Marketing education in Slovenia has as long tradition as marketing practice, though it had never been the dominant source of marketing knowledge. First marketing research and more sophisticated advertising projects in mid 60’s were carried out by innovative entrepreneurs, who gained some experience in western countries, or through license cooperation of several Slovenian FMCG producers with international companies. In early 70’s there had been already good marketing education program at newly established University in Maribor. At the same time first marketing agency started to operate in Ljubljana, being an important informal educational center for more than a decade. After 1985 marketing had became again a positive word in this part of the world, which caused growth of all kinds of marketing services and training suppliers, followed by more and more marketing courses at university level. Rapid growth of marketing activities in 90’s has also been characterized by many opportunities for marketing education and training through different institutions. For that reason we believe, there has been more marketing knowledge in the country, than is formally recognized by number of marketing diplomas at both Slovenian universities.

Observing heterogeneous group of Slovenian marketers, with diverse educational backgrounds, we have excellent opportunity to evaluate the real value of formal marketing education vs. other kinds of training. Study will be presented, comparing educational background and professional success of two hundred Slovenian professionals, showing there are no significant differences. Further data will be presented regarding marketing education and the study success of new generation, which will take positions in coming years.

One of our main conclusions could be, present marketing education system does not produce adequate results, and we will try to suggest some improvements. We are especially critical of so called Kotlerian approach to marketing, designed for big companies in consumer goods industry in 70’s. In our opinion, this approach is not suitable for mostly small central European companies, operating in culturally diverse and dispersed markets.

How to teach marketing to new generations of students in small countries in transition is therefore a question of paramount importance. The aim of this part of paper is to answer whether it is right to try to catch upon EU and other developed countries merely by learning marketing that made them and their companies great and prosperous in the past, or emphasis in education should rest upon a new, reconceptualized marketing knowledge. The paper will cover an explanation of marketing paradigm change that should become an integral part of marketing curriculum in the future. The topics of new knowledge will be presented through major trends such as: from manipulation to communication, from action to interaction and relationships, from competition to cooperation, from customer focus to broadened stakeholder and holistic views of marketing etc.

Final results will demonstrate that successful marketing education should embrace both competitive - mainstream and cooperative - interactive marketing perspectives. The presentaton will also emphasize the importance of interdisciplinary approach to marketing education and importance of its spreading into all faculty study curriculums.

Damjan Janez, Jančič Zlatko (1997), "Great marketing education for small countries," in International Marketing Conference of Hungarian Marketing Associaton “European Marketing Challenge, Budapest, 84-85.