Strategic Communication through Social Media Influencers: Current State of Research and Desiderata

ABSTRACT

This article provides an overview of the current state of research in strategic influencer communication and highlights research desiderata. We conducted a systematic literature review of 39 peer-reviewed articles published between 2011 and 2018. Using Lasswell’s transmission model of communication as an approach to systemize communication acts, we identified, systematized, and synthesized main findings from existing literature. The review reveals a rag rug of fragmented research questions, combined with a lack of theoretical integration and a widespread methodological monism. Moreover, questions related to the implications of influencer communication for strategic planning are understudied. Hence, more research is required to understand underlying cause-and-effect relations and managerial implementation of strategic influencer communication. In conclusion, we encourage researchers to investigate the concept of social media influencer communication from a strategic communication perspective, including applying multidisciplinary approaches and a broader range of empirical methods, which would foster a deeper understanding of strategic influencer communication.     

Sustainability in shipper-logistics service provider relationships: A tentative taxonomy based on agency theory and stimulus-response analysis

The paper contributes to research on sustainability in dyadic buyer–supplier relationships of logistics services. It presents deeper knowledge on why and how suppliers choose to behave sustainably. The research analyzes how shippers stimulate their LSPs and how LSPs respond by conducting sustainability activities. Agency theory and the stimulus–organism–response model are applied as the theoretical foundations for an explorative case study analysis of three large and five small and medium-sized European logistics service providers (LSPs) active in road transport services. Significant differences are found between the sustainability efforts of SMEs and large LSPs and a tentative taxonomy of the sustainability response types of LSPs is derived. The taxonomy contributes to theory-guided research in sustainable supply chain management and procurement. Thereby, mismatches of stimuli and responses are identified and related agency problems in dyadic relationships in terms of sustainability are discussed. From a managerial point of view, the findings may serve as a starting point for purchasers of logistics services to develop adequate sustainability selection criteria and incentives.     

Globally evolutionarily stable portfolio rules

The paper examines a dynamic model of a financial market with endogenous asset prices determined by short-run equilibrium of supply and demand. Assets pay dividends that are partially consumed and partially reinvested. The traders use fixed-mix investment strategies (portfolio rules), distributing their wealth between assets in fixed proportions. Our main goal is to identify globally evolutionarily stable strategies, allowing an investor to “survive,” i.e., to accumulate in the long run a positive share of market wealth, regardless of the initial state of the market. It is shown that there is a unique portfolio rule with this property—an analogue of the famous Kelly rule of “betting your beliefs.” A game theoretic interpretation of this result is given.     

Monetary policy and dividend growth in Germany: long-run structural modelling versus bounds testing approach

This study examines the long-run relationship between monetary policy and dividend growth in Germany. For this purpose, cointegration is tested for between both variables in the period 1974 to 2003. However, problems related to spurious regression arise from the mixed order of integration of the series used, from mutual causation between the variables and from the lack of a long-run relationship among the variables of the model. These problems are addressed by applying the bounds testing approach to cointegration in addition to a more standard long-run structural modelling approach. In principle, both procedures are capable of dealing with the controversial issue of the exogeneity of monetary policy vis-à-vis dividend growth. However, the structural modelling approach still leaves a certain degree of uncertainty about the integration properties of the interest rate and the dividend growth. Hence, one feels legitimized to refer to the bounds testing procedure and to conclude that in the longer term short-term rates drive stock returns but not vice versa.     

How the ECB and the US Fed set interest rates

Monetary policies of the European Central Bank (ECB) and US Fed can be characterized by ‘Taylor rules’, that is both central banks seem to be setting rates by taking into account the ‘output gap’ and inflation. We also set up and tested Taylor rules which incorporate money growth and the euro–dollar exchange rate, thereby improving the ‘fit’ between actual and Taylor rule based rates. In general, Taylor rules appear to be a much better way of describing Fed policy than ECB policy. Simulations suggest that the ECB's short-term interest rates have been at a much lower level in the last 2 years compared with what a Taylor rule would suggest.     

The importance of reciprocal spillover effects for the valuation of bestseller brands: introducing and testing a contingency model

The valuation of extension rights is critical for entertainment brands such as bestseller books. Building on brand extension research, we argue that accounting for the reciprocal spillover effect (i.e., the influence of an extension product on a parent brand) is important for determining the value of extension rights. We develop a contingency model of the reciprocal spillover effect for category extensions of entertainment products that are characterized by short life cycles and satiation effects. In the discussion of moderating factors, we pay particular attention to the new concept of backward integration, which accounts for the reaction of a parent to the introduction of an extension. Using data from all 446 literature adaptations produced for the big screen and theatrically released in North American theaters between 1998 and 2006, we provide evidence that extension success and marketing support impact the sales of the parent book and for several postulated moderating effects, including those of backward integration. Through simulation analyses, we demonstrate how considering the reciprocal effect in the managerial decision-making process can help entertainment managers to avoid biased estimations of category extension rights.     

The (Non‐)Equivalence of Input and Output Taxes Under Monopoly

The author argues that a government taxing a polluting monopoly by means of levies on output and inputs can implement the first‐best allocation through a continuum of tax profiles. Using this degree of freedom in the tax system, the government is, in general, able to transfer income from the firm to the public sector, so that the additional tax rate acts as a non‐distorting tax on profits. This transfer – and therefore public revenue – is the higher, the lower (higher) the input taxes are, and correspondingly the higher (lower) the output tax is, provided that the production function exhibits decreasing (increasing) returns to scale.     

Soziale Pflegeversicherung und Beihilfeverordnungen: Ein Leistungsvergleich

Zusammenfassung   Im Pflegefall werden Beamte und Angestellte von unterschiedlichen Versorgungseinrichtungen unterstützt. Wie sind die Regelungen für diese beiden Besch?ftigungsgruppen ausgestaltet? Wo liegen die Unterschiede? Schneiden Beamte bei einem Leistungsvergleich besser ab? Dr. Jasmin H?cker, 29, Tobias Hackmann, 27, Dipl.-Volkswirt, und Thorsten Henne, 25, sind Mitarbeiter am Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre und Finanzwissenschaft I an der Albert-Ludwigs-Universit?t Freiburg.     

Stabileres Tarifvertragssystem durch Stärkung der Allgemeinverbindlicherklärung?

The declaration of the general binding of collective agreements plays a minor role in Germany compared to other European countries. In particular, the number of extended wage agreements has declined greatly over the last two decades. Because of the declining bargaining coverage, calls for a stabilisation of the collective bargaining system are increasing. In this context, the greater use of the extension mechanism could play an important role. This article analyses the historical development of the instrument and explains different proposals for reforming the extension mechanism put forward by political parties and trade unions.