Discuss the role of consumer behaviour in the sharing economy.

1. AIMS OF ASSIGNMENT
This final case study assignment aims to evaluate students’ abilities to:
• identify marketing problems, issues or opportunities in a given business situation/environment.
• critically analyse these problems, issues or opportunities from a consumer behaviour perspective.
• provide solid managerial recommendations backed by an appropriate application of consumer behaviour theories.
2. ASSIGNMENT CASE STUDY:
The Sharing Economy: A Consumer Behaviour Perspective
You are invited to the London Sharing Economy Conference 2021. At this conference local start-ups
convene to learn, network and share information about how to grow and stay competitive in the sharing
economy. The organizers of the conference invited experts of various fields including e-commerce,
software development, economics and logistics to give inspiring, informative and critical talks about how
to succeed in the increasingly competitive sharing economy. You are the consumer behaviour expert!
Prepare a 10 page power point slide deck with presenter notes (see more details about the format below),
in which you cover the following:
1. Discuss the rise of the sharing economy.
– Define what the sharing economy is, and outline how/why it has developed.
– Contextualize the sharing economy in current times of increasingly liquid consumer lifestyles.
– Identify its merits and critiques.
2. Discuss the role of consumer behaviour in the sharing economy.
– Outline latest consumer research on how consumers consume in the sharing economy, and what
they (not) value.
– What are key marketing issues (challenges/opportunities) in the sharing economy?
– Integrate concepts and frameworks that we discussed in class into this part of the analysis. What is
the role of consumers’ attitudes, identity/self, reference groups, brand communities etc. in
consumer behaviour in the sharing economy?
5SSMN256 – Consumer Behaviour
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3. Based on this consumer behavioural analysis, provide three crisp managerial recommendations that will help your start up audience to develop competitive marketing strategies in the sharing economy. For each recommendation provide best practice examples of sharing economy
companies who managed to get it right.
All claims must be underpinned by secondary sources including academic articles, industry reports, press articles, company website etc. and referenced accordingly. Start your academic literature search with those three articles and continue from there:
Bardhi, F. and Eckhardt, G.M., 2012. Access-based consumption: The case of car sharing. Journal of consumer research, 39(4), pp.881-898.
Bardhi, F. and Eckhardt, G.M., 2017. Liquid consumption. Journal of Consumer Research, 44(3), pp.582- 597.
Eckhardt, G.M., Houston, M.B., Jiang, B., Lamberton, C., Rindfleisch, A. and Zervas, G., 2019. Marketing in the sharing economy. Journal of Marketing, 83(5), pp.5-27.

Review current accommodation provision of Kielder Water and Forest Park in terms of rural tourism and ecotourism perspective.

Assessment 1: Project Report
For this assessment you will produce individually a formal written consultancy report. This assesses learning outcomes 1, 2 and 3.

Provisional marks and feedback are released within four working weeks of your submission.
Word count: 3000 words
Assessment title: Kielder Water and Forest Park Consultancy Report.
You must choose one of the consultancy projects below:
1: Kielder Water and Forest Park offers luxury Scandinavian style lodges on the lakeside of Kielder Water. Currently, they are increasing their accommodation capacity by building new lodges. You are required to;
• Review current accommodation provision of Kielder Water and Forest Park in terms of rural tourism and ecotourism perspective.
• Review current academic literature, case studies and examples of rural accommodation.
• Examine the current rural tourism market, including the characteristics of tourists, the attractions and amenities they seek, and the trends that affect their decisions.
• Provide recommendations for future accommodation developments.
2: All tourism enterprises and regions are impacted by seasonality whether severely or mildly. In winter, Kielder Water and Forest Park offers an award winning signature event – Winter Wonderland however there is a lack of events in other seasons. Explore the potential of other rural tourism events at the Kielder Water and Forest Park can organise to reduce the impacts of seasonality and improve the business sustainability. You are tasked to;
• Examine the potential for a new rural event at the Kielder Water and Forest Park.
• Review current academic literature and case studies of successful rural events and identify successful practices.
• Discuss transferability and application of these events and practices to Kielder Water and Forest Park.
• Identify (and segment) the market for this kind of offers and provide recommendations.
3. The food and beverage offer is subject to numerous trends and these trends have an impact on tourism and hospitality businesses’ success and profitability. It is critically important for Kielder Water and Forest Park to effectively respond to recent trends in the marketplace. You are tasked to;
• Review current the food and beverage offer of Kielder Water and Forest Park.
• Examine current the literature on key trends in the food and beverage sector of the hospitality industry.
• Evaluate impact of new food and beverage trends on consumer choice and spending.
• Provide recommendations for improvement of the food and beverage offer at Kielder Water and Forest Park.
4. Astro-tourism/dark skies: According to the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE), the star-studded skies above Kielder Water & Forest Park are the darkest in England. You are required to;
• Review current academic literature and review of UK/international of activity to support the exploitation of astro-tourism and the dark sky as a tourism asset.
• Explain the advantages and disadvantages of Dark Sky Reserve status and how Kielder Water and Forest Park can economically benefit from astro-tourism.
• Discuss transferability and application of astro-tourism practices to Kielder Water and Forest Park.
• Provide an assessment of the potential markets for astro-tourism in Kielder Water and Forest Park.

