© 2013 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1350-23IX Journal of Brand Management Vol. 20, 6, 488–500 www.palgrave-journals.com/bm/ Correspondence: Colleen P. Kirk Mount Saint Mary College, 330 Powell Ave, Newburgh, NY 12550, USA E-mail: Colleen.Kirk@msmc.edu Original Article The impact of brand value on fi rm valuation: The moderating infl uence of fi rm type Received (in revised form): 5th October 2012 Colleen P. Kirk is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, NY, recently earning her doctorate from Pace University. Her research interests focus on interactivity and consumer value co-creation, and her work has appeared in journals such as Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Journal of the Academy of Behavioral Finance and Economics, International Journal of Technology , Knowledge and Society , and Business Case Journal . She spent thirteen years in product management and sales in the computer industry and as an adjunct professor at Mercy College. Ipshita Ray is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Lubin School of Business, Pace University, New York. Her research interests include customer decision-making processes, customer relationship management, shopping behaviors and marketing communication effectiveness. She has published in journals such as the Journal of Business Research, Journal of Marketing Communications, Journal of Strategic Marketing, International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research and Journal of Academic and Business Ethics. Berry Wilson is an Associate Professor of Finance at the Lubin School of Business, Pace University, New York. His research interests include financial market stability, crises and performance. Publishing in such journals as Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, The Economic Journal, Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Journal of Financial Intermediation and Review of Financial Economics, he has also served as a World Bank Consultant in the areas of emerging-market economies and bank regulatory policies. ABSTRACT The efficient markets hypothesis suggests that the stock price of a firm reflects investor perceptions of the current and future earnings potential of all of its assets, both tangible and intangible. Brand value can be viewed as an intangible firm asset and research suggests brand value impacts stock prices. However, the effect of branding on consumers differs from its effect on organizational buyers. In this study, brand valuation estimates are found to be significantly associated with share prices above and beyond book value and earnings information. However, this relationship is moderated by firm type, and, although the association of brand value and stock prices is significant for consumer firms, it is not significant for industrial firms. Brand valuation associations with stock prices are found to be significant both on a contemporaneous basis and on a 1-year time-lagged basis, suggesting brand value changes have a durable effect on firm valuation. The implications for industrial and consumer branding strategies and research are discussed. Journal of Brand Management (2013) 20, 488–500. doi:10.1057/bm.2012.55; published online 30 November 2012 Keywords: brand equity; brand value; brand strategy; industrial brand; industrial marketing; stock price