Upcoming Events & Recent Seminars

Vernacularization of Digital Marketplaces: A Broken News
by Saurabh Shinde
Durham University

https://zoom.us/j/6834690808
Meeting ID: 683 469 0808

Abstract

Mainstream journalism in India (print and TV) follows a strict status hierarchy: English-speaking journalists are at the top echelon (with more salaries, more political connections, and higher social status) compared to their vernacular counterparts. With the advent of Web 2.0, we are seeing en masse platforming of vernacular content creators and consumers. Using netnographic data collected over three years, this research tries to understand the vernacularization of digital journalism from the Bourdieusian lens of distinction. In doing so, we highlight the significant role of the attention economy and media in the capital conversion process. Our first contribution is the concept of Epistemic Narrative Object – a continuously unfolding carrier of cultural capital. Second, we delineate the distinction strategies using less explored linguistic capital in marketing literature. Finally, we locate vernacularization as an outcome of four ongoing processes – politicization of media, mediatization of society, postsocial relationships, and democratization of knowledge.

Covid-19 Risk Perception of Travel Destination Development and Validation of a Scale
by Khansa Zaman
Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science &Technology

https://zoom.us/j/6834690808
Meeting ID: 683 469 0808

Abstract

Although traveler risk perception is a widely used term in the hospitality and tourism literature, the pandemic related risk perception of tourist destination lacks a clear conceptualization and measurement. This study develops and validates a six item scale to measure Covid-19 risk perception of travel destinations. The scale is developed using multiple data collection methods including interviews, focus group, and survey questionnaires. The exploratory stage involved in-depth interviews and the subsequent quantitative stage gathered data through a survey questionnaire. The scale offers a framework for future empirical research on Covid-19 risk perception that will shape tourism decisions in years to come. Implications for hospitality industry and limitations are also discussed.

Keywords: COVID-19, tourist risk perception, travel destination, scale development

The Not So Uniform Effect of Trade Secret Protection on Business Entry
by Tanseli Savaşer
Vassar College

Place: Faculty of Business Administration,
Ümit Berkman Seminar Room (MA-330) 
https://zoom.us/j/6834690808
Meeting ID: 683 469 0808

Abstract

We explore the consequences of trade secret protection for new business formation in the U.S. We find that the states that adopt the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA), which enhances intellectual property rights, experience an overall decline in establishment entry rates. This result is driven by the reduction in small business entry rates. The negative effect is more pronounced in industries that are knowledge and trade secret intensive. By contrast, the law promotes the entry of medium and large businesses. Our findings highlight the important relationship between the regulatory environment governing intellectual property protection and business formation in the U.S.

The Effect of Childcare Access on Women’s Careers and Firm Performance
by Ting Xu
University of Toronto

https://zoom.us/j/6834690808
Meeting ID: 683 469 0808

Abstract

We study the effect of government-subsidized childcare on women’s career outcomes and firm performance using linked tax filing data. Exploiting a universal childcare reform in Quebec in 1997 and the variation in its timing relative to childbirth across cohorts of parents, we show that earlier access to childcare increases employment among new mothers, particularly among those previously unemployed. Earlier childcare access increases new mothers’ reallocation of careers into more demanding jobs in male-dominated firms, leading to higher earnings and higher productivity. Firms traditionally unattractive to women with children benefit from such reallocation, experiencing higher growth and performance. Our results suggest that childcare frictions hamper women’s career progression and their allocation of human capital in the labor market.

Innovation Booms, Easy Financing, and Human Capital Accumulation
by Johan Hombert
HEC Paris

https://zoom.us/j/6834690808
Meeting ID: 683 469 0808

Abstract

Innovation booms occur frequently and are often fueled by easy financing that allows new technology firms to pay high wages that attracts skilled labor. Using the late 1990s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) boom as a laboratory, we show that skilled labor joining this new sector experienced sizeable long-term earnings losses. We trace these losses to skill obsolescence, that cannot be explained by either selection or the subsequent ICT sector bust. During the boom, capital flowed more to firms whose workers would ultimately experience a larger productivity decline. This suggests that financial capital can amplify the negative effects of labor reallocation into booming sectors on aggregate labor productivity.

Digital marketing capabilities revisited: A multidisciplinary perspective and boundary conditions
by Onur Osmanoğlu
KOÇ University

https://zoom.us/j/6834690808
Meeting ID: 683 469 0808

Abstract

Developments and pervasiveness of IT-based digital technologies have altered customer expectations and escalated the competitive environment. To be able to address these changes in the market, numerous firms invest in digital marketing transformation. In this paper, we suggest that digital marketing capabilities (DMCs) are the key factors to succeed in an increasingly disruptive business environment. To this end, we provide a thorough conceptualization of this construct through a multidisciplinary systematic literature review that integrates and synthesizes insights from marketing, information systems, and strategic management disciplines. Building on resource-based theory and dynamic capabilities, we not only classify DMCs but also provide a conceptual framework that delineates how these capabilities operate by underlining the hierarchical essence of DMCs and their interrelationships. We also introduce and discuss several boundary conditions that would regulate the DMCs – firm performance relationship.  

Local Market Reaction to Brand Acquisitions: Evidence from the Craft Beer Industry
by Umut Güler
Koç University

Place: Faculty of Business Administration,
Ümit Berkman Seminar Room (MA-330) 

Abstract

A large stream of literature shows that the emotional bond between consumer and brand can induce a sense of psychological ownership, and shocks to this relationship such as brand repositioning or acquisitions can induce a negative consumer reaction. This article provides a large scale empirical study on such brand “transgressions” in the context of acquisition of local beer breweries by large conglomerates. Our analysis covering 40 brand acquisitions shows a strong negative reaction to acquisitions in social media. More importantly, the negative sentiment translates to a significant reduction in demand in the local market post acquisition. Across different specifications, we estimate that this decline is between 20% and 30%. This represents a significant negative shock to the acquired brand, as the local region accounts for more than one-fifth of brand sales on average, even in the long run. The decline begins immediately following the acquisition, and manifests in both sales and product ratings. On the flip side, acquisition helps the local brand in markets close to the acquirer’s facilities, with improved distribution and higher sales. Theoretical and managerial implications of our findings are discussed.