Debranding in Fantasy Realms: Perceived Marketing Opportunities within the Virtual World

This paper discusses the application of the concept of debranding within immersive virtual environments. In particular the issue of the media richness and vividness of experience is considered in these experience realms that may not be conducive to traditional branding invasive strategies. Brand equity is generally seen to be the desired outcome of branding strategies and the authors suggest that unless the virtual domains are considered as sacred spaces then brand equity may be compromised. The application of the above concepts is applied to the differing social spaces that operate within the different experience realms. The ideas of resonance, presence and interactivity are considered here. They lead to the development of a constructed positioning by the participants. Through the process of debranding, marketers may be able to enter these sacred spaces without negative impact to the brand. Perception of these virtual spaces was found to be partially congruent with this approach to branding. It thus presents a number of challenges for the owners of such virtual spaces and also virtual worlds in increasing the commercial utilization of investment in these environments

Construing the Small Business and Its Market: A Heideggerian Perspective.

This exploratory research considers the difficulties that are associated with understanding market knowledge in a micro firm. The majority of micro firms gain their rewards from mutual beneficial exchange with their customers. The focus of this mutual exchange is often the product that is the basis of their business. The gaining of new customers is often difficult and requires a considerable degree of effort. The standard business approach is to apply cognitive rationality to this task. Some businesses succeed with this approach, but it is possible that other approaches might reveal a greater understanding of the small business situation. Research suggests that small business owners/managers develop tacit utilitarian, cognitively immediate and undetachable knowledge. In a developing business this is contingent with the entrepreneurial task. It can usefully be conjectured that this task is related to the introduction of new business areas. The entrepreneurial task can be seen as involving a qualitative introduction of new business into a market that has not existed before. The situational interplay of these two factors is investigated using a phenomenological research method and deep analysis of a small number of interviews. This research has found evidence that the development of market knowledge in a micro business can result from a leap into a new engagement. The possible grounding for such a leap is explored in the light of the philosophy of Heidegger. Heidegger's philosophy is noted for the exploration of being and time. He adopted hermeneutic and phenomenological approaches to discuss the leap into the grounding question of being. This leap into a new engagement requires a break from the content but not the methods of small business understanding and can be enabled by the developing attunement of the business owner. This is a different method of investigating the nature of market development in the small business. It is expected that this work will be found to be of value when undertaking further research in this business situation

Emotional Engagement and Active Learning in a Marketing Simulation: A Review and Exploratory Study

Abstract: This paper considers the role of emotional engagement during the use of a simulation. This is placed in the context of learning about marketing. The literature highlights questions of engagement and interactivity that are entailed in the use of these simulations. It is observed here that both the anticipation of and the process of engagement with the simulation generate emotional responses. The evidence of emotional anticipation was collected through the use of vignettes and a short survey. The production of negative emotions before and after the activity was observed and considered. The particular occurrence of these emotions on the development of understanding is then discussed. There is general evidence for the mundane reality of such simulations that support learning and group engagement. The connection with activity theory was explored and proposed as a potential theoretical fit with the evidence

Tacit and Explicit Knowledge in Software Development Projects: Towards a Conceptual Framework for Analysis

The management and delivery of software development projects remains a key business activity in many industries. Although the advent of packaged software products has reduced the incidence of in-house development, bespoke software is still important for some industrial sectors - notably in the finance, defence and security industries. Despite the recognized criticality of software project success for organizations, a considerable proportion of projects continue to either not meet their due dates, exceed budget, do not deliver to specification, miss quality targets, or do not meet customer requirements. Software project failure – be it bespoke products or the implementation of commercially available packages - remains an area of considerable interest in contemporary software project management literature, and the management and transfer of knowledge within both these types of project is a key dimension and driver of project outcomes. This paper examines how knowledge definition and management can be applied within a conceptual framework to improve software development project outcomes

2015 Colloquium Booklet Complete Papers

Papers submitted by DBA and DMC students to the UoG Doctoral Colloquium 2015

Acquisition effects in private banking: avoiding client losses

The credit crunch of 2009 has had significant impact on financial services, and the effects on customer service are only now becoming apparent. Private banks offer a custom-made and individual financial service with a close personal relationship between customer and bank. During a process of acquisition a significant percentage of an acquired private bank's client base is lost and, therefore, client retention is important in this context. This paper takes notice of this circumstance during the credit crunch when unplanned acquisitions were occurring. It uses a qualitative content analysis and interview data. Although the owners of the bank have changed, the bank is urgently advised to design sustainable client relationships based on the knowledge of their clients' perceptions. The paper proposes a new model of private banking consumer perception that identifies determinants of client migration. This model will be of use for researchers and practitioners in this area of management

The perceptual effects of location on the performance of small businesses

Purpose - This study aims to develop a clearer understanding of the effects of location on the performance of small and medium enterprises in Tangier, as perceived by local owner-managers. Prior Work - Several studies have attempted to explain the role of location on business performance. Whilst some studies have stressed urban and rural locations, other studies have often paid particular attention to the connection of location and taxation and industry clustering effects. While the findings of these studies are important, they are perhaps insufficient in fully understanding the role of location. Approach - Fifteen in-depth face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with selected owner-managers of SMEs, forming a judgmental selection, to explore their experiences, beliefs, and attitudes with respect to their performance. Results - Findings of the study revealed that location is a salient factor that influences the performance of SMEs in Tangier. Although at the research design stage it was considered a classificatory variable, location was mentioned extensively in the interviews, in relation to the ‘free zones’. Findings showed that firms located within the free zones enjoyed favourable conditions, in particular, those related to taxation and competition, compared to their counterparts located outside the free zones, which were excluded from these benefits. Furthermore, perceived unfair competition damaged the performance of the SMEs. These findings suggest that the placement of the business in relation to the free zones thus became an important financial and emotionally significant perspective on equality in relation to success. Implications - Findings could encourage the government to adopt policies that will assist indigenous firms to benefit from advantages that are comparable to those that are available to those in the free zones. Greater attention to the perceptual effects of location would be advantageous. Value - This research contributes to the theory about SME development in that it highlights the issue of location as a significant factor in the perception of success.Location was a much more acute and multi-faceted issue than in most other studies. In this context of Tangier, ‘location’ may function as a higher-order concept (than say urban versus rural) in relation to, both the placement of business within a country, and choices between countries as jurisdictions in terms of location. There have been few studies on what might be called the psycho-geography of small business, given the predominant view that we are seeing the ‘death of distance’