Arbeitgebermarkenaufbau durch informelle Hochschul-Personalmarketingma?nahmen: Eine empirische Analyse im deutschen Mittelstand

Firms use HR marketing practices in order to enhance organizational attractiveness and consequently to attract highly qualified applicants. This issue is of particular importance for rather unknown small and medium-sized firms from the German Mittelstand which still need to build their employer brand. In this paper we empirically observe the impact of two campus-recruitment practices (company presentation during lecture and participation at an university internal career fair) on employer brand equity and subsequently on application intention. Our results suggest that both practices account for building an employer brand. Yet, the company presentation showed marginally greater effect sizes. Additionally, we found that both practices interact with each other, elevating each other??s impact. Thus, the career fair only showed its full potential, when further HR marketing practices were conducted.     

Verwertungserlöse von Kreditsicherheiten: Eine empirische Analyse notleidender Unternehmenskredite

Prediction models of recovery rates gain in importance because of the Basel II-framework, the impact on credit risk management, and the calculation of loan rates. Although the importance of the quota of collateral is beyond dispute in academic literature, only few studies exist analyze the real payments when the collateral is realized. This is the main focus of this paper. It can be shown that the net payments of the realized collateral are on average considerably below the predicted values. A large period between the time of default of the borrower and the begin of the realization leads to smaller ratios, calculated as the net payments divided by the predicted values, whereas the intensity of the client relationship and the macroeconomic conditions have only a marginal influence. The ratio differs significantly when analyzing different kinds of collateral. Furthermore, it is higher for small companies. It cannot be found any influence of the “Insolvenzrechtsreform” in 1999 in Germany.     

Kosten und Kostentreiber von unerwünschten Werbemails (Spam) — Eine empirische Analyse auf Provider- und Anwenderseite

Zusammenfassung  In der Literatur wird diskutiert, dass unerwünschte Werbemails (Spam) sowohl auf individueller als auch auf volkswirtschaftlicher Ebene erhebliche Kosten verursachen, deren H?he jedoch unbestimmt ist. Diese Fragestellung wird mit zwei empirischen Untersuchungen adressiert, in denen die Mitarbeiter einer Universit?t zu ihren Spam-Kosten befragt wurden. Die Daten werden mit Hilfe von Finite Mixture Regressions analysiert. In der Betrachtung der Kosten ergibt sich der Befund, dass die auf individueller Ebene entstehenden Kosten die zentralen Kosten auf IT-Ebene deutlich übersteigen. Es zeigt sich, dass die Spam-Belastung bei den Mitarbeitern heterogen verteilt ist und dass ein Spamfilter vor allem bei stark belasteten Nutzern zu einer Kostenersparnis führt. Um die Heterogenit?t in der Spam-Wahrnehmung und die Angst vor Fehlklassifikationen zu berücksichtigen, sollten die Nutzer die M?glichkeit haben, auf einfache Art auf den Filterprozess einzuwirken.

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Costs and cost drivers of unsolicited bulk email (spam) — an empirical analysis

Summary  This paper empirically addresses the often claimed assumption that unsolicited bulk e-mail (spam) causes significant costs — on the individual level as well as for the entire society. To shed light on this problem, employees of a large university were interviewed twice in order to determine the individual costs caused by spam and to identify the relevant cost drivers using finite mixture regressions. The results indicate a heterogeneous distribution of spam load and the resulting costs. The panel approach yields the conclusion that spam filters lead to a reduction of costs only for users severely troubled by spam. Furthermore, people tend to become active against spam only when a certain threshold of spam burden is reached. The costs caused by spam for the users exceed the central IT-related expenses by far. For the implementation of spam filters the results suggest a two step procedure to be most efficient: central actions should be taken to block e-mails that can be unambiguously identified as spam. Further, users should be given the opportunity to influence the filtering process in order to account for heterogeneity and their fear of false classification.

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Die Autoren bedanken sich sehr herzlich bei den Mitarbeitern des Rechenzentrums der Christian-Albrechts-Universit?t zu Kiel für die intensive Kooperation. Wir danken zudem Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. S?nke Albers, Christian Barrot, Eva Bl?meke und Christina Schmidt-St?lting für die zahlreichen Hinweise zu früheren Fassungen des Aufsatzes. Auch die beiden Gutachter und das Herausgeberteam der ZfB haben zahlreiche Verbesserungsvorschl?ge gemacht, die zu einer substanziellen Verbesserung des Manuskripts geführt haben.     

