Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Sönke Albers

Distinguished Research Professor of Marketing and Innovation

Honorary Senator

 

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Sönke Albers

Distinguished Research Professor of Marketing and Innovation

Honorary Senator

 

Prof. Dr. Sönke Albers is Distinguished Research Professor of Marketing and Innovation. From 2010 to 2016 Prof. Albers served as Dean of Research and was responsible for faculty development and ensuring that KLU becomes a research-oriented university that is internationally competitive. Before joining KLU he was a Professor of Marketing at WHU and the University of Lüneburg. After that he served more than 20 years as Professor of Innovation, New Media, and Marketing at Christian-Albrechts-University at Kiel, Germany. He holds a doctorate in Operations Research from University of Hamburg. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Goethe University Frankfurt. He was a Rector of WHU, and a Dean of the School of Business Administration, Economics, and Social Sciences of Christian-Albrechts-University at Kiel. He is Fellow (and currently their Dean) of the Europena Marketing Academy and served as President of the German Academic Association for Business Research which comprises nearly all 2000 business professors in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He is also a member of the Academy of Sciences in Hamburg.

Prof. Albers is very active in educating future scientists. In total 30 professors originate from his efforts. 12 of his doctoral students are now professors at Universities (8 at the rank of full professor, 1 at the rank of associate professor and 3 at the rank of assistant professor). In addition, 7 of his doctoral students are now professors at Universities of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule). His 12 former students now being professors have educated another 11 full professors and 7 assistant professors at universities plus 3 professors at Universities of Applied Sciences.

Prof. Albers' research interests are lying in the areas of marketing planning, sales management, and diffusion of innovations. He is author of about 150 articles in international and German journals such as Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Research, International Journal of Research in Marketing and published over 15 books. As a result, he was ranked number 7 in publication productivity by Handelsblatt in 2009. He was editor-in-chief and department editor Marketing of BuR – Business Research and on the editorial boards of several international journals.

He was selected to receive the 2011 EMAC Distinguished Marketing Scholar Award. The award marks the highest honor that a marketing scholar in Europe can receive and recognizes Sönke Albers' extensive and impactful research publications as well as his outstanding contributions to the European Marketing Academy (EMAC), the largest association of marketing scholars in Europe. Before that he has won together with Marc Fischer the 2009-2010 INFORMS Society for Marketing Science MSI Practice Prize with their work on “Dynamic Marketing Budget Allocation across Countries, Products, and Marketing Activities” which describes the successful implementation of a new heuristic for budget allocation at Bayer with a profit improvement potential of nearly half a billion Euro. Recently, he has been selected as the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient of the American Marketing Association Selling & Sales Management Special Interest Group.

Up Close & Personal

“My conclusion after working at KLU for ten years is that it is a top quality university, with highly motivated and highly performing professors. It has students coming from all over the world that are also highly motivated and want to achieve something special and it has impact on companies by executive education and consulting projects.”
– Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Sönke Albers

Selected Publications

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.13.0580 

Abstract: To optimally set marketing communication (“marcom”) budgets, reliable estimates of short-term elasticities and carryover effects are required. Empirical generalizations from meta-analyses of prior field studies can help guide these decisions. However, the last such meta-analysis of marcom carryover effects was performed on Koyck model–based estimates collected before 1984 and was confined to mass media advertising. The authors update and extend extant empirical generalizations via two meta-analyses of carryover estimates compiled from studies encompassing personal selling, targeted advertising, and mass media advertising, using diverse model forms, until 2015. The first is focused on and utilizes 918 estimates of the carryover proportion of the total effect, termed long-term share of the total effect, and the second focuses on 863 derivable estimates of 90% implied duration intervals. The authors find the mean long-term shares of the total effect for personal selling (.687) and targeted advertising (.650) are distinctly larger than that for mass media advertising (.523) and the corresponding median 90% implied duration intervals are 12.6, 2, and 3.4 months, respectively. The authors conclude by discussing differences by model type and the implications for marcom budget-setting and analyses.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2012.03.001 

