Effects of social networks on innovation diffusion and market dynamics

The main goal of this thesis is to incorporate part of the flourishing literature on network structures in a marketing context. Most of the results we have obtained and presented generate several implications. First of all we hope that the reader, after going through these chapters is convinced that often networks do play a role, that they can explain different market dynamics and that studying networks can be used to develop marketing strategies. Most of the theoretical implications derive from the following metaphor: a new product that diffuses into a society of consumers is like an epidemic that spreads into a population of susceptible individuals. Inspired by this metaphor, we believe that marketing can gain useful insights studying, adjusting and adopting epidemic models. This is what we explicitly do in chapters 2, 3 and 4. We build different network structures of consumers with their preferences and their attributes and we study how the diffusion dynamics of different products vary. Although we believe that the diffusion of a new product might look like the spread of an epidemic, we are also aware that these two processes are not completely the same. A substantial part of the work presented here consists of adapting the epidemic models to a marketing framework that can include product characteristics, personal preferences and social influence

Leveraging analytics to produce compelling and profitable film content

Producing compelling film content profitably is a top priority to the long-term prosperity of the film industry. Advances in digital technologies, increasing availabilities of granular big data, rapid diffusion of analytic techniques, and intensified competition from user generated content and original content produced by Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) platforms have created unparalleled needs and opportunities for film producers to leverage analytics in content production. Built upon the theories of value creation and film production, this article proposes a conceptual framework of key analytic techniques that film producers may engage throughout the production process, such as script analytics, talent analytics, and audience analytics. The article further synthesizes the state-of-the-art research on and applications of these analytics, discuss the prospect of leveraging analytics in film production, and suggest fruitful avenues for future research with important managerial implications

Online marketing communication: netnography into different types of fashion brands

Esta tese pretende explorar se as marcas de moda estão a fazer um bom trabalho em relação à comunicação online na plataforma social Instagram. Este estudo é realizado através do método de netnografia e dos conceitos de variáveis de sucesso no que diz respeito ao Instagram, para explorar se a comunicação online está a ser eficiente ou não. Seis marcas globais (Zara, H&M, Prada, Gucci, Nike e Adidas) foram escolhidas para participar na análise, devido ao seu tipo/categoria diferente e à sua recognição mundial. A coleção e análise de dados está dividido em três grupos: o primeiro é a coleção e análise geral dos dados de cada marca, o segundo é a coleção e análise especifica de dados de cada marca, e a terceira é a comparação das categorias das marcas. Os resultados da coleção e análise dos dados mostram que as marcas de moda rápida (Zara e H&M) estão a fazer uma comunicação online excecional, contudo em alguns aspetos a H&M é melhor devido à interação entre a marca e os consumidores e o uso de celebridades como embaixadores da marca. As marcas de alta costura (Prada e Gucci) tem uma comunicação online extraordinária, são muito parecidas e tem um grande numero de fotos e vídeos publicados em cada mês, o que mostra interação e compromisso nas páginas do Instagram. As marcas de desporto (Nike e Adidas) têm uma baixa interatividade com os consumidores e um numero baixo de fotos e vídeos publicados, o que resulta numa comunicação online mediana das marcas no Instagram. Adidas têm algum movimento na página e tenta interagir com vídeos e fotos de celebridades, ao contrário da Nike que é muito fraca em todos os aspetos estudados. Este estudo mostra que para ser bem-sucedida a comunicação online das marcas de moda, estas têm de estar constantemente a atualizar fotos e vídeos, precisam de interagir com os consumidores e faze-los sentir parte da marca, usar celebridades para dar notoriedade à marca e estar sempre corrente das ultimas tendências.This thesis aims to explore if fashion brands are doing a successful online communication regarding the online social platform, the Instagram. The study is conducted through netnography method and concepts of success variables concerning the Instagram to explore if the online communication is efficient or if not. Six global brands (Zara, H&M, Prada, Gucci, Nike, and Adidas) were chosen to participate in the analysis, for their different type/category of brands and their worldwide recognition. The data collection and data analysis is divided into three groups: the first part is the overall data collection and data analysis of each brand, the second is the specific data collection and data analysis of each brand, and the third is the comparison of the categories of brands. The results of the data collection and data analysis shows that Fast fashion brands (Zara and H&M) are doing an exceptional online communication, but in some aspects H&M is a bit better because of the engagement between brand and consumers and the use of celebrities as ambassadors of the brand. The Haute-de-couture brands (Prada and Gucci), have an extraordinary online communication, they are very similar and have great number of uploaded photos and videos each month, which shows interactivity and great engagement in the Instagram pages. The Sports brand (Nike and Adidas) have a low engagement with the consumers and low number of photos and videos uploaded, which results in an average online communication of the brands in Instagram. Adidas has some movement in the page and at least tries to interact with videos and photos of celebrities, whereas Nike is very weak in every aspect studied. This research shows that to be successful in the online communication, fashion brands must be always updating photos and videos, they need to interact with consumers and make them feel a part of the brand, use celebrities to give more notoriety to the brand and be always present in the latest trends

