Abstract:

In this paper, we develop a comprehensive model of M&A success. We integrate fundamental constructs of different schools and discuss their interdependencies with M&A success. Our theoretical framework was tested empirically across a sample of 106 SME transactions in the machinery, electronic, and logistic industries in the German-speaking part of Central Europe. The results of our study support the demand for an integrative perspective and theory on M&A. M&A success is a function of strategic complementarity, cultural fit, and the degree of integration. Strategic complementarity also positively influences cultural fit and the degree of integration. Cultural fit positively influences M&A success, but surprisingly has a negative impact on the speed and degree of integration. The degree of integration is positively related to speed of integration.

Füller, Johann, Roland Schroll, and Eric von Hippel (2013), "User Generated Brands and their Contribution to the Diffusion of User Innovations," Research Policy  

Abstract:

It has been argued that users can create innovations and also diffuse them peer-to-peer independent of support or involvement by producers: that “user-only” innovation systems can exist. It is known that users can be incented to innovate via benefits from in-house use. But users’ incentives to invest in diffusion are much less clear: benefits that others might obtain from their innovation can be largely or entirely an externality for user innovators.

Of course, effective distribution of information products can be done near-costlessly via posting downloadable content – for example, software – on the Internet. However, potential adopters must still learn about the product and trust its qualities. In producer systems, this aspect of diffusion is heavily supported via the creation of trusted brands. It has been shown that brands help to increase awareness, to communicate a product’s benefits, and to reduce perceived risks of adoption. The development of brands by producers is traditionally seen as a very costly exercise – unlikely to be thought of as worthwhile by users who expect little or no benefits from the diffusion of their innovations to others. In this paper, we explore the creation of a strong and trusted brand by the Apache software community – and find it was created costlessly, as a side effect of normal community functioning. We think the costless creation of strong brands is an option that is generally available to user innovation communities. It supports, we propose, the existence of robust, user-only innovation systems by helping to solve the problem of low-cost diffusion of trusted user-developed innovations.

"Drivers of customer-brand identification," International Journal of Research in Marketing

Abstract:

The concept of consumer–brand identification (CBI) is central to our understanding of how, when, and why brands help consumers articulate their identities. This paper proposes and tests an integrative theoretical framework of the antecedents of CBI. Six drivers of CBI, a moderator, and two consequences are posited and tested with survey data from a large sample of German household consumers. The results confirm the influence of five of the six drivers, namely, brand–self similarity, brand distinctiveness, brand social benefits, brand warmth, and memorable brand experiences. Further, we find that all five of these antecedents have stronger causal relationships with CBI when consumers have higher involvement with the brand's product category. Finally, CBI is tied to two important pro-company consequences, brand loyalty and brand advocacy. Theoretical and managerial significance of the findings are discussed.

"Democratizing Strategy: How Crowdsourcing can be Used for Strategy Dialogues," California Management Review  

Abstract:

Crowdsourcing is typically associated with the incorporation of company-external stakeholders such as customers in the value creating process. This article proposes a framework for a company-internal application of crowdsourcing methods. It presents a set of five goals companies can pursue employing internal crowdsourcing. The practical approach of an Austrian medium-sized technology company is described in detail, including insights on software design and appropriate procedures.

Vallaster, Christine and von Wallpach, Sylvia (forthcoming), "An online discursive inquiry into the social dynamics of multi-stakeholder brand meaning co-creation," Journal of Business Research  

Abstract:

Brand research increasingly recognizes the active role of multiple stakeholders in co-creating brand meaning and the importance of new social media supporting stakeholders in their co-creation efforts. However, empirical insights into the social process of online multi-stakeholder brand meaning co-creation are so far missing. This study contributes to existing research by illuminating the social dynamics that characterize multi-stakeholder brand meaning co-creation in a virtual environment. The authors undertake an online discursive inquiry focusing on stakeholders’ textual interactions regarding the UK Gate Gourmet brand crisis. The empirical study aggregates online stakeholder texts to illustrate (a) relationships between salient stakeholders and (b) discursive strategies and resources stakeholders apply to co-create brand meaning. The article concludes that brand meaning results from simultaneous interactions between interdependent stakeholders in a network (termed multi-log). Successfully managing brands requires management's active engagement in this multi-log.

von Wallpach, Sylvia and Maria Kreuzer (forthcoming), "Multi-sensory sculpting (MSS): Eliciting embodied brand knowledge via multi-sensory metaphors," Journal of Business Research  

Abstract:

