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Article
Publication date: 1 November 2023

Emily A. Goad, Kevin S. Chase, David B. Brauer, Ellis Chefor, Nawar N. Chaker, Ruben Rabago, Bryan Hochstein and John D. Hansen

This study aims to integrate research on customer success (CS) management with the service ecosystems perspective of selling to enhance the understanding of the CS management…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to integrate research on customer success (CS) management with the service ecosystems perspective of selling to enhance the understanding of the CS management function and the outcomes selling firms should expect based on implementation of CS management.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors apply the service ecosystems perspective of selling to describe how CS management is manifested in practice by offering relevant insights and practical industry examples.

Findings

Study findings identify relevant ecosystem actors, acting on behalf of the customer, required for the delivery of desirable customer outcomes. Study findings also link the orchestration efforts of CS managers to theory-based tenets for explanation of how CS management facilitates the attainment of competitive advantages via the thickening and thinning of ecosystem crossing points.

Research limitations/implications

Given that the research is conceptual, additional research that empirically examines this framework and the insights presented would lend further credence to the recommendations the authors suggest.

Practical implications

From a practical perspective, the authors present a “Customer Relationship and Solution Innovation Matrix” which integrates necessary value-creating activities that CS managers perform and the coordination with internal actors that CS managers rely on to create value.

Originality/value

Although the practice of CS management is becoming increasingly common, theoretical approaches capable of explaining the function have been lacking. Similarly, while the service ecosystems perspective redefines selling to encompass a broader set of actors than traditionally examined, practical examinations of the theory are limited. The authors address these issues, integrating both research streams for an enhanced understanding of the CS management function through the service ecosystems perspective theoretical lens.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 58 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 3 April 2024

Christopher McMahon and Peter Templeton

This chapter builds upon the analysis of the last chapter, as fans have to deal with the issues that arise from their team’s financial superiority. Here, we question what happens…

Abstract

This chapter builds upon the analysis of the last chapter, as fans have to deal with the issues that arise from their team’s financial superiority. Here, we question what happens when that financial superiority is accompanied by significant moral and ethical issues. Recent involvement of state actors in the ownership of English football has been evidencable and occasionally appears clear. Various reflexes and cognitive distancing occur from fandoms when football club ownership engages in practices that, according to the normative models that fans ascribe to their clubs, are mutually exclusive with the values of the fanbase and the club’s history. A common form of fan reflex often takes the form of distancing the players on the pitch from the club’s institutional structures, effectively teasing out the matchday experience from the structures that benefit from the raw emotion it generates. Another reflex is questioning why the fan should surrender their club when a morally, ethically problematic ownership model has acquired it. Here we have perhaps the greatest challenge to the normative model and, rather than negotiating that tension, as often as not the response is to try and ignore it.

Details

Contradictions in Fan Culture and Club Ownership in Contemporary English Football: The Game's Gone
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83549-024-2

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 February 2024

Chen Chen

Given the rise of sport non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and sponsorships from cryptocurrency companies in the sport industry during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic…

Abstract

Purpose

Given the rise of sport non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and sponsorships from cryptocurrency companies in the sport industry during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, this paper aims to critically frame the partnerships between cryptocurrency and sport by exploring the reception of fan tokens amongst supporters of three English Premier League clubs: Manchester City, Everton and Crystal Palace.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing upon the emerging critical scholarship on cryptocurrency and the political economy of professional football, this study uses digital ethnography in an attempt to understand the major themes emanating from the online forum discussions amongst fans in response to the issuance of fan tokens by the aforementioned three clubs, among other types of partnerships with crypto companies.

Findings

The supporters’ critical deliberations revolved around the contradictions of fan tokens (as a means for supposed “fan engagement” or for financial speculation) and the utility of cryptocurrency for the public. These reactions in turn showcase a larger tension underlying the financially unstable professional football industry: the contest between the owners and the fan bases over the exchange value (for profit) and use value (for community) of the clubs.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the first studies to adopt a critical framework to examine the emerging partnerships between sports and cryptocurrency companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also provides one of the first in-depth analyses of the critical receptions of sport NFTs amongst sport fans. While contributing to the literature on fan activism/protest in the context of the commercialization and commodification of sport, the paper also raises new questions on the responsible use of cryptocurrency/NFT in sport.

Details

International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1464-6668

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 March 2024

Llandis Gareth Barratt Barratt-Pugh and Dragana Krestelica

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between higher educational institution bullying policies and the subsequent cultural impact to determine the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between higher educational institution bullying policies and the subsequent cultural impact to determine the effectiveness of policy in ameliorating bullying within the university culture.

Design/methodology/approach

This study consisted of two separate but related case studies at two universities in different countries, focussing on university staff. The field work gathered data about existing anti-bullying policy, the extent to which it was part of the organisational culture for staff, and the levels of staff bullying experienced or seen within the organisation. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected.

Findings

The study found that despite one university having significant policy and the other having very little policy, the knowledge of policy in both universities was and subsequent experience of bullying for staff were very similar.

Research limitations/implications

The findings indicate that anti-bullying policy alone appears to have a limited impact on organisational behaviour. This suggests that the entrenched and historical master/servant relations of academia enable such practices to continue. Policy implementation is insufficient and training and development to generate more inclusive, people-focussed management cultures is necessary to ameliorate bullying behaviour.

Practical implications

The paper draws on the experiences, critique and suggestions of the study participants to prepare a possible agenda for cultural change that human resource (HR) managers could develop in association with academic and professional managers within their institution.

Social implications

The findings suggest that in any social setting or organisational structure where strong historical patterns of master/servant endure, the opportunity for bullying behaviours to grow and flourish is fertile and that policy statements alone may have little impact on curtailing such behaviour.

Originality/value

This study makes two contributions to existing knowledge. First, it provides evidence that anti-bullying policy is alone unlikely to have an effective impact on instances of bullying within the culture. Second, the case study contrast displays that unacceptable levels of bullying exist in two very different institutions in two very different cultures. Whilst one country has a war-torn history and the other exists in splendid isolation, the same patterns persist, indicating that universities have structured cultural issues that are difficult to change.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 January 2024

Carlin Borsheim-Black

From book challenges to anti–critical race theory and anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning legislation, US English teachers have been on the receiving…

Abstract

Purpose

From book challenges to anti–critical race theory and anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning legislation, US English teachers have been on the receiving end of a considerable amount of far-right conservative pushback. This study aims to explore the effects of conservative pushback on individual English teachers and their classroom practice. What pushbacks have individual English teachers faced? How has pushback impacted their teaching? What strategies have they developed for navigating pushback?

Design/methodology/approach

This qualitative study explores secondary English teachers’ reported experiences with conservative backlash as reported in 15 semi-structured interviews conducted between May 2022 and August 2023.

Findings

Participants reported feeling the pressure of increased levels of pushback, and many reported censoring their book selections to avoid additional public scrutiny. At the same time, they also described a range of strategies they have developed for protecting themselves and their practice, such as codifying curriculum, increasing transparency, formalizing review processes for challenging books and strengthening their resolve to resist.

Originality/value

This study offers a timely window on a pressing problem affecting the daily practice of English teachers in the USA.

Details

English Teaching: Practice & Critique, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1175-8708

Keywords

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