Consider a two-product firm that decides on the quality of each product. Product quality is unknown to consumers. If the firm sells both products under the same brand name, consumers adjust their beliefs about quality subject to the performance of both products. We show that if the probability...

Is the reputation of a firm tradeable when the previous owner has to retire even though ownership change is observable? We consider a competitive market in which a share of owners must retire in each period. New owners, observing only recent profits, bid for the firms on sale. Customers are...

In a market environment with random detection of product quality, a firm can employ umbrella branding as a strategy to convince consumers of the high quality of its products. Alternatively, a firm can rely on external certification of the quality of one or both of its products. We characterize...

Is the reputation of a firm tradable when the change in ownership is observable? We consider a competitive market in which a share of owners must retire in each period. New owners bid for the firms that are for sale. Customers learn the owner's type, which reflects the quality of the good or...

In diesem Aufsatz gehen wir der Frage nach, welche Rolle regionale Banken in einer globalisierten Welt spielen können. Wir argumentieren, dass regionale Banken aufgrund einer stärkeren Kundenbindung und flacher Hierarchien Wettbewerbsvorteile realisieren können. Kostennachteile aufgrund der...

In the current recession, politicians grant state aid of yet unknown dimensions. But whatis the most efficient measure for granting such aid? We use a theoretical model withfirms that differ in their creditworthiness and compare different types of direct subsidieswith indirectly subsidized...

Spitzenpolitiker deutscher Volksparteien propagieren öffentlich die Förderung nationaler Champions im Bankwesen. Auch andere Institutionen fordern eine Konsolidierung des Bankwesens und verweisen dabei auf die schwache Rentabilität und die geringe Konzentration deutscher Banken. Wir...