Building Strong Global Brands: Impact of Cross Sector Alliances, Sustainable Innovations and Strategic CSR

This research investigates three key dimensions that have an impact on multiple stakeholders, and can enhance the value of global brands. These are: (i) Cross-Sector Alliances (CSA), (ii) Sustainable Innovations (SI), and (iii) Strategic CSR. Five global brands have been selected that appear both in the Forbes list of “Most Sustainable Companies” and Interbrand list of “Best Global Brands” in 2017. Data has been gathered through documentary research.  Content analysis of this data-set has led to the compilation of five case studies. Key findings and managerial implications are discussed. The contribution of this research is that it adopts a new approach to studying global brand management by incorporating CSA, SI and strategic CSR. It focuses not only on the economic aspects of global branding but also on potential societal and environmental outcomes for enhancing brand value

Disaster Relief: A Monitoring & Evaluation Framework for Kopan Monastery

The April 2015 Nepal earthquake was the largest such event since 1934. It killed thousands, injured tens of thousands, and left an estimated two million homeless. The property damage was estimated to be equivalent to 25% of Nepal’s GDP. The chaos caused by the earthquake was soon compounded by a complex political gridlock and resulting blockade, which has only recently been resolved. In this catastrophic setting, the non-governmental organization response was difficult to coordinate, and occurred with reduced capacity due to inadequate or total lack of access to resources. Kopan Monastery temporarily shifted the locus of its work to the immediate relief effort, from its normal educational operations. Since earthquakes are a continuous possibility in Nepal and other tectonically active regions, active monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of disaster response is an important part of preparedness for future events. We suggest a framework to monitor and evaluate Kopan Monastery\u27s response to the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. Our work indicates that a simple LogFrame approach informed by social networks analysis of the disaster response will provide the best framework. This can be manifested by a short-term repeatable timeline of actions stakeholders at the monastery can do during an ongoing relief effort. Most geological disasters are difficult to plan for and respond to, as they involve sudden stochastic events. Earthquakes are magnitude-predictable, yet not time-predictable. However, risk can be seen as chronic and can be minimized with adequate techniques. In Nepal, the swiftness and flexibility of an organization’s response is vital in ensuring immediate needs are provided for. Accordingly, the M&E framework must be flexible, simple, and straightforwardly applicable to sudden catastrophic events. We hope our M&E framework will provide Kopan Monastery with the tools to assess and modify its response to better serve its community in the future

Petrology of the Libby Formation and comparison to the Garnet Range and Pilcher Formations of the Belt Supergroup: The case for stratigraphic equivalency

The Belt Supergroup is a sequence of sedimentary and meta-sedimentary rock ~20 km thick that underpins much of western Montana, with equivalents extending into adjacent parts of Idaho and Canada. The Missoula Group forms the uppermost portion of the Belt Supergroup and is best expressed and best exposed around the Missoula Valley. Within the Missoula Group are six separate formations, all of which are siliciclastic. Our investigation focuses on the Missoula Group’s youngest two formations, the Garnet Range and Pilcher, along with a purportedly equivalent stratigraphic unit, the Libby Formation, which occurs in several structurally isolated fault blocks ~200 km NW of Missoula. In particular, we have sought to compare the petrology and detrital zircon geochronology of the Garnet Range and Pilcher Formations with that documented from the Libby Formation. To this end we examined and sampled outcrops of the Libby Formation at Flagstaff Mountain and along Fishtrap Creek in October 2015. The coarsest samples were cut into thin-sections for petrographic analysis, and we isolated the datable mineral zircon from a subset of these samples using facilities in the UM mineral separation laboratory. Results indicate that the coarsest samples collected from the Libby Formation are coarse siltstone. Sedimentary structures and hand samples of Libby indicate similarities between the three formations. Framework grains include abundant angular quartz and rare alkali feldspar. Detrital muscovite is notably common, as is diagenetic chert. Zircon separates evaluated by scientists at the Boise State University geochronology lab are at the lower size limit for radiometric dating via laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (La-ICPMS). Along with zircon, other dense minerals were recovered during the separation process. To further test whether the Libby Formation is equivalent to the Garnet Range and Pilcher Formations, these dense minerals will be analyzed and compared to seperates from the Garnet Range and Pilcher Formations

Traditional Brands vs. On-Line Brands: A Comparative Assessment

In this paper we compare and contrast the branding strategies of traditional and on-line companies. To illustrate the similarities and differences between the two, we examine four well-established traditional brands and four successful on-line brands.  We then offer recommendations for successful branding in the ever-evolving business and technological environment of the future

Aligning Core Brand Value (CBV) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to Enhance Corporate Brand Equity (CBE): A Non-monetary Approach

The present paper offers a practical approach for building or strengthening a corporate brand. An entirely “end-user focused” and “solely profit-maximization” perspective of conducting business may not be conducive for corporate brands in today\u27s global economy, where consumers are environmentally and socially conscious. The concepts of, and relationship between, core brand values (CBV) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are discussed. We proposed that compatibility between CSR and CBV - which satisfies multiple stakeholders without sacrificing financial viability of an organization - can promote an organization\u27s corporate brand equity (CBE). We presented two propositions relating CBV and CSR and provided illustrations of companies where CSR activities are congruent with CBV. The unique contribution of this paper is the novel suggestion of enhancing CBE through compatibility between CBV and CSR

The sustainability route to corporate legitimacy

The world’s resources, especially nonrenewable ones, are depleting exponentially due to accelerated consumption. Environmental degradation, obesity, pollution, human rights violations, and poverty are often caused or exacerbated by companies themselves. Pushback from communities worldwide due to threats to ecosystems, environments, economies, and indeed the planet, has made it essential for individuals and groups to fundamentally change the way they function. Sustainability has become a necessary transformation for creating shared value, and companies are discovering that it is indeed possible to “do well by doing good”. However, not all companies have the ability and/or inclination to engage in sustainability initiatives, and the ones that do are all across the spectrum in terms of the efficacy and appropriateness of their programs. Indeed, many stakeholders question the depth and genuineness of the efforts which then raises doubts about the value of increasing investments in sustainability programs if companies’ efforts fail to be perceived as legitimate. This paper takes a stakeholder approach toward sustainability and introduces the concept of legitimacy as a measure of the degree to which companies are, in fact, dedicated to sustainability