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The value of new customer metrics in the digital era for better understanding and predicting business performance
No full textDigital transformation is changing the landscape of the interaction among customers, firms and products. Customers and firms are moving from a brick-mortar setting to a digital space dimension. There is an increasing interest of scholars/practitioners to understand the mechanism and metrics of the interaction between customers and products in the digital era
Sustainability nudges in the context of customer co-design for consumer electronics
No full textIn this study, we shed light on the unexplored potential of customer co-design in a mass customization (MC) setting to contribute to the promotion of sustainable consumption. We theoretically derive and empirically test several opportunities for companies to improve sustainable consumption and production in a joint effort with consumers. Our research bridges between the MC and the sustainability literature and shows that MC enables consumers to cohere attitude and action, based on individual sustainability preferences. We empirically assess whether MC companies can nudge their customers successfully towards more sustainable choices by designing sustainability-based starting solutions (Study 1) and by providing transparent sustainability information (Study 2) in MC configuration systems. We do so by portraying a simulated online buying process of a customizable TV with a realistic web-based product configurator. We find that sustainable defaults can play a significant role in promoting sustainable consumption, while providing detailed sustainability information does not show an effect. To get more insights into our results, we discuss the results on a supplementary qualitative analysis based on think-aloud consumer tests (Study 3), revealing several suggestions for further research. Using these findings, we revisit sustainability information in Study 4 and find that intuitive labels significantly influence consumers to choose more sustainably.(Federal Ministry of Education and Research
The risk implications of diversification: Integrating the effects of product and geographic diversification
No full textThe risk implications of product diversification have received considerable attention from scholars. However, our understanding of the effects of geographic diversification on risk is more limited. Relying on resource-based theory to frame our arguments, we argue that despite some similarities, the two types of diversification have differing effects on firm risk. We first establish the risk reducing effects for product diversification. We then integrate the unique aspects of geographic diversification that serve as a boundary condition to the RBV perspective, arguing for the risk increasing effects of geographic diversification. Finally, since many firms pursue both forms of diversification simultaneously, we explore the joint effects of both product and geographic diversification. We test our hypotheses in a longitudinal model on a sample of S&P 500 firms. Our findings suggest that total product diversification, as well as related diversification reduce risk, while total geographic diversification increases risk. Furthermore, our data provide evidence of a complex combination of joint effects of these two forms of diversification. These findings offer a more complete understanding of the risk effects of corporate diversification
Nieuwe technologieën en het auditberoep - La profession d'audit et les nouvelles technologies
No full textOnderhavig boek behandelt de nieuwe technologieën en het auditberoep. Het eerste hoofdstuk betreft de cyberveiligheid en tracht de bedrijfsrevisor elementen aan te reiken om cyberbeveiliging te demystificeren en hem aan te moedigen cyberbeveiliging in een mondiale context te benaderen. In het tweede hoofdstuk wordt dieper ingegaan op artificiële intelligentie, waarbij het de ultieme doelstelling is om systemen te laten denken als mensen. Deze nieuwe technologie zal een belangrijke impact hebben op de toekomstige beroepsinhoud van een auditor. Het derde hoofdstuk behandelt process mining, een verzamelnaam voor alle datagedreven procesanalysetechnieken. Er wordt ingegaan hoe de verschillende process mining-analyses auditors kunnen ondersteunen. Blockchain-technologie en de impact ervan op de audit komt aan bod in het vierde hoofdstuk. Het gaat om een samenspel van bestaande methoden en technieken die toelaten op een unieke manier digitale activa te registreren, te beheren en te verhandelen, zonder tussenkomst van een vertrouwde tussenpersoon. Het vijfde hoofdstuk beschrijft de cloud en het informatiebeveiligingsbeheersysteem. Het boek eindigt met de vraag of een auditkantoor belang zou hebben bij de overstap naar de cloud. Le présent ouvrage traite de la profession d’audit et les nouvelles technologies. Le premier chapitre concerne la cybersécurité et tentera d’apporter au réviseur d’entreprises des éléments afin de démystifier la cybersécurité et de l’encourager à aborder la cybersécurité dans un contexte global. Dans le deuxième chapitre l’intelligence artificielle est abordée, dont le but ultime est de faire en sorte que les systèmes pensent comme les humains. Cette nouvelle technologie aura un impact important sur le futur de la profession d’auditeur. Le troisième chapitre traite de process mining, un nom général pour toutes les techniques d’analyse de processus axées sur les données. On aborde la manière dont les différentes analyses de process mining peuvent soutenir les auditeurs. Le quatrième chapitre traite de la technologie blockchain et son impact sur l’audit. Il s’agit d’une combinaison de méthodes et de techniques existantes qui permettent d’enregistrer, de gérer et d’échanger des actifs numériques de manière unique, sans l’intervention d’un intermédiaire de confiance. Le cinquième chapitre décrit le cloud et le système de management de la sécurité de l’information. L’ouvrage se termine avec la question de savoir si un cabinet d’audit aurait un intérêt à passer sur le cloud
Making Space for Emotions: Empathy, Contagion, and Legitimacy’s Double-Edged Sword
