Doctoral

Spaces, Emotion and Heavy Metal Subcultural Control: Music Consumption and Civilising Processes.

Gary Sinclair — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 02:37:59 PST

Despite the longevity, cultural relevance and global popularity of heavy metal, it has been noticeably absent from both the Birmingham School‟s subcultural studies, the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS) and in consumer community contexts informed by post-subcultural perspectives (e.g., neo-tribes). This study examines the Irish heavy metal scene. The literature review considers the problematic aspects of applying both frameworks (subcultural and post-subcultural) to heavy metal and other similar contexts. I argue that Norbert Elias‟s figurational sociology (relatively underutilised in previous consumer research), can be used to bypass the agency–structure dualism that impedes both approaches. It is also advanced that such a perspective can become incorporated into the wider consumer culture theory (CCT) framework. Data was collected through a combination of interviews, participant observation of live events, and observation of Irish fan forums. The positioning of the researcher as an „outsiderparticipant‟ represents a departure from previous „metal‟ studies and increasingly common „insider‟ accounts of youth cultures. Additionally, the adoption of the Eliasian position concerning the balance between involvement and detachment addresses some of the challenges that come with researching (sub)cultures that are as controversial and divisive (in an aesthetical sense) as heavy metal. The seemingly chaotic and „uncivilised‟ associations with heavy metal subculture represent an interesting context in which to explore Eliasian concepts concerning civilising processes and the increasing social constraint towards selfrestraint or self-steering. I draw from empirical data collected in the field and previous figurational histories concerning Irish civilising processes (Dolan, 2005), sportisation (Elias and Dunning, 2008a) and technisation trends (Elias, 2008a). In doing so, I explain how heavy metal is a figuration based on control. The different fan spaces are co-constructed through a combination of subcultural and marketplace controls. Such spaces are used to facilitate a sense of comradeship and generate cathartic experiences, as the fans engage in a „controlled de-controlling‟ of emotions (Elias, 2008b). The significance of the heavy metal experience is dependent on the visibility and quality of marketplace influence and the successful enforcement of the subcultural fan code. The dynamics of the complex figuration of heavy metal, the unique modes of behaviour, and the communication and interpretation of different symbols within the scene are analysed with regard to how status and subcultural capital is displayed. Fundamentally, I argue that the ability of the fans to adapt their behaviour to the fluid heavy metal scene and its evolving subcultural code is dependent on their ability to selfsteer. The analysis contemplates the breakdown of the subcultural code, the lack of restraint demonstrated in the online spaces, and the retreat of what have become unacceptable modes of behaviour to „behind the scenes‟ and the virtual social scene.

Comprehending the Evolving Leadership Role of the Consultant Designer in the New Product Development Process in Mature Product Categories

Fiona Maciver (Thesis) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 07:29:41 PDT

Seismic shifts in 21st century market conditions – globalisation, immediate digital communications, rapidly developing technologies, an ever more sophisticated, knowledgeable consumer – create a new landscape for organisations seeking to create products of greater value, which better meet evolving needs and desires. While the marketing-led approach, dominant in the past half-century, focused on persuasion, design, with its specialised tools, is suggested to be more adept and flexible than marketing at understanding and providing relevant value for today’s consumer. A literature review argues that, in history, design has endured periods of particular strength followed by decline. This thesis examines the proposition that design is moving into an era of ascendancy. The literature review considers notions of design and designers’ involvement in the new product development (NPD) process, and suggests that they are having a wider input of increasing significance in NPD. This acts as a base for developing understanding of the role of designers, and their interface with business. Evidence was gathered in a case study approach at four industrial design consultancies creating products for a range of international clients, mostly in mature consumer product categories. Recorded interviews, observation and case diaries were analysed using an interpretivist approach, and themes were built from this data. Greater responsibility – leadership – on the part of design was manifest in numerous ways in the work of the designer and consultancy design studio. The findings suggest an overall transition from a marketing-led NPD approach to one of ‘design leadership’. First, designers are taking greater responsibility in solving problems of greater weight and complexity than in previous generations. The role and remit of the designer has expanded to embrace some of the tasks traditionally associated with the marketer. Second, the nature of the relationship between designer and client is instrumental in determining how the designer is involved in NPD. A growing closeness means that designers are involved from the beginning, or even pre-project, and this allows greater input in realms beyond product function and aesthetics. Third, consultancies are reorienting their offering to one of involvement across the NPD project. Studios consult in the clients’ overall business strategy, and become coordinators – leaders – in the product’s realisation. There is a shift from designers following marketers’ suggestions to designers acting as consultants in the purest sense. Design leadership denotes an approach whereby designers marry the sensibilities of business with the experiential approach of design. The findings of the study are synthesised in a series of models that act as a guide for consultancies and clients as they navigate the shift to greater design leadership. These models have considerable implications for design in practice, as well as for policy and design education. Chiefly, they become a substantive tool to enhancing the designer’s empowerment in the business context, as they become involved in, and take decisions upon, a wider ranging breadth of activity of ever-increasing significance.

