External corporate venture capital investment: Towards a framework for capturing and measuring strategic value

This paper presents the initial results of on-going research in the field of external Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) investments, i.e. equity investments of large corporations in entrepreneurial ventures which originated outside the corporation. The research is motivated by the fact that external CVC plays an increasingly important role within the strategy of corporations. Driven by a general trend towards a more open approach to innovation, companies see particular value in external corporate venturing as a tool to gain, for example, access to complementary technologies and a general window on technology developments. The review of literature in the field of external corporate venturing clearly reveals that theoretical gaps exist in understanding mechanisms for capturing value and measurements of this value. To help close these gaps, the research addresses the underlying question "How do corporations and start-ups capture and measure strategic value through external CVC investments" by using embedded, multiple case studies. Following an initial set of case studies, steps towards the development of a framework for capturing and measuring strategic value from CVC investments are outlined within this paper and the resulting preliminary framework is presented. The paper closes with an outlook on ongoing and future research steps. © 2009 PICMET.

Private equity, the minimalist organization and the quality of employment relations

This article develops a firm-level analysis of how the quality of employment relations following acquisition by private equity firms (PEFs) is contingent upon the strategic intent of those firms and the post-acquisition organizational choices they make. The efficiency gains that PEFs seek in acquired companies are expected to encourage restructuring towards a minimalist organization. However, the form such an organization takes is seen to depend on whether PEF strategy is oriented primarily towards extracting short-term value from acquired assets rather than towards renewing and developing those assets. Contrasts in the process of restructuring and in organizational form associated with these two strategies will have different implications for the quality of employment relations. The way in which PEFs restructure the companies or units they acquire is the key intervening factor between the strategic intent of PEFs and impact they have on the quality of employment relations. © The Author(s) 2010.

Managing i-branding to create brand equity

Purpose: Given the emergent nature of i-branding as an academic field of study and a lack of applied research output, the aim of this paper is to explain how businesses manage i-branding to create brand equity.

Design/methodology/approach: Within a case-study approach, seven cases were developed from an initial sample of 20 food businesses. Additionally, utilising secondary data, the analysis of findings introduces relevant case examples from other industrial sectors.

Findings: Specific internet tools and their application are discussed within opportunities to create brand equity for products classified by experience, credence and search characteristics. An understanding of target customers will be critical in underpinning the selection and deployment of relevant i-branding tools. Tools facilitating interactivity – machine and personal – are particularly significant.

Research limitations/implications: Future research positioned within classification of goods constructs could provide further contributions that recognise potential moderating effects of product/service characteristics on the development of brand equity online. Future studies could also employ the i-branding conceptual framework to test its validity and develop it further as a means of explaining how i-branding can be managed to create brand equity.

Originality/value: While previous research has focused on specific aspects of i-branding, this paper utilises a conceptual framework to explain how diverse i-branding tools combine to create brand equity. The literature review integrates fragmented literature around a conceptual framework to produce a more coherent understanding of extant thinking. The location of this study within a classification of goods context proved critical to explaining how i-branding can be managed.

Global nation product equity depending on a level of cultural diffusion

Purpose This paper aims to propose the global nation product equity model (GNPE) to measure global consumers’ equity of a product that a country produces, especially a nation’s cultural products (i.e. culducts). The model also examines the significant difference of GNPE depending on a cultural diffusion level. GNPE model proposes that depending on the level of people’s recognition/acceptance/preference of a culture from another country (i.e. cultural diffusion level), the equity of a product from that country could be different in different countries. As variables that affect GNPE, global nation product equity in general, global nation product equity of a product category and nation cultural equity are included in the model. Design/methodology/approach To test the model, this study developed Hallyu (Korean cultural diffusion)-related Korean culducts and measured global consumers’ equity for the Korean culducts. In all, 351 surveys were collected from China, France, England and the USA. Findings The results show the significantly different equities and relationships among equities depending on the level of Hallyu diffusion in each country. Therefore, Korea is suggested to focus on different equities in different countries. Originality/value This research proposed a new model that extends the previous brand equity models to non-branded products (i.e. cultural products). This model proposed new variables that affect equity of a product mentioned above and suggests different equities to improve in different countries depending on their level of cultural diffusion. Also, this cross-cultural study suggests a direction of culduct design, distribution and promotion strategies in the global market.

