The influence of experts via advise: Using an advisory board to guide students in marketing management

Abstract

Purpose of the Study: To present a strategy for developing and maintaining an advisory board of executives to guide the content and activities of a capstone Marketing Management course; to assess the effectiveness of a course-level advisory board as compared to a traditional textbook approach. Method Design and Sample: Six sections of senior-level marketing students participated in the study. Paired sample t-tests were used to compare the advisory board approach with a traditional textbook classroom. Results: The advisory board approach was evaluated significantly more favorably than the traditional textbook approach across all four categories: pedagogical affect, value of the course content, impact of the course on the student, and willingness to recommend. Value to Marketing Educators: This study can be used as a guide for marketing faculty seeking a meaningful way to connect students and executives. Advisory board members help guide the topics to be covered, readings assigned, weekly projects, a semester-long group project, and other mentoring/teaching activities. A six-step process for designing and implementing a course-level advisory board is presented: Acquire, Develop, Vison, Incubate, Scale, Embed.