Taiwanese Groups Research Articles

Related party transactions and tax avoidance: does government ownership play a role?

Purpose This study aims to examine the association between related-party transactions (RPT) and tax avoidance. The study further investigates whether government ownership improves scrutiny of tax aggressiveness activities among Taiwanese group companies. Design/methodology/approach The authors used 16,061 firm-year observations derived from the Taiwan Economic Journal Database (TEJ) from 2005 to 2021. The authors applied GLS fixed-effect regression. Additional tests, such as a difference-in-difference examination, propensity score matching (PSM) analysis and other tests were performed to obtain more robust results. Findings The results show different consequences between eliminated and non-eliminated RPT toward tax avoidance. RPT enhances tax benefits aligned with the efficient contracting hypothesis. Under varying degrees of government control, this paper empirically reveals that government ownership has a role in mitigating tax avoidance. This implies that government control improves corporate governance by balancing opportunistic and efficiency-based tax avoidance. Practical implications This paper provides substantial practical implications since using the strategy of reducing taxes through RPT will result in greater tax savings at the business group level. Therefore, RPT is beneficial for enhancing business efficiency. Furthermore, government control increases corporate governance quality, which could lead to balancing tax aggressiveness activity. Originality/value Using a unique setting for RPT reporting in Taiwan, this paper divides RPT into eliminated and non-eliminated RPT. The findings offer significant insight for policymakers, investors and managers regarding the utilization of RPT to enhance efficiency in business groups. Additionally, this paper highlights the role of government control in preserving a harmonious balance in tax planning practices.

From the Editor-in-Chief's Desk

Journal of Child and Adolescent PsychopharmacologyVol. 33, No. 2 EditorialFree AccessFrom the Editor-in-Chief's DeskHarold S. KoplewiczHarold S. KoplewiczHarold S. Koplewicz, MD, Editor-in-ChiefChild Mind Institute, New York, New York, USA.Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:20 Mar 2023https://doi.org/10.1089/cap.2023.29235.editorialAboutSectionsPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail To Our Readers:One of my proudest contributions as Editor-in-Chief of this journal has been working with a dedicated team to increase the global representation of research on child and adolescent psychopathology and medication treatment. This issue of the journal bears out this commitment. While Childress et al report on the important open-label safety trial of a new formulation of methylphenidate (MPH) for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), we also have a paper from a Taiwanese group (Yu et al) on their systematic review and meta-analysis of guanfacine for ADHD treatment. Elsewhere, Büber et al provide valuable insight into prescribing trends for atypical antipsychotics in Turkish inpatient settings.Childress et al describe their trial of serdexmethylphenidate/dexmethylphenidate (SDX/d-MPH; brand name Azstarys), a mixture of d-MPH (which provides an immediate therapeutic effect) and its prodrug SDX (which is gradually converted to active d-MPH later in the day). SDX/d-MPH is approved for the treatment of patients aged 6 years or older with ADHD. The year-long open-label trial is the second phase 3 trial. The authors report that SDX/d-MPH is effective and safe. “SDX/d-MPH treatment produced a noticeable improvement in ADHD-RS-5 and CGI-S scores within 1 month of starting treatment,” they write, “and continued effectiveness was seen during the 1-year treatment period.” Although 60% of subjects reported an adverse event in the treatment phase, these percentages are “equivalent or fewer than those reported with other [MPH] treatments.”The paper from Yu et al on guanfacine, a non-stimulant second-line treatment for ADHD, is a helpful counterpart. In general, the authors report that guanfacine is effective and safe. Looking at the results of 12 randomized controlled trials comparing guanfacine to placebo, the authors were able to identify a population of 2273 participants with available safety data. In this group, 1437 (63.2%) received guanfacine, and 836 (36.8%) received a placebo. “Overall,” the authors write, “1170 (81.4%) participants in the guanfacine group experienced at least one treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE) compared with 556 (66.5%) in the placebo group.” Low between-study heterogeneity indicates that there are certain persistent side effects of guanfacine, including dry mouth, somnolence, and sedation.Lastly, the paper from Büber et al echoes what we have learned from investigations of antipsychotic prescribing and polypharmacy in US and European settings. Their retrospective chart review included all patients treated at the Pamukkale University Hospital child and adolescent psychiatry inpatient service between 2015 and 2019. “Antipsychotic polypharmacy increased from 16.2% at admission to 30.7% at discharge,” the authors write. “Self-harm, aggression/violence, and extended hospitalization were factors associated with increased antipsychotic use. Psychotic symptoms, psychotic disorder, and extended hospitalization were factors associated with an increase in antipsychotic polypharmacy.”I hope you find the articles in this issue helpful and informative.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 33Issue 2Mar 2023 InformationCopyright 2023, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishersTo cite this article:Harold S. Koplewicz.From the Editor-in-Chief's Desk.Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology.Mar 2023.39-39.http://doi.org/10.1089/cap.2023.29235.editorialPublished in Volume: 33 Issue 2: March 20, 2023PDF download

