Chair International Marketing
Chair ofInternational Marketing
Marketing is facing major challenges in times of the climate crisis. Growth and consumption generally contribute significantly to the climate crisis, and marketing in turn promotes growth and consumption, at least according to traditional understanding. The traditional role of marketing is also being criticized in the context of ethical and political debates surrounding surveillance capitalism, which involves the imperative to collect data for the purpose of exploiting and modifying consumer needs. It is therefore urgently necessary to fundamentally rethink the role of marketing. We would like to take part in this important debate: Our teaching and research projects should increasingly contribute to an understanding of marketing that is geared towards sustainability goals. On the one hand, we examine the consumer side and answer questions such as the reasons that make such a transition to more sustainable behavior so difficult. On the other hand, we look at measures that companies can use to encourage consumers to adopt more sustainable behavior. Interestingly, price-related decisions in particular can play a role here. We regularly integrate our research findings into our courses so that students can engage with them critically. Our main goal is to provide students and thus the decision-makers of tomorrow with sustainable and sustainability-oriented inspiration.
- Prof. Dr. Robert Wilken
The team
Teaching
We offer the following courses:
Bachelor in
Management (BSc)
- Human Behaviour (elective)
- International Management (elective)
- The Art of Selling (elective)
Master in
Management
- Data-driven Marketing (core course)
- Pricing (part of specialization "Selling to Customers")
SALES 4.0
MSc in International Sales Management
- Pricing (core course)
- Selling and Negotiations (core course)
Research
Research approach
According to Backhaus, we define marketing as the “management of comparative competitive advantages”. In our research projects, we look at both the company’s and the consumer’s perspectives. We analyse marketing-related problems in a manner that is theoretically sound and allows for empirical investigation. Recent research projects have adopted a behavioural perspective, emphasizing psychological foundations to understand human actions (e.g., consumers’ responses to marketing stimuli; sales people in business negotiations). Issues relating to the transition to sustainability are increasingly taking center stage.
Most of our projects seek to empirically test hypotheses and are hence quantitative in nature. Our goal is to provide companies with decision support that is scientifically substantiated, and to significantly contribute to the field of marketing research.
Research topics
Sustainable Consumption
Consumers often still find it difficult to make sustainable purchasing decisions. We are investigating potential reasons for this. We are also interested in understanding how and on the basis of which measures companies motivate consumers to adopt more sustainable purchasing behavior. Ultimately, the aim is to ensure that positive attitudes towards sustainable products are also reflected in such (purchasing) decisions.
Pricing
Excessively high prices often deter consumers from buying products or services, even if they correspond to their values. This is particularly the case when a consumer has to choose between a sustainable and a conventional product. Interestingly, price-related tactics can lead consumers to accept a higher price. Our recent research projects are interested precisely in this benefit communication through price-setting.
Business negotiations
On business markets, a negotiation is the most prominent way to handle transactions. We analyse contextual factors (in particular, those that relate to intercultural settings) and strategies that create favorable negotiation outcomes and hence offer support for improving sales productivity.
Quantitative methods
This research topic is about improving extant (mathematical, statistical) instruments to analyse marketing-related decision problems. We are particularly interested in contributing to willingness-to-pay (WTP) elicitation. Another field relates to the application of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to industrial services.
Publications
Find an overview
Academic Articles
2024
Does recalling energy efficiency measures reduce subsequent climate-friendly behavior? An experimental study of moral licensing rebound effects
ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS, vol. 217, 108051
Academic Articles
2024
Does the presentation of true costs at the point of purchase nudge consumers toward sustainable product options?
MARKETING LETTERS
Academic Articles
2024
The language barrier as a springboard towards (team) creativity: An exploratory study of foreign language use in teams
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS REVIEW, 33(2), 102247
Academic Articles
2023
Implications of Foreign Language Use for Creative Self-Evaluation Bias and Creative Performance
MANAGEMENT REVUE, 34(3), 219-248
Chapters
2023
Reflections on Frank Jacob’s Contributions to the Literature on Intercultural Business Negotiations
In: Serving the Customer: The Role of Selling and Sales, Aichner, Thomas Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden
Academic Articles
2022
Why change does (not) happen: Understanding and overcoming status quo biases in climate change mitigation
ZEITSCHRIFT FUR UMWELTPOLITIK UND UMWELTRECHT, 2022(1), 100-134
Academic Articles
2022
Should retailers encourage couples to shop together?
JOURNAL OF RETAILING AND CONSUMER SERVICES, 69 (November), 1-16
Academic Articles
2022
Increasing Consumers’ Purchase Intentions Toward Fair‑Trade Products Through Partitioned Pricing
JOURNAL OF BUSINESS ETHICS, 181 (4), 1015-1040
Chapters
2022
A Behavioral Approach to Pricing in Commodity Markets: Dual Processing of Prices within and around Willingness-to-Pay Ranges
In: Commodity Marketing: Strategies, Concepts, and Cases., Enke, M., Geigenmüller, A., & Leischnig, A. Springer, 105-117
Academic Articles
2021
Country Image at Risk: Spillover Effects of Product-Harm Crises and the Role of Trust
JOURNAL OF GLOBAL MARKETING, 34 (2), 73-89
Team and contact
Kejiang Chen
