  We compute one-loop and two-loop beta-functions for vacuum expectation values
(VEVs) in gauge theories. In R_xi gauge the VEVs renormalize differently from
the respective scalar fields. We focus particularly on the origin and behavior
of this difference and show that it can be interpreted as the anomalous
dimension of a certain scalar background field, leading to simple direct
computation and qualitative understanding. The results are given for generic as
well as supersymmetric gauge theories. These complement the set of well-known
gamma- and beta-functions of Machacek/Vaughn. As an application, we compute the
beta-functions for VEVs and tan(beta) in the MSSM, NMSSM and E6SSM.
