IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i4p1086-d207227.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Brand Equity and Firm Sustainable Performance: The Mediating Role of Analysts’ Recommendations

Author

Listed:
  • Kui Wang

    (Department of Marketing, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China)

  • Wei Jiang

    (Department of Marketing, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China)

Abstract

Current literature has overlooked the signaling effects of the brand on a firm’s sustainable performance through financial analysts. This study posits that financial analysts may serve as the information bridge connecting brand equity and a firm’s sustainable performance by providing professional recommendations of stock investments to public investors. Using a longitudinal archived dataset of Chinese listed firms, we found that: (1) brand equity improves the level of analysts’ recommendations for a focal firm’s stock, and also reduces the inconsistency of analysts’ recommendations; (2) industrial competition further strengthens the positive impact of brand equity on analysts’ recommendation level and strengthen its negative impact on recommendation inconsistency; (3) analyst recommendations mediate the relationship between brand equity and a firm’s sustainable performance in terms of abnormal return, systematic and idiosyncratic risk. These findings emphasize the importance of financial analysts’ recommendations in influencing the value of brand equity on sustainable firm performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Kui Wang & Wei Jiang, 2019. "Brand Equity and Firm Sustainable Performance: The Mediating Role of Analysts’ Recommendations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-24, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:4:p:1086-:d:207227
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/4/1086/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/4/1086/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kihlstrom, Richard E & Riordan, Michael H, 1984. "Advertising as a Signal," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 92(3), pages 427-450, June.
    2. Xueming Luo & Heli Wang & Sascha Raithel & Qinqin Zheng, 2015. "Corporate social performance, analyst stock recommendations, and firm future returns," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 123-136, January.
    3. Daphne Lui & Stanimir Markov & Ane Tamayo, 2007. "What Makes a Stock Risky? Evidence from Sell‐Side Analysts' Risk Ratings," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(3), pages 629-665, June.
    4. Womack, Kent L, 1996. "Do Brokerage Analysts' Recommendations Have Investment Value?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(1), pages 137-167, March.
    5. Imran S. Currim & Jooseop Lim & Yu Zhang, 2018. "Effect of analysts’ earnings pressure on marketing spending and stock market performance," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 431-452, May.
    6. Core, John & Guay, Wayne, 1999. "The use of equity grants to manage optimal equity incentive levels," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 151-184, December.
    7. Xavier Giroud & Holger M. Mueller, 2011. "Corporate Governance, Product Market Competition, and Equity Prices," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(2), pages 563-600, April.
    8. Yim, Soojin, 2013. "The acquisitiveness of youth: CEO age and acquisition behavior," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 250-273.
    9. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    10. Shuping Chen & Dawn A. Matsumoto, 2006. "Favorable versus Unfavorable Recommendations: The Impact on Analyst Access to Management‐Provided Information," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(4), pages 657-689, September.
    11. Chi-Shiun Lai & Chih-Jen Chiu & Chin-Fang Yang & Da-Chang Pai, 2010. "The Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility on Brand Performance: The Mediating Effect of Industrial Brand Equity and Corporate Reputation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(3), pages 457-469, September.
    12. Dang, Chongyu & (Frank) Li, Zhichuan & Yang, Chen, 2018. "Measuring firm size in empirical corporate finance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 159-176.
    13. Whitwell, Gregory J. & Lukas, Bryan A. & Hill, Paul, 2007. "Stock analysts' assessments of the shareholder value of intangible assets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 84-90, January.
    14. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:3:p:1083-1124 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Clement, Michael B., 1999. "Analyst forecast accuracy: Do ability, resources, and portfolio complexity matter?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 285-303, July.
    16. Huang, Winifred & Mazouz, Khelifa, 2018. "Excess cash, trading continuity, and liquidity risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 275-291.
    17. Pahud de Mortanges, Charles & van Riel, Allard, 2003. "Brand Equity and Shareholder Value," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 521-527, August.
    18. Torres, Anna & Tribó, Josep A., 2011. "Customer satisfaction and brand equity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(10), pages 1089-1096, October.
    19. Kewei Hou & David T. Robinson, 2006. "Industry Concentration and Average Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(4), pages 1927-1956, August.
    20. Mikhail, MB & Walther, BR & Willis, RH, 1997. "Do security analysts improve their performance with experience?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35, pages 131-157.
    21. Ivkovic, Zoran & Jegadeesh, Narasimhan, 2004. "The timing and value of forecast and recommendation revisions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(3), pages 433-463, September.
    22. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    23. Boulding, William & Kirmani, Amna, 1993. "A Consumer-Side Experimental Examination of Signaling Theory: Do Consumers Perceive Warranties as Signals of Quality?," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 20(1), pages 111-123, June.
    24. Kevin Lane Keller & Donald R. Lehmann, 2006. "Brands and Branding: Research Findings and Future Priorities," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(6), pages 740-759, 11-12.
    25. Mary E. Barth & Ron Kasznik & Maureen F. McNichols, 2001. "Analyst Coverage and Intangible Assets," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1), pages 1-34, June.
    26. Loh, Roger K. & Mian, G. Mujtaba, 2006. "Do accurate earnings forecasts facilitate superior investment recommendations?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 455-483, May.
