The Role of China's High-Tech Zones in Its Regional Economic Development

National high-tech industrial development zones represent a major strategy of the Chinese government in developing high-tech industries and spurring regional economic growth. The effect of this policy is yet to be proven. Based on the panel data of 283 Chinese cities between 1984 and 2012, this paper investigates the effect of high-tech zones on regional economic development. Empirical results suggest that first, national hightech zones have remarkably enhanced regional GDP and per capita GDP growth, and this conclusion still holds true after multiple rounds of robustness test; second, the economic effect of national high-tech zones is subject to diminishing marginal return and compared with higher-tier cities, lower-tier cities benefited more from the creation of national hightech zones. This paper concludes that national high-tech zones where special policies are experimented and offered not only drive economic development but, if properly distributed across regions, may help reduce regional economic disparities as well. The results of this study provide important implications for the future distribution of national high-tech zones and the creation of other relevant policies.

The Role of Accountants in Decision-Making in Lebanese Firms

The issue of accountants＇ role in decision-making has been the center of attention of lots of studies in the last decade but never did it get the adequate coverage in Lebanon. This paper studies to what extent accountants are involved in the managerial decision-making in Lebanon. Two hundred experienced accountants from all over the country were randomly selected for a questionnaire survey. This survey provides evidence as to what factors contribute to the variance of influence accountants have in managerial decision-making. The results from the questionnaires varied, but we conclude that accountants＇ involvement in new product development （NPD）, the skills that accountants have, their role in the financial analysis of the firm, and how much the finn they work for encourages them to advice on business decisions affect the degree of contribution an accountant has to decision-making. The findings of this research could be used as a reference to help in understanding the role of accounting in Lebanon by various finns and organizations.

A Proposed New Product Development Process for Floor Coverings and Assessment of Its Applicability

Nowadays, the rapid changes in the marketing environment of construction products accelerate the shortening tendency of product life cycles which in return put pressure on companies to produce successful new products and adopt innovative strategies to survive and expand in the fast competitive environment. The success of the new construction products calls for a high-quality and well-managed product development process. Thus, this study aims at defining the basic steps of a NPD （new product development） process designed for floor coverings and evaluating its applicability. To this end, the product development methods of the leading companies in the construction sector in Turkey have been analyzed. Also, a questionnaire has been conducted to determine which of the steps of the proposed methodology are currently being realized and which are not or cannot be implemented. Finally, based on this information, certain suggestions have been made as to what can be done to enhance the NPD processes of the companies＇ subject to evaluation.

Entrepreneurial Orientation,Knowledge creation process and New Product Development Performance

This paper analyzed the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and new product development perlormance based on the perspective of knowledge creation process. Through a questionnaire survey, we found that entrepreneurial orientation is positively related to new product performance, and knowledge creation process plays a mediating role in this relationship. This article examines the role of entrepreneurial orientation on new product innovation performance in Chinese situations, and it is the first time to check the intermediary functions on each dimension of knowledge test between entrepreneurial orientation and new product development performance.

Effective decision-making model for hi-tech new product development

In order to identify the effective decision-making factors at the individual NPD project manager level, a new effective decision-making model has been established by introducing the concept of decision-making effectiveness, analyzing the role of expertise, and identifying the major role of expertise and insight with respect to the interfaces between a new product, an organization, customers, technologies and regulations, for the study of the effective decision-making facilitators and inhibitors for a NPD project. The analysis of the unique task conditions for individual decision-makers shows that perceived complexity, uncertainty and time pressure have their negative effect on the effective decision-making process. It is concluded that the flexible, balanced and appropriate use of rational analysis, common sense and intuition is a key effective decision-making factor, and the psychologically ‘active attitude’ of a manager is also an important factor for successful dealing with the difficult task conditions.

The Current Situation and Countermeasures of Real Estate Finance Development in China

In recent years, financialization of real estate in our country has been obvious with the continuous reform of housing system. In order to guarantee better financing, real estate finance has become a pillar of the economy in our country. However, the development of real estate finance has also brought out some problems such as lack of financing channels, monitoring and product innovation. In this article, Shanghai is taken as an example, the problems existing in the real estate finance in China are analyzed and corresponding countermeasures are put forward.

Model of Value Based Innovation

The paper presents to managers＇ and scholars＇ reasons for using models to determine the strategic importance of innovation and its potential value creation. The model of value based innovation （VBI） provides a clear definition of the adequate value curve to be pursued in any innovation action, from strategic definition to operational product conceptualization and production. The VBI model has been applied in strategic planning in over 100 SMEs throughout Portugal and USA by the authors and other consultant companies. The VBI model provides the practitioners and scholars with a pragmatic tool to determine innovation＇s value creation. Connecting this information with strategic thinking and planning will reduce risk and avoid failure. The theoretical model when converted into a technological application provides an immediate insight into the most adequate strategic innovation to be chosen by top management and operational product developers. The paper demonstrates the relation between innovation and value creation.