Differential Effect of Client-based and Non-client-based Projects on Marketing Students’ Course Performance and Evaluations

Abstract

ABSTRACT This research investigates the effectiveness of incorporating a client-based project in an undergraduate course by comparing it with a non-client-based project. This study utilizes quantitative (i.e., experiment) and qualitative (i.e., in-depth interviews) methods to examine the impact of client-based projects on students’ course performance and student evaluations of instruction. The experiment’s dataset comprises 305 students in four sections of an undergraduate marketing research course taught by the same instructor over four semesters. The results of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) show that, compared to the non-client-based approach, a client-based approach improves students’ course performance in terms of their midterm grade, final grade, and overall grade. Moreover, students involved in the client-based project perceived higher intellectual growth and skill development than students involved in the non-client-based project. The qualitative data findings extended the previous quantitative results and showed that students who participated in client-based projects believe that they obtained higher academic confidence, career confidence, hard skills, and soft skills than students who participated in non-client-based projects. These findings are supported by the value co-creation model and social exchange theory.