A Simulation-based Decision Support System to Improve Healthcare Facilities Performance – Elaborated on an Irish Emergency Department

Michael Thorwarth (Thesis) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 07:23:35 PST

Emergency departments (EDs) are a crucial access point to the healthcare system in Ireland. High patient demand and limited resources have resulted in long waiting times and long lengths of stay in EDs. Some of this pressure on EDs could be ameliorated by more streamlined hospital processes particularly in managing discharges and managing the volume of work. This research sought to develop a simulation-based Decision Support System (DSS) to enable an accelerated development of a simulation based solution to improve quality and care at Irish hospitals.

In order to investigate causes of bottlenecks and insufficient distribution of resources, a novel process modelling approach is developed, where patient pathways are investigated in relation to the work flow of medical staff with the consideration of the dependence on limited resources. This approach is included in the simulation based DSS which aids to consult managers of EDs by providing a comprehensive perspective onto the crucial factors affecting their services and processes. To prove this novel concept of Multiple Participants Pathway Modelling (MPPM) with regard to Flexible Resource Allocation (FRA), a simulation study is applied to the ED of an academic teaching hospital in Dublin. This research is divided into primary and secondary research phases, in which the secondary – the applied field work – is guided by a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. EDs are an ideal test environment as they represent a dynamic working environment where the allocation of medical staff is flexible and tailored to current patient demand. However, exact medical procedures must still be followed. These factors are considered by the application of MPPM with regard to FRA. These complex process interactions form a holistic simulation process flow network allowing application of scenarios that impact both process flow pathways: those of patients and of medical staff.

This research makes a contribution to both theory and practice: the theory is covered by the framework which outlines the simulation based DSS, while the practical objectives are delivered by its application in the ED. The investigated scenarios offer a higher degree of confidence in the interpretation of the simulation results and provide a clearer picture of the resulting consequences of the potential introduction of certain policies.

An Integrated Framework to Assess ‘Leanness’ Performance in Distribution Centres

Amr Mahfouz (Thesis) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 04:02:10 PST

The theory behind lean philosophy is to create more value with less. Effective lean management enables organisations to exceed customer expectations while reducing costs. Despite the fact that numerous practices and approaches are used in the process of implementing lean philosophy and reducing waste within supply chain systems, little effort has been directed into assessing the leanness level of distribution and its impact on overall performance. Given the vital role of distribution units within supply chains, this research aims to develop a comprehensive lean assessment framework that integrates a selected set of statistical, analytical, and mathematical techniques in order to assess the ‘leanness’ level in the distribution business. Due to the limited number of published articles in the area of lean distribution, there are no clear definitions of the underlying factors and practices. Therefore, the primary phase of the proposed framework addresses the identification of lean distribution dimensional structure and practices. The other two phases of the framework discuss the development of a structured model for lean distribution and address the process to find a quantitative lean index for benchmarking lean implementation in distribution centres. Integrating the three phases provides the decision makers with an indicator of performance, subject to applying various lean practices. Incorporating the findings of a survey that sent to 700 distribution businesses in Ireland along with value stream mapping, modelling, simulation, and data envelopment analysis, has given the framework strength in the assessment of leanness. Research outcomes show that lean distribution consists of five key dimensions; workforce management, item replenishment, customers, transportation, and process quality. Lean practices associated with these dimensions are mainly focused on enhancing the communication channels with customers, simplifying the distribution networks structure, people participating in problem solving and a continuous improvement process, and increasing the reliability and efficiency of the distribution operations. The final output of the framework is two key leanness indices; one is set to measure the tactical leanness level, while the second index represents the leanness at the operational level. Both indices can effectively be used in evaluating the lean implementation process and conducting a benchmarking process based on the leanness level.

