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In this paper we (a pracademic, a practitioner, and an academic) aim to explore the academic/practitioner gap in social marketing and offer recommendations to close it, while amplifying existing examples of best practice from within the field. We also propose a research agenda to spur dialog and guide further investigations in this area. Insights from prior research, coupled with the co-authors’ experience and observations, indicate that a disconnect does exist between academia and practice within social marketing, though it is admittedly and unsurprisingly not uniform across contexts and disciplinary areas. Given social marketing’s identity as a practice-oriented field, there are many existing examples of academic/practitioner collaboration and the successful linkage of theory and practice that deserve to be amplified. However, the challenges associated with the very different systems and structures affecting both worlds mean the disconnect is problematic enough to warrant systematic change to ensure the two worlds are more aligned.

This paper (a pracademic, a practitioner and an academic) explores the academic/practitioner gap in social marketing and offer recommendations to close it, while amplifying existing examples of best practice from within the field. The authors also propose a research agenda to spur dialog and guide further investigations in this area.

The authors suggest five key reasons that focus should be placed upon closing the academic/practitioner gap in social marketing: demonstrating societal value by contributing to practice; embedding and developing theories in practice; adding to the social marketing literature; contributing to social marketing teaching; and communicating the value and effectiveness of social marketing. To close the gap, the authors propose specific recommendations within four broad areas: marketing the academia and practitioner collaboration offer; building ongoing relationships; creating collaborative partnerships; and changing the publishing model ensuring communications are accessible to all. They also suggest ways for social marketing associations and peak bodies to play a role.

The concept of a disconnect between academia and practice is by no means new; it has been a pervasive issue across disciplines for decades. However, this issue has not been the subject of much discussion within the social marketing literature. Recommendations outlined in this paper serve as a starting point for discussion. The authors also acknowledge that due to long standing “bright spots” in the field, numerous examples currently exist. They place an emphasis upon highlighting these examples while illuminating a path forward.

This study aims to expose the challenges associated with theory development and its implementation, as it relates to services marketing and hospitality management. The author summarizes the literature, creates a conceptual model and proposes directions to bridge the theory–practice divide.

The author synthesizes and extends the literatures of services marketing, general marketing and hospitality management through a systematic literature review. A conceptual model is created to illustrate the challenges related to theory development and implementation.

Four types of theory challenges and three contemporary practical challenges are presented. The challenges for theory development include a communications gap, difficulties in applying universal theories into idiosyncratic organizations, researchers disconnected from practice and practitioners disconnected from research. Contemporary practical concerns include: human resource constraints, customer behavior and misbehavior and the organizational and business environment.

Managers can bring contemporary business challenges to the forefront by collaborating and writing with scholars. Similarly, keeping abreast of the latest advances in customer service, applying best practices in human resource management, educating and cocreating with customers are among several recommendations proposed to managers and marketers. Internal and external scanning can assure that managers engage in efforts to reduce barriers to implementation and improve services in their organizations.

Despite the decades-long study of customer service, organizations still struggle to deliver exceptional service. This study informs scholars on developing and communicating theories and managers on how to better access and interpret the latest research. In order for research to be successfully generated and implemented, scholars can engage in efforts aimed at joint (researchers and managers) idea generation, publication in multiple outlets, sampling that resembles real life, adoption of contingency theories and reconsidering journal editorial and institutional policies.

The academic–practitioner gap has been a widely discussed and well-established issue. Despite numerous studies conducted in this area, empirical evidence reveals that the gap is widening and also emphasizes the exigency to bridge this gap. Hence, the purpose of this study is to propose an acceptable solution that will fill this lacuna.

The study adopts the qualitative research methodology and was based on the system theory (ST) and the institutional theory (IT). Interviews, based on a semi-structured questionnaire, were conducted, focusing on three categories, namely individuals with solely academic experience, individuals with both academic and industrial exposure and business leaders. The unit of analysis was the individual.

