Bernd Britzelmaier

Corporate sustainability management: evidence from Germany

Purpose – Sustainability has become a hot topic in business administration theory. However, there is still a lack of knowledge on how companies can manage sustainability properly. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is two fold. First, it provides an updated discussion on the potential business case for sustainability. Second, it analyses the current state of the implementation of sustainability management in Germany.Design/methodology/approach – Based on literature review, the paper aims to answer two research questions: are there indications for a business case for sustainability, and what is the current state of implementation of sustainability management in Germany?Findings – A business case for sustainability seems, in principle, plausible, especially with regard to an individual company basis. The discussion of recent empirical studies in Germany may lead to the conclusion that sustainability management is not yet implemented comprehensively. Remarkably, the management control and finance departmen...

Cost of capital in SMEs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the applicability of value based management (VBM) concepts for small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and to identify obstacles for its implementation. Estimating cost of capital is central to all VBM concepts, it is hence intended to critically analyse approaches that allow estimating cost of capital for non‐publicly traded firms.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on literature review and a case study approach. A case study on estimating the cost of capital has been conducted with a single manufacturing firm in Germany.Findings – VBM may provide useful management concepts for SMEs. Estimating the cost of capital has been found to be a critical element of implementing VBM concepts. Due to the absence of capital market data, cost of equity in SMEs has to be derived by means of alternative procedures. Results of a case study implicate that a combination of different methods may provide reasonable results in practice.Research limitations/impli...

Risk management in German small and medium-sized enterprises

The present paper illustrates the specific features of risk management in German small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Thereby, the aim is two-parted within the literature review and the quantitative as well as qualitative research. The former focuses on the reasons for German SMEs to apply risk management in the organisation, the latter refers to the actual level of implementation as well as the structure of risk management in German SMEs. Within the empirical analysis, a wide range of reasons for the application of risk management is revealed. However, risk management is mainly applied by large companies and still plays a minor role in German SMEs. Therefore, the present paper addresses a field with a considerable lack of previous research and provides a different in-depth view compared to the findings of predominantly undertaken studies in Germany.

Remuneration of management in the financial crisis – a study of the 2009 annual reports of the Euro Stoxx 50 companies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the remuneration of management in the financial crisis. What are the key elements of management payment at the Euro Stoxx 50 companies, does management remuneration comprise long-term incentives in order to overcome principal-agent conflicts and how did the financial crisis affect management payment in terms of payment elements and size? Design/methodology/approach – Based on the Euro Stoxx 50 financial reports of the fiscal year 2009 and other documents elements and size of management payment are being analysed. Findings – Management payment has been affected by financial crisis. Among the Euro Stoxx 50 companies management remuneration is quite heterogeneous. Practical implications – There is still a lack of use of appropriate metrics. There are doubts whether measures like TSR really can align managers decisions to a sustainable, long-term orientated strategy. Originality/value – The paper gives an insight view in management remuneration at the Euro Stox...

An analysis of dysfunctions and biases in financial performance measures

Financial performance measures are often criticised for being biased measures of a companys true performance and setting the wrong incentives. Modern performance measurement systems hence focus not only on financial measures but try to plan and control the firm in a more balanced way by using other measures as well. Despite the weaknesses of financial measures, modern concepts of performance measurement cannot completely renounce on financial measures. In this paper, some important problems of financial measures are analysed and it is attempted to find solutions for the problems. It is concluded that many of the problems are the result of a poor understanding or application of the measures and that they can be avoided by making the right adaptations or using different methods. The paper is based on a literature review on common dysfunctions and biases in financial performance measures complemented by own analyses, discussions and comments.

Cost of equity capital in small and medium sized private companies Theoretical considerations and empirical and case-studys results concerning SMEs in southwest Germany

Cost of capital rates are used for a number of purposes in finance and accounting such as the determination of imputed interest, investment appraisal or value-based management. While stock-listed companies are able to use capital market oriented methods to determine their cost of equity such as CAPM or APT other companies have to follow different approaches. The aim of this paper is to summarise and update research papers published during the last couple of years dealing with the relevance and application of cost of equity in SMEs (Britzelmaier et al., 2013, 2014, 2015). After a brief introduction, the characteristics of SMEs are discussed. A critical overview of fundamentals and common calculation methods of the cost of equity capital is provided. After the literature review findings of empirical studies are presented as well as findings of a case study. A conclusion and an outlook are given.

Corporate Social Responsibility in mittelständischen Unternehmen: Eine synoptische Betrachtung

Eine Vielzahl Masnahmen, in denen sich mittelstandische Unternehmen engagieren, konnen unter dem Begriff CSR subsumiert werden, allerdings sind sich die Unternehmen dessen nur eingeschrankt bewusst. Die durchgefuhrten Masnahmen sind stark personenbezogen und hangen sehr von den einzelnen Akteuren in den Unternehmen ab. Weiterhin scheinen diese nur eingeschrankt einer systematischen Steuerung zu unterliegen. Der Freiraum fur ein gesellschaftliches Engagement stellt sich fur die Unternehmen sehr unterschiedlich dar. Dieser scheint weniger von der Grose des Unternehmens abzuhangen, sehr wohl jedoch von der personlichen Motivation der Leitung bzw. der Eigentumer des Unternehmens und auch von den Marktgegebenheiten in denen das Unternehmen arbeitet. Ublicherweise verfugt die Leitung dieser Unternehmen uber eine stark intrinsische Motivation, sich gesellschaftlich zu engagieren und kann durch die Erfahrungen in diesem Bereich die burokratischen Erfordernisse der Formalisierung mit uberschaubarem Aufwand bewaltigen und einen Nutzen aus den Instrumenten ziehen. Ein ausgepragtes gesellschaftliches Engagement scheint gelebte Praxis in diesen Unternehmen zu sein. Auf der anderen Seite gibt es jedoch Firmen, deren Ressourcen durch die Bewaltigung der taglichen operativen Herausforderungen absorbiert werden.

A value-based management perspective for the automotive industry

In recent years, the global automotive industry has generally recorded continual growth. The major market players in this industry are the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as well as suppliers at various stages of the value-added chain. This study examines the value-based management (VBM) strategy and its implementation by the automotive industry. The major findings of the study are four-fold. First, the automotive industry operates on the basis of the VBM model. Second, the overall goal of the VBM model there is to maximise the value of an organisation. Third, VBM enhances profitability in the automotive industry. Fourth, to achieve their target of creating value, organisations should design their VBM strategy to reflect their overall mission and goals.

An overview of CSR reporting development in China

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting nowadays is an important issue in most countries. Due to environmental pollution problems and social disparities in China, CSR has become a prominent issue in Chinese academic and policy forums as well. Therefore, the paper shall give an up to date insight in the CSR development in China. An international perspective is given. Based on literature review, we show the development of CSR reporting in China. The key issues of CSR reporting are shown and discussed. The paper shall give a topical, general overview. It might be a basis to create further research activities in this domain. We show the most important trends and aspects on CSR reporting in China.

PORSCHE - THE VW GROUP'S 10TH BRAND THE DEATH OF A LEGEND?

This paper shows the main trends in the German automotive market, concerning both the supply and demand sides. It briefly depicts the history of the VW and Porsche brands and investigates the origin of Porsche’s magic. As image changes always develop on the receiver s side in consumers’ minds (Kapferer 2003), an online survey of students the ‘consumers of tomorrow’ was conducted. The study shows the effects of the integration of the Porsche brand into the VW group, including the implications of an official, well-known common part strategy on the brands’ respective images.