<p>During the past two decades research has shown that brands are among a company’s most valuable assets. However, in today’s competitive landscape, it is not enough to just create strong brands. The focus lies rather in managing a range of brand lever-age strategies within complex brand portfolios. Moreover, the majority of today’s established brand concepts do not represent the reality of contemporary brand man-agement. Instead, they tend to be based on dichotomies and simplifications. In addi-tion, there is a lack of criticism towards many of the established brand concepts resulting in the reduction of brand management to a number of static categories and stagnated definitions – thereby missing out on the analysis of important intersec-tional issues between the various categories. This book explores the somewhat for-gotten area of intersection, investigating the territory in-between brands.</p><p>The methods used consist of a literature review covering some of the most influ-ential brand models within the area of brand portfolio and brand leverage as well as an empirical case study including the following seven brands: Adidas, Bang & Oluf-sen, Electrolux, H&M, Microsoft, Peak Performance and W. L. Gore & Associates.</p><p>The findings show that conventional brand management models and terminology do not fully explain common marketplace strategies and practice. As a result, this research introduces a more realistic viewpoint and dynamic framework that is based on convergence and that allows migration and iteration rather than today’s static approach. The framework, named the brand leverage palette, introduces various nuances between different leverage strategies, both adding clarity and offering guid-ance by explaining different migration movements among today’s brand portfolios.</p>

During the past two decades research has shown that brands are among a company’s most valuable assets. However, in today’s competitive landscape, it is not enough to just create strong brands. The focus lies rather in managing a range of brand lever-age strategies within complex brand portfolios. Moreover, the majority of today’s established brand concepts do not represent the reality of contemporary brand man-agement. Instead, they tend to be based on dichotomies and simplifications. In addi-tion, there is a lack of criticism towards many of the established brand concepts resulting in the reduction of brand management to a number of static categories and stagnated definitions – thereby missing out on the analysis of important intersec-tional issues between the various categories. This book explores the somewhat for-gotten area of intersection, investigating the territory in-between brands. The methods used consist of a literature review covering some of the most influ-ential brand models within the area of brand portfolio and brand leverage as well as an empirical case study including the following seven brands: Adidas, Bang &amp; Oluf-sen, Electrolux, H&amp;M, Microsoft, Peak Performance and W. L. Gore &amp; Associates. The findings show that conventional brand management models and terminology do not fully explain common marketplace strategies and practice. As a result, this research introduces a more realistic viewpoint and dynamic framework that is based on convergence and that allows migration and iteration rather than today’s static approach. The framework, named the brand leverage palette, introduces various nuances between different leverage strategies, both adding clarity and offering guid-ance by explaining different migration movements among today’s brand portfolios.

The global financial market has been under a lot of stress in the past years. With the financial crisis that started in 2008, in the US and spread around the world, it created awareness that the world’s financial market requires more regulation to withstand such a crisis. Therefore a new recommended framework for the global financial market was developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision; Basel III. Basel III presented a new era with stricter supervision of banks and tighter regulations. As the European Union is one of the world’s most integrated regions, it strives to be the first to implement the Basel III framework. In order to achieve this, the European Union created its own legislative package, the Capital Requirement Directive IV.The research purpose of this dissertation is to examine how divergences in Sweden, Denmark and Germany’s national financial markets will affect their ability to implement the new CRD IV regulations. Based on the research the conclusion is that our Swedish respondent is most prepared in meeting the new regulations of our three respondents; the characteristics of the Swedish financial market seem well fit to meet the new requirements. Both Germany and Denmark seems to be experiencing problems; the characteristics of their financial markets create obstacles when implementing the new regulations. Denmark has difficulties with their mortgage lending market due to their unique mortgage model. Germany will have problems with the leverage ratio and their inflexible three pillar banking system. Germany’s government has been skeptical to the new CRD IV regulations and this might also have affected our German respondent in a negative way. With the implementation of the regulations the European Commission aims to improve the banking sector in the member states, so that they will be able to endure stress periods better and help to prevent another financial crisis. However, the implementation of the new regulations puts a lot of pressure on the banks and how well they can perform during the implementation process. With this research a questionnaire is created that will help understand how three major banks in Sweden, Denmark and Germany will be affected by the new regulations and if the characteristics of their national financial markets will give them advantages or disadvantages when implementing them. The answers also give us a conclusion to which of the new regulations each respondent will have the most difficulty of implementing. Future research is suggested to be done into the Danish mortgage lending market and their unique mortgage model, to see if it can co-exist with the new CRD IV regulations. Also an in-depth research into the German three pillar banking system can be interesting, to find out if they are able to maintain it or if they have to restructure it.

