This paper aims to explore male abusers of intimate violence in Taiwanese- Vietnamese Marriages, and discuss opinions of their marriage and violated behaviors under the social structure. Hence, the research tries to figure out: 1.in what ways do these male-partners deal with the intimate violence and respond to potential changes of their marriages? 2.what are their strategies to maintain their power and masculinity in their marriage? 3.what would be the obstruction in their intimate relationship? With in-depth interview of six Taiwanese husbands, the results show that the imagination of perfect marriage in these male-partners¡¦ mind is full of the traditional gender vision. That¡¦s why these male-partners tend to reinforce the intimate violence when they find their partners couldn¡¦t fit in with the ideal model. In fact, these male abusers could deny all counts about their violated behaviors later. Besides, male-partners even use ¡¨gender¡¨ and ¡§nationality¡¨ to rationalize their behaviors, such as accusing their female-partners with horrible family concepts, unfaithful, engaging in prostitution, cheating, and over- aggressive.

It is a common method to use mergers and acquisitions to grow for enterprises. Cross-border mergers and acquisitions is one of the ways to expand the oversea marker share, besides mergers and acquisitions in domestic market itself. In the past, the enterprises from developed countries took the role to buy oversee targets. The enterprises from emerging markets gradually become the protagonist for the reason of the rise of emerging markets, especially after the Global Financial Crisis and European Debt Crisis. This study refers to literature presented to look deeply into the motivations of mergers and acquisitions from different acquirers. We classified the motivations we found in the secondary data, with year 2007 to May 2012 as the scope, expecting to figure out the differences between developed-country acquirers and emerging-market acquirers. The result shows that the main motivations for developed-country acquirers are seeking for the resources needed, entering local market and increasing the size of itself. On the other hand, going into international market, reaching economy of scale and seeking for the resources needed are the main motivations for emerging-market acquirers. Furthermore, the motivation of mergers and acquisition differs from one industry to another.

During the past planned economy in China, the local government established too many and too small-scale state-owned enterprises, and disregarded market faculty in order to be self-sufficiency. After carried out the market economy in China, those medium, small-scale state-owned enterprises would have faced harsh competition and test, and the scale economy in the market would be leading the industrial structure transforming of China in the future. The main purpose of this research is probing into the problems of the foreign-invested enterprises merger with the Chinese state-owned enterprises, because this research would like to know how the government of China to regulate those activities of the foreign-invested enterprises merger with the state-owned enterprises of China, and will help the foreign-invested enterprises to choose the most potential state-owned enterprises to merger with under the laws and decrees of China. After reformed and opened of China, and during joining the WTO, the main developed goal is how to attract more foreign investments, innovate state-owned enterprises, and fuse with the international market. Under insisting opening to the outside world, attracting more foreign investments tactics, China must adapt to the world tide, and encourage the state-owned enterprises and the multi-national corporations to work together, lead in advanced technologies, funds, managing and selling modes, and build R & D center to increase the international competitiveness of the state-owned enterprises by cross-border modes. However, the foreign-invested enterprises in order to contend for the Chinese market, will get the market share quickly by M & A mode, and this will cause the activities continuing expanding of the foreign-invested enterprises merger with the state-owned enterprises of China.

