The latest from the research centres
27 Jun 2008Research is the breeding ground and driving force of an academic business school. At Vlerick this breeding ground is constantly being enriched with new research talent. Some of these talented students will complete their doctoral studies this year. Orator got a sneak preview of the results…
How can managers nurture a positive feedback climate?
Katleen De Stobbeleir, ICM Fellow
Both practitioners and academics have long recognised that giving feedback to employees is a powerful motivational instrument in enhancing their performance. However, in the modern working world, employees do not (and should not) passively wait for feedback from their supervisors. Instead, they proactively seek and use feedback from a wide variety of sources within and outside their organisation. Given this new feedback reality, Katleen De Stobbeleir’s research seeks to untangle how managers can nurture a positive feedback climate in which subordinates feel free to proactively seek feedback and ask their managers, co-workers and other relevant sources for advice and guidance. Katleen’s work indicates that employees are often reluctant to seek feedback because it may convey an image of uncertainty or incompetence. By displaying an empowering leadership style, managers can reduce the image risks for employees and cultivate a more constructive feedback climate. This is important, as this research also shows that employees who seek feedback from a wide variety of sources develop higher-quality relationships with their supervisors and co-workers, are better at improving their task performance and display more creative behaviour than employees who merely rely on their supervisors for feedback.
PhD thesis of Katleen De Stobbeleir: Employee proactivity in the feedback context: how can managers nurture a positive feedback climate?
Katleen De Stobbeleir obtained her Master's degree in Organisational Psychology and Labour Sciences at Ghent University. She is a doctoral researcher in organisational behaviour and human resources at the Vlerick HRM Centre and will complete her PhD in November 2008.
How do prototypical brands create a sustainable competitive advantage?
Frank Goedertier
What do brands like Coca-Cola, Kleenex, Jeep and Maxicosi have in common? All of them are so strong that they have become synonymous with the product category to which they belong. Known as prototypical brands, they are regarded as the archetype of a product category. In line with categorisation theories from cognitive psychology, brands can be distinguished on the basis of their representativeness for their respective category. This doctoral research presents a model and argues that brand typicality can lead to a competitive advantage that is created and sustained by several cognitive processes at play in the mind of the consumer.
The second part of this thesis looks at how these advantages can be leveraged through brand extensions and co-branding strategies. More specifically, the effect of brand typicality on the perception and adoption of innovations is studied, as well as the moderating effect of the type of consumer (e.g. experts vs. novices, prevention-focused vs. promotion-focused consumers). Frank Goedertier also investigates how prototypical brands can be used to optimum effect in brand alliances (e.g. joint advertising or sponsorship).
PhD thesis of Frank Goedertier: How do prototypical brands create a sustainable competitive advantage? How to leverage this advantage in an innovation and co-branding context?
Frank Goedertier obtained a Master’s degree in Communication Sciences at K.U.Leuven, participated in the master ‘Etudes Complémentaires en Administration et Gestion des Entreprises’ at the Université Catholique de Louvain and successfully completed the Masters in Marketing program at Vlerick.Currently, Frank is a doctoral researcher at the Vlerick Marketing Competence Centre and will complete his PhD in 2009.
The liquidity/control dilemma in family-owned companies
Steven Carchon
In family-owned companies, the allocation of scarce free cash can engender a conflict between the short-term liquidity expectations of the family shareholders and liquidity requirements for corporate growth and continuity. This liquidity dilemma can give rise to a control dilemma, as the family wishes to maintain corporate control at times when external capital is needed to satisfy the liquidity needs of the company and the family shareholders. To date, this liquidity/control dilemma remains without a theoretical framework that would enable testable propositions to be developed. Steven Carchon’s research presents a theoretical framework in which the financial interdependence between the family and the company lies at the heart of this dilemma. A typology of family businesses is presented based on this financial interdependence. Steven’s thesis attempts to test the key propositions of this theoretical model empirically. The ultimate goal is to enhance our understanding of whether and how the liquidity dilemma influences the family’s ambition to sustain corporate control over the long term.
PhD thesis of Steven Carchon: The liquidity/control dilemma in family-owned companies
Steven Carchon holds a BA degree in Economics and Business Economics from Ghent University, an MSc in General Management from Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School, and an MSc in Statistics for the Social Sciences (KUBrussel). He is a doctoral researcher in corporate governance at the research centre Entrepreneurship, Governance, and Strategy.
Orator 28 - June 2008
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