Smallholder livestock keeping and agriculture systems in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) seem to be caught into poverty traps, in as much as they cannot any longer provide ecosystem services on which local communities depend for their survival. I used a regime shifts framework to carry out a thorough assessment of these two case studies in arid and semi-arid lands and smallholder by identifying relevant traps and alternate desirable regimes. Using systems analysis and modelling, I drew casual loop diagrams of the two case studies, which helped me to identify the feedback loops that maintain the systems in undesirable traps and the external driving forces of change. A set of interventions points or leverage points were identified to change the dynamics of the systems and shift them towards more desirable regimes. Essentially, a structural change of both systems is called for if sustainable livelihoods in the rural areas of the SSA are to be seriously envisaged. Human capital investments present the main opportunity for facilitating escape from poverty by transforming farmers to non-farmers and livestock keepers to non-livestock keepers.

Darbo objektas – įmonių kapitalo struktūros formavimas ir jį įtakojantys veiksniai. Darbo tikslas – nustatyti kapitalo struktūros kitimo tendencijas ir jos formavimą įtakojančių veiksnių poveikį Lietuvos įmonėse. Darbo tikslui pasiekti keliami šie uždaviniai: • atskleisti kapitalo struktūros formavimo problemas; • nustatyti svarbiausius kapitalo struktūros formavimo teorinių tyrimų raidos pasaulyje ir Lietuvoje bruožus; • apibendrinti įvairių mokslininkų požiūrį į įmonės kapitalo struktūros formavimui įtaką darančius veiksnius bei jų poveikį įmonės finansiniam svertui. • sukurti tyrimų metodiką, leidžiančią įvertinti Lietuvos įmonių kapitalo struktūros formavimo sprendimus 2000-2006 m.; • nustatyti Lietuvos įmonių kapitalo struktūros kitimo tendencijas; • nustatyti veiksnius, sąlygojančius Lietuvos įmonių kapitalo struktūros formavimo sprendimus. Tyrimų metodika. Naudojant mokslinės literatūros analizės ir sintezės bei palyginimo metodus yra identifikuotos įmonių kapitalo struktūros formavimo problemos, nustatyti kapitalo struktūros formavimo teorinių tyrimų raidos bruožai Lietuvoje ir pasaulyje bei apibendrintas mokslininkų požiūris į įmonių kapitalo struktūros formavimą sąlygojančius veiksnius bei jų poveikį finansiniam svertui. Naudojant tyrimų metodologijos analizės ir lyginimo metodus yra sukurta tyrimų metodika, leidžianti įvertinti Lietuvos įmonių kapitalo struktūros formavimo sprendimus. Pasitelkiant matematinės statistikos funkcijų (TREND, LINEST), dispersinės... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The research object – formation of capital structure and factors that make influence on it. The research purpose is to investigate the trends of capital structure change, also find out the factors that influence on the formation of capital structure. The objectives of the research are: • to find out the problems of capital structure formation; • to present the main theories and models of capital structure, the directions of their development; • to clear up the researchers’ approach how the capital structure decision-making can be affected by relevant environmental influences or other factors; • to create the methodology of investigation of evaluation of capital structure formation decisions in Lithuanian companies during the period 2000-2006; • to investigate the change trends of capital structure formation in Lithuanian companies; • to determine the factors that make the influence on the capital structure decision-making in the companies. Research methodology. By using analysis, synthesis and comparison of foreign and Lithuanian scientific literature there are identified problems of enterprises capital structure formation, described the main points of theories and models of capital structure, also summarised the scientists’ approach to factors make influence on capital structure formation in the research. By using analysis and comparison methods of methodology there was created the research methodology in order to evaluate decisions of capital structure formation in... [to full text]

