Gina Scott Ligon

Lethal Brands: How VEOs Build Reputations

ISIS has run the most effective social media marketing campaign in history. In fact, violent extremist organizations (VEOs) market their ideology and organizations to a global audience in ways that rival even the savviest of conventional organizations. However, applying marketing theory and methodology to study VEOs has not been done to date for the security community. Thus, the goal of the present effort is to use a novel lens used to apply the marketing strategies of conventional, for-profit organizations to examine the impact of VEO reputation and legitimacy on VEO performance. We coded tactics used by VEOs such as ISIS to establish a strong brand reputation, and examined the relationship between branding strategies and markers of performance (e.g., recruitment and fundraising) using a sample of 60 historically notable VEOs spanning a variety of ideologies, cultures, and periods of peak performance. The primary contribution of studying such a diverse sample of VEOs is the identification of how branding strategies can predict recruitment of talented personnel, financial sources, and organizational capacity for violence. Two key findings discussed are (1) VEOs market and differentiate themselves via malevolently innovative attacks, and (2) even negatively-toned media coverage is related to their long-term fundraising viability. Acknowledgements We would like to thank Drs. Erin Pleggenkuhle-Miles and Michael Breazeale for initial contributions to the framing of this research project. In addition, this research was supported by the Department of Homeland Science and Technology Directorate’s Office of University Programs through Award Number 2012-ST-061-CS0001, Center for the Study of Terrorism and Behavior (CSTAB 1.12) made to START to investigate THEME: 1 the role of social, behavioral, cultural, and economic factors on radicalization and violent extremism. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be This article is available in Journal of Strategic Security: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/jss/vol8/iss1/3 interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or START. This article is available in Journal of Strategic Security: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/jss/vol8/iss1/3

Developing Entrepreneurial Skills in IT Courses: The Role of Agile Software Development Practices in Producing Successful Student Initiated Products

Universities are under increasing pressure to provide real world experience to students. Entrepreneurial courses are prevalent in business schools and have been shown to develop entrepreneurial skills. Entrepreneurial skills are equally important in the development of IT innovations. The research in this area of education is not as prevalent. We argue that Agile Software development methods, along with other key course characteristics enable students to learn entrepreneurial skills related to IT product development and do so in an environment where innovation can flourish. We present some preliminary data, which demonstrates some success in the course in developing entrepreneurial skills, with a particular focus on the use of Agile Development and mentoring methods in developing those skills.

Ideological rationality and violence: An exploratory study of ISIL’s cyber profile

Abstract This exploratory study examines the narrative space of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Specifically, we developed a methodology to gather, archive, and analyze ISIL’s online presence in social media. Our sample was drawn from transient websites (N = 8308) collected between August 2015 and October 2015. From this pool, we coded a random sample of 100 English-only articles for violent, pragmatic, and ideological themes. Exploratory factor analyses revealed two constructs: violence and ideological rationality. Our findings offer insight into the messaging and organizational dynamics of ISIL. We conclude with implications and future directions.

Putting the “O” in VEOs: What makes an organization?

Violent extremist organizations differ from other ideologically based groups that do not necessarily meet formal criteria to be considered organizations, and distinguishing between these types of collective arrangements is critical in understanding their strengths and weaknesses. We identified three arrangements of individuals with varying levels of sophistication: groups, simple organizations, and complex organizations. Each arrangement is discussed in terms of its influence on fundraising, recruiting, and attack execution, with particular emphasis being placed on exemplars from the white supremacist ideology. Despite their shared ideology, white supremacists illustrate marked performance-related differences that are influenced by organizational factors such as leadership, structure, and formalization. Analyzing those differences led us to conclude that organizations are unique from groups, different structures are best suited for certain strategies, leadership matters a great deal in the context of violent extremist organizations, and organizations are not static.

Recruitment and selection in violent extremist organizations: Exploring what industrial and organizational psychology might contribute.