How has the detrimental decline in tourism from COVID-19 impacted operational management of Enterprise rent-a-car in the UK and what strategies must be formulated for recovery/growth?

1. Background and Rationale
Since February 2020, the world has been affected by COVID-19 with almost every country imposing national lockdowns and travel restrictions. The virus has accumulated 90,768,716 cases worldwide, with 1,944,711 deaths counted so far through the pandemic (Worldometer 2020). The UK, an epicentre of the virus, has endured lockdown measures for over 10 months and as a result, the economy, tourism and subsequently the service sector have been crippled due to lack of opportunity and constant restrictions. As a well-developed country that relies heavily on the service sector and tourism for its economy (GDP), serious action is required to create a bounce-back before industry activities become unrecoverable (ONS 2020).
Enterprise rent-a-car, the biggest car rental company globally for 30 years (Mangan 2019; Bond 2017), is a multinational company (MNC) hit by the collapse of the economy and tourism influx. With the continuation of lockdown measures across the UK, Enterprise missed its busiest seasonal periods for retail rental customers and leisure-oriented reservations and is at risk of serious turmoil if conditions stagnate.
This research proposal will focus on identifying implications on operational techniques and give recommendations for strategy within the tourism sector(s) whilst considering sustainability.

2. Problem Statement

The need for operational management in large MNC’s is vital for consistent performance and business functionalities, especially those in the service sector (Machuca et. al 2006). COVID- 19 has caused significant decline in demand and output for service-oriented businesses in the UK (IBISWorld 2020) and when OM decisions are not adapted, serious implications occur. For example, poor management adaptation can increase employee turnover, reduce productivity, and therefore decrease financial performance (Kahtri et. al 2011; Forbes 2020). The need to integrate future sustainability processes is also essential to meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development from the UN (UNDP 2019). Failure to adapt will result in increased operation-related downturns in performance, making superior competitiveness more difficult (Jabbour et. al 2020).
A gap is identified for how COVID-19 has impacted OM at MNC’s in the UK service sector. Conducting analysis of how OM functions have changed due to COVID-19 are important to overcome low performance and productivity. Exploring future sustainability needs will prevent poor OM from reoccurring, even during unexpected crises.

3. Research Focus- Aims and Objectives
Research Aim: To identify and explain the impact of COVID-19 on Enterprise rent-a-car’s performance related to tourism in the UK and developing business strategies for its future recovery in the economy and market.
Research Question: How has the detrimental decline in tourism from COVID-19 impacted operational management of Enterprise rent-a-car in the UK and what strategies must be formulated for recovery/growth?
Research Objectives:
• Critically review the literature on Operations management in the car rental industry, importance of organizational culture in operations, and fleet management in Operations management.
• Use of qualitative research, semi-structured interviews to collect data from Enterprise management employees.
• Thematic analysis of data will be the chosen method to identify and analyse key information from the collected interviews with Enterprise management.
• Recommendations and conclusions will be provided for how Enterprise may change operational processes and managing to grow business profitability.

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)
This project links to UN SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth because it focuses on how operational productivity can be increased, job creativity is boosted and how value is added to labour-oriented work. This project also links to UN SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure because it discusses needs for innovative and sustainable action planning for future business performance.

Describe and identify the core concepts of computer science in a range of contexts applicable to the course of study

1. Demonstrate the following knowledge and understanding
 Describe and identify the core concepts of computer science in a range of contexts applicable to the course of study
2. Demonstrate the following skills and abilities
 Apply the practical and professional skills needed to cope with the demands of your course (which are also important to employers) and demonstrate an ability to reflect
on your development
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What do I need to do to pass? (Threshold Expectations from UIF)
How do I produce high quality work that merits a good grade?
 Your presentation should be prepared and practiced so that it is delivered in a professional manner. Speech must be clear and
audible. Any visual aids such as slides must be clear, easy to read and visually appealing.
 This is a reflective assignment so you do not need to use references; you should instead give due consideration to how what you
have found out about yourself matches (or refutes) your experiences.
 Produce a SMART action plan of between 3 and 5 goals.
How does this assignment relate to what we are doing in scheduled sessions?
The assignment requires the student to reflect on their development as a learner and consider what evidence there is to
support or disprove their findings using the tools discussed in the seminars.