none

Purpose - The purpose of this thesis work is to explore how the fully implemented AEC affects cross-border trade in the ASEAN, and based on the findings determine how multinational companies should adapt their logistics strategy to the change. To achieve this purpose the following research questions will be answered: How will the AEC affect the distribution of goods in the ASEAN? How should a multinational company adapt their logistics strategy to the new conditions? Methodology - To explore the opportunities and threats regarding the fully implementation of AEC, the authors had to complete 4 phases including a pre-study, literature study, case study, and data analysis. The pre-study was about the basics of ASEAN. The Literature study was mainly about Logistics Management, Strategic Management, Contingency Theory, and AEC, and its aim was to find out the key factors affecting logistics strategy and how the AEC affects them. In order to locate what opportunities and threats that arise along the affected factors, a case study was conducted by studying a real-life example on a case company, through interviews and tariff tables. Additionally, data analysis was done throughout the thesis work by structured methods and a PEST analysis. Findings - Literature study showed that the affected factors where tariffs, NTBs, ROO, trade facilitation, customs integration, standards, and TBTs. After analysing how the affected factors will change the business environment by a PEST analysis, the authors found that the most crucial threat is increased competition and the greatest opportunity is in the ease of moving goods and the size of the market. Hence, for a multinational company, the best strategy in this case is a Strategic choice strategy, which is both proactive to the change and somewhat able to influence the business environment. The case study showed that in the current situation, the best economic logistics strategy is through Malaysia, no matter end destination. After the fully implemented AEC, the Free Trade Agreements for each country will be the deciding factor. Implications - This thesis is made in ASEAN for multinational companies who is considering in which ASEAN member country to use as an assembly point for the ASEAN market after the implementation of AEC. For these companies, this study can be a fundamental part of their decision. Research limitations - In this thesis, the affected factors known by literature has been considered when evaluating the consequences of a fully implemented AEC. The case study is including half of the ASEAN members and in a given order. In addition only the external business environment, and more specific the general environment, was taken into consideration. In further studies, a benchmark could be performed in order to find literature unknown factors, all ASEAN members should be included in various combinations of orders, and considering the whole business environment.

Although existing cross-border M&A research suggests that national pride is associated with higher bid premiums, the underlying rationale behind these national pride bids is unclear. We study two plausible explanations for this phenomenon: payment for a prearranged expansion strategy (real options) and bidders’ lack of experience in a target country (organization learning). Using a sample of cross-border acquisitions of developed-country targets by developing-country acquirers, we perform an extensive media search to identify 36 acquisitions that involve national pride. We divide these 36 acquisitions into those with zero bids completed in that particular country prior to the national pride bid (non-foothold bidders) and those with at least one bid completed in that country before the national pride acquisition (foothold bidders). We find that the higher premium paid in so-called national pride bids is primarily attributable to the non-foothold acquirers. Since non-foothold characteristics can proxy for either lack of experience or higher value of embedded real options, or both, we perform further tests which confirm that the higher premium of national pride bids can be attributed to both channels, supporting both organizational learning theory and real options explanation. We further demonstrate that national pride acquirers underperform operationally post-acquisition, and such underperformance is also attributable to the non-foothold acquirers. One explanation for this finding is the lack of prior acquisition experience of non-foothold bidders.

