Walk to School 2014

Kubacki, Krzysztof; Hartman, Kellye; Wright, Annemarie; Fujihira, Haruka; Rundle‐Thiele, Sharyn

doi:10.4324/9781315648590-20

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Practitioners highlighted difficulties understanding and applying theory, while also noting the lack of practical relevance of much of the theory resulting from scholarly work. This is of concern as the application of theory has long been cited as a challenge within social marketing, with some noting that many social marketers fail to use theory altogether (Kubacki and Rundle-Thiele, 2013; Truong, 2014), or default to familiar theories that may not be appropriate for the particular context (Manikam and Russell-Bennett, 2016). Further, a recent review of 50 years of social marketing practice found that theory was the least reported principle in both practitioner work (19%) and academic studies (21%) (Dietrich et al , 2022), which is concerning given that lack of theory use has been attributed to programme failure (Akbar et al , 2021), and greater rates of behaviour change are evident in programmes reporting theory (Kim et al , 2019).…”

Section: Examining the Gap In Social Marketingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why can’t we be friends? Bridging the academic/practitioner gap in social marketing

Foote,

Sherring,

Rundle-Thiele

2023

JSOCM

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Purpose In this paper we (a pracademic, a practitioner, and an academic) aim to explore the academic/practitioner gap in social marketing and offer recommendations to close it, while amplifying existing examples of best practice from within the field. We also propose a research agenda to spur dialog and guide further investigations in this area. Insights from prior research, coupled with the co-authors’ experience and observations, indicate that a disconnect does exist between academia and practice within social marketing, though it is admittedly and unsurprisingly not uniform across contexts and disciplinary areas. Given social marketing’s identity as a practice-oriented field, there are many existing examples of academic/practitioner collaboration and the successful linkage of theory and practice that deserve to be amplified. However, the challenges associated with the very different systems and structures affecting both worlds mean the disconnect is problematic enough to warrant systematic change to ensure the two worlds are more aligned. Design/methodology/approach This paper (a pracademic, a practitioner and an academic) explores the academic/practitioner gap in social marketing and offer recommendations to close it, while amplifying existing examples of best practice from within the field. The authors also propose a research agenda to spur dialog and guide further investigations in this area. Findings The authors suggest five key reasons that focus should be placed upon closing the academic/practitioner gap in social marketing: demonstrating societal value by contributing to practice; embedding and developing theories in practice; adding to the social marketing literature; contributing to social marketing teaching; and communicating the value and effectiveness of social marketing. To close the gap, the authors propose specific recommendations within four broad areas: marketing the academia and practitioner collaboration offer; building ongoing relationships; creating collaborative partnerships; and changing the publishing model ensuring communications are accessible to all. They also suggest ways for social marketing associations and peak bodies to play a role. Originality/value The concept of a disconnect between academia and practice is by no means new; it has been a pervasive issue across disciplines for decades. However, this issue has not been the subject of much discussion within the social marketing literature. Recommendations outlined in this paper serve as a starting point for discussion. The authors also acknowledge that due to long standing “bright spots” in the field, numerous examples currently exist. They place an emphasis upon highlighting these examples while illuminating a path forward.

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