No full textLegitimacy is critical to the formation and expansion of nascent fields because it lends credibility and recognizability to once overlooked actors and practices. At the same time, legitimacy can be a double-edged sword precisely because it facilitates field growth, attracting actors with discrepant practices that may lead to factionalization and undermine the coherence of the field’s collective identity. In this paper, we investigate how organizations can mitigate the downside of legitimation by eliciting emotions that align increasingly discrepant actors and celebrate an inclusive collective identity. We leverage fieldwork and computational text analysis to examine the relationship between legitimation, collective identity coherence, and emotions in the context of the Makers, a nascent field of do-it-yourself hobbyists and technology hackers. In our quantitative analysis we show that legitimation was associated with increased field heterogeneity, but that collective events countered the diluting effects of legitimation. In the qualitative analysis of our interview data we demonstrate that activities at these events—demonstrations and hands-on experiences—elicited emotional contagion and empathy among actors. These emotions reconciled tensions among increasingly heterogeneous actors and bolstered the coherence of the Maker collective identity. We conclude by discussing our contribution to research on legitimacy, collective identity, and field-configuring events.The authors gratefully acknowledge the suggestions and contributions provided by Sonali K. Shah, Heather Haveman, Jo-Ellen Pozner, Sarah Kaplan, and three anonymous reviewers, as well as participants in departmental research groups and conference talks such as the American Sociological Association, European Group for Organizational Studies, and Academy of Management annual conferences. They also thank the Berkeley Institute for Data Science and Github for computing resources that supported this project
The market access of complementary diagnostics, precision medicine reimbursement policies and value assessment
No full textPrecision medicine relies on two technologies jointly working together to deliver benefit to patients, a medicine on the one hand and a diagnostic on the other. The diagnostic's purpose is to identify the right patient population for the medicine, and could be considered complementary to the use of the medicine. In recent years the market access of these complementary diagnostics has been scrutinized as being inadequate to ensure time access for patients. This thesis has delved into this issue and, as indicated in Chapters 1 and 2, sought to gain insights in these market access hurdles and gain a better understanding of the value derived from complementary diagnostics for our healthcare system. Chapter 3 delves into the reimbursement policies of complementary diagnostics (such as companion diagnostics). It identifies the reasons why the reimbursement issues of complementary diagnostics, and specifically companion diagnostics have emerged across European countries. In this study several issues with the standard in vitro diagnostic reimbursement pathways were identified across eight European countries, that consequently have risen to prominence when precision medicine was gradually introduced into healthcare systems. Several alternative reimbursement approaches were identified, specifically for companion diagnostics in Germany and Belgium and more broadly for complementary diagnostics in France. Chapter 4 examines the Belgian healthcare payer's health technology assessment of precision medicines with companion diagnostics. This research formulated several recommendations that could enhance the assessment practice under the novel reimbursement pathway for precision medicines with companion diagnostics in Belgium, as identified and discussed in chapter 3. Specifically, the introduction of the linked-evidence approach was recommended to be introduced in the assessment practice as many companion diagnostics lack the necessary direct evidence to establish their clinical utility. In Chapter 5, a study on the interaction between the biomarker that is identified by the diagnostic test, and the precision medicine is discussed. This interaction can also be referred to as the 'precision mechanism'. In this chapter we introduce the use of a novel performance parameter that examines directly what is at the heart of precision medicine; The ability of the diagnostic test to identify patients who are more likely to respond to treatment. These novel parameters convey the probability that a patient belonging to a specific subgroup will benefit from precision therapy or not. We applied these novel parameters to European medicine agency's approved precision medicines. The result of this analysis shows that not every companion diagnostics, or therefore precision mechanism, provides the same clinical utility, and that this differentiation could inform reimbursement decision making. Chapter 6 covers a systematic review on the use and adoption of assessment frameworks for complementary diagnostics such as omics technologies, by health technology assessment agencies. Many of these frameworks have been published, however none have seen their wide scale adoption by health technology assessment agencies. When looking at the health technology assessment reports on these technologies, the most recurrent elements under assessment were the clinical utility and the cost-effectiveness of these types of tests. Concepts such as ethical, social, and organisational aspect were often not considered. Specifically for organisational aspects, this could be of concern, as the specific context in which a test is implemented determines its clinical utility and therefore its cost-effectiveness. In Chapter 7 this issue is further illustrated. The working hypothesis of the study is that specific contextual factors influencing the clinical utility of a test (e.g., level of training by the treating physician, local clinical guidelines, experience level, etc) will therefore influence the cost-effectiveness, and hence the value perception of the test, which is expressed through the value-based price at a certain willingness to pay threshold. The study collected a range of published clinical utility scenarios across countries and healthcare systems. These scenarios were consequently inputted into a cost-effectiveness model with all other variables kept the same. The results showed that there is a range of outcomes where either the test can be seen as extremely valuable to the current clinical practice and others where the test adds not much additional benefit tot the current practice. This finding has its implications if one is to consider value-based pricing mechanisms as a pricing methodology for complementary diagnostics. In summary, this work took a closer look at the policies forming the market access of complementary diagnostics together with a specific focus on their clinical utility, how it is established, how it can be interpretated through probabilistic performance parameters, how its interpretation has implications for reimbursement policies and finally how contextual factors determining the clinical utility influence the value perception of these tests
