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Purpose - The purpose of this article is to explain how the management of the two areas business intelligence (BI) and customer insight (CI) needs to be brought together to support a company's interactive marketing. Design/methodology/approach - The article is based on the author's work in consultancy and in assessing client company's customer management capabilities and performance, as well as a review of some of the literature on BI and CI. Findings - The article suggests that companies need to pay close attention to the governance of BI, as a self-service approach to BI becomes increasingly used by CI teams. Research limitations/implications - The review of literature carried out by the authors suggests that the interface between BI and CI is poorly researched and would benefit from a significant research effort. Originality/value - The focus on the interface between BI and CI is relatively new. The authors hope that it will trigger significant research.

This article reviews some issues associated with the way in which academic research into marketing is evaluated by UK education authorities using their research excellence framework (REF), in particular the impact component of the assessment. It discusses the extent to which research by marketing academics published in leading academic journals is relevant to the concerns of marketing management and how this relevance or lack of it may be reflected in the relative paucity of impact submissions in marketing. It considers the model of impact assessment used in the REF and how this differs from how marketing academics work in practice, giving three examples of significant impact that would not be acceptable under current rules. It concludes by suggesting that alternative models for impact should be investigated and suggests that using more practical models might result in better engagement of marketing academics with business, leading to greater relevance in teaching and employability of marketing graduates.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review literature about the applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in strategic situations and identify the research that is needed in the area of applying AI to strategic marketing decisions. Design/methodology/approach The approach was to carry out a literature review and to consult with marketing experts who were invited to contribute to the paper. Findings There is little research into applying AI to strategic marketing decision-making. This research is needed, as the frontier of AI application to decision-making is moving in many management areas from operational to strategic. Given the competitive nature of such decisions and the insights from applying AI to defence and similar areas, it is time to focus on applying AI to strategic marketing decisions. Research limitations/implications The application of AI to strategic marketing decision-making is known to be taking place, but as it is commercially sensitive, data is not available to the authors. Practical implications There are strong implications for all businesses, particularly large businesses in competitive industries, where failure to deploy AI in the face of competition from firms, who have deployed AI to improve their decision-making could be dangerous. Social implications The public sector is a very important marketing decision maker. Although in most cases it does not operate competitively, it must make decisions about making different services available to different citizens and identify the risks of not providing services to certain citizens; so, this paper is relevant to the public sector. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first papers to probe deployment of AI in strategic marketing decision-making.

Management consultants have found the business model concept to be a useful consulting tool. This article explores its application to management consultancy itself, identifies some business models used by consulting firms, and explores what information leaders of management consulting firms need in order to check whether their business models are right for their markets, and working appropriately.

This paper investigates the strategic decision-making process (SDMP) of Greek banks’ top management in the context of profound organisational changes introduced in 2012 as a result of the 2008 global financial crisis. It focuses on the impact of three key dimensions of the SDMP, namely, rationality, intuition and political behaviour, relating to four changes introduced, namely, acquisitions, branch network rationalisation, integration of information technology (IT) and downsizing of operations and personnel. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted, targeting Greek banks’ top management. Out of 140 questionnaires, 78 were returned, a 55.71% response rate. Data was analysed using structural equation modelling. Research findings identify rationality as a key dimension of SDMP for all organisational changes, as there was high focus on identifying and analysing all required information, use of external financial advisors, and reliance on multiple methods of information gathering. Decision-makers used their intuition in the form of past experience when making acquisition decisions, whilst their personal judgment and “inner voice” were neglected. Finally, political behaviour was not displayed during this process, as decision-makers were open with each other about their interests and preferences, and there was no bargaining, negotiation or use of power amongst them. One limitation was that of not considering all the factors that might help measure SDMP characteristics. Also, this study was conducted in a period of political and financial uncertainty for Greek banks, as well as for the Greek economy in general, so findings may not be generalizable to other industries and countries. Conducting interviews could have offered deeper insight as well. This study’s value lies in the fact that the organisational changes were determined by Greece’s leaders, and thus the Greek banks had to operate under a dynamic, inflexible and non-autonomous environment. Also, this study extends prior SDMP research by examining the impact of the three key SDMP dimensions on four types of organisational change. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24052/JBRMR/V12IS04/ART-03