An Optimisation-based Framework for Complex Business Process: Healthcare Application

Waleed Abo-Hamad (Thesis) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 05:05:53 PDT

The Irish healthcare system is currently facing major pressures due to rising demand, caused by population growth, ageing and high expectations of service quality. This pressure on the Irish healthcare system creates a need for support from research institutions in dealing with decision areas such as resource allocation and performance measurement. While approaches such as modelling, simulation, multi-criteria decision analysis, performance management, and optimisation can – when applied skilfully – improve healthcare performance, they represent just one part of the solution. Accordingly, to achieve significant and sustainable performance, this research aims to develop a practical, yet effective, optimisation-based framework for managing complex processes in the healthcare domain. Through an extensive review of the literature on the aforementioned solution techniques, limitations of using each technique on its own are identified in order to define a practical integrated approach toward developing the proposed framework. During the framework validation phase, real-time strategies have to be optimised to solve Emergency Department performance issues in a major hospital. Results show a potential of significant reduction in patients average length of stay (i.e. 48% of average patient throughput time) whilst reducing the over-reliance on overstretched nursing resources, that resulted in an increase of staff utilisation between 7% and 10%. Given the high uncertainty in healthcare service demand, using the integrated framework allows decision makers to find optimal staff schedules that improve emergency department performance. The proposed optimum staff schedule reduces the average waiting time of patients by 57% and also contributes to reduce number of patients left without treatment to 8% instead of 17%. The developed framework has been implemented by the hospital partner with a high level of success.

An Empirical Investigation of Consumer Resistance to Green Product Innovation

Marius Claudy (Thesis) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 01:38:22 PDT

Responding to the sustainability imperative has emerged as a key challenge and opportunity for businesses. Developing and marketing innovative ―green‖ products in particular can be a vital strategy for businesses to increase productivity, develop new markets, improve corporate image and ultimately attain competitive advantage. But despite consumer sensitisation towards environmental issues, many sustainable products face slow rates of diffusion in mainstream markets as consumers‘ green preferences regularly fail to translate into adoption behaviour. In this thesis we take a consumer resistance perspective to investigate empirically the so-called attitude–behaviour gap in the context of green product innovation. The aim of this thesis is to advance theoretically and empirically our understanding of consumer resistance, to identify consumers‘ motives for resisting green innovation and to highlight strategic implications for marketers and policy makers. The research was conducted in the context of microgeneration – innovative technologies that can be adopted by households to produce heat and electricity from renewable energy. Microgeneration technologies are green innovations, which have experienced slow rates of diffusion and thus provide a suitable context for this research. Two national consumer surveys (n = 1010; n = 1012) were conducted to investigate specifically three research issues including consumers‘ passive resistance (i.e. awareness), active resistance (i.e. postponement, rejection and opposition) and willingness to pay for microgeneration technologies. The theoretical contribution of this study is thus threefold. First, the findings contribute to innovation literature by highlighting the importance of passive resistance in the innovation adoption process and by stressing methodological implications for the design of adoption of innovation studies. Second, the thesis contributes to the resistance literature by developing, testing and validating a new measure of active resistance behaviours. The design of the measure was built on a recent conceptualisation by Kleijnen et al. (2009) and our scale is shown to be a robust measurement instrument that accounts for more variance in consumers‘ resistance behaviour than conventional measures such as intention to adopt or attitude towards adoption scales. Third, this dissertation contributes to a growing body of literature in the energy policy domain, which questions the predominant economic perspective and gravitates towards alternative explanations of human decision making to explain and encourage behavioural change. In conclusion, the analysis significantly fills the paucity of empirical research in the area of consumer resistance, shedding light on consumers‘ motives to resist green product innovation and providing strategic recommendations for innovation managers and policy makers.

