2016년 중국은 2,800만 대가 넘는 자동차를 생산하고 판매하였다. 중국은 8년째 세계 제1의 자동차 생산 및 판매대국이 되었다. 지난 30년간 중국 자동차산업의 급성장은 중국정부가 추진한 합자기업 정책의 성과이다. 중국정부는 1994년에 제정된 <자동차공업 산업정책>에서 합자기업의 외자측 지분은 50%를 넘을 수 없다고 규정하였다. 이 합자지분 제한 규정은 현 재까지 중국 자동차산업의 구조와 기업간 경쟁 구도를 형성한 가장 중요한 정책 조건으로 작용해 왔다. 그런데 2013년 이후 정부의 고위관리가 여러 차례 자동차 합자지분 제한을 해제 하겠다는 발언을 하였다. 이를 둘러싸고 국유, 민영, 외국 자동차기업 등 이해당사자와 많은 전문가들이 치열한 찬반 논쟁을 벌였다. 본 논문은 이러한 중국 자동차 합자기업의 지분제한 해제 논의를 고찰하고 전망을 제시한 것이다. 이를 위해 자동차 합자기업의 지분제한 제도가 만들어진 유래, 지분제한 해제 논의의 경과와 배경, 찬반 양측의 주장과 평가, 지분제한 해제 가 미칠 영향 등을 분석하고, 전망과 시사점을 제시하였다.

Introduction Over the past 30 years, Chinese textile and clothing manufacturers have successfully established themselves as leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for world markets. This reputable position requires dedicated cost management; however, incremental increases in labor, land prices, rent, and production costs in China threaten and may eventually eliminate their OEM advantage (Yam, Lo, Sun, & Tang, 2003). The worldwide economic and business recession has intensified cost cutting measures as the essential survival tool for maintaining competitiveness. Since the mid-1990s, many Chinese companies have begun to recognize the importance of developing their own global brands and moving up the value-creation ladder (Fan, 2006). One such company is Aimer Group, Ltd., a vertically integrated premium underwear manufacturer. Initially founded in 1993 as an OEM, Aimer quickly transitioned to establish its own brands in domestic markets and, in recent years, has ventured into international markets. Currently, Aimer and its umbrella product lines are among the most recognized underwear brands in China with a manufacturing capacity of 10 million pieces. Their merchandise includes an array of women’s, men’s, teen girl’s and children’s lines as well as custom-made lingerie. According to the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Aimer Group has maintained the highest market share and the largest sales volume in the underwear sector for several years in China’s markets (Aimer, 2011). Objectives The purpose of the study was to investigate the design strategies implemented by Aimer to support their successful branding efforts. Specifically, the researchers seek to find: (a) the core elements in Aimer’s design strategies; (b) Aimer designers’ approach to product development; and (c) How design strategies support Aimer’s overall branding and marketing strategies. Findings will provide valuable implications for other Chinese apparel manufacturers who strive to integrate design innovation in order to remain competitive. Research Method A case study method was implemented which included: on-site visits to Aimer Group’s headquarters, manufacturing facility, and retail stores in Beijing; in-depth interviews with Aimer Groups’ Chairman, senior management, Chief Design Officer, designers, retail store managers, and the general manger of the Beijing manufacturing facility; and a review of the company website and other internal documents, as well as an extensive external search of relevant news reports, social media contents, industry information, and academic literature. A qualitative data analysis method was utilized. Findings Aimer brands have grown and matured along with the Chinese consumers. Until the late 1990s, consumers passively accepted whatever the industry provided for them. Today, 15 years later, consumers have become keenly aware of what they want in underwear and that desire drives the industry’s new product development. Aimer’s design strategies are consumer-centric but also a reflection of its internal strategic direction. Its core elements include the following: (1) Understanding consumer lifestyles: Extensive fashion industry trend analysis, consumer research, and market/sale feedback are just starting points for product development at Aimer. In addition, they use broader consumer lifestyle analysis, including an examination of new technology trends, consumer preferences for jewelry, cosmetics, car and cell phone designs, popular video/computer games, consumers’ financial management behaviors, and societal hot topics as a way of guiding product design. (2) Innovation: Innovation is of paramount importance in Aimer’s product development. They have maintained active partnerships with international suppliers and Research & Development teams to ensure the latest fiber discoveries, fabric developments, and pattern engineering technology are incorporated into new product design. (3) Tradition preserved and reinvented: Aimer brands keep certain essential elements integral to their overall style, reinventing and integrating heritage elements into new designs. By doing so, brand history is enriched and continuity sustained. Aspers (2010) suggests that product development must embrace contextual knowledge: the designer’s general knowledge of fashion and their lifeworld. Each domain is used to interpret fashion. A designer’s lifeworld comprises their inherent values and beliefs, presenting challenges when creating products for consumers who live in different lifeworld. Aimer’s solutions to the challenge include the following: (1) Designers as entrepreneurs: Designers are trained to be entrepreneurs who must think of design not only from creative aspects but also within a business context. The company has established effective protocols for new product design and adoption procedures and standards; meanwhile, designers are provided with weekly sales records as market feedback to guide their future design directions. They are also given opportunities on a regular basis to travel to various international and domestic markets to gain first-hand experience and knowledge of fashion trends and consumers. (2) Teamwork: Designers from various regions of China and internationally are grouped in teams and assigned to work together on brands. This provides ample opportunity for them to interact and learn from each other so that their lifeworld is expanded. Branding literature suggests that consumer’s individual and shared brand experiences affect a consumer-brand relationship (Chang, Long, Chieng, & Hua, 2006) which is of critical importance to brand loyalty. Aimer’s design strategies support its branding and marketing strategies by: (a) contributing to consumers’ positive, consistent, and multi-dimensional brand knowledge as a part of the brand-leveraging process (Keller, 2003); (b) providing value-added product and service features to enhance brand-augmentation (Magrath, 1997); and (c) offering strong and effective design capacity for brand tiering (Magrath, 1997). Implications Based on the findings, implications for Chinese apparel manufacturers who strive to upgrade with design innovation will be discussed.

Diversification can help enterprises to achieve synergies so as to enhance business performance. This article attempts to study this question from the viewpoint of parental control. The interaction effects among corporate diversification and the parental control tested through data obtained by questionnaires to 87 Corporations. The study found: companies with diversification strategy adopting official control over their subsidiary will reduce the overall corporate performance. However, the interactive effects between the degree of parental control and diversification are not significant.