Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T20:38:30.807Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Toy Recalls and China: Emotion vs. Evidence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Paul W. Beamish  and
Hari Bapuji
Translated by
包铭心  and
哈瑣•巴普吉
Paul W. Beamish
Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario, Canada
Hari Bapuji
Affiliation:
University of Manitoba, Canada
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Product recalls in 2007 raised serious questions about the safety of products made in China and resulted in widespread outrage. Our analysis of toy recalls in the USA between 1988 and 2007 revealed that the vast majority of recalls were due to flaws in product designs, conducted in the corporate headquarters of toy companies, rather than to poor manufacturing by factories in Asian countries. We also found that the recalls have increased over the years, due both to design and manufacturing flaws. Our findings generated widespread interest and influenced the course of debate on import product safety. Our findings and experiences have significant implications for the research on product quality in international operations and the role that systematic research evidence can play in shaping management practice and public debate.

Keywords

Chinaevidence based managementglobal supply chainsproduct recallstoy recalls产品召回玩具召回循证管理全球供应链中国
Type
Editors' Forum – Made in China: Implications of Chinese Product Recalls
Information
Management and Organization Review , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , July 2008 , pp. 197 - 209
Copyright
Copyright © International Association for Chinese Management Research 2008

References

Adler, P. S. 1995. Interdepartmental interdependence and coordination: - The case of the design/manufacturing interface. Organization Science, 6: 147–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arndt, M., & Bigelow, B. 2007. Evidence-based management in health care organizations: A critique of its assumptions. Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings. Philadelphia. Briar Cliff Manor, New York: Academy of Management.Google Scholar
Bapuji, H., & Beamish, P. 2007. Toy recalls: Is China really the problem? Vancouver: Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. [Cited 5 Feb. 2008.] Available from URL: http://www.asiapacific.ca/analysis/pubs/pdfs/commentary/cac45.pdf Google Scholar
Bapuji, H., & Beamish, P. 2008a. Mattel and the toy recalls (A). London, Canada: Ivcy Publishing, 9B08M010.Google Scholar
Bapuji, H., & Beamish, P. 2008b. Mattel and the toy recalls (B). London, Canada: Ivcy Publishing, 9B08M011.Google Scholar
Bapuji, H., & Beamish, P. 2008c. Product recalls: Avoid hazardous design flaws. Harvard Business Review, 86(3): 23, 26.Google Scholar
Bapuji, H., Beamish, P., & Laplume, A. 2007. Toy import and recall levels: Is there a connection? Vancouver: Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. [Cited 5 Feb. 2008.] Available from URL: http://www.asiapacific.ca/analysis/pubs/pdfs/rr/2007/toyrccalls.pdf Google Scholar
Barney, J., & Zhang, S. 2008. Collective goods, free riding, and counting brands: The Chinese experience. Management and Organization Review, 4: 211–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cascio, W. 2007. Evidence-based management and the market place for ideas. Academy of Management Journal, 50: 1009–1012.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chowdhury, R. 2007. Toy related deaths and injuries calendar year 2006. Washington, DC: Consumer Product Safety Commission. [Cited 17 Mar. 2008.] Available from URL: http://www.cpsc.gov/librai-y/toymemo06.pdf Google Scholar
CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission). 2008. CPSC releases the ‘Top Five Hidden Home Hazards’. Consumer Product Safety Review, 12(1): 1–3.Google Scholar
Dardis, R., & Zent, C. 1982. The economics of the Pinto recall. The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 16: 261–277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Darr, E. D., Argotc, L., & Epple, D. 1995. The acquisition, transfer, and depreciation of knowledge in service organizations: Productivity in franchises. Management Science, 41: 1750–1762.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davidson, W. N., & Worrell, D. L. 1992. The effect of product recall announcements on shareholder wealth. Strategic Management Journal, 13: 467–473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dawar, N., & Pillutla, M. 2000. The impact of product-harm crises on brand equity: The moderating role of consumer expectations. Journal of Marketing Research, May: 216–226.Google Scholar
