I. Themes and issues related to Ohio and the global economy, particularly Asia
Ohio’s economic vitality and vibrancy in the global economy is tied to its corporate practices, the skills of our workers and a state government that enables our corporations and workers to succeed. Ohio is the seventh largest exporting state, and a significant recipient of our exports lies across the Pacific: Asia. China is our third largest export market, and the other Asian economies, Japan and Korea are part of our $50 billion in exports.
China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, and the United States was supportive believing that the Chinese economy would embrace free markets and would respect the rules of the game in protecting technology and respecting reciprocal, beneficial trade linkages. We have seen that the Chinese government still favors state-owned enterprises and does not protect US intellectual property and its purchases of US goods and services have not lived up to our expectations.
Moreover, the Chinese government supports and subsidizes state-owned enterprises, which gives them competitive advantage and is unfair in a global trading system. Should the US federal and state governments develop modes of support for US and Ohio-based companies through tax breaks in order to create a level playing field for our US companies and workers?
Within the State of Ohio, small and medium-sized enterprises are part of this $50 billion plus export market. Should we develop programs to help small and medium-sized companies, which are usually the engines of innovation to allow them to continue to grow and compete and benefit the Ohio economy?
China is the second-largest economy in the world and is competing with the US. What types of incentives should our educational systems in working with corporate Ohio develop to attract traditionally underrepresented segments of society, such as females and other minorities that would identify and support promising individuals in areas of artificial intelligence, innovation, and technologies?
Citizens in Ohio and in Asia breathe the same air and drink the same water. We have common challenges in maintaining planetary health and prosperity, so our children will be able live in health and safety. Considering these common challenges (e.g., climate change, pandemics, and economic inequality) the issues here for us, how can we enhance collaboration between the US, China, and others in Asia and enhance cooperation in trade and investment linkages to deal with issues related to global concerns?
In order for us to explore these issues and highlight the importance of enhancing trade and investment linkages between the State of Ohio and Asian trade and investment linkages, particularly China, I believe that leaders like our mayor in Dayton, Ohio, could help us add clarity about future public policy orientations of the State of Ohio with Asian economies.
II. Mayor Nan Whaley and Riad Ajami, editor-in chief of the Journal of Asia-Pacific Business question and answer interview
Thank you Mayor Whaley. We speak about a global economy, but everything is done locally. As you well know, Ohio is a major exporting state. We are seventh largest; however, there are challenges with the Asian economies, specifically the Chinese and others. As a future governor, how will you help our workers and companies to play in a level playing field in the global export market?
Well, I think I really agree with Katherine Tai, the new trade representative for America in having what we call worker-centered trade agreements. I think what’s important for us is, of course, we want trade between countries, but we also want the workers, no matter where they are to be treated fairly and not have a race to the bottom. We have seen that sometimes as it happened with NAFTA or with the World Trade Organization in past years. Getting to a worker-centered agreement in Ohio where our workers can be protected is really important. If we keep that focus, I think that is the best way to succeed and play in the global export market.
Thanks. Following on the same point, naturally, as you well know, China entered the WTO in 2001 on the assumption that they would behave in such a way to play in a fair market and to protect intellectual property, and so far, we have seen, they have not done that. Should we proceed in dealing with them, to correct some of these injustices, which negatively impacted our workers and corporations, solo, or should we bring in other free-market economies like Japan, South Korea, and the Europeans?
It is always better when we have more people together, but I do think we do need to continue to push on this. I don’t think the WTO has always been a good deal for Ohio workers, and I think that a lot of what we have seen, first with NAFTA caused some loss of jobs in Ohio, and the same was with the WTO. I think there was this naïve view that if we worked to advance free market-based capitalism with China, democracy would follow, but that was not the case. So. I think it is really important for us to keep pressure on China and others hoping to advance democratic political principles and free market-oriented approaches bringing in other free market-based economies like Japan, South Korea, and the European countries, we could succeed.
Most of the times with these trade agreements and linkages, I think, the naïve view takes over and suggests to us that, with free markets, democracy could follow. This is not always the case, and China proved that. Capitalism works best in places where we also have democracies and where people have a say on government policies.
As you well know, Mayor, China subsidizes many of their state-owned enterprises. We in the United States do not do this, but we create market-based conditions whereby all firms can flourish. Should we move toward a future where we can look at this concept and devise policy focus, whether in Washington or Ohio, to lean on China to reduce their subsidies, or should we focus on indirect market-based support that could level the playing field?
Well, I think we need to focus on helping our workers, managers, and companies, be it in the State of Ohio or throughout the United States. This support could focus on child care, health insurance, and the development of public infrastructure to help workers and companies. This could help more businesses and, certainly, help our workers and could allow us to compete within a market-based framework. I think some of the thinking is beginning to change, and there is a clear understanding that economic growth that is worker-centered could take us a long way so that our companies can become competitive and sustainable. I think this is really the key for our economy to grow, as well as for our US democracy to thrive and be appreciated and accepted by others.
