Norm O’Reilly

The Future of Marketing Education: A Practitioner’s Perspective

Drawing on the marketing literature, as well as the views of both marketing educators and current marketers in Canada, a survey was conducted of marketing practitioners to determine their top priorities for improvement in marketing education, as well as the key challenges in need of attention. An importance-performance analysis was carried out on these data. Findings indicate that the top current priority for practitioners is knowledge related to areas associated with measuring return-on-investment and strategic marketing. Results also support that meta-skills are perceived as high priorities for improvement, including the ability to creatively identify, formulate, and solve problems; the ability to write in a business environment; and the ability to set priorities. Some of the areas identified as lower priority in this study included design-related skills, production, and merchandising. Suggestions for changes to marketing education, future research, and considerations for practitioners are provided.

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: An Examination of the Interdisciplinary Foundation of Relationship Marketing

In the 20th century, the scholarly study of human relationships both grew dramatically and simultaneously fragmented into various disciplines and subdisciplines. Although diversity of thought is generally considered helpful for the evolution of scientific fields, the value accrued from interdisciplinary discourse depends on the ability of scholars to integrate multiple perspectives and synthesize foundational works in a systematic manner. The goal of this study is to synthesize foundational theories from social and behavioral sciences that have contributed to an understanding of relationship marketing. In seeking to provide a holistic understanding of the field, we incorporate contributions from the disciplines of marketing, management, psychology, and sociology. In building on our analysis, we synthesize our findings into a conceptual model that examines the systematic dimensions of relationship marketing. The article concludes by identifying key themes for contributors to the Journal of Relationship Marketing to consider going forward.

The impact of scandal on sport consumption: a conceptual framework for future research

Scandal has become an increasingly prominent sports phenomenon. All major sports competitions around the globe face scandals on a continuing basis; however, there is little research about the nature of scandal and its impacts on consumer behaviour. Drawing on the extant sports consumption literature, we develop a conceptual model of scandal and its impacts on sports consumption activities (ticket sales, viewership, merchandise sales). We then extend this model through examples of a sport scandal to propose the major dimensions of the scandal construct. Our goal in this paper is to develop a conceptual framework that is useful for future research of the scandal-consumption relationship.

Does hosting the Olympic Games matter?: Canada and Olympic Games images before and after the 2010 Olympic Games.

A cross-national, longitudinal study of Canadian and US respondents examined impacts of the Vancouver Olympic Games (VOG) on images of the host country, Canada, and the Olympic Games (OG) itself. Questionnaires were completed before and after the VOG on four distinct attitude objects: Canada as a vacation destination, the country/people of Canada, and the VOG as a destination and an event. Repeated measures MANOVA indicated positive impacts of the VOG but differences across the two populations. Little change was seen in OG images and interest among Americans, but major improvements occurred among Canadians. Differences in perceptions of the domestic and foreign populations towards the host country appeared, confirming earlier research on domestic bias effects. Results indicated hosting the OG contributed to improved images for Americans of Canadians, Canada as a country and as a destination. Canadians evidenced increased pride in their own country. Findings indicated mutual positive benefits for Canada and the OG images and interest.

Psychological contracts and independent sales contractors: an examination of the predictors of contractor-level outcomes

Abstract Over the past decade, the independent sales contractor (ISC) has emerged as both an important distribution channel and a management challenge. This study makes two contributions to this evolving field. First, it explores the interrelations of the psychological contract with sales performance, voluntary turnover and organisational advocacy of ISCs, which have hitherto been largely unexplored. Second, it examines differences between high- and low-performing sales contractors on these linkages, due to findings in the literature that a small number of sales contractors often achieve a majority of sales. Based on survey data as well as 7 years of contractor-level data related to sales performance and voluntary turnover (n = 189), results indicate that psychological contract fulfilment and perceived dependency are important determinants of subsequent sales performance, voluntary turnover and organisational advocacy, with significant differences reported between high- and low-performing ISCs. A notable finding pertinent for sales managers responsible for managing ISCs is that high-performing sales contractors are motivated by psychological contract fulfilment and a low perception of dependency, while low-performing sales contractors are more likely to act as advocates for the firm due to perceived dependency, but may concurrently engage in organisational advocacy as a means to leave the firm.

“Tell me who’s your host and I’ll tell you who you are”: Olympic Games image before and after the 2008 and 2010 Olympic Games

The purpose of this paper is to explore the images of the Olympic Games and their host countries, as a country and as a tourism destination, before and after the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games (BOG) and 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games (VOG). The attitude changes towards the three image objects and relationships among them are examined in a combined ‘country − destination − mega-event’ model. The paper reports on a questionnaire-based study completed by 1,292 American respondents who were approached two months before and two months after both the 2008 and 2010 Games. Results indicate a significant decrease in the attitudes towards the OG in the case of the 2008 BOG and some improvement in the case of the 2010 VOG. This contrast between the OG hosted in a developed country and one held in a developing country is an important contribution to the sport events literature. Further, regression analysis shows that evaluations of the OG as a destination are influenced (mediated) mainly by the evaluations of the host country as a destination.

