Dr. Shuguang Wang

Dr. Shuguang Wang

Overview

Shuguang Wang

Shuguang Wang

Shuguang Wang received his B.Sc. in geography from Shandong Normal University in China. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D., both also in geography, from the University of Alberta, Canada. He is currently Professor of Geography at Ryerson University. His research interests include transformation of China’s retail economy and Chinese immigrants in Canada.

In the past 10 years, Prof. Wang did extensive field studies in China, including visits to the major shopping centers and commercial nodes in Beijing and Shanghai, and interviews with key retailers and relevant government officials. His decade-long observations and study resulted in the publication of a research monograph titled China’s New Retail Economy – A Geographic Perspective (published by Routledge in 2014). This book is not just packaged with information and data; the information and data are processed and analyzed to reconstruct the process of change and growth, and to reveal the impact and consequences. It is not only a useful reader for university students and faculty researchers, but also an informative reference for international retailers and transnational real estate developers, who contemplate business and investment opportunities in China.

Prof. Wang’s research on Chinese immigrants revealed important new trends and patterns of ethnic Chinese business development in Canada’s largest gateway city. These include changes in ownership, retail format, and geographical distribution. Chinese immigrants made important contributions and played significant roles in the making of multicultural cities in Canada. His study also revealed that despite a significant increase in their human capital, the Chinese immigrants still experienced very different economic outcomes in the Canadian labor market, compared with the general population of Canada. While their levels of economic performance increase with length of residency in Canada, it would take more than 20 years for the Chinese immigrants to close the earning gaps with the general population.

Areas of Interest/Expertise

  • Retail economy of China
  • Retail internationalization
  • Chinese immigrants in Canada

Current Research Projects

  • Emergence and rapid growth of e-commerce in China (in collaboration with Dr. Hui Zeng of Nankai University, China).
  • New town development in Jiangsu Province, China: mechanisms of coordination and changes in spatial organization (in collaboration with Prof. Shan Yang of Nanjing Normal University; funded by China Natural Science Foundation).

Related Recent Publications

  • Wang, S. and T. Hernandez. 2017.  RECONCEPTUALIZING ETHNIC RETAILING. (Research Insights) Ryerson University, Center for the Study of Commercial Activity.
  • Zhuang, Z., Hernandez, T., and Wang, S. 2015. Ethnic Retailing. In Harald Bauder and John Shields (eds). Immigration, Integration and the Settlement Experience in North America. Canadian Scholar’s Press Inc. Pp223-247.
  • Wang, S. 2014. China’s New Retail Economy: A Geographical Perspective. New York: Routledge.
  • Wang, S. 2014. 多伦多华人商业的发展演变及其社会影响. 华侨华人历史研究. 第4期:第24-36页. (New Development Patterns and Impacts of Chinese Commercial Activity in Toronto, Canada. Overseas Chinese History Studies 4:24-36.
  • Wang, S. and Du, Paul. 2013. Diversity of Asian Immigrants and Their Roles in the Making of Multicultural Cities in Canada. In Eric Fong, Nora Chiang, and Nancy Denton. Immigrant Adaptation in Multiethnic Cities – Canada, Taiwan and the U.S. Routledge. Pp199-222.
  • Wang, S., Hii, R., Zhong, J., and Du, P2013. Recent Trends in Ethnic Chinese Retailing in Metropolitan Toronto. International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research 3 (4): 49-66
  • Wang, S. and Zhang, Y. 2012. Tiering China’s Urban Markets for the Study of Retail Geography. China Urban Studies, 5; 263-285.
  • Wang, S.  2012. The Setback of Best Buy in China. The Retail Digest, Summer Issue: 20-25.
  • Wang, S. and Wang, Q. 2011. Contemporary Asian Immigrants in the United States and Canada (Chapter 10). In Wei Li, Carlos Teixeira, and Audrey Kobayashi (eds.)Immigrant Geographies of North American Cities. Oxford University Press.
  • Wang, S. 2009. Foreign Retailers in Post-WTO China: Stories of Success and Setbacks. Asia Pacific Business Review, 15 (1): 55-73.