Do you believe that, keeping with the notion of worker-centered support would also help our companies, and this could take the form of employee compensation agreements and plans whereby foreign firms entering the United States would pay our workers a fair wage in addition to a package, such as stock shares ownership plans
I like the idea where that has been called ESOP (employee stock ownership plans) to be part of the pay package that our workers can receive from companies, particularly foreign companies wanting to relocate to the United States. This could best be done within a framework of free market capitalism and, whereby, enlightened regulations can be part of the public policy framework. I am in favor of a balance between enlightened market-based capitalism and functional regulations. This will also help the shareholders, and when you have an ESOP, better decisions about the ability of the company could be made in the long term. This is more about the worker since the workers are central to the growth and welfare of the company. It is also better for the community, and this way, companies will not make decisions to move out of the area. The employees are part of the community, so, yes. I am a big fan of ESOP. I think that, as we have seen in Dayton with some companies as second-tier suppliers of manufacturing, some have gone to an ESOP system, and I think this is a really good model.
I think we should develop this idea of equity ownership plans now and for the future, and they would be functional if foreign companies could bring in innovation, artificial intelligence, and technology, as well as needed financing where the local employees do the work, learn the technology, and develop value-added supply chains to sell in the US market, as well as export out of the United States.
As you are well aware, there are underrepresented groups in the US and Ohio who have not benefitted from the economic growth that we witnessed in the United States. However, in order for economies to be successful, we need to use and rely upon 100% of our people, including female engineers and scientists. Should your office, as a future governor, engage corporate America and request they hire more of the underrepresented groups through the creation of additional opportunities for all the underrepresented? Do you think this is something worthwhile exploring, and should it be supported by many means, including providing tax breaks?
Well, look, I think corporations should do this, and if they don’t do it, they could ignore their prospects for growth and competitiveness. If they don’t do this, it’s at their own peril. Frankly, as we look at the world around us and our country, we should have women in leadership that come from all of our society because it will improve a company’s bottom line, and I think a lot of corporations are starting to see this and working to enhance and create further opportunities for underrepresented groups. l hear this a lot from engineering companies, which traditionally have been predominantly male. Employee diversity is important and would make companies stronger. I do think a lot of companies are beginning to do this. It does not need to be done necessarily through taxation; however, companies should be encouraged to do that, and if they do it, they will make more money these days.
You well know, that we live in a global society. We all breathe the same air. We all are facing healthcare challenges, climate difficulties, and pandemics. This impacts us, as well as Asians, including China, which is one of the largest polluters, and they should want their people to breathe clean air and live a healthy life. Should we engage the Chinese to cooperate with us and bring other countries to lean on China to accomplish the same goals for a clean and healthy environment?
I agree, yes, 100%. We all breathe the same air and drink the same water, and doing this through collaborating with other countries to join us to lean on China would be a more successful course of action. This would allow us to save our planet, where we all live.
I want to thank Mayor Nan Whaley for explaining to our readers her views on the vital issues that relate to the United States in the global economy and her indication that Ohio is open for global business in a way that can protect and support our workers and firms when dealing and competing with Asian economies. I also want to thank Homa Karimi, the assistant editor of the Journal of Asia-Pacific Business for her research support for this article.
Riad A. Ajami, PhD
Wright State University
Introduction to Volume 22, Issue 4:0
Change is healthy, and in this issue, you will find that the format is marginally tweaked. There is still an editorial; however, it includes an interview with the Honorable Mayor Nan Whaley of Dayton, Ohio. In order to highlight the interview, we thought it would be more appropriate to add a separate page of introductions to the articles included in this issue.
Our first article, by Pratibha Thakur and Rupali Arora of Chandigarh University, is “Role of Social Media in Improving Organizational Performance – A Study in Indian IT Sector,” and it analyzes the positive power of social media on organizational structure and performance. Our second article, “Online-to-Offline (O2O) Commerce in Emerging Markets: Analysis of the Retail Sector,” is by Soniya Gupta of Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad and University of Cambridge and Anand Jeyaraj of Wright State University. This timely piece evaluates factors influencing O2O business models, which have increased in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering retailers and customers improved options for commerce.
Our third article is, “Efficiency Assessment of Consumer’s Electronics Sector: Data Envelopment Analysis,” by Rohit Bonsal, Sanjay Kar, and Shweta Gupta of Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology. The article analyzes the efficiency level of the Indian consumer electronics sector by using output-oriented DEA models. Our final article for this issue is, “Having an On-Land Life as well as an On-Sky Life: A Cross-Country Study of the Configurational Effects of Internal Marketing on Work-Family Facilitation,” by Due Au Tang and Wen-Kuo Chen of Chaoyang University of Technology. It uses fuzzy-set analysis to explore internal marketing dimensions on work-family facilitation in the airline industry in Vietnam.
While the format is so very slightly disarranged, our devotion to business-related scholarship that pertains to the Asia-Pacific region has not diminished. We offer our gratitude to all who participate in this scholarship – our readers, submitters, and reviewers. We appreciate your efforts. We look forward to more exciting and thought-provoking articles in the New Year. Thank you!