Assessing the Importance of Brand Equity in Health Services Marketing Through the Impact of Acquired Goodwill on Stockholder Returns

Abstract

The growing importance of brand equity is widely recognized by researchers and business strategists alike. As such, creative new ways to capture the value of this intangible asset must be devised and tested. The current study uses acquired goodwill as a surrogate indicator of brand equity and looks at the importance of brand equity for firms in the health services industry by measuring the impact of acquired goodwill on stockholder returns. The findings indicate that acquired goodwill and stockholder returns appear to be significantly and positively related to each other. In addition, firms that have higher than average amounts of goodwill relative to total assets differ significantly in terms of stockholder returns than those that have relatively little investment in goodwill. Finally, the study indicates that the impact of goodwill on investor returns is highest for firms operating in one specific industry sub-sector, the market for home health services.