KEY TOPICS IN TODAY'S MARKETING

This course is grounded in questions of enduring interest to marketers and researchers in the marketing area, but it takes in strong consideration contemporary concerns. The objectives of this course are: Integrating theoretical and practical knowledge on three modules/areas of content (consumers’ contemporary culture and values; consumers’ psychological core and consumers’ consumption choices); Sharing knowledge on modern concepts and trends with respect to consumers’ wisdom and values, consumers’ interaction with AI and technologies, customers’ journey, and retail experiences; Defining and providing examples of the values of sustainability, flexibility, and purpose from both the consumer's and firms point of view; Introducing to the enquiry process of scientific research, from crafting a problem statement to finalizing a research paper; Providing simulations of real-world marketing cases related to various marketing issues to gain knowledge on how to cope with them; Evaluating and discussing business news and academic literature; Teaching to communicate various pieces of findings to different audiences, through various formats; Instructing how to provide feedback to peers or others; Fostering an enquiry-based approach to problem-solving; Inspiring self-assessment, self-reflection, and self-growth via scales, introspection exercises, diaries, and challenges  

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At the completion of this course, students will be able to: Knowledge and understanding Students will be able to demonstrate to have improved and deepened their level of knowledge and understanding about how to conduct a research project that aims at investigating and solving a problem. Applying knowledge and understanding Students will be able to apply their learning in a research project. Specifically, they will be able to identify and resolve problems within complex systems through problem identification, formation and testing of a hypothesis, and recommending solutions.  Making Judgements We expect students to be able to integrate knowledge about marketing phenomena and to manage the complexity of different approaches and perspectives involved in this field. Students are expected also to be able to discuss and evaluate key controversial issues in marketing including reflections on the social and ethical dimensions of such issues. Communication Skills This course will give students the ability to convey information and ideas effectively, using written, oral, visual, and graphical communication. Interpersonal and Project Management Skills Through teamwork activities (i.e., research projects), deadlines, and a continuous assessment approach, students will master collaboration, time management, and organization skills. Learning Skills At the end of this course, we expect students to be able to engage in self-directed learning by identifying and addressing their educational needs in a changing world, using independent study and research to tackle problems, especially ill-defined or open-ended ones

Given the unprecedented circumstances in which we are now living, each of the ten questions we have identified are considered also in the context of the global pandemic and especially of its aftermath. The pandemic brought on by Covid 19 has generated incredible change to the global economy that will likely have long term effects on consumer behavior, the marketplace, branding and communication strategies, market regulation and policy, global business and more. We are just beginning to see these effects and they offer many opportunities for new marketing practices and new marketing research. The combination of rigor and relevance characterized the answers to these ten questions. Moreover, each answer is based on the constant combination of the two relevant perspectives for marketers: consumer side and firm side. The course will be aimed at sharing and familiarizing – on each topic - with perspectives of the worlds of Thinkers (academics/science people and institutions), and Doers (Business experts, Company owners, Start-up founders). Activities’ design will be based on an active learning teaching mode. Students will be directly engaged and will participate to the topics both individually (with individual reflections and introspections) and collaboratively (with teamwork exercises). The course structure will provide a powerful balance between aided learning and support, and freedom of investigation. Learning sessions will be interactive in nature, fostering a learning by doing approach, growth mindset and enquirer attitude. Students will become responsible of their learning path and will participate to the co-production of study material. By applying a continuous assessment approach to evaluations, students will have different opportunities for feedback throughout the course.

The key textbooks for the course are: Data bases and open platforms for scientific material provided by Luiss (access remotely with proxy configuration) Weekly rich media contents (public resources): readings (papers, news articles to be discussed in class), playlist of audio/video material (podcasts, videos) Weekly original material provided by the Teaching Team: Personal Introspection tests (scales on different constructs, essays), Video interviews with practitioners and researchers, slides, research project guidelines, Individual Tests on Knowledge The study material will be organized as Asynchronous, Synchronous, Individual Study, and Research-Based Project material.

Mix synchronous and asynchronous Individual Study  Research-based Project Work

There is no final exam in this course. Instead, students’ effort will be evaluated throughout the semester, with a continuous assessment method. In details, students will be graded on the following activities: a)Individual reflection on the asynchronous activities (10 reflections/essays – max 500 words; mandatory each week or Personal Introspection tests) – 10% (individual) b)Two individual tests on the assigned readings; test will take place on week5 and week10 – 10% each test (individual) c)Weekly presentation on the news article analysis (10 presentations – max 2 slides; mandatory each week) – 20% (team based) d) Solving Business cases (6 activities; via quizzes of T/F statements) – 10% (individual) e)Research project – deadline end of January/beginning of February – 50% (team based). In combo with other courses of the semester.

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