This dissertation is an attempt to understand shopping leakage from Maseru to Bloemfontein and Ladybrand. It investigates the patterns of shopping leakage and factors that contribute to the leakage. Theories were understood to prove the on going shopping leakage from Maseru. The rentral plare theory was explored to show how a hierarchy of plares influenres retail and shopping activities. Other location theories such as theory of tertiary activities was utilised to explore the impact of income, types of employment and buying power on retail location and shopping activities. Rationality theory was employed to verify the rational in the shopping movement from Maseru to Bloemfontein and Ladybrand. The study was based on focus groups, interviews and observation. The patterns of shopping from Maseru to Bloemfontein and Ladybrand are mainly for higher order goods and specialised goods such as quality clothes, shoes, jewelleries, and furniture. However some people who have cars buy groreries from Ladybrand that is closer to Maseru than Bloemfontein. The shopping trips were multi purpose activities. A shopper combines shopping with two or more activities such as banking recreation, hospital checkups, salon and tourism. Maseru does not have enough thresholds for some high order goods and services, and this leads to the shopping leakage. Although the employment rate in Maseru is high, income is generally lower. Shopping leakage was trared to rertain aspects of consumer behaviour, the characteristics of the shopping trip, retail facilities and types of shops available. Socio-economic factors also influenre shopping pattern, as do entertainment activities. Government and corporate bodies such as banks, through their regulations and laws created an impact on the shopping leakage from Maseru to Ladybrand and Bloemfontein. It is assumed that topography and burning of retail buildings in Maseru in September 1998 also limits the retail facilities in the town. Finally, the growth of Maseru is slow and steady, therefore it can be implied that retail trading in Maseru is following the same sequenre as the growth of the town. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are one of the fastest strategic options that companies choose to face the global competitive market. This is evident from the number and the amount of growth in the value of the deals, as well as the occurrence of the 'mega–mergers' in recent times. If companies do not adapt to the fast moving and evolving business environment, they will run the risk of becoming obsolete. The key principle behind buying a company is to create shareholder value, which will give the organisation a competitive advantage. The reasoning behind M&A is that one combined company may be more valuable than two separate companies. Despite the popularity of M&A, 60–80% of M&A fail to create value. There are several reasons why M&A fail, such as the insufficient analysis and examination during the planning and early stages of the transaction, overpayment and poor management in the integration phase. In the past 20 years, the volume of cross–border acquisitions has increased nearly three times faster than the volume of domestic acquisitions. Although cross–border M&A have become more popular, it comes with its own challenges and problems. The companies that enter into cross–border acquisitions need to face the issue of cultural differences, which is one of the common reasons of M&A failure. The participants of both companies need to integrate with the national and corporate cultures of the new company. In order for companies to be successful, the management needs to consider the impact and importance of these cultural differences. Organisations frequently struggle with cross–cultural issues and it has been argued that the cultural distance between the country of the acquirer and the acquired is an important determinant of the success of cross–border acquisitions. In the example of the German company Daimler Benz and the American company Chrysler Corporation the fact that these two companies have very different cultural backgrounds and that their structures differed significantly complicated the merger. The company's choice of languages, images, metaphors and rhetorical strategies had a huge impact on the acceptance of the merger by the employees. Hofstede investigated the social dimensions of culture in order to develop a comprehensive model of culture. The model was developed on data collected from the IBM study of work–related attitudes of 116,000 employees in over 50 countries and three regions. The first four dimensions of culture were derived from this study namely, Power Distance Index (PDI), Individualism (IDV), Masculinity (MAS), and Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI). Gray extended Hofstede's earlier cultural framework to an accounting perspective and suggested that accounting values are derived from cultural dimensions. Gray summarised his accounting values as: Professionalism versus statutory control, uniformity versus flexibility, conservatism versus optimism and secrecy versus transparency. The research question and objective of this study was to investigate the potential impact of cultural differences of cross–border acquisitions on companies from an accounting perspective. In order to answer the research question there were three objectives set. The first objective is to investigate the impact that cultural differences have on a company using Hofstede's cultural dimensions, the second objective is to investigate the impact that cultural differences have towards an accounting perspective using Gray's accounting values. The third and final objective of this research is to interpret the potential impact of a cross–border acquisition on a company taking the cultural differences into account. Considering the cultural differences, it was evident that there are differences between cultures, which may lead to cultural conflict and may hamper the success of cross–border mergers or acquisitions. The cultural differences that were observed, which was extended to an accounting perspective indicated that cultures do have an effect on the way accounting is done form one country to another. The conclusion can be made that companies do need to take the cultural differences into account before entering into cross–border mergers and acquisitions, and that proactive measures needs to be in place in order for the cross–border merger and acquisition to be a success. / Thesis (M.Com. (Management Accountancy))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Borderlands are often peripheral geographically, administratively, and economically. A particularly illustrative case is the Szczecin area at the border between Poland and Germany, where a large city on one side neighbours to a sparsely populated hinterland on the other. There is a number of similar cases throughout Europe, but studies on them point to a mixed level of linkages following the opening and removal of the physical border. At the project’s start there were few if any studies on the Szczecin area per se, which was here studied through various methods. On the one hand, different pre-EU enlargement plans and visions for the area’s development were compared with practices and realities of recent years. This shows that earlier imaginations on the development potentials have not quite materialised, although some of them were probably too optimistic and ambitious from the beginning. Some of the area’s potentials following EU-enlargement have been more successfully exploited than others, and disproportionately by actors coming from outside. On the other hand, cross-border contacts were studied in the discourses on and attitudes towards the other side among local and regional elites, and among local residents more generally. This revealed a polarised attitudinal landscape, not least when compared to country-wide opinion surveys in both Germany and Poland. This is in line with other studies showing that identities are particularly accentuated in border situations, where the Other is more frequently encountered. These results support recent investigations pointing to a continued relevance of the border even after the physical barriers are removed. At the same time, another contribution of this work to border studies is that the time and contingency of the importance of identities and of the border needs more attention. In the Szczecin area, awareness of national identities and of the boundary appeared to be particularly high just after changes in the border’s status occurred – i.e. in 1989–1991, and then around the years 2007–2010. But while its importance may be fluctuating over time, given the opportunities and resources the boundary provides it will always be maintained in some forms. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript.</p>

