BE557-7-AU-CO:
Perspectives on Marketing
2025/26
Essex Business School
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Postgraduate: Level 7
Current
Thursday 02 October 2025
Friday 12 December 2025
20
08 October 2024
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
BE558
MA NP5312 Advertising, Marketing and the Media,
MA NP53MO Advertising, Marketing and the Media,
MSC N51012 Marketing,
MSC N51024 Marketing,
MMANNN35 Marketing Management,
MMANNN36 Marketing Management (Including Placement Year),
MMANNN37 Marketing Management (Including Year Abroad)
The aim of this module is to give students an introductory overview of the foundational principles of marketing.
This module considers the historical development of marketing, while also evaluating its impact in relation to the organisation, the marketplace, consumers and society.
The aims of this module are:
- To provide students with an understanding of historical developments and trends in the field of marketing, both as an academic discipline as well as a practice that governs the relationship between consumers and corporations.
- To familiarise students with key marketing concepts and perspectives.
- To enable students to analyse marketing in theory and practice independently and critically.
By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of key perspectives, theories and concepts that inform the contemporary understanding of marketing.
- Analyse the historical emergence of marketing and understand the social, economic and political embeddedness of marketing.
- Discuss and debate the wider implications of utilising marketing activities and marketing models for everyday life.
Skills for Your Professional Life (Transferable Skills)
By the end of the module, students will be expected to be able to:
- Analyse marketing theory and practice in a creative and independent manner.
- Demonstrate critical thinking in evaluating marketing reports and jargon.
- Transfer theoretical and practical problem-solving skills to generate solutions for problems identified within various marketing contexts.
- Communicate and present ideas effectively.
Students will encounter a variety of theoretical perspectives on marketing, while also gaining the opportunity to see how these perspectives impact upon marketing practices within the organisation. Through a combination of interactive lectures and discussions, students are invited to investigate, question and challenge the assumptions of classic and contemporary marketing theories and practices. This module is thus about not only the tools of marketing, but also the consequences that these tools have upon culture and society.
This module will be delivered via:
The sessions will include formal lecture sections as well as related group work, discussion and consultation.
Readings will be provided in good time before each session and it is vital that students undertake the required reading prior to the sessions in order to gain as much value as possible from the session. Students should come to the sessions prepared to participate in discussion.
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Baines, P., Whitehouse, S. and Antonetti, P. (2021c)
Fundamentals of marketing. Second edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at:
https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/793935.
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Fullerton, R.A. (1988) 'How Modern Is Modern Marketing? Marketing's Evolution and the Myth of the “Production Era”',
Journal of Marketing, 52(1). Available at:
https://search-ebscohost-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsu&AN=6356901&site=ehost-live&authtype=sso&custid=s9814295.
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Hoffman, K.D. and Bateson, J.E.G. (2017)
Services marketing: concepts, strategies, & cases. Fifth edition. Boston, Massachusetts: Cengage Learning. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5132813.
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Parsons, E.
et al. (2023b)
Contemporary Issues in Marketing and Consumer Behaviour. 3rd edition. London: Taylor & Francis Ltd. Available at:
https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/2370380.
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Brown, S. (1995) Postmodern marketing. London: Routledge.
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Arnould, Eric J. and Thompson, C.J. (2005) 'Consumer Culture Theory (CCT): Twenty Years of Research',
Journal of Consumer Research, 31(4), pp. 868–882. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1086/426626.
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Brown, S. (2016) Brands and branding. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
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Annmarie Hanlon and Tracy L. Tuten (2022) SAGE Handbook of Digital Marketing. SAGE Publications, Limited.
The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's
reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
2,500 word essay |
|
100% |
| Exam |
Main exam: Remote, Open Book, 24hr during January
|
| Exam |
Main exam: Remote, Open Book, 24hr during Summer (Main Period)
|
| Exam |
Reassessment Main exam: Remote, Open Book, 24hr during September (Reassessment Period)
|
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Jingyu Zhu, email: jingyu.zhu@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Jingyu Zhu & Dr Christina Ferreira
ebspgtad@essex.ac.uk
Yes
No
Yes
Prof Annie Chen
University of Roehampton
Professor
Available via Moodle
Of 3 hours, 3 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.
* Please note: due to differing publication schedules, items marked with an asterisk (*) base their information upon the previous academic year.
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