Mark Wickham

Reconceptualising organisational role theory for contemporary organisational contexts

Purpose – This research seeks to review extant organisational role theory (ORT) literature, and to identify issues that limit its usefulness to contemporary academics and practitioners alike.Design/methodology/approach – A review of ORT literature was conducted in light of the issues surrounding the effective implementation of HR policies in the workplace. The paper was based on a review of the intersection between ORT and contemporary HR management, and explored using primary survey and semi‐structured interview data.Findings – It was found that three assumptions underpinning classical ORT are inadequate to account for the array of roles enacted by employees and the manner in which they impact on working‐life. The research suggests that ORT needs to incorporate the key themes of “multi‐faceted employee”, “employer recognition/facilitation” and “compartmentalisation” into its assumptions in order to account for contemporary HRM issues.Research limitations/implications – This research is only exploratory i...

Organising IMC roles and functions in the business‐to‐business network environment

As products and distribution channels become more homogenised, and competing on the basis of price more difficult, integrated marketing communications (IMC) has been identified as the ‘new frontier’ for effective differentiation. Research identifying roles and functions of IMC has primarily been focused on firms operating in the final consumer market. This research seeks to extend our understanding of the role and functions of IMC in business‐to‐business markets, with specific reference to an industry network. In order to achieve this, this paper explores the roles and functions (i.e. the associated organisation of IMC activities) adopted by the Tasmanian Light Shipbuilding Network (TLSN). In total, this research found evidence of three distinct roles (IMC Champion, Government Lobbyist, and Network Ambassador) that together served to implement the IMC functions of gathering, analysing and disseminating key marketing information throughout the network of firms. This research also presents an IMC framework that represents the manner in which the various network members coordinated the various IMC roles and functions.

Marketing orientation and activities in the arts-marketing context: Introducing a visual artists’ marketing trajectory model

Abstract Answering the call by Fillis, this paper aims to build an ‘arts-marketing orientation’ model by exploring the parallel relationship that exists between the Product Life Cycle (PLC) and the notion of the ‘career trajectory’ (as it applies to visual artists). In so doing, this paper provides a finer-grained understanding of the marketing orientation and activities of visual artists as they progress through their career. Qualitative analysis of the data (and the subsequent development of the Visual Artists’ Marketing Trajectory model) suggests that the marketing orientation and activities undertaken by visual artists deviates significantly from the assumptions underpinning traditional marketing theory. Unlike customer orientation (central to traditional marketing theories), this research suggests that in the arts-marketing context, the marketing orientation and activities of visual artists change according to the career trajectory stage in question.

Communicating sustainability priorities in the museum sector

This paper analyses the sustainability priorities evident in the annual reports published between 2001/2002 and 2010/2011 of Australias six state-museums (which represent the largest and most financially viable cultural heritage tourism organisations in the country). The study provides insight into the communication of sustainability priorities in the heritage tourism sector and offers a fine-grained understanding of what is required for such organisations to effectively manage such priorities. Based on a content analysis of the annual reports, the paper proposes a Sustainability Priorities Model for Cultural and Heritage Organisations. The Model reflects two important findings: first, that the communication of sustainability practices has emerged to play a central strategic role in the annual reporting of the leading cultural heritage organisations in Australia; second, that the conceptualisation of sustainability in the cultural heritage context has widened to include the allocation and utilisation of a wider range of resources. The Model provides a framework for cultural heritage tourism organisations to follow in order for them to effectively identify and communicate the optimal mix of sustainability practices to salient stakeholder groups.

An Examination of the Knowledge Management Process in the Emerging Chinese Hotel Industry

Since the Open-Door Reforms of the Chinese market to foreign investment in the late 1970s, numerous Western firms have sought to enter and establish their presence as a market leader in their particular industry. Establishing a presence and generating growth in the emergent Chinese market has proven challenging for Western firms; operating effectively and efficiently in this ‘new’ market environment (characterised by significant psychographic, cultural, legal and political differences) has highlighted a number of significant research opportunities. One such opportunity has manifest in a call to develop a finer-grained understanding of the knowledge management processes required by Western hotel chains attempting to enter and establish their operations in China. This chapter presents an exploratory analysis of the knowledge management issues and processes experienced by the Marriott Group during its entry and growth in the Chinese hospitality industry. This analysis is based on a series of semi-structured interviews with senior managers present during Marriott’s entry into China. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the managerial and theoretical implications emanating therefrom.