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This article attempts to synthesize the contributions of Jagdish Sheth to the discipline. This is done by following the development of the field in various subdisciplines such that one can observe the impact Sheth's thinking has had on the field. This is the career of an “accidental marketer” who started as a social scientist, got interested in buyer behavior, and made his mark in that field. Noticing similarities between organizational buyer behavior and individual buyer behavior, he ventured into that field too. As a visionary, he started developing theories in international marketing in the seventies, which was a popular area that time. Similarly, he published a handbook on Customer Relationship Marketing and worked in the area before it became a major area of emphasis. As a multifaceted person, he has contributed to the practitioners through books and consulting projects. However, this article focuses mainly on his academic contributions including his research, teaching/mentoring, and his philanthropic activities.

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that scholarship is all about challenging the prevailing wisdom by offering an alternative perspective or explanation. Hopefully, the author’s journey of more than 50 years will inspire others to be eclectic and become deep generalists.

It is an autobiographical evaluation of an accidental scholar. It emphasizes that an educator is more than a scientist or a priest or a public servant. It is all of them. Educators are in the business of making ordinary people extraordinary. They are diamond cutters who are entrusted by society with its rough diamonds to get their brilliance out and make them useful to themselves, the society and the community.

Over 50 years, marketing has evolved and adapted to the external environment, including technology revolution, changing demographics, global competition and geopolitics. This provides enormous opportunity for the next generation of scholars to establish their own identity in managerial marketing, consumer behavior or marketing analytics.

While publishing in the top journals is both necessary and desirable in the early stages of an academic career, it is also important to make an impact on practitioners by publishing professional books.

According to Peter Drucker, there are only two functions of business: innovation and marketing. While innovation is admired by everyone, marketing can also become a positive force for a better world.

Lessons learnt over time from different encounters and circumstances in research, teaching and service are important to document. In the end, according to the author, they are all academic entrepreneurs.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the development and application of marketing theory and practice over time and its current status. The terms “brickbats” and “bouquets” are used as metaphors to extend praise or criticism for marketing. In doing so, the authors draw upon the views of leading theorists over time and apply these in the current environmental context.

The approach adopted is discursive, critical and conceptual.

Following literature review, and drawing upon current examples, marketing as a discipline is subject to both kudos and criticisms. Nonetheless, it is concluded optimistically in that marketing can be an even greater source for societal good. That “goodness” is partly based upon the added impetus of social media adoption and use by consumers, the need for growth and accelerative innovation in the digital age coupled with the democratisation of consumption. Nonetheless, the authors offer the caveat that free competitive markets lead to market failures, and the need for market regulation by governments is becoming more evident.

The implications of the paper are profound. Academics should be concerned in and involved with marketing theory. Questions need to be raised concerning non-robust definitions of marketing and its application. The authors wait for a consumer-led approach to marketing to add depth to the marketing theory.

Marketers need to be made more accountable for their actions. Consumers need to become part of the marketing process. Marketing claims need to be verified by delivered benefits. Companies need to take steps to ensure that the marketing process does not end at purchase. Satisfaction needs to be made manifest. Likewise, dissatisfactions need to be managed well as part of the marketing process.

Too much marketing currently is relatively unregulated in the sense that there are so few opportunities to evade its myriad reach and – despite social media – little chance of changing marketing practice for the good of societies. Many criticisms of marketing practice are not being addressed in the literature.

Marketing is a vibrant force in all nations and markets. It is deeply rooted in business practice. It is contemporaneous and relevant. It is global and national. But, it is not entirely all good news. There are caveats and criticisms as well as kudos and praise. While both are addressed here, the topic needs to be considered for marketing and its accompanying theory and practice to change.

This study aims to develop an empathetic and user-centric customer support service design model. Though service design has been a critical research focus for several decades, few studies focus on customer support services. As customer support gains importance as a source of competitive advantage in the present era, this paper aims to contribute to industry and academia by exploring the service design model.

The study adopted a theories-in-use approach to elucidate mental models based on the industry’s best practices. In-depth interviews with 62 professionals led to critical insights into customer service design development, supported by service-dominant logic and theory of mind principles.

