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This study aims to investigate university students’ perceptions and experiences of postpandemic campus environments. Posts from a subreddit dedicated to a large, research-intensive Canadian university were analyzed to understand how students were affected by the evolving circumstances, their coping strategies and the resources that could support their flourishing in both academic and campus life.

A total of 42 Reddit posts from 427 unique users were selected for qualitative thematic analysis. Three researchers independently analyzed the posts and developed codes representing recurring themes, categories and subcategories. Discrepancies were resolved through discussion to establish the final themes.

Six major themes emerged from the analysis: modality of learning, perceived rights, attitudes and expectations, public health safety, political nature, mental health and well-being and communication patterns. Students expressed mixed preferences for learning modalities, concerns about accommodations and perceived freedoms, apprehension about contracting future viruses and the impact of changing university policies on their mental health and well-being.

This study contributes to the growing understanding of university students’ experiences post-COVID-19 pandemic, specifically focusing on their return to in-person learning and their evolving relationships with the campus community. The findings highlight the importance of addressing students’ concerns and providing appropriate resources to support their mental health and well-being during major transitional periods.

This study is a radical interactionist analysis of family conflict. Drawing on both a negotiated order perspective and Athen's theory of complex dominative encounters, this study analyzes the role that domination plays in conflicts among intimates. As the family engages in repeated conflicts over roles, the family also engages in negotiations over the family order, what role each party should play, interpretations of past events, and plans for the future. These conflicts take place against a backdrop of patriarchy that asymmetrically distributes power in the family to determine the family order. The data from this study come from a content analysis of mothers with substance use problems as depicted in the reality television show Intervention. The conflicts in these families reveal that these families develop a grinding family order in which families engaged in repeated conflict but also continued to operate as and identify as a family. These conflicts are shaped by and reinforce patriarchal expectations that mothers are central to family operation. The intervention at the end of each episode offered an opportunity for the family to engage in a concerted campaign to try to force the mother into treatment and reestablish the family order.

At the end of this case study discussion, students should be able to critically analyse the strategic options for a global small and medium-sized enterprise seeking competitive advantage in a highly specialised industry, determine the strategic management and operational approaches to introducing a new product line using the case study options as an example, determine the best investment approach for a global operational strategy considering the financial analysis of associated costs and the best form of financial capital/investment in terms of risks and control references and carry out a financial analysis and make evidence-based decisions with respect to addressing how strategic recommendations will affect the future of a firm’s competitive advantage.

In 2021, Mike Blyth and his business partners, James Pitman and Andrew Pitman, were facing new challenges the business had never faced before. Despite the global upheaval and economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 had been a productive year for the South African small-aircraft manufacturer. Globally, sales of Sling Aircraft’s aeroplanes had been good and the company had just finished a development prototype of a high-wing four-seater. Blyth, Andrew and James felt certain that there was space in the market for a five-seater aeroplane and they were meeting to discuss how to set up the business for further success. The strategic choices required to take the company in the new direction seemed clear and obvious, but it became apparent that they faced a dilemma regarding how to set up or restructure the company for success by exploiting the new opportunity without putting all of the hard work of the past 15 years in jeopardy.

This teaching activity is aimed at Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Management.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Neuroscientific research on addictions has prompted a paradigm shift from a moral to a medical understanding – with substantial implications for legal professionals’ interactions with and decision-making surrounding individuals with addiction. This study complements prior work on US defense attorney’s understandings of addiction by investigating two further perspectives: the potential “next generation” of legal professionals in the USA (criminal justice undergraduates) and legal professionals from another system (Germany). This paper aims to assess their views on the brain disease model of addiction, dominance and relevance of this model, the responsibility of affected persons and preferred sources of information.

Views of 74 US criminal justice undergraduate students and 74 German legal professionals were assessed using Likert scales and open-ended questions in an online survey.

Neuroscientific research findings on addictions and views that addiction is a brain disease were rated as significantly more relevant by American students to their potential future work than by German legal professionals. However, a majority of both samples agreed that addiction is a brain disease and that those affected are responsible for their condition and actions. Sources of information most frequently used by both groups were publications in legal academic journals.

In the USA, information for legal professionals needs to be expanded and integrated into the education of its “next generation,” while in Germany it needs to be developed and promoted. Legal academic journals appear to play a primary role in the transfer of research on addiction into legal practice.

This study complements prior work on US defense attorney’s understandings of addiction by investigating two further perspectives.

After reading and discussing this case study, students will be able to explain the concept of diffusion of innovation and predict how the passion fruit-infused vinaigrette (PFIV) might spread throughout the Thai market; analyze the market environment for condiments in Thailand and identify specific opportunities that Preedha Vinchit and her team should consider for the successful launch of the PFIV; interpret both qualitative and quantitative data gathered by the new product development (NPD) team and discuss its implications for the product’s market strategy and development; and critique the initial launch plan proposed by Krit Anon, suggest practical strategies and calculate the break-even point necessary to meet the project’s financial goals.

