Taiwan's Market Research Articles

Analysis of insecticide clothianidin and its metabolites in rice by liquid chromatography with a UV detector

An HPLC method for simultaneous determination of insecticide clothianidin and its metabolites (TZNG, TMG, TZMU, and MNG) in rice was developed and is described in this paper. We extracted the parent clothianidin compound and its metabolites from samples with methanol and an aliquot of the extract was evaporated in a rotary evaporator to remove methanol. The residue was dissolved in 1 mL of 0.005 M 1-sodium octansulfonate (pH 8.3) and transferred to the ENVI-CARB cartridge coupled with an HLB cartridge for solid phase extraction (SPE). Clothianidin and its 4 metabolites were eluted from the cartridges with 3.5 mL of 70% acetonitrile in 0.005 M 1-sodium octansulfonate (pH 7). Determination and separation of clothianidin and its four metabolites were performed in an Agilent Aq column using gradient mobile phase and different UV wavelengths. The average recoveries of clothianidin, TZNG, TMG, TZMU, and MNG were 110%, 87%, 113%, 108%, and 61%, respectively, spiked at 2 ppm into rice. The relative standard deviation (RSD) was determined to be less than 10% in a triple-repeated confirmation test. The limits of quantification (LOQ) were 0.05 ppm for clothianidin, TZNG, TZMU and MNG, and 0.1 ppm for TMG in rice. The method was applied for the determination of clothianidin and its metabolites in 8 polished and 4 unpolished rice grain samples, each of which was collected from a different market in Taiwan. No residue of clothianidin or any of its metabolites was found at levels or at greater than the LOQ in these rice samples.

The impact of experience on brand loyalty: Mediating effect of images of Taiwan hotels

ABSTRACT In today’s increasingly competitive market, hotels are exploring more innovative branding strategies to develop their competitive advantages. The application of brand experience to marketing practice has drawn much attention in the hotel industry recently. Marketing management recognizes that understanding brand experience is critical for developing service products. Studies have examined the relationship between brand experience and brand loyalty, but it remains unclear how the brand image of hotel guests affects this relationship. In addition, according to the data, mainland Chinese tourists comprise the biggest inbound source market in Taiwan’s tourism industry. This study aims to fill this research gap by identifying the composition and structure of brand experience in upscale hotels, with a focus on mainland Chinese tourists and examining the mediating effect of brand image on brand experience and brand loyalty. The findings of this study broaden and deepen the current knowledge of the role of brand experience in the hotel industry, and provides managerial suggestions for hotel brands to consider in improving their brand loyalty by taking into consideration of their guests’ brand experience.

Strategic airline network design problem in a duopolistic market

ABSTRACT This paper addresses a competitive airline hub-and-spoke network design problem in a duopolistic market with sequential airline entry. Two airlines, a leader and a follower, enter the market sequentially to make decisions about their own flight networks. Each must consider their opponent’s reactions and respond to each other’s decisions in making their own, leading to interactive competition between them. A bi-level model is proposed to formulate the behaviors and decisions of the two airlines. In addition, an interactive solution procedure based on a genetic algorithm (GA) is developed to repeatedly solve the upper and lower level models. Finally, we generate a numerical example based on the regional air market in Taiwan and China. The results provide useful insights and highlight the importance of considering interactive competition for airlines when designing their flight networks.

Genetic diversity and phylogenetic reconstruction of grouper (Serranidae) from Sunda Land, Indonesia

Groupers are coral reefs associated and favored in the aquaculture industry. Aquaculture system has been successfully carried out with a floating cage system as well as in an aquaculture system in a pond. Lately, breeding activities in groupers have produced hybrid species that are expected to increase production and fulfillment of the demand of groupers in the live fish market in Singapore, Taiwan, and China. The study of biology has supported the success of many of groupers, but information on genetic variation in commercial groupers is still very limited. This report is a preliminary study of genetic diversity in commercial groups from Java, Bali, and Aceh, which is the Sunda land region in western Indonesia. Eleven specimens have been identified with the barcode region (Cytochrome c Oxidase subunit I gene region). As a result, two species were identified as Indonesian haplotypes, namely Epinephelus merra and Cephalopholis cyanostigma. Phylogenetic tree analysis produces two large clades, namely Clade I (Epinephelus) and Clade II (Cephalopholis and Variola), which are clearly separated in the subfamily Epinephelinae. However, in-depth studies of genetic variation need to be more accurate by increasing the number of specimens from various regions in Indonesia to describe genetic diversity comprehensively.