Steuerreformen durch Tarif-oder Zeiteffekte? Eine Analyse am Beispiel der Thesaurierungsbegünstigung für Personenunternehmen

Zusammenfassung  Der Beitrag diskutiert Tarif- und Zinseffekte anhand der begünstigten Besteuerung nicht entnommener Gewinne von Personengesellschaften, die 2008 in Deutschland eingeführt wurde. Bei Eigenfinanzierung und Betrachtung von Grenzsteuers?tzen zeigt der Beitrag, dass die Thesaurierungsbegünstigung stets nachteilig ist, wenn eine abgeltend besteuerte private Kapitalmarktanlage die Alternativanlage darstellt. Müssen Gewinne thesauriert werden, weil Mittel im Unternehmen ben?tigt werden, so entf?llt die private Alternativanlage und die Thesaurierungsbegünstigung kann bei hohen Zins- und Steuers?tzen vorteilhaft sein. Wird die Einkommensteuerprogression berücksichtigt, zeigt der Beitrag, dass bei schwankenden Gewinnen die Thesaurierungsbegünstigung oftmals vorteilhaft ist, auch gegenüber der Abgeltungsteuer. Bei fremdfinanzierten Investitionen kann die Inanspruchnahme der Thesaurierungsbegünstigung sehr vorteilhaft sein, da die geringere Steuerzahlung bei Gewinnanfall den Umfang des ben?tigten Fremdkapitals mindert. Insgesamt zeigt sich, dass sich Reformen von Steuertarifen wesentlich st?rker auf die Vorteilhaftigkeit von Investitionen auswirken als Zinseffekte.

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Tax reforms by tax rate effects or timing effects? An analysis based an the German tax privilege for retained earnings

Summary  This paper analyzes two typical effects of tax reforms, tax rate effects and timing effects. The example chosen for the analysis is the tax privilege for retained profits of partnerships and sole proprietorships, which was implemented in Germany in 2008. Taking equity-financing and top marginal tax rates into account, the so-called tax privilege turns out to be a disadvantage under most assumptions. If the alternative investment is private capital income taxed at a flat-rate tax, the tax privilege will always be disadvantageous. If profits have to be retained and business income is the alternative investment, then the tax privilege will be advantageous in case of high income tax rates and interest rates. Analyzing progressive tax rates instead of top marginal tax rates reveals favorable results in case of fluctuating profits if the tax privilege is claimed. The same is true if debtfinancing is taken into account. All in all, the paper shows that a reform of tax rates influences the attractiveness of investments much more compared to timing effects.

     

Zur Berücksichtigung von Heterogenit?t versus funktionaler Flexibilit?t in Absatzreaktionsmodellen: Eine empirische Studie auf Basis von Handelsdaten

In this paper, we explore the differences between store sales models that allow for heterogeneity in marketing effects across stores and models that accommodate potential irregularities in sales response through the use of nonparametric estimation techniques. In particular, we investigate the following question: What benefits can we gain from incorporating store heterogeneity versus functional flexibility in sales response models concerning fit and predictive validity, as compared to a simple parametric store sales model? In an empirical study based on store-level data, we also compare the different model versions with respect to estimated price elasticities and resulting shapes for own- and cross-price effects. Our empirical results indicate that addressing heterogeneity is not advantageous in general, as model fit, predictive validity and the accuracy of price elasticities did not improve for many brands. In contrast, estimating sales response flexibly provides much more potential for statistical improvements and leads to different implications concerning price elasticities, too.     

Der Einfluss von Kognition und Affekt auf Unternehmensgründungsentscheidungen: Eine vergleichende Analyse von Angestellten und Unternehmern

The relationship between individuals?? entrepreneurial behavior and objective situational characteristics of an entrepreneurial opportunity??individual-opportunity nexus??lies in the focus of entrepreneurship research. The role of subjective appraisals and affective influences in the pre-entrepreneurial process was neglected in this context so far. On the basis of a questionnaire experiment with two different samples of employees and entrepreneurs, our results confirm central assumptions of cognitive appraisal and emotion theories. The subjective appraisals of objective entrepreneurial opportunities better predict entrepreneurial evaluation and exploitation decisions than the objective characteristics of the entrepreneurial opportunity. Furthermore, the results show in addition to an inverse direct effect of negative affect that the relationship between the entrepreneurial evaluation and exploitation is negatively moderated by negative affect. Our analyses indicate that the two subsamples show differences in their cognitive processes, but that they are still generally comparable. The affective influences on the pre-entrepreneurial process, however, demonstrate no group specific differences. These results extend the individual-opportunity-nexus-paradigm that is based on objective characteristics by examining the meaning of subjective appraisals and affective reactions and therefore the intersection of individuals and entrepreneurial opportunities.     

Die Wirkung von informellen und internetbasierten Rekrutierungskanälen auf den Rekrutierungserfolg: Eine empirische Analyse in kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen

This study analyses the impact of informal and web-based recruitment sources on several dimensions of SME recruitment success. Our results show that informal recruitment sources unfold a different impact on applicant-pool quantity and -quality, and applicant fit than web-based recruitment sources. Informal recruitment sources (recruitment via personal networks, employee referrals etc.) enhance applicant-pool quality, person-organization fit and person-job fit. Web-based recruitment sources primarily increases applicant-pool quantity. HR-recruitment websites also unfold a positive effect on applicant-pool quality. Accordingly, the use of these recruitment sources needs to be planned in a strategic manner, in order to achieve firm specific recruitment goals regarding applicant-pool quantity and –quality.     

