Theodore Levitt was an American economist and a professor at the Harvard Business School. He was editor of the Harvard Business Review, noted for increasing the Review's circulation and popularizing the term globalization. In 1983, he proposed a definition for corporate purpose: "Rather than merely making money, it is to create and keep a customer".
Though widely credited with coining the term globalization in an article entitled "Globalization of Markets", which appeared in the May–June 1983 issue of Harvard Business Review, 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 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, Harvard Business Review, 1960.
Creativity Is Not Enough, Harvard Business Review, 1963.
Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles, Harvard Business Review, May–June 1981, p. 94-102.
After The Sale Is Over, Harvard Business Review, September–October 1983, p. 87-93.
The Globalization of Markets, Harvard Business Review, 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
Thinking about management, 1991, New York : Free Press
