Should we worry about an “academic‐practitioner divide” in marketing?Ross Brennan
2004 Marketing Intelligence & Planning
doi: 10.1108/02634500410551879
In marketing, as in other areas of management studies, there is a feeling abroad that lines of communication need to be improved between those who work largely in the academic sphere and the practitioner community. Introduces the papers presented in this special issue, which explore the nature of the “academic‐practitioner divide”, investigates the reasons for it and the barriers to communication that exist, and put forward ideas for improving the effectiveness of academic‐practitioner collaboration. However, members of the academic community should carefully avoid a headlong and uncritical rush for managerial relevance, since their claim to a unique position in the knowledge production process relies on maintaining objectivity and a certain distance from the day‐to‐day pressures of marketing management.
In search of relevance Is there an academic‐practitioner divide in business‐to‐business marketing?Ross Brennan; Paul Ankers
2004 Marketing Intelligence & Planning
doi: 10.1108/02634500410551897
This article reports on three related empirical studies of the relevance of academic research to management practice in the field of business‐to‐business marketing. These studies comprise a survey of 58 academic researchers, a qualitative study of ten marketing practitioners, and a qualitative study of eight academic researchers. Academic researchers in the field of business‐to‐business marketing believe that their work is of interest, potential value, and relevance to practitioners, and aspire to make a contribution to management practice. Practitioners claim not to be interested in academic research, and are more favourably disposed towards consultants, who they see as more responsive to, and understanding of, business pressures. It seems clear that although academics would like to get closer to practitioners, they are inhibited by institutional factors, such as academic reward systems and the “publish or perish” culture. Mechanisms for improving the degree of cooperation between researchers and practitioners are explored.
Barriers to practical use of academic marketing knowledgeGeir Grundvåg Ottesen; Kjell Grønhaug
2004 Marketing Intelligence & Planning
doi: 10.1108/02634500410551905
It is commonly assumed that a prime purpose of developing research‐based marketing knowledge is that it should be useful to marketing managers and other practitioners. However, evidence suggests that academic marketing knowledge is only to a limited degree utilised in practical life. It is thus important to understand why this is the case, as well as how use of academic knowledge can be enhanced. This paper focuses on scientific knowledge about market orientation and explores a range of factors, which might impair its practical application. More specifically, it examines what types of knowledge marketing practitioners might perceive as useful and discusses a range of potential barriers to successful transfer of market orientation knowledge from academia to practitioners. Substantial barriers are identified which relate to attributes of market orientation knowledge itself and characteristics of both academics and practitioners. Findings are discussed and implications highlighted.
How effectively do marketing journals transfer useful learning from scholars to practitioners?Keith Crosier
2004 Marketing Intelligence & Planning
doi: 10.1108/02634500410551923
The author's career experience provides the impetus for a survey of the extent to which marketing journals succeed in transferring useful knowledge from academics to practitioners. The Flesch Reading Ease measurement method is used to compare 475 articles published in 14 English‐language journals during 2003. Scores are found to range from zero to a figure only just inside the “fairly easy” range, the average is in the middle of “difficult”, and the mainstream marketing titles are grouped at the low‐readability end of the distribution. Analysis of variance confirms that differences within the sample are significant. The author draws personal conclusions, and suggests possible extensions of this exploratory study.
Making marketers accountable:a failure of marketing education?Susan Baker; Sue Holt
2004 Marketing Intelligence & Planning
doi: 10.1108/02634500410551932
The academic/practitioner divide in marketing is very evident in marketers’ real world problems of accountability. Empirical research reported in this paper reveals senior non‐marketers perceive marketers to be “unaccountable, untouchable, slippery and expensive” and this is further reflected in the domain literature. Exploration of the issues raises questions about whether marketing educators have failed to deliver the theory and frameworks that could address this problem. Since the 1960s, many tools have been developed and used by marketing educators, academic researchers and consultants that should have helped practitioners to become more accountable; yet something appears to have gone wrong. This paper synthesizes the most recent literature in these areas, contends that accountability is imperative to avoid the marginalization of marketers and proposes an agenda for further research to close the academic/practitioner divide.
In search of relevance and rigour for research in marketingConstantine S. Katsikeas; Matthew J. Robson; James M. Hulbert
2004 Marketing Intelligence & Planning
doi: 10.1108/02634500410551941
There is concern that academic research in marketing does not sufficiently support firms confronting today's hostile business conditions. This paper offers a perspective on enhancing the relevance and rigour of research in marketing. It takes the view that rigorous research conducted on issues relevant to practising managers is especially valuable for the marketing discipline's future development and status. Emphasis is placed on identifying a number of “hot” topics worthy of future investigation, accomplished by a brainstorming workshop involving a large number of distinguished marketing professors. Areas identified were global marketing strategy, consumer behaviour and marketing strategy. It is hoped that the identification and discussion of these topics will spark greater research on fundamental marketing issues, and that the allied explication of research rigour will likewise enhance the efficacy of research in marketing.
A call to arms for applied marketing academicsAlan Tapp
2004 Marketing Intelligence & Planning
doi: 10.1108/02634500410551950
“Research has a value that does not depend on how true it is” is a quote from Griseri's call for management researchers to concern themselves less with scientific validity and more with relevance, striking a chord within the marketing academy in the light of criticism of the lack of progress in building a body of theory in marketing and creating more links with practice. Some have warned of the dangers of too closely following practitioners’ agendas. This paper debates these issues and proposes that the academic marketing community should recognise the value of getting closer to practitioners. After reviewing literature on the issue, the paper makes the case for an overtly recognised applied researcher culture to sit alongside pure research colleagues. A theoretical framework is developed and applied to a “template” for research design that will allow researchers to generate and communicate knowledge more effectively.