The role of university research centers in promoting research

Excerpt

As businesses evolve, our understanding of them also continues to evolve. A key factor for this evolving understanding has been the impact of ongoing meaningful research. The significant evidence-based knowledge created through academic research in marketing and related fields has clearly demonstrated to organizations valuable insights for managing their businesses. Research has demonstrated that managing based on legacy approaches, intuition, or organizational snapshots imposes costs and substantial risks on the organization. As a result, evidence-based knowledge creation, the forte of academic scholars at universities worldwide, continues to be essential. This focus on university research has spurred the creation of research centers, with many dedicated to specialty areas of attention. I have been fortunate to have led two major research centers over the last two decades, and hence I gladly accepted the invitation to write about the purpose, benefits, and the functioning of research centers. I outline my experience with setting up and managing research Centers as a case study to aid others in this ever increasing popular addition to marketing departments. …