Der Einfluss von Marketing Assets auf den Shareholder Value

Zusammenfassung  Marketer sehen sich zunehmend unter Erfolgs- und Rechtfertigungsdruck. Das Problem dabei: Der Erfolgsbeitrag von Marketing Assets zum Unternehmenswert ist in Forschung und Praxis weitgehend unbekannt. Der folgende Beitrag deckt die Einflüsse von Marketing Assets auf den Shareholder Value umfassend auf. Sie lernen eine Methode kennen, mit der die vielf?ltigen Einflüsse integriert gemessen und überprüft werden k?nnen. Prof. Dr. Mario Rese Lehrstuhl für Betriebswirtschaftslehre, insbesondere Marketing, an der Ruhr-Universit?t Bochum und Mitglied der Faculty der European School of Management and Technology Berlin Dipl.-Kffr. Valerie Herter Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am gleichnamigen Lehrstuhl     

Towards a brain-to-society systems model of individual choice

Canonical models of rational choice fail to account for many forms of motivated adaptive behaviors, specifically in domains such as food selections. To describe behavior in such emotion- and reward-laden scenarios, researchers have proposed dual-process models that posit competition between a slower, analytic faculty and a fast, impulsive, emotional faculty. In this paper, we examine the assumptions and limitations of these approaches to modeling motivated choice. We argue that models of this form, though intuitively attractive, are biologically implausible. We describe an approach to motivated choice based on sequential sampling process models that can form a solid theoretical bridge between what is known about brain function and environmental influences upon choice. We further suggest that the complex and dynamic relationships between biology, behavior, and environment affecting choice at the individual level must inform aggregate models of consumer choice. Models using agent-based complex systems may further provide a principled way to relate individual and aggregate consumer choices to the aggregate choices made by businesses and social institutions. We coin the term “brain-to-society systems” choice model for this broad integrative approach.     

Measuring the impact of positive and negative word of mouth on brand purchase probability

Using two methods, three measures, and data covering a large number of categories, we present findings on the respondent-assessed impact of positive and negative word of mouth (PWOM, NWOM) on brand purchase probability.For familiar brands, we find that:

1. The impact of PWOM is generally greater than NWOM. The pre-WOM probability of purchase tends to be below 0.5, which gives more latitude for PWOM to increase purchase probability than for NWOM to reduce it.

2. The impact of both PWOM and NWOM is strongly related to the pre-WOM probability of purchase, the strength of expression of the WOM, and whether the WOM is about the respondent's preferred brand.

3. PWOM and NWOM appear to be similar forms of advice-giving behavior, except for their opposed effects on choice.

4. Respondents resist NWOM on brands they are very likely to choose, and resist PWOM on brands they are very unlikely to choose.

In the Discussion section, we show how our methods could be used to construct a word-of-mouth metric.     

Monte Carlo simulation of macroeconomic risk with a continuum of agents: the general case

In large random economies with heterogeneous agents, a standard stochastic framework presumes a random macro state, combined with idiosyncratic micro shocks. This can be formally represented by a random process consisting of a continuum of random variables that are conditionally independent given the macro state. However, this process satisfies a standard joint measurability condition only if there is essentially no idiosyncratic risk at all. Based on iteratively complete product measure spaces, we characterize the validity of the standard stochastic framework via Monte Carlo simulation as well as event-wise measurable conditional probabilities. These general characterizations also allow us to strengthen some earlier results related to exchangeability and independence. Parts of this work were done while Yeneng Sun was visiting Stanford University in July 2003, March–May 2005 and July 2006, and while Peter Hammond was visiting the National University of Singapore in March–April 2004. An early version was presented at the World Congress of the Econometric Society in 2005.     

In the Shadows of Vanity: Religion and the Debate Over Hierarchy

A bstract .   Sandra Peart and David Levy emphasize the role of economists in their excellent history of the debate between philosophers and scientists and economists and evangelicals over race and hierarchy in 19^th-century Britain. Evangelical Christians have a role as allies with economists, and also Jews, but as a racial rather than a religious group. Religion, which has much to say about what it means to be human, remains in the shadows of Peart and Levy's account. The purpose of this paper is to make a start at casting light on the role of religion in the debate over race and hierarchy in 19^th-century England.     

