Research overview: how social technologies are transforming

marketing practice, career progression and education

Lisa Harris

14th October 2009

About me…

• 10 years in banking industry• MBA Oxford Brookes• PhD @ Brunel, investigating case studies of technological change in

banking industry• Teaching @ Brunel and Director of MBA programme• Teaching @ Soton and Director of MSc Marketing Analytics and

new programme in Digital Marketing (2010)• Qualified tutor University of Liverpool e-MBA• Contact me on

– l.j.harris@soton.ac.uk – www.lisajaneharrismarketing.com – www.twitter.com/lisaharris

Plan

• Video

• Recent IT-related research projects I have been involved in– Punch Above Your Weight (3 phases)

• Current work – building and managing digital presence – The role of social technologies in education

I like this…

“If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less”

(General Eric Shineski, US Army Chief of Staff)

How many of these existed 10 years ago?

John

Which of these tools are you developing…?

Punch Above Your Weight

• How SMEs use new technologies to build their brand profiles and be competitive in their dealings with larger firms

• How entrepreneurs develop their own profile online

• How SMEs use new technologies for collaboration and networking

PAYW phase 1 (2007)

• This project surveyed 400 small businesses in the South East of England and compiled 30 detailed case studies of early adopters of Web 2.0 technologies (‘gifted amateurs’ who are using Web 2.0 technologies to grow their businesses creatively and cost-effectively)

• Many SMEs struggled to build and maintain usable IT systems as they grew and dealt with the challenges of adopting more formal ways of managing.

• Some have started to use the tools of Web 2.0 and cloud computing to avoid installing a formal IT network at all. These firms seek to avoid employing staff and getting enmeshed in bureaucracy as far as possible

• We found that proactive gifted amateurs have acquired new online marketing skills which they use to raise their profile through

– blogging

– networking

– judicious use of search engine optimisation techniques

(Harris, Rae and Grewal, 2008)

“New breed SME” deliberately keeps IT infrastructure to a minimum

PAYW Phase 2 (2008)

• We investigated how small businesses collaborate using Web 2.0, using a qualitative case study methodology based on interviews with the owner-managers of 12 small businesses

• The benefits obtained from the use of Web 2.0 to collaborate were identified as:– improved internal operational efficiency – enhanced capability – more effective external communications – customised service offerings and – lifestyle benefits

• Full details available in Barnes et al (in review)

PAYW Phase 3 (2009)

• A comparative study of networking styles by SMEs in the UK, Continental Europe and the USA.

• A survey (645 responses) investigated the impact of various factors on owner-managers preferences for online or offline networking.

• We developed a taxonomy of networking based on size, business model and attitudes of the business owner

• Our analysis showed that online and offline networking are not alternative practices. We found a significant number of dedicated strategic networkers who were fluent in both approaches

• Key challenges included the significant amount of time involved and the need for communications to be more transparent, open and honest than is normal in traditional, ‘command and control’ organisations

• Full details available in Harris, Rae and Misner (in review)

What is personal branding?

• According to Olins (2003), a brand is “a symbolic embodiment of all the information connected to a company, product or service”.

• Chris Brogan (www.chrisbrogan.com) notes that a strong personal brand is a mix of reputation, trust, attention, and execution:

“A personal brand gives you the ability to stand out in a sea of similar products. In essence, you’re marketing yourself as something different than the rest of the pack.”

How can you stand out from the crowd?

• The CBI and Universities UK have recently published a report on graduate employability called 'Future Fit'.

The survey of 581 employers identified entrepreneurship and enterprise as being particularly important attributes that they looked for in their prospective employees. The report defines these skills as:

"An ability to demonstrate an innovative approach, creativity, collaboration and risk taking. An individual with these attributes can make a huge difference to any business.“

• 78% of employers responding to the Future Fit survey cited an entrepreneurial mindset as important, and 72% said a "positive attitude" mattered. The University attended was given consideration by just 8% of employers, and a graduate's degree results by just 28%.