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are one of the fastest strategic options that companies choose to face the global competitive market. This is evident from the number and the amount of growth in the value of the deals, as well as the occurrence of the 'mega–mergers' in recent times. If companies do not adapt to the fast moving and evolving business environment, they will run the risk of becoming obsolete. The key principle behind buying a company is to create shareholder value, which will give the organisation a competitive advantage. The reasoning behind M&A is that one combined company may be more valuable than two separate companies. Despite the popularity of M&A, 60–80% of M&A fail to create value. There are several reasons why M&A fail, such as the insufficient analysis and examination during the planning and early stages of the transaction, overpayment and poor management in the integration phase. In the past 20 years, the volume of cross–border acquisitions has increased nearly three times faster than the volume of domestic acquisitions. Although cross–border M&A have become more popular, it comes with its own challenges and problems. The companies that enter into cross–border acquisitions need to face the issue of cultural differences, which is one of the common reasons of M&A failure. The participants of both companies need to integrate with the national and corporate cultures of the new company. In order for companies to be successful, the management needs to consider the impact and importance of these cultural differences. Organisations frequently struggle with cross–cultural issues and it has been argued that the cultural distance between the country of the acquirer and the acquired is an important determinant of the success of cross–border acquisitions. In the example of the German company Daimler Benz and the American company Chrysler Corporation the fact that these two companies have very different cultural backgrounds and that their structures differed significantly complicated the merger. The company's choice of languages, images, metaphors and rhetorical strategies had a huge impact on the acceptance of the merger by the employees. Hofstede investigated the social dimensions of culture in order to develop a comprehensive model of culture. The model was developed on data collected from the IBM study of work–related attitudes of 116,000 employees in over 50 countries and three regions. The first four dimensions of culture were derived from this study namely, Power Distance Index (PDI), Individualism (IDV), Masculinity (MAS), and Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI). Gray extended Hofstede's earlier cultural framework to an accounting perspective and suggested that accounting values are derived from cultural dimensions. Gray summarised his accounting values as: Professionalism versus statutory control, uniformity versus flexibility, conservatism versus optimism and secrecy versus transparency. The research question and objective of this study was to investigate the potential impact of cultural differences of cross–border acquisitions on companies from an accounting perspective. In order to answer the research question there were three objectives set. The first objective is to investigate the impact that cultural differences have on a company using Hofstede's cultural dimensions, the second objective is to investigate the impact that cultural differences have towards an accounting perspective using Gray's accounting values. The third and final objective of this research is to interpret the potential impact of a cross–border acquisition on a company taking the cultural differences into account. Considering the cultural differences, it was evident that there are differences between cultures, which may lead to cultural conflict and may hamper the success of cross–border mergers or acquisitions. The cultural differences that were observed, which was extended to an accounting perspective indicated that cultures do have an effect on the way accounting is done form one country to another. The conclusion can be made that companies do need to take the cultural differences into account before entering into cross–border mergers and acquisitions, and that proactive measures needs to be in place in order for the cross–border merger and acquisition to be a success. / Thesis (M.Com. (Management Accountancy))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.