Minimizing the negative impact of brand deletion

Producción CientíficaPurpose: This research is primarily concerned with studying the impact of brand workers' problems on brand deletion (BD) outcomes. The authors also analyze how the level of consensus achieved during BD adoption and implementation influences the impact of brand workers' problems on BD outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was designed to obtain data from a representative sample of 155 real cases of BD. Findings: Findings indicate that in contexts where workers feel their jobs are threatened or challenged, BD success may be undermined. However, the company does possess one important mechanism that can alleviate the negative impact of brand workers' problems: empowering them to pave the way toward consensus-building. Results do not support a negative effect of brand workers' problems on BD time efficiency or any effect of BD time efficiency on BD's contribution to a firm's economic performance. Practical implications: Managers must be aware that problems derived from brand workers' actions are especially harmful for the company when there is no consensus, such that managers must prevent deletion from occurring under these circumstances. Originality/value: This pioneering study proposes and empirically validates the relationship between brand workers' problems and BD success and BD time efficiency, moderated by consensus.Junta de Castilla y León (Project VA219P20)Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Project PID2021-123004NB-I00

Causes and success of brand deletions. The role of brand orientation

La eliminación de una marca es una decisión crítica dentro de la estrategia de marketing de una empresa. Pese a que en los últimos años muchas organizaciones han tomado este tipo de decisión y han acometido drásticos programas de eliminación de marcas, la literatura sobre este tema es muy escasa y fragmentada, y son múltiples las cuestiones que se deben abordar. Concretamente, en este trabajo nos proponemos examinar la influencia de las causas de eliminación de una marca –previamente clasificadas en proactivas y reactivas– en el éxito de la decisión. Además, exploramos el efecto que la orientación a la marca tiene en la mayor o menor ocurrencia de eliminaciones por causas proactivas o reactivas. Implícitamente, en el trabajo proponemos que la orientación a la marca tendrá un doble efecto indirecto positivo en el éxito de una eliminación. En primer lugar, a través de incremento de eliminaciones exitosas que ocurren por causas proactivas y, en segundo, por la reducción de eliminaciones no exitosas que sobrevienen por causas reactivas. La propuesta investigadora que realizamos se testa sobre una muestra de 155 casos de eliminación de marca. Los análisis preliminares indican que la orientación a la marca contribuye al éxito a través de la adopción de eliminaciones enfocadas en el aprovechamiento de oportunidades de la marca, tales como un mayor ajuste estratégico o unos menores costes de oportunidad. Además, la orientación a la marca previene de realizar eliminaciones simplemente por causas problemáticas, eliminaciones que no acaban arrojando grandes resultados.Brand deletion (BD) is a critical decision within a firm’s marketing strategy. Despite in recent years many organizations have pruned their brand portfolios and undertaken drastic BD programs, the literature on this topic is extremely scarce and fragmented, and several issues of BD can be investigated. This research is primarily concerned with the study of the impact of BD causes –previously classified as proactive versus reactive– on BD success. In addition, we explore the effect of the firm’s brand orientation on the occurrence of deletions by proactive versus reactive causes. Implicitly, we suggest that brand orientation will have a double positive indirect effect on BD success: first, through the increase of successful BDs due to proactive causes and, second, by the reduction of unsuccessful BDs precipitated by reactive causes. Our research proposal is tested on a sample of 155 cases of BD. Preliminary findings indicate that brand orientation contributes to the BD success through the adoption of BDs focused on taking advantage of brand opportunities, such as searching for a better strategic fit or avoiding opportunity costs. Besides, brand orientation prevents deletions due to merely problematic causes, deletions that, after all, do not generate success

Do proactive and reactive causes to delete a brand impact deletion success? The role of brand orientation

Producción CientíficaOne critical decision concerning a firm´s brand portfolio management is brand deletion (BD). Although many organizations have recently undertaken drastic BD programs and pruned their brand portfolios, the literature on this topic remains extremely scarce and fragmented. Our work focuses on studying the impact of BD causes –previously classified as proactive versus reactive– on BD success. How the firm’s brand orientation affects the incidence of proactive versus reactive deletions is also explored. Implicitly, we suggest that brand orientation exerts a positive indirect effect on BD success through increased successful BDs due to proactive causes. We test our research proposal on a sample comprising 155 cases of BD. Findings indicate that brand orientation contributes to BD success through the proactive adoption of BDs focused on taking advantage of brand opportunities, such as searching for a better strategic fit or avoiding opportunity costs. Moreover, brand orientation prevents deletions by reactive or problematic causes, deletions which, after all, do not generate success. In sum, brand oriented firms seek to prevent rather than fix any problems derived from maintaining inadequate brands in their portfolio.Fondo Social Europeo (proyecto ORDEN EDU/828/2014)Junta de Castilla y León (ORDEN EDU/828/2014)Ministerio de Economía y Competetitividad (proyecto ECO2017-86628-P)Fondo europeo de desarrollo regional (proyecto VA112P17)Junta de Castilla y León (proyecto VA085G18

Resultado de aplicar aprendizaje inverso en disciplinas de grado

Este documento recoge los resultados de la experiencia de aplicar el Aprendizaje Inverso a estudiantes de 3º del Grado en Comercio por un lado y a otros estudiantes, muchos de ellos profesionales en el campo de la economía y la empresa, del Curso especial de Adaptación para titulados de antiguos planes de estudio. El trabajo se ha centrado sobre “Estrategias de determinación de precios basadas en el valor para el cliente”, punto contenido en el Programa de la asignatura Gestión de Ventas y Proceso Comercial. Utilizando técnicas de investigación cualitativa tales como brainstornig y focus groupEconomía Financiera y ContabilidadOrganización de Empresas y Comercialización e Investigación de Mercados

