We are all business marketers now

• Published in: The Journal of business & industrial marketing 2006-12, Vol.21 (7), p.414-421
• Main Authors: Lichtenthal, J. David, Iyer, Gopalkrishnan R., Busch, Paul S., Tellefsen, Thomas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic disciplines; Behavior; Business education; Business schools; Business studies; Business to business commerce; Colleges & universities; Consumer behavior; Consumption; Curriculum development; Customer services; Industrial markets; Marketing; Marketing theory; Motivation; Peer review; Purchasing; Services; Social psychology; Social sciences; Sociology; Students; Studies
• ISSN: 0885-8624; 2052-1189
• DOI: 10.1108/08858620610708894

Purpose - This paper seeks to argue that a business-marketing outlook is a lucid perspective for enhancing the value of business school faculty services provision and administration. Given the number of scholars worldwide in the area of business marketing (several hundred) compared with the number in consumer behavior (many thousands), there is speculation as to why business marketing attracted fewer scholars until recently (even though the phenomenon and subject have been around just as long). The evolution of business and industrial marketing as a bona fide field of academic study is documented. The importance of the business-marketing arena is reaffirmed by arguing that it is not simply a field of inquiry but a perspective that helps legitimately align the academic world to the business world and ensures relevance and rigor in everything people do as marketing professors.Design methodology approach - This is both a historical examination and a contemporary analysis of business marketing. It is based on the authors' interpretation of why a business marketing approach is relevant for all professional arenas within the academic field of marketing. Some of the indigenous hallmarks of a business marketing outlook are: the motivation for all interactions are to serve professionally as opposed to personally motivated arenas, a high degree of mutual dependence among the parties to a relationship, and the sharing of rewards, responsibilities and value creation across any dyad. These characteristics are applied to a myriad university educational activities seen through the lenses of a business marketing service provider.Findings - A strong case is made for the value added by applying a business marketing perspective on a range of scholarly and curricular issues, including: conducting research, manuscript reviewing processes, the distinct roles of reviewer, editor and author, faculty time utilization, and enhancement of degree programs at all four levels of university instruction. Effectively applying business-marketing characteristics will result in the long-term enhancement of scholarly research productivity, and education within the marketing discipline and business school.Originality value - The paper provides a derivation of the implications of a business marketing perspective for the manufacture of research, management of reviewing processes and personnel, utilization of faculty time, and enhancement of university-level degree programs in the field of market