Perceived Satisfaction With a Student-Run Agency Service Learning Project: A Client Perspective

Abstract

A number of marketing and marketing communication service learning (SL) projects/student-run agencies (SRAs) are used to provide real clients with valuable services, resources, knowledge and many other benefits. However, most research only examines the student benefits, so this research addresses the research gap by considering the community partner (small business client) perspective. The main research objectives are to establish if SRA developed integrated marketing communication (IMC) campaign plans result in satisfaction regarding the business performance, presentation and implementation methods. The South African small business clients were highly satisfied with the SRA developed IMC campaign plans. Several business performance benefits were highlighted, for example, increased sales, brand awareness and new customers. The small business clients showed increased satisfaction when the IMC campaign plan was implemented by the SRAs, and presented in verbal, written and PowerPoint formats. Hence, this SL project should continue and could be expanded to other universities and countries.

The Influence of a Student-Led Advertising Agency Service-Learning Project on SMME Client Satisfaction: An Expectancy–Disconfirmation Paradigm

“…This result is relatively analogous to other investigations where Schachter and Schwartz [54] ascertained that 74% of community partners were very content with a S-LP recommendations; Sprague and Hu [55] revealed that 85% of community partners were satisfied with a S-LP; and Krasynska et al [57] and Barrientos [78] indicated that 92% and 79% of community partners ascribed satisfaction because of S-LP activities. Many other community partners also revealed high satisfaction levels with various S-LPs [3,7,8,18,20,21,38,53,[56][57][58]68,69,79].…”

Using Classroom-Run Virtual Startup Incubator to Facilitate Experiential Learning Experiences and Global Marketing Alliances

“…Despite the recent popularity of experiential pedagogy among educators in marketing and across different disciplines, a dearth of research exists in the literature in relation to refining and improving the experiential learning process (Lastner et al, 2016). From service learning to capstone projects, innovative educators have implemented a variety of activities (Bobbitt et al, 2000;Daly, 2001;Graeme Duffett and Henry Cromhout, 2022;Metcalf, 2010;Petkus, 2000), but the findings from Schaller (2020) suggested that the literature is scant on case studies of short-term field trip/ immersion activities that are readily available to all students in situations where resources are constrained. Satyam and Aithal's (2022, p. 1) study on "reimagining experiential learning exercises in crisis situations" advocates the need and potential for more experiential learning studies in crisis situations in developing countries.…”