Marketing Theory (MARK): Introduction to Classical and Contemporary Marketing Theories

Task

Marketing Theory (MARK) introduces students to central theories in marketing. Focus will be on classical as well as contemporary marketing theories.

The course has a theoretical rather than a descriptive and normative character. Rather than proposing best practices of marketing the course focuses on classical and contemporary marketing theories and marketing as a science.

Learning outcomes are presented in the syllabus.

The course is delivered in the form of lectures for introduction and overview of theories and seminars for discussions of theories. You are expected to arrive to class on time, fully prepared to discuss and debate the course material assigned for the seminar. You are expected to participate at all levels and offer objective praise and criticism of your classmates’ analyses and conclusions. This course is a combination of reading (homework), thinking, and discussing.

The language of instruction for all teaching and learning activities is English.

During a series of seminars, literature1 representing the development and variety of marketing thought will be discussed.

During the introduction, information on the course will be provided and the course literature will be introduced.

This seminar will cover a selection of schools of thought in marketing2. Required Readings:

1. Shaw, E. H., & Jones, D. B. (2005). A history of schools of marketing thought. Marketing theory, 5(3), 239-281.
2. Borden, N. H. (1964), "The concept of the marketing mix", Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 4 No. June, pp. 7-12.
3. Kotler, P. (1973), "The Major Tasks of Marketing Management", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 37 No. 4, pp. 42-49.
4. Bagozzi, R. P. (1975), "Marketing as exchange", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 39 No. 4, pp. 32-39.
5. Pandya, A. and Dholakia, N. (1992)."An Institutional Theory of Exchange in Marketing", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 26, No. 12, pp. 19 – 41

This seminar will focus on scientific and methodological issues in marketing. Required readings

1. Hunt, S. D. (1976), "The Nature and Scope of Marketing ", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 40 No. 3, pp. 17-28.
2. Hirschman, E. C. (1986), "Humanistic inquiry in marketing research: philosophy, method, and criteria", Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 237-249.
3. Razzaque, M. A. (1998), "Scientific method, marketing theory development and academic vs practitioner orientation: a review", Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 1-15.
4. Rossiter, J. R. (2001), "What is marketing knowledge? Stage I: forms of marketing knowledge" Marketing Theory, Vol 1, No.1, pp. 9-26.
5. Brown, S. (2001), "Art or science? Fifty years of marketing debate", Marketing Review, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 89-119.

Learning Outcomes

This seminar focuses on contemporary thinking in marketing. Required readings

1. Prahalad, C. K., & Ramaswamy, V. (2004). “Co-creation experiences: The next practice in value creation”, Journal of interactive marketing, Vol. 18 No.3, pp. 5-14.
2. Grewal, D., Roggeveen, A. L., & Nordfält, J. (2017). “The future of retailing”. Journal of Retailing, Vol. 93 No.1, pp. 1-6.
3. Sheth, J. N. (2011). “Impact of emerging markets on marketing: Rethinking existing perspectives and practices”. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 75 No. 4, pp. 166-182.
4. Kumar, V., & Gupta, S. (2016). “Conceptualizing the evolution and future of advertising”. Journal of Advertising, Vol. 45 No. 3, pp. 302-317.
5. Lim, W. M. (2017). “Inside the sustainable consumption theoretical toolbox: Critical concepts for sustainability, consumption, and marketing”. Journal of Business Research, Vol. 78, pp. 69-80.

This seminar focuses on the ways in which corporations endeavor to differentiate themselves positively from their competitors. 3 Peer-Review Assignment: Between seminar 3 and 4, students are expected to read and provide written comments (about 200 words) on other students’ draft journals.

1. Kohli, A. and Jaworski, B. J. (1990), “Market orientation: the construct, research propositions, and managerial implications”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54 No.2, pp. 1-18.
2. Lepak, D. P., Smith, K. G., & Taylor, M. S. (2007). Value creation and value capture: a multilevel perspective. Academy of management review, 32(1), 180-194.
3. Hunt, S., & Morgan, R. (1995). “The Comparative Advantage Theory of Competition”. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 59 No.2, pp. 1-15.
4. Woodruff, R. B. (1997). Customer value: the next source for competitive advantage. Journal of the academy of marketing science, 25(2), 139.
5. Payne, A., Frow, P., & Eggert, A. (2017). The customer value proposition: evolution, development, and application in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 45(4), 467-489.5

This seminar will focus on literature that addresses social, societal and environmental issues in marketing.

1. Gaski, J. F. (1985), “Dangerous territory: The societal marketing concept revisited”. Business Horizons, Vol. 28 No. 4, pp. 42-47.4
2. Alvesson, M. (1994), "Critical theory and consumer marketing", Scandinavian Journal of Management, Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 291-313.
3. Weidner, K. L., Rosa, J. A., & Viswanathan, M. (2010). Marketing to subsistence consumers: Lessons from practice. Journal of Business Research, 63(6), 559-569.
4. Bray, J., Johns, N., & Kilburn, D. (2011). “An exploratory study into the factors impeding ethical consumption”. Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 98 No. 4, pp. 597-608.
5. Laczniak, G. R. and P. E. Murphy (1991), “Fostering ethical marketing decisions”. Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 10 No. 4, pp. 259-271.

You are expected to read and analyse the required readings before each seminar and make notes in a ‘personal journal’. A personal journal is a notebook in which you write personal comments and reflections on course material and seminar discussions as the course progresses. You are recommended to use the following questions as a guideline when you write these comments in your journal:

1. What is the issue, question or problem that this article deals with?
2. What is the author’s message?
3. What rhetoric, reasoning process, logic is used (directly or indirectly)?
4. Do you find the author’s message persuasive?
5. What evidence, if any, is given?
6. In what ways is this article similar or dissimilar to earlier articles?

1. What is your intuitive response to the author’s message?
2. How does this article relate, conceptually, to other articles in the set of readings covered to date?
3. Where to next? (assuming the findings need checking/are correct)
4. How and where could the contents of the article be applied in an empirical context?

Before the conclusion of the course, in a final and very important section of your journal, you are also expected to summarize, synthesize and reflect upon the course literature as a whole. This means that you will discuss similarities, differences, and linkages between different works you have read, weaving the different streams of research together rather than just reporting it. Ideally, this section results in a new way of thinking about the literature and marketing in practice. It could be a model or conceptual framework, a research agenda, or any other unique conception informed by your intimate knowledge of the different articles and linked to marketing in practice.

Your journals should also include a list of references (mainly the required readings listed above) and citations to these references in the main text. No matter what style of referencing you choose to adopt, make sure that you are consistent and that you use it correctly. Only include sources that you actually cite in the journal.

In total, the final versions of your personal journals are expected to cover maximum 16,000 words including everything, of which the final section should cover maximum 2,500 words.