DO HIGHER HOUSE PRICES INDICATE HIGHER SAFETY? PRICE VOLATILITY RISK IN MAJOR CITIES IN TAIWAN

This study investigates the housing market in Taiwan, an emerging market with relatively severe housing price inflation. Using data from the first quarter of 1991 to the second quarter of 2017 for four cities in Taiwan, this study compares the risk transmission and sources of their housing prices. The results reveal that Taipei−Taiwan’s main financial hub−has the highest house prices among the four cities but maintains the lowest risk. Thus, in terms of price volatility risk, Taipei has the safest housing market among the studied cities. Other studies have discussed the potential housing price bubbles in regions with high housing prices but have been unable to explain the continual overheating of the housing markets. The findings of this study reveal that despite having the highest housing prices and the greatest potential bubble, the Taipei housing market has the lowest fluctuation risk, making it the safest market in terms of housing investment. The results of this study imply that Taiwan’s economic development is excessively concentrated in Taipei, causing people to bear low returns and high risk when purchasing real estate in other areas, in turn increasing the continual imbalance between regional housing markets.

Important Sensory, Association, and Postprandial Perception Attributes Influencing Young Taiwanese Consumers' Acceptance for Taiwanese Specialty Teas.

For hundreds of years, Taiwan has been famous for its various specialty teas. The sensory features of these teas have been well specialized and standardized through sensory evaluations performed by tea experts in yearly competitions throughout history. However, the question arises of whether young Taiwanese consumers, whose dietary behaviors have become Westernized, agree with the conventional sensory standards and association/postprandial concepts in the traditional tea market of Taiwan. To study young Taiwanese consumers’ ideas towards traditional specialty teas, this research recruited 109 respondents, younger than the age of 30, to taste seven Taiwanese specialty tea infusions of various degrees of fermentation, and their opinions were gathered by questionnaires composed of check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions and hedonic scales. Through statistical analyses, we found that several tea sensory attributes which were emphasized in experts’ descriptive sensory evaluations were not appreciated by the young Taiwanese people. Instead, tea aroma and late sweetness/palatable/smooth/refreshing mouthfeels were the most important sensory attributes contributing to their tea preference. Overall, there would generally be no problem in serving young Taiwanese consumers lightly-fermented oolong teas that generate the highest digestive and lowest heartburn postprandial perceptions.

The role of multinational technology companies in facilitating emerging enabling technologies for industry transformation: the case of artificial intelligence in intelligent manufacturing in Taiwan

As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies play a key role in transforming Taiwan's manufacturing sector with the aim of upgrading to Industry 4.0, world-leading multinational technology companies have taken strategic actions to secure the market in Taiwan to take advantage of Taiwan's long-established, world-renowned manufacturing capabilities, especially for information and communications technology, semiconductors and precision machinery. This research employed the framework of the technological innovation system to analyse the technology promotion and development of AI in Taiwan, while the profound influences of multinational technology companies on the AI innovation system were recognised, including the system functions of 'knowledge development', 'knowledge diffusion', 'guidance of the search' and 'resources mobilisation'. Key characteristics of enabling technology were identified, while policy recommendations were also provided for further development.

How do Inverse Exchange-Traded Funds Targeting Taiwan Shares Track their Underlying Indices?

Amid the tremendous interest of Taiwanese investors in short selling, seven inverse exchange-traded funds (IETFs) targeting the inverse of Taiwan equity benchmark indices were rolled out one after another on the Taiwan market in less than four years. This paper evaluated the tracking performance of these IETFs against their stated return objectives and investigated what factor, fund management issue or market inefficiency, correlated more to performance. The empirical results showed that fund management issues accounted for the majority of the IETFs’ variation in tracking performance, whereas the impact of market inefficiency was relatively small and stable. The study further examined the fundamental determinants of IETFs’ return deviation and discovered that target return volatility, management fee rates, the availability of corresponding futures, share turnover, and turnover rate were influential factors. Among those factors, target return volatility and management fee rates were the two most decisive factors affecting the tracking performance.

Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy and the Cross-Strait Relations

Taiwan still faces the problem of identifying its relationship and developing its attitude within the Cross-Strait Relations, not only due to the well-known political considerations and diplomatic isolation, but also because it is widely perceptible that Taiwanese investors and the Taiwanese government are scared of the possible implications of a trade war between the USA and the People’s Republic of China (PRC, hereinafter: Mainland China). Besides other reasons, this is the main motivation behind the sudden Taiwanese FDI divestment from Mainland China. This huge amount of capital, however, does not return to Taiwan to create new jobs and develop new, high value-added industries, rather it flows to Southeast Asia, an area still focusing on the low-cost labour-intensive manufacturing sector. Besides other, non-industrial fields, the present NPP-based Tsai administration fosters its New Southbound Policy (NSP), which is partially implemented under the umbrella of a special NGO, the Taiwan–Asia Exchange Foundation (TAEF). The 18 target countries of NSP comprise the complete ASEAN plus South Asia, Australia and New Zealand. However, among Taiwan’s target countries, the most intensive investment and trade relations are maintained with the ASEAN region (mostly Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia). The future might, however, bring about significant changes, as Mainland China has still been by far the biggest export market of Taiwan.

COMPARISON OF THE PASS-THROUGH SPEED MODELS OF DIFFERENT MARKETS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF THE MARKETS OF MAINLAND CHINA AND TAIWAN

This paper adopted the Boone Indicator, developed by Boone et al. (2008) and Van Leuvensteijn et al. (2011; 2013), to investigate the influence of different pass-through spread models in the competition among banks in emerging markets. With the market share of banks as a dependent variable and marginal cost as an independent variable, this paper probed into the competition among banks regarding the loan market to determine whether competition on the loan interest rates of banks affected the pass-through of monetary policy-related interest rates. After analyzing approximately 5,657 entries of records of the banking industries in Taiwan and mainland China, this paper reached three significant conclusions: 1) the Boone Indicator Model pointed out that, competition in the banking market of mainland China was more intense than that of Taiwan; 2) empirical research based on the Interest Rate Spread Model indicated that the spread of mainland China was lower than that of Taiwan; 3) the Passthrough Speed Model implied that, the interest rate sensitivity of the market of mainland China was higher than that of the Taiwan market. The above results indicate that the influence of monetary policy pass-through on the interest rate of the market in mainland China is faster than in Taiwan.

Ambition in innovation: Vicarious learning in the nascent electric scooter market in Taiwan

Past evidence shows that firms in nascent markets rarely earn handsome rewards from pursuing technological superiority. The process by which firms in these nascent markets align their product technology strategy with their technological advantage remains unclear. This study examines how firms with strong technological resources tamp down the uncertainty inherent in such markets using vicarious learning – observing the initiatives of peer organizations and taking cues from them. Using a unique hand-collected dataset from the nascent Taiwanese electric scooter market, we find that firms often strategically release lower-performing products than their capabilities might dictate. Technologically capable firms are found to offer lower technological specifications than could be developed with the resources they control; their ambition is further attenuated by the presence of a market leading firm. We contribute to the literature by shedding light on how firms use vicarious learning to determine the technical parameters of their product offerings. Our findings suggest the wisdom of a step-wise approach in which firms release a less perfect product than their technological stock allows and improve the product through a sequence of smaller – yet still consequential – innovations.

Consolidated Climate Markets Mechanism Analysis—Case Studies of China, Japan, and Taiwan

The post-Kyoto Protocol era has seen a transition to focus on the development of a renewable energy (RE) market as a primary instrument to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide. This paper analyses the development of GHG reduction and RE market in China, Japan, and Taiwan that are geographically proximate but socioeconomically diverse, and each plays a different but significant role in the world’s economy. By deploying a consolidated model incorporating the key components of market drivers underlying the goal of achieving GHG reduction, we threaded through the policy- and market-instruments implemented for each of the case studies over the past 20 years using the model. One commonality is that subsidiary schemes in the form of feed-in tariffs have served as an effective policy tool to boost the growth of renewable energy installations, though the worsening financial burden renders this path unsustainable. Over-reliance on feed-in-tariff schemes may have also impeded the liberation of an energy market pivotal to the success of elevating RE portfolio through trading mechanisms. What followed were the implementations of renewable energy certificate (REC) systems that have experienced various roadblocks leading to failures of the certificate market. By understanding the paths engaged in each of the cases, a conceptualized strategy depicted by the consolidated model is proposed to show the links between a renewable market and a carbon market. The framework would expedite the trading of RECs and carbon credits to accelerate the attainment of GHG emission reduction goals.

