Using early concept narratives to collect valid customer input about breakthrough technologies: The effect of application visualization on transportation

The value of early customer input has long been recognized by companies. However, especially when breakthrough technologies are involved, more insight in valuable methods for collecting early customer input is needed. In this paper, we propose a method to evaluate a breakthrough technology with customers. First, a creative process should point out applications of the breakthrough technology. Applications allow customers to imagine the benefits of the technology behind it. By using early concept narratives, typically scenarios of somebody using and interacting with the application, this imagination process is enhanced. When no prototypes are available yet, it appears that narratives and visuals allow customers to really “see” the new world of the application, a process called transportation, which is a mix of imagery, feelings, and attention. In an experiment in which we make use of a case of an application of a breakthrough technology, we provide empirical support for our claim that early concept narratives could be a valuable tool to get valid customer reactions. Furthermore, we show which kind of visual format the applications should have in order to optimize transportation. The results of this study will support decision making about how to pursue breakthrough application evaluations early in the product development process.     

Integrating frequent flyer programs in multilateral airline alliances

Forming branded alliances has become a common strategy in the airline industry. These can be defined as ‘multilateral alliances’ as opposed to bilateral alliances. Limited attention has been paid to assessing the impact of multilateral alliances on complex sub-networks, such as distribution networks, cargo alliances and frequent flyer programs. These sub-networks are ‘derivative networks’ within multilateral alliances. These derivative networks create several dilemmas as they evolve causing airline managers to confront fundamental questions regarding harmonization, conflict resolution, and organizational structure.     

Equity yields

We study a new data set of dividend futures with maturities up to ten years across three world regions: the US, Europe, and Japan. We use these asset prices to construct equity yields, analogous to bond yields. We decompose the equity yields to obtain a term structure of expected dividend growth rates and a term structure of risk premia, which decomposes the equity risk premium by maturity. We find that the slope of the term structure of risk premia is pro-cyclical, whereas the slope of the term structure of expected dividend growth rates is counter-cyclical. The comovement of yields across regions is, on average, higher for long-maturity yields than for short-maturity yields, whereas the variation in this comovement is much higher for short-maturity yields.     

Like or dislike? Adolescents’ responses to personalized social network site advertising

Increasingly, personal data posted by users of social network sites (SNSs) can be used to personalize advertising. The present study investigates how adolescents respond to personalized ads in terms of attitude toward the ad, brand engagement and intention to forward, and whether privacy concerns moderate their responses. According to pretest results, a medium level of personalization was expected to be optimal in terms of advertising effectiveness. A within-subjects experiment involving 40 participants aged 14–18 years was performed. Three conditions of personalized advertising were designed with, respectively, low, medium, and high levels of personalization. The study found that the highest personalization condition generated the most positive response and that privacy concerns did not moderate the effects of personalization. The privacy paradox is discussed as an alternative explanation, along with other implications of the results.     

Targeting online display ads: Choosing their frequency and spacing

With real-time bidding, advertisers can decide how often (ad frequency) and in what time interval (ad recency) to show an ad to a specific user. Ads shown often and in quick succession might increase brand and ad recognition on the one hand but might annoy users on the other hand. These recognition and annoyance effects, in turn, can have opposing consequences for click-through rates (CTRs). Guided by theory and previous studies, we examine how the frequency (high vs. low) and the recency (small vs. large time intervals) of ad impressions relates to a banner's CTR and whether this is moderated by the campaign type (diverse or not), the brand's advertising expenditure (high vs. low), and the type of industry (selling durable vs. non-durable goods). To do so, we use a large data set containing information on 5.8?bn ad impressions and 1.8?m clicks delivered for 158 different advertisers from 25 industries. We show that higher ad frequency and higher ad recency relate to a lower CTRs, especially when having a less diverse campaign, for brands which are spending more on advertising, and, to some extent, for firms selling durables.     

Institutional Ownership and Future Stock Returns: An International Perspective

We investigate the risk‐adjusted performance of the aggregate equity holdings and trades of 13,807 active mutual funds located in 16 countries between 2001 and 2014. Using portfolio sorts, we find weak evidence that institutional holdings exhibit positive subsequent risk‐adjusted returns. However, any outperformance is unlikely to stem from short‐term informational advantage: stocks bought do not outperform stocks sold in the subsequent quarter. This finding is robust to regressions of subsequent stock returns on changes in institutional ownership and holds for different measurements of institutional trading.     

Commentary on “The role of innovation in driving the economy: Lessons from the global financial crisis”

This commentary reacts to an article by Hausman and Johnston advocating innovation and entrepreneurship as keys to solving the current global financial crisis published in this special issue. The commentary is a valuable resonance board for my own ideas that, in some respects, deviate from those of the authors. I start from a partially different paradigm than the authors, as my theoretical platform is a new science of marketing and service that emerged during the 2000s. I find many of the suggestions logical and thoughtful, but primarily academic and US-centric. Will they work in practice, and especially on a global scale? I think the suggested solutions will work under certain conditions, but the world is imperfect and the necessary conditions are often absent. For example, the article shows confidence in the ability of governments to regulate and control and of research to contribute with more advanced metrics. Here I have doubts. I also find economic and management disciplines require new aspects for proposed solutions to work. Among these new aspects are the lack of genuine corporate social responsibility, growing corruption and crime, and the role of financial leaders whose behavior opened a new research field called “corporate psychopathy.”