Building the bridge between academics and practitioners: from the ivory tower to the market place – how intermediaries can bridge the gap between marketing academia and practice: an abstract

The legitimacy of academic research in applied disciplines, such as business administration, largely depends on the relevance and applicability of its findings to practice. Business research broadly - and marketing is no exception - frequently fails to reach practitioners; a phenomenon often labeled as the science-practice gap. Bridging this gap between academic research and managerial practice remains a persistent challenge in marketing and branding. This study explores how intermediaries (e.g., consultants) can support the conversion of academic knowledge into actionable insights for practitioners. The research team conducted 26 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with actors involved in the knowledge conversion process. The data analysis followed a three-tiered coding process, adhering to the methodology by Gioia et al. (2013). In the first stage, the research team systematically reviewed and manually coded the interview transcripts, identifying distinct first-order concepts based on participants' statements.

In the second stage, these first-order concepts were consolidated into second-order themes. Finally, in the third stage, two overarching aggregate dimensions emerged: 1) activities of intermediaries in the knowledge conversion process and 2) conditions influencing the feasibility and effectiveness of intermediary activities. In more detail, this model identifies two intermediary activities: extracting, which involves distilling research findings into actionable insights for practitioners, and adapting, which entails contextualizing academic knowledge for specific company settings. The findings emphasize the critical role of adapting activities in converting research into practice. In contrast, extracting activities are viewed as having a limited direct impact on managerial decision-making. Beyond these intermediary activities, our findings underscore the importance of three conditions for the feasibility and effectiveness of knowledge conversion efforts.

Specifically, academics’ motivation influences their willingness to engage in transfer activities, while their communication competences affect how effectively academic knowledge is conveyed. On the practitioner side, scientific literacy enables the meaningful application of academic insights. Moreover, limited access to scientific publications and to academic intermediaries emerges as a barrier to effective knowledge conversion. Overall, this research offers a nuanced understanding of the knowledge conversion process in marketing and branding and provides actionable implications for both academia and practice.