2014/2015 KAN-CSMCU1001U Corporate Branding and Communities
English Title | |
Corporate Branding and Communities |
Course information |
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Language | English |
Course ECTS | 7.5 ECTS |
Type | Mandatory |
Level | Full Degree Master |
Duration | One Semester |
Course period | Autumn |
Timetable | Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk |
Study board |
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business
Administration
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Course coordinator | |
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Main academic disciplines | |
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Last updated on 04-07-2014 |
Learning objectives | ||||||||||||||||||||||
At the end of the course the excellent student is
expected to be able to:
1. Structure and discuss the central assumptions that are lying behind the notion of corporate branding and communities and why these constructs are central for companies that aim to create a sustainable and strong market position. 2. Describe and explain how theoretical frameworks and the practice of corporate branding has developed over time and what the central ideas, issues, processes and capabilities are and why. 3. Structure, illustrate and explain the entities (roles, links, processes etc.) that constitute a community and how to analyse these entities. 4. Describe and explain the construct of co-creation and how to relate and apply the construct to corporate branding and communities. 5. Relate and apply the literatures frameworks about branding and communities and explain how and why companies can create compelling and strong brand experiences. |
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Examination | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Course content and structure | ||||||||||||||||||||||
During the first part of the course, the core
issue dealt with is the corporate branding construct and process.
Thus, the defining features and central premises of a corporate
brand and of corporate branding are laid out. During this part we
also discuss different perspectives on and experiences of corporate
branding in various contexts, and how and why thoughts and
practices of corporate branding appear to evolve over time. In the
second part, social media and explicitly consumers’ communication
processes and relationships with and within social media stand at
centre. As with the corporate branding construct, we start off with
a clarification of the concept. Thereafter follows the issue of
what insight about consumers’ and about communities (types, roles
within etc.) that is of value in corporate branding processes. In
relation to this we also deal with the issue of how to retrieve
insights about consumers’ communication processes in the virtual
world. During the third and final part of the course the key issue
dealt is management implications of the apparent increasing
phenomenon of on-line consumer communities and of consumers’ demand
for insight and participation in company processes. This issue will
be dealt with through examples (cases) dealing with communication
situations, problems and experiences within and from the business
world.
Progression The course is affiliated to the course ‘Marketing, Creativity and Innovation’. This course deals with the following essential question: How to build and retain value creating brand relationships with consumers in the open source world? Accordingly, one central theme in the course deals with understanding consumers’ use of social media to experience, exchange and to co-create brand meanings. Thus the following overall question is addressed: What drives, motivates and influence consumers to acquire and to share market insights, consumption and brand related ideas, values and experiences in on-line communities? Another theme deals with social media from the company perspective. We discuss: What is being communicated in online consumer communities about products, brands and about companies, and how to gain insight about the actors, the contents, and the communication processes? What are the different types of consumer communities, and what are the arguments for a company to choose a particular type as a forum for engaging consumers in brand co-creation processes?A second theme deals with the understanding of corporate branding - in light of trends and development in social media, and consumers’ claim for transparency and participation in value creation processes, among other things. Thus, we discuss the following question: What are the essential issues, considerations, insights and management processes - when the company vision is to become or to sustain as a differentiated and distinguished corporate brand in the open source world? Accordingly, the course aim to develop the students’ theoretical understanding about corporate branding and about consumer’s social media behaviour. Additionally, by a continuous interplay between theory and practice, a second aim of the course is to make the student become able to discuss what the decisions, and other management processes are, in order to make a successful use of social media in corporate branding processes. Furthermore, the course aims to make the student capable to discuss what the essential arguments and prerequisites (resources, values etc.) are for companies to be engaged in on-line communication processes with consumers. |
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Teaching methods | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The course consists of lectures, case-works and a 4 hours written exam. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Expected literature | ||||||||||||||||||||||
A selection of articles in the field of open innovation, networks, communities and corporate branding
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Last updated on
04-07-2014