Bridging Theory and Practice in an Applied Retail Track

Abstract

Business schools are under increasing pressure not only to provide students with theoretical insights and frameworks but also to combine academic learning with practical understanding and skills (Cadotte, 2016). For example, at the NRF Big Show in January 2017, several leading retail professionals, including Macy's CEO Terry J. Lundgren, highlighted the need for closer collaboration between academia and practice. This need, Lundgren claimed, has increased due to the fast-paced changes in contemporary retail practice. A vast literature has noted the gap between academic curricula and practical needs of the marketplace (e.g.

The Use of Interest-Inventory Measurements in Marketing Education: Improving MBA Student Team Effectiveness

“…Marketing educators are striving to introduce “real world” experiences in their classrooms (e.g., Bacon, 2005; Bobbitt et al, 2000; Canhoto & Murphy; 2016; Lange et al, 2018). The experiences are meant to facilitate student application of the theories to which they have been exposed in their readings and during lectures.…”

“…Career readiness is also a source of an ongoing challenge for schools of business that has been highlighted in recent scholarship on pedagogy (Cadotte, 2016; Lange et al, 2018). For example, one critical soft skill for young professionals is learning how to offer their own knowledge and abilities in team settings without devaluing, demeaning, or deflecting team members with different views.…”

“…For example, one critical soft skill for young professionals is learning how to offer their own knowledge and abilities in team settings without devaluing, demeaning, or deflecting team members with different views. These soft skills require practice through experiential learning opportunities that put students into situations where they must work with others and stretch themselves to accomplish new and unfamiliar tasks (Canhoto & Murphy; 2016; Lange et al, 2018).…”

“…A robust body of recent studies continues to call for marketing education to address the dynamic needs of employers by teaching both the hard facts and concepts of professional marketing along with the soft skills and tacit knowledge areas covered by experiential learning (Cadotte, 2016; Duffy & Ney, 2015; Lange, Rosengren, Colliander, Hernant, & Liljedal, 2018). One means for enhancing student engagement, fostering student accountability within a group, and honing both the marketing skills and team-building skills may be an alternate method for assigning students to teams.…”

Why Business Schools Need Radical Innovations: Drivers and Development Trajectories

“…In such models, individual students or groups of students work through a variety of tasks and teaching material outside class (cf. Lange et al, 2018) and only need attend the campus for a substantially reduced number of face-to-face teaching hours. While these cost reductions seek efficiencies within the existing business school model, they fail to question the rationale of the model itself.…”