Leighann C. Neilson

The development of e-business in wine industry SMEs: an international perspective

This paper reports on empirical research focused on how small and medium size wineries utilise their websites to provide information, facilitate online purchase and develop customer relationships. Based on a content analysis of a randomly selected sample of Canadian, American, French, Australian and Chilean winery websites, we found that a high proportion of SME wineries utilise websites to provide information to consumers; a range of purchase facilitation models exist; and the proportion of wineries that utilise their websites to develop customer relationships varies across countries. Implications for wineries are discussed; avenues for future research are explored.

The New Tools Briefing: Teaching New Marketing Practices and Technology to Students

Faced with an environment of constant technological change, how can we as marketing educators equip our students to deal with the impact of new communication and information technologies on marketing practice and research? The teaching innovation described here, the New Tools Briefing, provides an active learning exercise which engages students in researching and evaluating new communication and information technologies. The delivery of the exercise, as part of a third year undergraduate marketing course, is outlined in detail and methods used to assess the innovations effectiveness are discussed.

Web Site Utilization in SME Business Strategy: The Case of Canadian Wine SMEs

Abstract This paper reports on empirical reseazch focused on how small- and medium-size Canadian enterprises operating in the wine sector utilize the Internet in their marketing and business strategies to provide information to consumers, create relationships with consumers, and utilize online e-commerce channels to sell more or all of what they produce. Based on a content analysis of the web sites of a randomly selected sample of Canadian wineries, this research found that a very high proportion of SME wineries utilize web sites in their marketing and business strategies. The highest proportion of wineries utilize their sites for providing information, followed by use for e-commerce, and by use of the site for creating and developing relationships with existing and potential consumers. Use of web sites for more sophisticated purposes (e-commerce and relationship building) is significantly related to exporting wine outside of the direct region where the SME winery is located geographically.

The Development of Marketing in the Canadian Museum Community, 1840-1989

Since the late 1960s, marketers have increasingly been interested in the application of marketing theories and practices to nonprofit and public organizations, including museums and art galleries. Although there has been some attempt on the part of marketing academics to understand the nature of museums and conduct research within museum environments, much of this work has failed to recognize the political context of museums and has tended to adopt an American or European focus. Canadian museums differ from their counterparts in the United States and Britain in the emphasis they place on the marketing of an idea: the sovereign nation. This article takes a chronological approach, detailing the social, economic, and political influences that have effected the development of marketing strategies from the beginning of the museum community in Canada in the early 1800s through the end of the 1980s.

Development porn? Child sponsorship advertisements in the 1970s

Purpose – Child sponsorship programs have been accused of representing children in the developing world in a manner described as “development porn”. The purpose of this paper is to take an historical approach to investigating the use of advertising techniques by Plan Canada, a subsidiary of one of the oldest and largest child sponsorship‐based non‐governmental development agencies, Plan International, during the 1970s. This time period represents an important era in international development and a time of significant change in the charitable giving and advertising industries in Canada.Design/methodology/approach – The authors conduct a content analysis on an archival collection of 468 print advertisements from the 1970s.Findings – A description of the “typical” Plan Canada fund‐raising ad is presented and shown to be different, in several aspects, from other advertisements of the time period. It was determined that Plan Canadas advertisement did not cross the delicate line between showing the hardship an...

Ideological Outcomes of Marketing Practices: A Critical Historical Analysis of Child Sponsorship Programs

Purpose – Child sponsorship programs have been accused of representing children from the developing world in a manner described as “development porn” in their marketing communications, and of operating in such a way as to reinforce beliefs that people in the global South are powerless, dependent on help from the developed North. This research takes a critical, historical approach to investigating the marketing practices of Plan Canada, a subsidiary of one of the oldest and largest child sponsorship-based development agencies, in order to evaluate outcomes of charitable giving at the social and ideological level. Methodology – We adopted a consumer storytelling theoretical lens to conduct narrative analysis of letters written by donors upon their return from visiting their sponsor children. Findings – We reveal how even if aid recipients are treated with respect in marketing communications, ideological outcomes which reinforce Northern hegemony may still result. Social implications – Although charitable acts by individuals are commonly encouraged and lauded, marketers may play a role in perpetuating negative outcomes that result from this consumer action, such as reinforcing notions of cultural difference and superiority. Originality/value of paper – Only a few researchers have investigated the social and ideological outcomes of charitable giving. We investigate the outcome of charitable giving on the donor and recipient communities and relationship between these communities. Models of charitable giving need to be revised to include these outcomes.

Utilizing Web Sites to Provide Information and Build Relationships with Consumers

This paper reports on research designed to assess how small and medium size enterprises operating in the wine sector in four countries worldwide utilize their web sites for providing information to consumers as well as developing and maintaining relationships with them. Implications for theory and practice are drawn.

Market Turbulence and Electronic Approaches to Marketing in Wine Sector SMEs: A Structured Abstract

The global wine industry has undergone considerable change in the last decade. Worldwide competition in the sale of wine has intensified — producers are dealing with an oversupply of wine (Pretorius, 2007), and the old world producers of Europe are under assault by the new world producers of Australia, California, and Chile (Echikson, 2004; Mora, 2006). While the proportion of wine production under the control of large multinational companies has increased significantly, a majority of wineries remain small or medium in size (Dorozynski, 2010; Story et al., 2005). Since most wine SMEs exist in locations remote from their consumer base, both distribution of wine to, and communication with wine consumers is challenging. Wine tourism has become a significant driver of economies dominated by the wine sector. One of the best possible alternative strategies to ensure growth is to focus on direct marketing, using for example traditional direct channels such as wine clubs and cellar door sales, but also newer digital technologies and online channels.

The Diversity of 'Diversity' in Canadian Accounting Firm Recruitment Websites

We examine use of the term ‘diversity’ in the recruitment websites of Canada’s eight largest public accounting firms. We find a range of distinct uses of the term. We note differences in the use of ‘diversity’ between Big Four accounting firms and the next four largest firms. The Big Four vary in their approaches to diversity, with Deloitte’s and KPMG’s websites addressing the most dimensions of diversity and the highest number of references to diversity. Diversity in the discourse of diversity arguably stems from variance in the institutional logics held by accounting firms. Our analysis reveals the business case logic and commercial logic are the most prevalent institutional logics in use. Some Big Four firms also adopt an inclusiveness logic.