Foundations of Marketing 7.5 credits

The course explores the place and impact of marketing in an organizational and societal context. It further deepens understanding of an international and diverse environment and develops abilities to actively anticipate and manage within this dynamic environment. Special emphasis is placed on developing understanding of the environment and its implications for marketing planning. Basic marketing strategies are explored, with emphasis on building marketing strategy through instruments of the marketing mix. The thread of topics will reflect the nature of the program – emphasizing the sustainability as a key concept to be imbedded in the business – introducing the basics of sustainability and marketing. The content reflects the various aspects relevant for marketing and include following: • Macro-marketing and micro-marketing perspective: place, impact and analysis of marketing and communication to organizations and society; • Marketing research and consumer behavior; • Marketing strategies, marketing plan and marketing mix; • Sustainable marketing; **Connection to Research and Practice** This course explores marketing, marketing models and marketing strategies from a theoretical and practical perspective. The course focuses on the theoretical frameworks of marketing fundamentals and sustainability in business and societal settings. Lectures and seminars are conducted both by faculty and external specialists so that the students gain both theoretical and practical exposure to the topic. The course project gives students opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge and frameworks to understand the marketing environment, create and test product or service concepts and develop appropriate marketing strategy.