Comparison of Compositions of Imported Genetically Modified and Organic Soybeans Purchased from Taiwan Market

Soybean is an excellent source of plant-derived protein, and soy products are one of the important protein sources for vegetarians in Taiwan. Soybean production in Taiwan is not self-sufficient. Taiwan imports 2.5 million tons of soybeans annually. More than 90% of the imported soybeans are genetically modified. To provide an objective assessment on safety of genetically modified soybean and for post-market monitoring, we conducted a comparative assessment on key component compositions between imported genetically modified and organic soybeans. All the soybean samples were purchased from the local market to simulate the status of Taiwanese consumers purchasing soybeans. The genetically modified soybean samples were herbicide-tolerant soybeans. The contents of the proximate, the amino acid composition, the fatty acid composition, vitamins, minerals, isoflavones, and anti-nutritional factors of soybean samples were analyzed. Most contents of the key components of the genetically modified soybean had no significant difference with those of the organic soybean in this study. However, the contents of cysteine and -linoleic acid were significantly lower in the genetically modified soybean samples, and the contents of crude fat, palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, vitamin K1, and calcium were significantly higher in the genetically modified soybean samples. But they were all within the range of reference values. A total of 314 pesticide residues in each of the samples were analyzed. Only glyphosate residue was detected in the genetically modified soybean samples, but it is well below the threshold prescribed by the government. In summary, the imported genetically modified and organic soybeans purchased from Taiwan market were shown to be substantially equivalent in composition.

Does Fee Disclosure Type Matter? Evidence from Price Adjustment in the Audit Market of Taiwan

ABSTRACT While mandatory audit fee disclosure makes fee information transparent, there have been concerns about the impact of price adjustment on audit quality. Taking advantage of a regulatory change in Taiwan that required public companies to disclose audit fee but allowed two alternative disclosure forms (amount disclosure or range disclosure), this study investigates the impact of the fee disclosure form on price adjustment and the influence of such adjustment on audit quality. Using a dataset including audit fees under the two disclosure forms, we find that, for overcharged companies, the downward adjustment is larger for amount disclosure companies than range disclosure companies and such downward adjustment increase discretionary accruals in amount disclosure companies but not for range disclosure companies. Our study helps understand the impact of different fee disclosure forms on price adjustment and audit quality, which should be of interest to regulators and financial statement users in Taiwan and beyond.

Managerial flexibility versus employee-friendly flexibility: the internal labour market of Taiwan’s civil service

This article addresses the highly flexible internal labour market of Taiwan’s civil service that is quite different from the corresponding labour markers in the West. In contrast to managerial flexibility that is popular in the West, Taiwan’s system – as employee-friendly flexibility – allows for a high degree of flexible choices in job transfers for junior civil servants. The system, which has not been influenced by ideas of new public management, is conducive to a high degree of job mobility for civil servants during their early career paths. On the positive side, this job mobility broadens the experiences of civil servants for career advancement, mitigates conflicts caused by a poor person-environment fit, breaks through the promotion bottleneck, and helps the state retain talent. On the negative side, it makes manpower planning difficult, causes an internal brain drain, and encourages withdrawal behaviour. An analysis of it contributes to the understanding of public human resource management in a non-Western context, which shows a different logic of development from the West.

