Current status and future direction: views from global thought leaders

Citation

Svensson, G. (2006), "Current status and future direction: views from global thought leaders", European Business Review, Vol. 18 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebr.2006.05418daa.001

Current status and future direction: views from global thought leaders

This special issue – number 1 of a series – includes articles from an exclusive group of “global thought leaders” by personal invitation from the editor. This selected group consists of academics that have had a lifetime of experience and collected perceptions in their field of expertise.

The contributors are distinguished and well-known members of academia. The purpose of this special issue series is to document and share parts of their accumulated lifetime knowledge. Their insights and reflections are valuable to the research community worldwide. It should also be of great importance to business. The special issue series will provide a unique source of their thoughts of the past, the present and their beliefs about the future.

The views of these global thought leaders are published in an unbiased manner, because their thoughts are based upon their long-term expertise. I am convinced that their expertise is indisputable and it does not need to be blind reviewed! Furthermore, their thoughts might inspire current and forthcoming generations in academia and business to unprecedented achievements in research and practice. So, this special issue consists of a selection of distinguished contributions as follows:

The first article is authored by Professor Adel El-Ansary of University of North Florida, USA. He shares his thoughts in the field of marketing strategy. He provides challenging and appealing taxonomy and frameworks.

The second article is authored by Professor Stanley J Shapiro of Simon Fraser University, Canada. He shares his thoughts in the field of macromarketing. He provides an insightful and interesting review of the origins, development, current status and possible future direction in macromarketing.

The third article is co-authored by Professor Naresh Malhotra of Georgia Institute of Technology, Professor Mark Peterson of University of Texas at Arlington, and Professor Can Uslay of Chapman University, USA. They share their thoughts in the field of marketing research. They provide an assessment and prescription to help marketing research earn a seat at the table for decision making.

The last article of this special issue is authored by Professor Stephen Brown of University of Ulster, Northern Ireland. He shares his thoughts on the secrets of the marketing code. He unlocks amusingly the secrets of Dan Brown’s Success – the Da Vinci Code.

I truly wish that you – the reader of European Business Review – will find the four contributions of this special issue of great intellectual interest and stimulation. I also believe that both scholars and practitioners will find them valuable, because they are based upon thorough expertise and deep insights communicated by highly knowledgeable and well-known professors in academia. In fact, their articles may be used for teaching purposes in higher education and doctoral programs, as well as at higher research seminars in academia.

The next special issue (i.e. number 2!) on views from global thought leaders will appear in European Business Review in mid 2007, including another collection of refreshing, thought-provoking and challenging articles from distinguished professors in academia worldwide.

So keep an eye out for this special issue series and the other ones that will appear in European Business Review during 2006/2007 and onward. For example, other forthcoming special issues in progress are on academic publishing and academic journals, reviews of business disciplines, pioneers in business education and Wroe Alderson’s intellectual legacy.

Welcome to the thought-provoking and challenging world of European Business Review!

Göran Svensson