Abstract: The convergence of IT and marketing leads to the rising demand of digital marketers. Tertiary marketing education plays a crucial role in preparing students to grasp the knowledge and skills and to possess the attitude so necessary to contemporary marketing industry. However, several reports highlight that the shortages are significant in this sector. Both academics and practitioners are the key stakeholders to solve this disconnection. Although there are many studies investigating the relationship between marketing education and marketing practice, there are only a few quantitative studies focusing on digital marketing. Drawing on the literature and the standards of digital marketers' professional certifications, this study aims to develop a conceptual framework identifying the key attributes of an effective digital marketer. The proposed digital marketer model is composed of three key antecedents: (1) marketing knowledge and skills; (2) technical knowledge and skills; and (3) ethical knowledge and skills. First, marketing knowledge and skills refers to the communication, client engagement, strategic management and channel management. In order to practice data-driven marketing, digital marketers should also be equipped with technical knowledge and skills, including search engine optimization, statistical analysis, data mining, web and mobile apps. Similar to the professionals in other industries, digital marketers should uphold the code of ethics so as to protect the privacy of clients and the reputation of companies. The key finding provides insights to academics on how to revamp or streamline the marketing programmes and ultimately narrowing the gap between education and practice in the context of digital marketing.
Abstract: Corporations on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) engagement is determined by various factors including firm level factors such as size and financial performance of the firm (Vong and Wong, 2013), industry level factors includes competition level, industry nature and fit between issue and the industry (Coombs and Holladay, 2012). National factor is also a one of determinants for the company engaging in CSR (Waldman et al., 2006). National culture shapes which CSR concerns are addressed in particular countries and how they are addressed.
A framework is proposed to fill in the literature gap by investigating the effect of different dimensions of national culture on different aspects of CSR. It is found that there is a relationship between cultural factor index (CFI) and CSR practice. For example, in the individualism society like United States (High scores in CFI), employee working condition is always on the top agenda for CSR initiatives. Unlike United States, in the collectivist society like Japan (Low scores in CFI), harmonious environment is an important consideration.
Ford and Toyota are used as examples to demonstrate the findings.
One of the greatest challenges of global companies is to maintain consistent message in their global corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy and pay attention to the local stakeholders' expectations. Thus, implications are offered to managers for multi-national companies on their CSR strategy.
Abstract