The main goal of this work is to facilitate the exchange of information among the members of the social network by extending the functionality of the social network. The network should have the functionality that could provide not only the most relevant information to the particular member of the network but also with some additional information that could be of some interest to that member (user of the system). Such functionality can be achieved by extending social network with recommendation management subsystem. In this work, recommendation is defined as an informal or formal statement defining what information should be provided to the particular user. This work covers the method of the formation of personalized recommendations. The formation of them is based on leverage coefficients. This way of formation of recommendations allows defining the most suitable level of flexibility and personalization. This provides selection and presentation of proper additional information. The algorithm of formation of recommendations, described is this work, formally defines the composition of recommendation. Recommendation is saved as substantive element of the social network. It consist of finite set of atomic elements, this feature lets to analyze or modify recommendations, avoiding flexibility and personalization problems, which emerges in others recommendation systems.

Efficiency, Leverage and Exit: The Role of Information Asymmetry in Concentrated Industries This paper develops a real options model of imperfect competition with asymmetric information that analyzes firms' exit decisions. Optimal exit decision is linked to firm characteristics such as financial leverage and efficiency. The model shows that informational asymmetries can lead more efficient and less leveraged firms to leave the product market prematurely. It also demonstrates how firm efficiency can increase debt capacity relative to rival firms. The model also has implications for firm risk and asset returns. Specifically, the paper shows that, when there is information asymmetry among rivals, rival actions can have a "news effect" that change a firm's dynamic risk structure. Human Capital Investment and the Completion of Risky R&D Projects We consider a firm that employs human capital to make a technological breakthrough. Since the probability of success of the breakthrough depends on the current stock of human capital the firm has an incentive to expand its human capital stock. The present value of the patent is stochastic but can be observed during the R\&D phase of the project. The exogenous value of the patent determines the firm's decisions to invest in human capital, to abandon the project if necessary, and to invest in marketing the new product. We study the corresponding optimal stopping times, determine their value and risk consequences, and derive optimal investment in the stock of human capital. While optimal investment in human capital is very sensitive to its productivity do increase the probability of a breakthrough it is insensitive to changes in the volatility of the present value of the patent. The value of the firm is driven by fixed labor costs that occur until the breakthrough is made, the call option to invest in human capital and market the product, and the put option to abandon the project. These options together with labor costs' based operating leverage determine the risk dynamics. Risk varies non-monotonically with the stochastic value of the patent and is U-shaped. Migration Options for Skilled Labor and Optimal Investment in Human Capital This paper develops a model of optimal education choice of an agent who has an option to emigrate. Using a real options framework, we analyze the time evolution of human capital in the country of origin and investigate the role of migration possibilities in the accumulation of different types of human capital. The analysis shows that the accumulation of human capital depends crucially on the level of uncertainty and the transferability of human capital across countries. Government subsidies are an important determinant of the composition of different types of human capital and can be crucial in alleviating the brain drain problem. (author's abstract)

External support has previously been found to increase both interrebel alliances and interrebel conflict. This thesis uses a modified principal-agent theory to bring these findings together in a common theoretical framework, arguing that external support leads to interrebel alliances when the sponsor’s leverage is high, and to interrebel warfare when the sponsor’s leverage is low. Using data on multiparty conflicts from 1975-2010, it aims to answer why external state support has increased interrebel warfare in some cases and interrebel alliances in other. It finds that the effect of external support isn’t unidirectional on interrebel alliances or interrebel warfare. This thesis finds that when controlling for forms of support that allows a sponsor to monitor the rebel group, external support is positively correlated with interrebel warfare and negatively with interrebel alliances. It also finds that the monitoring capacity of the sponsor decreases interrebel warfare, whilst the effects on interrebel alliances are inconsistent. Further, strong rebel groups, groups active in areas of drug cultivation and groups that share ideational ties with other groups in the same conflict, are found to be more likely to engage in interrebel warfare, and less likely to engage in interrebel alliances.

