Branding and the risk management imperative

In an increasingly risky socioeconomic environment, management needs to proactively consider brand-related risks. To understand brands as tools for risk management, they need to understand four types of brand risk: brand reputation risk, brand dilution risk, brand cannibalization risk and brand stretch risk. Risk management is not a natural act for brand managers trained in astute execution of the 4 Ps, and contemporary market factors make this more challenging still. With an increasingly polarized society, it is almost impossible for brands to remain untouched by ideologies. In addition, the growth in digital advertising gives brand managers less control over advertising placement and context, and the mandate to keep growing adds executional risk. The more exposed a brand is to brand risk, the more attention this topic will need in the boardroom. To shift a company’s marketing philosophy toward risk, it is important to define marketing competences in a broader way, to be self-critical and to be proactive.Published versio

The frontlines of brand risk: interview with Patrick Marrinan

Whether it be the NFL, Dove, Wells Fargo, VW or countless others–managers need only open a daily newspaper to see how things can go terribly wrong for brands. Decline can be fast and the landing hard. In a contemporary marketplace where ideologies reign and social media guarantees the spread of (mis)information at light speed, a lot of what we think we know about brand marketing needs to be rethought through a risk-management lens. “For me, brand risk is any event, action or condition with the potential to damage a brand’s value, thereby making revenue generation and a company’s market value less than it should or could have been,” Patrick Marrinan, Managing Principal of Marketing Scenario Analytica, states. In his talk with Susan Fournier and Shuba Srinivasan, Patrick illustrates the many facets of a risk that has only begun to be recognized as a serious threat to carefully cultivated brand assets. Here we share what to watch out for and what brands can do to protect against risk.Published versio

use natural gas consumption in 201Scenarios to decarbonize residential water heating in California

This paper presents the first detailed long-term stock turnover model to investigate scenarios to decarbonize the residential water heating sector in California, which is currently dominated by natural gas. We model a mix of water heating (WH) technologies including conventional and on-demand (tank-less) natural gas heating, electric resistance, existing electric heat pumps, advanced heat pumps with low global warming refrigerants and solar thermal water heaters. Technically feasible policy scenarios are developed by considering combinations of WH technologies with efficiency gains within each technology, lowering global warming potential of refrigerants and decreasing grid carbon intensity. We then evaluate energy demand, emissions and equipment replacement costs of the pathways. We develop multiple scenarios by which the annual greenhouse gas emissions from residential water heaters in California can be reduced by over 80% from 1990 levels resulting in an annual savings of over 10 Million Metric Tons by 2050. The overall cost of transition will depend on future cost reductions in heat pump and solar thermal water heating equipment, energy costs, and hot water consumption

Examining the impact of the venture funding crisis on male and female-led technology start-ups

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 25-25).Women in technology have always been a minority and the number of women who are founders of venture backed start-ups is even lower. This research empirically investigates venture capital funding received by entrepreneurs along the twin dimensions of gender and geography. The ideal experiment would have been to study the numbers of entrepreneurs who pitch their ideas to venture capitalists by gender, and correlate that number with attrition rates during each stage, and finally study the funding outcome, fully accounting for survivor bias. This data could not be accessed. Therefore, we decided to use the financial crisis of 2008 which resulted in illiquid capital markets as a proxy, and studied pre- and post-crisis funding outcomes. The study assumes Q3'08 as date of crisis. The results indicate that gender does not affect the chances of receiving follow-on funding. The key factors that affected funding were the participation of reputed investors in the pre-crisis funding event, and geographic location of the venture. Men founders were more likely to receive follow-on funding in Massachusetts compared to women founders, while women had a significantly better chance of receiving funding in California compared to their male counterparts. We then investigated the cause of the surprising results. Our analysis indicated that the majority of the women founders who received pre-crisis funding in California were either experienced entrepreneurs with prior founding experience, or possessed an advanced technical degree (Ph.D.). This was in sharp contrast to the women who founded technology companies in Massachusetts who were mostly first time founders, and the majority did not possess advanced technical degrees.by Shuba Swaminathan.M.B.A

The common and uncommon cestodal infestation encountered in routine histopathological practice from a semi-urban population in south India and their public health importance.

