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

IF 3.1 4区 管理学 Q2 BUSINESS
Liz Foote, Phill Sherring, Sharyn Rundle-Thiele
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

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.

为什么我们不能做朋友?弥合社会营销的学术/实践差距
在本文中,我们(一个学者,一个从业者,一个学者)的目的是探索社会营销的学术/从业者差距,并提供建议,以缩小它,同时放大来自该领域的最佳实践的现有例子。我们还提出了一项研究议程,以促进对话并指导这一领域的进一步调查。从先前的研究中得出的见解,再加上合著者的经验和观察,表明在社会营销领域,学术界和实践之间确实存在脱节,尽管在不同的背景和学科领域,这种脱节是不可否认的,也并不令人惊讶。鉴于社会营销作为一个以实践为导向的领域的身份,已有许多学术/从业者合作的例子,以及理论与实践的成功联系值得扩大。然而,影响两个世界的截然不同的系统和结构所带来的挑战意味着,这种脱节是有足够的问题的,需要进行系统性的改变,以确保两个世界更加协调一致。设计/方法/方法这篇论文(一篇学术论文,一篇实践者论文和一篇学术论文)探讨了社会营销中的学术/实践者差距,并提出了缩小差距的建议,同时放大了该领域内现有的最佳实践例子。作者还提出了一个研究议程,以促进对话并指导这一领域的进一步研究。研究结果作者提出了五个关键原因,应该把重点放在缩小社会营销的学术/实践差距上:通过贡献实践来展示社会价值;在实践中嵌入和发展理论;增加社会营销文献;促进社会营销教学;沟通社会营销的价值和有效性。为了缩小差距,作者在四个广泛的领域提出了具体建议:营销学术界和从业者合作提供的服务;建立持续的关系;建立合作伙伴关系;改变出版模式,确保所有人都能访问通信。他们还建议社会营销协会和高峰机构发挥作用的方法。原创性/价值学术界与实践脱节的概念并不新鲜;几十年来,它一直是各个学科普遍存在的问题。然而,这个问题在社会营销文献中并没有得到太多的讨论。本文提出的建议可作为讨论的起点。作者还承认,由于该领域长期存在“亮点”,目前存在许多例子。他们强调强调这些例子,同时照亮前进的道路。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
4.60
自引率
29.20%
发文量
33
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