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Papers by Martin Williams

This study addresses how non-profit organisations like art galleries participate in co-creating v... more This study addresses how non-profit organisations like art galleries participate in co-creating value to visitors (customers), providers, and other stakeholders, and how these processes can be conceptualised within a service logic framework. We evaluate how an art gallery touring exhibition in regional Australia contributed to customer value, drawing on data collected in 2014–2016 from publications and websites, and interviews with staff of art galleries and arts organisations.

Our findings illuminated four forms of value creation: financial, knowledge sharing, social and cultural, and professional value. Country art galleries have strong visitor orientation and employ co-creation processes focused on enhancing visitors’ experience, aligned with government directions on Indigenous understanding and objectives of local Indigenous art communities. However, customer value exchange is not well understood. The lack of marketing research expertise and usable visitor data is a barrier to value creation.

Purpose: This paper outlines a case for investigation of why current anti-smoking advertising an... more Purpose: This paper outlines a case for investigation of why current anti-smoking
advertising and promotional messaging is not having positive effects amongst
smokers within the health system who are marginalised and experience mental illness.
Design/methodology/approach: It is proposed that a case study approach be adopted
using qualitative research amongst respondents from within the Brisbane Health
system, using a semi-structured questionnaire with appropriate communication
stimuli.
Originality/value: Previous research demonstrates anti-smoking messaging is having
effects on smoking cessation amongst the general population. This is not so amongst
smokers who are marginalised within the health system who are not responding to
health warnings and anti-smoking advertising messaging to their detriment. No
research is available on why current anti-smoking messaging is having minimal
resonance and effects amongst this group. This qualitative study will offer
opportunities for leadership and application of best practice communication in helping
people make a truly informed choice about tobacco.
The author of this paper seeks the opinions of the academy particularly in terms of
research methodology.

Abstract This exploratory study investigates how executive-level and functional managers in thre... more Abstract This exploratory study investigates how executive-level and functional
managers in three large organisations understand and respond to negative wordof-
mouth (NWOM). The findings, based principally on analysis of 54 interviews over
3 years, show that organisations devote far more resources to the management of
NWOM than they do to the promotion of positive word-of-mouth. Marketing and
other customer-facing work groups play varied roles in organisational response to
NWOM, which often involves complaints management and crisis management. We
find that seniormanagement,marketing, sales, advertising, PR and contact-centre
staff all have different fears about NWOM and therefore respond to it in various
ways. Our recommendations for better management of NWOM stress three points
– leadership, organisational readiness and public relations management.
Keywords word-of-mouth; negative word-of-mouth; WOM; complaints management;
customer relationshipmanagement; crisis management; issuemanagement;
PR; public relations; case study

Purpose -This paper aims to address the question of how value can be created through social respo... more Purpose -This paper aims to address the question of how value can be created through social responsibility programs or other means, so that sustainability is achieved through increasing stakeholders' participation in the process of design and selection of such programs, so that transparency is maximised and trust can be built with the lasting benefits of co-creation of value. Design/methodology/approach -This paper studies the relationship between sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and value co-creation based on qualitative research data gathered from two embedded case studies. The first case study in a large mining company operating in New Zealand and the second case study is based on the New Zealand Merino Company. Findings -Findings of this research suggest that sustainability is built with the participation of many interconnected entities, that is, suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, or more generally stakeholders whose actions are fostered by social responsibility that fuels the pride, trust, and consistency of the members of the value chain. Value in all forms -functional value, hedonic value, symbolic value and cost value -is a recurrent theme in this research data; however it is value co-creation, working together, living up to the values that their products and services promise that ultimately supports sustainability. Originality/value -This paper shows how the scope of sustainability has broadened from environmental matters to include other topics such as good corporate citizenship, business relationships and the value that is created and shared, not only with shareholders, but also within a wider community of stakeholders.

This paper explores how the use of art and the role of the artist impacts on corporate reputation... more This paper explores how the use of art and the role of the artist impacts on corporate reputation and business success. Drawing on data from two retailers this research finds that the use of art in communication has significant impact on corporate reputation and business success. Data suggest that artwork can be used in four ways: (1) as a basis of the design of merchandise being marketed, (2) as a form of advertising synonymous with the product, and (3) as a method of stimulating PR, controversy and word of mouth in the community and (4) the establishment of a unique identity. It is argued that each of these behaviours has contributed to these firms’ corporate reputations and that in the process emergent goodwill has developed surrounding the artists and their work. Of particular value was the contribution the artists themselves lent to the brand’s identity, image and corporate reputation.

This paper explores the relationship between customer-generated word-of-mouth (WOM) and corporate... more This paper explores the relationship between customer-generated word-of-mouth (WOM) and corporate reputation. After a concise literature review, we present several insights from case study analysis of three organizations. Our main finding is that customer dissatisfaction and negative word-of-mouth (NWOM) are thought to have strong downside consequences for corporate reputation. Yet, positive WOM does not appear to have equivalent upside significance for corporate reputation. NWOM often occurs as customers express dissatisfaction because of substandard customer service. However, it is when these issues or other negatively connoted stories find their way into the public domain with the potential of wider electronic WOM spread through the Internet that reputation suffers. Fear of reputational damage causes great anxiety to the organizations' senior management. Reputations are shown to be fragile. Damage limitation strategies are implemented in all three organisations.