Parasites are encountered uncommonly in routine histopathologic practice. Among them, cestodes form a major bulk. Cysticercosis heads the list forming the bulk of cases followed by Hydatidosis and Sparganosis. Microscopic identification of inflammation with surrounding reactions along with other morphological features forms the mainstay of diagnosis of parasitic diseases on histopathology. Identification of the parasites on histopathological examination would reduce the cost-diagnosis ratio avoiding expensive serological investigation

Reference-based transitions in short-run price elasticity

Marketing literature has long recognized that price response need not be monotonic and symmetric, but has yet to provide generalizable market-level insights on reference price type, asymmetric thresholds and sign and magnitude of elasticity transitions. In this paper, we introduce smooth transition models to study reference-based price response across 25 fast moving consumer good categories. Our application to 100 brands shows that 77% demonstrate reference-based price response, of which 36% reflects historical reference prices, 31% reflects competitive reference prices, and 33% reflects both types of reference prices. This reference-based price response shows asymmetry for gains versus losses on three levels: the threshold size, the sign and the magnitude of the elasticity difference. For historical reference prices, the threshold size is larger for gains (20%) than for losses (12%) and the assimilation/contrast effects for gains (-0.41) are smaller than the saturation effects for losses (0.81). For competitive reference prices, the threshold size is smaller for gains (3%) than for losses (16%), and the saturation effects are larger for gains (0.33) than for losses (0.15). These results are moderated by both brand and category characteristics that affect reference price accessibility and diagnosticity. Historical reference prices more often play a role for national brands, for planned purchases and in inexpensive categories with low price volatility and high purchase frequency. When price discounting, high-share brands face larger latitudes of acceptance. When raising prices, saturation effects set in later for brands with high price volatility and for categories with high price spread and for planned purchases. As for competitive reference prices, saturation effects set in later for expensive brands with high price volatility and in categories with lower price volatility, higher price spread and higher concentration. Sales, revenue and margin implications are illustrated for price changes typically observed in consumer markets

Optical selection rules of zigzag graphene nanoribbons

PublishedThis is the final version of the article. Available from American Physical Society via the DOI in this record.We present an analytical tight-binding theory of the optical properties of graphene nanoribbons with zigzag edges. Applying the transfer matrix technique to the nearest-neighbor tight-binding Hamiltonian, we derive analytical expressions for electron wave functions and optical transition matrix elements for incident light polarized along the structure axis. It follows from the obtained results that optical selection rules result from the wave function parity factor (−1)J, where J is the band number. These selection rules are that ΔJ is odd for transitions between valence and conduction subbands and that ΔJ is even for transitions between only valence (conduction) subbands. Although these selection rules are different from those in armchair carbon nanotubes, there is a hidden correlation between absorption spectra of the two structures that should allow one to use them interchangeably in some applications. The correlation originates from the fact that van Hove singularities in the tubes are centered between those in the ribbons if the ribbon width is about a half of the tubes circumference. The analysis of the matrix elements dependence on the electron wave vector for narrow ribbons shows a smooth nonsingular behavior at the Dirac points and the points where the bulk states meet the edge states.This work was supported by the EU FP7 ITN NOTEDEV (Grant No. FP7-607521), EU H2020 RISE project CoExAN (Grant No. H2020-644076), FP7 IRSES projects CANTOR (Grant No. FP7-612285), QOCaN (Grant No. FP7-316432), InterNoM (Grant No. FP7-612624), and Graphene Flagship (Grant No. 604391). The authors are very thankful to R. Keens and C. A. Downing for a careful reading of the manuscript and to A. Shytov and K. G. Batrakov for useful advice and fruitful discussions

Do Promotions Benefit Manufacturers, Retailers or Both?