This article describes a case study on a project to create cooperation between international (EU) and national governments, small and large enterprises, universities and non-governmental charitable and social organizations. It explains the nature of the project and investigates the implications of the project for the discourse concerning the Triple Helix. The project, still in progress at the time of writing, required the stimulation of large scale and pervasive innovative responses to the challenge of aging populations in European countries, particularly as regards the creation of appropriate homes and neighborhoods that will enable the new generation of older adults to live well, happily and healthily. People in this new generation is conventionally referred to as baby boomers, the largest, longest lived, healthiest, wealthiest, longest working older generation that Europe has ever seen. The paper describes the first stage of the project - the creation of an inclusive dialogue between the different parties. Then it presents a discussion of the learnings from the case study for organizers of other similar dialogues, based upon an in-depth interview with the initiator of the project, who is also one of this article’s co-authors. It also proposes a new configuration of Triple Helix model. We conclude this paper by presenting a question that Triple Helix participants as agents of change will have to answer in the future.

Purpose This case study describes how one of the world’s largest public transport operations, Transport for London (TfL), transformed the real-time availability of information for its customers and staff through the open data approach, and what the results of this transformation were. The purpose of this paper is therefore to show what is required for an open data approach to work. Design/methodology/approach This case study is based mainly on interviews at TfL and data supplied by TfL directly to the researchers. It analyses as far as possible the reported facts of the case to identify the processes required for open data and the benefits thereof. Findings The main finding is that achieving an open data approach in public transport is helped by having a clear commitment to the idea that the data belong to the public and that third parties should be allowed to use and repurpose the information, by having a strong digital strategy, and by creating strong partnerships with data management organisations that can support the delivery of high volumes of information. Research limitations/implications This research is based upon a single case study, albeit over an extensive period, so the findings cannot be applied simply to other situations, other than as evidence of what is possible. However, similar processes could be applied in other situations as a heuristic approach to open data strategy implementation. Practical implications The case study shows how open data can be used to create commercial and non-commercial customer-facing products and services, which passengers and other road users use to gain a better travel experience, and that this approach can be valued in terms of financial/economic contribution to customers and organisations. Social implications This case study shows the value that society can obtain from the opening of data in public transport, and the importance of public service innovation in delivering benefits to citizens. Originality/value This is the first case study to show in some detail some of the processes and activities required to open data to public service customers and others.

Purpose The purpose of this research is to identify how managers can apply the results of academic research into the concept of business models for creating and evaluating possible models for their businesses. Design/methodology/approach A review of the literature is followed by two case studies, from the airline and logistics industries, followed by recommendations based on both. Findings The findings are that there is relatively weak consensus among academics as to the definition and meaning of a business model and its components, and that the notion of generic business model applies better within rather than between industries, but that the discussion is a very fertile one for developing recommendations for managers. Practical implications The managerial implications of the study are that in their planning and strategizing, managers should factor in a proper analysis of the business model they currently use and one that they could use. Originality/value The study provides a useful addition to the literature on the practical implications of business models.

Marketing is operating within a complex and rapidly evolving ecosystem that combines internal and external resources. This article considers the elements that are in play and how they are affecting the way in which marketers themselves need to evolve.

This article focuses on the competitiveness of the consumer telecommunications industry. It explains how the telecommunications industry has changed and how it is merging or intersecting with other industries, such as information technology, media and financial service; how differences between products have emerged; and the effect of these differences on competition. It shows how technological change creates benefits for consumers, but also opportunities for companies to reduce competition. It concludes with a discussion of why and how regulators act.