(Last edited: 26 November 2009.)

MKTG 670: MARKETING THEORY

COURSE SYLLABUS
Spring 2010

Instructor: Dr. Michael R. Hyman, Stan Fulton Chair of Marketing

Office Hours: By appointment.

INSTRUCTOR EXPECTATIONS

The instructor expects students to:

• read and understand much of the theory literature in marketing;
• read and understand some of the classic philosophy of science literature;
• read and understand some of the theory literature in the other social sciences;
• begin to develop more rigor in their thinking about scientific theories; and
• begin to develop a personal philosophy of science.

COURSE MATERIALS

BOOKS:

• Hunt, Shelby D. (2002), Foundations of Marketing Theory: Toward a General Theory of Marketing. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe
• Hunt, Shelby D. (2003), Controversy in Marketing Theory: For Reason, Realism, Truth, and Objectivity. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe..
• Sheth, Jagdish N., David M. Gardner, and Dennis E. Garrett (1988), Marketing Theory: Evolution and Evaluation. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons.
• Poundstone, William (1988), Labyrinths of Reason: Paradox, Puzzles, and the Frailty of Knowledge. New York, NY: Anchor Books.

READINGS: PDF ARTICLES LINKED TO READING LIST

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

The instructor calculates your grade as follows (relative weights appear in parentheses):

• the equivalent of '16/n' in-class presentations on assigned readings, where 'n' equals the number of students enrolled in the class (see course readings list for these readings) (55%) (probably 45% for solo presentation and 15% for group presentation);
• a theory-oriented term paper (35%); and
• participation in and general preparedness for class discussions or in-class presentations by other students (10%).

IN-CLASS PRESENTATIONS

Your grade for each in-class presentation of assigned readings is based on the following:

• the quality of the classroom experience for the other students; and
• any handouts that organize, summarize, and synthesize the readings and study questions (see study question set).

Presenters are responsible for:

• summarizing all the readings for that week; and
• selecting the subset of readings to be discussed in class (at least one week before the presentation).

TERM PAPER

Your term paper must focus on one of the following:

• propose an improved definition of a key marketing term;
• debunk a currently accepted marketing theory;
• propose a new marketing theory; and
• the psychology or sociology of knowledge acquisition in marketing.

The instructor will schedule several (roughly five) meetings with you throughout the semester (at roughly three-week intervals) to discuss the paper and monitor your progress.

COURSE SCHEDULE