The rigour–relevance gap in professional programmes: Bridging the ‘unbridgeable’ between higher education and practice

The tension between the rigour and the relevance of higher education research remains an important and hotly contested topic among scholars, administrators, practitioners and policymakers. This debate is most evident in professional programmes in which scholars are challenged to pursue new knowledge independent of its immediate relevance to practice while simultaneously contributing actionable knowledge to their profession. This two-part study explores whether the resulting pressure has an impact on the scholarly output and recruitment practices of different professional programmes. The results show that the context of the profession has a significant influence on the level of integration between academia and industry.

Academic and Practitioner Antecedents of Scholarly Outcomes: Examining the Role of Industry Engagement of Business School Faculty.

Scholars, policymakers, accreditation bodies and industry leaders have called for an increased focus on scholarship that is both relevant and actionable for industry. In pursuance of this goal, many institutional solutions have been proposed. These solutions, however, have largely failed because they do not fully consider the individual and his or her background as significant factors in the choices an academic makes. To address the lack of research on individual academics, the authors conducted a two-part study that identified key issues and tested various hypotheses as to why some scholars choose to pursue actionable scholarship. Their findings show that five scholar-level factors (career stage, tenure, professional qualifications, active industry engagement and alumni affiliation) and one institutional-level factor (business school mission) influence whether or not they are likely to pursue research that is both relevant and actionable for industry.

An empirical exploration of sponsorship sales in North American professional sport: Is it time to rethink our approach?

Purpose Sponsorship sales in professional sport is an area of increasing attention and growing investment, but the sport management literature offers only limited research about sales strategies and tactics. As a result, practitioners and academics alike have called for investigation in the area. In response to this need, the purpose of this paper is to empirically explore sponsorship sales in professional sport. Design/methodology/approach Sponsorship sales professionals working for sport properties in the four major North American sport leagues were surveyed on a variety of sponsorship sales-related variables and factors. Findings A total of 92 sponsorship sales professionals responded to the study, for an estimated 15.3 percent response rate. At the time of the data collection, the 92 respondents worked in the National Football League (NFL) (37), Major League Baseball (MLB) (16), National Basketball Association (NBA) (18), and National Hockey League (NHL) (21). A series of practical, conceptual, and comparative results are presented, highlighted by turnover as a problem, the importance of activation/servicing in sponsorship sales, and the high level of investment clubs are making in sponsorship sales. Research limitations/implications First, on “coverage,” the authors acknowledge that variations in the data can be linked, to a large extent, to reporting issues due to the nature of the study, the data, and the sample. Variations in sponsor number or training, for example, are not necessarily indicative of weaknesses in the industry, but occur because of strategic differences among properties. Second, it is important to note that not all properties had personnel respond to the study. Consequently, the figures presented in this study might be a function of the individual personnel who responded rather than a true average figure for a particular league. Third, in terms of the sample, this study deals with a very specific context in the four North American major sport leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL). Thus, one should be careful in generalizing to minor professional, collegiate, Olympic, or other sport contexts. Practical implications The finding of this paper states that the turnover of sponsors may be a structural issue and is certainly related to the demand for the particular property (Seaver Marketing Group, 2010). Driven by a number of factors, including technology shifts to digital channels and increased sophistication by the sponsorship sales departments of professional sport properties, a shift in the activation and service paradigm is reported and extended to the specific context of sponsorship sales. Social implications Results show that sport properties in the North American major sport leagues have a strong commitment to sponsorship sales by the organization (commitment of resources), by sport personnel (who support the business side), and by their sponsorship sales professionals who report satisfaction, motivation, and support from their property. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical research study specific on sponsorship sales in professional sport, thus providing direction for practice and future research on an issue of high importance to the sport industry.

The Utility of Physical Activity Micro-Grants: The ParticipACTION Teen Challenge Program:

Youth physical activity levels remain low in Canada and worldwide. Lack of environmental resources (e.g., access to equipment and facilities, transportation options, and participation costs) is a key barrier for youth participation. Micro-grants are small budgets of money awarded via grant applications and may help community organizations facilitate youth physical activity participation by alleviating environmental resource barriers. ParticipACTION Teen Challenge was a national micro-grant scheme administered in Canada. Secondary analysis of survey data from Provincial and Territorial coordinators, registered community organizers, and successful grant applicants were used to evaluate the process and outcomes of Teen Challenge. Results showed that the financial subsidy of 500CAD was used mainly toward equipment, instruction, and transportation. Coordinators and community organizers indicated high levels of satisfaction and benefits for communities and teens. A key benefit for coordinators was leveraging the Teen Challenge network for physical activity promotion. Reported benefits for teenaged participants included leadership opportunities (e.g., helping create and implement programs) and increased physical activity participation. Findings highlight the value of micro-grants for supporting sport and physical activity opportunities for Canadian teens, and show that such schemes address barriers related to environmental resources. The sustainability of micro-grant schemes remains to be seen.