Feleher, M. 2001. It's no accident: How corporations sell dangerous baby products. Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press.Google Scholar
Gibson, D. 1995. Public relations considerations of consumer product recall. Public Relations Review, 21: 225–240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Govindaraj, S., &Jaggi, B. 2004. Market over reaction to product recall revisited - The case of Firestone tires and the Ford explorer. Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, 23(1): 31–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hambrick, D. 2007. The field of management's devotion to theory: Too much of a good thing? Academy of Management Journal, 50: 1346–1352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haunschild, P., & Rhee, M. 2004. The role of volition in organizational learning: The case of automotive product recalls. Management Science, 50: 1545–1560.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klein, J., & Dawar, N. 2004. Corporate social responsibility and consumers' attributions and brand evaluations in a product-harm crisis. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 21: 203–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Learmonth, M. 2006. ‘Is there such a thing as “Evidence-Based Management”?’: A commentary on Rousseau's 2005 presidential address. Academy of Management Review, 31: 1089–1093.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luo, Y. 2008. A strategic analysis of product recalls: The role of moral degradation and organizational control. Management and Organization Review, 4: 183–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyles, M. A., Flynn, B. B., & Frohlich, M. T. 2008. All supply chains don't flow through: Understanding supply chain issues in product recalls. Management and Organization Review, 4: 167–182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pfeffer, J., & Sutton, R. I. 2006. Hard facts, dangerous half-truths & total nonsense-Profiting from evidence-based management. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.Google Scholar
Rhee, M., & Haunschild, P. 2006. The liability of good reputation: A study of product recalls in the U.S. automobile industry. Organization Science, 17: 101–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rousseau, D. M. 2006a. Is there such a thing as ‘evidence-based management’? Academy of Management Review, 31: 256–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rousseau, D. M. 2006b. Keeping an open mind about evidence-based management: A Reply to Learmonth's commentary. Academy of Management Review, 31: 1089–1093.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rousseau, D. M. 2007. A sticky, leveraging, and scalable strategy for high-quality connections between organizational practice and science. Academy of Management Journal, 50: 1037–1042.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ryan, M. 2007. One in four Americans ‘very worried’ by China imports. Reuters, 19 Sep. Available from URL: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20070919-0400-usa-foodsafcty-poll.html.Google Scholar
Rynes, S. 2007. Let's create a tipping point: What academics and practitioners can do, alone and together. Academy of Management Journal, 50: 1046–1054.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, C. N., Thomas, R. J., & Quclch, J. A. 1996. A strategic approach to managing product recall. Harvard Business Review, 74: 102–112.Google Scholar
Teagarden, M. 2007. Protecting Children from Lead Tainted Imports. Testimony to the U.S. Congress. [Cited 20 Sep. 2007.] Available from URL: http://energycommerce.house.gov/cmtc_mtgs/l10-ctcp-hrg.092007.Teagarden-testimony.pdf Google Scholar
Thompson, A. 2007. Protecting Children from Lead Tainted Imports. Testimony to the U.S. Congress. [Cited 20 Sep. 2007.] Available from URL: http://energycommerce.housc.gov/cmtc_mtgs/110-ctcp-lirg.092007.Thompson-testimony.pdf Google Scholar
Tung, R. 2006. Of arts, leadership, management education, and management research: A commentary on Nancy Adler's ‘The Arts & Leadership: Now That We Can Do Anything, What Will We Do?’ Academy of Management Learning and Education, 5: 505–511.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallach, L. 2007. Protecting Children from Lead Tainted Imports. Testimony to the U.S. Congress. [Cited 20 Sep. 2007.] Available from URL: http://energycommerce.house.gov/cmtc_mtgs/110-ctcp-hrg.092007.Wallach-testimony.pdf Google Scholar