Thanos Kriemadis

Internet marketing in football clubs: a comparison between English and Greek websites

Worldwide use of the Internet by business and commerce has recently increased dramatically. Indeed, many commentators now claim that the Internet is leading to a new period in marketing. Sports, and especially football clubs which have become increasingly commercial in recent times, have not been unassailable to such rapid developments and they utilize the Internet as a marketing medium through which clubs can communicate with supporters, establish relationships with them and sell products and services. The purpose of this essay is to examine website content of the football clubs of two leagues (English and Greek) from a marketing perspective. Initially, it examines the growing body of literature in the area of sports marketing, Internet marketing and football clubs. This leads to the detailed examination, from the perspective of marketing, of 12 websites (six from UK football clubs and six from Greek football clubs). Finally, an attempt has been made to make a comparison between the two leagues. The authors found that there are many differences between the two leagues’ websites. The Greek websites are lagging far behind the UK ones, the former being poorly developed, unsophisticated and lacking strong links with the marketing activities that the Internet can offer. On the contrary, the UK websites are more sophisticated than the Greek websites and have better developed the marketing opportunities that the Internet offers, although however, there are some crucial issues that they too have failed to address.

Contemporary Marketing Communications Framework for Football Clubs

Sports marketing communications (MCs) theories have stemmed from orthodox marketing concepts; and though they have naturally adapted to the differentiators of their very nature, they increasingly portray elements of stagnation. The sport core product is still being regarded as essentially on-location or media entertainment, limiting researchers and practitioners to a correspondingly pre-defined MCs approach that fails to incorporate the true spectrum of sport value offerings. This paper provides an innovative perspective on sport MCs, through an extensive review of classical theories and their infusion with contemporary consumer-focused MC research. The findings indicate a need for a more holistic and value-based approach to MCs, with an expanded range of both elements and processes.

The role of organizational culture in Greek businesses

Purpose – This paper seeks to contribute to an understanding of the organizational culture of the spin‐off knowledge‐based enterprises, which operate within the science and technology parks in Greece. In this context, a critical number of questionnaires have been distributed to the spin‐offs to examine whether firms born within the parks have developed a functional organizational culture, one that provides a solid foundation for organizational effectiveness and business excellence.Design/methodology/approach – The Organizational Culture Assessment Questionnaire (OCAQ) was developed by Sashkin to help people identify and understand the nature of the culture in their own organization, as a first step in identifying problems and defining the sort of culture they want (and the sort of culture that will help deal with organizational problems). The data for the present study were obtained by the OCAQ mailed to a sample of 33 spin‐off companies that operate within the aforementioned science and technological par...

Cyprus: a football crazy nation?

Given the popularity of football all over the world, it is no surprise that people address football as the ‘Universal Language’ on many occasions. The results of a recent survey by Lamprecht and Stamm SE BAG were impressive in indicating how ‘big’ football is worldwide. This essay addresses the issue of how big football can be in a small island state like Cyprus. Is football still big in a small country where money for football is limited, where there are no big contracts or the glamorous element of star players? The main objective of the study, based on research conducted in Cyprus, was to measure and record the perceptions of adult Cypriot men on basic issues concerning football in the country. The results show that 77% of men between 21 and 70 years support a football club and that indeed football has assumed tremendous significance in such a small island. However, as the results indicate, football in Cyprus has to face major issues and challenges as well.

A strategy for managing customer relations on the internet: evidence from the football sector

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of how the internet is used as a strategic tool in electronic customer relationship management (e‐CRM) in the football sector. In particular, the research questions this paper addresses are: How can the online environment be described? How are the customers served in this online environment? The first research question provides an overview of the online environment and the second research question describes the services offered in this online environment.Design/methodology/approach – The qualitative research is the appropriate approach, in order to collect the required data, as the particular research characterizes a complete and comprehensive view and understanding of a phenomenon in its entity. The research is based on the use of double case study approach combining two data collection methods, participant observation and documentation. This particular research adopts the approach of participant observation and documentation. Prima...

