User:Carolynkuttan/sandbox

The Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM) is a non-profit, global center of excellence that networks business-to-business (B2B) marketing researchers and practitioners. Headquartered at the Smeal College of Business at The Pennsylvania State University the ISBM fosters the advancement of the knowledge and practice of B2B marketing and sales(Lilien, 2012). The ISBM's mission is to expand research and teaching in B2B marketing and sales and to build more efficient and effective marketing practice for member firms in industry(Lilien, 2017). The ISBM has fifty member companies and twenty-five academic fellows as of 2017. The practitioner research board, comprised of eight participating members, is responsible for shaping the research agenda, securing funds and sharing the data.

History
The ISBM, originally called The Institute for the Study of Industrial Marketing, was proposed to the College of Business Administration at The Pennsylvania State University in 1982 by Gary Lilien, Irwin "Irv" Gross, and the late David Wilson. In June of 1983 Irv Gross was hired as the first Executive Director. The ISBM launched in July of 1983 underwritten for three years by grants from four sponsors: AT&T, Control Data, DuPont, and GE. By 1985, ISBM had twelve member firms, was publishing the ISBM Marketplace Newsletter, and had the first members meeting in Philadelphia. The first course was offered in 1986 on value and pricing strategy, followed by several more on topics like industrial marketing research and new products. In 1990 the first academic fellows were appointed to serve as a mentoring resource for member companies to access. In 2004 the biannual academic conference was created and in 2005 the biannual ISBM Ph-D camp was initiated. In 2008 the Academic Newsletter was founded.

Organization
The Institute for the Study of Business Markets has an Advisory Board comprised of volunteers from the membership who are appointed to provide leadership in shaping the curriculum and discussion topics for members meetings. The headquarters are located at The Pennsylvania State University in State College with additional offices located in North Carolina, Delaware, and Illinois. ISBM has a research arm and a practitioner arm, with Executive Directors for both. The practitioners help define the desired new knowledge from research. The research fellows develop new knowledge that practitioners use to improve their companies. This structure allows for direct collaboration with companies allowing both entities to share cooperatively in best practices. Lynn Yanyo was appointed Executive Director in 2017. Ralph Oliva and Rand Mendez are Directors, Gary Lilien and J. Andrew Peterson are Research Director and Associate Research Director, respectively.

Membership Offerings
The ISBM strives to provide a commercial free collective that encourages the sharing of ideas in order to provide resources for members. Membership offers many services to solve business challenges, including customizable professional education, marketing coaching and advice, networking events, an online B2B marketing community and resource, and access to MBA students from Smeal College of Business for research, case studies, and recruitment.

Events and Courses
Annual members events, local events, webinars and open courses are offered to members and prospective members designed to deliver relevant, timely content in an intimate, non-commercial environment. These events allow B2B practitioners to connect with world-renowned thought leaders to facilitate relationship building.

Research Funding
The ISBM supports both faculty and doctoral (PHD) students in funding their B2B research. Proposals for research funding by university faculty members are accepted year round. An annual Doctoral Awards Competition is held in September to fund the research of PHD students.