Doctoral Research

The Product
as a Message

University of Nicosia · PhD in Digital Media & Technology

"This work aims to develop a framework of communicative product leadership and help define the 'product as a message'."

My doctoral research at the University of Nicosia explores how products themselves function as facilitators of strategic communication.

Products are not just tools. In product management, a product's design choices, features, business models and content strategies convey meaning and signal values, priorities, and who it is built for.

To study this, I combine qualitative methods with an auto-ethnographic case study of Oriire, a niche media platform and digital archive I founded. Oriire provides first-hand insight into how niche media platforms communicate through design choices and community engagement, which I then compare with interviews from other European media founders.

This work aims to develop a framework of communicative product leadership and help define the 'product as a message'.

Institution

University of Nicosia

Discipline

Digital Media & Technology

Focus

Niche Media Platforms & Strategic Communication

Methodology

Constructivist Grounded Theory

Methods

Auto-ethnographyQualitative InterviewsCase StudyPlatform Analysis

Location

Larnaca, Cyprus

Key Concepts
01

Communicative Product Leadership

How product leaders use design decisions and feature choices as strategic communication tools.

02

Product as Message

The idea that every product decision — from UX to business model — conveys meaning and values to its users.

03

Niche Media Platforms

Building and studying digital platforms that serve specific communities, understanding how they communicate through their product decisions.