Center of Market Economics (CME)
Center of Market Economics (CME)
The Center of Market Economics (CME) works in the target fields of information and communication technology, financial analysis/methodology, learning and innovation. The core research area of the Center is Knowledge Creation, i.e. the study of how knowledge is created in virtual networks. In concrete terms this work is performed mainly by way of developing e-learning together with selected business enterprises. The Center's work is supported by theoretical and empirical research in methodology and strategy in the financial field.
Highlights of 2004
The highlights below all support CBS' strategic perspectives in the areas of "partnership with the business community" and "the learning organisation".
- The Center conducted a good deal of mode 2 research, thereby transforming the existing Marketing/Foreign Trade courses through the restructuring of the HD programme, and the establishment of a HD programme in Financial Planning (HD(FR)). This has been in accordance with the needs stated by enterprises and using experience from the CME model. Another programme is being established, i.e. a HD programme in retailing
- The Center received two senior researchers from MPP (Henrik Herlau and Anders Bordum), who enhanced research and courses in the innovation field
- In 2004, the Center welcomed visiting professors Wagner Kamakura (Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, USA), David E. Smith (National University of San Diego, USA) and Stig Ingebrigtsen (Bodø Business School, Norway), and visiting assistant professor Bo B. Nielsen (Western Washington University, USA). Wagner Kamakura held several seminars for a large number of internal and external guests. Stig Ingebrigtsen and Bo B. Nielsen are deeply involved in the development of the Center's Knowledge Creation e-learning concept
- The Center is in charge of supervising external PhD students Kent Jonasen (from A.P. Moller) and Frode Soelberg (from BodøBusinessSchool). Virtual PhD supervision was introduced in this connection
- Henrik Herlau participated in a large number of workshops and conferences in the innovation field, and he has been very active in the development of new business contacts. Anders Bordum co-organised a conference at the University of Copenhagen about the knowledge society.
Academic profile
The Center's core research area is Knowledge Creation, i.e. the study of how knowledge is created in virtual networks. This area is considered an increasingly significant basis for knowledge management and innovation in enterprises and organisations, which is emphasised by the increasing use of intranets in enterprises and their networks.
The Knowledge Creation activities are based on two mutually interacting fields cultivated over a number of years, viz. empirical market economics and virtual learning exercised through the Center's own e-learning concept. These fields have been developed on the basis of the staff's original background in business-to-business marketing, ICT/information theory, innovation, e-learning, economic theory and the theory and methodology of science.
The Center conducts these activities by dismantling the distinctions between theory and practice and through academic and professional learning, especially through the development and operation of virtual networks in closed electronic spaces, focusing on problem orientation, partnerships with the business community and interactivity controlled by participants. It does not only produce and present knowledge in the traditional way, i.e. through scientific and pragmatic publications or similar activities, but very much through continuously developing structure and content and implementing learning processes that incorporate, what selected enterprises consider their real problems.
Research strategy
As mentioned above, Knowledge Creation is increasingly developing into a generic description of the Center's activities, but at the same time a huge effort is needed in coming years to push the two core areas forward in the same direction. At the same time, Innovation Management has the potential of becoming a third core area in the future development process.
Thus, Knowledge Creation must also be considered a strategic goal for the future exploitation of the Center's resources. Experience gained in recent years shows that virtual Knowledge Creation depends on a capability of virtual learning closely related to an empirical-analytical approach to the development of markets and enterprises and to a distinctly practice and experience-based approach to work in virtual learning spaces.
A historical line of the Center's research development can therefore be drawn from concentrating on marketing subjects (e.g. business-to-business, ICT/information theory and economic theory and methodology) to the development of Knowledge Creation in virtual space as a central goal and generic description of research.
In other respects, our research shows:
· that practice, learning, research, development, teaching, training, consultancy and project work will become increasingly virtualised in intranets and extranets and that this process will involve closer cooperation between the academic world and the business community. The Center therefore subscribes to a mode 2 way of thinking
· that empirical analyses of the relationship between markets and enterprises decisively support virtual competence by rendering problem-oriented virtual learning processes increasingly relevant
· that virtual learning supports an empirical-analytical learning concept
· that the foundation of marketing research should be the study of business decisions based on the decision-maker's (potential) knowledge of external market conditions, thereby focusing on interdisciplinary retrieval of knowledge, information and data from various economic aggregation levels and vertical markets. This leads to a contextual methodology enabling business decision-makers to identify and solve problems
· that knowledge creation e-learning not only supports education, but also research, development and innovation.