During July 2023, Vinchit, product marketer at the Thani Food Institute (TFI), faced a critical decision regarding the launch of the APFIV. Developed from TFI’s patented passion fruit peel powder, the PFIV offered functional benefits and addressed the sustainable use of passion fruit resources. As COVID-19 restrictions eased, TFI’s board of advisors anticipated a successful market entry for PFIV. Anon, culinologist and chef behind PFIV’s formulation, expressed keen interest in launching it independently with a startup investment of THB 500,000 (US$14,388). Vinchit, with market research and home-use test results indicating positive consumer reception in hand, contemplated whether to proceed with a launch plan of TFI’s design or endorse Anon’s entrepreneurial venture. Critical considerations included market viability, strategic partnerships, target demographics and marketing strategies encompassing pricing, distribution and promotional campaigns. The decision hinged on maximizing PFIV’s market potential amidst Thailand’s robust condiment consumption and growing health awareness.

This case study can be used in undergraduate and graduate courses in entrepreneurship, food product development, marketing strategy, market research and innovation on topics including NPD, opportunity identification, concept testing, consumer research analysis, marketing strategy formulation, business/financial analysis and launch strategies. This case study may be more useful in the middle or later parts of a course or module when an instructor is focusing on any or all stages of the NPD process and the strategic decisions, particularly for aspiring entrepreneurs with limited resources. Additionally, students should have developed at least some preliminary understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methods. This case study has been very effective in demonstrating various organizational processes and decision-making tools, which allow students to apply strategy frameworks and systematically evaluate several alternatives.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

This paper investigates the relationship between prior planning and the practical adaptation and improvisation conducted by organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic through a qualitative case study of Norwegian Public Health Institutions.

This paper draws on a unique set of qualitative data, interviews and field observations, gathered from organizations during an ongoing crisis. Through this access it becomes possible to examine how organizations practically navigated the complex relationship between structured plans and the situational, short term forms of crisis communication.

The paper finds that prior plans played a key role as points of reference, and as a prior set of principles that could be drawn on during a crisis. Organizations did however have to adapt and respond to the crisis in ways that could not have been designed in advance. In order to do so employees would deliberate and discuss in search of a fitting response that could help them in reaching their goals.

The paper builds on prior work that has discussed limitations and challenges to planning and linear approaches in crisis communication and strategic communication, but provides empirical insight into how members of organizations navigate this work in practice. By employing theories from rhetoric it provides a framework for the further study of crisis communication as a practical ongoing activity, and provides some suggested implications for how organizations can prepare increase crisis preparedness.

The purpose of this study is to understand the effect of different brand positions (underdog vs top dog) and comparative advertising on consumers’ brand attitudes. Additionally, this study also aims to demonstrate the effects of inspiration, self-relevance and empathy on the relationship between brand positioning and comparative advertising.

A two-by-three factorial design was employed with brand positions (underdog vs top dog) and three types of comparative advertising (noncomparative, indirect comparative and direct comparative) as the independent variables. Inspiration serves as the mediator, while self-relevance and empathy act as moderators and brand attitude is the dependent variable.

The results show that different brand positions significantly affect brand attitudes, with respondents having a better brand attitude toward the underdog brand. Brand attitude is partially mediated by inspiration. Self-relevance moderates the relationship between brand positioning and brand attitude. However, brand positioning, comparative advertising and empathy do not have interaction effects.

This study contributes to a better understanding of the effect of psychological variables on brand positioning and comparative advertising.

The results suggest that the underdog setting requires a real and honest story because consumers will spot a fake underdog story, which will damage consumer trust in the brand and harm the brand image.

There is a lack of research using psychological variables to demonstrate the effect of being the underdog brand. This study contributes to the literature by employing psychological variables to illustrate the effect of underdog positioning. These findings can help brands develop branding positioning strategies.

Despite the plethora of scholarship outputs on masculinity showing it as a fertile research domain, there are noteworthy lacunae on the topic especially in relation to its dynamics among ethnic minority groups. Accordingly, this paper aims to address masculinity and symbolic consumption among Black African consumers in the UK.

The study is interpretive in nature with the use of in-depth interviews conducted with 20 participants in London and the data analysis follows the grounded theory orientation.

It shows masculinity-oriented categorisations of market offerings but with an incidence of cultural tension. It suggests the prevalence of symbolic consumption among participants as demonstrated in their quest for admiration and commendation about their consumption and how masculinity is communicated. A new masculinity typology emerged from the study which depicts men in this context as falling into four categories of gay, conservative, contemporary and men on acme.

The study unpacks issues around masculinity, and multiculturalism, and proposes a novel typology on the topic vis-à-vis the discourse on segmentation, targeting and positioning strategy.

This chapter focuses on the complex dynamics of how photographs, particularly those related to celebrity fashion that challenge traditional gender norms, navigate the spaces from production to reception. By focusing on the processes of circulating and audiencing, the chapter examines the transformations images undergo and the varying interpretations they elicit as they move across different platforms and audiences. The study foregrounds the notion that photographs are not merely passive visual objects but active participants in the negotiation of cultural meanings and identities, especially concerning masculinities. Through an analysis of public appearances of Timothée Chalamet, Paul Mescal, and Barry Keoghan, the chapter explores the technological, compositional, and social modalities that influence these images’ circulation and reception. It highlights how alterations in the context of circulation can subtly or significantly affect audience interpretation, highlighting the role of viewers in constructing meanings around masculinities. This exploration illustrates the broader implications of visual culture in contemporary discussions on gender, revealing how circulating images and audiencing practices contribute to shaping and challenging societal norms and expectations of masculinity. By navigating the intersections of technology, composition, and society, this chapter contributes to a deeper understanding of the power dynamics at play in the visual representation of gender.