TUESDAY JULY 7TH

RAE 2008 MARKETING RESULTS: DEBRIEF OR DEBAG

John Saunders and Caroline Tynan

“World-class” research in marketing emanating from the UK has improved remarkably between RAE 2001 and RAE 2008.  A commentary on academic research in marketing after RAE 2001 recorded that “the rate of publication in international journals is rising” but “not necessarily in the top tier journals (where the publication rate of UK researchers has changed little over recent decades).” The first decade of the twenty first century has witnessed a remarkable surge in both the quantity and quality of UK based marketing scholars’ contribution to the marketing debate according to the number of papers rated as international standing in the RAE. While concentrations of marketing research excellence are evident, world-class or internationally excellent research is being conducted by many other institutions. So, the general surge in output rates as international standing across all academic disciplines between RAE 2001 and RAE 2008 is a resounding affirmation of the Government’s investment in university research.  Or is it?

Examination of the RAE outputs indicates the impact of substantial game playing and suggests that they may provide an overly positive indication of Britain’s academic growth.  An analysis Britain’s share of the output in the world’s leading marketing journals show academics affiliated to British institutions have maintained their share of output, although their world ranking has dropped as the productivity of other countries has grown.  They also demonstrate the contribution of UK trained marketing academics to the top marketing journals collapsing over the last three decades.

We contrast the trend and composition of RAE rated output with that measured internationally.  The difference is related to “academic development process” in the UK compared with US.  A parallel is drawn with UK academic marketing and the Premier League whose international excellence depends on buying in expensive stars from overseas rather than investing in growing their own talent.        

John Saunders

John Saunders is Professor of Marketing at Aston Business School, England, and Distinguished Professor at AUDENCIA Grade École Nantes, France.  His major research interests are evolutionary marketing, sustainable marketing and the future of marketing.

His contributions to the academic community include the editorship of International Journal of Research in Marketing, President of the European Marketing Academy and Dean of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (FCIM), the British Academy of Management (FBAM), the European Marketing Academy (FEMAC), Freeman of the City of London and Member of the Worshipful Company of Marketors.

John was Deputy Chair of the Business and Management Panel of Britain’s Research Evaluation Exercises in 2001 and 2008.  He also twice served on the Economics and Business Science research review committee for Quality Assurance Netherlands Universities and as an international advisor for the New Zealand research evaluation exercise.  He has chaired and been a member of numerous QAA, AACSB International and EQUIS panels.  His consultancy assignments have included The Singapore Government, The Asian Development Bank, Nestle, Rolls-Royce, Unilever and Ford and several business schools and universities.

Caroline Tynan

Caroline Tynan is Professor of Marketing at Nottingham University Business School; Vice President of the Academy of Marketing, a Trustee, Fellow and Dean of the Academic Senate of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. She is a Chartered Marketer, Member of the ESRC Research College, and a Visiting Professor of Marketing at The University of Ljubljana in Slovenia.

She also served on the Sub-Panel 36 for Business and Management Studies for the Research Assessment Exercise 2008 to represent marketing. She is a member of the editorial boards of the European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Consumer Behaviour and Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal. She has published in a number of journals including the Journal of Business Research, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Management and Journal of Strategic Marketing. Her research interests include relationship marketing, consumption meanings and managerial marketing practice.