Dr Jeff McCarthy | Manchester Metropolitan University (original) (raw)

Papers by Dr Jeff McCarthy

Journal of Direct Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 2006

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Soccer & Society

The aim of this study is to explore the evolving social media marketing strategies of football cl... more The aim of this study is to explore the evolving social media marketing strategies of football clubs involved in the English Premier League (EPL), in a constantly changing sporting and digital landscape. Interviews conducted with practitioners from a range of clubs revealed that social media marketing has been fully adopted as a key strategic marketing channel. Other insights include the importance of trust to clubs being able to harness the collective of passionate fans on social media platforms. Also, how clubs are using social media to grow their global reach and capitalise on the worldwide exposure of the EPL. The paper also highlights some of the negatives of social media, as experienced by football club social media marketing practitioners. Finally, a social media marketing strategy framework applied to football is proposed, based on the social media marketing strategy of football clubs and their understanding of why and how their fans use social media. Keywords: social media marketing strategy; EPL; Premier League; football clubs; football fan

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This poster challenges PhD training and academic writing conventions. A reflective insight of the... more This poster challenges PhD training and academic writing conventions. A reflective insight of the process of doing business research is presented. The poster seeks to encourage scholarly debate for a different didactic approach to qualitative business research training. The call is made for further attention to be paid to the real issues early career researchers face when developing their research and deciding on their approach to the science of knowledge. It is argued that business research is cyclical and iterative in practice, as opposed to the post-hoc linear rationalisation encouraged by research methods texts and so evident in published work. The context of the study is the role of social media in football. Social media is a field attracting growing academic attention whilst organisations seek to identify if and how it can be used to business benefit. Based on the iterative approach taken to qualitative research interview method and case study research, an adapted research fra...

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This reflective thought paper considers approaches to doing business research that are discussed ... more This reflective thought paper considers approaches to doing business research that are discussed in the extant literature. The purpose is to stimulate debate by reflecting on the process of developing a research methodology, drawing on evidence from my own experiences of conducting research into social media in football. The paper questions the ‘top-down’ linear approach encouraged by research methods texts and usually evident in the presentation of research (Theses, Journals, and Conferences). It is suggested that the developing of a research methodology can be ‘bottom-up’ and iterative, thus posing challenges for the researcher to present such work in the more common style of a post-hoc rationalisation. In doing so, the paper makes a contribution to business research methodology and invites fellow researchers to share their views and experiences, for the benefit of early career researchers.

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Integrating Social Media into Business Practice, Applications, Management, and Models

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Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference on Envisioning Future Media Environments - MindTrek '11, 2011

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Interactive Marketing, 2004

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International Journal of Information Management, 2013

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Academic research into Social Network Sites has witnessed a flurry of activity with the agenda, c... more Academic research into Social Network Sites has witnessed a flurry of activity with the agenda, context and definitions rapidly evolving. Football clubs are greatly concerned with the glut of unofficial sites and fan attention being deflected away from official sources. This research aims to investigate the impact of social network sites on customer relationships in football, in an age when fans are increasingly empowered. Using qualitative research, a comparative study will evaluate the nature of official and unofficial social network sites affiliated with UK football clubs. The study will draw on relationship marketing theory as the framework for pulling together appropriate theories from social network sites, virtual communities of consumption and tribalism. It is intended to add value to the academic debate and contribute to the strategic marketing of football and sport clubs seeking to incorporate social network sites into their business model.

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Internet Research, 2014

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute knowledge on the issues and benefits associa... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute knowledge on the issues and benefits associated with managing brand presence and relationships through social media. UK football clubs are big businesses, with committed communities of fans, so are an ideal context from which to develop an understanding of the issues and challenges facing organisations as they seek to protect and promote their brand online. Design/methodology/approach – Due to the emergent nature of social media, and the criticality of the relationships between clubs and their fans, an exploratory study using a multiple case study approach was used to gather rich insights into the phenomenon. Findings – Clubs agreed that further development of social media strategies had potential to deliver interaction and engagement, community growth and belonging, traffic flow to official web sites and commercial gain. However, in developing their social media strategies they had two key concerns. The first concern was the cont...

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Internet Research, Jan 2014

Purpose - This research contributes to knowledge on the issues and benefits associated with manag... more Purpose - This research contributes to knowledge on the issues and benefits associated with managing brand presence and relationships through social media. UK football clubs are big businesses, with committed communities of fans, so are an ideal context from which to develop an understanding of the issues and challenges facing organisations as they seek to protect and promote their brand online.