Celtic Tiger, Hidden Tales: Living Stories of Career Success for Community Employment Scheme Participants: a Critical Interpretive Analysis

Sue Mulhall (Thesis) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 08:55:20 PST

This dissertation explores how Community Employment scheme participants (former non-employed individuals on active labour market programmes) construct and interpret their career experiences in changing micro-individual and macro-social contexts.
It finds that the former non-employed are largely excluded from career success research. My qualitative study argues that this omission has resulted in a gap in the career and career success literature and research, as there is a dearth of inquiries on the former non-employed. This in-depth analysis addresses this limitation. I contribute to the careers field by demonstrating the complexity and variability of an underrepresented group‟s career (re)constructions through providing a more holistic analysis than previous inquiries by integrating micro and macro positions to appreciate how the participants (re)construct their career identity in an ever-evolving environment.
The study adopts a criticalist and constructivist ontology and a critical hermeneutic and critical interpretive epistemology. It employs a narrative research strategy (understands experience in a person‟s life through their stories), collecting the data through episodic interviews to explore the career success stories of 27 participants.
Using the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space (an approach for restorying field texts) allows me to work through the narratives interpretivistically. It permits me to identify a critical moment in each of the participants‟ lives, a moment over which they had varying degrees of control, represented by a choice/fate continuum, e.g., bereavement, illness or altering family responsibilities. I chart their critical moments onto the cornerstones of the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space, and then plot their reactions to these moments, including their evaluation of the outcome of their career experiences (objective and/or subjective factors), and their perception of their agency, or otherwise, over these experiences (fateful or fatalistic responses). Four different strategies of career (re)construction are distinguished. I also describe the impact of one primary structural influence on their career (re)construction strategies, respectively. To understand the participants‟ change process, Giddens‟ fateful moment is operationalised by cross-referencing each person‟s critical moment, career (re)construction strategy and primary structural influence, with the eight principal elements of the fateful moment. The participants‟ interpretations of their career experiences during periods of discontinuity are also revealed.
The research makes three contributions: (1) fusing career theory with narrative inquiry within a systems framework to develop the Three-Dimensional Career Success Inquiry Systems Framework; (2) proposing seven categories of career success for the sample; and (3) recommending that a career should be synonymous with life career development, entailing one‟s whole life, not just that which is occupationally orientated.
The necessity to incorporate the multifaceted, micro-dynamics of career and identity to comprehend career (re)construction for individuals, in addition to the requirement to take account of structural influences in narrative inquiry in the field of career research, is underlined from the findings.

Barriers to Adopting Activity-based Costing Systems (ABC): an Empirical Investigation Using Cluster Analysis

Fawzi Abdalla Abusalama (Thesis) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:40:08 PDT

This research seeks to establish why ABC adoption rates are low given the claimed benefits of the system. The view is taken that there are likely to be two sets of interacting variables influencing ABC adoption, contingent variables and the company’s ability or willingness to address implementation barriers. The contingency approach is a recent and important development in ABC research. From the perspective that there is no one universally appropriate MAS system, but that the appropriateness of any system is dependent on the factors facing the firm, it can be argued that ABC system adoption and success will depend upon specific contingent factors such as product diversity, cost structure, firm size, competition, and business unit culture. A contingency model of ABC adoption has been developed in order to examine and investigate the reasons why the take up or adoption of ABC systems remains low. This model seeks to incorporate contingency theory relating to a set of variables which will be identified from the literature as likely to be influential in ABC adoption. The view is taken that such contingency variables will not of themselves explain ABC adoption rates, rather such contingency factors may be viewed as rendering ABC suitable or otherwise for adoption by companies but that there are also implementation issues which influence adoption. The implementation factors can be classified based upon a review of the literature into three main types Behavioural, Systems and Technical. This study seeks to establish which of these three sets of factors constitutes the dominant barriers to ABC implementation. Based upon the contingency model, companies are classified into groups, each group having a different “profile” with regard to the individually established contingent variables. Thus, one such group will have a “good match” with the contingent variables and another will have a “poor match”, e.g. if “size” is found to be a contingent variable, one group will comprise the larger firms, and another group will comprise the smaller firms, with a number of intermediate groups. The grouping is based on all established contingent variables. Each such group is subdividing into ABC adoption or non-adoption, and the reasons for non-adoption establish for each such group. A mail questionnaire survey was considered an appropriate method for this study. The survey undertaken comprised all firms listed in Business and Finance (2004) Irelands Top 1000 Companies (the total number of companies included in the list were only 925 companies). 218 questionnaires were returned, generates a 23.6% response rate. The quantitative data were processed using a SPSS program, leading to appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical analysis, including frequencies, means, standard deviations, chi-square, t-test, Mann-Whitney and ANOVA tests. Cluster analysis was used to profile the companies according to the individually significant contingent factors. Seven contingent variables were identified from the literature, six of which were found to be statistically significantly associated with ABC adoption. Companies were “clustered” using these variables into three groups, and reasons for non-adoption were identified. Based upon an analysis of the given reasons for non-adoption, Technical Issues were dominant amongst these companies in the cluster which profile most closely matches the contingent factors. The findings suggest that in the adoption of ABC, two distinct sets of variables are at work. The ‘Contingent Variables’ which likely render it appropriate or useful for the company to adopt ABC, and the company’s ability, or willingness to address the ‘Barriers’ and difficulties associated with ABC adoption. The results show a strong significant association between contingent variables and the adoption of ABC. The results suggest that the contingent variables alone may not of themselves adequately explain the actual take up of ABC systems. Moreover, it suggests that two companies which have similar profiles with regard to contingent variables (with higher overheads, more product diversity etc.) may yet reach different decision with regards to ABC adoption, due to their differing abilities or willingness to address and overcome the issues relating to ABC implementation, the results completely support this suggestion. The results also show that ‘Technical Issues’ are the most common factor militating against ABC adoption within companies who are rejecting and actively considering its adoption within the cluster whose profile most closely matches the prime factors.

