Continuous Assessment Aim:

This assessment will give you the opportunity to engage with the leading researchers in the services strategy. The topic has been deliberately selected to allow you to study a significant subject within the services marketing strategy. The building block of the assessment will be research articles published in leading the US and European journals.

Outcomes:

•  Identify the core constructs and arguments in top tier journal articles in services strategy
• Critique the research methodologies employed in these articles
• Assess the applicability of the findings in each article for practice
• Identify and utilize an additional academic research article as a theoretical priming

Required:

• What are the main ideas or constructs being examined in each article? Try to avoid flat summaries of each article
• What is the background justification for examining these ideas or constructs?
• What do you feel about the methodology – if relevant – used to investigate this topic?
• What are the contrasts between findings of the various articles? Are there differences in emphasis or conclusions?
• What was it in the ‘additional’ article that justified its inclusion?
• Critically assess the applicability of the various findings? Are they over/understated? Do they need updating or further refinement through research? Can you identify examples from current practice where the ideas in these articles are being put into practice?
• Could/should any of the findings or recommendations be included in a practical briefing for a marketing executive?

Papers will be assessed under the following headings:

1. Identification and articulation of key ideas and arguments
2. Synthesis of perspectives and findings across articles
3. Suitability of your chosen ‘additional’ article
4. Applicability of findings