CEGE4ALL: Markets & Policy Seminar

You are cordially invited to attend the next CEGE4ALL: Markets & Policy Seminar by Michael Kleinaltenkamp, on “Stop Chasing Gaps: Building Big Contributions by Discovering Research Questions Hidden in Plain Sight”. The seminar will take place on June 9th, between 4 pm and 5 pm in room EP002.

REGISTER HERE

You can attend it either in person (room EP002) or online.

Registration is mandatory. Please register here by June 8th indicating if you will be attending in person or online. The weblink will be emailed to online attendees after registration.

Abstract

This seminar challenges the growing tendency in marketing scholarship (and allied disciplines and domains) to identify and then ‘chase gaps’ rather than develop profoundly important research questions. Drawing on emerging debates across leading editors, journals, thought leaders, and research funders and sponsors, I argue in this presentation that relative conceptual, theoretical, and practical contributions (or otherwise) are determined long before hypotheses, methods, or datasets enter the process. Instead, impactful scholarship begins with identifying research questions hidden in plain sight or, rather, questions overlooked because of disciplinary conventions, inherited assumptions, methodological comfort zones, or excessive reliance on incremental gap-spotting. Integrating insights on theory generation, ecological value, abductive reasoning, theories-in-use, and managerial relevance, I suggest a front-end approach to designing research projects focused on discovering, framing, and engineering stronger questions from real-world phenomena. I anticipate therefore that this seminar will offer practical guidance for scholars seeking to produce more original, consequential, and contribution-driven research agendas.

Rob Morgan

Rob Morgan holds the Sir Julian Hodge Chair and is Full Professor of Marketing & Strategy at Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, and Visiting Professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and the University of Amsterdam. His research examines how firms adapt, innovate, and compete in rapidly changing markets shaped by technological disruption, evolving customer expectations, and increasingly complex strategic environments. Working at the intersection of marketing, strategy, innovation, and leadership research, his work focuses particularly on organizational capabilities, strategic decision-making, customer-centric innovation ecosystems, AI-enabled transformation, and competition in B2B and global market contexts. He currently serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief, of Industrial Marketing Management and has held editorial leadership and advisory roles across a range of internationally recognised journals and academic networks. He has served as External Examiner and academic advisor to a wide range of leading business schools and universities including London Business School, Bath, Cambridge, Warwick, Erasmus University Rotterdam, WU Vienna and currently serves as an Expert Assessor on the Business and Management Studies Sub-Panel for the UK Government’s Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029.