Sex difference in the associations among obesity-related indices with incidence of diabetes mellitus in a large Taiwanese population follow-up study.

Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes mellitus (DM), which is in turn a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as coronary artery disease and stroke. As few studies have investigated sex differences in the association between obesity and incidence of DM, the aim of this longitudinal study was to explore this issue in a large group of Taiwanese participants. A total of 24,346 participants were enrolled in this study, of whom 8,334 (mean age, 50.6 ± 11.0 years) were male and 16,012 (mean age, 50.5 ± 10.1 years) were female. The following obesity-related indices were studied: body mass index, waist-to-height ratio, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), body roundness index, conicity index (CI), body adiposity index, abdominal volume index, lipid accumulation product (LAP), and visceral adiposity index (VAI). The analysis showed significant associations between all of these indices with incidence of DM (all p < 0.001). In the male participants, the strongest predictors for incidence of DM were LAP (AUC = 0.692), WHtR (AUC = 0.684), and WHR (AUC = 0.683). In the female participants, the strongest predictors were LAP (AUC = 0.744), WHtR (AUC = 0.710) and VAI (AUC = 0.710), followed by BRI (AUC = 0.708). Strong associations were found between the studied obesity-related indices and incidence of DM, and sex differences were found. Hence, to better control DM, reducing body weight may be beneficial in addition to lifestyle modifications, diet control, and pharmacological interventions.

Ethnic Ties, Organized Opposition and Voter Defection in Authoritarian Elections

AbstractExisting studies of ethnic voting mainly focus on democratic elections. In electoral autocracies, politically subordinate ethnicity can help citizens coordinate against the incumbent. However, we argue that collective action will be constrained when the group grows large, as it becomes costly for its members to form common behavioural norms and carry out effective sanctions through shared ethnic ties under authoritarian repression. Drawing on unique historical surveys in Taiwan, we study how Taiwanese ethnicity and local ethnic demography jointly induced voters' defection against the hegemonic KMT regime. We find that the pro-defection or anti-incumbent effect of Taiwanese ethnicity fell as the share of Taiwanese citizens in a township increased. However, the relative size of the Taiwanese group no longer undermined pro-defection ethnic voting after the KMT lifted the ban on opposition parties. Our results illustrate that formal organizations play a critical role in sustaining the informational salience of ethnicity in the elections.

Culture-related differences in the neural processing of probability during mixed lottery value-based decision-making

This study evaluated how differences in economic risk-taking in Westerners and East Asians reflect cultural differences in the analytic or holistic processing of probabilistic outcomes during value-based decisions. Twenty-seven Americans (US) and 51 Taiwanese (TW) young adults completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) Lottery Choice Task (LCT) experiment. Participants accepted or rejected stakes with varying probabilities of winning or losing different magnitudes of points. TW participants accepted more stakes when win probabilities were > 0.50, whereas US participants reduced their acceptance rates of winning stakes more discriminately as win probabilities decreased. Both groups rejected losing stakes (win probabilities < 0.50) with similar frequency. Critically, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) responses correspondingly showed greater discrimination between win probability conditions in US than TW groups. Our findings highlight a neurocognitive mechanism in the VMPFC for how cultural differences in distinguishing between probabilistic reward outcomes shape neural computations of risk and prospects.

PowerPoint as a multimodal retelling tool: students’ slide design, collaboration, and goal-setting

ABSTRACT This study engaged a group of Taiwanese English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) adolescent learners as multimodal composers who used PPT slides to retell important elements of Roald Dahl’s classic novel, Matilda (1988). A total of 158 slides were made by 9 groups of students, and a detailed analysis of the slides revealed that text was often accompanied by visual design and gestural design. The end-of-semester group interviews indicated that 8 out of 9 groups followed a composing in pieces model to finish their group slideshows. Only one group of students met in person to decide together what to put on each slide. Completing the PPT slides and presenting on stage propelled students to set various learning goals, ranging from practicing voice projection to managing time better. A few pedagogical implications and future research directions are offered to conclude the article.

I PARTICIPATE, THEREFORE I AM: A STUDY ON STUDENTS’ EFFORTS OF HELPING GOOGLE TRANSLATE TO REFINE ITS TRANSLATION RESULTS

This study invited a group of Taiwanese English-as-a-foreign- language (EFL) tertiary-level students to help Google Translate (GT) Community to refine its translation output. The participants engaged in 5 types of translation refinement tasks by responding to the input provided by GT Community (the first four tasks) or entering translation suggestions when encountering inappropriate translation generated by GT (the fifth task). The results indicated that the participants were able to generate highly accurate output for the first four tasks. With regard to the fifth task, many students entered proverbs, idioms, cultural expressions or slang for GT to translate and deemed GT’s inability to translate beyond literal meaning as something to be improved upon. There were also nearly 25% of over-correction due to students’ excessive scrutiny.All in all, students generally enjoyed the experience of helping GT to improve its translation quality. As students took the role of active contributors of knowledge, they developed competence and gained experience of participating in the digital world. Their participation also helped them to refine their language knowledge and developed their research abilities. The current study ends with a few possible directions for future research. Keywords: Google Translate (GT), Google Translate Community, translation refinement tasks, online participation

Racial difference in bioavailability of oral ibandronate between Caucasian and Taiwanese postmenopausal women.

Interethnic differences in the pharmacokinetics of oral ibandronate for osteoporosis are unknown. We compared the disposition of oral ibandronate between Caucasian and Taiwanese postmenopausal women. Ibandronate 150mg was administered to 35 Caucasian and 16 Taiwanese postmenopausal women in two separate phase 1 studies. Interethnic comparisons were performed to assess pharmacokinetic properties, including the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC), peak concentration (Cmax), elimination half-life, urinary drug recovery (Ae%), renal clearance (CLr), apparent total clearance (CL/F), and apparent volume of distribution (Vd/F). The mean AUC, Cmax, and Ae% were 2.41-, 1.69-, and 2.95-fold greater in the Taiwanese than in the Caucasian subjects, and the average CL/F and Vd/F were 2.48- and 2.46-fold smaller. There were no significant differences in mean CLr and half-life between both groups. As bisphosphonates are not biotransformed but are mainly excreted in the urine, the total body clearance is close to the CLr. These results suggested a larger bioavailability in the Taiwanese group which resulted in the differences in the CL/F and Vd/F. Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated ethnicity influences of the pharmacokinetic properties after adjusting for the other variables. Bioavailability was largely responsible for the interethnic pharmacokinetic differences following oral administration of 150mg ibandronate and seemed greater in the Taiwanese compared with the Caucasian subjects. Further dose-ranging studies are warranted to determine the optimal dosages of oral ibandronate in patients of Asian or Taiwanese ethnicity.

Height development of men and women from China, South Korea, and Taiwan during the rapid economic transformation period of the 1960s–1980s

We study height trends among Chinese, South Korean, and Taiwanese groups during the rapid economic growth period of the 1960s to the 1980s. Heights rose strongly as income grew. Did rapid income growth also cause a decline in gender inequality? Or did it rise because the gains were unevenly distributed? Gender inequality is particularly interesting given the traditionally strong son preference in the region. For mainland China, we find that gender inequality was relatively modest in the pre-reform period (before the 1980s). Especially in comparison to the early 20th century, female heights grew faster than male heights. In contrast, the 1980s transition period to an economic system with market elements was characterized by increasing gender inequality in China. This was the case to an even greater extent in South Korea, where gender dimorphism noticeably increased during the 1980s, paralleling a similar increase in sex-selective abortions. Moreover, we also study other inequality patterns in the three countries, focusing on socioeconomic, regional, and educational differences between groups.

Complete Genome Sequences and Evolutionary Analysis of Cucurbit aphid-borne yellows virus Isolates from Melon in Korea.

Complete genome sequences of 22 isolates of Cucurbit aphid-borne yellows virus (CABYV), collected from melon plants showing yellowing symptom in Korea during the years 2013–2014, were determined and compared with previously reported CABYV genome sequences. The complete genomes were found to be 5,680–5,684 nucleotides in length and to encode six open reading frames (ORFs) that are separated into two regions by a non-coding internal region (IR) of 199 nucleotides. Their genomic organization is typical of the genus Polerovirus. Based on phylogenetic analyses of complete nucleotide (nt) sequences, CABYV isolates were divided into four groups: Asian, Mediterranean, Taiwanese, and R groups. The Korean CABYV isolates clustered with the Asian group with > 94% nt sequence identity. In contrast, the Korean CABYV isolates shared 87–89% sequence identities with the Mediterranean group, 88% with the Taiwanese group, 81–84% with the CABYV-R group, and 72% with another polerovirus, M.. Recombination analyses identified 24 recombination events (12 different recombination types) in the analyzed CABYV population. In the Korean CABYV isolates, four recombination types were detected from eight isolates. Two recombination types were detected in the IR and P3–P5 regions, respectively, which have been reported as hotspots for recombination of CABYV. This result suggests that recombination is an important evolutionary force in the genetic diversification of CABYV populations.

Genetic diversities and phylogenetic analyses of three Chinese main ethnic groups in southwest China: A Y-Chromosomal STR study

Short tandem repeats (STRs) located on the Y chromosome with the properties of male-specific inheritance and haploidy are widely used in forensics to analyze paternal genealogies and match male trace donors to evidence. Besides, Y-chromosomal haplotypes play an important role in providing breathtaking insights into population genetic history. However, the genetic diversity and forensic characteristics of Y-STRs in Guizhou main ethnic groups (Hans, Miaos and Bouyeis) remain uncharacterized. Here, we obtained Y-chromosomal 23-marker haplotypes in three Guizhou populations and submitted the first batch of Y-STR haplotype data to the YHRD. The HD in the aforementioned three populations are 0.99990, 0.99983, and 0.99979, respectively, and DC values are 0.9902, 0.9908, and 0.97959, respectively. Subsequently, genetic differentiation between our newly studied populations and reference groups along ethnic/administrative divisions, as well as national/continental boundaries were investigated via AMOVA, MDS, and phylogenetic relationship reconstruction. Significant genetic differentiations from our subjects and other groups are identified in ethnically, linguistically and geographically diverse populations, including most prominently Tibetans and Uyghurs among 30 mainland Chinese populations, Taiwanese groups and others among 58 Asian populations, as well as African groups and others among 89 worldwide populations. Qiannan Bouyei has a close genetic relationship with Guangxi Zhuang, and Zunyi Han and Qiandongnan Miao have close genetic affinity with Hunan Han and Guizhou Shui, respectively. Collectively, this new-generation Y-STR amplification system can be used as a supplementary tool in forensic identification and male parentage testing and even pedigree search.

Antecedents of Expectation and Continuance on Internet Group Buying Intention: An Empirical Study in Taiwan

Group buying websites have emerged as a major channel in e-commerce because they encourage consumers to negotiate deals with product/service providers. They also feature a &amp;ldquo;deal of the day&amp;rdquo; for consumers and an anticipated transaction volumes and discounts. Consumers can leverage their collective bargaining power to acquire products or services at discount prices when a minimum number of people are willing to purchase collectively. Considering the characteristics of collective bargaining power in Internet group buying and the continuance behavior of online consumers, this study integrated consumer psychological factors into expectation&amp;ndash;confirmation theory to examine consumer cognitive processes. A survey was conducted to collect and analyze empirical data from ihergo&amp;mdash;a popular Taiwanese group buying website. The results demonstrate that in the pre-purchase phase, consumer trust in group buying initiators and websites significantly affects their perceived risk and attitude toward Internet group buying deals, generating more positive expectations and group buying intentions. Moreover, in the post-purchase phase, a higher level of confirmation reflects higher trust and lower perceived risk. In addition, trust, perceived risk, and attitude significantly affect consumer satisfaction. This study suggests both practical and theoretical views for elucidating and enhancing the effectiveness of collective power in e-commerce.

Evidence of the inheritance of firm routines through accounting information: An empirical study of the Taiwanese group firms

AbstractThe accounting information of a firm is analogous to the characteristics of an organism that contain biological information that influences decisions; such characteristics result from organizational routines (genes). Organizational routines result from organizational learning, and learning from an associated company is an efficient approach for a new venture to establish routines. The study results revealed that the subsidiaries inherited routines from the parent companies related to financial ratios, so we suggest that people should judge the adequacy of a firm’s financial situation by not only referring to the standard of its industry but also to its parent company.

Salivary proteome profiling of oral squamous cell carcinoma in a Hungarian population.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the seventh most common malignancy and the ninth most frequent cause of cancer death in Europe. Within Europe, Hungary has one of the highest rates of OSCC incidence and mortality. Thus, there is an urgent need to improve early detection. Saliva, as a readily available body fluid, became an increasingly important substance for the detection of biomarkers for many diseases. Different research groups have identified salivary biomarkers specific for OSCC for different countries. In this study, saliva samples of Hungarian patients with OSCC were studied to discover disease‐specific and perhaps region‐specific biomarkers. LC‐mass spectrometry (MS)/MS analysis on a linear ion trap‐Orbitrap mass spectrometer was used for qualitative and quantitative salivary protein profiling. More than 500 proteins were identified from saliva by shotgun proteomics. The up‐ and downregulated proteins in the saliva of patients with OSCC highlighted the importance of protein–protein interaction networks involving the immune system and proteolysis in disease development. Two potential biomarkers from our shotgun analysis and a third candidate reported earlier by a Taiwanese group were further examined by ELISA on a larger reference set of samples. Resistin, a biomarker reported in Taiwan but not validated in our study, highlights the necessity of application of standardized analysis methods in different ethnic or geographical populations to identify biomarkers with sufficient specificity and sensitivity.

Prevalence of Premolars with Dens Evaginatus in a Taiwanese and Spanish Population and Related Complications of the Fracture of its Tubercle.

Objective:Dens evaginatus (DE) is an odontogenic developmental anomaly that can be defined as a supernumerary tubercle structure that extends from the occlusal surface of the affected tooth. Tubercular fracture or attrition of the tubercle, invaded by pulp tissue, may cause various pulpal diseases, such as pulpitis, pulp necrosis, and periapical periodontitis. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of premolars with DE in Taiwanese and Spanish study populations and to report associated dental complications.Methods:This study was based on the clinical examination of volunteers of Spanish and Taiwanese origin, recruited among the undergraduate dentistry students at CEU-Cardenal Herrera University, Valencia, Spain. Informed consents were obtained from students identified with DE. Additional examinations were performed, including vitality test, percussion, palpation, and radiographs, to diagnosis the status of the pulp and periapical tissue.Results:The prevalence of DE among Taiwanese students was 4.08%, compared to 0% in the Spanish Caucasian group. In the Taiwanese group, the occurrence of DE in premolars was more common in the mandibular (78.9%) compared to the maxillar region (21.1%). In 84% of the cases, DE-affected teeth were found bilaterally. The mandibular second premolar was the most commonly involved tooth (57.8%). When investigating the complications related to DE among six affected Taiwanese students, it was found that two teeth (10.5%) had received pulp treatment, one of them prior to complete root formation.Conclusion:DE appears to be more prevalent in people of Mongoloid origin and rare in those of Caucasian origin. The wear or fracture of DE may affect pulpal tissue, leading to incomplete root growth.

How does Hou Hsiao-hsien engage with popular memory? National allegory, language and family story in Good Men, Good Women (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1995)

Abstract This article engages with popular memory in Good Men, Good Women in order to explain the history of Taiwan before and after the Second World War. It deals with the themes of national allegory, language and family in the film. First, I will discuss the patriotism of the Taiwanese during the Sino-Japanese War. In these turbulent times, there was a group of Taiwanese, including Chiang Pi-yu and Chung Hao-tung, that refused to support Japan in the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) and instead went to Mainland China to help the Chinese fight the Japanese, in a demonstration of their patriotism. In the film, Good Men, Good Women, the phenomenon of a certain group of people’s patriotism in Taiwan is very well explicated. But the language and cultural barriers between Taiwan and China made it difficult to realize their ‘patriotism’. This article discusses the difficult situation that the Taiwanese faced before and after the Second World War using Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Good Men, Good Women and written documents from my family. By doing so, I explain how Hou Hsiao-hsien engages with popular memory in terms of national allegory, language and family stories.

Biopolitical Knowledge in the Making: Population Politics and Fertility Studies in Early Cold War Taiwan

Like many developing countries in the 1950s and 1960s, Taiwan experienced a social process of constructing and controlling population that relied on demography and fertility studies as essential governing tools. This article investigates population politics and biopolitical knowledge production in postwar Taiwan through synthesizing three bodies of literature that have just begun to comment on one another: histories of postwar population control, analyses of the technoscientific turn in Cold War history, and forensics into the production of social-scientific knowledge via science-study approaches. Along with the complexities of Asian biopolitics, three main social elements affecting the production of biopolitical knowledge at the time are discussed: (a) the historical backstage on which the Cold War and the civil war met, (b) the acting group of Taiwanese and US agencies and individuals who took part in the process, and (c) the three types of fertility studies and the data from them that ultimately expanded the focus of the process of population control from the population in general to the reproductive behavior of women. The complexities of Asia biopolitics are also discussed.

Effects of self-evaluated value and cognition on leisure science engagement

ABSTRACTThis study uses the Taiwan Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006 Main Survey and Taiwan PISA 2015 Field Trial survey datasets to investigate how self-evaluated values (i.e. personal and general) and cognitive factors (i.e. self-efficacy and self-concept) of two groups of Taiwanese 15-year-old students separated by 8 years of classroom-presented science instruction experience impact leisure engagement in science learning activities. To compare differences between these two groups, we verified the statistical fitness of a newly created five-factor model called the self-evaluated values and cognition, and engagement, which revealed a good model fit to both PISA datasets. Results from critical ratio for differences analyses showed a significant increase in pathway parameter strength for students’ personal value of science, and a significant decrease in pathway parameter strength for students’ science self-efficacy between the two PISA survey cycles. Examination of results and their importance for science educators, investigators, and policy-makers is also offered.

Discourse marking in spoken intercultural communication between British and Taiwanese adolescent learners

This study investigates and compares the use of discourse markers (DMs) by native speakers and learners of English based on a corpus of adolescent intercultural exchange students. Thestudy employs a discourse analytical approach, in whichFung and Carter’s (2007)multi-category framework is appliedwith a view to examiningDMs used bya group of Taiwanese and British adolescentsin an intercultural setting.The analytical frameworkcontains four main functional categories: Interpersonal, referential, structural and cognitive DMs. Each DM was analysed qualitatively and quantitatively in order to identifythe functions it serves in its original contextandtofurther reveal the different uses of DMs between Taiwanese and British participants. The findings demonstrate that the DMs used by both groups of participants serve the fourcentral functions,andin particularTaiwanese participants display a significant use of interpersonal (e.g., yeah, oh) and structural DMs (e.g., so, okay), while British participants have a significantly higher usage of referential (e.g., coz/because, and) and cognitive DMs (e.g., like, well). The results of this study have direct pedagogical implications that can enhance the teaching of English as a Foreign Language (EFL)to better prepare learners for real life communication scenarios.

Electronic Word-of-Mouth for University Selection

This study explores the use of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) for university selection by prospective international students, a little understood phenomenon in the context of high-involvement decision making. A total of 34 in-depth interviews were conducted, with a Taiwanese student group based in Taiwan, and another Taiwanese group based in the UK. The findings reveal that the co-creating nature of eWOM increases perceived information quality and truthfulness from eWOM receivers, leading to reliance on eWOM to evaluate the performance of universities, rather than conventional marketing-dominated information sources. This study provides insights into the impact of cultural identity on eWOM usage and how eWOM receivers obtain both information and emotional support from online forums. As eWOM from current students and alumni directly affect prospective students' enrolment choices, academic leaders and recruitment managers at universities are advised to strengthen their Relationship Marketing with alumni to stimulate eWOM and facilitate student recruitment.