KCG Journal Articles

Markups of Exporters and Importers: Evidence from Hungary

1st March 2018
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Authors: Cecília Hornok and Balázs Muraközy (The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 2019, Vol. 121(3), 1303-1333)

This paper studies the relationship between different proxies of firm-level markups and trade status using balance sheet information linked to detailed trade data from Hungary between 1995-2003. We find that importing is strongly positively correlated with markup measures both across and within firms. We argue that this correlation can reflect three channels: self-selection, higher physical productivity resulting from access to a larger variety of inputs, and quality upgrading based on high-quality imported intermediate inputs[…]

Environmental Regulation and Sustainable Competitiveness: Evaluating the Role of Firm-Level Green Investments in the Context of the Porter Hypothesis

30th January 2018
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Authors: Jana Stoever and John P. Weche (Environmental and Resource Economics, 2018, Vol. 70(2), 429-455)

We investigate the impact of environmental regulation on firm performance and investment behavior. Exploiting the case of a German water withdrawal regulation that is managed on the state level, we analyze firms’ reactions to an increase in the water tax using a regression-adjusted difference-in-differences approach. We analyze the individual firm’s response to a change in environmental regulation, distinguishing between add-on and integrated environmental investments […]

Ethical Products = Less Strong: How Explicit and Implicit Reliance on the Lay Theory Affects Consumption Behaviors

21st December 2017
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Authors: Robert Mai, Stefan Hoffmann, Wassili Lasarov and Arne Buhs (Journal of Business Ethics, 2019, Vol. 158, 659–677)

Many consumers implicitly associate sustainability with lower product strength. This so-called ethical = less strong intuition (ELSI) poses a major threat for the success of sustainable products. This article explores this pervasive lay theory and examines whether it is a key barrier for sustainable consumption patterns. Even more importantly, little is known about the underlying mechanisms that might operate differently at the implicit[…]

The Tenure-Based Customer Retention Model: A Cross-Cultural Validation

21st December 2017
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Authors: Carolin Krauts and Stefan Hoffmann (Journal of International Marketing, 2017, Vol. 25(3), 83-106)

International businesses and their marketing managers face complexity in the targeting of different customer groups in multiple countries, with different purchase histories and brand relationship tenures. Thus far, no customer retention model has been suggested to sufficiently reduce such complexity. To fill the gap, this study distinguishes three global customer groups—brand stayers, brand switchers, and category novices[…]

Consumer Response to Unethical Corporate Behavior: A Re-Examination and Extension of the Moral Decoupling Model

21st December 2017
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Authors: Kristina Haberstroh. Ulrich Orth, Stefan Hoffmann and Berit Brunk (Journal of Business Ethics, 2017, Vol. 140(1), 161-173)

This research replicates Bhattacharjee et al. (J Consum Res 39(4):1167–1184, 2013) moral decoupling model and extends the original along the dimensions of theory, method, and context. Adopting a branding perspective and focusing on the corporate domain rather than the public figures investigated by Bhattacharjee and colleagues, this research examines the proposition that consumers dissociate judgments of morality from judgments of performance to justify purchasing from companies deemed to act immorally[…]