The Classroom as a Service Encounter: Suggestions for Value Creation

Abstract

Drawing on marketing concepts and language, the authors propose that the classroom is a service encounter between a marketer (instructor) who provides a service (the instruction) and a group of stakeholders (students). A marketing framework is informative in that it suggests that stakeholder satisfaction is important if the instructor is invested in meeting his or her pedagogical goals (the learning experience and outcomes). In this essay, the authors discuss the concepts of service encounters and value disciplines as a means for faculty members to reevaluate their teaching and design new strategies for creating value in the management classroom.