Design/methodology/approach - Owing to the emergent nature of social media, and the criticality of the relationships between clubs and their fans, an exploratory study using a multiple case study approach was used to gather rich insights into the phenomenon, from the club perspective.

Findings - Clubs agreed that further development of social media strategies had potential to deliver interaction and engagement, community growth and belonging, traffic flow to official websites, and commercial gain. However, in developing their social media strategies they had two key concerns. The first concerned the control of the brand presence and image in social media, and how to respond to the opportunities that social media present to fans to impact on the brand. The second concern was how to strike an appropriate balance between strategies that deliver short term revenue, and those that build longer term brand loyalty.

Originality/value - This research is the first to offer insights into the issues facing organisations when developing their social media strategy.

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International Journal of Information Management, Oct 4, 2013

This exploratory online questionnaire-based study confirms the findings from earlier studies in the... more This exploratory online questionnaire-based study confirms the findings from earlier studies in the pre smart phone era regarding consumers’ negative attitudes towards mobile marketing communications.
This study shows that these attitudes persist despite increasing frequency of use and increased functionality of mobile phones in the smartphone era. Consumers perceive their mobile device to be for personal communication, and prefer to be able to exercise control over their interaction with organisations. Findings suggest that acceptance can be enhanced by permission marketing,trust-building, creating a sense of being in control, and useful and entertaining website content. Accordingly, pull technologies seem to hold particular promise for mobile marketing communications.This study, therefore, proceeds to explore
use of and attitudes towards an important pull technology, QR codes. QR codes, two-dimensional bar codes, can be scanned to provide access to websites, information and applications. Despite their potential, uptake is low. Users in this study who had scanned a QR code had used them to access a variety of different content on different types of items and in different locations. The most frequently accessed type of content was information on a web site, the two most common locations for a scanned QR code
were a newspaper or magazine advert, or outdoor advert or poster, and the two most common locations at which scanning was performed were in the street and at home. Ease of use, utility and incentives are drivers to continued use whilst lack of knowledge about how-to scan or of the benefits of QR codes may hinder adoption. Recommendations are offered for practice and for further research.

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Aims: * Challenges PhD training and academic writing conventions. * Seeks to encourage debate f... more Aims:

* Challenges PhD training and academic writing conventions.

* Seeks to encourage debate for a different didactic approach to qualitative business research training.

* Questions post-hoc rationalisation and ‘top-down’ linear approach encouraged by research methods texts.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

This reflective thought paper considers approaches to doing business research that are discussed ... more This reflective thought paper considers approaches to doing business research that are discussed in the extant literature. The purpose is to stimulate debate by reflecting on the process of developing a research methodology, drawing on evidence from my own experiences of conducting research into social media in
football. The paper questions the ‘top-down’ linear approach encouraged by research methods texts and usually evident in the presentation of research (Theses, Journals, and Conferences). It is suggested that the developing of a research
methodology can be ‘bottom-up’ and iterative, thus posing challenges for the researcher to present such work in the more common style of a post-hoc rationalisation. In doing so, the paper makes a contribution to business research methodology and invites fellow researchers to share their views and experiences, for the benefit of early career researchers.

Keywords: Business research, method, methodology, interview.

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The remarkable rise of social network sites (SNS) and associated developments in consumer behavio... more The remarkable rise of social network sites (SNS) and associated developments in consumer behavior presents research opportunities as well as challenges for marketing practitioners engaged in push-based traditional and digital marketing communications. This paper seeks to contribute to SNS literature by investigating its impact on organizational digital relationship marketing communications and how such organizations may respond strategically in the age of social media.
A multiple case study approach was used to examine the challenges and concerns of English football clubs in relation to SNS. Within-case analysis preceded across-case analysis in order to identify emergent themes and key issues.
The results provide empirical insights into current levels of integration of relationship marketing initiatives. Concerns of SNS include inertia, control and monetisation. The willingness and ability of cases to harness online community value is also tempered by concerns related to brand control.
This paper is perhaps one of the first studies to focus on the organizational perspective of the SNS phenomena. Findings identify factors organizations should consider when devising a strategic response to the challenges and opportunities faced by SNS, with a view to influencing consumer behavior to mutual benefit. Such factors are tempered by the short-term commercial focus of cases concerned. Further research may include other countries, wider elements of social media and research from the consumer perspective.

