ABSTRACT Today’s media industries are facing fundamental challenges, which could be overcome in part through graduate innovation and entrepreneurial activity. However, it has been unclear how to best adapt entrepreneurship education (EE) to media business education. Based on reflections of our experiences of designing an entrepreneurship course for media business students, we outline the unique features of that course that would also be pertinent to media entrepreneurship education (MEE). Our findings provide valuable insights into the ongoing scholarly discussion on contextualising EE to specific fields of study and industry sectors. We designed and present a learner-centred development framework for context-specific EE programmes. This framework can also be applied to other sectors and domains that may be grappling with how to best adapt EE to meet the needs of their learners. In addition, we present a checklist for media entrepreneurship educators to consider when developing MEE courses and programmes.

ABSTRACT This study examines how media-tech start-ups achieve optimal distinctiveness by balancing conformity and differentiation in their strategic positioning. Using the case of an Estonian media-tech accelerator, we identify three cognitive framing strategies employed by start-ups: “zooming in and out for conformity”, “keeping competitive differentiation centred-focus” and “zooming in for differentiation from non-competitors”. These strategies enable start-ups to position their identity, business models, and market roles dynamically, aligning with industry norms while emphasising unique value propositions. The findings highlight the role of managerial cognitive frames in navigating complex environments, shaping strategic flexibility, and achieving competitive advantage. These insights contribute to advancing theory and practice in media management and entrepreneurship.

ABSTRACT Despite advances in news recommender systems (NRS) research, their application in news organisations remains limited, hampered by practical obstacles and organisational challenges. This study applies the multi-stakeholder framework alongside ambidexterity theory to analyse the complex decision-making dynamics in applying NRS within two large commercial news organisations. Based on 11 in-depth interviews with different stakeholders, two “balancing acts” emerged. The first is stakeholder alignment through two strategies: knowledge management with dummy-proof presentations and “showcasing success” to help increase stakeholder buy-in for NRS. The second balancing act is managing trade-offs between exploration and exploitation in a roadmap developed by the multidisciplinary team of product owners (POs), ensuring a balanced allocation of resources for NRS innovation and optimisation. This research shows how organisational ambidexterity supports successful technology integration and provides insights for implementing emerging technologies in complex multi-stakeholder news media environments.

ABSTRACT In an era marked by fractured socio-political landscapes and escalating crises, the role of fear in news media management has become increasingly significant. This paper presents a scoping study on the manifestation and impact of fear within news media management processes during crises. The study systematically reviews 18 peer-reviewed articles using Scopus, EBSCOhost, and Web of Science databases to identify key themes and research gaps. Findings highlight the influence of internal and external fear factors on journalists’ professional autonomy, mental health, and organisational dynamics. The analysis also addresses manifestations and functions of fear during crises for news media management. The paper calls for expanded research across different media functions and contexts to better support media professionals and enhance news media management practices.

ABSTRACT This article examines how media organisations in eight European countries responded to the war in Ukraine through corporate social responsibility (CSR). Based on a comparative analysis of 203 initiatives, the study identifies media-specific patterns combining symbolic support, editorial interventions, philanthropic aid, and infrastructural backing, reflecting both journalistic commitments and civic engagement. Existing CSR models only partially capture this complexity. To address this gap, the article proposes a four-dimensional CSR model for wartime contexts, incorporating activity type, temporal phase, organisational depth, and target group. The model captures the hybrid nature of media CSR intersected with wartime editorial, civic, and organisational logic. This article contributes to CSR scholarship and media management research, offering a media-specific CSR model grounded in wartime conditions and applicable to other crisis scenarios.

ABSTRACT The empirical investigation of Virtual Reality (VR) gaming is still emerging. This study advances hedonic media technology acceptance by analysing the interplay between personality traits and technology-specific characteristics. It extends the technology acceptance model by considering the potential antecedent factors flow, content offering, and system quality. Moreover, the interaction effects of the escapism motive and the cybersickness barrier are analysed. The model was empirically tested in a study with 1,784 experienced VR users. In the analysis, all factors except for cybersickness show significant direct or indirect effects on the usage intention, with perceived enjoyment having the largest effect. Content offering and flow positively correlate with technology acceptance and thereby affect the intention to use VR games indirectly. Recommendations for practitioners in the VR games industry are derived.

ABSTRACT This study examines media agencies and their provider-client co-creation activities based on four business characteristics: value creation, reputation, funding, and governance structure. The conceptual framework, named CoKnowledgeShop, combines a strategic management business model with a service marketing co-creation perspective. This interdisciplinary framework provides the conceptual basis for a qualitative comparative case study, in which a global network and a nationally independent media agency are analysed. The findings – based on nine and ten interviews, respectively – reveal notable differences in how the two types of agencies operate and adapt their business practices in response to digital transformation. Both agency cases have expanded their traditional media buying portfolios by incorporating specialised non-media services, including content production and technological solutions such as programmatic advertising.

ABSTRACT In recent years, external support for journalism innovation has grown, driven by public, private, and philanthropic actors, such as governments, tech companies and foundations. This paper analyses how these supporters assist media organisations in overcoming common challenges and barriers in their innovation processes. Using the German WPK Innovation Fund as a unique research setting, it adopts a qualitative longitudinal multiple-case study approach combining interviews, document analysis and observations to examine 20 innovation ventures in journalism. Findings show that such support can play a pivotal role for media organisations, particularly at the meso level of organisational challenges. The paper provides a framework for future research to analyse other support structures more systematically and holds practical implications for all parties designing and improving them.

ABSTRACT As the publishing industry changes, a culture of innovation becomes increasingly important for media management. Innovation literature offers a limited understanding of the potential impact of innovation culture on media organisations. Based on document analysis and semi-structured interviews, this research conducts a multiple case study of three publishing houses. The results are regarded from economic, organisational, and technological perspectives and structured along five categories: (1) corporate culture and values; (2) innovation and innovation culture; (3) infrastructure for innovation efforts; (4) implementation of innovations; and (5) influencing factors and performance of innovation. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the innovation culture concept as well as innovation potential in the publishing industry and supports the formation of an innovation theory in the media management domain.