Brand research increasingly recognizes the active role of multiple stakeholders in co-creating brand meaning and the importance of new social media supporting stakeholders in their co-creation efforts. However, empirical insights into the social process of online multi-stakeholder brand meaning co-creation are so far missing. This study contributes to existing research by illuminating the social dynamics that characterize multi-stakeholder brand meaning co-creation in a virtual environment. The authors undertake an online discursive inquiry focusing on stakeholders’ textual interactions regarding the UK Gate Gourmet brand crisis. The empirical study aggregates online stakeholder texts to illustrate (a) relationships between salient stakeholders and (b) discursive strategies and resources stakeholders apply to co-create brand meaning. The article concludes that brand meaning results from simultaneous interactions between interdependent stakeholders in a network (termed multi-log). Successfully managing brands requires management's active engagement in this multi-log.

Grohs, Reinhard, Udo Wagner, and Regina Steiner (2012), "An Investigation of Children's Ability to Identify Sponsors and Understand Sponsorship Intentions," Psychology & Marketing   

Abstract:

Sponsorship has become an important tool for companies that target children with their market offerings. Despite growing firm interest in assessing sponsorship effectiveness and public concern about the effects on children, research to date has not investigated how sponsorship functions for children. This article addresses both issues by examining children's perceptions of sponsors (i.e., ability to identify sponsors in different conditions) and their perceptions of sponsorship (i.e., ability to understand sponsorship intentions). Because prior research on these issues is scarce, the conceptual reasoning relies on findings from advertising literature pertaining to children and sponsorship literature. An empirical study features sponsorships in a theme park for children. The results reveal implications for managers and public policymakers, as well as avenues for further research.

Hoyer, Wayne D. and Nicola Stokburger-Sauer (2012), "The Role of Aesthetic Taste in Consumer Behavior," forthcoming in Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 40 (January), 167-180.

Abstract:

In light of the increasing interest in hedonic aspects of consumer behavior, it is clear that consumer taste plays a critical role in judgment and decision making, particularly for hedonic products and services. At the present time, however, our understanding of consumer aesthetic taste and its specific role for consumer behavior is limited. In this article, we review the literature from a variety of fields such as sociology, psychology, philosophy, and consumer behavior in order to develop a conceptual definition of consumer aesthetic taste. We then explore various issues related to taste and develop a conceptual framework for the relevance of expertise vs. taste in consumer decision-making. Finally, we present an agenda for future research on this important topic.

Grissemann, Ursula and Stokburger-Sauer, Nicola (2012), "Customer co-creation of travel services: The role of company support and customer satisfaction with the co-creation performance," Tourism Management, Vol. 33, 6, 1483–1492  

Abstract:

The tourism industry is characterized by high-contact services in which co-creation of customers plays a major role. This paper develops a conceptual model of customer co-creation of tourism services and empirically tests this model in a travel agency context. Applying a SEM-approach, company support for customers is found to significantly affect customer co-creation activities. The degree of co-creation further positively affects customer satisfaction with the service company, customer loyalty, and service expenditures. A test of the moderating effect of the customers’ satisfaction with their own co-creation performance on satisfaction with the service company and on service expenditures suggests that those customers who are satisfied with their co-creation spend more on their travel arrangements, but that they are less satisfied with the company. Important implications for co-creation theory and practice in high-contact service industries can be derived.

Hautz, Julia; Mayer, Michael; Stadler, Christian (2013), “Ownership Identity and Concentration: A Study of their Joint Impact on Corporate Diversification," British Journal of Management, Vol. 24, 1, 102-126  

Abstract:

This paper examines the impact of ownership on product and international diversification. While ownership concentration has received considerable attention from agency theorists we argue that a more nuanced analysis is necessary. We, specifically, consider how the identity of owners moderates the impact of ownership concentration on diversification strategies. We develop a framework that explains how the combination of different motivations, resources and capabilities associated with different types of owners results in significantly variable relationships between ownership concentration and both product and international diversification. From a theoretical perspective this suggests a social contextualization and extension of the agency theoretic approach that characterises the field. Based on a study of 222 European firms between 1994 and 2007 we show that family ownership concentration has a positive impact on product and a negative impact on international diversification while the impact of institutional and state ownership concentration is negative on product diversification and positive on international diversification compared to family ownership. This is the first study to provide a comprehensive framework explaining how ownership concentration and identity interact and affect both international and product diversification.