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Book chapters by Dr Jeff McCarthy

Integrating Social Media into Business Practice, Applications, Management, and Models, Jul 2014

On the basis of qualitative research conducted in two different case contexts, this chapter explo... more On the basis of qualitative research conducted in two different case contexts, this chapter explores attitudes and approaches to the use of social media in relationship and community building. Two contrasting study contexts are addressed: the UK football sector and UK pure-play Small/Medium-Sized (SME) fashion retailers. After an introduction, the chapter summarises discussion and research on brands and their management in social media. This is followed by an outline of the two contexts for study. From this, the aims, objectives, and research methodology are drawn. The findings are then presented, and the ensuing discussion proposes a summary of the approaches to social media strategy adopted in the two case contexts. Four important foci are established, namely strategic marketing, marketing communication, brand and community, plus monitoring and evaluation. This results in a useful strategic framework empirically drawn from the in-depth data. Finally, suggestions for future research precede a conclusion.

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Talks by Dr Jeff McCarthy

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The remarkable rise of social network sites (SNS) and associated developments in consumer behavio... more The remarkable rise of social network sites (SNS) and associated developments in consumer behavior presents research opportunities as well as challenges for marketing practitioners engaged in push-based traditional and digital marketing communications. This paper seeks to contribute to SNS literature by investigating its impact on organizational digital relationship marketing communications and how such organizations may respond strategically in the age of social media.
A multiple case study approach was used to examine the challenges and concerns of English football clubs in relation to SNS. Within-case analysis preceded across-case analysis in order to identify emergent themes and key issues.
The results provide empirical insights into current levels of integration of relationship marketing initiatives. Concerns of SNS include inertia, control and monetisation. The willingness and ability of cases to harness online community value is also tempered by concerns related to brand control.
This paper is perhaps one of the first studies to focus on the organizational perspective of the SNS phenomena. Findings identify factors organizations should consider when devising a strategic response to the challenges and opportunities faced by SNS, with a view to influencing consumer behavior to mutual benefit. Such factors are tempered by the short-term commercial focus of cases concerned. Further research may include other countries, wider elements of social media and research from the consumer perspective.

General Terms: Management, Theory

Keywords: Social network sites, relationship marketing, football, social media.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Journal of Direct Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 2006

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Soccer & Society

The aim of this study is to explore the evolving social media marketing strategies of football cl... more The aim of this study is to explore the evolving social media marketing strategies of football clubs involved in the English Premier League (EPL), in a constantly changing sporting and digital landscape. Interviews conducted with practitioners from a range of clubs revealed that social media marketing has been fully adopted as a key strategic marketing channel. Other insights include the importance of trust to clubs being able to harness the collective of passionate fans on social media platforms. Also, how clubs are using social media to grow their global reach and capitalise on the worldwide exposure of the EPL. The paper also highlights some of the negatives of social media, as experienced by football club social media marketing practitioners. Finally, a social media marketing strategy framework applied to football is proposed, based on the social media marketing strategy of football clubs and their understanding of why and how their fans use social media. Keywords: social media marketing strategy; EPL; Premier League; football clubs; football fan

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

This poster challenges PhD training and academic writing conventions. A reflective insight of the... more This poster challenges PhD training and academic writing conventions. A reflective insight of the process of doing business research is presented. The poster seeks to encourage scholarly debate for a different didactic approach to qualitative business research training. The call is made for further attention to be paid to the real issues early career researchers face when developing their research and deciding on their approach to the science of knowledge. It is argued that business research is cyclical and iterative in practice, as opposed to the post-hoc linear rationalisation encouraged by research methods texts and so evident in published work. The context of the study is the role of social media in football. Social media is a field attracting growing academic attention whilst organisations seek to identify if and how it can be used to business benefit. Based on the iterative approach taken to qualitative research interview method and case study research, an adapted research fra...

