Aim of the course
This course deals with some of the most essential prerequisites for realizing a co-creation innovation logic, namely knowledge about what ‘organizational culture’ is, why culture has an impact on the magnitude and success of firms’ innovations, and how to make culture become a resource in innovation processes. In addition to this, the course deals with the question of why and how networks of co-operating partners and consumer communities arise in a market, and what it means for corporate level managers of marketing when enacting a co-creation innovation logic. When exploring relationships, communication networks and communities, we employ an integrated view of a market (i.e. b-to-b-to-c). The argument behind this view is that no company can operate as ‘an island’. Thus, in order to achieve success, marketing managers must constantly assess the values, relationships and communication patterns of their company’s b-to-b-to-c network. The objective of the course is to further develop the students’ theoretical insight of the concept of organizational culture, and of the dynamics and communication structures of market channels. Furthermore, by continuously linking theory to practice, the objective is to further develop an insight of contextual aspects that matter when the issue concerns changing a business culture, or creating a new or radically modified business model and/or market channel.

Contents
In the first part of the course, we discuss the future of marketing’s role in market creation processes considering the ever increasing occurrence and dynamics of business relationships and networks in industrial and consumer markets. This discussion is guided by the following type of questions: what constitutes a market, a business relationship, and a network? Why do business networks emerge in a market, and how can companies make use of them in market creation processes? Thereafter, in the second part of the course, the focus is on the private consumer and his/her increasing inclination ‘to be on-line’. We discuss, by reference to exemplars/cases from ‘the one-line world’, the following type of questions: Why do consumers create virtual communities? How can we understand and make use of ‘on-line networks and communities’ in market creation processes? At last, in the third part of the course, the emphasis is on ‘organizational culture’. During this part of the course, we explore and discuss ‘why’ it is important to understand the core characteristics of a company’s culture, and ‘how’ we can understand, develop and change it. Thus, the course deals with the following themes:

Business relationships, networks and communities
Consumer communities and relationships with suppliers
The organisational cultural context of marketing

Progression
The course is affiliated to a course at the second semester. The title of this course is: ‘Managing Knowledge, Projects and Teams’. The course also opens with a perspective on markets and strategy that will be further developed during the course ‘Strategic Market Management’.

Strategic Market Creation – A New Perspective on Marketing and Innovation management, 2008, editors: Karin Tollin and Antonella Caru, Wiley, Chichester.

A selection of influential articles:
Ogbonna and Wilkinson (2003), The False Promise of Organizational Culture Change: A Case Study of Middle Managers in Grocery Retailing, Journal of Management Studies Vol 40, No 5: 1151-1178
Ogbonna and Harris (2000), Leadership Style, organizational culture and performance: empirical evidence from UK companies, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol 11, No 4, Aug.: 766-788
Barney and Wright (1998), On Becoming a Strategic Partner: The Role of Human Resources in Gaining Competitive Advantage. Human Resource Management, Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 31-46. (AD)
Chan, Shaffer and Snape (2004), In search of sustained competitive advantage: the impact of organizational culture, competitive strategy and human resource management practices on firm performance, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol 15, No 1, Febr.: 17-35
Chandler, Keller and Lyon (2000), Unraveling the Determinants and Consequences of an Innovation Supportive Organizational Culture, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Fall: 59-76
Holt Larsen (2002), Oticon: Unorthodox Project-Based Management and Careers in a "Spaghetti Organization", Human Resource Planning, Vol. 25 Issue 4, p30-37,
Foss (2003), Selective Intervention and Internal Hybrids: Interpreting and Learning from the Rise and Decline of the Oticon Spaghetti Organization, Organization science Vol. 14, No. 3, May-June 2003, pp. 331-349
Kornum (2005-6), Resource Dependence Theory in an E-grocery BTC Context – the Case of Specialty E-grocer X in Sharma and Johansson, Managing Customer Relationships with IT and Internet, Pergamon, Elsevier Science Ltd (Forthcoming)
Gulati & Sytch (2007), Dependence Asymmetry and Joint Dependence in Inter-organizational Relationships: Effects of Embeddedness on a Manufacturer’s Performance in Procurement Relationships. Administrative Science Quarterly, 52 (2007): 32–69
Hargadon (1998), Firms as Knowledge Brokers – Lessons in Pursuing Continuous Innovation. California Management Review Vol. 40, Issue 3, pp. 209-227.
Mikkola & Skjoett-Larsen (2003), Early Supplier Involvement: Implications for New Product Development Outsourcing and Supplier-Buyer Interdependence
Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp 31-41
Kozinets (1999), E-Tribalized Marketing?: The Strategic Implications of Virtual Communities of Consumption, European Management Journal, Vol 17, No 3, June: 252-264
Jeppesen, L. B. & Frederiksen, (2006), Why firm-established user communities work for innovation: The personal attributes of innovative users in the case of computer-controlled music instruments. Organization Science. Jan/Feb, Vol. 17 Issue 1, p45-63.