Jonathan R. Copulsky and Michael J. Wolf
This year, almost 4 million expectant mothers will receive personalized letters about infant care from a disposable diaper manufacturer. A leading manufacturer of hair coloring…
Abstract
This year, almost 4 million expectant mothers will receive personalized letters about infant care from a disposable diaper manufacturer. A leading manufacturer of hair coloring products will send trial samples to regular users of competing brands. And at supermarkets across the country, shoppers will watch personalized advertisements for cookies, toothpaste, and coffee at checkout counters equipped with video screens. In these instances and countless others, advertisers are finding new ways to communicate with their customers that capitalize on and leverage the long‐term relationship between the advertiser and consumer.
The authors of “The Digital Fallacy” are interviewed by veteran strategist David Rader. They envision digital implementation as a learning journey rather than a time-boxed…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors of “The Digital Fallacy” are interviewed by veteran strategist David Rader. They envision digital implementation as a learning journey rather than a time-boxed program. They name the journey “Digital Maturity.”
Design/methodology/approach
Explains how Digital Maturity is a way of applying digital technology – at first to promote efficiency and ultimately in creative ways to innovate new business models – an operation that continues to grow and evolve.
Findings
Digitally mature companies are more likely to be agile, experimental, risk tolerant, collaborative and learning organizations.
Practical implications
Getting started can begin with identifying leaders within the organization with characteristics exhibited by digitally mature organizations and tasking them and a team with an effort that allows them to test fast, learn fast and scale fast.
Originality/value
Companies often start by focusing on efficiency gains, then move to better use of data for decision making and then lastly to employ technology to transform their offerings and business models. The final stage is where the greatest value from digital maturity is achieved.
Bart Macchiette and Abhijit Roy
Attempts to clarify the concept of affinity and to distinguish itfrom other marketing‐related terms. Gives guidelines for differentiatingthree general levels of affinity groups…
Abstract
Attempts to clarify the concept of affinity and to distinguish it from other marketing‐related terms. Gives guidelines for differentiating three general levels of affinity groups, suggesting respective strategic implications. Offers a taxonomy for classifying sources from which types of affinity may emerge and provides a method for relating the affinity levels with the taxonomy in order to develop a marketing plan. Elaborates on future opportunities in the field.
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David Shani and Sujana Chalasani
Discusses niche and relationship marketing strategies as responsesto fragmentation of the mass market. Considers the differentperspectives of these approaches and how the two may…
Abstract
Discusses niche and relationship marketing strategies as responses to fragmentation of the mass market. Considers the different perspectives of these approaches and how the two may be integrated into an overall marketing strategy. Concludes that marketers need to move from a top‐down approach of segmentation to a bottom‐up approach of aggregating individual needs, and an integrative relationship marketing system using a customer database is a way of doing so.
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Alistair Davidson and Jonathan Copulsky
A new player has emerged to influence the buying behavior of customers – the webmaven. Marketers and product developers must take in account that webmavens now have a huge…
Abstract
Purpose
A new player has emerged to influence the buying behavior of customers – the webmaven. Marketers and product developers must take in account that webmavens now have a huge potential audience for their reviews of products and services. An active program of tracking, measuring and marketing to these influential infomediaries is likely to reduce the risk of unpleasant surprises. For many firms, marketing to mavens, hobbyist and rating sites may also prove to be a strategic and cost effective means to stimulate innovation and revenue growth.
Design/methodology/approach
Shows how marketing to mavens, hobbyist and rating sites can be implemented.
Findings
The good news for decision makers is that access to comments from webmaven websites can provide product managers with fresh intelligence on the failures and successes that customers are experiencing with their offerings. The bad news is that the negative feedback from just one or two influential webmavens can influence a brand's reputation, sometimes with the same dire effect as poor reviews in traditional media such as Consumer Reports or PC Magazine.
Research limitations/implications
Journalistic research.
