Wroe Alderson's Marketing Behaviour and Executive Action inserted into Reavis Cox's marketing theory course at Wharton 50 years ago

Purpose - The purpose of the paper is to describe and evaluate the changes in the content of the marketing theory course at Wharton 50 years ago, taught by Reavis Cox, as a result of the insertion of Wroe Alderson's book Marketing Behaviour and Executive Action.Design methodology approach - The paper presents a personal experience of taking the course before the insertion of Alderson's book and a review of the revised course outline.Findings - The course content moved away from a broader philosophically based marketing systems course linked to ideas from other disciplines, to one focused on marketing management.Originality value - The period in question is an important turning point in the way marketing theory was taught and developed that influenced future development of the discipline in ways that narrowed its focus and limited its contribution.