Pour limiter le potentiel systémique des crises financières futures il est nécessaire de renforcer la dimension macro-prudentielle de la régulation. Nous proposons dans cette thèse les quatre pistes de réflexion suivantes pour la construction d’un cadre macro-prudentiel plus robuste : i) détecter les décisions qui jouent un rôle décisif sur le niveau de risque de la banque et sur son exposition aux crises financières; ii) se servir d’un indicateur de levier agrégé pour détecter l’emballement de l’offre de crédits ; iii) introduire une forme de Prompt Corrective Action en Europe dont les signaux de détection seraient composés d’informations sur le capital et sur la liquidité des banques ; iiii) trouver le meilleur moyen de lutter contre le risque de hasard moral des institutions financières systémiques. Les résultats de ces travaux sont les suivants :1) l’association d’une politique de levier agressive et d’une politique de financement largement orientée sur les marchés à court terme est le facteur déterminant pour repérer les banques vulnérables ; 2) l’indicateur de levier agrégé que nous avons construit a un pouvoir prédictif assez élevé et peut par conséquent être utilisé comme instrument de détection des crises financières ; 3) l’information sur le risque de liquidité semble être un bon complément aux ratios de capital pour détecter les banques vulnérables et déclencher l’intervention des superviseurs dans le cadre d’une Prompt Corrective Action européenne ; 4) les solutions les plus pertinentes pour résoudre le problème de hasard moral associé aux institutions systémiques semblent être celles qui visent à simplifier la structure des banques afin d’en faciliter la résolution. / It is crucial to reinforce macro-prudential regulation to reduce the systemic impact of the next financial crisis. In this thesis, we propose four trails to strengthen the robustness of the macro-prudential framework: i) to detect the decisions which have the most significant impact on banks’ risk and, on their exposure to financial crises; ii) to use an indicator of global aggregated leverage to detect credit deviation; iii) to introduce a kind of Prompt Corrective Action in Europe relying on a composite threshold which is made of information about capital and liquidity risk; iiii) to find the best way to reduce moral hazard risk associated to systemically important financial institutions. Our findings are the following: 1) the combination of an excessive leverage and the high use of market short term funding is the core criteria to identify vulnerable banks; 2) the global aggregated leverage ratio we have constructed has a high predictive power and therefore, can be used to detect financial crises; 3) information about banks’ liquidity risk seems to be a useful complement to capital adequacy ratios to detect vulnerable banks and, trigger supervisory intervention for the European Prompt Corrective Action; 4) solutions which aim to reduce banks’ complexity to facilitate the resolution of systemically important financial institutions seems to be the most relevant to reduce moral hazard risk.

In this paper, I examine the impact of direct equity injections and troubled asset purchases on bank lending and solvency and analyze how ex ante tighter caps on leverage affect ex post decisions between both interventions. Extending the model of Bachmann (2018) by adding the government as a liquidity supplier, illiquid banks can either sell troubled assets at fire sale prices to collateralized financed liquid banks or to the government. If illiquid banks are forced to sell all troubled assets in order to meet premature withdrawals and the government is left with excess liquidity compared to direct equity injections, they can use these funds to bid up prices. Higher prices reduce future returns on buying illiquid assets and motivate liquid banks´ incentive to lend by crowding out their speculative motive for liquidity hoarding. As a result, troubled asset purchases weakly dominate direct equity injections in terms of lending and solvency, directly amplified by a drop in collateral liquidity. Additionally, regulating illiquid banks ex ante by tighter caps on leverage affects the government's decisions about ex post interventions to effectively stabilize lending and solvency conditions, as the self-reinforcing downward spiral between fire sale prices and collateral liquidity is mitigated. Hence, I find that there exists an inherent nexus between ex ante regulations and ex post interventions. / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series