Abstract: The methodological discussion on the calibration of aggregate marketing response models has shifted away from how to obtain usable input for optimization toward how to avoid biases in statistical estimation. The purpose of this article is to remind researchers that such calibration is performed either to support managers in their marketing-mix decisions or to create general knowledge that leads to a better understanding of marketing relationships and thus indirectly supports decisions. Both goals require response models that are optimizable. The models must also be implementable if actual decision support is the objective. Herein, I identify several aspects for which these requirements are not always fulfilled: First, the appropriateness of the chosen functional form of the marketing response models is rarely discussed, although different forms imply quite different optimal solutions. Second, endogeneity is taken into account by structural equations, even though we lack sufficient information on how managers reach their decisions. Third, estimation methods for response models are often evaluated based on goodness-of-fit, while an assessment of their usefulness for subsequent optimization is neglected. Therefore, I provide recommendations for improving the current practice by better specifying the response function and undertaking more simulation-based evaluations of the best estimation method for use in subsequent optimization. With respect to implementation, usability can be facilitated using spreadsheets and heuristics. Moreover, gaining generalizable and replicable knowledge requires better documentation of results, which can be achieved through providing elasticities and as many details as are necessary to replicate a study, thereby enabling faster learning.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.1100.0627 

Abstract: Previous research on marketing budget decisions has shown that profit improvement from better allocation across products or regions is much higher than from improving the overall budget. However, despite its high managerial relevance, contributions by marketing scholars are rare. In this paper, we introduce an innovative and feasible solution to the dynamic marketing budget allocation problem for multiproduct, multicountry firms. Specifically, our decision support model allows determining near-optimal marketing budgets at the country--product--marketing--activity level in an Excel-supported environment each year. The model accounts for marketing dynamics and a product's growth potential as well as for trade-offs with respect to marketing effectiveness and profit contribution. The model has been successfully implemented at Bayer, one the world's largest pharmaceutical and chemical firms. The profit improvement potential is more than 50% and worth nearly €500 million in incremental discounted cash flows.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.47.5.840 

Abstract: This article presents a meta-analysis of prior econometric estimates of personal selling elasticity—that is, the ratio of the percentage change in an objective, ratio-scaled measure of sales output (e.g., dollar or unit purchases) to the corresponding percentage change in an objective, ratio-scaled measure of personal selling input (e.g., dollar expenditures). The authors conduct a meta-analysis of 506 personal selling elasticity estimates drawn from analyses of 88 empirical data sets across 75 previous articles. They find a mean estimate of current-period personal selling elasticity of .34. They also find that elasticity estimates are higher for early life-cycle-stage offerings, higher from studies set in Europe than from those set in the United States, and smaller in more recent years. In addition, elasticity estimates are affected significantly by analysts' use of relative rather than absolute sales output measures, by cross-sectional rather than panel data, by omission of promotions, by lagged effects, by marketing interaction effects, and by the neglect of endogeneity in model estimation. The method bias–corrected mean personal selling elasticity is approximately .31. The authors discuss the implications of their results for sales managers and researchers.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.47.1.103 

Abstract: The authors analyze primary demand effects of marketing efforts directed at the physician (detailing and professional journal advertising) versus marketing efforts directed at the patient (direct-to-consumer advertising). The analysis covers 86 categories, or approximately 85% of the U.S. pharmaceutical market, during the 2001–2005 period. Primary demand effects are rather small, in contrast with the estimated sales effects for individual brands. By using a new brand-level method to estimate primary demand effects with aggregate data, the authors show that the small effects are due to intense competitive interactions during the observation period but not necessarily to low primary demand responsiveness. In contrast with previous studies, the authors also find that detailing is more effective in driving primary demand than direct-to-consumer advertising. A category sales model cannot provide such insights. In addition, a category sales model likely produces biased predictions about period-by-period changes in primary demand. The suggested brand-level method does not suffer from these limitations.

