Publications

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February 2018 (Revised February 2018)
Supplement

HNA Group: Global Excellence with Chinese Characteristics (B)

By: William C. Kirby and Yuanzhuo Wang

This case provides a brief overview of the success and challenges of the HNA Group between 2015 and late 2017 when it grew rapidly through global acquisitions to become 170 on the 2017 Fortune 500 list. A firm that had begun as a provincial airline in China was now a... View Details

Keywords: Internationalization; Scrutiny; Growth; China; Philanthropy; One Belt One Road; Globalized Markets and Industries; Growth and Development; Acquisition; Corporate Governance; Air Transportation Industry; Financial Services Industry; Tourism Industry; China; United States; Europe; Asia; South America; Southeast Asia

November 2007 (Revised February 2009)
Background Note

Myths and Lessons of Modern Chinese History

By: William C. Kirby and Brittany Crow

China is an ancient civilization, but it is really a very young country. How we understand modern China is rooted in our understanding of history. Thus, the authors examine several myths surrounding important historical themes, including unity, economic and political... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Globalization; Government and Politics; History; China

November 1989
Article

Recent American Scholarship on Republican China

By: William C. Kirby and Stephen C. Averill

Keywords: China

23 Aug 2016
First Look

August 23, 2016

2016 New York: Palgrave Macmillan Experiences in Liberal Arts and Science Education from America, Europe, and Asia: A Dialogue Across Continents By: Kirby, William C., and Marijk C. van der Wende, eds.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2017
Case

Outrageous Ambition: Duke University

By: William C. Kirby and Yuanzhuo Wang

Duke University had grown from a one room schoolhouse in rural North Carolina in 1859 to one of the leading research universities in the U.S. and the world. Since the late 1950s, Duke’s leaders had consciously used the process of strategic planning to guide the... View Details

January 2010 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Jiamei Dental: Private Health Care in China

By: William C. Kirby and G.A. Donovan

With the recent announcement from the Chinese government that the country's healthcare system was going to undergo reform, Jiamei Dental Chairman Liu Jia wondered what that meant for his 15 year-old dental clinic business. Founded in 1993, Jiamei Dental Medical... View Details

Keywords: Private Sector; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Entrepreneurship; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Health Care and Treatment; Private Ownership; Partners and Partnerships; Competition; Expansion; Health Industry; China

August 2016
Teaching Note

Augustine Heard & Co.: Building a Family Business in the China Trade (A) and (B)

By: William C. Kirby and Joycelyn W. Eby

Teaching Note for cases 316-185 and 316-186. View Details

June 2016
Case

Augustine Heard & Co.: Building a Family Business in the China Trade (B)

By: William C. Kirby and Joycelyn W. Eby

In 1861, the Heard brothers faced a decision: should they continue their family firm's business model that had made them a successful commission house in China, or was it time to make fundamental adjustments to their work? This case reveals that the brothers decided to... View Details

Keywords: China; Mercantilism; Family Business; China

October 2015 (Revised November 2016)
Background Note

'World-Class' Universities: Rankings and Reputation in Global Higher Education

By: William C. Kirby and Joycelyn W. Eby

Discussions of "world-class" universities have become an academic cottage industry in the 21st century, and definitions of the term are complex and at times contradictory. This background note traces the origins of university ranking systems and their evolution from a... View Details

Keywords: Rankings; University Faculty; University Curriculum; University Administration; Higher Education; Education Industry