Project management in marketing : a research and practice-based seminar

Durée

30h Th

Nombre de crédits

Enseignant

Cécile Delcourt

Langue(s) de l'unité d'enseignement

Langue anglaise

Organisation et évaluation

Enseignement au premier quadrimestre, examen en janvier

Horaire

Horaire en ligne

Unités d'enseignement prérequises et corequises

Les unités prérequises ou corequises sont présentées au sein de chaque programme

Contenus de l'unité d'enseignement

(revised on 14/09/2022)

Approximately 78% of the Belgian GDP and 80% of employment are derived from services industries. Even product-dominant firms are now turning into service companies; services are indeed becoming critical for competitive advantage in companies across the globe and in all industry sectors. For instance, revenues and profits of manufacturers like GE, Michelin, and IBM are now primarily derived from services. Recent award-winning scientific articles even argue that "all businesses are service businesses".

Because service marketers need concepts and priorities that are relevant to their needs and business, we will look at marketing through a different lens. Services are different. Service organizations therefore require a distinctive approach to marketing. In this class, we will discuss how and why services are different. You will learn how quality is evaluated in service firms, why expectations are important to service consumers, why people (both employees and consumers) are essential to service success, how the physical environment and service design influence service delivery, and how services firms should recover from failure. In essence, you will be exposed to and learn a new way of thinking about marketing.

Acquis d'apprentissage (objectifs d'apprentissage) de l'unité d'enseignement

After taking this course, you shall be able to understand:

• what services are, the differences between services and physical products, and how these differences translate into strategic direction
• how service consumers' expectations are formed, how their perceptions are developed, and what quality means in service delivery
• how to listen to your consumers and build relationships with them
• the role of physical evidence in service delivery and how to best design services
• the important roles of employees, consumers, and technology in service encounters, and how to manage them for a successful service delivery
• the challenges of managing demand and capacity, as well as of service pricing

• ILO-2: Gaining the knowledge and understanding of one of the proposed fields of concentration or to gain deep knowledge in the field of the management being already specialized through a first University Master Degree.
• ILO-4: To acquire the capacity to research autonomously and methodically the information needed to solve a complex, transversal management problem.
• ILO-5: Integrate autonomously researched information, tools, knowledge and context to build and propose, either individually or as part of a team, original, creative and viable solutions to concrete complex management problems, whether real or simulated, taking into account, when necessary, the human, social and legal context.
• ILO-7: Being capable of professional team work.
• ILO-9: Developing a critical sense.
• ILO-10: Developing a transversal, global vision. 
• ILO-11: Creative conception of solutions.
• ILO-12: Professional capacity for oral communication.
• ILO-13: Professional capacity for written communication.  

Savoirs et compétences prérequis

You are responsible for checking whether you meet the following prerequisites. In case you do not meet them, you will NOT be allowed to take the course.
You should have followed at least one course of "Basics/Principles in Marketing" (course description: https://www.programmes.uliege.be/cocoon/20182019/en/cours/GEST3014-2.html) and of "Marketing Research" (https://www.programmes.uliege.be/cocoon/en/cours/MARK0793-1.html), and should master the concepts covered in these courses prior to taking the present course. For instance, you will be asked to collect, analyze, summarize, and report primary as well as secondary data as part of the "Service Challenge" (Group project); such knowledge and skills should have been obtained previously.
The "Principles in Marketing" and "Marketing Research" courses respectively rely on the following textbooks (COMPULSORY readings):

• Lambin J.J., & de Moerloose Ch. (2016), Marketing stratégique et opérationnel, 9th Ed, Paris: Dunod. Students can download the complementary resources of this course here: http://lola.hec.uliege.be (check GEST3014)
• Malhotra N., Nunan D., Birks D. (2017), Marketing Research: An Applied Approach, 5th Edition, Pearson Education. Complementary resources available on Lol@ (check MARK0783).

Activités d'apprentissage prévues et méthodes d'enseignement

Class will consist of a combination of theoretical lectures, case studies, students' presentation of a scientific article, group project, guest lecture, and participative discussions/activities.

Mode d'enseignement (présentiel, à distance, hybride)

 Sessions will be face-to-face, each of 3 hours.

