Mr William Thompson

Biography

Marcus Thompson is a teaching fellow (part-time) at Aberdeen University Business School. He has a background in business strategy, entrepreneurship and international marketing. The focus is fast-growth organisations that expand internationally. His courses encompass sustainability, circularity and ethics. 

Research Overview

In the UK and Europe, there is a discussion about the changing role of marketing within third-sector organisations.  Social enterprises are one form of charity that are seen as a way of tackling social, economic and environmental inequalities within disadvantaged and disenfranchised communities. BUT only a few are ambitious enough or capable of accelerated growth that creates an international and socially sustainable impact - one that goes beyond their own locality. 

The challenges of blending social impact and commercial values are immense. Few organisations aspire to do it and fewer still have the capacity to manage to achieve it.  In our book, "Social Entrepreneurs: Can they Change the World (Palgrave) we draw on research into (social) enterprise, fast-growth firms, (social) marketing and internationalisation.

Crossing the Rubicon is a site that explores "sustainability" and looks at stakeholder primacy, societal marketing and measures of making an impact. It is the course I always wanted to teach but was never allowed to!

Current Research

In May 2022, I ended my employment contract with the University. This allows me to concentrate on developing and actioning my understanding of the role of societal marketing in delivering impactful services to stakeholder communities that are sustainable and viable for local delivery.

I continue to work, on contract, with the University on developing distributed online learning, working withing the confines of Blackboard.  

Teaching Responsibilities

Marcus Thompson is a teaching fellow (part time) at Aberdeen University Business School. He is co-ordinator for: 

• Marketing and Management BU5039 explores the changing role of marketing for Marketing, International Business and Business and Communications postgraduates. It explores collaborative consumption and examines the profiles of next-generation millennials as consumers. 
• Marketing Strategy BU5553 explores competitive and branding approaches for fast-growth firms and offers MBA students a practical insight into the changing role of marketing. 
• Critical Studies Paper BU5914 offers International Business and Management students the opportunity to explore the relevance of core concepts and match these to future career opportunities.
• The Marketing Study BU5995 is a 45 credit module built around knowledge projects, offering our marketing students the opportunity to apply core marketing concepts directly. It moves students from beyond the skills of doing a literature review and conducting primary research to exploring emerging concepts in marketing. 
• Venture Creation is based on developing a funding pitch for new ventures. The course gives postgraduate students the experience of positioning ventures that are viable and sustainable within the circular economy. The course moves from the mechanics of business planning and business models and uses storytelling, creativity and social innovations as tools to develop an "audacious" vision of the future.

He also contributes to sets of lectures on International Entrepreneurship Market Research and B2B Marketing. He contributes towards courses in Digital Marketing and Business Model Innovation.  He has taught elements of Consumer Behaviour, Research Methods and Sustainability in Germany, China and the Middle East.