Digital Marketing and Analytics Education: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Advances in digital technologies coupled with the explosion of data are transforming the marketing education landscape at a rapid pace. Given the scale and speed of digital disruption in today’s industry, marketing academics face ongoing challenges of addressing the theory–practice gap, which will only accelerate. The purpose of the current study is to gain a better understanding of the current state of digital/social media marketing and analytics education through a review of past pedagogical research in the realm of digital/social media marketing and marketing analytics. The collected database ( N = 54) was analyzed based on their category and scope, and sub-themes within each category. Our findings indicate that while business schools have been diligent in introducing important skill sets to their curriculum, the approach has been predominately tactical, rather than driven by an overarching strategic plan. Based on the findings, we discuss the implications for marketing educators and directions for future research that can help bridge the theory–practice gap as we proceed in the future data-driven digital environments.