    27. Faccio, Mara & Marchica, Maria-Teresa & Mura, Roberto, 2016. "CEO gender, corporate risk-taking, and the efficiency of capital allocation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 193-209.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Camelia-Daniela Hategan & Ruxandra-Ioana Pitorac & Vasile-Petru Hategan & Carmen Mihaela Imbrescu, 2021. "Opportunities and Challenges of Companies from the Romanian E-Commerce Market for Sustainable Competitiveness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Musaab Mousa & Judit Sági & Zoltán Zéman, 2021. "Brand and Firm Value: Evidence from Arab Emerging Markets," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, January.
    3. Massoud Moslehpour & Ka Yin Chau & Alaleh Dadvari & Ben-Roy Do & Victoria Seitz, 2019. "What Killed HTC and Kept Apple Alive? Brand Sustainability Comparison of Two Asian Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-22, December.
    4. Zhaoyang Guo & Siyu Hou & Qingchang Li, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Value: The Moderating Effects of Financial Flexibility and R&D Investment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-17, October.
    5. Chune Young Chung & Euisup Lee & Chang-Gyun Park, 2020. "Do Ownership Ties Increase the Optimistic Bias of Analysts’ Earnings Estimates? Evidence from Corporate Financing in the Korean Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-20, June.
    6. S. Mythreyi Koppur & Dr. B. Senthilkumar, 2021. "Estimation of Odds Ratio as a Quality Indicator on Investment Recommendations - A Bayesian Approach," Journal of Commerce and Trade, Society for Advanced Management Studies, vol. 16(1), pages 22-30, April.
    7. Linyan Fan & Sheng Yao, 2022. "Analyst Site Visits and Corporate Environmental Information Disclosure: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-21, December.
    8. Keshab Ray & Meenakshi Sharma, 2021. "Antecedents and Outcomes of Brand Strength: A Study of Asian IT Organizations Towards Brand Sustainability," Corporate Reputation Review, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 24(3), pages 128-142, August.
    9. Kyoungwon Mo & Kyung Yun (Kailey) Lee, 2019. "Analyst Following, Group Affiliation, and Labor Investment Efficiency: Evidence from Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-19, June.
    10. Abdulsamad Alazzani & Wan Nordin Wan-Hussin & Michael Jones & Ahmed Al-hadi, 2021. "ESG Reporting and Analysts’ Recommendations in GCC: The Moderation Role of Royal Family Directors," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-21, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Luo, Xueming & Zheng, Qinqin, 2018. "How firm internationalization is recognized by outsiders: The response of financial analysts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 87-106.
    2. Sean Cleary & Jonathan Jona & Gladys Lee & Joshua Shemesh, 2020. "Underlying risk preferences and analyst risk‐taking behavior," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(7-8), pages 949-981, July.
    3. Ramnath, Sundaresh & Rock, Steve & Shane, Philip, 2008. "The financial analyst forecasting literature: A taxonomy with suggestions for further research," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 34-75.
    4. Beyer, Anne & Cohen, Daniel A. & Lys, Thomas Z. & Walther, Beverly R., 2010. "The financial reporting environment: Review of the recent literature," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 296-343, December.
    5. Green, T. Clifton & Jame, Russell & Markov, Stanimir & Subasi, Musa, 2014. "Access to management and the informativeness of analyst research," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(2), pages 239-255.
    6. Guo, Li & Li, Frank Weikai & John Wei, K.C., 2020. "Security analysts and capital market anomalies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(1), pages 204-230.
    7. Yonca Ertimur & Jayanthi Sunder & Shyam V. Sunder, 2007. "Measure for Measure: The Relation between Forecast Accuracy and Recommendation Profitability of Analysts," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(3), pages 567-606, June.
    8. Tsang, Albert & Xiang, Yi & Yu, Li, 2023. "Cross-border regulatory cooperation and analyst forecasts," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    9. Tristan Roger, 2018. "The coverage assignments of financial analysts," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(6), pages 651-673, September.
    10. Kim, Hyun-Dong & Park, Kwangwoo & Song, Kyojik Roy, 2021. "Organization capital and analysts’ forecasts," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 762-778.
    11. Xueming Luo & Heli Wang & Sascha Raithel & Qinqin Zheng, 2015. "Corporate social performance, analyst stock recommendations, and firm future returns," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 123-136, January.
    12. Young Mok Choi & Kunsu Park, 2019. "Foreign Ownership, Agency Costs, and Long-Term Firm Growth: Evidence from Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-17, March.
    13. Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim, 2015. "The impact of corporate social responsibility on investment recommendations: Analysts' perceptions and shifting institutional logics," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(7), pages 1053-1081, July.
    14. Peter F. Pope & Tong Wang, 2023. "Analyst ability and research effort: non-EPS forecast provision as a research quality signal," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 1263-1315, September.
    15. Bok Baik & Kyonghee Kim & Richard Morton & Yongoh Roh, 2016. "Analysts’ pre-tax income forecasts and the tax expense anomaly," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 559-595, June.
    16. Brian Gibbons & Peter Iliev & Jonathan Kalodimos, 2021. "Analyst Information Acquisition via EDGAR," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(2), pages 769-793, February.
    17. O. Emre Ergungor & Leonardo Madureira & Nandkumar Nayar & Ajai K. Singh, 2011. "Banking relationships and sell-side research," Working Papers (Old Series) 1114, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
    18. Mei-Chen Lin, 2020. "When analysts encounter lottery-like stocks: lottery-like stocks and analyst stock recommendations," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 327-353, July.
    19. Roger K. Loh & René M. Stulz, 2018. "Is Sell‐Side Research More Valuable in Bad Times?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 73(3), pages 959-1013, June.
    20. Paul-Valentin Ngobo & Jean-François Casta & Olivier J. Ramond, 2012. "Is customer satisfaction a relevant metric for financial analysts?," Post-Print halshs-00680003, HAL.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:4:p:1086-:d:207227. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.