Practical implications
R&D – take advantage of Internet customer and user experience to research new innovations and develop new features based upon rapid and early user feedback. Product defect tracking – track user complaints, ratings and reviewer critiques about your, competitive and leading edge or deviant product[9] usage to frame future product development. Market research – measure share of mind on the Internet, in traditional media, at rating sites, at review sites. Maven management – pay special attention to the heavily involved user and hobbyist sites.
Originality/value
Alerts managers to the power of these new market influencers and provides a how‐to guide for marketing to webmavens and other infomediaries on the Internet.
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Ayesha Zia, Mumtaz Ali Memon, Muhammad Zeeshan Mirza, Yasmine Muhammad Javaid Iqbal and Adeel Tariq
Drawing on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory, the primary goal of this study is to conceptualise and empirically validate a theoretical framework that explains the process…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory, the primary goal of this study is to conceptualise and empirically validate a theoretical framework that explains the process by which digital job resources influence the innovative work behaviour of technological professionals. Specifically, this study aims to examine the impact of digital job resources, especially digital training, and digital communication, on employee digital engagement. Furthermore, it investigates the influence of digital engagement on digital leadership and the effect of digital leadership on innovative work behaviour. Lastly, the study examines whether digital engagement and digital leadership serially mediate the relationship between digital job resources and innovative work behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from full-time technological professionals using multiple sampling techniques. A total of 307 samples were utilised for the final data analysis. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), employing SmartPLS 4.0, was used to test the study hypotheses.
Findings
The findings of this study emphasize that digital engagement and digital leadership are pivotal in mediating the impact of digital communication on technological professionals' innovative work behaviour. Specifically, our results show that digital communication significantly shapes the digital engagement of these professionals. Digital engagement, in turn, positively influences digital leadership, which then fosters technological professionals’ innovative work behaviour. Notably, both digital engagement and digital leadership serve as mechanisms that link digital communication and innovative work behaviour. Contrary to our initial expectations, the study finds that digital training neither directly affects digital engagement nor has an indirect effect on innovative work behaviour.
Originality/value
The present study is distinct in offering a theoretical framework outlining the steps through which digital resources influence technological professionals' digital engagement, digital leadership capabilities, and their innovative work behaviour. Prior studies have predominantly focused on antecedents of innovative work behaviour, with an emphasis on individual characteristics and organisational environmental factors. There is limited research exploring how, or even if, digital job resources – such as digital training and digital communication – affect employees’ innovative work behaviour. Additionally, the examination of the interrelationship between digital engagement and digital leadership is notably lacking in existing literature. Much of the research has instead probed the converse relationship: how leadership styles impact employees' engagement. Lastly, this research is among the pioneering efforts to consider the serial mediating role of digital engagement and digital leadership between digital job resources and innovative work behaviour, a topic that remains underrepresented in academic discourse. This study addresses these gaps.
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In view of the increasing exploration and scattered literature on digital leadership, this study aims to clarify the concept, characteristics and structure of digital leadership…
Abstract
Purpose
In view of the increasing exploration and scattered literature on digital leadership, this study aims to clarify the concept, characteristics and structure of digital leadership, identify its focus research themes and further determine future research directions in this field.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review is adopted in this study using 53 academic documents published in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, which comprehensively combs and analyzes the research achievements.
Findings
The key characteristics of digital leadership are vision motivation, digital empowerment, innovation and entrepreneurship, cross-boundary collaboration and dynamic adaptation. Digital strategic thinking, digital insight, digital change and digital talent development are the core dimensions of digital leadership. Besides, there are three main research topics: the application of digital leadership in certain contexts including school education, government governance and business management; the development of digital leadership scale within diverse contexts; and the effectiveness of digital leadership at the organizational, team and individual levels. Digital leadership has a positive role in organizational change and innovation, team effectiveness, and employee creativity and innovation behavior.
Originality/value
This study helps to clarify the connotation of digital leadership and its research progress, status and gaps, which contributes to the thorough knowledge system in the digital leadership area and the promising avenues for future research.