Entrepreneurship and Innovation Today

CfP's The Entrepreneurial Nature of Sports Marketing

Call for Papers;  International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing (IJSMM)

Special Issue on “The Entrepreneurial Nature of Sports Marketing”

http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=920

Guest Editors

Vanessa Ratten, Duquesne University, United States Maryellen Kelly, Duquesne University, United States Dorene Ciletti, Duquesne University, United States

Sport is a billion dollar global industry.  Globalization has presented challenges and opportunities in sport, and in a complex, changing environment, innovation and the way that advertisers market sports through the internet may hold the key to success.  While sports marketing and entrepreneurship have not frequently crossed paths in academic research, as competition for consumer dollars increases, innovative marketing efforts must evolve to create competitive advantage for sports organizations and deliver value to consumers.  The aim of this special issue is to advance a body of knowledge that relates entrepreneurial innovation to sports marketing and team performance management.  Quantitative analyses, qualitative studies, conceptual or theoretical research and cases studies are welcome.  This special issue will focus on entrepreneurial marketing and team performance management efforts in sports, including, but not limited to, the following topics:

Entrepreneurial approaches to marketing The role of entrepreneurship in marketing innovation and team performance management Global marketing challenges and opportunities Entrepreneurial firms and marketing policies Sponsorship initiatives New media and marketing innovation The role of social networks Social capital and entrepreneurial marketing Innovative brand initiatives in teams The role of sport in marketing social change Ethics, social responsibility and sustainability The role of technological innovation in marketing Targeting and segmentation strategies in sports-based team management Relationship marketing initiatives Positioning and competitive advantage in sports teams Media relationships and marketing success Marketing metrics and assessment Sports marketing and entrepreneurship best practices in team performance

Manuscripts must be received by June 30th 2008.  Please submit manuscripts in a word-compatible format electronically to:

Vanessa Ratten; A. J. Palumbo School of Business Administration Duquesne University Pittsburgh PA 15282 USA Email: [email protected]

Vanessa Ratten Assistant Professor Leadership, Ethics & Global Business Division A J Palumbo & J F Donahue Schools of Business Administration 464 Rockwell Hall Duquesne University 600 Forbes Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15282 Ph: 412 396 1907

Being on top of the internet search engine list is not always the best

Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia have found that while Internet searches do bring up a variety of useful materials, people pay more attention to information that matches their pre-existing beliefs.

“Even if people read the right material, they are stubborn to changing their views,” say researchers. “This means that providing people with the right information on its own may not be enough.”

The research considered how people use Internet search engines to answer health questions.

“We know that the web is increasingly being used by people to help them make healthcare decisions,” claim scientists.  “We know that there can be negative consequences if people find the wrong information, especially as people in some countries can now self-medicate by ordering drugs online.  Australians can order complementary medicines online and these can interfere with other medications.”

“Our research shows that, even if search engines do find the ‘right’ information, people may still draw the wrong conclusions – in other words, their conclusions are biased.”

What also matters is where the information appears in the search results and how much time a person spends looking at it, according to the research. which has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.

“The first or the last document the user sees has a much greater impact on their decisions,” conclude scientists.

Researchers are now designing an interface to help people make sense of the information which they are presented with and to break down these decision biases.

“The new search engine interface we have designed could be a part of any search engine and allows people to organise the information they find, and as a result organise their thoughts better. While the research was conducted in the area of health, the results – and the technology – are applicable to other fields too." speculate researchers."

ETA: The research on the interface will be publicly available within a year. 2009

Common Word-of-mouth VS "Highly-connected" Influencers? Which is better?

Common Word-of-mouth VS "Highly-connected" Influencers?  Which is better?

Despite online marketers trying to target key messages to people of high social influence, researchers say everyone likes to 'spread the word' and thus should be counted on for oral marketing purposes.

Old-fashioned "word of mouth" might be more useful in advertising than previously thought, especially in digital media, according to collaborative research by a Miami University faculty member and his colleagues.

The findings, to be published in the December 2007 issue of Journal of Advertising Research, resulted from a study co-authored by James Coyle, assistant professor of marketing in Miami's Farmer School of Business and of interactive media studies; Elizabeth Lightfoot of CNET Networks; and Ted Smith and Amy Scott of MedTrackAlert.

The findings contradict a common advertising practice of segmenting and pampering the few elite and highly connected consumers believed to have the most persuasive power by suggesting that instead, most people can influence consumer behavior through viral communication or word of mouth.

"This study provides a fresh alternative for those who have been confused by the mysticism of influencer marketing consultants," said Smith who is a CNET Networks Research Fellow and president of MedTrackAlert.

Researchers conducted a survey of Web-site visitors, performed in-depth interviews and analyzed Web site usage patterns.

"We find that trying to track down key influencers, people who have extremely large social networks, is typically unnecessary and, more importantly, can actually limit a campaign or advertisement's viral potential," said Coyle.  "Instead, marketers need to realize that the majority of their audience, not just the well-connected few, is eager and willing to pass along well-designed and relevant messages."

The study reinforced that consumers respond more to messages that are unique and trusted.  In addition, consumers who believe they are capable of performing the advertised behavior are more willing to pass along information to friends and relatives within their social networks.

Coyle added that this isn't new.  "It's always been this way.  What's changed is that digital media makes it so easy for everyone to forward messages to contacts within their social networks.  For most everyone, digital media just extends a very human desire to help others."

This study brought to light the potential power of the Internet to drive influence in a wide range of industries, noted Coyle.

Sentiment Extraction from Small Talk on the Web

Yahoo!  For Amazon: Sentiment Extraction from Small Talk on the Web by Sanjiv R. Das, Mike Y. Chen

Abstract

The volume of discussion on the Web is growing rapidly.  Stock message boards have been in vogue for almost a decade now, and discussion on these boards continues to increase in volume.  Firms may follow such discussions to determine how investors feel about their stocks, regulators may observe them to ensure no market manipulation occurs, and investors may use the boards to express opinions and gather information for asset allocation decisions.  To cope with the overwhelming volume of text on the boards we develop an algorithm for parsing out the sentiment about a stock from Web postings.  Our algorithm consists of various classifier algorithms coupled together by a voting scheme.  Empirical application of this algorithm suggests that tech-sector postings are related to stock index levels and to volumes and volatility.  This algorithm may also be used to assess the impact on investor opinion of management announcements, press releases, third-party news, and regulatory changes.

Source: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE Vol.  53, No.  9, September 2007

Marketing that Works: How Entrepreneurial Marketing Can Add Sustainable Value to any Sized Company-Book Review

Summer Reading Suggestions for the Savvy Entrepreneur

Marketing that Works: How Entrepreneurial Marketing Can Add Sustainable Value to any Sized Company

by Leonard M. Lodish, Howard L. Morgan, and Shellye Archambeau (Wharton School Publishing, 2007)

The authors bring a wealth of experience to this review of the latest thinking about marketing. Lodish is a long-time Wharton school professor, and Morgan and Archambeau both have diverse private sector experience as entrepreneurs and investors. They use the term “entrepreneurial marketing” to refer to an approach that is flexible, responsive, and unorthodox. This is a very helpful guide for entrepreneurs seeking to improve their marketing skills

© 2005-2007 

Walter Derzko -"Changing the world, one idea at a time"©

Walter Derzko teaches at the Certificate Program on Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Toronto, School of Continuing Studies, which starts in the Fall of 2007.

Expert, Consultant and Keynote Speaker on Emerging Smart Technologies, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Strategic Foresight, Business Development, Lateral Creative Thinking and author of an upcoming book on the Smart Economy "

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