Differential impact of advertising and distribution expenditure on Tobin's Q: a perspective from listed firms in India

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of components of marketing expenditures, i.e. advertising and distribution expenditures on intangible value of firm (measured in terms of Tobin’s Q). The relationship is studied in the context of branding approaches (corporate and house of brands) that various firms follow. Design/methodology/approach – The data are collected from databases of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) and from the web site of National Stock Exchange. Time series regression is performed using SPSS software to test the model. Findings – Advertising expenditure has a positive impact on the intangible value of the firm and this relationship is stronger for firms following corporate branding than for firms that follow house of brands strategy. Distribution expenditure has negative impact on the intangible value of the firm and this relationship is stronger for firms following corporate branding than for firms that follow house of brands strategy. Research limitations/implications – Since most of the data retrieved for the analysis were of B2B (business to business) firms, the findings may not be generalized for all firms. Practical implications – Advertising expenditure has a diminishing marginal utility in creating intangible value. It would be useful for firms to understand where they are on this continuum and whether their advertising expenditure is giving adequate returns or may be better spent elsewhere. Originality/value – In the literature, researchers have expressed mixed viewpoints regarding the impact of total marketing spend on intangible value. The marketing expenditures are found to have both positive and negative impact on intangible value, with respect to various contexts. However, the impact of major components of marketing expenditures is not addressed. This gap is addressed in this research paper.