The Marketing Science Institute (MSI) is co-sponsoring a unique doctoral seminar on “Better Marketing for a Better World” (BMBW) during the January-April 2027 semester. This seminar has been initiated by the faculty associated with the BMBW initiative that began as the Special Issue of the Journal of Marketing focused on this topic and continued and expanded over time.
Many marketing scholars agree that marketing has the power to improve lives, sustain livelihoods, strengthen societies, and benefit the world at large. However, many universities do not offer doctoral seminars on how marketing can contribute to the world beyond sales and profits. Consequently, students interested in BMBW topics are deprived of systematic exposure to the subject matter.
The purpose of this online seminar is to help such students gain exposure not only to the subject but also to leading academics in the area from around the world. A unique feature of the seminar is the wide variety of methods, theories, and disciplinary approaches the faculty leaders use to study BMBW questions. The current list of faculty leaders can be found HERE.
Topics will include sustainability and climate challenges, health and well-being, financial education and decision making, poverty, inclusion and empowerment, crime and violence, misinformation and polarization, coping with macro/micro economic forces, meaning and purpose, better services for a better world, and the better-world challenges around the use of AI in marketing.
This semester-long seminar will operate as a traditional doctoral seminar in which participants discuss, debate, and extend key papers associated with BMBW. It will be especially useful for high-potential doctoral students interested in BMBW but lacking formal exposure to such research at their schools.
The seminar consists of 15 sessions of 180 minutes each, meeting weekly between January 8 and April 23 on Fridays at 10:00 am US Eastern time.
The seminar will be limited to 20-25 students. Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee comprising BMBW leaders Rajesh Chandy (London Business School), Pradeep Chintagunta (University of Chicago), Gita Johar (Columbia University), and Christine Moorman (Duke University).
Students should have completed at least one full year of course work and should have an interest in BMBW topics and ideas. The application requires a description of those interests and a short recommendation from a faculty member at the student’s school.
There is a course fee of US $400 total, with the option to apply for a scholarship. The fee is due only after admission decisions have been made. A separate invoice and payment link will be sent upon acceptance to the course. If a student qualifies and is selected for the seminar but is unable to pay, seminar leaders will seek alternative funding sources to support the student.
Applications can be submitted HERE and are due by November 1, 2026. Acceptance decisions will be announced by email to the applicants by November 13, 2026.
Grades and Performance Evaluation: Student performance in this seminar will not be graded, and no official grade will be issued. A completion certificate will be provided at the end of the term based on attendance, completion of session preparation, and engagement during the session. Students may, however, explore the possibility of obtaining credit for Independent Study with a professor at their home institution, based on participation in the seminar along with any additional work that may be specified by the home-institution professor.
For more information on the seminar, please contact Christine Moorman at moorman@duke.edu. Please email research@msi.org with any questions regarding the application process.