Can you forge an emotional bond with a brand so strong that, if forced to buy a competitor’s product, you suffer separation anxiety? According to a new study from the USC Marshall School of Business, the answer is yes. In fact, that bond can be strong enough that consumers are willing to sacrifice time, money, energy and reputation to maintain their attachment to that brand.

‘Brand Attachment and Brand Attitude Strength: Conceptual and Empirical Differentiation of Two Critical Brand Equity Drivers,’ a study published in the November issue of the Journal of Marketing, is co-authored by USC Marshall’s C. Whan Park, Joseph A. DeBell Professor of Marketing; Deborah J. MacInnis, Vice Dean of Research and Charles L. and Ramona I. Hilliard Professor of Business Administration; and Joseph Priester, Associate Professor of Marketing; along with Andreas B. Eisingerich, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Imperial College (London) Business School; and Dawn Iacobucci, E. Bronson Ingram Professor in Marketing, Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University, indicates that brand attachment has much stronger impact on consumers than previously believed. In fact, the study suggests, brand attachment can even be strong enough to induce separation anxiety when favorite brands are replaced.

The study advances existing brand research […]

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British Prime Minister David Cameron wants his coalition administration to be the ‘greenest government ever’. It is still too early to decide whether or not the new prime minister will keep his promise on green issues, but some promising notes have been sounded on clean technologies, such as renewable energy generation and energy efficiency.

The loudest has been that from the Green Investment Bank Commission, which was set up by the Conservatives and is led by former chairman Bob Wigley. It reported in June that ‘the scale of the investment required to meet UK climate change and renewable energy targets is unprecedented – and of a size not seen since the post second world war reconstruction.’

Describing the report as a ‘very important piece of work’, Greg Barker, minister of state for climate change, says: ‘We are totally committed to working towards a low carbon economy in a way that underpins the global competitiveness of the UK. We see a Green Investment Bank as a very important part of a transition that puts the UK at the forefront of green technology.’

The UK is not alone in this race. ‘All governments around the world are seeing cleantech as an opportunity to drive competitiveness […]

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WASHINGTON — Tuesday was a tough night for Democrats, as they watched Republicans win enough seats to take back the House in the next Congress and began to ponder life under a likely House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). But one group hit especially hard was the Blue Dog Coalition, with half of its members losing their seats.

According to an analysis by The Huffington Post, 22 of the 46 Blue Dogs up for re-election went down on Tuesday. Notable losses included Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (D-S.D.), the coalition’s co-chair for administration, and Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.), the co-chair for policy. Two members were running for higher office (both lost), four were retiring and three races were still too close to call.

The Blue Dogs, a coalition of moderate to conservative Democrats in the House, have consistently frustrated their more progressive colleagues and activists within the party, especially during the health care debate. Blue Dog members pushed to limit the scope and the cost of the legislation and resisted some of the mandates of the bill. Last summer, seven of the eight Blue Dogs on the House Energy and Commerce Committee even threatened to block health care reform unless it met their cost requirements.

Other […]

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The Federal Reserve’s policy-setting panel began a crucial two-day meeting Tuesday, poised to cast aside its long-held reluctance to micro-manage the economy in a bid to avoid a lost decade of growth.

The central bank’s open market committee (FOMC) is expected to approve massive stimulus spending not seen since the depths of the economic crisis.

At the conclusion of the meeting Wednesday, the Fed is expected to announce it will resume the large-scale purchase of long-term US bonds — essentially printing billions of dollars — in the hope of boosting a weak recovery.

While the Fed took similar measures during the crisis, it is unprecedented when the economy is not teetering on the edge of collapse, raising protests from some Fed members who fear it is unnecessary and will fuel long-term inflation.

Critics of the policy argue that although the recovery is painfully slow, markets should be allowed to do their work. They also worry that if the policy fails the Fed’s credibility will be wrecked.

‘I think that this will quite possibly be the worst mistake by the Fed in a generation,’ said Stephen Stanley of Pierpont Securities.

But supporters argue that the Fed is failing in both of the prongs of its dual mandate, […]

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U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced that 54 high-speed rail projects in 23 states will share in $2.4 billion to continue developing America’s first nationwide program of high-speed intercity passenger rail service.

The DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration received 132 applications from 32 states totaling $8.8 billion, more than three times the $2.4 billion available.

The additional $2.4 billion is being awarded for a range of activities, such as construction of track and stations, purchase of new passenger equipment, and planning studies to develop new high-speed rail service.

In the spring of 2009 I wrote about the first round of awards for the initial $8 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (‘Getting the U.S. up to Speed in Rail Travel’). That fall, applicants submitted more than $55 billion in project proposals. The federal budget called for the original $8 billion to be bolstered by $1 billion a year for five years.

The DOT announced that more than 30 rail manufacturers and suppliers have agreed to establish or expand their bases of operations in the United States if they are hired to build America’s next generation high-speed lines, a commitment the Obama Administration secured to help ensure new jobs are created here, and […]

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