Influence of Sectoral Shocks on Brand Popularity: Analysis of Media Perception and Its Impact on Public Opinion - The case of Hybrid Engines

Details

Supervisors

Verardi, Vincenzo

Faculty

Louvain School of Management

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences de gestion, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

enThe present paper seeks to analyse the strategies adopted by legacy automobile makers (Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz) in negotiating their transition towards electromobility through the use of hybrid engines compared to those of the pure play disruptor (Tesla). With regard to the challenges posed by the 2035 regulatory shift and the legitimacy crisis following the 2015 Dieselgate scandal, the theory argues that hybrid engines enable the legacy players to adopt a strategy of using their historic capital to cope with the disruptions in the industry without undergoing radical changes in their identities. The data collection will involve identifying an institutional press corpus sourced from The Guardian and The New York Times, published between 2005 and 2025. The Google Gemini Large Language Model (LLM) will be used as a multidimensional annotator to assess perceptions along the dimensions of sentiment, reliability, legitimacy, prestige, and future-readiness. The econometric estimations performed using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) in Stata disprove the hypothesis related to the volume of media coverage and show that the surge in publications during the period of the "Dieselgate" scandal was "a defensive saturation strategy" and not a means of gaining legitimacy. The empirical evidence confirms the presence of the "Heritage Shield": the legacy of established companies provided them with substantial advantages in terms of prestige and dependability, allowing them to withstand the "Dieselgate" shock without reducing the volatility level compared to that of an unrelated company. Nevertheless, the study identified the "eco-prestige paradox": Tesla continues to retain its undisputed superiority in environmental prestige. In summary, the present research is able to prove that established companies use their heritage not to compete ecologically but to protect themselves during the technology shift.