Barriers to brand building in UK universities?

• Branding in universities has become an increasingly topical issue with practitioners, with some institutions committing substantial financial resources to branding activities. It has, however, received only limited academic investigation, and as the particular characteristics of the sector present challenges for those seeking to build brands, it seems to be timely and appropriate to investigate potential barriers to branding.
• This exploratory study investigates the opinions of the ‘brand guardians’ of UK universities—Vice Chancellors, Principals and Rectors—on the barriers to successfully building brands and draws conclusions on their views of the key challenges facing successful branding activity in the sector. Implications for practitioners are also explored.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An exploration of branding approaches in UK universities

• This exploratory paper considers the current state of UK HE branding, in particular, conceptualisations and approaches. It is driven by calls in the literature for clearer understanding and application of branding in Higher Education (HE).Objectives of the research, drawn from literature, were to explore conceptualisations of branding in the UK HE sector, as well as current challenges to branding concepts/ practice in UK HE. The methodology was based upon depth interviews with fifteen opinion leaders and opinion formers, specifically Heads of Marketing or External Relations in UK HE. Findings suggest that branding is a key issue for UK universities, but an overall conceptual model for brands in the HE sector remains challenging, although parallels with corporate branding are drawn. However, simplistic adoption of corporate branding does not offer a clear solution, and the requirement for a conceptual framework particular to the sector is evident. In exploring conceptual frameworks, experiential branding and internal branding are discussed as possible approaches that may offer a route for differentiation that universities seek. Whilst developing a clear conceptual model is the key challenge identified, limited and variable understanding of the branding concept and limited genuine differentiation around which to build a brand were also notable challenges. Overall, significant branding opportunities and challenges in a changing sector are discussed. Conclusions argue that corporate branding, experiential branding and internal branding literature all have a degree of applicability, but clearly further empirical work is needed to advance this important field.

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The functions and norms that drive university student volunteering

• Young adult volunteers are vital to the current and future operations of nonprofit organizations yet many countries report low and declining volunteer participation by this group. Moreover, university students are a particularly under‐utilized and under‐researched segment of potential young adult volunteers. As such, the current study examines the functions and norms that drive university students to volunteer. A survey of 282 students indicates that the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) does not adequately explain the volunteering of today's university students. For instance, t‐tests reveal that the importance of the VFI functions among current students differs significantly to the importance of the functions among the previous generation of students. Also, factor analysis shows that the structure of the VFI model is unstable for the current sample while multiple regression reveals that the VFI explains only 11% of university student volunteering. In contrast, χ²‐tests indicate that volunteering by university students is dependent on the observed volunteering of primary reference group members (i.e., parents, siblings, close friends). The results suggest that nonprofit organizations may need to revise their recruitment strategies for today's university students: rather than appealing to the functional benefits of volunteering, positioning volunteering as the ‘normal’ thing to do may be more successful. Further research is needed to develop a richer understanding of reference group influences on the volunteering behavior of today's young adults.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Volunteer tourism as an emerging trend or an expansion of ecotourism? A look at potential clients' perceptions of volunteer tourism organisations

• Volunteer tourism (VT) has recently been proposed as an alternative to ecotourism to link tourism and nature conservation. It is believed that VT represents an emerging tourism sector for vacationers who want to make a difference during their holidays. This investigation questions this belief using potential tourists' perceptions of volunteer tourism organisations.
• Through a multiple sorting procedure, respondents interpreted the promotional material of volunteer tourism organisations to describe this form of tourism and differentiate between organisations. The results suggested that respondents distinguish between organisations offering a volunteering experience and a holiday experience.
• Furthermore, the respondent's level of familiarity with expedition activities was important, as respondents with a high level of familiarity seek different benefits from their experience. The study suggests that volunteer tourism is a diverse sector, with different emphases on holiday and volunteering elements.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gender and the commercialization of university science: academic founders of spinout companies

There is a great deal of interest in Europe and the USA on the commercialization of university science, particularly the creation of spinout companies from the science base. Despite considerable research on academic entrepreneurship, female entrepreneurship in general, and the causes of under-representation of female scientists in academic institutions, there has been little research on the influence of gender on academic entrepreneurship.

The study researches female founders of UK university spinout companies using information from the Internet on company founders of spinout companies from 20 leading universities. The proportion of female founders at 12% is very low. The paper explores reasons for this low representation through follow-up postal interviews of the 21 female founders identified, and a male control sample. Under-representation of female academic staff in science research is the dominant but not the only factor to explain low entrepreneurial rates amongst female scientists.

