Time is money:An Investment in Luxury Watches (download) with Philippe Masset This study examines the risk and return characteristics of luxury watch investments. The luxury watch market offers lower returns than equities but is less volatile. It also outperforms fixed income and real estate, with significant performance variation across brands. Illiquidity, analogous to other collectables, is an important feature, yet luxury watches enhance portfolio diversification and reduce risk. Additionally, the study contrasts the distinct features of investing in physical watches versus stocks of watch manufacturers, emphasising the importance of understanding market segmentation. These findings highlight the role of luxury watches as an alternative asset in diversified investment portfolios.
Family Firm Downsizing: Power, Identification and Reputation (download) with Philippe Masset and Jun Xing This article studies the relationship between corporate downsizing and family ownership. Through the lens of socioemotional wealth theory, we hypothesise that family firms downsize less than their non-family counterparts as they identify more with their firms, care about reputational damage, and take a long-term, potentially intergenerational approach. We find a significantly negative relationship between family ownership and downsizing. The effect is exerted for family firms in which the family has more control through voting rights or an active management position. Finally, companies displaying a stronger identification with the owning family or enhanced reputational concerns downsize less.