Hence, the research objectives of the Center are to create an inspiring and qualifying environment characterised by cooperation with the business community, analysis work, innovation, virtual learning and education of new researchers. An important CME objective is to generate application-oriented results for the benefit of the business community. This is to be achieved through cooperation with significant enterprises, improved development processes and better learning results. The participation of enterprises, public institutions and other educational establishments in cooperation projects and their acceptance and use of the concepts developed are thus considered to be crucial success criteria. Furthermore, importance is attached to a high-level scientific methodological approach enabling substantial publication achievements.
Research results and research relations to practice
Since its foundation, the Center only had at its disposal about one full-time research equivalent to conduct research. Nevertheless, it succeeded in achieving a significant publication rate. In 2004, the Center experienced an increase to 1.5 full-time research equivalent in connection with the transfer of two new associate professors, which was also reflected in the rate of publication (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: CME publications in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004
After a succession of significant increases in the number of publications, CME saw a decrease in 2003, which was expected in the light of the dramatic increase in recent years. To a wide extent, the decrease reflected that the Center staff had been performing other tasks, and current research that had not yet been published. Conversely, in 2004 CME experienced an increase exceeding what can be explained by the addition of new staff.
Obviously, the activities of the Center should not be measured by the number of publications alone. The Center is deeply involved in mode 2 research, which is shown by the continued development and application of its virtual concept (a case in point being the HD programme in Marketing/Foreign Trade) and the high degree of cooperation with a number of significant enterprises, first of all the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group, which adopted the concept and many of the results. The Center's PhD student from A. P. Moller continued his work in 2004.
On the initiative of a number of major enterprises and organisations, CME also developed a virtual HD programme in Financial Planning, which was launched in 2004. A new HD programme in retailing is expected to be launched in 2005. Both programmes aim to exploit experience gained from the Center's virtual concept. In connection with the development of the two new programmes, the Center strengthened its contacts with the business community and a wide section of other academic environments outside CBS.
The Center has also been successful in disseminating its concept of virtual learning to the Department of International Economics and Management (IEM). In 2004, cooperation with IEM on the HD programme in Marketing/Foreign Trade was extended and intensified to the benefit of both parties. Moreover, contacts to a number of staff from other CBS environments were strengthened in connection with the transition to new lines under the HD programme in Marketing/Foreign Trade and the development of the HD programme in Financial Planning.
In addition, CME extended its contacts to the Bodø Business School in Norway. In 2004, CME welcomed a visiting professor from Bodø, and CME also cooperates with Bodø on the supervision of a PhD student. They are now both familiar with the Center's virtual environment and contribute to the development process – for the student's part in the form of virtual PhD courses.
The Center would like to contribute to further dissemination of experience from the CME concept to other environments at CBS, but we are aware that this would also require a high degree of motivation in those environments. Nevertheless, dissemination of knowledge is also possible by integrating staff from other environments in CME's work, which may turn out to be much more practicable. Such integration may be in the form of both collaboration and transfers.
With the transfer of two new staff members from a different department, the Center is prepared for the innovation field. The Center published more and obtained more business contacts and a more comprehensive representation in the day-time programmes. This is expected to result in new virtual initiatives in the coming years.
In our opinion, the generally accepted benchmarking method for research cooperation and partnerships with the business community, measuring success rates by the ability to attract external funding in the form of money, is too narrow. Instead, we should focus on whether organisations and institutions enter into real working relationships and apply research results in practice.
In terms of external funding, the Center is in fact doing fairly well (see Figure 2).
Figure 2: CME research funds in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004
When looking at how the business sector applies research results in practice and how it finances research, it should also be pointed out that the development and operation of the virtual HD programmes in Marketing/Foreign Trade and Financial Planning support both.
Last updated by Tine Büchler Poulsen 28/11/2008