Owing to the low number of women in senior research positions in many leading science departments, few women had the chances to lead a spinout. This is a critical factor as much impetus for commercialization was initially inspired by external interest rather than internal evaluation of a commercial opportunity. External interest tended to target senior academics, which proportionally are mostly male. A majority of the women surveyed tended to be part of entrepreneurial teams involving senior male colleagues.

As a whole both male and female science entrepreneurs displayed similar motivations to entrepreneurship, but collectively as scientists differed appreciably from non academic entrepreneurs. Women science entrepreneurs also faced some additional problems in areas such as the conflict between work and home life and networks.     

The effects of re‐branding large UK charities on staff knowledge,attitudes and behaviour

• Despite the costs of charity re‐branding, there is little research in the public domain of its effect on staff. This study addresses that gap in knowledge by evaluating the effects of re‐branding large UK charities on staff knowledge, attitudes and behaviour.
• A quantitative survey of 465 charity staff was carried out in 10 large UK charities. The study shows that knowledge has benefited most from re‐branding although unevenly across different levels of seniority. Length of service has no effect on levels of knowledge but level of support was positively correlated.
• The impact of re‐branding on attitudes proved positive with staff at all levels feeling more motivated, involved and valued as a consequence. However, the study also demonstrates that not all staff feel engaged with the re‐branding process for the organisation to capitalise fully on enhanced staff performance.
• Behaviour was less affected by re‐branding with the exception of a very positive impact on staff retention. The report discusses the practical implications for charity managers.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of university heritage and reputation on attitudes of prospective students

• This study examines the impact of heritage and reputation of nonprofit universities on attitudes of prospective students. Data were collected from 208 community college (preuniversity) students in the USA. Results from structural equations modeling indicate that university heritage positively impacts university reputation, potential students' attitudes, and intentions to pay a tuition premium as well as to recommend the university. Students' nationality moderates the relationships between university heritage, reputation, and attitudes. International students from Asian nations with a long‐term orientation exhibit stronger relationships between these variables than domestic students from the USA. These findings add to the nascent and emerging literature on branding of nonprofit higher education institutions and will be of interest to administrators and marketing managers of universities to nurture and extol their university heritage in student recruitment programs, especially in promotional materials targeting international students.

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social integration and the role of student societies in higher education: an exploratory study in the UK

• This paper reports the research findings of an exploratory study designed to examine the role that planned efforts to establish and cultivate a student society play in the social integration of undergraduate students in higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK. It identifies and explores the potential positive and negative benefits and outcomes that the operation of such a society can provide. The study aimed to achieve a better understanding of the role that a student society can play in the social integration of students. A qualitative methodology using 12 in‐depth interviews was employed. Data were analysed in relation to the key theme of the study, that is, student‐peer and student‐staff interactions. In addition, emergent themes were recorded and evaluated. The findings demonstrated that involvement in a student society did contribute to the social integration of students, it was found to be a key factor in reducing student attrition and dropout rates. The findings also demonstrate that a student society can make a meaningful and positive contribution to the management and administration of HEIs in terms of the perceived employability of students and the potential for student recruitment. It would appear that perhaps the value of a student society is currently under‐realised. Student societies could be viewed as a resource that with proper attention and development and could provide real benefits for both students and institutions across the entire HEI environment of the UK. Although there is a danger of student marginality occurring, there are ways to address this potential drawback.

Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The ecology of internal workplace giving at Indiana University: a case study of faculty and staff campus campaign communications and fundraising

• This collective case study examines university-specific philanthropic cultures, campus fundraising campaigns, and their impact on faculty and staff giving to the university. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative data, the study documents fundraising strategies through interviews and materials analysis and assesses their results through quantitative data on characteristics of donors and their philanthropic gifts. Examination of fundraising methods reveals differences between demand and supply-side communication strategies with faculty and staff members as internal stakeholders and donors. Concentrating on the campuses of Indiana University, a large, highly diverse public institution in the American Midwest, this study includes analysis of the outcomes of the fundraising process across institutions of different sizes, demographics, and philanthropic cultures. The findings underscore the importance of exploring the characteristics that influence employee donation behaviors as context for the creation and enactment of fundraising campaigns and highlight the need for future research in the area of workplace giving.

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Missing a strategic marketing trick? The use of online social networks by UK charities

• This paper explores the use of online social networks in the charity sector. Twelve major UK charities from a range of sectors and three digital marketing agencies were selected to provide rich interview data on the current adoption of online social networks by UK charities. The empirical findings illustrate the diverse drivers in adopting online social networks including regaining control of a brand, external pressures and gaining new audiences. Levels of usage differed significantly and the resistors consistently cited were the lack of skills and resources. The strategic marketing implications for the development of online social networks are also outlined for the UK charity market. The value provided by this paper stems from exploring the organisational perspective rather than the consumer experience of contributing to social networks, within a context which is often overlooked, the charity sector.

Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding the volunteer market: the what,where, who and why of volunteering

Although the work of the voluntary sector is growing, the number of people volunteering is not increasing at a comparable rate. This paper argues that the key to an organisation's success in recruiting and retaining its volunteers is to have an understanding of its target group. As a means to developing this understanding the paper reviews the prior research on volunteering and outlines the current situation in the voluntary sector with regard to the donation of time. The review shows that those who volunteer are an extremely diverse group, active in a wide variety of contexts. This makes the definition of a volunteer a more complex task than one would expect. It also demonstrates that individuals and organisations may volunteer for reasons other than purely altruistic motives. Finally, the paper identifies gaps in this area of research and presents topics for further research. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications     

The strategic role of knowledge management in nonprofit organisations

• Australian nonprofit organisations (NFPs) operate in an increasingly competitive marketplace for funding staff and volunteers and donations. In this context, many NFPs are being driven to adopt more commercial practices in order to improve their strategic performance, particularly competitive positioning for donor appeal, staff retention and service strategy and delivery. Knowledge management (KM) is one commercial practice being explored and implemented by the NFP sector to support strategic performance and operations. Although the concept of knowledge management is basically understood, the implications and strategies to pursue this practice in a NFP context are under explored. This paper presents a KM implementation planning framework for discussion and further research in the NFP sector. Specifically, this paper proposes that NFP's unique missions, many and varied organisational structures and operational maturity requires a customised approach to knowledge management. Implications for competitive strategy and performance are discussed.

© 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Market orientation: an option for universities to adopt?

• The primary objectives of this exploratory paper are to test the concept of market orientation adapted from related literature in the education context and to examine the effects of market orientation as a second‐order factor on university student satisfaction. The revised scale, validated through exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, constitutes a good fit. Specifically, the new scale is statistically and positively related with student satisfaction, indicating that market orientation is an important factor that leads to higher student satisfaction. The findings show that the degree to which students are satisfied with their choice of university depends significantly on how market oriented the university is. In other words, the effective application of market orientation strategy relates to student satisfaction and to the decisions they make when selecting a university. To that end, market orientation is an option for universities to adopt. The empirical results add to the meager and emerging literature on marketing and branding of universities and will be of interest of university administrators and marketing and branding managers of universities. The paper concludes by discussing conclusions, implications, limitations, and future research.

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

What about the workers? The expansion of higher education and the transformation of academic work

This article assesses the impact of the profound changes that have taken place in the higher education sector on academic staff in the UK. The perceptions of staff about their work and employment are examined through evidence provided by a recent large-scale survey. The discussion draws on a labour process perspective. The article finds that the views of staff are far from homogeneous and not universally pessimistic. However, in general the morale and satisfaction of many teaching staff have been eroded by work intensification and that of research staff by the considerable insecurity created by casualised employment. Nonetheless resistance and resilience continues despite the commodifying pressures, and ‘traditional’ values remain strong.     

Brexit and FDI

• The potential for a departure from the EU to undermine the UK's attractiveness as a location for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is often cited as one of the key risks were the UK to leave the EU. In weighing up the threat to FDI posed by ‘Brexit’ we assess the net gain from inward investment and the role played by EU membership in attracting FDI.
• In theory, FDI benefits the economy via lower interest rates, higher wages for workers and ‘spillover’ benefits boosting economy‐wide productivity. But the evidence for these benefits is ambiguous. And FDI has potential drawbacks. These include an adverse effect on the tradeable sector, reflected in a wider current account deficit, the potential to ‘crowd out’ investment by domestic firms and the fiscal cost of subsidies paid to inward investors.
• That almost half of FDI in the UK comes from other EU countries suggests that EU membership is not the only driver of foreign investment in the UK. Other factors include the UK's business friendly environment, as reflected in global competitiveness surveys, and a relatively deregulated labour market. Of perhaps most importance is the lure provided by the UK's large domestic economy. 80% of FDI in the UK is in sectors where sales to the EU account for less than 10% of total demand.
• However, FDI in manufacturing does look vulnerable to Brexit, given the importance of the EU market. Granted, manufacturing accounts for a modest share of UK FDI. But to the extent that FDI boosts productivity, a loss of inward investment in this sector is likely to come at a disproportionate cost.
• Our modelling suggests that in a worst case Brexit scenario, the stock of FDI could ultimately be 7% lower relative to the UK remaining in the EU, potentially knocking around ½% off the level of GDP.

