Marketing Students’ Attitudes Concerning Traditional Classroom Resources

Purpose of Study: This study examines marketing students’ feelings as they pertain to using a course’s required textbook and how these feelings relate to learning outcomes, actual textbook usage, the effectiveness of motivational techniques, and alternative study methods. The study develops the Textbook Relevance (TR) construct and examines it in relation to several variables such as time spent reading the textbook, GPA, and perceived value. Method/Design and Sample: A sample of college marketing students is drawn from three different universities in the United States. Using the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) as a framework, marketing students are surveyed to obtain their feelings about motivations and expectations regarding their attitudes toward textbook usage as well as perceived textbook relevance. Results: The findings indicate that students generally have a low TR and prefer other study methods to the reading the textbook. These findings indicate students do not find the textbook as a useful resource and it provides little impact on perceived outcomes. It may be concluded that the use of the textbook, by marketing students at the three AACSB accredited universities included in this research are not actively reading their textbooks and these respondents do not feel that textual reading is necessary for their success. Value to Marketing Educators: From the academicians’ perspectives, the findings suggest students expect their marketing professors to provide them with the bulk of the information that should be learned in the course.