Thomas Kohler, Johann Füller, Kurt Matzler, and Daniel Stieger, (2011), "Co-Creation in Virtual Worlds: The Design of the User Experience," MIS Quarterly, Vol 35, 3, 773-788

Abstract:

Emerging virtual worlds, such as the prominent Second Life, offer unprecedented opportunities for companies to collaborate with co-creating users. However, pioneering corporate co-creation systems fail to attract a satisfying level of participation and engagement. The experience users have with the co-creation system is the key to making virtual places a vibrant source of great connections, creativity, and co-creation. While prior research on co-creation serves as a foundation for this work, it does not provide adequate guidance on how to design co-creation systems in virtual worlds. To address this shortcoming, a 20-month action research project was conducted to study the user’s experience and to identify design principles for virtual co-creation systems. In two action research cycles, a virtual co-creation system called Ideation Quest was created, deployed, evaluated, and improved. The study reveals how to design co-creation systems and enriches research on co-creation to fit the virtual world context. Practitioners receive a helpful framework to leverage virtual worlds for co-creation

Füller, Johann, Katja Hutter and Rita Faullant (2011), “Why Co-Creation Experience matters? Creative Experience and its Impact on the Quantity and Quality of Creative Contributions,” R&D Management, Vol. 43, 3, 259-273.  

Abstract:

This article introduces “virtual design competitions” as a new means of opening up the innovation process and enriching the companies “design-ideas” by utilising the creativity of a multiplicity of external designers and enthused consumers all over the world. The “Swarovski Enlightened Jewellery Design Competition”, explored in this study, demonstrates the enormous potential of virtual co-creation platforms. It further highlights the importance of the co-creation experience and its impact on the quantity and quality of designs submitted. First, we introduce the idea of virtual co-creation platforms and the requirements on the design of such a platform. Second, we explore the impact of the co-creation experience on the content contributed by participants. Our study shows that co-creation experience significantly impacts the number of contributions by consumers as well as the quality of submitted designs. Our paper contributes to a better theoretic understanding of the impact of a participant’s perceived autonomous, enjoyable, and competent experience, as well as participants’ perceived sense of community on their experience. From a managerial perspective, it provides guidance in designing successful idea and design competitions. While innovation managers may be interested in creative contributions, for participants, it is the experience which matters. Fully featured, community platforms rather than single idea submission websites are required to attract creative users to submit their ideas and designs.

Stokburger-Sauer, Nicola E. and Karin Teichmann (2011), "Is Luxury Just a Female Thing? The Role of Gender in Luxury Brand Consumption," forthcoming in Journal of Business Research, Special Issue.

Abstract:

Despite the fact that the functional value of luxury brands is usually not significantly higher than those of non-luxury brands, luxury brands can achieve significant price premiums in the market over non-luxury brands. Additionally, in a majority of markets and product categories, the price for female luxury brands is significantly higher compared to their male counterparts. These differences might result from a higher perceived symbolic and social value of such luxury brands that have traditionally been more important for women than for men. Two experimental studies and one survey study in three product categories (i.e., clothing, perfumes, and wristwatches) in the Western culture show that, overall, women have a more positive attitude towards and a higher purchase intention of luxury brands versus non-luxury brands than men. Additionally, for female consumers, luxury brands provide more uniqueness, status and hedonic value than non-luxury brands. Important implications for marketing theory and practice can be derived. Marketers are, for instance, well advised to use uniqueness claims in their advertising copy and to differentiate in their product designs between male and female target groups.

Abstract:

The identification with a brand enhances loyalty and purchase intentions. Little is known, however, if this relationship holds in a nation brand context and which variables drive nation brand identification (NBI). This study investigates the relevance of nation brand embeddedness (i.e., the social integration of the individual) and personality congruence (i.e., the congruence between an individual’s and a country’s personality) for NBI, nation brand advocacy and visit intentions. A study of 421 Germans as potential visitors of the Republic of Ireland as a holiday destination was conducted to test the proposed relationships. Results from structural equation modeling showed that NBI and personality congruence strongly influence visit intentions, while nation brand embeddedness is a strong predictor of brand advocacy. Important implications for destination management can be derived.

Brunner-Sperdin, Alexandra, Mike Peters and Andreas Strobl (2011), "It's all about the Emotional State: Managing Tourists' Experiences," International Journal of Hospitality Management  

Abstract:

When consuming tourism and leisure services tourists do not only expect professional services but also desire satisfying emotional experiences. To measure satisfaction with emotional experiences traditional service quality and satisfaction research is outdated because those models are based on cognitive components and neglect emotional aspects of customer satisfaction. This research investigates factors determining the service setting that enhance customers’ emotional reactions and lead to psychological states and behaviours. Referring to existing theories and empirical evidence in environmental psychology, a research model is developed explaining the relationship between different components of service settings influencing emotional states and satisfaction. Guests’ emotions are assessed during service consumption in hotel settings in order to investigate the importance of emotional states. The paper derives three main factors (leisure experience, hardware and human-ware) significantly influencing emotional states of customers in high-quality hotels.