Explaining activity and exploring experience—findings from a survey of union learning representatives

This article draws on data from one of the largest surveys to date of union learning representatives (ULRs) in order to build a unique picture of ULR experience and activity. It is found that ULRs made a contribution to increased diversity and represented an injection of ‘new blood’ within workplace union structures. Moreover, ULRs with no previous union involvement were just as likely to be active in promoting learning as their more experienced colleagues. At the same time, we found that a significant minority of trained ULRs were not active in union learning. While ULR activity was not confined within traditionally unionised settings, active and effective ULRs were most likely to be found in workplaces with substantive structures and institutions that underpinned union learning and reflected a clear commitment from the employer. ULR activity was more difficult to start and to sustain in workplaces in which this support was absent. The article concludes that in order for ULR activity to permeate such environments, some degree of additional statutory support may be necessary.     

Individual Priming in Virtual Team Decision-Making

Virtual teams have different interactions than face-to-face teams because they rely on information and communication technologies, which can impede or assist certain human cognitive processes. Past research has shown that although virtual teams exchange more information than face-to-face teams, poor decisions often result, because team members do not consider the unique information they receive from others. Drawing from cognitive psychology, our research explored a unique way to improve team decision-making through the use of cognitive priming. We proposed that priming group members to pay attention to others or to engage in counterfactual thinking would improve team members’ cognition and, therefore, team performance. Prior research with individuals and brainstorming teams has shown these forms of priming to improve performance; however, no research has attempted to use priming to improve the outcomes of virtual team decision-making, which requires deeper interaction and cognitive involvement than brainstorming. We performed two lab experiments using primes that have been found to improve the individual decision-making process. We found that priming had some impact, but it did not significantly improve decision quality. Various reasons are discussed to explain why priming techniques may not be as powerful in teams as in individuals, and future research ideas are suggested to build on our initial work on priming in virtual team decision-making.     

Bank/sovereign risk spillovers in the European debt crisis

This paper investigates contagion between bank and sovereign default risk in Europe over the period 2007–2012. We define contagion as excess correlation, i.e. correlation between banks and sovereigns over and above what is explained by common factors, using CDS spreads at the bank and at the sovereign level. Moreover, we investigate the determinants of contagion by analyzing bank-specific as well as country-specific variables and their interaction. Using the EBA’s disclosure of sovereign exposures of banks, we provide empirical evidence that three contagion channels are at work: a guarantee channel, an asset holdings channel and a collateral channel. We find that banks with a weak capital buffer, a weak funding structure and less traditional banking activities are particularly vulnerable to risk spillovers. At the country level, the debt ratio is the most important driver of contagion. Furthermore, the impact of government interventions on contagion depends on the type of intervention, with outright capital injections being the most effective measure in reducing spillover intensity.     

The Quality of Manufactured Products in Britain and Germany

This paper is concerned with the relation between workforce skills and high-quality production. Detailed investigations of specific products sampled from three industries indicate that the average British-made product embodied fewer quality-features than its German-made counterpart, and that Britain produces little of top-quality grades—in contrast to a strong German presence at that end of the market. These findings were based on factory visits and discussions with trade experts in both countries. Two broad aspects of workforce skills which contribute to higher-quality production were identified: (1) the skills relevant at the design-interface between consumer demand and production realities, and (2) the skills relevant to small and medium-sized batch-production of specialised varieties. Existing comparisons based on official statistics of production and prices do not take adequate account of differences in product-quality. Based on a close matching of quality-grades of ten sampled products, proper adjustment for quality differences across countries would substantially increase estimates of the German real productivity advantage in manufacturing (to around 50% over Britain), and raise estimates of real income per head for Germany to some 40% over Britain.     

Surviving organizational disasters

Man-made and natural disasters are becoming increasingly common in today's world. Among other entities, companies should be concerned because these impact organizational survival, disrupting the lives and functioning of employees, suppliers, customers, and organizational infrastructure. If the present trend continues, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is on track to declare 30% more disasters in 2010 than in 2009. Organizational disasters are crises in the extreme. While the crisis management literature provides a useful foundation for planning for internal organizational threats, it does not adequately address larger external threats brought about by disasters. With this gap in mind, we herein present a framework for planning for man-made or natural disasters: continuity of operations planning (COOP). Continuity of operations planning is a tool that aids organizations in staying in business under extreme circumstances. Although continuity of operations planning is not an entirely new practice, many small and medium-sized firms are reluctant to engage in this type of planning. To highlight the value of the process, this article provides examples of organizational disasters, alongside a simplified method for developing an effective continuity of operations plan.