     

论高校师资队伍建设中科研团队的培养

随着我国高校向一流大学迈进步伐的加快,科学研究越来越受到人们的重视。为了有效的利用科研资源,避免重复性建设,科研团队的培养迫在眉睫。本文主要分析了当前高校科研团队建设中存在的问题,并针对问题提出相应的解决对策。     

Impact of EU exit on our UK industry forecasts

• We have lowered our forecast for UK economic growth following the vote to leave the EU on 23 June. GDP growth is now forecast at 1.1% in 2017 and 1.4% in 2018, and the medium‐term outlook has also been nudged down. We have also lowered our forecast for all of the main industrial sectors, with the biggest reductions in the long‐term forecasts for construction and manufacturing, although the weak pound could provide some short‐term boost to the latter.
• Our baseline forecast assumes that the government triggers Article 50 by the end of this year and that the UK leaves the EU by end‐2018. We assume that the government draws a red line under the freedom of movement and thus loses access to the single market. Trade relations revert to WTO rules.
• A number of factors determine the relative impact on each sector. First, in the short term, heightened uncertainty will hit business confidence, causing firms to delay capital spending. Second, less favourable trade relations with the EU could see export‐oriented sectors migrate production away from the UK. Finally, restrictions on migration will reduce the potential size of the labour force.
• Consequently, investment‐oriented sectors such as construction and machinery have seen some of the largest downgrades. Moreover, transport equipment is heavily exported to Europe, so increased trade barriers could see some production move out of the UK. Meanwhile, labour shortages could weaken growth prospects in labour‐dependent sectors. In addition, the vote has created uncertainties around the long‐term viability of London as Europe's major financial centre.
• The outlook for more consumer‐focused sectors is less downbeat, although an uptick in inflation may erode household purchasing power in the near‐term, and the multipliers from lower economic activity are likely to permanently reduce household incomes in the long term relative to our last baseline

     

The face and voice of volunteering: a suitable case for branding?

Volunteers make a substantial contribution to UK society but the level of volunteering has peaked and may, in part, be due to the poor ‘image’ of volunteering. Through qualitative research, this study explores the need to re-shape perceptions of volunteering and the extent to which this may be achieved through branding. Key findings suggest that although there is much consistency in perceptions about generic volunteering, perceptions of the different strands of volunteering, such as governance and campaigning, are different and may require individual development as sub-brands. It is argued that Volunteering England is best placed to lead a brand development programme, supported by managers of national and local bodies as well as volunteers to create a new visual identity and, importantly, key messages that will resonate with current and potential volunteers across different areas of activity. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The global monetary boom - no cause for panic

• ▀ Global monetary growth has been its fastest for decades over recent months, but we continue to believe inflation risks are lower than many think. A modest inflation overshoot in the coming years is possible but would not be very damaging.
• ▀ While headline money growth figures still look strong, heavy precautionary borrowing by firms in March-April is already starting to unwind in the US and UK. About 80% of the rise in borrowing by large UK firms has been repaid.
• ▀ In addition, tightened lending standards at banks are likely to weigh on future corporate borrowing and money growth. A net 70% of US banks tightened corporate credit standards in the latest Fed survey. Rising loan defaults risk exacerbating this.
• ▀ Heavy government borrowing and accompanying central bank QE have been key drivers of monetary growth and are likely to remain so, notwithstanding a slowdown in the pace of central bank bond purchases. This is the main risk factor those who fear inflation cite.
• ▀ But if credit to the private sector starts to shrink, deficit financing of this sort may be essential to prevent long-term weakness in money, credit, and economic growth. Japan's experience in the 1990s and 2000s is relevant here.
• ▀ Inflation also has room to overshoot current targets, if necessary, given the substantial undershoots of the last decade. This consideration in part explains the recent shift in Federal Reserve thinking towards targeting an average inflation rate over time

     

Campus cultural and artistic activity effects evaluation model: a study of universities in Taiwan

• This research examines three types of universities in Taiwan to discuss the factors that influence campus cultural and artistic activity effects and establishes a structure model. In this research, university students are the target group for nonprofit organizations (NPOs) that regard cultural and artistic activities as products or services. The study used message contact, emotion, cognition, message evaluation, and attitude toward the activity as the influence factors. The relationships among these factors along with student participatory intention, participation behavior, and activity effect were then explored. The results show that each influence factor affects student willingness to participate, which leads to different levels of participation and effectiveness. Moreover, there are hierarchical relationships between the influence factors and effects.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.