Determining corporate identity in UK corporations : an empirical analysis and evaluation

Corporate branding is a product of the late 20th century which often requires positioning the corporation in terms of its values, emotions, philosophy, and not just its products and services. Within the corporate branding discourse, corporate identity (CI) is held to be a key focal point. CI creates a sense of individuality for an organisation that can be used as a main source of differentiation. Thus, CI’s strategic instrumentality can be used as a means to achieve and maintain competitive advantage as customers can potentially identify with some aspects of a business, including its societal and cultural policies as well as its products and services. Furthermore, stakeholders are much concerned with corporate image and reputation which is based on elaboration of CI over time. As a result, interest in CI has accelerated in academic and business circles over the past ten to fifteen years.While the concept of CI has been widely discussed and defined in the literature, there is as yet no universally accepted definition and an agreement on what constitutes the construct has not been achieved, despite the fact that several explanatory frameworks and taxonomies have been developed. While these frameworks are of value to researchers in developing and structuring the nascent literature, they merely provide a platform for subsequent research. However, even the developed frameworks lack theoretical depth at this stage and do not provide a clear specification of the construct domain, which is considered essential given the ambivalent boundaries between CI and related constructs, such as corporate image, reputation, and corporate branding. Therefore, in many respects, overlapping and contiguous interconnections persist, obfuscating CI boundaries. In addition, they tend to adopt a metaphorical view of CI that continues, suggesting a broad, over-simplified and insufficiently operational theory. Moreover, despite the significance that CI research has recently been accorded, such research has largely ignored the moral aspect of CI and a theoretically informed body of knowledge, explaining the relationship between CI and CSR, does not exist.Informed by these issues and from a multidisciplinary perspective, this thesis aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of CI (its meaning, elements/dimensions, theoretical underpinning and measurement) and its relationship with CSR. This was achieved using an exploratory sequential mixed method research design, qualitative followed by quantitative research. The first phase was an exploratory interpretive phase which concerned an examination of the meaning and elements of CI, gaining insights into the nature of CSR in practice and an exploration of the relationship between these two strands from practitioners’ and experts’ viewpoints. This was based on the use of semi-structured interviews with twenty five senior managers responsible for CI, brand management, and CSR in fifteen leading companies operating in different industries in the UK as well as in three public relations (PR) agencies. Data analysis of the exploratory phase of research was informed by content analysis and Miles and Huberman’s (1994) approaches to qualitative analysis, and augmented by the use of NVivo9.Based on the findings of the first phase, a theoretical framework and an empirically testable scale for the CI construct were developed, and the relationship between CI and CSR was hypothesised. Consequently, the second phase concerned validating the CI framework and scale, testing hypotheses concerning the CI-CSR relationship, and empirically examining CSR engagement in practice. A completed sample (n=126) was obtained using surveys administered via postal mail to senior executives responsible for branding/marketing/communication and CSR functions in organisations operating in the UK’s food and beverage manufacturing sector. Data analysis involved the use of Cronbach’s alpha and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) utilising SPSS19. This helped purify the measure and reveal the dimensions structure. Then, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) were applied utilising SmartPLS. The application of CFA provided robust support for CI dimensionality validation and evidence for the psychometric properties of the scale while SEM enabled the examination of hypotheses between constructs.The findings show that CI is a third-order, hierarchical, multi-dimensional construct comprising six dimensions: corporate communications, corporate visual identity (CVI), behaviour, culture, mission dissemination, and founder leadership. Additionally, CSR comprises two dimensions: social responsibility and legal responsibility. Further, the findings support the assumption of this thesis that CI drives CSR, demonstrating the significant, positive influence of CI on CSR. The analysis also reveals the significant, positive indirect effect of individual CI dimensions on CSR.These findings have significant theoretical, managerial and methodological contributions to CI and CSR literature which are discussed in the Conclusions chapter. It is hoped that future research will build on these results so that further avenues can be explored

Involvement of Gen Y in online social networking media : role in developing attitude towards brands

Attitude is often seen as a precursor of behaviour, including of consumer behaviour regarding brands. Understanding the underlying elements of attitude is crucial for anyone who wants to learn about behaviour or induce desired behaviours. Though, so far, extensive research has been carried out on attitudes and brands, no research has focused on Gen Y’s attitude formation towards brands, particularly in relation to Gen Y’s involvement in online social networking media. In view of this gap in the literature, this research addressed the following research problem: How does Gen Y’s involvement in online social networking media facilitate the development of their attitudes towards brands through their online friends? By analysing relevant current literature, a framework was developed to investigate the effects of involvement in online social networking media, electronic word of mouth and subjective norms on the formation of attitudes towards brands. Informational influence, trust and tie strength were introduced as mediating variables between involvement in online social networking media and electronic word of mouth. Results indicate that there is a positive influence of Gen Y’s involvement in online social networking media on the electronic word of mouth they receive. It was also found that informational influence is a catalyst (partial mediator) between involvement in online social networking media and word of mouth that Gen Y receive from their online social network friends. Electronic word of mouth has a positive effect on subjective norms and attitudes towards brands. Subjective norms also have a positive effect on attitudes towards brands. Although both male and female Gen Y groups share similar beliefs, female attitudes towards brands are more likely to be affected by the electronic word of mouth they receive than are male attitudes towards brands. On the contrary, males are more affected by the subjective norms to develop attitudes towards brands than are females. Results also indicate that there are intra-generational differences on developing attitudes towards brands: the older group of Gen Y is more affected by electronic word of mouth and subjective norms than the younger group of Gen Y