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Teaching at KLU

since 2024

Distinguished Research Professor of Marketing and Innovation, Kühne Logistics University, Hamburg, Germany

2010 - 2024

Professor of Marketing and Innovation, Kühne Logistics University, Hamburg, Germany

2010 - 2016 Dean of Research, Kühne Logistics University, Hamburg, Germany
2006 and 2009

Visiting Scholar, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

since 2005

Member of the Academy of Science in Hamburg

2005

Visiting Scholar, Pennsylvania State University, Smeal College of Business Administration, Pennsylvania, United States

2002 and 2006

Visiting Scholar at the Australian Graduate School of Management in Sydney, Australia

1999/01

Dean of the School of Business, Economics, and Social Sciences of Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Germany

1999

Professor of Innovation, New Media and Marketing, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Germany

1993/94

Visiting Professor of Marketing, University of Würzburg, Germany

1990

Professor of Marketing and Management Science, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Germany

1989

Visiting Professor of Marketing at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France

1986

Professor of Marketing and Management Science, University of Lüneburg, Germany

1985

Dean of the Koblenz School of Corporate Management (WHU), Koblenz, Germany

1984

Professor of Marketing and Management Science, Koblenz School of Corporate Management (WHU), Koblenz, Germany

1982/83

Visiting Assistant Professor of Finance, University of Siegen, Germany

1982

Habilitation for Business Administration, University of Kiel with a thesis on "Decision support for personal selling", Kiel, Germany

1981

Assistant Professor of Marketing and Management Science, Department of Business Administration, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Germany

1980/81

Visiting Research Scholar, Graduate School of Business of Stanford University (associated with Prof. Dr. V. Srinivasan), Stanford, United States

1977

Assistant Professor of Marketing and Management Science, Department of Business Administration, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Germany

1974

Teaching and research assistant at the Department of Business Administration, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel (Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Klaus Brockhoff), Kiel, Germany  

1977

Doctoral Degree (Dr. rer. pol., equivalent to a Ph.D.) from the University of Hamburg with a dissertation on "Airline Crew Scheduling" (advisor: Prof. Horst Seelbach), Hamburg, Germany

1973

Diploma in Business Administration from University of Hamburg, Germany

Internships with the companies AG Weser (Shipyard), Grünhut (Shipping Agency), Kühne (Food Manufacturer), Krupp Atlas Elektronik GmbH (Electonics Manufacturer), all of them in Bremen, computer programmer with Harder, Meiser & Co. (Fruit Distributor), Bremen, Summer student associate with IBM Deutschland GmbH

2020 - The European Marketing Academy (EMAC) has elected Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Sönke Albers as Dean of Fellows 2020-2022.

Sönke Albers thus serves as the spokesman for the twenty-five fellows for special merits.

2020 - The American Marketing Association’s (AMA) Selling & Sales Management Special Interest Group is delighted to announce that Sönke Albers is the winner of the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award!

In the field of sales management and personal sales, this is the highest award. The American Marketing Association is the world´s leading scientific association in the field of marketing and publishes top journals like the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of Marketing Research.

2015 - Honorary Membership of German Academic Association of Business Research

Sönke Albers has been elected as honorary member of the German Academic Association of Business Research (VHB: Verband der Hochschullehrer für Betriebswirtschaft) which comprises almost all 2200 professors and researchers in business in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, and the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Such an honorary membership is given to members that have shown excellence in research and provided important services to the community. Sönke Albers was member of the advisory board of VHB, chairman of the commission marketing, editor-in-chief of the scientific journal “Business Research” of the association, and chairman of VHB 2007-2008.

2011 - EMAC Distinguished Marketing Scholar Award

Sönke Albers has been selected to receive the 2011 EMAC Distinguished Marketing Scholar Award. The award marks the highest honor that a marketing scholar in Europe can receive and recognizes Sönke Albers' extensive and impactful research publications as well as his outstanding contributions to the European Marketing Academy (EMAC), the largest association of marketing scholars in Europe.