For many terrorist organizations, also known as violent extremist organizations (VEOs), their ability to perpetuate violence is often contingent upon successful recruitment and selection of organizational members. Although academic work on terrorist recruitment and selection has improved in recent years, researchers have generally focused more heavily on aspects of radicalization rather than organization attraction and entry. Moreover, a number of terrorism scholars have lamented the lack of conceptual frameworks with which to interpret and extend findings linked to recruitment and selection, specifically. In light of these difficulties, we propose that considering literature bases outside of terrorism may be useful in extending lines of inquiry and offering alternative ways of thinking about how terrorist organizations operate. Specifically, we draw on Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Human Resource Management, and Organizational Behavior literature bases to offer alternative and extended modes of thought on terrorist recruitment and selection. In doing so, we believe both terrorism and more traditional organizational scholars can make substantive and novel contributions to future investigations of increasingly pressing issues surrounding violent extremism. (PsycINFO Database Record

Branding terror: Building notoriety in violent extremist organizations

The creation and implementation of an intended brand personality has become a prevailing topic, both for practitioners and researchers. Especially in luxury industry, where brands hold a strong symbolic meaning, marketers are faced with the challenge of successfully establishing an intended brand personality and turning it into a realized brand personality among consumers. However, research identifying drivers for successful brand personality implementation is scarce. Therefore, the aim of this chapter is to first identify factors which influence duality of the brand personality concept by accounting for both the intended and the realized brand personality perspective and factors that influence the fit between the two perspectives. Second, we will focus specifically on brand personality implementation strategies that involve the interplay between strategic considerations of brand managers, the corresponding implementation activities, as well as the customer’s perspective. We will integrate the results of an exploratory qualitative study that compiled interviews with luxury marketing managers in Switzerland.

Reporting Practices of Journal Articles that Include Interviews with Extremists

ABSTRACT The number of journal articles that rely on data derived from interviews with extremists has increased substantially over the past decade. This burgeoning invites the possibility that standardized reporting practices have not been explicitly clarified. To date, there has not been an adequate review of the methodological transparency of journal articles that include interviews with extremists. After content analyzing 48 articles involving such interviews, we found that field-wide methodological transparency is lacking. Recommendations are made with regard to enhancing methodological transparency, with the implication that consensus on optimal reporting practices within the extremism literature should be reached soon.

Comparing interface influence on users with varying expertise

The design of a system interface can impact user judgements among expert and novice users alike. With information systems, fundamental design choices can either augment or distract individuals in identifying patterns of converging data points. The goal of this effort was to compare the influence of Likert and categorical type rating scales in a system used to guide analysts through a content analysis process. While these scales have been examined in the context of psychological assessment literature, little has been said about their impact on decision makers from a human computer interaction perspective. We conducted a laboratory experiment to explore the effect of using Likert and categorical scales in an intelligence assessment task using unstructured data. The dependent variables included (1) Likert versus categorical type scales and (2) analyst experience (novice versus expert). Results indicated that expert and novices both had greater confidence and more creative, accurate responses in the interface utilizing Likert decision scaling.

Digital Participation Roles of the Global Jihad: Social Media’s Role in Bringing Together Vulnerable Individuals and VEO Content

The advent of the internet broadly changed the way society communicates. This is well-known and well-researched across standard populations. Niche or subpopulations, such as terrorist groups or other violent extremist organizations, are less well-understood and researched. However, as strategic outreach such as recruiting and advertising is more and more web-based, research’s limited understanding of such groups is a detriment to effective management strategies. This work is a foundational attempt to ground violent extremist organization’s internet usage into the theoretical lens of and discussion around digital participation and online communities. We analyze the spectrum of participation in violent extremist organizations’ online communities and elucidate existing behaviors of individuals involved with terrorism in a series of mini case studies. This work’s contribution is the expansion of the theoretical framework of digital participation in online violent extremist communities.

An Investigation of Problem Formulation Comprehensiveness on Solution Novelty and Elegance in Team Collaboration

Multifarious problems present an ongoing challenge for organizations. Indeed, many of the important strategic problems facing organizations demonstrate complexity, interdependence, and are ill defined. Comprehensive problem formulation has been suggested as one way to enhance the generation of value-creating solutions to wicked problems. While proponents of this perspective highlight the value-creating advantages of increasing the number of problem formulations, few studies have empirically demonstrated its effect in a virtual team context. This study examines how comprehensive problem formulation influences the degree of novelty and value of solutions to complex problems in virtual team collaborations.