Empirical models of manufacturer-retailer interaction: A review and agenda for future research

The nature of the interaction between manufacturers and retailers has received a great deal of empirical attention in the last 15 years. One major line of empirical research examines the balance of power between them and ranges from reduced form models quantifying aggregate profit and other related trends for manufacturers and retailers to structural models that test alternative forms of manufacturer-retailer pricing interaction. A second line of research addresses the sources of leverage for each party, e.g., trade promotions and their pass-through, customer information from loyalty programs, manufacturer advertising, product assortment in general, and private label assortment in particular. The purpose of this article is to synthesize what has been learnt about the nature of the interaction between manufacturers and retailers and the effectiveness of each party’s sources of leverage and to highlight gaps in our knowledge that future research should attempt to fill.     

Financial Constraints and the Extensive and Intensive Margin of Firm Exports: Panel Data Evidence from China

Some theoretical work suggests credit constraints to hamper exports while other work suggests that they deter firms' sales at large. Hence, credit constraints might reduce the export–sales ratio or not. This paper assesses the role of credit constraints for the export–sales ratio at the firm level. We explore this hypothesis empirically, using cross‐section and panel data on Chinese enterprises compiled by the National Bureau of Statistics of China. We approximate credit constraints by a firm's ratio of liquid debt to sales and, alternatively, the ratio of liquid assets to total assets. In particular, we estimate the impact of these financial fundamentals on the extensive and the intensive margins of firm‐level exports in two‐part fractional response models. Fixed effects panel regressions point to a negative relationship between export–sales ratios and credit constraints only at the extensive margin.     

The effects of cross‐border M&As on the acquirers’ domestic performance: firm‐level evidence

Abstract This paper provides empirical evidence on the effects of cross‐border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on the acquiring firms’ domestic performance in the U.K. and France. We build a new firm‐level data set that combines a global M&A database with balance sheet data for the years 2000 to 2007. Combining matching techniques with a difference‐in‐differences estimator, we find that cross‐border M&As boost on average acquirers’ domestic sales and investment, and they are not accompanied by a downsizing of the domestic labour force in either country. Further, cross‐border M&As in knowledge‐intensive industries lead to improvements in domestic productivity. Our results display some heterogeneity across industries and types of acquisitions, suggesting a connection between the motives for international M&As and their resulting effects.     

Brand name influence on brand perception

The impact of hotel names on the evaluation of the hotels by customers prior to their stay was investigated. In general, hotels were rated higher on attributes consistent with the semantic associations of the name than on inconsistent attributes. This name effect was somewhat reduced—but still strong—when actual feature information was given, when consumers were explicitly told that the hotels bearing different names had exactly the same features, when consumers were provided with testimonials from former hotel guests, when consumers were informed that the name had changed in the past or would change in the future, and when the actual features were in with the image evoked by the name. The results corroborate the widely accepted assertion that consumers use brand names as diagnostic and legitimate search attributes. Most notably, the findings imply that the effects are robust and resistant to elimination. Four hundred clients of a travel agency participated in this research. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Im Osten was Neues? Ein Beitrag zur Standortbestimmung der Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft

The aim of this article is to systematically describe and evaluate the foundation and extension of new study programs in communication and media science, and to develop further perspectives for the field. By means of a survey, the boom of programs in communication and media science at German universities is described. The various causes for this boom are not only found in the development of the media branch but also in the new (and perhaps questionable) responsibilities of university education that are subsumed under the concept of »media competence«. The article discusses the actual situation of the field against the background of the already existing debate about its self-conception. It names dimensions of the problem and develops consequences for the necessary structuring of the expanding university discipline of »communication and media science«. For the structuring, an intensified theoretical reflection about the subjects of the field, its methods, and the disassociation from neighbouring fields (still) seem to be important.     

The eventization of faith as a marketing strategy: World Youth Day as an innovative response of the Catholic Church to pluralization

• The declared objective of World Youth Day (WYD), a Catholic Church event staged in a major world city every 2–3 years, is to evangelize youth – including those on the fringes of, and outside, the Church. The 20th WYD, which was held in Cologne, Germany in 2005, was the subject of a project conducted by a research consortium funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The preliminary hypothesis that WYD combines elements of traditionalistic festivals and modernistic events and that this combination yields a new event form – the “hybrid event” – was confirmed.
• This paper presents some of the findings gained from an ethnographic investigation of the organization of WYD that was informed by an action-theory perspective in the tradition of Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann's sociology of knowledge. From this perspective, which focuses on the goals, strategies, and personal relevancies of the organizing team (German) WYD can be unequivocally reconstructed as a Catholic Church marketing event. The “product” – the Catholic faith, uniquely personified by the Pope – is presented by an elite organizing team in an atmosphere of fun and mystery that especially appeals to young people. Hence, the Catholic Church succeeds in shedding its sometimes fuddy-duddy image and in bringing young people to perceive it as a vibrant, modern religious institution. This should prove to be a competitive advantage in an age of religious pluralism.

Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Energy Costs in Germany—Developments, Drivers and International Comparison

This article summarises results a study undertaken by Frontier Economics and the EWI for the German Ministry of Economics. The study makes progress in creating transparency of energy supply prices and cost (for electricity, gas and oil products) in Germany in an international context. In Germany most retail prices have increased significantly since 1998 and are at the highest level for most customer groups and products in international comparison. Main drivers that differentiate prices internationally are, duties and taxes, network tariffs, political interference with retail prices and the degree of end customer competition. Based on this analysis the authors recommend a review of the consistency of policy measures (especially taxes, duties, levies and subsidies) with the energy policy goals of price competitiveness, security of supply and environmental sustainability. Furthermore, the authors suggest further refining network regulation, enhancing competition in the retail sector and improving transparency of price information.