Marketing Science Institute

In 1961, Scott Paper Company President Thomas B. McCabe founded the “Institute for Science in Marketing” with input from leading thinkers John Howard, Albert Wesley Frey, and Wroe Alderson. Twenty-nine companies responded to his membership appeal, establishing MSI as a nonprofit organization that would “contribute to the emergence of a definitive science of marketing” and “stimulate increased application of scientific techniques to the understanding and solving of current marketing problems.” Offices were established in Philadelphia near the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and Wendell Smith became its first president.[1]

MSI's founding coincided with a period of booming growth in the U.S. marketing systems, fueled by pent-up demand from war-years restrictions on production of consumer goods, and an explosion in population growth. Key marketing concepts, such as the “4 Ps” (product, price, place, promotion) of marketing were introduced. Management science theory, methods, and tools were infused into marketing, and consumer behavior emerged as an area of study within marketing.[2]

In its first decade, MSI supported the development of new tools for marketers, such as multidimensional scaling, stochastic modeling, causal modeling, and decision calculus marketing. It also provided the foundation for advances in new product development.[3][4] In 1968, MSI moved to Cambridge and began a 15-year association with the Harvard Business School.

In the early 1970s, MSI launched and managed the Profit Impact of Marketing Strategy project which, in conjunction with General Electric, created and analyzed a cross-sectional database that described marketing strategies and profitability across hundreds of business units. The results, widely reported, demonstrated the value of a scientific approach to marketing.[5]

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, MSI assembled teams to shape policy at the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. MSI also played an important role in introducing qualitative consumer research methods, including the Consumer Behavior Odyssey, a summer-long road trip in 1986 that laid the foundation for the field of consumer ethnography.[6]

By the 1980s, MSI research on services marketing reflected a growing awareness that consumer service businesses required a reappraisal of marketing approaches originally developed in the packaged goods context. In 1986, a consortium of MSI member companies contributed funding and data to support a stream of research that culminated in SERVQUAL, a scale for measuring customer perceptions of service quality that has been widely adopted by service businesses. During this time, the role of marketing in strategic planning received increased attention. MSI research introduced key concepts such as market orientation and marketing capabilities.[7]

The conceptualization and measurement of brand equity originated in MSI-sponsored research in the early 1990s. The impact of marketing activities on firm performance and shareholder value (termed marketing ROI, marketing accountability, and return on marketing investment) has been an area of sustained MSI research interest. Through the 1990s and early 2000s, MSI's research agenda also included product and service innovation, as well as innovation in business models and processes.

In 2002, MSI launched the "Relevant Knowledge" monograph series.[8] In over one dozen titles, academic experts summarize "what we have learned" and "what we still need to know" about important areas of research - including social networks, relationship marketing, innovation, consumer behavior, and marketing ROI - and offer useful guidance to marketers to fuel better decision making.

Since the mid-2000s, new technologies, analytic capabilities, and social media platforms have dramatically altered the marketing landscape.  The November 2016 Special Issue of the Journal of Marketing featured articles by pairs of leading academics summarizing findings to date on the top seven MSI Research Priorities. MSI’s 2020-2022 Research Priorities include (1) Delivering Customer Value, (2) The Evolving Landscape of Martech and Advertising, (3) Tools for Capturing Information to Fuel Growth, (4) The Rise of Omnichannel Distribution and Promotion, (5) Organizing for Marketing Agility, (6) Innovation, NPD and Commercialization, (7) Promoting Inclusion and Diversity in Marketing and Society. MSI’s recent academic research competitions have focused on enhancing customer experience and the decision journey; machine learning and artificial intelligence in marketing, including consumer reactions; and changes in consumer behavior and business strategy post-COVID-19.

The Marketing Science Institute sponsors three major marketing awards annually.

The Alden G. Clayton Dissertation Proposal Competition recognizes the best doctoral dissertation proposals on important marketing subjects. Each year, MSI grants up to five awards of $5,000 each for the best proposals.

The MSI H. Paul Root Award is given by members of the Journal of Marketing editorial review board to a paper that has made a significant contribution to the advancement of the practice of marketing. It is cosponsored by the American Marketing Association.

The Robert D. Buzzell AMA/MSI Best Paper Award honors the authors of the MSI working papers that have made the most significant contribution to marketing practice and thought. The award serves to signal the kind of writing and research that is of lasting value to corporate marketing executives. Each year it is given for the best MSI paper issued during the calendar year two years previous.

In addition, the Young Scholars Program and Scholars Program bring together top marketing academics to discuss their research, to encourage future collaboration, and to foster their interest in solving real-world marketing problems.

Scott McDonald, 2021–present

Linda Vytlacil, Interim, 2019-2020

Cheryl Cramer Toto, 2017-2019

Marni Zea Clippinger, 2002-2017

William H. Moult, 2000-2002

William A. Ghormley, 1998-2000

H. Paul Root, 1990-1998

F. Kent Mitchel, 1987-1990

Alden G. Clayton, 1977-1986

Thomas B. McCabe, Jr., 1972-1977

Edwin L. Morris, 1969-1972

Wendell R. Smith, 1962-1969

Barbara Kahn, University of Pennsylvania, 2019-2021
Carl F. Mela, Duke University, 2017-2019
Katherine N. Lemon, Boston College, 2015-2017
Kevin Lane Keller, Dartmouth College, 2013-2015
John A. Deighton, Harvard Business School, 2011-2013
Ruth N. Bolton, Marketing Science Institute, 2009-2011
Russell S. Winer, New York University, 2007-2009
Dominique Hanssens, UCLA, 2005-2007
Leigh McAlister, University of Texas at Austin, 2003-2005
Donald R. Lehmann, Columbia University, 1993–95, 2001-2003
David J. Reibstein, University of Pennsylvania, 1999-2001
Rohit Deshpandé, Harvard Business School, 1997-1999
David B. Montgomery, Stanford University, 1995-1997
Richard Staelin, Duke University, 1991-1993
George S. Day, University of Pennsylvania, 1989-1991
Frederick E. Webster, Jr., Dartmouth College, 1987-1989
John U. Farley, Dartmouth College, 1985-1987
Louis W. Stern, Northwestern University, 1983-1985
E. Raymond Corey, Harvard Business School, 1981-1983
Stephen A. Greyser, Harvard Business School, 1972-1980
Robert D. Buzzell, Harvard Business School, 1968-1972

As a division of the ARF, MSI is governed by the ARF Board of Directors.  However, an MSI Board of Trustees advises MSI management, helps to set the MSI research agenda, and makes recommendations to the ARF Board.  It also appoints two Directors to sit on the ARF Board of Directors.

Academic Fellows serve as advisors to MSI’s research efforts and represent the academic community to MSI’s business constituency.