Developing brand champions: A franchisee perspective

Abstract

The establishment of a compelling brand lies at the heart of a franchise network’s success. To maintain brand integrity, franchisors rely on franchisees to deliver the brand promise consistently. However, franchisee behaviour is sometimes difficult to manage, impacting negatively on the franchise brand. In adopting an internal brand management theoretical lens, this study provides new insight into the development of franchisees as brand champions. This is achieved through the empirical validation of a model, which encapsulates the dynamics of important antecedent variables (i.e. information generation, knowledge dissemination, the ‘H’ factor, role clarity, franchisee satisfaction, and brand commitment) in creating franchise brand champions. The findings provide significant theoretical and practical implications and lay the foundation for future research in this important research domain.     

Top management incentives and financial flexibility: The case of make‐whole call provisions

Consistent with the premise that make‐whole call provisions enhance value‐creating financial flexibility, we find that higher sensitivity of managerial wealth to stock price (delta) increases the likelihood that corporate bonds contain make‐whole provisions. Building on the results of related research, post‐issue financial performance of make‐whole callable bond issuers increases in delta. In line with prior findings that demonstrate financial flexibility can be costly to bondholders, we find that managerial equity incentives impact the incremental effect of make‐whole provisions on the pricing of corporate debt securities. Consistent with the flexibility explanation, we also find that the market response as measured by abnormal trading volume to the issuance of make‐whole callable debt varies in equity incentives. Overall, our results suggest that managerial incentives play a role in the choice, pricing, and market response to make‐whole options in corporate debt securities.     

The virtual takeover: The influence of virtual reality on consumption

Looking to current trends, this paper explores the influence of Virtual Reality (VR) on consumption. Specifically, we focus on the influence that VR has on consumer spending by suggesting that identities created in VR will influence consumption behaviour in the real world. While other forms of technology allow consumers to create alternative identities, we suggest that the unique aspects of VR, bolstered by forthcoming advances, will make identities created in VR relatively more self-important and more salient in real world consumption. We also propose implications for marketing research and practice.     

New development: Estate agents’ perspectives of anti-money laundering compliance—four key issues in the UK property market

ABSTRACT

In recent years, money laundering in the property market has come under scrutiny across the world, attracting significant attention from governments, regulators, policy-makers, NGOs, academics and others. However, there remain gaps in knowledge, which is particularly important given practical difficulties in the implementation of anti-money laundering (AML) obligations. This article offers new insights into such implementation in the context of the UK AML regime and the real estate sector. The authors analyse four important issues relating to the UK AML obligations: customer due diligence (CDD); reporting suspicion; training requirements; and letting (rental) agents.     

The stabilization role of police spending in a neo-Keynesian economy with credit market imperfections

Motivated by a seemingly persistent “twin-high” phenomenon in Latin America, we present a novel theoretical framework that has linkages between three institutions (education, criminal justice, and credit) to study policy-pertinent research questions with regards to whether police spending has the potential to serve as an unconventional policy tool for macroeconomic management. Based on a stylized parameterization, we find formal and illegal human capital to share common cyclical properties, which can be "decoupled" under a rule-based regime to police spending. This nonetheless comes at a cost of a greater propagation of the credit friction-induced financial accelerator effect.     

Crisis Management & Team Effectiveness: A Closer Examination

Being able to effectively respond in the event a crisis is relevant to an organization's survival. Whether or not an organization is prepared for a potential crisis depends upon senior officials, and other personnel operating within the company. Corporations with established crisis management teams are able to communicate and effectively respond in the event of a crisis. The purpose of this paper is to suggest effective crisis management depends upon several team-related factors that may influence an organization's response and its ethical responsibility. First, the term crisis is defined, followed by an overview of the differences between crisis communication and crisis management. Second, a review of relevant literature regarding teams and effectiveness is examined. Third, several propositions regarding team effectiveness and crisis management are provided. Finally, ethical concerns in regards to the crisis team and the corporation are reviewed.     

Employment,ownership, and Survival in microbusiness: A study of New retail and service establishments

This investigation provides new data and commentary on several neglected topics: employment contributions of microbusinesses, characteristics of the selfemployed, business survival rates, and psychological and social aspects of new business ownership. A survey and archival analysis of 413 retail and service establisments that began operation in 1985 is reported. The modal staff size of these establishments was three persons; 28% had no employees. Women, young people, and Latinos were among the larger groups of employees, although employment patterns varied according to size and type of business. The typical owner was male, white, in his 30s or 40s, and relatively inexperienced in business. Fifty-nine percent of the establishments survived two years; survival was associated with corporate ownership, with the owners' reliance on the business for a livelihood, and with their prior employment experience.