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 2005
The highlights below all support CBS' strategic perspectives in the areas of "internationalisation", "partnership with the business community" and "the learning organisation".
- In addition to many traditional mode 1 activities, the Center conducted a good deal of mode 2 research, which has led to further development of the graduate diploma programmes in Marketing/Foreign Trade (HD (A/U)) and Financial Planning (HD(FR)). This has been in accordance with the needs stated by enterprises and using experience from the CME model. HD (FR) is now being developed in a national partnership between CBS, Aalborg University, the University of Southern Denmark and the Aarhus School of Business, and the programme is now available in all those places. In close cooperation with the financial sector, the Center is working to establish a HD (FR) graduate programme. Another programme is being established, i.e. a HD programme in retailing. The Center also cooperates with the Tietgen School in Odense to establish an academy programme in retailing that would ensure the enrolment of HD students in retailing
- In 2005, the Center welcomed visiting professors David E. Smith (National University of San Diego) and Stig Ingebrigtsen (Bodø Business School, Norway) and visiting assistant professor Bo B. Nielsen (Western Washington University, USA). 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 the Bodø Business School). Virtual PhD supervision was introduced in this connection
- Henrik Herlau received a million DKK grant from the Ministry for further development of the industrial innovation area. The grant will be payable in 2006
- The Center completed a project with Western Washington University, USA. As a result, virtual customised learning programmes can now be offered in cooperation with international partners.
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, innovation management and global virtual team management in enterprises and organiations, which is emphasied 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 also very much by continuously developing structure and content and by 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.
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 that permits a substantial publication effort.
Research results and research relations to practice
Since its foundation, the Center only had at its disposal about one annual full-time research equivalent to conduct research. Nevertheless, it succeeded in achieving a substantial publication rate. In the past two years, the Center experienced an increase to 1.5 full-time research equivalent in connection with the transfer of new staff, and this is also reflected in the rate of publication (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: CME publications in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005.
With a relatively small staff, fluctuations may be especially visible, particularly when for periods of time the staff perform tasks other than publication or work on current research that has not yet been published. Nevertheless, in 2004 and 2005 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 per full-time research equivalent alone. The Center is deeply involved in mode 2 research, which is shown by the continued development and application of its virtual concept (cases in point being the HD programmes in Marketing and 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 - Maersk continued his work in 2005.
On the initiative of a number of major enterprises and organisations, CME also developed a semi-virtual HD programme in retailing, which is expected to be launched in 2006. As seen under "Highlights", several other programmes are under development. All Center programmes aim to exploit experience gained from the Center's virtual concept. In connection with the development of new programmes, the Center strengthened its contacts with the business community and a wide section of other academic environments inside and outside CBS.
In particular, the Center would like to emphasise the positive working relationship with the Department of International Economics and Management and the Department of Finance.
In addition, CME extended its contacts to the Bodø Business School in Norway. In 2005, 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. Yet, 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.
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 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005.
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 Martin Iskou Olsen 27/11/2008
