sales-news&mid=98 Insurance Institute for