HSBA Research: How Do We Train the Marketing Decision-Makers of Tomorrow?

The world is changing faster than ever before: artificial intelligence, data-driven business models and growing demands for sustainability are fundamentally transforming markets, businesses and the role of marketing.

The crucial question is therefore no longer simply what students should learn, but: How must we equip them today so that they can responsibly shape the challenges of tomorrow?

It is precisely this question that the Department of Marketing Transformation at the Hamburg School of Business Administration explores in a recent academic paper. The focus is on a teaching concept that consistently approaches marketing through the lens of the so-called ‘twin transformation’ – that is, the simultaneous shaping of digitalisation and sustainability.

Rethinking marketing as a creative discipline

Marketing is no longer seen merely as a functional discipline, but as a central interface between technology, business and society.

This also means that the demands placed on graduates are changing fundamentally. What is required is not just specialist knowledge, but the ability to understand transformation, reflect on it critically and play an active role in shaping it.

From a university-wide system to a departmental solution

The new teaching concept is based on a major/minor system introduced across the university. The Department of Marketing Transformation has adopted this model and tailored it specifically to its academic requirements.

It is precisely the breadth of content spanning marketing, sales, retail and media that results in a particularly distinctive and nuanced implementation, systematically combining traditional content with new subject areas.

The learning platform: flexible, practical, forward-looking

At the heart of the programme is a modular learning and teaching platform that enables students to:

• set their own individual priorities
• integrate digitalisation and sustainability into their thinking about course content
• work on practical projects with companies
• experience active learning formats rather than mere knowledge transfer

The aim is deliberately to go beyond the mere transfer of knowledge. Students should not only learn how marketing works, but also how they can develop it responsibly.

What makes the concept unique

The platform combines several elements that are rarely integrated in this way:

• Twin Transformation as the core of the content (not an add-on)
• Close integration with corporate partners
• Engaging teaching methods with a high degree of personal responsibility
• Continuous development through a modular structure

This creates a system that is both stable and adaptable, offering a decisive advantage in a rapidly changing environment.

Initial findings: Highly relevant for students and businesses

Evaluations point to a clear trend: students particularly value flexibility, interactivity and practical relevance, whilst businesses recognise a stronger alignment with real-world requirements. In doing so, the learning platform specifically enhances problem-solving skills, personal responsibility and motivation.

A model with potential

This article is deliberately not intended as a finished concept, but rather as a starting point. The learning platform developed here demonstrates how marketing education can be structured not only to provide students with specialist knowledge, but also to empower them to actively shape transformation.