Research Proposal Support Funding

Description

The mission of the ISBM is to:

• help advance the theory and practice of business marketing, and to
• disseminate key research findings within both the academic and practice communities.

To support these goals, we have developed a Research Proposal Support Funding Policy. The ISBM does not provide unrestricted grants, but does provide expense reimbursements. Those expenses can include direct research assistant costs, travel to do or present findings of research, data collection costs, and the like. The ISBM generally does not provide faculty salary supplements. Grants in the $3,000 to $10,000 range are most common.

What to Do

Researchers are encouraged to contact the ISBM before preparing a proposal for submission. Our Research Director can provide information about the availability of funds and if the topic falls within the ISBM research guidelines.

Initial proposals should be brief. In fact, most should be submitted as "preliminary proposals" first. Preliminary proposals should be attachments of one to three pages in length, double-spaced. Include with the proposal the vitae of all of the researchers on the project.

Each proposal should address the following topics:

1. Discuss the importance of your research to the business marketing practice. What short- or long-term contributions to practice will your research make?
2. Discuss the theoretical/academic importance of your research and what is your likely contribution. What is your theory, your model, your set of propositions, and how do they relate to previously published work?
3. Discuss your research methodology. What is your survey procedure, your sample selection, your analysis, your experimental design, your validation, etc.?
4. Indicate your need for ISBM support. Please be specific here, separating your direct financial needs from your need for access to ISBM-related firms and/or data. Provide a budget for your requested support.

Following receipt of the above we will do one of the following:

1. Award a grant directly,
2. Work with you (through the research director or program director) to more finely tune your proposal to the mission of the ISBM (click to see ISBM's research priorities ), or
3. Indicate that the research is not fundable by the ISBM.

Proposal Deadlines

The expectation is that most principal investigators will be full-time faculty. The ISBM accepts proposals at any time during the year from faculty members. Ph.D. students may enter the annual ISBM Business Marketing Doctoral Support Award Competition . Doctoral students should request a copy of the latest call for proposals for this competition. Consideration may be given to proposals from Ph.D. students at other times of the year.

Commitment

In return for ISBM support, the researcher must agree to the following:

1. One or more papers must be added to the ISBM Working Series for release to our corporate members through our Web site. We request both the working paper in printed form and in electronic format preferably in Microsoft Word. See ISBM Working Paper Principles and Guidelines for more information.
   
2. Most universities, including Penn State, have an approval process for the use of human subjects in research. Your research must meet all the human subject requirements of your institution.
3. The ISBM may require a research presentation at one of our conferences. Transportation expenses and related costs will be paid by the ISBM.
4. Up to twice a year, the ISBM may request progress reports on your project.
5. The ISBM should be given credit in any publication based on this research. The credit should read, "The author(s) acknowledges the support of Penn State's Institute for the Study of Business Markets."
6. The ISBM should be notified of publication and provided with reprints of the articles based on the supported research.

Approval Process

The ISBM directorate will make the final decisions on the awards. Short proposals should be sent by e-mail attachment to the ISBM Research Director (through gwh3@psu.edu ) or any specific program director listed at the end of this section. Acceptable formats for submissions are Word, PDF, or RTF. Decisions are normally made within one month of submission.

Professor Gary L. Lilien
Distinguished Research Professor of Management Science and Research Director
Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM)
Smeal College of Business
The Pennsylvania State University
484 Business Building
University Park, PA 16802-3603

Phone: 814-863-2782
E-mail: GLilien@psu.edu

Specific Program Directors

Product Policy: Abbie Griffin, University of Illinois
E-mail: abbieg@uiuc.edu

Buying Strategies and Operations: Wesley Johnston, Georgia State University
E-mail: wesleyj@gsu.edu

Customer Value and Channels: Jim Anderson, Northwestern University, Kellogg Graduate School of Management
E-mail: jc-anderson@nwu.edu

Business Relationships: David Wilson, Penn State
E-mail: dtw@psu.edu

Market Communications: Ralph Oliva, Penn State
E-mail: rao8@psu.edu

Marketing Information Systems and e-Business in Business-to-Business Markets: Arvind Rangaswamy, Penn State
E-mail: arvindr@psu.edu

Business Market Research: Wayne DeSarbo, Penn State
E-mail: desarbows@aol.com