Mediators of Meaning: a Critically Reflexive Study of the Encoding of Irish Advertising

Aidan Kelly (Thesis) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 08:13:16 PDT

This thesis explores the socially constructed process through which advertising agencies and practitioners encode advertisements. It draws from an interdisciplinary theoretical framework, and the study is positioned within the critical marketing studies literature. The literature review explores the relationship between advertising and the theory of ideology, the interaction between advertising and the cultural world and the role of advertising agencies as “cultural intermediaries” within consumer culture. An ethnographic study of an Irish advertising agency was conducted, during which primary data was collected in the form of internal agency meetings, agency documentation interviews with advertising practitioners and participant observations. The study incorporated a discourse analysis approach to talk and text generated during the inquiry which has become a popular way of exploring advertising and marketing phenomenon. The data analysis is presented in the form of an ethnographic narrative of preparations for key campaigns in the agency, and central “ interpretative repertoires “ that Irish advertising practitioners drew upon in interviews to describe their work. The data analysis illustrates how advertising practitioners draw symbolic resonance from culture and society to construct advertising meaning, and the findings reveal a striking power dynamic between the agency and the client, where ownership and control of the creative development process is widely contested between social actors. The findings suggest that rather than being seen as ideology producers, advertising agencies should be conceptualised as mediators between multiple meaning systems within consumer culture. The thesis concludes by outlining the main contributions of the research to theory and practice, and offers some suggestions for future studies of advertising production.

How does Advertising Articulate the Tropes of the Posthuman that Exist in Contemporary Culture?

Norah Campbell (Thesis) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 06:52:06 PST

The posthuman is a concept that has accrued much currency in disciplines as diverse as legal theory, artificial life science and philosophy. This thesis explores the meaning of the concept by initially examining what it means to be human, finding that art and science have so far failed to provide a long-lasting definition of humanness. Instead of a temporal “coming-after” stage of humanity, posthumanism might be more usefully seen as a concept that draws attention to the cracks that have always existed in the apparently water-tight description of the human- how the “human” has changed radically and continues to change radically over time. Following this, it examines how posthumanism is imagined in technological discourses, as well as how philosophy uses the technological to think through dilemmas of existence. With this mapping of the posthuman, we turn to how the post-human is imagined in the current era of visual culture, and in particular international corporate advertisements. Advertising constitutes a fundamentally important and influential site of the aesthetic imagination, yet the ways in which advertising imagines concepts such as the future, technology and the human are underexamined. This work combines historical and philosophical accounts of technology, poststructural literary and film criticism, and Derridean close reading as a special toolset to examine the visual culture of the posthuman. It shows a) how the technologised body of the future acquires meaning and how this meaning cannot be simplistically thought of in terms of a liberatory/oppressive economy, b) how the primitive, technology and horror emerge as interrelated tropes to articulate alternative forms of identity that could be termed a posthuman biology, and c) how cybernetics, nanotechnology, complexity and networks carry ideological assumptions about existence that produce an aesthetic imagination different to previous technological eras.

