‘We’ are more likely to endorse than ‘I’: the effects of self-construal and brand symbolism on consumers’ online brand endorsements

Recent research increasingly highlights that consumers engage in online brand endorsements (e.g. Facebook likes) to signal their identity, but has failed to explain why different consumers use this type of signaling to differing degrees. This paper addresses this gap by looking at a culturally constructed individual difference variable, namely self-construal. Self-construal, which can be independent or interdependent, refers to the extent that people define themselves in terms of the relations they have with others. In four studies, this research shows that consumers’ self-construal is related to their intention to endorse brands online. In particular, high levels of interdependent self-construal positively affect consumers’ intention to endorse brands online (Studies 1A & 1B). This effect is mediated by an increased perception of brands’ symbolic value (Study 2). Moreover, this positivity bias toward symbolic brand cues is conditional upon consumers’ brand attitude (Study 3). These findings demonstrate that consumers’ identity plays a central role in their brand perception and brand-related social media use.     

Seasoned Equity Issues in a Closely Held Market: Evidence from France

This paper examines seasoned equity offerings in France. Eventhough a rights offering is the primary flotation method, Frenchcompanies are increasingly using the relatively expensive publicoffering method. We show that the market reaction to the announcementof seasoned equity issues is significantly negative for rightsissues and insignificantly negative for public offerings. Ourresults suggest that the adverse selection effect is greaterfor rights issues than for public offerings, due to strongerunderwriter certification for the public offerings. We findthat the share price effect is positively related to blockholderstake-up renouncements for firms with prior concentrated ownership.For these firms, the favourable ownership dispersion effectoffsets the adverse selection effect. JEL Classification: G32,G14 and D80.     

The Informational Efficiency of the Corporate Bond Market: An Intraday Analysis

Using a unique dataset based on daily and hourly high-yieldbond transaction prices, we find the informational efficiencyof corporate bond prices is similar to that of the underlyingstocks. We find that stocks do not lead bonds in reflectingfirm-specific information. We further examine price behavioraround earnings news and find that information is quickly incorporatedinto both bond and stock prices, even at short return horizons.Finally, we find that measures of market quality are no poorerfor the bonds in our sample than for the underlying stocks.     

Principles for international agreement

This article considers the necessity for international agreements on climate and weather modification, the approaches that might be taken in developing them, and their feasibility. The first part outlines the problems which weather-modification techniques will pose for the international community, defines various approaches to these problems, and appraises existing developments in international weather-modification policy. The second part deals with specific measures which might be part of an international agreement on weather modification, and discusses in general the feasibility of these measures.     

Kapitalkostenermittlung – von unverzerrten Schätzern und ­Länderrisikoprämien

PRAXIS | Artikel

Kapitalkostenermittlung – von unverzerrten Sch?tzern und -L?nderrisikopr?mien Dirk Hachmeister/Frederik Ruthardt/Maximilian R?mhild     

Dissociating explicit and implicit effects of cross-media advertising

Knowledge of cross-media advertising effects is mainly based on explicit psychological measures, such as self-reports. To fully understand the mechanisms responsible for the success of cross-media advertising, it is important to also use implicit measures. We used both types of measures to assess whether exposure to different media combinations affects the cognitive and evaluative impact of advertising. Results show that participants performed better on all explicit and implicit measures of memory and brand preference after exposure (versus no exposure) to target ads, which validated the use of these measures. Comparison of cross-media versus single medium exposure showed differences on the explicit level, but not on the implicit level. This suggests (1) that cross-media advantages may be driven by explicit rather than implicit memory mechanisms, and (2) that implicit advertising effects may require more drastic manipulations than context changes, such as varying the combination of media used for exposure to advertising.     

Ist ein Arzt an Bord?

Zusammenfasung  Geburt über den Wolken – und nirgendwo eine Hebamme — Ob im Zug oder Flugzeug: Diese Frage kennen wir alle. Und in den meisten F?llen k?nnen wir uns entspannt zurücklehnen. Doch was ist eigentlich, wenn tats?chlich kein anderer helfen kann und man als Pflegekraft in dieser au?ergew?hnlichen Situation gefordert ist?