Locate and analyse legal and factual information, apply this to a legal problem, and analyse a defined topic to identify ambiguities and contradictions within the legal rules, with a view to reach an independent conclusion

1.Demonstrate the following knowledge and understanding
• In depth knowledge and critical awareness of Aviation law.
2. Demonstrate the following skills and abilities
• Ability to research law from a range of sources, evidence critical analysis of legal principles in
Aviation law, write fluent, logical and complex prose using accurate referencing.
What am I required to do in this assignment?
This assessment takes the form of an independent research project. In order to complete the assessment, you are asked to select a topic
from those which we have discussed in class and to devise a research title which you will explore and discuss through your assessment. You
must notify your title to your unit coordinator and seek approval before writing. Examples of topics you may like to explore are:
• The Provisions of the Montreal Convention 1999
• The impact of carbon emissions trading on the airline industry
• The provisions in international law relating to shoot downs
• Legal issues relating to “economy class syndrome”
• EC261/2004 the Denied Boarding Regulations.
This list is not exhaustive and you may select a title for your assessment from any of those which we have discussed in class.
Your title should enable you to engage in a critical analysis and evaluation of a particular issue in Aviation Law and not simply be a description
of the relevant legal provisions. Therefore, it is essential that your title focuses on an area of law where the law is incomplete, contains
anomalies or is as yet lacking in clarity and requires reform. Perhaps a particular area is covered by international law and while the law itself
is clear, implementation of the law is subject to political will.
In order to support you with your preparation of the assessment all proposed topics for study with proposed title should be submitted to the
Unit Co-ordinator for approval and comment. This will require you to have carried out a reasonable amount of research prior to this, to
ensure that your title is well thought out and will meet the required standards of a level 6 assessment.
Students must ensure that their submission demonstrates research from a wide variety of sources and must demonstrate a critical
awareness of the subject matter. For further guidance, please see the below UIF extract.
WORD COUNT 3000 WORDS EXCLUDING BIBLIOGRAPHY AND FOOTNOTES
University policy allows you to exceed the word count by a maximum of 10%. There is no penalty for insufficient words; however,
assessments substantially under the word limit are unlikely to have engaged in sufficient consideration of the issues and as such are
unlikely to achieve a high mark.
Academic Integrity
You are reminded that this assignment represents a significant risk in terms of plagiarism and the commission of an academic
offence. You must make use of the OSCOLA referencing system when drafting your assignment answer. You must take great care
to avoid the commission of an academic offence by the unreferenced copying, reproducing or paraphrasing of the work of
another. All written assignments are submitted electronically and checked for originality through Turnitin. In addition, should
any doubt arise as to whether the written work submitted for assessment is your own work, you will be called by the Unit Coordinator
for the purpose of a viva voce examination on the assessment. Please consult the course handbook on BREO, in
connection with plagiarism and academic offences. If in doubt you should seek guidance from your lecturer in class.
What do I need to do to pass? (Threshold Expectations from UIF)
In order to pass the Assessment, you will need to:
• Locate and analyse legal and factual information, apply this to a legal problem, and analyse a defined topic to identify ambiguities
and contradictions within the legal rules, with a view to reach an independent conclusion;
• Produce written work which is presented in a professional manner including a clear structure, with a structured argument which is
referenced in the correct manner.
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How do I produce high quality work that merits a good grade?
We will be filling this section in together in class on Click or tap to enter a date. make sure you have downloaded/printed out the
Assignment Brief and bring it to the session with you.
How does assignment relate to what we are doing in scheduled sessions?
In your scheduled lectures, seminars and interactive workshops, you will learn how to adopt a critical approach to current Aviation law
issues. Through discussions in seminar and active participation in interactive workshops with your peers and your tutor, you will develop and
enhance your ability to present legal arguments coherently, logically and in a professional manner, as befits a trainee lawyer. This assessment
tests your ability to research the relevant international and national laws, regulations and principles inherent in Aviation Law effectively and
to provide an in-depth critical analysis of the subject under investigation.

If and to what extent is there a relationship between knowledge of security policy and attitude toward cybersecurity?

The problem that will be addressed in this study is the that it is not known if and to what extent a relationship exists between knowledge of security policy and attitude towards cybersecurity, between attitude towards cybersecurity and behavior compliance, and between knowledge of security policy
and behavior compliance (Li, et al, 2019; Barlow & Levy Bencheton, 2018). More research is needed to better understand the human user as the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain.

Research Question 1
If and to what extent is there a relationship between knowledge of security policy and attitude toward cybersecurity?
Research Question 2
If and to what extent is there a relationship between attitude towards cybersecurity and behavior compliance?
Research Question 3
If and to what extent is there a relationship between knowledge of security policy and behavior compliance?