Marketing: theory and practice
IfM-HSG: Meeting all requirements
Last year, the Institute of Marketing at the University of St.Gallen (IfM-HSG) celebrated its 50th anniversary. Founded in 1957 at the Institute of Business Administration as the "Research Center for Commerce" (FfH), the department later became independent and was given its current name in 2007. Since 2016, the management of the Institute of Marketing has consisted of Prof. Dr. Christian Belz, Prof. Dr. Sven Reinecke and Prof. Dr. Marcus Schögel. The IfM-HSG focuses on scientifically sound and reality-oriented marketing, as the institute states. The starting point for research is relevant problems or challenges in the reality of marketing. As a hub, the institute aims to unite functions, markets and disciplines of market-oriented and market-driven corporate management. "We strive to combine learning processes from science and practice. Our projects and training courses are characterized by an integrative approach," explains a spokesperson for the institute. We work closely with best-practice companies: The aim is to jointly develop the expertise and solutions of customers and partners and to increase the success of their ventures. The institute positions itself as inquisitive, forward-looking and forward-thinking - it always strives to make real progress in terms of knowledge, and its employees are interested in content, particularly in marketing issues relevant to management. A pronounced personal interest and high motivation are decisive criteria for the selection of topics. The appropriate research methods and combinations are applied according to the situation. Methodological expertise is important, but not an end in itself. "Our institute is run as an entrepreneur - projects should be productive and commercially successful or have an impact in the respective markets," says the spokesperson.
Strategic marketing
The IfM-HSG summarizes various key topics under the "core competence of strategic marketing". Several researchers have been working on these topics for a long time, continuously developing them further, taking new findings into account and differentiating them according to different marketing constellations.11 lecturers are employed at the IfM-HSG. Each year, it trains around 150 managers on various current marketing and sales topics in non-professional continuing education programs. The continuing education programs range from intensive seminars to certificate courses (CAS) and diplomas (DAS) in the fields of marketing, communication, purchasing and sales.HSG's business model differs from that of traditional state universities. As Prof. Dr. Sven Reinecke explains to "marketing.ch", the Institute of Marketing is 80 percent financed by funds from the economy through offers such as continuing education, consortium programs and innovative research projects. The combination of companies, alumni, students and lecturers in teaching, continuing education and research is constantly leading to new initiatives.
University of Basel: Professorship for Marketing
However, not all Swiss universities have an institute for marketing: at the University of Basel, for example, there is a professorship for marketing at the Faculty of Business and Economics. Prof. Dr. Miguel Brendl has held this position since August 2018. His research at the interface between marketing and psychology focuses on the question of how people develop preferences for certain objects. He investigates how goals and automatic processes influence decisions, with a particular focus on motivational and emotional influences, and employs various guest lecturers in addition to three permanent lecturers. At 250 to 380 people, the number of participants in the Bachelor's degree course is high compared to other courses; in recent years, around 10 percent of students have graduated with a specialization in "Marketing and Strategic Management".
Postgraduate course in Marketing Management
The postgraduate course MAS in Marketing, Management and Business Development will also start in Basel on August 14, 2018. The three-semester, part-time course at the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics enables students to work full-time. The MAS is intended to provide participants with a good basis for fulfilling demanding tasks in national and international market development and processing. The course is also aimed at people who are responsible for tasks such as branding, product management, communication, sales or digital marketing in companies. The tuition fee is CHF 26,800.
Personal responsibility of the students
The examples described show: There are certainly Swiss universities that combine excellent marketing research with practical applicability. However, it is up to those interested in training or further education to find out about the respective focus of the lecturers. These have a significant impact on the study experience. Only those who take care of this important information in advance will not experience any unpleasant surprises afterwards.
