Differences in Accounting and Marketing Professors’ Criteria for

Abstract

Textbooks are an integral component of the higher education process. This pilot study examined the differences in accounting faculty and marketing faculty’s ratings on factors influencing the textbook selection process and various marketing techniques used by publishers to encourage adoption. A total of 678 faculty responded to the Internet survey - 348 were accounting faculty and 310 were marketing faculty. Overall results indicate that content, ancillary materials and textbook costs are the primary drivers of adoption. Examination copies, contact by book reps, and direct mail flyers were the best methods of encouraging faculty to examine a new textbook. However, there were significant differences between accounting faculty and marketing faculty on selection criteria and ancillaries.