Eleanor Shaw
Celebrating the Marketing Department at Strathclyde Business School
I had the pleasure of first working at the Marketing Department almost right at the start of my academic career in 1998. I had not long graduated from the University of Glasgow with my doctorate which bridged marketing and entrepreneurship – a topic that has gone on to become known as the ‘Marketing/Entrepreneurship Interface’. I presented on this topic at a MEG conference (who remembers those?). A colleague from Strathclyde was at my session and suggested I apply for a position. At the time I was only able to stay for about 2 years as due to family circumstances I relocated to work at the University of Durham. I didn’t however stay there for long and I re-joined the Marketing Department in 2001. I was very fortunate to join a department with so many great colleagues and ‘gurus’ within the field of Marketing, including the ‘founding father’ of the department Professor Michael Baker.
Working alongside Professor Baker and other colleagues I was encouraged to delve deeper into the relationship between Marketing and Entrepreneurship and became very interested in innovation, creativity and the benefits that a razor-sharp focus on markets and customers can have for entrepreneurial ventures. Working on these topics I, like many others within the department at the time, was fortunate to become involved in international research networks with colleagues including Professor’s Gerry Hills and David Carson – pioneering scholars whose research has provided many of the foundations upon which enduring interests in the Marketing/Entrepreneurship have built.
Reflecting on the time I spent with the Marketing Department, I realise the amazing learning experience I was provided by being able to work so closely with a group of the UK’s leading researchers – I learn much about not only marketing communications, entrepreneurial marketing and the benefits of creativity, innovation and risk taking, I also advanced my understanding of different research methods and the benefits of employing multiple methods to explore the same research problem. The time I spent in the Marketing Department is amongst some on my happiest working experiences – not only did we as a department work hard, we also knew how to have a good time and I recall watching, for example, the Wimbledon final in the common room in a tiny TV and the annual summer day trips we used to make to Ross Priory and Inveraray – happy times indeed!
Professor Eleanor Shaw
Associate Principal
University of Strathclyde