Lectures recommandées ou obligatoires et notes de cours

Reference textbook: Wilson, Zeithaml, Bitner, Gremler (2016), Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm, 3rd European edition, McGrawHill.[1]
The textbook will provide the general framework for material to be covered in class. However, additional material will be presented in class that the student will be required to master as well. This additional material[2] includes and is not limited to:

• Bitner, M. J. (1992), "Servicescapes: The Impact of Physical Surroundings on Customers and Employees," Journal of Marketing, 56 (April), 57-71.
• Bitner, M. J., Booms, B. H., & Mohr, L. A. (1994). Critical service encounters: The employee's viewpoint. Journal of marketing, 58(4), 95-106.
• Blut, M., Wang, C., & Schoefer, K. (2016), "Factors Influencing the Acceptance of Self-Service Technologies: A Meta-Analysis," Journal of Service Research, 19(4), 396-416.
• Heskett J. L., Jones T. O., Loveman G., G., Sasser W. Earl, & L. A. Schlesinger (2008), "Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work," Harvard Business Review,86, 118-129.
• Jörling, M., Böhm, R., & Paluch, S. (2019). Service Robots: Drivers of Perceived Responsibility for Service Outcomes. Journal of Service Research, 1094670519842334.
• Lemon, K., & Verhoef, P. (2016), "Understanding Customer Experience Throughout the Customer Journey," Journal of Marketing, 80 (November), 69-96.
• Lovelock, C., & E. Gummesson (2004), "Whither Services Marketing? In Search of a New Paradigm and Fresh Perspectives," Journal of Service Research, 7(1), 20-41.
• Orsingher, C., Valentini, S., & de Angelis, M. (2010), "A meta-analysis of satisfaction with complaint handling in services," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38, 169-186.
• Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. & Berry, L.L. (1985) "A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and its Implications for Future Research," Journal of Marketing, 49 (Fall), 41-50.
• Wirtz, J., & Zeithaml, V. (2018). Cost-effective service excellence. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 46(1), 59-80.

Modalités d'évaluation et critères

Examen(s) en session

Session de janvier

- En présentiel

évaluation écrite ( QCM, questions ouvertes )

Session de août-septembre

- En présentiel

évaluation écrite ET évaluation orale

Travail à rendre - rapport

Evaluation continue


Explications complémentaires:

Grades in this course will be based on the following components:

• Service Challenge (in group): 45%
• Final individual examination on the whole material: 55%
• Bonus for (constructive) class participation (malus can be applied too in case of, for example, misbehavior). Please note that simply attending the class is not enough to receive a bonus. Instead, I expect you to add to the class environment by sharing your experiences and thoughts so that everyone benefits from your participation.

• In order to pass the course, you MUST at least have 10/20 in the final examination. In case you fail the exam (but pass the Service Challenge and the article presentation), the exam grade accounts for 100% of the final grade.
• Any fraud or plagiarism in any activity leads to a final grade of 0/20. For further information about what plagiarism is, see the "Short Guide for ULiège Students" available here: https://www.enseignement.uliege.be/upload/docs/application/pdf/2017-07/plagiarism_-_not_for_me.pdf

Stage(s)

Remarques organisationnelles et modifications principales apportées au cours

Course registration deadline: September 26, 2022. Registration after the deadline is not allowed. Students who do not attend any of the first two sessions will not be assigned to any group for the Service Challenge. 

Participation in learning activities: Given the importance of taking part in the activities, the Article 37(§2) from the 'Academic and Examination Regulations' of the University of Liege is applicable. According to this article, I may declare students inadmissible for exams if they did not (1) submit their work in due time, or (2) take part in the core learning activities. In particular: Students who did not actively participate in and present the "Service Challenge" (group project) are not allowed to take the final examination. Thus, students have to present the service challenge to take the final examination.

Classroom behavior: In the interest of common courtesy, you are expected to turn off your cell phone for class and show up on time.

Class attendance: Because class participation is key (and taken into consideration in the final evaluation), attendance is strongly recommended. The more participate in this course, the more you will reap the benefits of this course.

Contacts

Instructor:

Prof. Dr. Cécile DELCOURT
Department of Marketing
Office: Rue Louvrex 14 (Building N3d (new building), Office 4/82C, 4th floor)
Email: Cecile.Delcourt@uliege.be
Office hours: By appointment only.

 

Teaching Assistant

Jordan FLEISSIG
Email: jfleissig@uliege.be

Association d'un ou plusieurs MOOCs