Theodore Levitt (March 1, 1925 – June 28, 2006) was a German-born American economist and a professor at the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

. He was editor of the ''

Harvard Business Review ''Harvard Business Review'' (''HBR'') is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University. ''HBR'' is published six times a year and is headquartered in Brighton, Massach ...

'', noted for increasing the Review's circulation and popularizing the term

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

. In 1983, he proposed a definition for ''corporate purpose'': "Rather than merely making money, it is to create and keep a customer".

Early life

Levitt was born in 1925 in Schlüchtern-Vollmerz to a Jewish family. A decade later his family moved to

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

. He served in World War II, received his high school diploma through correspondence school and then earned a bachelor's degree at

Antioch College Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its f ...

, a college founded by the

Christian Connection The Christian Connection was a Christian movement in the United States of America that developed in several places during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, composed of members who withdrew from other Christian denominations. It was influe ...

, and a PhD in economics at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. His first teaching job was at the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...

. In 1959 he joined the faculty of the

. Later that year, he became well known after publishing '' Marketing Myopia'' in

where he asks "What business are you in?", a phrase that demands one account for the significance of the job one does.

Role in developing the term "globalization"

Though widely credited with coining the term

in an article entitled "Globalization of Markets", which appeared in the May–June 1983 issue of

, he was not the originator of the term. As a ''New York Times'' article notes, the term 'globalization' was in use well before this publication (at least as early as 1944) and had been used by economists as early as 1981. Nonetheless, Levitt can be credited with popularizing the term and bringing to a mainstream business audience.

Further work

Between 1985 and 1989, he headed the ''Harvard Business Review'' as editor. He was the author of ''The Marketing Imagination'', and his works have been translated into eleven languages. He was also the author of numerous articles on economic, political, management, and marketing subjects.

Honors and accolades

He was a four-time winner of the McKinsey Awards competitions for best annual article in the ''Harvard Business Review''; winner of Academy of Management Award for the outstanding business books of 1962 for ''Innovation in Marketing''; winner of John Hancock Award for Excellence in Business Journalism in 1969; recipient of the Charles Coolidge Parlin Award as "Marketing Man of the Year" 1970; recipient of the George Gallup Award for Marketing Excellence, 1976; recipient of the 1978 Paul D. Converse Award of the American Marketing Association for major contributions to marketing; and recipient of the 1989 William M. McFeely Award of the International Management Council for major contributions to management.

Death

Levitt died at the age of 81 in his home on June 28, 2006 after a long illness. His memorial was held at his favorite tennis club. He was survived by his wife of 58 years and by four children.

Books and articles

Articles: *'' Marketing Myopia'', ''

'', 1960. *''Creativity Is Not Enough'', ''

'', 1963. *''Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles'', ''

'', May–June 1981, p. 94-102. *''After The Sale Is Over'', ''

'', September–October 1983, p. 87-93. *''The Globalization of Markets'', ''

'', May–June 1983. Books: *''The Third Sector: New Tactics for a Responsive Society.'' 1973 *''Marketing for business growth, 1974, New York : McGraw-Hill, First ed. published in 1969 under the title: The marketing mode.'' *''The marketing imagination, 1983, New York : The Free Press'' *''The marketing imagination, 1986, New York : Free Press (New, expanded ed.)'' *''Thinking about management, 1991, New York : Free Press'' *''Levitt on marketing, 1991, Boston, Mass. : Harvard Business School Press''

References

Archives and records

Theodore Levitt papers
at Baker Library Special Collections, Harvard Business School.

Additional

* Complete {{DEFAULTSORT:Levitt, Theodore 1925 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American educators Antioch College alumni Marketing people Marketing theorists 20th-century American economists 21st-century American economists German emigrants to the United States Harvard Business School faculty American business theorists American marketing people Ohio State University Graduate School alumni People from Belmont, Massachusetts Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts University of North Dakota faculty Economists from Massachusetts