The marketing market: A study of PhD supply, demand, hiring institutions, and job candidates

The shortage of faculty is a critical problem facing business deans today. This shortage has important implications for teaching, research and academic governance. This study examines two explanations for this shortage – (1) disequilibrium between supply and demand and (2) the match between candidates and jobs – with an eye toward solving the shortage. Our study focuses on the field of marketing using several sources of data. Data suggest that both disequilibrium and mismatch are viable explanations. While it appears that an undersupply of PhDs is primarily responsible for the shortfall in faculty, there are several forces that may be limiting production. As a result, reducing mismatch may be the easier issue to address. The important implications for marketing and business are discussed including those around workload and faculty retention. Finally, implications that arise for business education, research, and faculty governance are discussed.