Historical, comparative and statistical perspectives of school effectiveness research: rethinking educational evaluation in Greece

Offers new insight in the case of educational evaluation in Greece by presenting the history and the current state of school effectiveness research (SER). From an historical perspective, presents the beginnings and the two generations of SER. A number of essential studies are reviewed. From a comparative perspective, examines the current advances of SER in many other parts of the world. Using these approaches, a number of theoretical and statistical issues are clarified. Examines the policy implications of SER in France, England and Greece. Expresses a number of thoughts for the future of SER and its contribution to the issue of educational evaluation.

Strategic resource planning for football clubs

The paper provides a multi-perspective analysis on strategic resource planning for football clubs. Towards this aim, financial planning, fundraising and sponsorship are examined, and their strategic marketing aspects are presented and interrelated. The paper rests soundly on scientific theoretical and secondary data research, and incorporates literature on football, sports and generic strategic marketing and finance subjects. The findings underline the need for strategic resource management that is methodically planned, implemented and evaluated. Furthermore, individual components should not be viewed in isolation, but comprehensively and in conjunction with each other. Merging of resources into a unified and value-based system is proposed, in which resources are not measured in terms of pure financial terms, but holistically evaluated in terms of the value they offer in a multi-dimensional and a multi-directional way. Finally, strategic resource planning must be integrated with strategic marketing planning to ensure alignment and commonality of both means and ends.

Football facility and equipment management

The paper investigates the subject of football facility and equipment management to present the key success factors and planning elements for consideration. The work is based on secondary data analysis and literature review, and the findings include both descriptive and prescriptive elements. The findings construct a theoretical basis for further development and provide football managers with explicit and practical advice on the subject. They further indicate that topics pertaining to football facility and equipment management are not and should not be viewed as independent tasks under a common umbrella. They are all part of a larger system with all aspects interrelated both at the planning and the operation stages. Moreover, they are found to be inextricably linked with the wider strategic and marketing processes and constitute a significant part of the value proposition of the club to its immediate customers, implicit customers, industry associates and wider society.

Innovation, Creativity, New Product Development Processes and the Role of Science Parks

The purpose of this chapter is to describe the role of science parks in the encouragement and stimulation of some critical business processes, including innovation management, creativity and new product/service development processes. The chapter further looks at the cooperation between higher education institutions and companies located in science parks, towards the facilitation of the transfer of knowledge, technology and people (researchers and managerial staff), as well as of the design, testing and launching of new products, the realisation of joint research activities and the commercialisation of university research ideas. It is argued that science parks in the future should integrate innovations into their management systems—such as Total Quality Management systems, the European model or the American model for Total Quality Management, the Deming management method and the Six Sigma—in order to deal with the changing needs of the knowledge economy.

Customer Oriented Strategy and Business Performance in Tourism and Hospitality Industry

The primary purposes of this study were: (a) to determine the extent to which customer oriented strategy is implemented to four and five-star hotels, and (b) to examine the relationship between customer oriented strategy used by four and five-star hotels and business performance (profit, ROI, sales volume and market share). The research was addressed to all four and five-star hotels in the Region of Peloponnese (142 four and five-star hotels, which recognized by Hellenic chamber of hotels) and involved 142 experienced managers who were the most knowledgeable regarding marketing issues. Responses were received from 98 managers of 98 four and five-star hotels with a 69% response rate. For the purpose of this study a 40-item questionnaire, was used developed by Whiteley (1991). The reliability of the scale was found to be α = 0.89. Also, the particular research used the subjective way of measuring performance. Business performance was judged against four criteria two financial (profit and ROI) and two market based (sales volume and market share). Descriptive statistics and Pearson chi-square (χ2) statistics were used to examine variables relationship using SPSS software (version 22). The results (means) indicated that customer oriented strategy is applied to a great extent from four and five-star hotels (M = 3.97, SD = 0.66). Also, there were significant and positive relationships between the customer oriented strategy and business performance (profit, ROI, sales volume and market share) of four and five-star hotels. This study is useful in extending the concept of customer oriented strategy to the tourism and hospitality industry. The study will be useful in helping managers to their further understanding of the customer oriented strategy process in their respective organization.