Corporate foresight and innovation management: A portfolio-approach in evaluating organizational development

The transition from a traditional industry-driven economy to a knowledge-based economy requires new concepts and methods for companies to sustain competitive advantage. Here, academia has identified corporate foresight and innovation as key success factors. While, content-wise, the contribution of futures research methods to the innovation process has already been researched, this study strives to explore the status quo of organizational development stages of both concepts. To do so, we developed a portfolio-approach, the so-called ‘Future-Fitness-Portfolio’, which enables companies to qualitatively compare amongst others and identify organizational improvement potential. In addition, we conducted expert interviews to explore future organizational development trends in corporate foresight and innovation management. As our research revealed, five strategic clusters can be identified within the portfolio. Consequently, we propose specific strategies for each individual cluster. We conclude that there will be two main organizational development trends for corporate foresight and innovation management in the future: in traditional industries with conventional business models and long product-life-cycles, companies will follow a different development path than companies in dynamic industries with innovative business models and short product-life-cycles.     

Product Differentiation and Cost Pass‐Through

The present paper extends the existing literature on vertical price transmission and cost pass‐through by investigating the impact of product differentiation. We apply distance‐measures of product differentiation to a specific product market (yoghurt) within one country (Germany). Results from a panel‐error‐correction model for 30 products sold in 432 stores over a period of 312 weeks suggest that product differentiation explains a significant share of differences in cost pass‐through rates: more differentiated products command higher prices and are characterised by lower equilibrium cost pass‐through rates as well as more sluggish price adjustment.     

Developing competence in retailing: strategic advantages

Since the late 1980s, the UK Government has invested significant levels of funding in the development of national competence-based qualifications in an attempt to improve skill levels and therefore international competitiveness. The paper provides an overview of the progress which has been made by the UK retailing industry and presents the implementation experiences of five major retail companies. The paper concludes with an analysis of the strategic implications.     

Accounting of the German Statutory Pension Scheme: Balance Sheet,Cross‐Sectional Internal Rate of Return and Implicit Tax Rate

We present a framework for accounting of the German statutory pension scheme and calculate a balance sheet for the period 2005–14. Estimating a funding ratio of about 90 per cent, we present some policy recommendations in order to restore balancing of assets and liabilities. Extending and applying the methodology proposed by Settergren and Mikula (2005), we additionally estimate the aggregate cross‐sectional internal rate of return of the German pension scheme over this period. We are able to show that these internal rates of return are mainly financed by increasing contributions and by increasing unfunded liabilities. Additionally, our analysis reveals that from an expenditure perspective, the major part of the internal rate of return results from changing longevity rather than other changes. We also estimate the implicit tax rates from a cross‐sectional perspective and find that they can mainly be interpreted as an ‘implicit wealth tax’ on pension wealth. Finally, we analyse the impact of demographic change on the balance sheet employing a population projection. While the pure demographic effect leads to a decreasing funding ratio during population ageing, the automatic balancing mechanisms of the German pension scheme lead to a significant overfunding in the long run from the accounting perspective adopted in the Swedish pension system.     

REGIONAL AND SECTORAL DISAGGREGATION OF MULTI-REGIONAL INPUT–OUTPUT TABLES – A FLEXIBLE ALGORITHM

A common shortcoming of available multi-regional input–output (MRIO) data sets is their lack of regional and sectoral detail required for many research questions (e.g. in the field of disaster impact analysis). We present a simple algorithm to refine MRIO tables regionally and/or sectorally. By the use of proxy data, each MRIO flow in question is disaggregated into the corresponding sub-flows. This downscaling procedure is complemented by an adjustment rule ensuring that the sub-flows match the superordinate flow in sum. The approximation improves along several iteration steps. The algorithm unfolds its strength through the flexible combination of multiple, possibly incomplete proxy data sources. It is also flexible in a sense that any target sector and region resolution can be chosen. As an exemplary case we apply the algorithm to a regional and sectoral refinement of the Eora MRIO database.     

The Role of Context Intensity and Working Memory Capacity in the Consumer's Processing of Brand Information in Entertainment Media

Despite the increasing use of entertainment media such as movies, sport telecasts, or video games as a way to get in touch with consumers, the understanding of the cognitive processing of brand information in these environments is still limited. This current research investigates the role of two moderating factors on brand information processing in entertainment media: Context intensity and working memory capacity. Context intensity relates to the perceived level of excitement in a communication environment, while working memory capacity indicates a consumer's ability to control his or her cognitive resources. The results of an experimental laboratory study reveal that context intensity negatively affects visual attention for brand information (i.e., intensity attention assumption), while working memory capacity has a positive influence on memory for brands (i.e., capacity memory assumption). These findings hold important implications for marketing management: First, managers should place brand information in situations where context intensity is rather low in order to facilitate the target group's visual attention. Second, the frequency and duration of brand information should be adjusted to the target group's ability to cognitively process such information.