Institute of Asian Industry Competitiveness established at Wenzhou-Kean University

On the morning of December 12th, the opening ceremony for the Institute of Asian Industry Competitiveness (IAIC) was held at Wenzhou-Kean University. During the ceremony, the institute signed its first contract, to provides strategic support on brand-extension for the Jodoll Group Co., Ltd. Since then, the group will have its customized and exclusive consulting site.

The principle of the Institute of Asian Industry Competitiveness is “Advancing Asian Industry Research Linkages”. The institute intends to establish an Asian business network by taking root in Chinese business management practices and promoting young researcher’s abilities, so as to understand and develop the industrial competitiveness of the regions of Asia.

Wenzhou-Kean University, a Sino-American University, professional faculty team to establish the institute. Candy Lim Chiu, the institute’s director and assistant professor in the College of Business and Public Management at Wenzhou-Kean University, received her Ph.D. degree of contemporary economics and business management from Kyoto University in Japan. In addition to 14-years of teaching and academic research experience, she has also served as a business consultant, development manager and trainer in numerous international companies. Both co-directors of the institute, Dr. Han-Chiang Ho and Dr. Somkiat Mansumitrchai of the College of Business and Public Management have worked in international companies and have contributed significantly to the fields of international marketing strategy research and strategic mergers and acquisitions. They have published several papers in international journals.

Candy Lim Chiu, Director of IAIC and Assistant Professor of Business and Public Management at Wenzhou-Kean University

Candy Lim Chiu told reporters, “The IAIC project started last year and was aimed to facilitate cooperation between major Asian companies and provide professional business consultation and advice in three core areas:  1) marketing research and consumption trends, 2) business models and strategy, and 3) industry competitiveness. Our research has an established process, and all the data received will go through several strict steps, including the analyses of the particular industry, the individual company, the current market, the industry investigation, data collection and validation after desk research.”

Mr. Wang Beijiao, Party Secretary and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Wenzhou-Kean University

In the opening ceremony, Mr. Wang Beijiao, Party Secretary and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Wenzhou-Kean University, delivered a speech, saying that the establishment of the Institute of Asian Industry Competitiveness is a golden opportunity for Wenzhou-Kean University to be more internationalized. Therefore, the university will strongly support the development of the Institute. Mr. Shen Yingqin, Chairman of Jodoll Group Co., Ltd., was also invited to attend the opening ceremony, and he delivered a speech and expressed his strong intention to further cooperate with Wenzhou-Kean University.

Mr. Shen Yingqin, Chairman of Jodoll Group Co., Ltd

Later, Dr. Han-Chiang Ho, the co-director of the Institute with his student assistants, delivered a speech on “An Analysis of Brand-Extension Strategy of Luxury Fashion Company: A Case of Jodoll”. Dr. Han-Chiang Ho said that the Institute attracted Jodoll Group’s attention during the initial planning stages. Today, the two sides reached a cooperation agreement which aims to provide systematic and profound commercial advice for Jodoll’s brand-extension in the future. Dr. Ho continued, “For example, Jodoll wants to expand its market for college students’ suits in the future, but its brand image and position are not very current. The question is should Jodoll create other brands like LV (Louis Vuitton) did, or should it choose to expand the brand’s secondary line like Armani did? We will conduct a custom-made study, combine market and commercial analyses to help with  their final decision.”

Dr. Han-Chiang Ho, Co-director of the Institute

In addition, the Institute can also effectively support the research of the College of Business and Public Management (CBPM) of Wenzhou-Kean University. The WKU student teams will participate in the research and practices of the Institute which in turn will create more opportunities for WKU students to make contact with world-class companies. Meanwhile, the Institute will also provide more opportunities for academic research specifically for case studies where students can transition from theory to practice, which will help Wenzhou-Kean University enhance its global reputation and international academic level.

Currently, ‘Industry Competitiveness Institute’ is still a new term in China; however, it has played an important role in many internationally renowned universities like the National University of Singapore, Kyoto University, and Harvard University. In recent years, the global development of the Asian economy, especially China’s economy, has attracted worldwide attention, and the sustainable development and competitiveness improvement of Asian enterprise are even more in the mainstream research directions.

Dr. Eric Yang, Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs of Wenzhou-Kean University

The opening ceremony was presided over by Dr. Eric Yang, Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs of Wenzhou-Kean University. Wang Beijiao, Party Secretary and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Wenzhou-Kean University, Mr. Shen Yingqin, Chairman of Jodoll Group Co., Ltd, and Dr. Cao Jiang, Dean of the Business School of Wenzhou-Kean University were all present.

Ms. Bo Chayan, the Chief Image Consultant of Jodoll Group

After the opening ceremony, Ms. Bo Chayan, the Chief Consultant of Jodoll Group, also gave a lecture on ‘Business Etiquette: the Urban Business Card’ to the representatives of relevant departments of Wenzhou-Kean University and the faculty of the College of Business and Public Management.

Word | Fan Chen, Bao Jiajun
Picture| Wang Geqiong, Mao Nanyuan
Typesetting | Zhou Chenyan
Translated | Chen Zhaowen, Shen Kailin