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Lagerfeld vs. me? Luxury brands and the pitfalls of customization
The fashion industry is increasingly giving a more active role to customers. Many brands make it possible for customers to make their own design choices when it comes to selecting colors, fabrics, and cuts. But does this approach also work for luxury brands? Hermès ties with personalized print patterns or customized Valentino dresses – is this a viable approach for the entire industry? This is the question a team of researchers headed by Martin Schreier and Silke Hieke from WU Vienna’s Institute for Marketing Management set out to answer. The bottom line: Luxury brands should be careful not to take customization too far.
How future-oriented company boards drive innovation
Publicly listed companies are under growing pressure to deliver short-term results while at the same time driving long-term innovation. Against this background, it is crucial for the board to focus on the company’s long-term strategic development. In academia and in the business community, there are increasing calls for bringing more relevant expertise to the boardroom to be able to master the challenges of the future. However, this expertise only pays off if directors actually share it as part of their governance responsibilities. WU Professor Patricia Klarner, head of the Institute for Organization Design, investigates the role of the board in long-term, high-risk product innovation.
Housing costs: Young people, singles, single parents affected most
While housing costs are low for homeowners, they constitute a considerable financial burden for people who rent their homes.
Information influences how well markets work
Knowing more about the economy and politics is an advantage not only for individuals but also for society as a whole. If we have better knowledge and more information, we are able to make better decisions, which benefits everyone in the end. Professor Christoph Weiss from WU’s Department of Economics has investigated how more information makes markets work better.
Energy transition: Carbon pricing or subsidizing renewables?
Energy market researchers from WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business), FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, and UAS Grisons have crunched the numbers to find out which strategies are most efficient at reducing CO2 emissions. According to their study, much greater reductions in CO2 emissions can be achieved by increasing the prices of carbon certificates than by subsidizing wind and solar power. The research has been published in the “Journal of Environmental Economics and Management,” one of the leading journals in the field of environmental economics.