Lüdicke, Marius K., Craig J. Thompson, and Markus Giesler (2010), "Consumption as Moral Protagonism: How Myth and Ideology Animate a Brand-Mediated Moral Conflict," Journal of Consumer Research, 36 (6), 1016-32.  

Abstract:

Consumer researchers have tended to equate consumer moralism with normative condemnations of mainstream consumer culture. 
Consequently, little research has investigated the multifaceted forms of identity work that consumers can undertake through more diverse 
ideological forms of consumer moralism. To redress this theoretical gap, we analyze the adversarial consumer narratives through which a 
brand-mediated moral conflict is enacted. We show that consumers’ moralistic identity work is culturally framed by the myth of the moral 
protagonist and further illuminate how consumers use this mythic structure to transform their ideological beliefs into dramatic narratives of identity. 
Our resulting theoretical framework explicates identity-value–enhancing relationships among mythic structure, ideological meanings, and 
marketplace resources that have not been recognized by prior studies of consumer identity work.

Müller, Julia, Katja Hutter, Johann Füller and Kurt Matzler (2010), “Virtual worlds as knowledge management platform – a practice-perspective,” Information Systems Journal   

Abstract:

Virtual worlds, as electronic environments where individuals can interact in a realistic manner in form of avatars, are increasingly used by gamers, consumers and employees. Therefore, they provide opportunities for reinventing business processes. Especially, effective knowledge management (KM) requires the use of appropriate information and communication technology (ICT) as well as social interaction. Emerging virtual worlds enable new ways to support knowledge and knowing processes because these virtual environments consider social aspects that are necessary for knowledge creating and knowledge sharing processes. Thus, collaboration in virtual worlds resembles real-life activities. In this paper, we shed light on the use of Second Life (SL) as a KM platform in a real-life setting. To explore the potential and current usage of virtual worlds for knowledge and knowing activities, we conducted a qualitative study at IBM. We interviewed IBM employees belonging to a special workgroup called ‘Web 2.0/virtual worlds’ in order to gain experience in generating and exchanging knowledge by virtually collaborating and interacting. Our results show that virtual worlds – if they are able to overcome problems like platform stability, user interface or security issues – bear the potential to serve as a KM platform. They facilitate global and simultaneous interaction, create a common context for collaboration, combine different tools for communication and enhance knowledge

Koll, Oliver, Sylvia von Wallpach, and Maria Kreuzer (2010), “Multi-Method Research on Consumer-Brand Associations: Comparing free associations, storytelling and collages,” Psychology and Marketing, 27 (6), 584-602.  

Abstract:

What consumers know and think consciously and unconsciously about a brand influences their attitudes and behaviors towards the brand and ultimately brand success. Therefore, keeping track of what consumers know is advisable. This article considers the value of using three approaches to assess brand knowledge: free association technique, storytelling, and collage-creation. Each method is suitable to tap and reproduce different aspects of brand knowledge. The empirical study combines the three methods in an explorative setting to retrieve consumer brand knowledge regarding a major sports brand. The study compares knowledge that each method elicits and provides brand management with recommendations how to decide when to use each method and whether to employ one or more of these methods.

Kohler, Thomas, Kurt Matzler, and Johan Füller (2009), "Avatar-based innovation: Using virtual worlds for real-world innovation," Technovation, 29 (6/7), 395-407.  

  Abstract:

