Giuliana Francesca Manganaro, Chair of Sales & Service Marketing: Marketing the organizational Purpose (August 2024)

Giuliana Manganaro sitzt im Freien auf einer Bank. Sie hat lange dunkle Haare, trägt eine weiße Bluse und einen schwarzen Rock.

In order to better understand the success of companies and individuals, Giuliana Francesca Manganaro studied Finance in Frankfurt (B.Sc.) and Philosophy in Mannheim (M.A.). During her studies, she focused on gaining insights into market and motivational psychology, which she is now deepening in her dissertation. Under the Sales & Service-oriented supervision of Prof. Florian Kraus, Giuliana Francesca Manganaro is working on the marketing of the corporate purpose.

What is your current research topic and why do you find the research relevant?

In my research, I focus on the marketing of “organizational purpose.” The relevance of “purpose” as a philosophical construct has sometimes been legitimized, especially from an individual psychology perspective. Since organizations exist by and for the prosperity of individuals in the first place, but some organizations, based on the limited time horizon of the individuals forming the organization, prefer short-term profit maximization to sustainable value enhancement, which ultimately harms our prosperity, it seems to me almost vulgar to ignore the consideration and marketing of organizational “purpose”. In other words, it seems sensible to me, especially at a time when many readers may have already lost the thread after my previous sentence, to present the purpose that legitimizes the company clearly and comprehensibly. This also means illustrating this reason in such a way that we can assess within a reasonable period of time whether the company is enriching or harming us in the long term. If the latter is the case, it is almost bordering on stupidity to legitimize such a company on the market in any way. If we as a society then use money according to its actual function, I see my research as a playful and slightly naive way of approaching the initial idea of the market economy and optimizing prosperity.

For all those who have not yet delved so deeply into your topic and the subject of “data science”:How would you explain to a child what you are working on?

I like that question. It's also helpful for yourself to point out possible contradictions between what you do and what you want, isn't it? To answer: I want to find out how we can exploit the true luxury of the market economy. To understand this, we should use our brains – even if it is sometimes exhausting. And, to keep a clear head, I use the most advanced tools that go by the name of “data science”.

Everyone is talking about data science – how would you describe the importance of the topic for you in three words?

Cost-benefit analysis

What is the value of data science for your work?

You see, science has always been enriching when it actually creates knowledge. If, stereotyping, you assume that we humans value our habits very highly, then this leads to some findings being considered reliable for a long time. However, in order to continue to create knowledge, it is necessary to recognize new connections. Today, this often means analyzing specific or complex relationships. The analysis of such correlations usually requires a large sample size. The use of specially developed data science methods proves to be extremely efficient for analyzing large samples in a meaningful way. Just imagine how long it would take to manually calculate the standard deviation of five observations, even with a calculator. If you compare the time invested in this with the time required when using the appropriate software, the manual method seems almost antiquated. There are certainly compromises that should be taken into account, because the ill-considered use of methods simply because they exist can lead to fatal conclusions. This is precisely why I find the targeted use of data science methods so appealing; because it allows researchers to focus on the logic of the correlations. And it is precisely these that ultimately deliver scientific added value.

What development opportunities do you see for the topic of data science in relation to your specialist area?

If I may focus on the field of marketing, then I ascribe extraordinary importance to the development opportunities for data science. Marketing is per se an interdisciplinary field that delves deep into the findings of various sciences, especially psychology, sociology and behavioral economics. Through the targeted use of data science, we can take these insights to a whole new level.

Imagine if we could decode the subtle nuances of human emotions and behaviors with a precision that was previously unthinkable – from analyzing the finest facial expressions to capturing biometric data and predicting individual communication preferences (all while adhering to all privacy-relevant guidelines, of course). Such in-depth insights make it possible to develop marketing strategies that not only touch the surface of needs, but address their deep-rooted motives and desires. This opens up a new dimension in stakeholder management, enabling companies to optimally serve the market and generate wealth.

P.S.: The answer text to this question was mainly created by ChatGPT in certainly less than a minute. I made 12 adjustments and gave ChatGPT a framework of five sentences on the topic and direction beforehand. If I had written this text myself, it would certainly have taken longer. Even if the content and logic need to be reviewed and adapted by us, the use of appropriate methods, as well as the application of data science, is a luxury that allows us to deal with what really interests us. And why waste your time on something you can delegate well when you can use it for things you enjoy?

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