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

This reflective thought paper considers approaches to doing business research that are discussed ... more This reflective thought paper considers approaches to doing business research that are discussed in the extant literature. The purpose is to stimulate debate by reflecting on the process of developing a research methodology, drawing on evidence from my own experiences of conducting research into social media in football. The paper questions the ‘top-down’ linear approach encouraged by research methods texts and usually evident in the presentation of research (Theses, Journals, and Conferences). It is suggested that the developing of a research methodology can be ‘bottom-up’ and iterative, thus posing challenges for the researcher to present such work in the more common style of a post-hoc rationalisation. In doing so, the paper makes a contribution to business research methodology and invites fellow researchers to share their views and experiences, for the benefit of early career researchers.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Integrating Social Media into Business Practice, Applications, Management, and Models

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference on Envisioning Future Media Environments - MindTrek '11, 2011

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Interactive Marketing, 2004

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

International Journal of Information Management, 2013

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Academic research into Social Network Sites has witnessed a flurry of activity with the agenda, c... more Academic research into Social Network Sites has witnessed a flurry of activity with the agenda, context and definitions rapidly evolving. Football clubs are greatly concerned with the glut of unofficial sites and fan attention being deflected away from official sources. This research aims to investigate the impact of social network sites on customer relationships in football, in an age when fans are increasingly empowered. Using qualitative research, a comparative study will evaluate the nature of official and unofficial social network sites affiliated with UK football clubs. The study will draw on relationship marketing theory as the framework for pulling together appropriate theories from social network sites, virtual communities of consumption and tribalism. It is intended to add value to the academic debate and contribute to the strategic marketing of football and sport clubs seeking to incorporate social network sites into their business model.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Internet Research, 2014

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute knowledge on the issues and benefits associa... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute knowledge on the issues and benefits associated with managing brand presence and relationships through social media. UK football clubs are big businesses, with committed communities of fans, so are an ideal context from which to develop an understanding of the issues and challenges facing organisations as they seek to protect and promote their brand online. Design/methodology/approach – Due to the emergent nature of social media, and the criticality of the relationships between clubs and their fans, an exploratory study using a multiple case study approach was used to gather rich insights into the phenomenon. Findings – Clubs agreed that further development of social media strategies had potential to deliver interaction and engagement, community growth and belonging, traffic flow to official web sites and commercial gain. However, in developing their social media strategies they had two key concerns. The first concern was the cont...

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Internet Research, Jan 2014

Purpose - This research contributes to knowledge on the issues and benefits associated with manag... more Purpose - This research contributes to knowledge on the issues and benefits associated with managing brand presence and relationships through social media. UK football clubs are big businesses, with committed communities of fans, so are an ideal context from which to develop an understanding of the issues and challenges facing organisations as they seek to protect and promote their brand online.

Design/methodology/approach - Owing to the emergent nature of social media, and the criticality of the relationships between clubs and their fans, an exploratory study using a multiple case study approach was used to gather rich insights into the phenomenon, from the club perspective.

Findings - Clubs agreed that further development of social media strategies had potential to deliver interaction and engagement, community growth and belonging, traffic flow to official websites, and commercial gain. However, in developing their social media strategies they had two key concerns. The first concerned the control of the brand presence and image in social media, and how to respond to the opportunities that social media present to fans to impact on the brand. The second concern was how to strike an appropriate balance between strategies that deliver short term revenue, and those that build longer term brand loyalty.

Originality/value - This research is the first to offer insights into the issues facing organisations when developing their social media strategy.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

International Journal of Information Management, Oct 4, 2013

This exploratory online questionnaire-based study confirms the findings from earlier studies in the... more This exploratory online questionnaire-based study confirms the findings from earlier studies in the pre smart phone era regarding consumers’ negative attitudes towards mobile marketing communications.
This study shows that these attitudes persist despite increasing frequency of use and increased functionality of mobile phones in the smartphone era. Consumers perceive their mobile device to be for personal communication, and prefer to be able to exercise control over their interaction with organisations. Findings suggest that acceptance can be enhanced by permission marketing,trust-building, creating a sense of being in control, and useful and entertaining website content. Accordingly, pull technologies seem to hold particular promise for mobile marketing communications.This study, therefore, proceeds to explore
use of and attitudes towards an important pull technology, QR codes. QR codes, two-dimensional bar codes, can be scanned to provide access to websites, information and applications. Despite their potential, uptake is low. Users in this study who had scanned a QR code had used them to access a variety of different content on different types of items and in different locations. The most frequently accessed type of content was information on a web site, the two most common locations for a scanned QR code
were a newspaper or magazine advert, or outdoor advert or poster, and the two most common locations at which scanning was performed were in the street and at home. Ease of use, utility and incentives are drivers to continued use whilst lack of knowledge about how-to scan or of the benefits of QR codes may hinder adoption. Recommendations are offered for practice and for further research.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Aims: * Challenges PhD training and academic writing conventions. * Seeks to encourage debate f... more Aims:

* Challenges PhD training and academic writing conventions.