The purpose of this article is to explore the opportunities virtual worlds offer for real-world innovations. By integrating users of virtual worlds into an interactive new product development process, companies can tap customers’ innovative potential using the latest technology. Connecting the emerging technology of virtual worlds with a customer-centric perspective of open innovation allows unique and inventive opportunities to capitalize on users’ innovative potential and knowledge. The concept of avatar-based innovation serves as a point of origin to reveal these possibilities and represents the first attempt to systematically take advantage of virtual worlds for innovation management. In doing so, this paper argues that latest advances of information and communication technologies enrich the interaction process and can improve new product development process. Further, characteristics are presented that suggest that the digital environment is especially conducive to innovation and creative tasks. Based on theoretical insights, the analysis of eight cases (Coca-Cola, Steelcase, Osram, Alcatel-Lucent, Toyota Scion, Endemol, Aloft, and Mazda), participant observation directly within the virtual world and 23 interviews with both managers and customers, this paper demonstrates how virtual worlds allow producers and consumers to swarm together with like-minded individuals to create new products and permits companies to find an audience to test, use, and provide feedback on the content and products they create. We highlight the active roles avatars can play throughout the whole innovation process, and demonstrate the opportunities of how manufacturers and customers could collaborate to innovate from idea to launch. A few pathfinding companies experiment with avatars as a source of innovation. Specifically, the initiatives of Osram, Steelcase, Mazda, and Toyota truly link the concepts of open innovation and virtual worlds to employ the interactive technology for new product development. These efforts are critically analyzed to examine the hypothesized potential of avatar-based innovation. The cases pinpoint practical implications and reveal both preconditions and challenges of this new approach to interactive new product development. The results suggest that in order to fully realize the potential of avatar-based innovation, companies need to create a compelling open innovation experience and consider the peculiarities of virtual worlds..

Hemetsberger, Andrea and Christian Reinhardt (2009), "Collective Development in Open-Source Communities: An Activity Theoretical Perspective on Successful Online Collaboration," Organization Studies, 30 (9), 987 - 1008.  

 Abstract:

Online collaboration is often organized without strong predetermined rules or central authority, which is why coordination and ways of organizing cooperation become crucial elements of collaboration. This article investigates how online projects can overcome problems of dispersed work, solve inherent contradictions and utilize tensions in the activity system to develop collaborative artefacts and practices. Empirical evidence is based on a detailed observation of a successful open-source project — the K Desktop Environment (KDE). Our findings show that successful collaboration is based on coattailing systems. Coat-tailing means to inextricably bind together individual action and collective activity through careful design of complexes of technological, mental and cultural artefacts.

Kozinets, Robert V., Andrea Hemetsberger, and Hope J. Schau (2008),"The Wisdom of Consumer Crowds: Collective Innovation in the Age of Networked Marketing," Journal of Macromarketing, 28 (4), 339 - 54.  

Abstract

Past theories of consumer innovation and creativity were devised before the emergence of the profound collaborative possibilities of technology. With the diffusion of networking technologies, collective consumer innovation is taking on new forms that are transforming the nature of consumption and work and, with it, society and marketing. We theorize, examine, dimensionalize, and organize these forms and processes of online collective consumer innovation. Extending past theories of informationalism, we follow this macro-social paradigm shift into grassroots regions that have irrevocable impacts on business and society. Business and society need categories and procedures to guide their interactions with this powerful and growing phenomenon. We classify and describe four types of online creative consumer communities—Crowds, Hives, Mobs, and Swarms. Collective innovation is produced both as an aggregated byproduct of everyday information consumption and as a result of the efforts of talented and motivated groups of innovative e-tribes.

Grohs, Reinhard, Udo M. Wagner, and Sabine Vsetecka (2004), "Assessing the Effectiveness of Sport Sponsorships – An Empirical Examination," Schmalenbach Business Review, 56 (2), 119 - 38.  

  Abstract:

Recent surveys find that while managers favored issues of media coverage not more than ten years ago, now they rate sponsor awareness and image transfer from the sponsored event to the sponsor as the main reasons for engaging in sport sponsorships. However, the evaluation of sponsorships has not kept up with this change in priorities. Companies seem to be reluctant to evaluate sponsor awareness even though measurement is straightforward and not very costly. An important reason might be that previous studies showed unsatisfying effects of “ambush marketing”. In this form of marketing, other firms make consumers believe, incorrectly, that these companies are the actual sponsors of an event. In the case of image transfer, evaluation seems to be difficult due to a lack of a compelling comprehensive and testable model. We examine these obstacles of assessing sponsor awareness and image transfer in sport sponsorships in two ways. As a means of reducing the danger of ambush marketing, we analyze what drives correct sponsor identification. Our empirical results indicate that event-sponsor fit, event involvement, and exposure are the dominant factors predicting sponsor recall. These factors offer sponsors a basis for successful sponsorship planning and execution through the selection of an appropriate sponsorship. Second, we propose and empirically test a model that assesses image transfer in sport sponsorships. We find support for a basic level of image transfer for all sponsors. However, more detailed research and interpretation of results suggests that the magnitude of image transfer depends on two factors, sponsorship leverage and event-sponsor fit.