Determinants of venture capital and private equity investments in renewable energy: A cross-country study

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Economics from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Valuing equity-linked death benefits in jump diffusion models

The paper is motivated by the valuation problem of guaranteed minimum death benefits in various equity-linked products. At the time of death, a benefit payment is due. It may depend not only on the price of a stock or stock fund at that time, but also on prior prices. The problem is to calculate the expected discounted value of the benefit payment. Because the distribution of the time of death can be approximated by a combination of exponential distributions, it suffices to solve the problem for an exponentially distributed time of death. The stock price process is assumed to be the exponential of a Brownian motion plus an independent compound Poisson process whose upward and downward jumps are modeled by combinations (or mixtures) of exponential distributions. Results for exponential stopping of a Lévy process are used to derive a series of closed-form formulas for call, put, lookback, and barrier options, dynamic fund protection, and dynamic withdrawal benefit with guarantee. We also discuss how barrier options can be used to model lapses and surrenders.

Image and value of product brand in industrial markets: Case Stora Enso Consumer Packaging Boards

TUTKIMUKSEN TAVOITTEET Tutkielman tavoitteena oli luoda ensin yleiskäsitys tuotemerkkimarkkinoinnin roolista teollisilla markkinoilla, sekä suhdemarkkinoinnin merkityksestä teollisessa merkkituotemarkkinoinnissa. Toisena oleellisena tavoitteena oli kuvata teoreettisesti merkkituoteidentiteetin rakenne teollisessa yrityksessä ja sen vaikutukset myyntihenkilöstöön, ja lisäksi haluttiin tutkia tuotemerkkien lisäarvoa sekä asiakkaalle että myyjälle. Identiteetti ja sen vaikutukset, erityisesti imago haluttiin tutkia myös empiirisesti. LÄHDEAINEISTO JA TUTKIMUSMENETELMÄT Tämän tutkielman teoreettinen osuus perustuu kirjallisuuteen, akateemisiin julkaisuihin ja aikaisempiin tutkimuksiin; keskittyen merkkituotteiden markkinointiin, identiteettiin ja imagoon, sekä suhdemarkkinointiin osana merkkituotemarkkinointia. Tutkimuksen lähestymistapa on kuvaileva eli deskriptiivinen ja sekä kvalitatiivinen että kvantitatiivinen. Tutkimus on tapaustutkimus, jossa caseyritykseksi valittiin kansainvälinen pakkauskartonki-teollisuuden yritys. Empiirisen osuuden toteuttamiseen käytettiin www-pohjaista surveytä, jonka avulla tietoja kerättiin myyntihenkilöstöltä case-yrityksessä. Lisäksi empiiristä osuutta laajennettiin tutkimalla sekundäärilähteitä kuten yrityksen sisäisiä kirjallisia dokumentteja ja tutkimuksia. TULOKSET. Teoreettisen ja empiirisen tutkimuksen tuloksena luotiin malli jota voidaan hyödyntää merkkituotemarkkinoinnin päätöksenteon tukena pakkauskartonki-teollisuudessa. Teollisen brandinhallinnan tulee keskittyä erityisesti asiakas-suhteiden brandaukseen – tätä voisi kutsua teolliseksi suhdebrandaukseksi. Tuote-elementit ja –arvot, differointi ja positiointi, sisäinen yrityskuva ja viestintä ovat teollisen brandi-identiteetin peruskiviä, jotka luovat brandi-imagon. Case-yrityksen myyntihenkilöstön tuote- ja yritysmielikuvat osoittautuivat kokonaisuudessaan hyviksi. Paras imago on CKB tuotteilla, kun taas heikoin on WLC tuotteilla. Teolliset brandit voivat luoda monenlaisia lisäarvoja sekä asiakas- että myyjäyritykselle.