The prospective value creation potential of Blockchain in business models: A delphi study
No full textBlockchain technology is gaining awareness and drawing attention in corporate practice and academia. Both fields expect a fundamental impact of blockchain on business and society. However, since blockchain research within the business model context is still in a nascent stage, more in-depth insights is required of blockchain's impact on firms’ value creation and value capture. This study builds on a Delphi approach and aims to identify the future value creation potential of blockchain for organizations by 2030. Based on expert interviews, workshop insights, and prior literature, we developed a meaningful set of 36 projections of blockchain implications for business models. Our findings, based on the elements of the PEST framework, predict massive efficiency gains through technological progress and promise complementary offerings through various novel combination possibilities, novel forms of collaboration and business model opportunities, and a dissipation of the significance of blockchain types. The combined use of blockchain solutions with other technologies is likely to serve as the basis for ecosystem developments. Our projected finding is that the internet of value will replace the internet of information by 2030. Thereby, our research contributes to technological forecasting and strategic planning by providing managers clear indications of blockchain developments and action recommendations
Does the sector matter? An analysis of high-growth firms and industry growth rates
No full textPurpose This paper aims to analyze the effect of industry growth rates on the characteristics of high-growth firms (HGFs) that are active in a particular industry. By making a distinction between HGFs active in stable and declining industries and HGFs active in growing and high-growing industries, it is analyzed if the main dimensions of firm performance are significantly different for HGFs active in one of these different industry types. Gaining more insight into this industry aspect of high firm growth is important as governmental measures towards HGFs may be more effective if they have a specific sectoral focus. Design/methodology/approach A subset of 740 Belgian HGFs was analyzed. Data were gathered from the Belfirst database. HGFs were classified within their corresponding industry type: a declining industry (negative growth), a stable industry (0 −5% growth), a growing industry (5 −10% growth) and a high-growth industry (>10% growth). Four dimensions of structural firm performance that are expected to correlate with high growth were taken into consideration: productivity (value added per FTE), profitability (ROA), innovativeness (intangible assets) and financial health (solvency and liquidity).Tukey's range tests in conjunction with post-hoc analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were carried out to test for significant differences in all the mentioned variables for the HGFs in the four different industry types. Findings Results show that HGFs active in a stable industry are not significantly more profitable or innovative than HGFs active in a growth industry. However, significant differences could be encountered when it comes to the other two dimensions of structural firm performance: productivity and financial health. It is shown that HGFs active in declining and stable industries are significantly more productive than HGFs active in growth industries and high-growth industries. Also, HGFs active in declining and stable industries have significantly higher liquidity ratios than firms active in growth industries, pointing towards a better financial health for HGFs in nongrowing industries. Research limitations/implications The results confirm the conceptual logic that the differences between resource-based view (RBV) and industrial organization (IO) propositions will have an impact on the drivers of firm performance and high business growth. Every future study that focuses on the growth determinants of HGFs should be aware that considering the subset of HGFs as one homogenous group may be suboptimal. It is likely that the growth determinants of both HGF types will indeed be fundamentally different. Originality/value Until now, all studies on HGFs have considered the subset of HGFs as a whole. This paper tried to disentangle the subset based on the growth rate of the industry in which HGFs are mainly active. In this proposition, a reason for the lack of knowledge about characteristics of HGFs may – at least partially – be found in the fact that industry membership plays an important role in determining the characteristics of a high-growth firm. Future studies focusing on high-growth determinants may benefit from systematically taking the industry growth rates into account, with the knowledge that the propositions of two different theories – IO and RBV – may be the fundamental drivers of a firm's high-growth rates
Academy of Management Proceedings
No full textProponents of board gender quotas argue that such policies ought to generate trickle-down effects in the form of higher female executive appointments within organizations because of female directors' motivation and ability to correct firm level gender imbalances. In this study, we argue and show that such normative arguments may not be reflective of social realities of historically male dominated corporate boards. Grounding our theoretical ideas in the attention based view, we argue that such policies increase appointments of female directors because of the mandated shift in firm level attention towards the issue. However, given the controversial nature of such policies and gender differences in status and power, such policies may have unintended consequences of negative trickle-down effects where firms reduce appointment of women in senior executive positions. Analysis on a sample of 185 largest, publicly listed firms in India during 2008-2017 find support for our theor