Digital Presence Issues

• Rapidly build sustainable networks with high quality connections at low (or no) cost

• Work efficiently and effectively with others on a global platform

• Develop credibility and a community of interest around your work

• Quickly identify and share new resources, breaking news and current issues of relevance to your network

• Benefit from immediate and global forms of publishing

• Access, manage and critically evaluate relevant online information

• Interact online in a responsible manner with due consideration of safety, security and privacy issues

• Project a consistent and appropriate brand image across a range of online media for the benefit of future employers, students or project partners

• Understand the principles of ‘givers gain’ and be prepared to contribute opinions, ratings or reviews for the benefit of the community

The times they are a changing…

• Availability of free content (e.g. video of lectures) by global experts both in education and industry from the likes of MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Oxford

• University reliance upon the ‘Russell Group’ arrogance – but this is a 20th century brand.

• Expectation from students of flexible evening/weekend/online learning options, as they seek to maintain job and family commitments

• Accessibility and breadth of information now available online alters the traditional role of the lecturer as gatekeeper to relevant knowledge

• Difficult economic conditions and higher fees adjust the risk/reward calculation of attending university

• Student profile increasingly international and with a wide range of ages and work experience

Democratic

Amateur

Distributed

The production and consumption of information is now:

First cohort of 300 students from 100 countries started in Sept 2009

Educational opportunities presented by Web 2 tools

• Generically known as “social technologies” which are built around participation and collaboration – essential aspects of ‘action-based learning’– Communities such as Facebook or Ning for

communication and collaboration– Blogs and micro blogs to generate content, access

information on latest trends, or access global networks of expertise

– Wikis for collaborative working and editing– Bookmarking sites such as Delicious or Digg to save,

rate and organise material

The Liverpool e-MBA

• Started 2001• Now has over 2000 students from 175 countries• Partnership deal with Laureate Online Education• Run separately from Liverpool’s traditional MBA

programme, though some staff work on both• Global network of part time Tutors and Module

Managers• There is a growing package of online MSc

programmes, including topics such as Medicine

Assessment• Students study 8 units plus dissertation• Each unit lasts 8 weeks• The course material is a summary ‘handout’ plus specified reading

from core textbook each week• Each week is assessed as follows:

– 2 x short essays (750 words) submitted Sat and Mon– Classroom participation (commenting and raising/answering questions

on the work of others) – Integration paper submitted Wed which summarises the key learning

from the week’s material and subsequent discussions– Grades and individual tutor feedback given weekly on Sat

• Total assessment per module = 16 x short essays, 8 weeks’ participation, 8 weekly summaries. There are no exams.

• Platform used is Blackboard with integrated SafeAssign for plagiarism checking

Advantages

• Ensures full participation throughout (no place to hide at the back…)

• Requires excellent time management (students and tutors…)

• Builds communication, analytic and writing skills• Students are required to draw upon at least one

journal article from the Uni e-library per essay submitted

The weekly summary

• Students are encouraged to reflect upon:– Specific learnings that stand out from their

own work that week and why– What they have learned from particular

discussions with other students and why– How they might apply the learning within their

own workplace– Practical issues of what went well/badly with

respect to time management and the study process

http://eci831.wikispaces.com

ReferencesHarris, L., Rae, A., and Grewal, S. (2008) ‘Out on the Pull: How small firms are making themselves sexy with web 2.0 marketing techniques’, International Journal of Technology Marketing

• Harris, L. and Rae, A. (2009a) ‘The revenge of the gifted amateur: Be afraid be very afraid’ Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development

• Harris, L. and Rae, A. (2009b) ‘Communication, collaboration and aggregation: how online communities are transforming marketing strategy for entrepreneurial small businesses’, Journal of Business Strategy

• Harris, L. Rae, A. and Misner, I. (in review) ‘Punching above their weight: the role of networking in effective SME marketing’ Journal of Small Business and Enterprise development

• Harris, L. Warren, L. Leah, J. and Ashleigh. M. (in review) ‘Small steps across the chasm: ideas for embedding a culture of open education in the university sector’ In Education

• Barnes, D., Clear, F., Dyerson, R., Harindranath, G, Harris, L. and Rae, A. (in review) ‘An exploratory investigation into the use of Web 2.0 by small businesses: Increasing collaboration and improving connectivity?’ Journal of Small Business Management