Sean Ennis

Mind the gap: the relevance of marketing education to marketing practice

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to review the debate on the purpose, focus and necessity of UK undergraduate marketing education. Design/methodology/approach – Assumptions in this debate are challenged by the collection and analysis of interview data from practitioners, alongside additional data from UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in respect of their current marketing programmes. Findings – The results indicate that there is a large degree of commonality between the offerings at UK HEIs, and that some significant gaps between the teaching offered by the academy, and the knowledge and abilities required by practitioners do exist. Research limitations/implications – The data sets have limitations of depth and scope. Further research is needed in which the details of marketing education and the requirements of marketing practice are examined more closely, and at levels other than undergraduate, and in countries other than the UK. Practical implications – This paper should be of interest to marketing programme managers, and also to marketing module co‐ordinators as a basis on which to consider the future development of their educational practices. Originality/value – The collation of data about marketing modules offered by UK HEIs will be of interest to most marketing teachers. Further value will be obtained if this paper is used as part of the re‐engineering of a marketing programme.

Growth and the small firm: using causal mapping to assess the decision‐making process ‐ a case study

Examines the issue of growth within the small firm and considers the main influences that impinge on the evolution of the enterprise. An interpretative methodological technique, causal mapping, is examined, evaluated and used to analyse the decision‐making processes made by the owner‐manager of a small Irish‐owned electronics firm. This method allows the researcher to trace the positive and negative consequences of the decisions on the subsequent growth and development of the company. The role which business and marketing planning plays in such a process is a recurring theme which is given close scrutiny throughout this paper.

Organisational marketing in the creative industries

Purpose – The marketing of small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) can face many challenges, particularly for those operating within the creative industries. The purpose of this paper is to describe an inductive and exploratory case study approach to empirically investigate the issues and complexities uncovered when taking a mainly internal, organisational perspective to creativity, identity and the brand.Design/methodology/approach – Issues of commitment, identification and alignment were considered and how these relate to the SME brand. Then the relevance and advantages associated with adopting an inductive case study approach, from an interpretative perspective were discussed. This incorporates multi‐level interviews and thematic analysis with the aid of various qualitative data analysis software packages (C‐I‐Said, NVivo and QDA Miner).Findings – The themes uncover and explore some of the subtle complexities involved with organisational marketing for SMEs within the creative industries. These themes...

Multiple-choice question tests: a convenient, flexible and effective learning tool? A case study

The research presented in this paper is part of a project investigating assessment practices, funded by the Scottish Funding Council. Using established principles of good assessment and feedback, the use of online formative and summative multiple choice tests (MCT’s) was piloted to support independent and self-directed learning and improve performance in an efficient manner for both students and staff. The paper reviews previous studies that have examined the relevance of MCT’s and presents an evaluation of the students grades and the results of a questionnaire designed to capture their perceptions about the effectiveness of MCT’s. Our findings identify improvements on students’ marks and positive responses from students who found MCT’s to be useful at supporting their learning of basic concepts and building confidence and self-esteem. We also argue that MCT’s work more effectively when used in conjunction with other assessment methods.

Listening practices and performance in service organisations

Considers the concept of the “listening” organisation and its influence on service and business performance. Specifically reports on empirical research which investigated the link between service quality information practices, the listening organisation and service and business performance. In this respect, builds on an earlier model of service management developed by the London Business School and Warwick Business School in the UK. This extended model employs two composite performance indexes as moderator variables. Surveyed 438 service organisations in the Republic of Ireland; the loglinear model used to analyse the data shows a clear pattern. By taking listening practices, including information technology, as a holistic view of a constellation of information‐related practice type factors, demonstrates that there is a close relationship with service performance, which in turn influences business performance. Furthermore, technology type and competitive intensity, moderate this relationship. Establishes that the relationship between listening practices and service performance is much more important for the sophisticated task technology sector and that competitive intensity has a very minor interactive effect on the relationship. The results of the survey mirror recent empirical research in market orientation and organisational learning.

Service management practice‐performance model: a focus on training and listening practices

Examines the complex relationship between listening and training practices and service performance by deconstructing an earlier model of service management developed by the London Business School and Warwick Business School in the UK. This research hypothesizes that the nature of the practice‐performance relationship is far too complex to be represented by a total aggregated index of practice. Hence the composite practice index is decomposed into a listening and a training index. The concept of the “listening” organisation is employed as one facet, and training climate measured by employee training activities is a second facet. These two facets are related to service performance. Reports on empirical research, which investigated the link between listening, and training practices and service performance. The data obtained from a survey of 143 service organisations in the Republic of Ireland show a clear pattern. By taking listening practices, including information technology, as a holistic view of a constellation of information‐related practice type factors, demonstrates that there is a close relationship with service performance. Extensive training activities enhance this relationship.

EDI in retailing: implementation and prospects in Ireland

This paper presents a detailed examination of a pilot study carried out to investigate the application of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) in the retail sector, in the Republic of Ireland. EDI is evaluated in the context of recent developments in the information technology area. The paper identifies the barriers/obstacles that need to the addressed if the diffusion of EDI is to be speeded up. Some of these barriers are common to those experienced in comparable investigations in America, the United Kingdom and mainland Europe. Finally a strategy for the implementation of EDI in the Republic of Ireland is presented, based on the findings of the pilot study. In this section, the paper highlights the difficulties arising from the situation where there is a lack of commonly internationally agreed standard in operation. While competitive advantages can be attained by adopters of EDI, this will be contingent upon other participants within the sector network also adhering to the system. It is envisaged that, by ...

Re-engineering assessment practices: a case study on the use of multiple-choice tests in a UK marketing class

This paper presents findings from a study into the use of Multiple Choice tests to assess and support independent and self-directed learning. The results show very positive responses from students to their experience of the tests. Performance improved across the various tests which provided timely feedback and supported students’ reflection.