A new educational paradigm to decolonise marketing education and practice

Higher Education Institutions face significant challenges as they navigate the complexities of existing economic, political and social models. We have a broken two-tier system that somehow works for the Global North but is affected by significant fractures while leaving behind the Global South. At the domestic and international levels, the world economies are witnessing increasing inequalities, rising economic imbalances and deterioration of the planet’s ecosystems. We have already surpassed some planetary boundaries that threaten our ability to develop a cohesive society that works for inclusive, sustainable development. In this chapter, we examine and reflect on the challenges posed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the need for a new educational paradigm that assesses the need to bring different perspectives and various approaches to teaching, learning and researching at third-level education institutions. This chapter critically assesses the influence of Capitalism and Neoliberalism and their role in perpetuating economic imbalances and the growing social divide as Western values dominate economic dynamics that are defined by market interests, the dominance of business activities and their impact on the marketing field as goods and services are developed and positioned across different countries. Higher education has been significantly affected by our colonial history, and it is defined by the needs of the dominant market-driven economic model that has resulted in the commodification of education. Through the lens of education and marketing practices within the sector, we provide arguments that justify the necessity for a new transformational and innovative higher education model that should be framed within a new educational paradigm guided by pedagogical innovation that seeks to decolonise educational practices, as they significantly influence acculturation process in a globalised world. Our global society is adapting the beliefs, traditions, customs and values that define Western societies, as younger and older generations need to gain the required skills to live and thrive in an ever-changing socio-economic and environmental landscape of rising competition, evolving crisis defined by their multidimensional and multifaceted features compounded by increasing levels of conflict.