MKTG 382: Consumer Behavior: In Depth Research Report

The client for the Winter 2025 quarter is Western's College of Business and Economics, and you will be exploring the industry of "collegiate credentialing," sometimes also known as "digital badging." Your client is the CBE and you need to explore how they can "best develop and position the [CBE Badging Program] and how to reach the target market effectively to increase earning and utilization/shares."

When looking for information on badging, specifically articles about other programs, uses, attitudes, etc., searching a combination of Business Source Complete, Educational Resources Complete, and ERIC, will bring back results related to business (both business school and for-profit businesses) and educational settings. 

Sample Searches/Terms

Business Source Complete/Educational Resources Complete/ERIC

• Badges AND Hiring: This search includes articles on badges and micro-credentialing in both higher education and secondary education. 
• Digital Badges in Education: A narrower search, fewer resources, but more related to the implementation of badges in education. 
• Micro-credential*: Micro-credentials are similar to digital badges but are sometimes used for professional development in specific industries. This search includes articles related to micro-credentials in higher education. 

Google Scholar

• Badges in Higher Education: Includes some of the same articles above, in addition to articles that include the student perspective.  
• Digital Badges in Higher Education AND Assessment: Includes articles about the review and implementation of badging in higher education

Digital Badging and microcredentials can be associated with Massive Open Online Courses) MOOCs) started by organizations like EdX and Coursera, Many, like EdX were started by Harvard and MIT. Other companies like Microfost, Meta, and Google offer certifications in specific tech-related areas that may not be covered by more formal education. Other companies like Instructure (Canvas Credentials) and 1EdTech (Open Badges) often work with higher education to offer digital badges. 

Industry classifications (NAICS and SIC) can be within Educational Support Services (NAICS 61170) or Information/Software Publishing (NAICS 513210), making this a difficult industry to research, so looking across industries or at benchmarking reports for some companies may be the most useful. You can find company benchmarking reports in IBISWorld for Meta, Microsoft and other large companies. 

Credential Engine is a non-profit organization that maps creditials across different organizations. They also create annual reports: Counting US Post-Secondary and Secondary Credentials and an Education and Training Expenditures Report. 

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