Zum Einfluss der Inhaberführung auf die Betriebsrat-Geschäftsführer-Beziehung – Eine theoretische und empirische Analyse in mittelständischen Unternehmen

This paper examines the quality of the relationship between business managements and works councils in small and medium-sized enterprises and strives for answering the question, which factors determine the quality. As ownership is an important determining factor of the establishment of works councils in small and medium-sized businesses, especially the impact of ownership on this relationship has been investigated. Agency theory and stewardship theory give hints that the owner management can have different impacts on this relationship. In order to test these contradictory hypotheses we have estimated a Heckman selection model to investigate which factors determine the quality of the relationship between business managements and works councils. Our results based on data generated from a survey in small and medium-sized enterprises conducted by the IfM Bonn in the years 2005 and 2006 indicate that ownership has a negative influence on the establishment of works councils, but a positive one on the quality of the relationship between business management and works council. Thus, the hypotheses predicting the existence of stewardship behaviour among owners and the existence of agency behaviour among managers can be confirmed.     

Wie gehen wissensintensive Dienstleister mit eigenen Wissenslücken um?

With the conducted Delphi study diverse alternatives could be identified which have been used by Consultants in dealing with their own unawareness. Superior strategies, which controlled the adoption of individual steps and oriented the activities in dealing with unawareness, as well as organisational regulations for dealing with unawareness, were noticeable, which could be adopted depending on the subjective perception and assessment of the present unawareness and its relevance and impacts. The detected strategies ranged from the maintenance and use of unawareness to open communication and elimination of unawareness to total ignorance and the hiding of unawareness. Concerning organisational regulations, on the one hand formal regulations and on the other hand informal regulations could be found.     

Kann zu viel Kundenorientierung nachteilig sein? Eine Analyse der Wirkung der Kundenorientierung von Verkäufern auf die Kaufentscheidung

Zusammenfassung  In diesem Beitrag wird analysiert, wie das kundenorientierte Verk?uferverhalten auf die Kaufentscheidung der Kunden wirkt. Die Analyse erfolgt auf der Ebene der Dimensionen des kundenorientierten Verkaufens, namentlich Entscheidungsunterstützung, Aufbau eines positiven Gespr?chsklimas und Vermeidung von Abschlussdruck. Die Ergebnisse best?tigen die indirekte Wirkung des kundenorientierten Verkaufens auf die Kaufentscheidung über die Beratungszufriedenheit. Daneben k?nnen sowohl ein direkter umgekehrt u-f?rmiger Effekt der Vermeidung von Abschlussdruck auf die Kaufentscheidung als auch ein direkter negativer Einfluss des Aufbaus eines positiven Gespr?chsklimas auf die Kaufentscheidung nachgewiesen werden. Zudem zeigt sich, dass der Aufbau eines positiven Gespr?chsklimas den st?rksten Einfluss auf die Beratungszufriedenheit ausübt.

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Can too much customer orientation be less effective? An analysis of the effects of customer-oriented selling on customers’ decision to buy

Summary  This research investigates the effects of customer-oriented selling on customers’ decision to buy. In so doing, the focus of the analysis is on the effects of the dimensions of customer-oriented selling, namely supporting customer decision-making, building a positive interaction climate, and avoiding pressure to close the sale. The findings of an empirical study support an indirect effect of customer-oriented selling on customers’ decision to buy through customer satisfaction with the sales interaction. The results also support a direct inverted u-shaped effect of avoiding pressure to close the sale on customers’ decision to buy as well as a direct negative effect of building a positive interaction climate on customers’ decision to buy. And building a positive interaction climate was found to have the strongest effect on customer satisfaction with the sales interaction.

Der Autor dankt den zwei anonymen Gutachtern für die wertvollen Anmerkungen und Anregungen zu einer früheren Version dieses Beitrags.     

Warum kann die Wirkung von Maßnahmen eines Unternehmens auf das Vertrauen des Partners kulturabhängig sein?

Several studies give recommendations which actions a company can take to build its partners’ trust in business relationships. Studies report that, for instance, a company’s flexibility and detailed contractual agreements may positively affect the partner’s trust. However, cultural norms may moderate the effects of potential actions on the partner’s trust and this has hardly been considered in relevant literature. The present paper explains why actions a company takes may have different effects on trust in different cultures. Suggestions for future research and the design of empirical studies are proposed.     

Wird die Relevanz von Ertragsteuern für die Unternehmensrechnung nach rechtlichen oder ökonomischen Kriterien beurteilt?

Textbooks in the areas of Management Accounting, Finance and Valuation treat taxes very differently. Finance and Valuation increasingly consider tax effects. Management Accounting considers taxes only if they meet certain legal “cost” criteria. These criteria follow tax law rules, but not economic rules and primarily consider tax effects of the local business tax only. This view is also reflected in recent cost accounting regulations. We present evidence from a survey of managers and chambers of commerce, according to which practitioners’ views of whether the local business tax is a cost are heterogeneous. The majority of managers do not consider the local business tax as a cost and do not pass it on to customers. The chambers of commerce however still consider the local business tax as a cost.