Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook
This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.

Postgraduate Handbook 2019-2020 (archived)

Module BUSI4H015: Marketing Theory

Department: Management and Marketing

BUSI4H015: Marketing Theory

TypeLevelCreditsAvailabilityModule CapLocation
Tied 4 15 Available in 2019/2020 None. Durham

Tied To

Pre-requisites

  • None

Corequisites

  • None

Excluded Combinations

  • None

Aims

  • To develop a critical understanding of marketing theory and practice, focusing specifically on key debates and cutting-edge knowledge that challenge conventional accounts of marketing theory and practice. The theoretical, managerial, social, economic, and political dimensions of marketing are considered, in order to illuminate how marketing thought and practice have developed: the role of marketing within markets, organisations, and society: and assumptions underpinning marketing thinking.

Content

  • The Development of Marketing Theory and Thought Origins and Eras
  • Paradigms and Turns of Marketing Theory
  • Consumer Society and Conceptualising the Consumer
  • Marketing as Exchange: Transactions, Relationships, Co-Creation or Seduction?
  • B2B Marketing: Relationships and Networks
  • Operative Enterprises and the Marketplace
  • Marketing in Non-Western Contexts.
  • Market Research
  • Retail in a Digital World
  • Marketing and Society: Alternative Markets and the Future of Marketing

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge
  • By the end of the module students will have:
  • a critical understanding of the history and development of marketing theory
  • a comprehensive knowledge of the assumptions underpinning marketing theory;
  • an advanced understanding of alternative accounts of the role of marketing in markets, organisations, and society;
  • an appreciation of the reciprocal relationship between marketing and technology, and marketing and culture;
  • a critical understanding of the debates surrounding ethical, responsible, and sustainable marketing practice.
Subject-specific Skills
  • By the end of the module students should have the:
  • ability to critically evaluate marketing theory;
  • ability to understand and apply different perspectives and approaches to marketing;
  • ability to debate the underlying assumptions that constitute the various paradigms in marketing theory;
  • ability to understand and evaluate the relationship between marketing theory and practice.
Key Skills
  • critical thinking in evaluating marketing theory and practice
  • creative and adaptable problem solving and analytical skills
  • effective written communication skills
  • self-reflection and self-awareness in research and practice

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

  • The module will be taught in a combination of weekly 2 hour lectures and fortnightly 1 hour seminars, to allow a greater level of engagement with students and to enable a flexibility of approach as appropriate. Both lectures and seminars will comprise a balanced mix of lecture-type teaching, group work, case studies, and discussions, to enable the learning outcomes to be met.
  • The summative assessment, by individual exam, is designed to test students’ acquisition of subject specific knowledge and understanding of the range of subject matter that has been introduced during the module.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

ActivityNumberFrequencyDurationTotal HoursAttendance Monitored
Lectures 10 1 per week 2 hours 20
Seminars 4 Fortnightly 1 hour 4 Yes
Preparation and Reading 126
Total 150

Summative Assessment

ComponentComponent WeightingElementLength/DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Examination 100% Examination 3 hours 100% Same

Formative Assessment

Group presentation in seminars. Students will receive both written and verbal feedback on their presentations. In addition seminar exercises will be used to give students an opportunity to explore, discuss, critique and apply the key aspects of marketing theory and practice. Participation in seminar elements provides an opportunity for formative feedback throughout the module. Verbal formative feedback will be given to the students throughout the seminar exercises. The aim of the formative assessment is to begin to understand the application of the material, to consolidate knowledge, and further develop relevant skills for academic work.


Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.