The study, which unearthed some rich and challenging evidence from the respondents, reveals that gaining industrial exposure and working on continuous professional development are vital for academics to narrow or even close this gap. In addition, serving as apex members at board level or in professional bodies, serving global organizations as lead consultants and working on research collaborations are other important dimensions for academics.

This study introduces an emerging model named the “Pentagon Model” and develops a corporate index (C-index) for academics to earn, similar to the h-index. The study also explains the operationalization of the C-index based on the proposed algorithm. Hence, it is the envisaged that this study will change the landscape of the academic sphere in practical terms.

This study was carried out with the sole intention of bridging the gap between academics and practitioners. The proposed model and the index, which were developed by the author purely based on the outcome of this study, pave the way for many future research studies, not only to further improve the C-index but also to minimize disparities in transdisciplinary work between academics and practitioners.

The conceptual foundations of performance measurement and management (PMM) are predominantly rooted in control systems research. However, the appropriateness of this paradigm for volatile and uncertain environments has been questioned. This paper explores whether grounding PMM in social systems theory and viewing uncertainty from an organisational behaviour perspective provides new insights into the PMM theory–practice gap.

A framework, rooted in social systems theory and practice theory, is created that describes how organisational behaviour shapes the social processes associated with organisational change. Semi-structured interviews of 35 people from 16 organisations coupled with thematic analysis are employed to identify the organisational behavioural characteristics that influence how PMM is executed in practice. PMM is then reconceptualised from the perspective of this social systems-based framework.

This investigation proposes (1) performance management is concerned with elements of PMM-related practices open to flexible interpretation by human agents that change the effectiveness of organisational practices, whereas performance measurement is concerned with elements of PMM-related practices not open to interpretation but deliberately reproduced to provide a consistent comparison with the past; (2) the purpose of PMM should be to achieve organisational effectiveness (OE) and (3) the mechanisms underlying performance management and performance measurement are social intervention and embeddedness, respectively.

This first social systems perspective of PMM advances the development of PMM's theoretical foundations by providing a behaviour-based interpretation of, and framework for, PMM-mediated organisational change. This competing approach has strong links to practice.

Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is possibly “the richest and most accessible service-learning experience” in the marketing curriculum (Petkus, 2000, p. 68). Yet, despite this recognition, scholars and practitioners continue to lament the pronounced theory-practice gap between how IMC is taught and the practice of it in industry (Schultz and Patti, 2009; Kerr and Kelly, 2017). This research embeds IMC practice within a classroom setting and subsequently explores student marketers' perceptions of their skill development through experiential client-based learning.

An in-depth qualitative study demonstrates the value of integrating experiential learning within an IMC course, captured through students' reflective practice.

Evidence suggests that experiential, client-based projects are suitable for fostering key practice-based skills in the classroom through students “experiencing” IMC at work. However, this is not always easy. In fact, building key skills such as leadership, motivation, communications, organisation and teamwork presents various challenges for students, whilst students appear unaware of other pertinent skills (e.g. persuasion, critical thinking) gained through exposure to “real-world” IMC tasks.

Instructors adopting experiential learning in the marketing classroom have an opportunity to actively design tasks to embed key workplace skills to bridge the theory-practice gap. Client-based projects offer fertile ground for students to experience marketing in action whilst ultimately bolstering their confidence in their workplace skills.

This research contributes to the marketing education literature and acknowledges the importance of embedding key workplace skills into the contemporary marketing curriculum. An overview of challenges and solutions for instructors seeking to adopt experiential learning via client-based projects in the IMC classroom is presented within this research.

This study aims to explore what characteristics contribute to the definition of relevance in business-to-business (B2B) marketing research and how/why different strands of B2B marketing maintain or lose their relevance.

This study is conceptual. It adopts a performative-phenomenal standpoint for B2B marketing research and approaches relevance through the concept of episteme, which is considered pivotal for understanding this phenomenon.

This study proposes four axioms that define the characteristics of relevance in B2B marketing research and discusses their implications for scholars and practitioners. Consequently, an action plan for revitalizing B2B marketing research is developed, comprising learning and temporal dimensions, resulting in nine different relevance types.

