Bob Lusch: Co-Creator of Careers

Eight years ago, I had the pleasure of writing a letter in support of Bob Lusch’s nomination for the 2013 AMA-Irwin / McGraw-Hill Distinguished Marketing Educator Award, as many others did. Five years later, I spoke with sorrow at Bob’s memorial service in Tucson, as many others did. These written and oral communications addressed my friend’s remarkable creativity and his role as a mentor – traits that were evident even at the start of his academic career. Here I offer recollections of our early interactions, our joint work that jump-started my marketing career, and Bob’s ongoing efforts on my behalf.

Once upon a time – okay, over 40 years ago – two freshly minted PhDs lifted heavy weights in a gym. Heavy meant striving for 250-pound bench presses (successfully), 300-pound squats (almost successfully), and sit-ups with 100-pound weights on our heads (also successfully). All this in the days before steroids! We called the sit-ups “Speedy Alka-Seltzers” in reference to the cartoon character in their ads – and the need for their product post-exercise. We were seriously crazy – but we were in shape!

More importantly, we discussed potential research topics as we pumped iron, later refining the ideas in our offices. We explored various topics from our own disciplines – Bob’s in Marketing and Accounting, mine in Economics with specialties in Location Theory and Mathematical Modeling. Our educational overlap was only slightly greater than a null set; yet Bob saw the applicability of my academic interests to retail and distribution systems. Symmetrically, I learned critical marketing concepts from Bob that could be considered in economic terms. These initial discussions led to joint research publications (Ingene and Lusch 1979a, 1980a, 1981a, 1981b) and conference proceedings (Ingene and Lusch 1978, 1979b, 1979c, 1980b).

My breakthrough paper was our “Model of Retail Structure” (1981a); it held three key lessons for me on how to approach real world problems. First, it introduced me to macromarketing – how society affects the marketing system and how marketing affects society. Retail Structure – the way sales of a product class are organized by retail type (cf., Bucklin 1972) – is clearly a macromarketing topic. In economic terms (back then everything in my head was in economic terms), it is applied Industrial Organization with greater emphasis on human and structural issues. Second, we developed a mathematical model of retail structure, then combined it with an empirical analysis of the United States grocery trade. This taught me that economics and marketing are two sides of the same coin. Third, I discovered a link between (a) how my doctoral program taught me analytical thinking and (b) how similar insights can be gained with careful conceptual reasoning. In sum, I learned that (1) macromarketing is a central (but often overlooked) facet of marketing, (2) mathematical modeling can generate deep insights into marketing (not only macromarketing), and (3) thoughtful reasoning – without providing a rigorous proof – can reveal important problems that are not in the literature but that can contribute to the literature. ¹

Bob obviously saw, and helped develop, a potential in me of which I was unaware. In 1978, as our research began to bear fruit, Bob arranged for me to teach an introductory marketing class. Then Bob lobbied me, the Dean, his colleagues, and my colleagues for me to hold a joint appointment in economics and marketing. Ultimately everyone involved acceded to Bob’s logic, although I think he was the only one who was confident of the outcome from the beginning. In short, I was persuaded to switch disciplines by a young scholar who was so insightful that he could see the value of joining nominally disparate intellectual approaches in a manner that would benefit both disciplines, and both of us.

In late 1981, Bob encouraged me to build my career by focusing on single-authored papers. I did so with what (in retrospect) was remarkable intensity (Ingene 1982, 1983a, 1983b, 1983c, 1984a, 1984b, 1984c, 1984d, 1985, 1986; Ingene and Brown 1987; Ingene and Yu 1981). These achievements were only possible because I was mentored by a fellow assistant professor who saw promise in a colleague. I was taught by a friend who gave his time to ensure that I had a solid foundation for my future in marketing; a future that turned out far better than I could have imagined – including chaired professorships and an editorship.

Bob did not stop there; he put forth additional efforts to integrate me into marketing, including introductions to major scholars (current and future) in the marketing discipline. Then, in 1984 he asked me to chair the Marketing Management and Institutions track for the 1985 Summer AMA Conference (Lusch 1985); of course, I accepted. In 1986 Bob invited me to chair the 1988 Summer AMA Conference. I did so, choosing to share responsibility with Gary Frazier (Frazier and Ingene 1988). Although it is impossible to know, I’ve always thought those experiences were an important component of being named editor of the Journal of Retailing (1993 – 1996). That endeavor also turned out well, as JR rose significantly in the rankings (Hult, Neese and Bashaw 1997).

Bob’s more recent work – notably Service-Dominant Logic – has been far more creative, and much more integrative, than our early work, or my later work. Thinking about Bob’s career, I recall an old saying that Nobel laureates in the sciences do their best work before they turn 30. That is not true for marketers. What is true is that Bob’s intellectual power and incisive creativity, which came from melding diverse academic streams, were evident before Bob turned 30. He most assuredly delivered on that power and creativity for some forty years.

Bob’s many contributions to our profession included path-breaking research, high-quality academic administration, and considerable professional service. Perhaps Bob’s greatest contribution was supervising many PhD students and engaging many scholars – some novice, others well established. For each of us, he integrated seemingly disparate approaches, and often diverse disciples. While I earned my Ph.D. at Brown University, Bob helped me to develop what was, in effect, my marketing dissertation (Ingene and Lusch 1981a). He was a mentor and a friend, as he was for so many others. I say with humility and gratitude: Bob Lusch co-created my career in a weight room all those years ago.