Where the ‘Author-as-Tutor’ and ‘Sustainable Marketing’ phenomena collide: A case study investigating the efficacy of a sustainable marketing textbook apropos teaching (in a business school) and praxis

This research investigated the intersection of phenomena, namely the ‘Author-as-Tutor’ (AaT) and teaching of ‘Sustainable Marketing’ (SM) in a business school. Academics rarely use their own (or their colleague’s) textbook in the classroom. The AaT phenomena has very little research published. SM is a nascent area of research, however as more business schools acquire AACSB or PRME accreditation, it is likely to grow. This case study provides insights into the efficacy of an SM text by evaluating the attitudes of students’ and recent graduates. The outcomes are genuinely insightful however, as with all research, this highly focused piece has constraints. Like other studies, this research was undertaken at a single University, with circa 5000 Business School students of whom 100 undergraduates (UG) per annum study purely marketing courses. Since 2008, all marketing UGs therein have been taught the principles of sustainability. This is a component in adopting an Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) platform where sustainability is increasingly included in the curriculum.
The sample population features circa 700 marketing students, graduating between 2015 up to 2023. Circa 9.4% of the population, completed the questionnaire offering insights into the textbook’s effectiveness whilst studying and/or having recently graduated. The statistical analysis includes standard deviations, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and variance analysis (ANOVA).
This paper provides evidence-based insights into the overlap of the aforementioned phenomena. The text’s ecological and ethical foci demonstrated high correlations, supporting those who advocate ESD where education fosters the next generations’ understanding of sustainability; interestingly the ethical aspect scored the highest correlation, whereas the sustainability literature is often criticised for being biased towards ecological studies. The AaT aspect was well received, and Marketing academics should be encouraged to write books, incorporating sustainability when discussing generic marketing concepts including (inter alia) consumer behaviour, communications or planning.