History

The institute was founded in 1966. It was one of the first institutes to be established at the then School of Social and Economic Sciences. According to the decision of the founding board of directors, the 1994 emeritus professor Dr. Dr. hc. mult. Ernest Kulhavy, it was the first institute in the German-speaking world to use the name 'Marketing' in its designation. This was to point out the outstanding importance of this field of knowledge for the economy in general and for corporate management in particular.

In the past forty years more than two thousand students completed their marketing studies at the institute, whose institute executive committee is since 1994 o. Univ. Professor Dkfm. Dr. Gerhard Wührer. A not quite as large number of diploma and doctoral theses were written at this institution by domestic and foreign students. During these years, they were supervised not only by the Institute's board of directors and visiting professors, but also by more than thirty assistants who worked in research and teaching at this educational institution.

The institute has also established an excellent reputation in the field of continuing education. For the past twenty-five years, employees of Austrian companies have been trained for the tasks of international business in the university courses for Export and International Management and Global Marketing Management (MBA degree) (since 1999); almost 1500 of them have graduated from the Institute in these years. The university courses were the inspiration for the other courses, which in the meantime have become part of the continuing education program at the Johannes Kepler University.

In anticipation of the requirements of practice, the contents of the courses were repeatedly adapted. In addition to the legally required changes through the study law, this led to the fact that from the beginning of the 1990s the main focus 'International Marketing and Export' was offered as an elective or current main subject. At present, it is possible to study the major and specialization subject 'Marketing' and the major subject 'International Marketing and Export' as part of the regular studies 'Economic Sciences'. The institute cooperates closely with business practice, which has led to a wealth of case studies, practical projects and transfer work. An important link between the Institute and the business world is the Export Club (ECL) and the Marketing Club Linz (MCL). Both clubs have their secretariats at JKU.

The number of positions for scientific staff has remained unchanged since 1966, with one full professorship and four scientific assistants. The aim is currently to increase the number of staff in order to be able to meet the continuing strong demand for the study programs. At the beginning of 2006, two departments were established at the Institute, whose research focus is on 'Business-to-Business Marketing' and 'Marketing for Emerging Markets'.

On the occasion of the eightieth birthday of the Emeritus Univ. Prof. Dr. Dr. hc.mult. Kulhavy in February 2006, the 'Ernest Kulhavy Marketing Scholarship' was created on the initiative of the current director of the institute, Prof. Wührer. The scholarship is awarded annually to the best graduate and honors excellent academic achievements at Marketinginstitut. The sponsor of the scholarship is the Marktingclub Linz.