Preis-Promotion-Framing – Ein Überblick zum Stand der Forschung

This article reviews published literature and provides an overview on present empirical evidence about the framing of price promotions. Concerning explicit price reductions (discounts, coupons, rebates), the effects of advertised reference prices and different frames of price discounts (relative versus absolute price discount, objective versus tensile price claims) on consumers’ reactions are discussed. Furthermore, the article examines empirical results on implicit price reductions (volume packs, free extra products) as well as on sale signs and restrictions (e.g. purchase limits, time limits) as popular ways of framing a deal. The key findings point out that framing a price promotion in different ways can affect consumers’ perceptions and evaluations of the deal. Based on the reviewed literature, the concluding section provides managerial implications and an agenda for further research.     

Die deutschen Gewerkschaften: Ein Review der aktuellen Forschungsliteratur

Unions, particularly in Germany, are the subject matter of intense public debates as well as discussions in academic research, which corroborate the former. The last systematically conducted analysis of the status quo in academic research was done in spring 2001. In view of the rather dramatic symptoms of the crisis German unions are facing, it is time to incorporate the latest results of scientific research. This paper addresses this task against the background of a systematic literature review. Three application areas are distilled out of a total of 79 pieces of research that are considered relevant and intensively discussed: (1) the membership in German unions, (2) the unions in the German system of industrial relations and (3) the reformation of the German unions. The detected symptoms of the unions' crisis are impressively documented and explained by the studies. However, shortcomings regarding the respective research questions and the development of recommendations for future courses of action for the unions can also be identified.     

Wertschöpfungspotenziale und strategische Implikationen einer Öffnung von Informationsressourcen – Phänomenologie und ein Bezugsrahmen

For some years, companies have successfully harnessed the value-creation potential of external resources by opening up their information resources, thus increasing considerably the value of their own resources. Corresponding phenomena, however, cannot be explained by common resource-based approaches. By providing a structure, our article contributes to a deeper understanding of this issue. We develop a framework, grounded in the Resource-Based View, that differentiates phenomena of opening up information resources between two dimensions: (1) access and (2) control. Our analysis motivates an extended view of information resources management that also accounts for enterprise-external resources. We conceptualize this view as the “management of information spheres,” highlighting the need for further research in the field of value creation related to external resources.     

Humankapitalbewertung bei der BASF Coatings AG – Eine anwendungsorientierte Modifizierung und Operationalisierung der Saarbrücker Formel mit dem Schwerpunkt der Wissensbewertung

The present paper describes the concrete application of an integrated Human capital measurement at BASF Coatings AG. For this purpose the Saarbrücker Formula has been broaden by factors that are of practical relevance. The resulting necessary adjustments in terms of definitions, delimitations and calculation logics of the Saarbrücker Formula lead to the extension and development of the approach. The so generated extended formula enables other companies to evaluate their human capital in a sensible way and to derive personnel-politically measures and therefore to overcome the gap between theory and praxis.     

Ability, individual development and optimal selection decisions

The paper analyzes different selection policies in education and business. We show that incorrect self-perceptions combined with imperfect performance measurement may cause significant welfare losses in selective educational systems, in particular if selection starts too early. Of course, these welfare losses can be mitigated by an investment in better ability assessment. However, an affirmative action policy could serve the same purpose as such an investment. We apply our analysis also to diversity management in firms. Based on positive discrimination we establish an efficiency argument for diversity management.     

Rapid Trading bei deutschen Aktienfonds: Evidenz aus einer großen deutschen Fondsgesellschaft

This paper is the first to examine rapid trading among German equity mutual fund investors. Using data on inflows and outflows provided by a large German mutual fund company for all of its equity funds, we find strong evidence for rapid trading. It is particularly pronounced for small funds, risky funds, funds with low nominal prices, and international funds. However, we find no evidence of market timing activities. Furthermore, unlike in the US, rapid trading is less pronounced for funds with high loads. This shows that rapid trading among German fund investors is not explained by churning due to brokers’ advice. Rather, our results are consistent with the view that some investors use mutual funds for short-term, speculative purposes. The funds among which we observe the strongest rapid trading show lottery-like characteristics. Regarding fund performance, we find (at most) only very weak evidence for a negative impact of rapid trading on fund performance before the fund scandal of 2003, and no evidence afterwards.     

Investorenreaktionen auf die Fair Value-Bilanzierung von Verbindlichkeiten nach IFRS – eine experimentelle Untersuchung

The fair value-option in IAS 39 allows fair value measurement for liabilities. It is often criticized that a change in a company’s own credit risk affects the value of its liabilities. Therefore it is doubtful whether the fair value-option is in fact useful for investors’ decision making process. Due to a lack of empirical studies concerning the understandability and the decision usefulness of the fair value-option, this paper contains the results of an experimental investigation. We find that investors are misled by fair values for liabilities, though under some circumstances they learn to interpret the financial data correctly. We compare fair value measurement of liabilities with an accounting treatment based on German GAAP.     

Verallgemeinerte DEA-Modelle zur Performanceanalyse

Dyckhoff and Allen derived a generalisation of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in order to measure ecological efficiency. This approach distinguishes between inputs and outputs of an activity on the one hand and their impact on the relevant evaluation criteria—referred to as efforts and benefits—on the other hand. Thereby, the current framework of the DEA for analysing the relative performance of productive units is fundamentally extended. The relevance of this framework is not limited to ecological aspects because many essential problems of DEA application can be solved. Against this background, the paper presents a formalisation of the generalised DEA, applies it to the well-known basic DEA models, and concretises these models for linear effort and benefit functions.     

Hierarchische Planung für industrielle Logistikdienstleister

In this paper a planning and control system for logistics service providers (called LPS system) is developed under consideration of their specific flexibility potentials. Due to the complexity of such planning decisions (different planning levels and data quality of these levels as well as time horizons etc.), a multi-stage, hierarchical planning system is proposed which minimizes the relevant costs under consideration of the flexibilities. The advantage of a hierarchical planning concept consists in a limited planning complexity because otherwise data collection and solution development would lead to unsolvable problems in practice. The results of using LPS systems for a real-life case show a significant pay-off for logistics service providers due to the remarkable cost savings by applying a hierarchical planning concept.     

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.