Marketing education for sustainable development

Abstract

Purpose: Given the pressing global challenges underpinning the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, marketing managers can no longer focus only on purely economic outcomes but must simultaneously respond to social and environmental concerns. This requires the teaching of new competencies in marketing education, as also reflected in today’s accreditation requirements for business schools. Therefore, this paper aims to explore how current research into marketing education incorporates sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach: Through a bibliometric literature review – examining 71 publications using the bibliographic coupling method – the current research front in marketing education is analysed. Findings: This paper identifies seven trending topics in marketing education research that both highlight a currently prevalent sustainability gap in marketing education research and – when combined into a framework – help marketing education researchers and educators to address this gap. Originality/value: This paper extends the already established concept of education for sustainable development to include the concept of marketing education for sustainable development (MESD) for the first time. The MESD framework combines its raison d’être with guidance on how sustainable development should be taught and what the learning objectives should be for future marketing managers.