Politická ekonomie 2018, 66(6):671-688 | DOI: 10.18267/j.polek.1218

Názvy společností a jejich vliv na výkonnost firem

Jan Hanousek1,2, ©těpán Jurajda1,2,3
1 CERGE-EI, Univerzita Karlova v Praze a Akademie věd České republiky, v.v.i.
2 Research Affiliates v C.E.P.R, London.
3 Research Fellow v IZA, Bonn.

Corporate Names and Performance

We provide systematic evidence of the effect of alphabetical sorting on corporate performance based on over a decade of data covering seventeen EU countries in three European language families. We also measure the effects of using English words in a corporate name in a non-English-speaking country, of a corporate name containing a 'national' (patriotic) word, and of simple linguistic properties highlighted in the brand-name marketing literature. Using multiple measures of corporate performance, we find companies sorted low in the alphabet to be less successful in several European countries, particularly in services. 'National' words are associated with substantially higher sales growth in, e.g., Poland, Norway, France and Spain, while the use of English words in company names curbs (fosters) sales growth in Romance- (Slavic-) language countries.

Keywords: brand name, onomastics, order effects, alphabetical sorting
JEL classification: C55, G32, G41, Z13

Received: November 24, 2017; Accepted: June 5, 2018; Published: December 1, 2018  Show citation

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Hanousek, J., & Jurajda, ©. (2018). Corporate Names and Performance. Politická ekonomie, 66(6), 671-688. doi: 10.18267/j.polek.1218
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