Crowdfunding: Platform Dynamics under Asymmetric Information

Platform ecosystems are a growing trend in various industries and many companies that rely on this organizational structure have seen unprecedented growth rates in recent years. Compared to traditional service providers, platforms do not offer products or services directly to their customers, but almost exclusively through complementors who develop and deliver complementary content. Platforms therefore create value by enabling and coordinating interactions between the demand and the supply side. As these platforms are two-sided markets, they are characterized by distinct cross-side network effects, meaning that each side of the market derives externalities from the participation of the respective other group. Crowdfunding platforms rely on this concept and facilitate transactions between individuals who seek funding for a specific project or venture and prospective investors. Crowdfunding platforms are, however, special as the transactions made via the platforms are particularly risky for end-users because of a high level of information asymmetry existing between the market sides. Though a certain level of information asymmetry exists between the distinct market sides in every two-sided market, a number of factors amplify this problem in the crowdfunding context. For instance, there is usually little to no publicly available information such as customer reviews to evaluate the investments ex-ante. The creators of crowdfunding campaigns are therefore able to overstate quality or withhold information as they control the flow of information towards potential investors. Furthermore, many of the projects that are published on crowdfunding platforms are still in their infancy, making it difficult to accurately predict project outcomes. Compared to other types of two-sided markets, the issue of information asymmetry is also more difficult to resolve in crowdfunding because mechanisms such as reputation systems that are frequently applied in other contexts to mitigate this issue are less relevant on crowdfunding platforms. The actual utility of crowdfunding projects is therefore difficult to ascertain at the time the investment decision has to be made and dynamics of crowdfunding are thus different from those in other platform settings. Many open questions still remain with respect to the optimal market design of crowdfunding platforms in order to mitigate information asymmetries. Against this backdrop, four research studies have been conducted to investigate how the behaviors and actions of the distinct groups of market participants (i.e., platform provider, project creators, backers) influence the decision-making of potential backers on crowdfunding platforms. The first study is concerned with the effects actions taken by platform providers can have for the decision-making of backers. More specifically, it is examined how relaxing the input control for crowdfunding projects on Kickstarter affected the decision-making of backers. The second and third study are concerned with the role of social buzz and contribution behavior by previous backers. While the second study is focused on the dynamic interplay of social buzz, prior-contribution behavior, and the respective effects on backer decision-making, the third study describes the repercussions of non-genuine social media likes for project creators. The final study is focused on the influence project creators can have on backers by signaling certain personality traits through their project description and video. Overall, this thesis highlights that, as a result of the high level of information asymmetry on crowdfunding platforms, prospective backers seek alternative information and signals to use for decision support in the face of uncertainty. Platform providers and project creators may use the results to better understand how and why certain actions or behaviors of market participants on crowdfunding platforms affect the decision-making of prospective backers. The findings may therefore help platform providers to optimize the market design of crowdfunding platforms in order to avoid information-related market failure in the long term

The impact of e-word-of-mouth, engagement and brand image on soccer fans' intention to purchase football tickets

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Strategic Marketing, Johannesburg, 2016This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the influence electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) engagement and brand image have on purchase intention. The study was based on understanding factors influencing football fans’ consumption behaviour in relation to sports, specifically football. The study involved different aspects, including the impact of social media and branding on consumer behaviour. The literature consulted assisted with conceptual model and hypotheses development, around which the study was centred. Data for this study was collected from 260 Orlando Pirates FC fans at the Sebokeng branch, where participants were all supporters of the football club which was the subject of the study. Data was collected through a self-administered survey. Using the SPSS 22 and AMOS 22 packages to analyses the data, all the hypotheses were confirmed at 99% confidence level. E-WOM proved to be the most influential factor on fans’ consumer behaviour towards purchase intention while engagement showed the least. The conclusion and recommendation section was informed by the results following the data analyses. Recommendations which emanated from the findings were split between marketing practitioners and academic researchers. Maintaining a positive brand perception proved to be beneficial for brands based on the outcomes of the study. The outcomes also proved that the participant ranked engagement on the club’s Facebook page as the lowest factor t influence their consumer behaviour. As there are few studies on fans’ consumption behaviour in the sports environment, let alone football in South Africa, it would be interesting to see more studies done in this field in future.GR201