Bridging the gap: connecting Marketing theory and practice

Although marketing research is often of high quality, it is becoming increasingly disconnected from marketing practice. Practitioners are rarely interested in methodological or theoretical advances; their priority is to address day-to-day business challenges. In his Inaugural Professorial Lecture, Professor Nektarios Tzempelikos will explore the long-standing gap between marketing theory and business practice. Drawing on his research in business-to-business marketing, he will examine why this gap persists and how academics and practitioners can work together to close it. Nektarios will also share how his work is helping to make marketing research more relevant, impactful, and closely aligned with the realities of business.

About our speaker:
Nektarios Tzempelikos (PhD, SFHEA) is Professor of Marketing and Deputy Director of the Research Centre for Intelligent Supply Chains in the Faculty of Business and Law at Anglia Ruskin University, UK. His research primarily focuses on key account management, relationship marketing, and customer value in business-to-business (B2B) markets, with an additional interest in relevance-related issues within the tourism and hospitality sectors.

Nektarios has published extensively in leading journals, including Industrial Marketing Management, International Journal of Hospitality Management, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, Qualitative Market Research, and Journal of Strategic Marketing. He serves on the editorial boards of several leading journals in his field, including Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, and Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, and has acted as guest editor for multiple special issues. He is also a member of the Academic Board of the Association for Key Account Management.

Nektarios has secured funding through consultancy and research grants for a range of public and private organisations. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has received multiple awards for both research excellence and PhD supervision.