Books by Martin Williams

Papers and books by Martin Williams

Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), 2011

Although word-of-mouth (WOM) has long been seen as an important influence on customer attitude, i... more Although word-of-mouth (WOM) has long been seen as an important influence on customer attitude, intention and behavior, very little is known about how, if at all, organisations manage this phenomenon. This paper reports how a sample of service organisations manages WOM. Using a case study approach, we find that there is a widespread appreciation that WOM influences organisational performance indirectly through its impact on customer acquisition, customer loyalty, and organisational reputation. However, our sampled organisations devote considerably more attention, energy and resources to the mitigation of the effects of negative WOM than to the promotion of positive WOM. Two particular processes dominate in this regard -complaints management and crisis management. We find that positive WOM emanates from many organisational influences including, inter alia, the product or service itself, innovation, service-beyond-expectation, networking, external suppliers and communication practices, including advertising and public relations. We present a new model, dubbed The Eight Pillars of WOM, that can be used to identify, interrogate and manage organisational processes that influence both negative and positive WOM.

Many authors maintain that word-of-mouth (WOM) from satisfied customers is a significant contribu... more Many authors maintain that word-of-mouth (WOM) from satisfied customers is a significant contributor to customer acquisition, and professional firms and SMEs rely on it. However, we know little about how WOM processes work for service firms, and how managers can influence recommendations. This multiple case study of three service organizations is used to explore the significance of WOM as a contributor to new customer acquisition. Even when organizations focus on and apply sizeable resources to customer relationship management (CRM) in order to achieve customer satisfaction, WOM is weak and very much less significant than anticipated. WOM's power in attracting new customers lies in organization-influenced WOM and relationship marketing networks. Some of these organization-influenced WOM processes are managed, some are relatively unrecognized, but all may be important contributors to new customer acquisition. We believe a sound understanding of the organizational factors influencing WOM amongst customers and non-customers may help to create more pro-active and productive communications within organizations, and more effective use of WOM in customer acquisition.

We explore the relationship between customer-generated word-of-mouth and corporate reputation. Af... more We explore the relationship between customer-generated word-of-mouth and corporate reputation. After a concise literature review, we present several insights from a multiple case study of 3 organizations. Our main finding is that customer dissatisfaction and negative word-of-mouth (NWOM) are thought to have strong downside consequences for corporate reputation. Positive WOM does not appear to have equivalent upside significance for corporate reputation. NWOM often occurs as customers express dissatisfaction because of substandard customer service. However, it is when these issues or other negatively connoted stories find their way into the public domain that reputation suffers. Fear of reputational damage causes great anxiety to the organisations' senior management. Reputations are shown to be fragile. Damage limitation strategies are implemented in all three organisations.

Conference by Martin Williams

The accumulated effects of interaction where parties engage in exchange and interpretation of act... more The accumulated effects of interaction where parties engage in exchange and interpretation of acts explain the development of the relationship between organisations. The effects of such interaction are in general observable within the dyad, however, in the extended network they are more complicated and sometimes impossible to observe beyond the dyad. This research studies the effects of interaction both within the dyad and within the extended network, drawing on single case study of traveling exhibitions organised by Te Papa Museum in New Zealand and touring for the last eight years through a number of museums in USA and Canada. We find that in the context of exchanging less tangible offerings, the parties require lower levels of trust between one another to assume risks to engage in interaction. Such interaction, instead, increases the sense of obligation to reciprocate that results in demonstrations of commitment that over time appear to spill over other parties in the extended network. These parties follow a demonstration of commitment towards the organisation, making observable the effects of interaction in networks.

Female entrepreneurs often face gendered entrepreneurial challenges when they navigate in often m... more Female entrepreneurs often face gendered entrepreneurial challenges when they navigate in often male-dominated business environments. Intersections of gender and business culture are likely to contribute to how female entrepreneurs define success and construct their own entrepreneurial narratives. This research aims to investigate female entrepreneurial narratives of success and challenges, with special regard to the construction of female entrepreneurial archetypes. The theoretical underpinning of this study is Acker’s work on gendering organizational theory as well as archetype theory. Based on personal entrepreneurial stories written by more than 150 female entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom, narrative analysis identified four entrepreneurial archetypes outlined and related entrepreneurial solution scenarios. Several women adhered to traditional constructions of masculinity in their reflections on their entrepreneurial experiences but there are others who combined masculine, feminine as well as sometimes queer attributes. Overall, the results highlighted a diverse picture about gendered entrepreneurial archetypes among female entrepreneurs that signal the need for a more fine-grained approach in start-up support for female entrepreneurs.

Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), 2011