Spatiotemporal Evolution of the Taiwanese-Funded Information Technology and Electronics Industry Value Chain in Mainland China

The Chinese Mainland has become the largest production base and a major potential market for Taiwan’s information and electronics industry. Thus, studying the spatiotemporal evolution of the Taiwanese-funded information technology and electronics industry in the Mainland from the value chain perspective is necessary. This will help deepen the labor division and collaboration between the cross-strait information technology (IT) and electronics industry for sustainable development. Using Taiwanese investments during 1991–2012 and detailed firm-level data for 1976–2012, this study examines the spatiotemporal trajectory and geographical patterns of the labor division of Mainland China’s Taiwanese-funded IT and electronics industrial value chain from a modular perspective. Based on the characteristics of the modular production process, the Taiwanese-funded IT and electronics firms in Mainland China are divided into four modules—parts manufacturing (PM), key parts manufacturing (KPM), complete machine manufacturing (CMM), and design and marketing (DM). We found that: (1) technology and value witnessed clear stage changes; (2) the PM and CMM modules were more decentralized, and the four modules formed five clusters; and (3) despite an increase, the degree of the four geographical divisions of labor was relatively low. This study offers implications for research and IT policy and electronics enterprises’ production practices.

Combined CFPR and VIKOR Model for Enhancing the Competencies of Domestic Chain Hotel Groups

Hotel competency is inherently intangible and multivariate. It involves a multiple-criteria decision-making problem. Particularly in the currently rapidly shrinking hotel market in Taiwan, what determines domestic chain hotel groups’ (DCHGs’) competence and survival involves more complex and multiple factors. A practical and effective tool is urgently required for making appropriate decisions. This paper thus proposes a combined consistent fuzzy preference relations (CFPR) and the VIKOR model, aiming to prioritize criteria and solution alternatives for hotel managers. In contrast to prior studies that have used mathematical programming, the model here is also tested using real-world hotel management cases and expert consultation. First, based upon the resource-based view, we propose 21 criteria and six dimensions as the determinants of DCHG competencies. Then, VIKOR is applied to produce the most appropriate alternatives with the corresponding weights obtained using the CFPR method. The combined method successfully manages the problems of linguistic ambiguity and consistency, determines the relative weights of the different factors and provides a ranking priority. The result is compared with some similar methods and is shown to be more useful and reliable. Finally, the verified model can be used to produce strategies. A decision-maker can make selection(s) from the solution formula. Our study may thus contribute to the hotel industry with the efficient decision-making tool of resource-based view (RSV) and two-phase methodologies.

Influence of European, Japan and Singapore’s Exchange Rate Volatility in Asian Exchange Rate Market: Empirical Study of Taiwan Market

Influence of European, Japan and Singapore’s Exchange Rate Volatility in Asian Exchange Rate Market: Empirical Study of Taiwan Market

Effect of share collateralization by directors/supervisors on control rights, risk, and performance: application to the Taiwan market

Share collateral is a popular and no restriction process in many capital markets. The directors/supervisors can pledge their shares as collateral to the lender for funding in capital markets. There are many purposes for directors/supervisors to collateral their shares, such as the demand for liquidity. Thus, this study investigates the effect of share collateralization by directors/supervisors in Taiwan. Further, this study explores the effect of directors'/supervisors' actual shareholdings. The sample is divided into two classes, conventional and nonconventional industries, and the sample period spans 11 years, from 2003 to 2013. The panel data regression model is used to determine whether the hypothesis of this paper is supported. The empirical results show that an increase in shares collateralized by directors/supervisors resulted in the widening of deviation between cash flow rights and ownership control rights. However, an increase in shares collateralized by directors/supervisors would not result in the widening of deviation between cash flow rights and board control seat rights. Further, the higher the ratio of director/supervisor share collateralization, the greater firm's risk. Finally, directors’/supervisors’ actual shareholdings have a positive correlation on performance.

Optimal Consumption and Investment Problem Incorporating Housing and Life Insurance Decisions: The Continuous Time Case

AbstractThis study considers the optimal consumption‐investment‐insurance problem incorporating housing decisions of a household when interest rates and labor income are stochastic. Under the complete market assumption, we derive the closed‐form solution of the optimal insurance demand, portfolio choice, and housing consumption. We calibrate the model using data from the financial market of Taiwan. We find that the insurer's pricing strategy has a significant impact on the household's consumption pattern. Specifically, additional loading in insurance premium allows the life‐cycle model to produce hump‐shaped consumptions of both perishable goods and housing. Loading also creates an unfair background risk to households. However, we only find a small portfolio risk reduction, because households optimally choose a large coverage to mitigate the mortality exposure. This suggests empirical background risk studies overestimate the risk reduction when insurance is available.