Today is relentlessly miserable outside. It’s so depressing. I’m still waiting to see if AtosOrigin will take me on!

Meanwhile, I’m trying to make the crucial first steps in getting access to SMEs for my research. My supervisor is talking to Zanox.de a small internet-based company in Germany with whom I can do my research.
My concern is that becuase they are a 100% internet-based company, I’m not sure how applicable my diffusion of innovations theory will be, because for them, Web 2.0 isn’t an innovation it’s just their method of business full stop.

Allow me to share my conceptual map (at least TurnItIn anti-plagarism can’t recognise that when I submit my work!!):

As you can see, my research will baically be looking (qualitatively) at those antecedents leading to innovations and specifically, how that differs to the adoption of e-marketing and new media in SMEs. My thinking is that Web 2.0 and e-marketing is lightweight and so may be adopted much more readily than other innovations. Basically, what are the characteristics of those businesses who HAVE already adoped Web 2.0?

I have another lecturer who’s contacted various of her contacts to ask if they want to take part in my interviews, but thus far (as I pessimistically anticipated) I have had zero response. I now have a couple of options I guess; do a case study on Zanox, or do this without using interviews.
I’m just waiting to hear back from my supervisor now about a contact with Zanox.de.

I wanna go outside but it’s literally tipping it down.

…gonna kill some time on Photoshop.

What a day it’s been today. Very long indeed.
It was the conference which we’ve all been looking forward to where we could present our papers and ger some feedback. Ran from around 10-5, but then we all split off and went for drinks and for a meal after. Didn’t get back until well after 3am, meaning I’d been out for around 19hrs. That’s mad – I never do that! But it was the last day I guess and wanted to spend time with my colleagues. It was good opportunity to get photos too, as I might not see some of my friends again. Hopefully, they’ll be back for graduation in November.
I was able to grab a word with a lecturer who may be able to get me access to some SMEs who I can ask questions in relation to their e-marketing strategy.
The observations made by the academics who were critiquing my paper raised a couple of issues relating to the sample and way I am going to compare them. As yet, I’m not really clear on how this is going to work, but once I have gathered the feedback form these companies, I’m hoping it’ll slot into place into the conceptual map and I can make some meaningful conclusions. I might even find new adoption criteria not previously expected. The issue now will be about staying motivated, even though university is OVER (and I experience that depressive, disconnected feeling all over again). This has been my life for almost a year, now it’s gone.
I’m looking forward to getting the research done, recorded, coded, analysed and written up so I can do well at this – I owe myself that. Then I can move onto the next thing…whatever that might be. Today has certainly given me new ideas for the future, and integration with so many foreign students has been an inspiration.
Like I said…today was great for photo opportunities [to follow]. My camera seemed to attract much attention.

Just got back from Center Parcs today and found my (free) work experience application for DiVersity creative agency was ignored. I can’t even GIVE myself away.

So, that aside, I now need to focus on my Conference presentation on the 14th. It’s where I’ll have to present my research project which at present bears the working title ‘Web 2.0 Adoption in SME’s e-Marketing Strategy’ or something like that. That’s a pretty consise definition really.
My presentation, while not made yet, will cover what I want to examine, my theoretical framework and my research philosophy.

Due to the nature of what I’m going to be finding out, I’ll be using a qualititative methodology, teamed with an interpretivist epistemology which gives me the flexibility to literally interpret what I hear in terms of its application to my research objectives and framework. It almost sounds like I know what I’m talking about, yeah?!

Of course, that sounds well confusing, but I’m hoping to find very clear outcomes.

This conference will be the last time before graduation I’ll meet with my fellow students so I guess I’ll post some pics next week – ’cause there’ll be many taken me thinks!

Here’s my Literature review as a Wordle Word Cloud:

Yeah I know it’s been ages!
It’s just that I’ve had a pressing deadline which followed shortly from my Literature Review deadline. I handed it in today…at last! I wrote an essay about Strategy Implementation covering issues of organisational culture, internal politics, structure and market-orientation. Ideally, each one of those could be the title of an essay to be honest…but oh no!
I’m concerned that it may have lacked focus, as the literature was pulling me towards adjacent areas of theory.

I think out of all the academic works I’ve done, this one relied the work of Piercy a hell of a lot. I found his book ‘Market-Led Strategic Change‘ gripping (for a Marketing book!). He gave me so much material on which to comment and he writes in such a frank and to-the-point manner! Any marketer or anyone interested in Internal Marketing, Market Orientation and the like should read it!
It’s almost a book you’d read in your leisure time!

With the penultimate module behind me, we have now embarked on the last module of my MSc ‘Contemporary Issues’ which may be the contender for my favourite module after the strategy stuff. Once this is over at the end of June, I’ll be left to my own devices I guess to complete my research project – Adoption of New Media and e-Marketing by SMEs.

I’ll post more often now.