Contributing factors to marketing educators’ teaching performance: insights from executive postgraduate programmes in Brazil

Purpose - This study aims to understand how marketing faculty become reference-educators of business executives by exploring the factors that contribute to their teaching performance. Design/methodology/approach - Exploratory qualitative research, using in-depth interviews in which the object of the study was the marketing educator, based on three Brazilian business schools. Findings - The teaching performance depends on the teaching practice, which is influenced by technical knowledge, pedagogical factors and personal features. The development of a practitioner-educator is a complex process that arises from both formal and informal learning. Research limitations/implications - Deepens the understanding of marketing educators’ individual factors, proposing a model to expand the knowledge of the factors shaping a reference-educator. Practical implications - Raises awareness among managers of Higher Education institutions of the relevance of the development of its educators considering not only pedagogical skills but also marketing and social skills. Social implications - Improvements in education generate a positive contribution to society. Better marketing educators may result in better professionals, which could, ultimately, generate more benefits both for corporations and for society. Originality/value - Existing literature has neglected the understanding of how marketing educators’ individual factors may impact on good teaching to create a well-rounded practitioner-educator. This study seeks to address that gap by exploring how marketing faculty, especially practitioners of marketing, become reference-educators, that is, educators identified as exemplars of good practice by their students and peers.