Moore School of Business

Print

Faculty Research

Research that hits home

• Research Ranking
• Faculty News Archive
• News Home
• Faculty research
• Bookshelf
• Featured Faculty
• More Faculty Research
• Faculty News Home

• Future Students
• Current Students
• Visitors
• Career Services
• Executive Education
• Research
• Business Services
• News
• Administrators
• About Darla Moore
• Giving to Moore
• Technology Resources
• A-Z Index

Brands Matter

A study by Dr. Thomas J. Madden , professor of marketing, and Dr. Frank Fehle, assistant professor of finance, shows that firms that have developed strong brands “create value for their shareholders by yielding returns that are greater in magnitude than a relevant market benchmark – and perhaps more importantly – they do this with less risk….Our analyses should be encouraging to marketing managers attempting to justify long-term investments in building brand equity, particularly in the face of competing investment opportunities and increasing demands for accountability in spending.” (Co-authored with Dr. Susan M. Fournier, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.)

Customer Relationship Management

The corner drug store and the old general store of yesteryear had no modern technology, but they had loyal customers. So, how important is technology to implementing successful customer relationship management (CRM) today? Dr. Satish Jayachandran , assistant professor of marketing, and Dr. Subhash Sharma , professor of marketing, conducted a study recently that found technology enables, but does not guarantee, effective CRM. The findings were uniform across all types of companies (business-to-business and also business-to-consumer) as well as product versus service firms. Jayachandran notes, “Simply having the technology does not mean that companies will enjoy a lift in performance. They also have to have systems in place that enable employees to make use of the information that has been gathered.”

How to Succeed in College

What are the primary determinants of success in college? SAT scores and high-school grade point averages, according to a study published in the December 2004 issue of the Economics of Education Review. The study was done by Dr. Elchanan Cohn , professor of economics, Donald C. Balch, lecturer in economics, along with Sharon Cohn, and James Bradley, Jr . Employing data from 521 students enrolled in principles of economics classes at the University of South Carolina, they found that students having higher SAT scores and higher high-school GPAs are more likely to have a higher college GPA. A higher high-school class rank predicts success about as well as a higher high-school GPA. Using high-school rank or GPA alone, however, doesn’t predict success as well as when SAT scores are also included in the equation.