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More than 2000 years ago, the ancient Silk Road was a major trade link between the East and West. However, technological change and dramatic declines in transportation costs have since made it obsolete as container shipping and the advent of cargo flights have shifted trade from the surface to the sea or air. Nevertheless, China recently announced a new initiative that aims at establishing new connections between Europe and Asia, which are bypassing more modern transport routes in favor of railway connections. This special issue is dedicated to research related to this new initiative. ARTICLE HISTORY

Quality assurance has been integrated into the fabric of higher education in China, with the issue of quality in higher education -how to evaluate it and how to enhance it -now taking centre stage in Chinese higher education. In the past decade, the development of quality assurance in Chinese higher education has covered a broad spectrum of initiatives, from national policy, quality evaluation methodology, and institutional adoption of quality assurance schemes, to the matrix of quality evaluations. This article attempts to present a comprehensive overview of quality assurance in Chinese higher education by reviewing and analysing the context and development of quality assurance initiatives, alongside the current structure and management of quality assurance in Chinese higher education. By commenting on the current realities and remaining challenges in Chinese higher education, this article also points to some implications for Chinese higher education institutions in their further progress along the quality assurance path.

Online reviews play an important role in consumers' decision making. However, limited studies have been conducted to understand the effects of online reviews on consumers' behavior. Drawing upon the Elaboration Likelihood Model and the valence framework, a research model was developed to investigate the perceived benefits and potential risks brought by positive online reviews. The moderating effect of review skepticism was also examined. Data were collected through on online survey based on consumers' perceptions of the positive reviews from restaurants and food businesses and analyzed with partial least squares. The results indicated that argument quality and source credibility influence information usefulness, which further influences consumers' behavioral intentions. The influence of positive online reviews on perceived risk differs between high and low skepticism consumers. This research offers a more in-depth understanding of consumer information processing in an online context and benefits practitioners by allowing them to better understand consumers.