E-procurement Structures in Purchasing Consortia: Towards a Conceptual Framework

Bernd Ludwig Huber (Thesis) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:29:51 PDT

In the literature there has been little empirical research investigation into purchasing consortium issues focusing on a detailed analysis of information and communication technology (ICT) based procurement strategies. While some anecdotal accounts of such advances in supply chain management can be found, there is a need to relate the term electronic purchasing consortia (EPC) to academic literature, thus empowering clearer theoretical analysis. EPC enable purchasing organisations to varying degrees, to electronically conduct tasks that are necessary for the management of demand aggregation of two or more legal entities, provide efficient ICT-based communication infrastructures and rely more on electronic communication than face-to-face contact. An overall statement was developed for the study of EPC: ‘Effective participation in electronic purchasing consortia can have the potential to enhance competitive advantage. EPC implementation is dependent upon a clear and detailed understanding of the major process enablers and drivers. This understanding requires the development of a taxonomy and a conceptual framework to EPC. One practical use of this taxonomy is the assessment of feasibility in given industry sectors’ This overall statement is assessed by the exploration of academic literature, five multiple case studies and two surveys. 128 purchasing organisations as will as 43 e-Marketplaces/procurement service providers (PSPs) in the automotive and electronics industry sectors participated in the surveys. By adopting methodological pluralism and triangulation techniques, key factors and structures that affect the adoption and diffusion of EPC, based upon the technology-organisation –environment framework, and the performance impact of adoption are investigated. The findings suggest that only 7% of purchasing organisations take advantage of EPC, but 44% of e-Marketplaces /PSPs offer them to date. Organisation size, purchasing maturity and technological competence are strongly associated with adoption of EPC, while the level of industry fragmentation, pressures from the business context, purchasing spend, intensity of multi sourcing strategies and product pooling potential are not. EPC can enhance competitive advantage and have generated on average net reductions in purchasing costs of over 5% and a return on investment of over 70%. However, EPC do not necessarily lead to a higher level of purchasing effectiveness and efficiency, a lower level of maverick purchasing or a reduction in the number of suppliers. More conflict with EPC can arise in the automotive industry due to it OEM concentration, cultural and structural impediments (e.g. overcapacity, vertical integration) and technical factors (e.g. high level of modularised assembly). Sophisticated employment of EPC is still very much at a developmental stage. The empirically derived original model for EPC represents a valuable starting point of EPC research within which to comprehend its current state and the directions for future studies.

the Impact of Business-to-Business e-marketplaces as Extended Media in the Procurement Supply Chain of Airlines

Claudia-Maria Wagner (Thesis) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:52:59 PDT

In recent years, a growing number of companies in many industry sectors have decided to include e-Business as an integral part of their strategy to enhance competitive advantage. The airline industry, having always been a great instigator and guarantor for innovative changes, is one of the industries where developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in general have proven to be an inevitable factor of success. Among recent innovative developments are B2B e-Marketplaces, which have been hypothesised to optimise procurement processes and to add significant value in airlines’ supply chains. However, while e-Marketplaces have been analysed in more detail from an institutional perspective, very limited research has been undertaken to date in exploring the e-Marketplace adoption drivers and performance indicators, particularly from a diffusion-of-innovation (DOI) and innovation-organisation-environment (IOE) viewpoint. To address these issues, this research establishes a contingency framework and hypotheses are then developed that are subsequently subjected to empirical testing through quantitative methods. Methodological triangulation has been employed to address weaknesses and bias of using a single research method. Thus, extensive qualitative and quantitative data were collected by means of two survey instruments aiming at airlines (response rate 29%) and e-Marketplaces (response rate 65%). In addition, two explorative case studies were developed to qualitatively interlink the survey findings from both an e-Marketplace adopter and a non-adopter perspective. Results confirm that e-Marketplaces have gained momentum in the airline industry, following the typical S-curve pattern of technology adoption. As expected, e-Marketplaces have secured a relatively high degree of diffusion, with 65% of airlines already having used and e-Marketplace of some sort and 25% being financially involved in terms of ownership. Factors affecting the adoption of e-Marketplaces were investigated. The airline’s strategic classification has an impact on e-Marketplace adoption. 82% of full service airlines have adopted e-Marketplaces, followed by low-cost airlines with 79%, regional airlines with 50% and finally charter airlines with 27%. There is also a significant divide between large and small airlines, the latter of which often adhere to more traditional forms of purchasing. Other drivers or strategic ‘stimuli’ for e-Marketplace adoption in the airline industry include the extent of strategic partnerships, the level of overall ICT sophistication and the level of internet services used. In contrast to theoretically derived expectations, pressures from the business context, the level of resource/information sharing, the extent of outsourcing and joint procurement integration, and the purchasing organisation centralisation/decentralisation could not be confirmed as adoption drivers. In terms of performance indicators, this study confirms that e-Marketplace use is positively related to the overall satisfaction with an airline’s procurement practices and processes. Results suggest that e-Marketplaces do reduce search cost of airlines, mostly in the area of spares and repairs, tools/GSE and office supplies. Other benefits illustrated by the study typically occur in the facilitation of order processes, a higher transparency of suppliers, reduced inventories, product price reductions and a reduction in purchase order costs. Savings from e-Marketplace adoption, which occur more in process costs rather than product costs, tend to exceed the investment costs. However, results indicate that e-Marketplace adoption does not have a direct impact on overall airline performance, but on operational effectiveness and efficiency. The results also suggest that while the e-Marketplace diffusion level is relatively high among airlines, many airlines still make only rudimentary use of all offered services. There are still a number of challenges ahead for e-Marketplace implementation, such as further supplier integration, training and education of staff or the development of further e-Marketplace services, as the technology is often not yet ready to support the range of airline requirements. The primary contribution of the study is to provide an original starting point for a more structured focus to improve understanding of the adoption process and value creation of B2B e-Marketplaces. This foundation will allow for further investigation.

