Journal of Marketing Education

This research investigates the reliability and validity of three major publications’ rankings of MBA programs. Each set of rankings showed reasonable consistency over time, both at the level of the overall rankings and for most of the facets from which the rankings are derived. Each set of rankings also showed some levels of convergent and discriminant validity, but each has room for improvement, particularly Businessweek, which relies heavily on subjective surveys of students and recruiters, and Financial Times, whose methodology may be simplified and streamlined, ceasing to measure facets that are empirically superfluous. Together the three publications blanket the student process—U.S. News & World Report captures incoming student quality clearly with GMAT scores, Businessweek captures whether the students are happy while at their respective business schools, and U.S. News captures salaries and Financial Times captures return on investment, as short-term and longer term indicators of graduates’ early career successes.

This article proposes a theory-based contagious motivation model focusing on enhancing student perceptions of group projects and ultimately course satisfaction. Moreover, drawing from both pedagogical and organizational behavior literatures, a model is presented that ties together intrinsic motivation theory with social contagion and contextualizes these within the conceptual methodology of group projects in a classroom. The structural equation model is tested with an undergraduate student sample of 215 students and found to have adequate fit. The key implication of the model is that individual student motivation can be increased by fostering an active learning environment, and more importantly, group projects can create and foster positive motivation when properly implemented by educators.

Creativity and marketing imagination are essential core competencies for marketers. Therefore, higher marketing education emphasizes creativity in several ways. However, assessing creativity and creative problem solving is challenging and tools for this purpose have not been developed in the context of marketing education. To address this gap, we analyze the use of Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) taxonomy as an assessment tool in creative problem solving and in doing so develop an assessment framework by contextualizing SOLO taxonomy for client-based marketing development projects. We first introduce earlier literature on assessment and SOLO taxonomy. We then describe a client-based marketing course on creative problem solving. We use SOLO taxonomy to analyze the outcomes and development processes of six student projects and in doing so develop an assessment framework for creative problem solving. Finally, we give suggestions for teachers on how to enhance creative problem solving and its assessment in marketing classrooms.

While textbooks remain a key part of the teaching and learning process, evidence suggests that student completion of reading assignments is lower than teacher expectations. Although there is a small body of literature examining textbook use, studies relating specifically to marketing textbooks are sparse. This article seeks to explore how marketing students perceive and use textbooks, what barriers inhibit their use, and how these barriers might be overcome. Qualitative exploratory and quantitative confirmatory research conducted at a British university reveals that reading assignments from the textbook are rarely completed. The textbook is primarily used as a handbook of definitions to help with the completion of coursework and as a revision aid for exams. The explanation for the lack of reading is less clear. The qualitative research suggested textbooks are cumbersome, inaccessible, and boring and that students perceive reading assignments to be unimportant because of their lack of integration into classwork. However, the quantitative study was less emphatic and revealed a neutral attitude toward textbooks, with less confidence that changes to the style of textbooks would encourage more reading. The article goes on to discuss implications for professional practice and incorporates tentative suggestions as to how to encourage regular and “active” reading.

The need to endow marketing graduates with skills relevant to employability grows ever more important. Marketing math and elementary financial understanding are essential employability skills, particularly given the contemporary emphasis on marketing metrics, but the evidence is that marketing graduates are often relatively weak in such skills. This article suggests that one educational strategy to improve numeracy and financial skills may be through the use of a marketing simulation game. Through the simulation game, students are exposed to marketing calculations and financial data in an engaging context that simulates the real world. It is hypothesized that marketing students’ numeracy and financial skills, and their self-efficacy with respect to marketing calculations, will improve following participation in a simulation game where numerical and financial analysis are necessary activities. Using a quasi-experimental research design, it is found that there are substantial and significant improvements in numerical and financial performance after participating in a simulation game, but that there is no improvement (and possibly a small decline) in self-efficacy related to these tasks. Marketing educators are advised that a marketing simulation game is a viable option to consider when seeking to improve students’ numeracy and financial skills.