* Seeks to encourage debate for a different didactic approach to qualitative business research training.

* Questions post-hoc rationalisation and ‘top-down’ linear approach encouraged by research methods texts.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

This reflective thought paper considers approaches to doing business research that are discussed ... more This reflective thought paper considers approaches to doing business research that are discussed in the extant literature. The purpose is to stimulate debate by reflecting on the process of developing a research methodology, drawing on evidence from my own experiences of conducting research into social media in
football. The paper questions the ‘top-down’ linear approach encouraged by research methods texts and usually evident in the presentation of research (Theses, Journals, and Conferences). It is suggested that the developing of a research
methodology can be ‘bottom-up’ and iterative, thus posing challenges for the researcher to present such work in the more common style of a post-hoc rationalisation. In doing so, the paper makes a contribution to business research methodology and invites fellow researchers to share their views and experiences, for the benefit of early career researchers.

Keywords: Business research, method, methodology, interview.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

The remarkable rise of social network sites (SNS) and associated developments in consumer behavio... more The remarkable rise of social network sites (SNS) and associated developments in consumer behavior presents research opportunities as well as challenges for marketing practitioners engaged in push-based traditional and digital marketing communications. This paper seeks to contribute to SNS literature by investigating its impact on organizational digital relationship marketing communications and how such organizations may respond strategically in the age of social media.
A multiple case study approach was used to examine the challenges and concerns of English football clubs in relation to SNS. Within-case analysis preceded across-case analysis in order to identify emergent themes and key issues.
The results provide empirical insights into current levels of integration of relationship marketing initiatives. Concerns of SNS include inertia, control and monetisation. The willingness and ability of cases to harness online community value is also tempered by concerns related to brand control.
This paper is perhaps one of the first studies to focus on the organizational perspective of the SNS phenomena. Findings identify factors organizations should consider when devising a strategic response to the challenges and opportunities faced by SNS, with a view to influencing consumer behavior to mutual benefit. Such factors are tempered by the short-term commercial focus of cases concerned. Further research may include other countries, wider elements of social media and research from the consumer perspective.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Integrating Social Media into Business Practice, Applications, Management, and Models, Jul 2014

On the basis of qualitative research conducted in two different case contexts, this chapter explo... more On the basis of qualitative research conducted in two different case contexts, this chapter explores attitudes and approaches to the use of social media in relationship and community building. Two contrasting study contexts are addressed: the UK football sector and UK pure-play Small/Medium-Sized (SME) fashion retailers. After an introduction, the chapter summarises discussion and research on brands and their management in social media. This is followed by an outline of the two contexts for study. From this, the aims, objectives, and research methodology are drawn. The findings are then presented, and the ensuing discussion proposes a summary of the approaches to social media strategy adopted in the two case contexts. Four important foci are established, namely strategic marketing, marketing communication, brand and community, plus monitoring and evaluation. This results in a useful strategic framework empirically drawn from the in-depth data. Finally, suggestions for future research precede a conclusion.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

The remarkable rise of social network sites (SNS) and associated developments in consumer behavio... more The remarkable rise of social network sites (SNS) and associated developments in consumer behavior presents research opportunities as well as challenges for marketing practitioners engaged in push-based traditional and digital marketing communications. This paper seeks to contribute to SNS literature by investigating its impact on organizational digital relationship marketing communications and how such organizations may respond strategically in the age of social media.
A multiple case study approach was used to examine the challenges and concerns of English football clubs in relation to SNS. Within-case analysis preceded across-case analysis in order to identify emergent themes and key issues.
The results provide empirical insights into current levels of integration of relationship marketing initiatives. Concerns of SNS include inertia, control and monetisation. The willingness and ability of cases to harness online community value is also tempered by concerns related to brand control.
This paper is perhaps one of the first studies to focus on the organizational perspective of the SNS phenomena. Findings identify factors organizations should consider when devising a strategic response to the challenges and opportunities faced by SNS, with a view to influencing consumer behavior to mutual benefit. Such factors are tempered by the short-term commercial focus of cases concerned. Further research may include other countries, wider elements of social media and research from the consumer perspective.

General Terms: Management, Theory

Keywords: Social network sites, relationship marketing, football, social media.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact