Tõnis Mets

Accelerating structured consumer‐driven package design

Purpose – This paper seeks to explore approaches to consumer‐driven optimization of package design utilizing a novel modified conjoint analysis approach. The approach allows for dynamic creation and testing of a large number of design prototypes with consumers and finds optimal solutions on an aggregated, segmented (pattern‐based latent mindset segmentation) and individual basis.Design/methodology/approach – The approach extends the consumer insights‐driven process, Rule Developing Experimentation (RDE), introduced by the authors (AG and HM) and developed in cooperation with Wharton School of Business (University of Pennsylvania), to graphical concepts.Findings – Disciplined experimentation based on individual permuted experimental designs produces more targeted package designs with higher appeal to the consumers. The proposed steps describe fast, parsimonious and actionable process of application of RDE to package optimization, which provides valuable input for designers about consumer preferences.Practi...

Entrepreneurship education in the higher education institutions (HEIs) of post-communist European countries

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to map the current situation of entrepreneurship education in higher education institutions (HEIs) of 22 European transition economy countries. Design/methodology/approach - The approach taken was an internet survey and analysis covering 774 HEIs of the region. Findings - In 332 institutions, entrepreneurship-oriented courses, modules or curricula are offered. Croatia and Slovenia are the leading countries in terms of the coverage of teaching entrepreneurship in universities and colleges, followed by the Baltic countries and the Czech and Slovak Republics. The highest entrepreneurship orientation is found in new and private universities and colleges. In a majority of schools, the theory of entrepreneurship is taught but practice-oriented training in entrepreneurship is rather limited. The current number of centres of entrepreneurship in the region is small, and the research-oriented model of entrepreneurship education is used in three to five institutions only. Practical implications - The paper provides a useful source of information for entrepreneurship education researchers, developers and education policy makers. Originality/value - The paper maps the HEIs entrepreneurship teaching in post-communist European countries.

Marketing Museums and Exhibitions: What Drives the Interest of Young People

This article shows an approach to understanding the preferences of museum attendees. It is based on rule-developing experimentation (augmented conjoint analysis) and is demonstrated by a case study assessing what influences the interest of young people to attend an exhibition or museum. The study surveyed 224 U.S. respondents ages 18 to 35 comparing the impacts of features, services, benefits, and the time or type of visits influencing young people to attend an exhibition. The findings will be of interest to museum and hospitality marketing.

Integrating science into web design: consumer‐driven web site optimization

Purpose – This paper sets out to explore different approaches to optimizing web sites based on consumer preferences, introducing the most advanced form of landing page optimization, multivariate landing page optimization, and its variations. The approach aims to allow for the testing of a large number of web page prototypes with consumers and find real optimal solutions on an aggregated, segmented and individual basis. The latter aims to paveing the road to individually optimized pages and one‐on‐one marketing in the near future.Design/methodology/approach – The approach described employs a new variation of multivariate landing page optimization to improve customer experiences with web sites through optimal design of the landing pages. The approach uses consumer insights‐driven rule‐developing experimentation (RDE) introduced by the authors and developed in cooperation with Wharton School of Business.Findings – A disciplined experimentation based on statistically sound experimental designs produces much b...

Decoding consumer perceptions of premium products with rule‐developing experimentation

Purpose – This paper aims to summarize the results of an empirical project to understand the perceptions of consumers of the future high end products in the USA. This project was a precursor of a larger global project on the topic.Design/methodology/approach – The approach utilizes the consumer insights‐driven process, rule‐developing experimentation (RDE), introduced by the senior authors and developed in cooperation with Wharton School of Business (University of Pennsylvania). The empirical part was conducted with qualified US consumers (middle‐ and upper‐middle class respondents). Based on a series of in‐depth qualitative interviews with global leaders of luxury and premium companies, star designers and thought leaders, five dimensions of high end offering were identified, with each dimension having a unique set of four factors (elements). The second part included a quantitative survey based on RDE (modified conjoint analysis) conducted in the USA with 373 qualified middle‐ and upper‐middle class respo...

Trade Secrets in the Intellectual Property Strategies of Entrepreneurs: The Estonian Experience

Secrecy is a traditional method of knowledge protection. The protection and management of trade secrets has high strategic relevance for small transition economies. As the majority of Estonian entrepreneurs are SMEs in low-tech sectors, the implementation of adequate trade-secret protection strategy is vital. There are several advantages to trade-secret protection. First, the scope of trade-secret protection can be extensive and includes non-patentable knowledge. Second, it does not require the registration or fulfilment of any formal procedures.The Estonian high-tech sector also relies on trade-secret protection. Concentration of activities in a low- or high-tech sector only determines whether entrepreneurs combine patent and trade-secret protection or whether they are solely dependent on trade-secret protection.The enhancement of entrepreneurial skills to manage trade-secrets is crucial. Despite the high strategic relevance of trade secret protection, Estonian entrepreneurs do not, yet, seem to have the necessary capabilities to leverage trade-secret protection. A similar situation can be detected in other Baltic states. Therefore, the main focus of this article is on the exploration of how to control and utilize trade secrets in the value creation process by entrepreneurs in the Estonian legal and economic environment through appropriate economic and legal strategies and relevant legal implementation and protection measures. The authors analyze theoretical and practical issues concerning trade-secret protection, argue their own concepts and put forward several proposals.

Role of University–Industry–Government Linkages in the Innovation Processes of a Small Catching-up Economy:

During the transformation process from a command economy, the extraordinary statist university–industry–government (UIG) linkages model was replaced by an extreme version of laissez-faire relationships. A more modern interaction-based UIG model could be implemented only by changing the whole national innovation system of catching-up economies. The national innovation systems of countries with a command economy past share common problems that prevent them from developing the UIG linkages. The still-dominating linear innovation model should be replaced with the interactive and learning-based approach as these countries need to improve their levels of innovation diffusion management and networking. In addition, a symbiotic approach to the balance of high-tech and low-tech industries is needed. Managerial and organizational competence should be improved and treated at the same level of importance as technological competence.

The Role of Intellectual Property Protection in the Business Strategy of University Spin-Off Biotech Companies in a Small Transition Economy

Spin-off biotech companies often have difficulties in creating competitive advantage through protection of their intellectual property, due to their limited human and financial resources. Having considered the value of the intellectual property and questions of enforceability, spin-off companies should use patenting only for inventions with a high market value and high patent enforceability; otherwise, publishing early or keeping the invention a trade secret should be preferred. This allows the inventor to benefit from operational freedom while maintaining low costs. The impact of the protected intellectual property on the success of the firm depends on its speed of entry into the market and when it reaches break-even point. In a transition country with a poorly developed entrepreneurial environment, patents may expire before the spin-off company has produced any profit from its expenditures on the protection of the intellectual property. It should also be remembered that their products may contain modules which are already protected by other inventors. Consequently, a strategically fundamental issue for the success of spin-off firms is the careful selection of the markets in which to operate, and the choice of the proper degree and method of intellectual property protection.

Developing new corporate understanding of an existing product

Purpose – Innovation cannot come without in‐depth understanding of the product and its consumer perception. This paper aims to show the approach for consumer‐centric re‐development strategy, from design of the experiment to execution, analysis, modeling and strategies for implementation.Design/methodology/approach – The approach described uses a relatively large‐scale experimental design of ingredients (12 variables) to vary sensory attributes and conduct sensitivity analysis with consumers.Findings – The resulting product was a big marketing success for the producer. A disciplined experimentation based on statistically sound experimental designs produces much better food products with increased acceptability by consumers.Practical implications – Statisticians have turned their attention to modeling the relations between physical variables and subjective consumer responses. The resulting products are optimized to meet sensory preferences of the consumers including varied sensory segmentation of the market...

Patterns in entrepreneurial competences as the perceived learning outcomes of entrepreneurship education: The case of Estonian HEIs

The importance of evaluating the outcomes of entrepreneurship education (EE) has been widely acknowledged, but how to approach the evaluation and what models and measures to use are still subjected to academic debate. In this article, the authors present an application of the European Competence Framework (ECF) – the knowledge–skills–attitude triad that stems from Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. A survey of self-assessed entrepreneurial competences acquired in entrepreneurship education courses was carried out in five Estonian higher education institutions (HEIs). An exploratory factor analysis based on the sample of 249 respondents confirmed the empirical viability of the ECF for evaluating the outcomes of EE, while also indicating a wide spectrum of these outcomes. Knowledge about entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial skills and a range of affective outcomes was perceived to be stronger by those students who had higher aspirations to become entrepreneurs before entering the HEIs.