Publication records

The ongoing world financial crisis, now in phase two mainly affecting the loan books of banks, is forcing financial institutions to reflect or modify their business models. A review of the last full credit cycle shows opportunities to identify the relevant drivers of value that are measured in terms of both return on equity and risk. On this basis we analyzed the balance sheets and P&L accounts of about 65 European banking groups over the last cycle (2000 to 1H 2008). Five drivers define the long-term success of a bank's business model: the dynamics of growth, the asset mix, the size, the cost-to-income ratio and the relative market share compared to the banks top three country peers. As we show in detail, based on these five drivers managers are able to define their management agenda inside a consistent empirical framework. The key to success in defining a strategy is to knowing one's relative position within the competitive risk-return arena.

With the permission of the American Marketing Association

A pdf file of this working paper may be available at INSEAD.

By engaging in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, companies can not only generate favorable stakeholder attitudes and better support behaviors, but also, over the long run, build corporate image, strengthen stakeholder-company relationships, and enhance stakeholders' advocacy behaviors. However, stakeholders' low awareness of and unfavorable attributions towards companies' CSR activities remain critical impediments in companies' attempts to maximize business benefits from their CSR activities, highlighting a need for companies to communicate CSR more effectively to stakeholders. In light of these challenges, a conceptual framework of CSR communication is presented.

© 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and British Academy of Management

This study analyses the geographic integration of electricity wholesale markets with a focus on Germany and its neighbouring countries. We employ various indicators based on publically available data and find that electricity markets have become more integrated since the sector inquiry undertaken by the European Commission in the years preceeding 2006. However, European markets are not yet fully integrated. The results also suggest that stronger (and costly) integration towards certain countries may have only little or adverse effects on electricity wholesale prices in Germany. Finally, in the past, German electricity wholesale prices have appeared too low so as to trigger investments into new generation capacity. To that end prices do not appear inflated.