The central argument put forward in this study is that different research strands of B2B marketing have deeply rooted epistemic underpinnings that influence their interpretation of relevance. Consequently, fostering dialogue between practitioners and scholars is considered necessary to sustain relevance in B2B marketing research. B2B scholars are urged to think beyond their subspecialized silos and acknowledge how the business environment and the various strands of B2B marketing congruently shape B2B marketing relevance, while also embracing research methods that bring them closer to business practice.

Marketing practitioners and academics continue to drift apart. This study puts forward three recommendations to bring marketing academics and practitioners closer together.

The study contributes to the B2B marketing literature by grappling with the theory-praxis gap and critically exploring what constitutes relevance in B2B marketing research.

Through critically reflecting on existing research on information and communication technology (ICT) in hospitality, the purpose of this study is to propose recommendations for future research to further narrow the theory-practice gap.

Personal experiences along with evidence from the literature provide a foundation for discussion, which is further enriched by integrating industry practitioners’ points of view.

Single-perspective and technology adoption studies have dominated ICT research in the hospitality literature. Technology effectiveness has often been measured indirectly. Oversimplifying technological issues has limited the generalizability of research findings.

Future studies are suggested to go beyond examining technology adoption, embrace multi-perspective approaches and incorporate a wider range of situational and contextual factors.

Through a unique perspective, this study highlights the limitations of previous ICT research in the hospitality literature and provides suggestions for future research to better meet the needs of practitioners. The arguments presented are not purely from an academic standpoint, as they have been endorsed by senior industry executives.

Drawing on institutional theory, this study aims to analyse the regulation of executive remuneration as espoused in the United Kingdom (UK) codified corporate governance principles, focussing on sources of advice to decision-makers, the nature of the advice sought and given, and interaction of those involved in the process.

A qualitative research design was used. Data were assembled from interviewing non-executive board/remuneration committee members; institutional investors; external remuneration consultants and internal human resources (HR)/reward specialists. Results were analysed in accordance with the Gioia technique.

Tensions inherent in the interpretation of corporate governance codes are illustrated. Emphasis on independent advice combined with constraints on decision-makers' capacity to navigate the nuances of a complex field and reputational concerns risks standardised instead of bespoke remuneration approaches aligned with corporate contexts.

There is a role for internal HR advisors to add value through their potential to reduce the gap within remuneration committees between institutional contexts and independent decision-making, facilitating more strategic human resource management inspired executive remuneration.

Application of institutional theory indicates the relevance of balancing external with internal sources to secure advice that is horizontally and vertically aligned within an organisation to meet the letter and spirit of corporate governance norms. Extending the explanatory power of institutional theory, care is needed though not to overlook the normative underpinnings of professional advisors' own value sets.

This research offered a systematic and comprehensive literature review in analysing current studies on employee ecological behaviour (EEB) strategies and settings to determine various emphasised workplace ecological behaviour areas and contribute a precise mapping for future research.

This systematic literature review method involved 106 peer-reviewed articles published in reputable academic journals (between 2000 and the first quarter of 2021). This study was confined to a review of empirical papers derived from digital databases encompassing the terms ‘Employee green behaviour’, ‘Green behaviour at workplace’, ‘Employee ecological behaviour’, ‘Employee Pro-environmental behaviour’ and ‘Pro-environmental behaviour at workplace’ in the titles.

This study identified relevant journal articles (classified as EEB at work) from the current body of knowledge. Notably, much emphasis was identified on EEB over the past two decades. Overall, most studies employing quantitative approaches in both developed and emerging nations. Notably, ecological behaviour application garnered the most significant attention from scholars among the four focus areas in the literature review: (i) EEB concepts, models, or reviews, (ii) EEB application, (iii) EEB determinants and (iv) EEB outcomes.

Significant literature gaps indicate this field to be a relatively novel phenomenon. Thus, rigorous research on the topic proves necessary to develop a holistic understanding of the subject area.

This study expands the current body of knowledge by providing the first comprehensive systematic review on EEB themes, methods, applications, determinants, contextual focus, outcomes and recommending future research agenda.