While there has been strong managerial and academic interest in price promotions, much of the focus has been on the impact of such promotions on category sales, brand sales and brand choice. In contrast, little is known about the long-run impact of price promotions on manufacturer and retailer revenues and margins, although both marketing researchers and practitioners consider this a priority area (Marketing Science Institute 2000). Do promotions generate additional revenue and for whom? Which brand, category and market conditions influence promotional benefits and their allocation across manufacturers and retailers? To answer these questions, we conduct a large-scale econometric investigation of the effects of price promotions on manufacturer revenues, retailer revenues and margins. This investigation proceeds in two steps. First, persistence modeling reveals the short- and long-run effects of price promotions on these performance measures. Second, weighted least-squares analysis shows to what extent brand and promotion policies, as well as market-structure and category characteristics, influence promotional impact. A first major finding of our paper is that price promotions do not have permanent monetary effects for either party. Second, in terms of the cumulative, over-time, promotional impact on their revenues, we find significant differences between the manufacturer and retailer. Price promotions have a predominantly positive impact on manufacturer revenues, but their effects on retailer revenues are mixed. Retailer (category) margins, in contrast, are typically reduced by price promotions. Even when accounting for cross-category and store-traffic effects, we still find evidence that price promotions are typically not beneficial to the retailer. Third, our results indicate that manufacturer revenue elasticities are higher for promotions of small-share brands and for frequently promoted brands. Moreover, they are higher for storable products and lower in categories with a high degree of brand proliferation. Retailer revenue elasticities, in turn, are higher for brands with frequent and shallow promotions, for storable products and in categories with a low extent of brand proliferation. As such, from a revenue-generating point of view, manufacturer and retailer interests are often aligned in terms of which categories and brands to promote. Finally, retailer margin elasticities are higher for promotions of small-share brands and for brands with infrequent and shallow promotions. Thus, the implications with respect to the frequency of promotions depend upon the performance measure the retailer chooses to emphasize. The paper discusses the managerial implications of our results for both manufacturers and retailers and suggests various avenues for future research

Do Promotions Benefit Manufacturers, Retailers or Both?

While there has been strong managerial and academic interest in price promotions, much of the focus has been on the impact of such promotions on category sales, brand sales and brand choice. In contrast, little is known about the long-run impact of price promotions on manufacturer and retailer revenues and margins, although both marketing researchers and practitioners consider this a priority area (Marketing Science Institute 2000). Do promotions generate additional revenue and for whom? Which brand, category and market conditions influence promotional benefits and their allocation across manufacturers and retailers? To answer these questions, we conduct a large-scale econometric investigation of the effects of price promotions on manufacturer revenues, retailer revenues and margins. This investigation proceeds in two steps. First, persistence modeling reveals the short- and long-run effects of price promotions on these performance measures. Second, weighted least-squares analysis shows to what extent brand and promotion policies, as well as market-structure and category characteristics, influence promotional impact. A first major finding of our paper is that price promotions do not have permanent monetary effects for either party. Second, in terms of the cumulative, over-time, promotional impact on their revenues, we find significant differences between the manufacturer and retailer. Price promotions have a predominantly positive impact on manufacturer revenues, but their effects on retailer revenues are mixed. Retailer (category) margins, in contrast, are typically reduced by price promotions. Even when accounting for cross-category and store-traffic effects, we still find evidence that price promotions are typically not beneficial to the retailer. Third, our results indicate that manufacturer revenue elasticities are higher for promotions of small-share brands and for frequently promoted brands. Moreover, they are higher for storable products and lower in categories with a high degree of brand proliferation. Retailer revenue elasticities, in turn, are higher for brands with frequent and shallow promotions, for storable products and in categories with a low extent of brand proliferation. As such, from a revenue-generating point of view, manufacturer and retailer interests are often aligned in terms of which categories and brands to promote. Finally, retailer margin elasticities are higher for promotions of small-share brands and for brands with infrequent and shallow promotions. Thus, the implications with respect to the frequency of promotions depend upon the performance measure the retailer chooses to emphasize. The paper discusses the managerial implications of our results for both manufacturers and retailers and suggests various avenues for future research