Theodore Levitt was a renowned American economist and marketing expert born in 1925 in Germany. He received his PhD in Economics from Ohio State University and joined Harvard Business School in 1959. Levitt made significant contributions to marketing theory, including coining the term "globalization" and emphasizing the importance of understanding customer needs. He authored several influential books and articles and received numerous honors for his work, becoming one of the most important business thinkers of the 20th century. Levitt stressed that companies must focus on customers and market development to survive in competitive environments.

1. THEODORE
LEVITT
PRESENTATION
REMYA.P
MTP, MBA
ASIET
Prof. Nimal C Namboodiripad

2. Biography
• Born on March 1st 1925 in Vollmerz, Germany.
• Did his Bachelors at Antioch College and PhD in Economics
from Ohio State University
• Joined the Harvard Business school (HBS) in 1959
• He was the editor of Harvard Business Review and was
instrumental in increasing its circulation
• He was an extraordinary researcher, teacher, writer and
mentor
• Died at the age of 81 on June 28, 2006

3. Honors
• Winner of Academy of Management Award of 1962
• Winner of John Hancock Award in 1969
• He was the “Marketing Man of the Year” 1970
• Winner of George Gallup Award (1976) and Paul D Converse
Award (1978) for marketing
• Winner of William M McFeely Award of the International
Management Council in 1989

4. Books & Articles
• Marketing Myopia (1960)
• Thinking of Management(1991)
• Creativity Is Not Enough (1963 )
• Levitt on Marketing(1991)
• The Marketing Imagination (1983)
• After The Sale is Over(1983)
• Marketing for Business Growth(1974)
• The Globalization of Markets
• Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles (1981 )

5. Contributions
• He is widely credited with coining the term “Globalization”
through the article “Globalisation of Markets” in May-June
1983 HBR Issue
• He proposed a definition for Corporate purpose
• He wrote extensively and developed his ideas on the benefits
and risk of marketing in a series of books and articles
• He is the author of numerous articles on economics, politics,
management and marketing subjects

6. Philosophy
• Levitt made a key contribution to management theory in
the area of marketing
• His idea was that survival of firm depends on the customer
• He says selling is basic to the firm’s existence
• He argues that marketing is a much wider concept than
selling
• It is easy to produce goods much more difficult to sell them
in a competitive environment
• Marketing is neglected because firms feel secure

7. Philosophy
• Management has to be aware as to the activities outside
the industry also in order to survive
• They have to do constant research and development
activities which are consumer focused
• Objective – present and future should be clearly defined
• A firm must be looked at as a customer creating and
customer satisfying mechanism
• He advocated a marketing development department

8. Source: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Levitt