Strategic implications for a European cross‐border multi‐campus business school

Andreas KaplanProfessor of Marketing

Director of Brand and Communications

kaplan@escpeurope.eu

05/09/2014

Explaining: Key facts and conceptStorytelling: Branding and positioningCapacitating: Coordinated decentralization

Prevailing: Challenges and Opportunities

Agenda

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Key facts and concept

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About ESCP Europe, the World‘s First Business School (est. 1819)

• 5 ESCP Europe campuses in Paris, London, Berlin, Madrid, Torino• Cross-campus programmes with coordinated curricula• Over 100 academic alliances in Europe and the World• Triple accredited: EQUIS, AMBA, AACSB• 4,000 students in degree programmes representing 90 different nationalities • 5,000 high-level participants in customized trainings and executive education• More than 130 research-active professors representing over 20 nationalities • 45,000 active alumni in over 150 countries in the world

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European cross-border multi-campus business school – the concept

ESCP Europe

European cross-bordermulti-campus

business school

In contrast to campuses outside of

Europe, close distance allows for efficiently

working together across campuses

on all levels

In contrast to partnerships with other business schools, own campuses allow for better coordination and control of academic excellence

• Complete integration of 5 campuses with adaptations for local contexts:One school with five doors

• Relative closeness permits working in cross-campus teams while on top experiencing different cultures, learning language, etc.

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Defining European Management, notion behind the concept

Kaplan, Andreas M. (2014) European management and European business schools:Insights from the history of business schools, European Management Journal, 32(4), 529-534.

Societal management takes into account society’s overall welfare in addition to mere profitability considerations

European management is a

cross-cultural, societal management approach

based on interdisciplinary principles

Interdisciplinarity creates s.th. new by crossing boundaries and combining the knowledge encompassed in different domains

Cross-cultural management aims to understand how culture affects management practice, to identify cross-cultural similarities

and differences in management practices

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Our latest viral marketing video

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Branding and positioning

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A clear positioning might bear surprises: Europe considered as geographical limit...

In order to underline the European positioning, “Europe” was added to the brand name with the School becoming “ESCP Europe”

However, add-on led to thoughts that ESCP Europe was limited only to the European continent and would not offer the possibility to go beyond

• New baseline: The World’s First Business School (est. 1819)• New slogan: European Identity, Global Perspective• Newly stressing our international partnerships; our culturally highly diverse

student body; our international faculty

Action

Reaction

Solutions

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Brand storytelling is vital:Europe appears difficult to grasp

What’s the advantage of studying at a 

European business school? 

Focus on humanistic values, understanding of cultures, tradition, more transversal approach, …

Europe embraces a maximum cultural diversity

at minimal geographical distance

ESCP Europe is/educates experts in European, cross-cultural management in Europe and beyond

????

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Slogan needs to be credible: European claim expected to be proven

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Branding and chosen positioning needs to be respected / followed everywhere!

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Coordinated decentralization

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Also governance and functioning of School should follow its positioning

Respect for different cultures and local contexts makes complete centralization invalid as governance approach, in particular for branding and communications

To allow for a certain degree of flexibility, mixture of centralization and decentralization, i.e. coordinated decentralization

Complete centralization to be avoided

Coordinated decentralization to be prescribed

Similar to decentralized agencies within the European Union such as, e.g., the European Patent Office 

located in Munich in charge of studying

all European patent applications coming from across Europe.

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Coordinated decentralisation:The example of Facebook and Twitter

Until 2009 – Complete centralisation

2010-2012 – Uncoordinated decentralisation / revolt

Since 2013: Coordinated decentralisation

• 1 ESCP Europe page• 1 community manger• English / French

• 1 ESCP Europe account• 1 community manger• English / French

• Local pages on campuses• Individual programme efforts• English / French / Spanish / Italian

• Local accounts on campuses• Some programmes push tweets• English / French / Spanish

• 1 ESCP Europe page (English)• 5 campus pages (Local language)• Several programme pages

(programme language)

• 1 unique account• 5 languages (EN, FR, DE, ES, IT)• No programme tweets

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Social media offer great potential to try EU approach of decentralised agencies

Giving each campus a lead in a certain area not only allows for adaptations dueto local contexts, but creates awareness for the complexity of a multi-campusstructure and the challenges to overcome.

Social media at ESCP Europe

• Europe:• Paris:• London:

Berlin:• Madrid:• Torino:

Whereas the EU institutions are concentrated in Brussels, Luxembourg, Strasburg and Frankfurt, there is another level of administration which is present in a large number of European cites. This is a response to the EU’s desire to decentralise its 

governance and to bring the EU closer to all of its member states.

Kaplan Andreas M. (2014) Social Media and Viral Marketing at ESCP Europe, the World''s First

Business School (est. 1819), European Case

Clearing House

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Challenges and opportunities

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Challenges due to structure / complextity in all fields of communications and beyond

• External communications / Press relations: Coordination of 5 agencies locally managed + PR agency for international press activities; not all content constantly is in line with positioning

• Internal communications: Choice of language(s); balance between “of interest across campuses” and “of interest locally”

• Marketing: Programmes not necessarily adapted to all five local markets; not the same targets/backgrounds

• Website: Five individual websites versus a unified one; in five languages or only in English?

Communications

Beyond communications• Different national legal frameworks and coordination costs• Programme design: Which language?; On which campuses?; What cross-

campus format?; What target?; What price?• Executive Education is at present a rather local market • Alumni relations: Imbalance between nationalities; Definition of nationals versus

international alumni; Fund raising and tax deduction issues• Scientific research: Professors’ work goes beyond the European positioning

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Challenges 1:Focus on press relations

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5 national + 1 international market

• Local/ national agencies are cheaper

• Need for local stories, local contacts

• Who coordinates network of local agencies?

• Who contacts journalists when organizing a PR event in, e.g., Brussels? (local agency? International agency? School?)

BalanceCross-campus synergies; harmonized stories/ content

Local structures; specific stories/ content

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Challenges 2:Focus on Website

Questions

Our solution

Nice idea

• Only English or 5 languages?• Translations: Degree of flexibility

to be SEO friendly?• Targeting users looking for

ESCP Europe or users lookingfor specific campuses?

• All events/news? Location-based?

• Virtual visits render campuses more ‘real’; during recruiting you usually only experience one campus

• Landing pages to target more national issues

• I-frames for local agencies

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Opportunities outweigh challenges by far

Competitive strengths of a cross-bordermulti-campus

B.-school

In times of globalization, to be trained in cultural diversity/ to become an expert in cross-cultural management is certainly a plus

In times of digitalization, to have a concept where location is of importance, can be a powerful barrier

To be close to one’s alumni in five locations and able to actively involve them into the School’s life, might increase their loyalty

Local company networks as well as being able to adapt to their needs in several countries is of high value

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Opportuntities:Focus on MOOCs 1

To sell a concept where location and differences in local contexts

additionally is of academic importance might be highly

valued in the future

MOOC = Massively Open Online Course

“Within 50 years there will be only 10 institutions of higher learning

left in the world”

But:• Physical presence might be

necessary to go the extra mile• Networking often best happens after

class and not during• Life skills than only knowledge +

know-how

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Opportuntities:Focus on MOOCs 2

To be an expert in a certain field will become more and more important in the future of MOOCs

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• One hardly can be expert in everything• Universities and schools will produce MOOCs where they have a real legitimacy• Local / regional players will arise

(languages and different teaching approaches)

Examples:• ESCP Europe -> European / cross-cultural manager• Harvard University -> Lawyers• Wharton School -> Investment bankers

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A final video about ESCP Europe:European Identity, Global Perspective

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