Is Brand Equity an Asset or a Liability in Brand Harm Crisis? Buffering and Amplifying Effects and Contingent Conditions

Brand harm crisis often result in negative consumer responses. This thesis addresses the buffering and amplifying theoretical perspectives of brand equity effects. We theorize that brand equity may interplay with the nature of brand-harm crisis in shaping consumer reactions. Results from focus group studies provide interesting insights into the amplifying and buffering effects. Moreover, research findings from two experiment studies show that brand equity amplifies consumer negative responses in a performance-related crisis but only when the crisis is extremely severe. When the crisis becomes less severe, the amplifying effect diminishes from outset. However, in a value-related crisis, the amplifying effect of brand equity is pervasive regardless of the level of crisis severity. The current thesis adds to the extant literature by demonstrating that brand equity can have very complex effects on consumer responses, which are contingent on the severity and domain of a crisis. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Population Ethics and the Value of Life

Public policies often involve choices of alternatives in which the size and the composition of the population may vary. Examples are the allocation of resources to prenatal care and the design of aid packages to developing countries. In order to assess the corresponding feasible choices on normative grounds, criteria for social evaluation that are capable of performing variable-population comparisons are required. We review several important axioms for welfarist population principles and discuss the link between individual well-being and the desirability of adding a new person to a given society.

The value premium and time-varying volatility

Numerous studies have documented the failure of the static and conditional capital asset pricing models to explain the difference in returns between value and growth stocks. This paper examines the post-1963 value premium by employing a model that captures the time-varying total risk of the value-minus-growth portfolios. Our results show that the time-series of value premia is strongly and positively correlated with its volatility. This conclusion is robust to the criterion used to sort stocks into value and growth portfolios and to the country under review (the US and the UK). Our paper is consistent with evidence on the possible role of idiosyncratic risk in explaining equity returns, and also with a separate strand of literature concerning the relative lack of reversibility of value firms' investment decisions.

The effect of asymmetries on stock index return value-at-risk estimates

It is widely accepted that equity return volatility increases more following negative shocks rather than positive shocks. However, much of value-at-risk (VaR) analysis relies on the assumption that returns are normally distributed (a symmetric distribution). This article considers the effect of asymmetries on the evaluation and accuracy of VaR by comparing estimates based on various models.

Conceptualising and measuring the equity of online brands

Although brand equity is an important source of competitive advantage online, previous conceptualisations and measures overlook the unique characteristics of the internet that render consumers co-creators of brand value. In view of this, a threephased research programme was undertaken to identify the facets of online retail/service (ORS) brand equity and then develop and validate a scale for its measurement. ORS brand equity was found to be a second order construct with five correlated yet distinct dimensions: emotional connection, online experience, responsive service nature, trust, and fulfilment. A series of tests showed that the ensuing 12-item scale has strong psychometric properties. The implications of this research for marketing researchers and practitioners are discussed.

A framework of brand value in B2B markets: the contributing role of functional and emotional components

The creation of value is admittedly a critical task for marketers regardless of industry. This paper focuses on a type of value that has traditionally been perceived as irrelevant to industrial markets and argues that brand value facilitates the progression from goods and services value to relationship value. To address the limited amount of research on B2B branding from the suppliers' point of view, we complement insights gained from a literature review with ten exploratory interviews with B2B supplier managers, and develop a framework of brand value applicable to industrial markets. This identifies both the functional (i.e., quality, technology, capacity, infrastructure, after sales service, capabilities, reliability, innovation) and emotional qualities (i.e., risk reduction, reassurance, trust) important for the development of industrial brand equity. Situational (e.g. nature of the purchase) and environmental factors (e.g. the economic situation) affecting suppliers' perceptions of the importance of brand in a B2B context and the role of functional versus emotional brand qualities are discussed. The value of the brand as a driver for the development of business to business relationships is also highlighted. The framework provides a basis for B2B practitioners to build their brands in such a way as to make a functional as well as an emotional connection with buyers that is more likely to lead to a supplier–buyer relationship.

