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How do successful scholars get their best research ideas? An exploration

Author

Listed:
  • Cathy Cao

    (MIT Sloan School of Management)

  • Xinyu Cao

    (NYU)

  • Matthew Cashman

    (MIT Sloan School of Management)

  • Madhav Kumar

    (MIT Sloan School of Management)

  • Artem Timoshenko

    (Northwestern)

  • Jeremy Yang

    (MIT Sloan School of Management)

  • Shuyi Yu

    (MIT Sloan School of Management)

  • Jerry Zhang

    (MIT Sloan School of Management)

  • Yuting Zhu

    (MIT Sloan School of Management)

  • Birger Wernerfelt

    (MIT Sloan School of Management)

Abstract

We interview 24 marketing professors to ask how they got the ideas for 64 of their papers. More than three-quarters of the papers were inspired by holes in the literature, by a “stylized fact” that the current literature cannot explain, or by an interaction with a manager. The rest fall into several smaller categories that to a large extent can be seen as special cases of the three big ones. We describe how papers from each of the three big categories help move the literature forward. We also illustrate the range of situations contained in each category by way of several examples. Among the authors we interview, most do not use a single source. As these authors become more senior, managerial contacts play an increasing role, while the balance between literature and stylized facts appears to be unchanged.

Suggested Citation

  • Cathy Cao & Xinyu Cao & Matthew Cashman & Madhav Kumar & Artem Timoshenko & Jeremy Yang & Shuyi Yu & Jerry Zhang & Yuting Zhu & Birger Wernerfelt, 2019. "How do successful scholars get their best research ideas? An exploration," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 221-232, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:mktlet:v:30:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s11002-019-09506-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11002-019-09506-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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