The problem of price wars is a significant one for businesses. The Problem of Price Wars Consumers generally love price wars. It is possible for such conflicts to hurt consumers long-term but in the short-term lower prices share more of the value created by the business. This makes consumers happier. Managers can more easily see…
Public Policy And Intangibles
Haskel and Westlake in their excellent book “Capitalism without Capital” point out the problems that record keeping has with recording assets. (My last comment on this book I promise). There is a big problem in respect of public policy and intangibles. Reporting Challenges They note the asymmetry of the rules around intangible reporting. Namely that intangibles…
Valuing Free Customers
Two sided markets are an important concept in economics and business. They have some exciting characteristics and present some great problems in deciding on corporate strategy. One issue is: how much should a company pay to acquire a customer who isn’t paying anything? How to go about valuing free customers? The Value Of Customers Who…
Taste and Categorization
Tom Vanderbilt examines the problem of taste and categorization in his book: “You May Also Like: Taste in an Age of Endless Choice”. He examines the way taste matters in modern life. His focus is mostly on business. He discusses food, music, art, beer…. Vanderbilt details such things as how recommendation agents work to suggest…
Why Are Intangible Investments Different To Tangible Investments?
Haskel and Westlake’s main point in Capitalism without Capital is that the world is changing and that the predominant form of investment nowadays (investments in intangibles) is different from investment in tangible assets. Why are intangible investments different to tangible investments? The Four Ss of Intangibles The authors, in making the case for intangible investments…
Why Financial Statements Fail “Digital” Companies
The way marketing features accounting statements is pretty awful. I have noted this often. Many of the issues raised are, however, applicable outside marketing. They occur with a wide range of intangible assets. Vijay Govindarajan and his colleagues, therefore, look at the providers of accounting for “digital” companies. They ask: Why Financial Statements Fail “Digital”…
What Does Marketing Do?
What does marketing do? Many people really have little idea. Establishing what marketers do can be an important first step to a meaningful discussion. People Don’t Necessarily Understand marketing Haskel and Westlake have a great new book — Capitalism without Capital. In this they highlight a major problem that they see. The problem they note is…
Political Marketing And The Modern Age
How have election communciations been changing? What can we say about political marketing and the modern age? The US Presidential Election of 2016 With a couple of colleagues, Joseph Ryoo and Alina Nastasoiu, I wrote a chapter in a recent review of the US Presidential Elections in 2016. (We could have just published a one-word…
The (Perfect?) Mess That is US Higher Education
Want a review of the (perfect?) mess that is US higher education? The State of US Higher Educations David Labaree assesses the state of US higher education in his interesting book — A Perfect Mess. I enjoyed his take on higher ed. It seemed like he had an appreciation for the complexities of it. He…
Using The Language Of Business And Seeing Its Problems
Accounting, and finance more generally, is the language of business. This means marketers can’t get away from it. I recommend both using the language of business and seeing its problems. Engaging with Finance Language I think it is extremely valuable for people more broadly to understand the language of finance. Finance and accounting has challenges….