Culture in Services Marketing

Malcolm Mitchell (Thesis) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 06:26:04 PDT

This research features both theoretical and empirical work underlining the potential value of marketing to contribute to commercial performance. The theory draws from those authors who have been predominant in promoting the concept of a market orientation as an antecedent to organisational success. The marketing culture paradigm is introduced and developed to specifically consider the area of services marketing. The empirical investigation concludes that there is an acknowledged appreciation of the value of a market oriented culture, particularly at senior levels of organisation, and that a market-oriented culture can be said to be associated with market shareholding and to a lesser extent business type. However there is variation as to what aspects of marketing are valued in service companies. While there are a number of broadly based, customer-oriented metrics by which a market culture might be identified, as a mechanism for strategic competitive advantage, a market-oriented culture and its commensurate values are not reflected in company accounts.

the Commodification of Music Theorising Musicians

Alan Bradshaw (Thesis) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:56:41 PDT

This thesis considers the dialectical relationship between music and commerce and asks the question why are some musicians uneasy with the commodification of their music? The question is considered from the vantage points of professional musicians and their experiences in dealing with the commodification process. In exploring this dialectic, the thesis is organised around the interactionist orientation and a framework designed by Holt (2004) in which the research design and question emerges from a conversation between grand and mid-range theory. To this effect a post-Marxist grand theory conversation between several writers who have considered the commodification of culture is presented. Following this the mid-range theory is divided into two separate conversations. First the literature regarding marketing’s use of music as a means of social control is reviewed and organised between positivist and interpretive approaches as they relate to the use of music in retail atmospherics and advertising. Second, a review of the literature concerning the culture industries themselves is presented. The culture industries are divided between the background music industry, the advertising industry, the music industry and finally the art-world. It is noted how each industry is organised around the mythology of theory – x and theory – y employees and this mythology is problematised. Following this a historicisation of the relationship between music and commerce is presented in which it is noted that conventional morality regarding the production of music is strongly influenced by nineteenth century notions of value and in particular the emergence of the bohemian ideology. Interviews were conducted with professional musicians from a range of different musical backgrounds in order to consider their experiences of the commodification of their music. The data analysis produced three over-arching themes: ‘x versus y’, ‘alienation’ and ‘taking responsibility’. Also a fourth umbrella theme is presented which considers all three themes together in the context of interactions of musicians with advertising. The study concludes by theorising the existence of a Sacred Code of Musicianship, which provides a repressive conventional morality for musicians. It is argued that this code is problematic insofar as it regards music and money as two distinct principles. Instead this thesis submits that evading this Sacred Code can give musicians a better chance of achieving their musical and artistic goals by embracing commerce. Last, the implications for the various constituencies of the work are considered.