Experiential, Functional, Symbolic, Cost: How Firms Use Value Creation Language to Enhance Firm Value

Abstract

Value creation is a critical topic for researchers and practitioners of entrepreneurship. This study creates a unique linguistic measurement to examine how firms communicate their value proposition through language to investors and how this translates to higher degrees of firm value. Specifically, we examine four dimensions of value creation – functional, experiential, symbolic, and cost – to ascertain how each specific value increases firm value. Given the emphasis that past scholars have placed on experiential value, we also investigate how and why experiential value moderates functional, symbolic, and cost value. We demonstrate the unique relationship experiential value has with each other value, providing a theoretical framework and new methodological tool for future research.