2010 - INFORMS Society for Marketing Science MSI Practice Prize

Sönke Albers has won together with Marc Fischer the 2009-2010 INFORMS Society for Marketing Science MSI Practice Prize. The prize was awarded for outstanding development and implementation of marketing science concepts and methods. The paper is entitled, “Dynamic Marketing Budget Allocation across Countries, Products, and Marketing Activities.” The winning research provides an innovative solution to what is called “the dynamic marketing allocation budget problem” for multi-product, multi-country firms at Bayer, Inc. The decision-support model allows Bayer to determine annual marketing budgets at the country-product-activity level in a Microsoft Excel-supported environment. The model takes into account marketing dynamics and a product’s growth potential, as well as tradeoffs of marketing effectiveness and profit contribution. The research for Bayer has realized benefits and savings of hundreds of millions.

Further information and a video of the presentation is available here 

2005 - Honorary doctorate from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University at Frankfurt/Main

Sönke Albers has received in 2005 an honorary doctorate from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University at Frankfurt/Main. Goethe University honors his contributions to make marketing effects better quantifiable. He has not only published his research in national as well international journals but also implemented his research in several companies. He has been very successful in educating numerous academic students who are now professors.

2004 - Best paper award of the International Journal of Research in Marketing

Sönke Albers received the best paper award of the International Journal of Research in Marketing for his article (together with Manfred Krafft and Rajiv Lal) “Relative explanatory power of agency theory and transaction cost analysis in German Salesforces”, in: International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol. 21 (2004), 265-283. Link to article

  • Dr. Ulrike Bähr (Fachhochschule Kiel)

  • Prof. Dr. Christian Barrot (Kühne Logistics University)

  • Prof. Dr. Jan U. Becker (Kühne Logistics University)

  • Dr. André Bielecki (Xing AG)

  • Dr. Wilhelm Bielert (SolidGround Group)

  • Dr. Sigurd Bünte (Dr. Eckhardt + Partner GmbH)

  • Prof. Dr. Michel Clement (Universität Hamburg)

  • Prof. Dr. Sabine Eggers (Fachhochschule Osnabrück)

  • Dr. Karin Eggert (HTW Chur, Schweiz)

  • Dr. Thomas Fandrich

  • Prof. Dr. Marc Fischer (Universität zu Köln)

  • Dr. Ingo Garczorz (Kampmann Berg & Partner)

  • Prof. Dr. Karen Gedenk (Universität Hamburg)

  • Prof. Dr. Goetz Greve (Hamburg School of Business Administration)

  • Dr. Sina Henningsen (Simon-Kucher&Partners)

  • Dr. Olaf Bernd Ihde (Deichmann SE)

  • Prof. Dr. Heike Jochims (FH Wedel, University of Applied Sciences)

  • Dr. Nicolai Johannsen (Otto Group)

  • Dr. Maria Kaya (Queensland University of Technology (QUT))

  • Dr. Christine Köhler

  • Prof. Dr. Manfred Krafft (Institute of Marketing, University of Münster)

  • Prof. Dr. Raoul V. Kübler (Özyegin University, Istanbul)

  • Dr. Jan Kuhlmann (MezzVest)

  • Prof. Dr. Thorsten Litfin (HS Osnabrück)

  • Dr. Ulf Marks (Kao Germany)

  • Dr. Gregor Panten (Deutsche Telekom AG)

  • Dr. Claudius Paul (ClickandBuy Marketing AG)

  • Prof. Dr. Kay Peters (Universität Hamburg)

  • Dr. Dennis Proppe (Gradient GmbH)

  • Dr. Kerstin Reimer (analytix GmbH)

  • Dr. Matthias Runte (Runte Consulting GmbH)

  • Prof. Dr. Henrik Sattler (Universität Hamburg)

  • Dr. Björn Schäfers (shopping24 internet group)

  • Prof. Dr. Holger Schneider (FH Wedel, University of Applied Sciences)

  • Prof. Dr. Bernd Skiera (Goethe-University, Frankfurt)

  • Dr. Florian Söhnchen (Danfoss Silicon Power GmbH)

  • Dr. Silvia Boßow-Thies (CapGemini Consulting)

  • Prof. Dr. Dieter K. Tscheulin (Universität Freiburg)