The ensuing insights led to a model that connects the antecedents and outcomes of empathetic and user-centric customer service design. The precursors include people, processes and technology, while the results are user experience, service trust and service advocacy. The model also emphasises the significance of the user’s journey and the user service review in the overall service design.

The model developed through this study addresses the critical gap concerning the lack of service design research in customer support services. The key insights from this study contribute to the ongoing research endeavours towards transitioning customer support services from an operational unit to a strategic value-creating function. Future scholars may investigate the applicability of the empathetic user service design across cultures and industries. The new model must be customised using real-time data and analytics across user journey stages.

The empathetic and user-centric design can elevate the customer service function as a significant contributor to the overall customer experience, loyalty and positive word of mouth. Practitioners can adopt the new model to provide superior customer service experiences. This original research was developed through crucial insights from interviews with senior industry professionals.

This research is the original work developed through the key insights from the interview with senior industry professionals.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is used by banking services primarily to automate systems; however, this ecosystem does not work in emerging markets because human intervention is needed, and there are concerns related to infrastructure. There is plenty of research on AI-mediated banking services, but the existing discussions are cumbersome, and studies on AI's service features in banking for emerging markets are limited. Furthermore, the ongoing discussions are centred on developed markets where automation in banking services is noteworthy and accepted. Through this paper, the authors emphasise the relevance of AI mediation in emerging markets and the possible role of strategising AI in banking services for personalised experiences.

The authors' article followed an exploratory, inductive approach through in-depth interviews and thematic analysis. In total, 36 financial experts were interviewed, and the relevant perspectives were analysed to develop the research process and framework for a personalised banking experience.

The authors' paper introduced five key themes and presented those themes accordingly. The first theme details the importance of AI-mediated banking and the skills necessary for operational capacity. The second theme is on the relevance of AI-mediated banking awareness amongst users. The third is about channelling the importance of AI-driven interfaces through managers and employees. Fourth, the authors emphasised the relevance of human intervention due to users' demographic patterns. The fifth theme led to a discussion on personalised AI-mediated banking services.

The authors recommend that managers understand the relevance of quality service amongst users. The authors' paper discusses the relevance of AI and human intervention in banking services; however, the process for seamless, personalised banking experiences is not provided. Thus, this paper encourages managers to build a banking ecosystem that delivers a seamless banking experience through AI.

The authors' paper highlights the importance of human intervention in AI-driven banking by introducing personalised service experience elements and highlighting the role of customer experience in AI-driven banking services in emerging markets.

The purpose of this paper is to articulate the impact of COVID-19 on marketing. It will shift from “physical first” to “digital first,” and from “selling to serving” the customers. This will impact all 4 Ps of marketing, as well as branding and innovation.

It is a conceptual paper based on literature review. The underlying construct used is transaction cost economics (TCE).

Using TCE, the paper finds that both consumers and marketers are very willing to shift to e-commerce and digital platforms which are both convenient, as well as cost-effective. Also, customer support organization will become a strategic advantage in interactive marketing.

This is an original paper written specifically for the special issue on the post-pandemic shock.

Considers why customers resist innovations even though they are considered necessary and desirable. Identifies functional barriers such as usage, value, and risk, and psychological barriers such as tradition and image. Concludes that successful innovation lies not in bowing down to consumer resistance, but in understanding the causes and developing a marketing strategy to attack them.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the founding and impact of the American Marketing Association (AMA) Doctoral Consortium and to give credit to those responsible for developing this very successful academic program.

The paper comprises personal reflections and historical narrative.

The founding of the AMA Doctoral Consortium was led by Thomas Stoudt and was later ensured continuity through the support of Jagdish Sheth. The Consortium went through two markedly different eras. Similarities and differences between the early consortia from 1966 through the mid‐1970s and those since the mid‐1970s are presented to give a sense of how the Consortium has changed over its 45‐year history.

This brief note is the first attempt to document the founding and history of what has become an important institution in the marketing academy.