How to build a brand-oriented family firm: The impact of socioemotional wealth (SEW) dimensions

Producción CientíficaLiterature has recently increased its attention on brand management in family firms. Blurring boundaries between family and business, divergent interests of family and non-family members, or a peculiar strategic decision-making framework in which the family’s socioemotional wealth (SEW) may be prioritized make brand management particularly complex. We contribute to the literature through a pioneering study of the benefits of brand orientation for family firm performance, and by examining how the different SEW dimensions drive the adoption of a brand-oriented culture in this kind of firm. Empirical findings from a representative sample of 120 Chilean family firms reveal the positive impact on brand orientation of binding social ties, renewal of family bonds, and identification with the family firm, and confirm that brand orientation enhances performance. Brand orientation thus emerges as a key, yet hitherto neglected, mediating factor to reconcile SEW preservation with economic performance, which entails relevant theoretical and managerial implications.Junta de Castilla y León - FEDER [VA219P20]Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad [PID2021-123004NB-I00

Educación para el desarrollo en Castilla y León: cómo vemos el mundo

439 p.Quienes creemos que son necesarios cambios en el sistema económico, político y financiero mundial que permitan avanzar en el desarrollo humano sostenible de los pueblos, superando las injusticias y las brechas de desigualdad en el acceso a los recursos, siempre hemos considerado la educación como una pieza clave para conducir ese cambio, y a la universidad como un agente fundamental que puede y debe desarrollarla. Es difícil reflexionar sobre la “Educación para el Desarrollo” distanciándose de los acontecimientos que durante los últimos meses están ocurriendo en Europa y España. Estamos viendo y viviendo cómo la crisis financiera y económica es utilizada para justificar decisiones políticas que reducen nuestro nivel de bienestar. Es inevitable la comparación con los planes de ajuste estructural (PAE) que desde los años 80 se impusieron al dictado del FMI y el BM a los países empobrecidos como respuesta a la crisis de la Deuda Externa, así como sus nefastas consecuencias sociales y económicas para los pueblos afectado

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Drivers of brand deletion outcomes: causes, decision-making and implementation

Brands are business assets that can generate sustainable competitive advantage (Kozlenkova et al., 2014; Morgan, 2012). Specifically, brands may be seen as a potential source of value creation through the loyalty they inspire, their reputation, perceived quality, what they are associated with, and other aspects such as copyright (Aaker, 1991). They are also rather rare resources in that they require high levels of investment, and are difficult to replicate, since they help forge a unique relationship with their customers. Yet their mere creation is not enough to ensure that a brand becomes a valuable resource and a source of competitive advantage; they also need to be properly organized and managed by the firm (Kozlenkova et al., 2014). • In general, firms do not tend to manage just one brand, but rather a group of them, known as a portfolio. The brands that make up a portfolio are organized such that they create a series of relations and links that endow them with consistency and a meaning that allows them to accomplish the firm’s strategic objectives. To achieve this, managers must design a structure, known as brand architecture, which clearly sets out each brand’s role and the relationships among them (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000). Understandably, this architecture evolves over time so as to adapt to the challenges that emerge and to the firm’s new strategic proposals, which affects three of the portfolio’s key parameters: the number of brands marketed by the company, the internal relations between the brands and how they are positioned among consumers. In other words, as the brand architecture evolves, managers must take decisions aimed at expanding, consolidating or retracting their portfolio (Douglas and Craig, 1996).Departamento de Organización de Empresas y Comercialización e Investigación de MercadosDoctorado en Economía de la Empres

Brand deletion implementation: the effect on performance of context and process factors

Although brand deletion (BD) is a key strategic decision within brand portfolio management, it has received very little attention in the scientific literature. This research expands the knowledge base on the BD strategy, particularly in the execution phase. Based on the literature addressing strategic change and marketing strategy implementation, this study explores the main and interaction effects of context (decentralization and consensus) and process (formalization and communication) implementation factors on the success of BD, measured in terms of its contribution to the firm’s economic performance. Using a representative sample of 155 cases of BD, we show that the four factors are related to BD performance, although these relations are complex and intertwined. Consensus, communication, and decentralization positively affect BD performance, with consensus being particularly influential. Formalization is found to be a double-edged sword as the effects of formalizing the execution of the deletion are particularly convoluted.This work was supported by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Regional Government of Castilla y León (Spain), ORDEN EDU/828/2014; European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Regional Government of Castilla y León (Spain), project reference VA112P17; Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation 2013-2016, project reference ECO2017-86628-P

A multi-criteria procedure in new product development using different qualitative scales

Producción CientíficaIn this paper, a new multi-criteria procedure is devised for new product devel-opment decision-making made from survey data. Groups of panelists evaluateseveral product categories regarding different criteria, each one through a spe-cific qualitative scale, which ultimately will guide decision-makers to develop anew product in a specific category. These qualitative scales are equipped withordinal proximity measures that collect the perceptions about the proximitiesbetween the terms of the scales by means of ordinal degrees of proximity. Thelinguistic assessments provided by panelists are compared with the highest termsof the corresponding qualitative scales. In order to aggregate the obtained or-dinal degrees of proximity, a homogenization process is provided. It avoids anycardinalization procedure in the ordinal proximity measures associated with theordered qualitative scales used for assessing the alternatives regarding different criteria. Products categories are ranked taking into account the medians of thehomogenized ordinal degrees of proximity