Can company-fund manager meetings convey informational benefits? Exploring the rationalisation of equity investment decision making by UK fund managers

Conventional economic theory, applied to information released by listed companies, equates ‘useful’ with ‘price-sensitive’. Stock exchange rules accordingly prohibit the selec- tive, private communication of price-sensitive information. Yet, even in the absence of such communication, UK equity fund managers routinely meet privately with the senior execu- tives of the companies in which they invest. Moreover, they consider these brief, formal and formulaic meetings to be their most important sources of investment information. In this paper we ask how that can be. Drawing on interview and observation data with fund managers and CFOs, we find evidence for three, non-mutually exclusive explanations: that the characterisation of information in conventional economic theory is too restricted, that fund managers fail to act with the rationality that conventional economic theory assumes, and/or that the primary value of the meetings for fund managers is not related to their investment decision making but to the claims of superior knowledge made to clients in marketing their active fund management expertise. Our findings suggest a disconnect between economic theory and economic policy based on that theory, as well as a corre- sponding limitation in research studies that test information-usefulness by assuming it to be synonymous with price-sensitivity. We draw implications for further research into the role of tacit knowledge in equity investment decision-making, and also into the effects of the principal–agent relationship between fund managers and their clients.

O valor da marca para o consumidor final a partir do conceito de brand equity no mercado de iogurtes

O tema Brand Equity tem atraído a atenção de estudiosos de marketing devido a importância estratégica que a questão marca vem adquirindo no cenário empresarial. Um exemplo que comprova a relevância do tema para a academia está na publicação de uma edição especial do Journal of Marketing Research no ano de 1994 unicamente dedicada a apresentação de artigos relacionados à Brand Equity. Existem duas abordagens básicas que norteiam os estudos nessa área: a determinação do valor patrimonial da marca e a busca pelo melhor aproveitamento ( produtividade) dos recursos do composto de marketing. Ambas, na verdade se complementam, mas, enquanto a primeira busca a correta determinação do valor contábil da marca para fins de apropriação em balanço e também com o objetivo de facilitar negociações entre empresas em questões relativas a fusões e aquisições, a segunda abordagem centra o seu foco na real efetividade do marketing que vem sendo praticado pelas empresas, considerando a marca como o elemento unificador de todas as suas ações mercadológicas. Assim, para identificar os níveis de produtividade obtidos através das ações de marketing, os estudiosos voltam-se para os consumidores, procurando compreender como estes agem e pensam a compra através das marcas. Utilizando-se desta última abordagem, procurou-se neste trabalho verificar a ocorrência de valorização da marca tendo como foco uma categoria de produto que representasse a definição de bem de conveniência. Avaliadas as possibilidades, optouse pela categoria de produtos iogurte. Partindo do pressuposto de que a valorização da marca é percebida pela ocorrência de uma reação diferenciada a uma ou algumas marcas, reação esta 5 identificada quando da exposição do comprador/ consumidor às diferentes marcas concorrentes, situação observável no momento da compra, realizou-se a presente pesquisa. Para a sua execução foram realizadas duas etapas de pesquisa: uma primeira de natureza exploratória com a realização de entrevistas junto a representantes do setor e também de dois grupos focais e uma outra etapa na qual se utilizou a técnica de análise multivariada denominada Conjoint Analysis. Os resultados demonstraram que, para este produto específico, a marca é um elemento fundamental na definição de compra, sendo o primeiro ou o segundo atributo mais valorizado pelos compradores / consumidores. Algumas possíveis explicações que referendam os resultados foram obtidas durante a primeira fase da pesquisa. Por fim, são expostos os possíveis caminhos para novas pesquisas na área de Valor de Marca.