Archive for May 3rd, 2019

What DSEF Delivers to You and Your Company

What DSEF Delivers to You and Your Company

The Direct Selling Education Foundation is committed to helping today’s students understand the benefits and business principles of direct selling. We do this by equipping professors and other educators with the knowledge and materials they need to provide students with an accurate understanding of the channel. As more professors produce data and research, and incorporate direct selling content into their courses, today’s policymakers and our next generation of leaders will have a true understanding of what direct selling is about.

In 2019 the Foundation has achieved essential milestones that will change the way direct selling is taught in universities and viewed by future generations. We help you tell your story.:

  • 219 DSEF Fellows representing leading colleges and universities across the US are helping to mainstream the channel through teaching, research and publishing.
  • The Foundation commissioned 23 research projects and case studies to educate the public and key stakeholders about the relevance of the channel.
  • The program’s student reach– delivered through campus events, DSEF Fellow-led data-driven research and an array of classroom teaching content – make direct selling part of the education of more than 70,000 students.
  • More than 50 senior executives from direct selling’s broadest array of companies have led campus-wide events and classroom lectures and will be featured in video content that reaches thousands more students.
  • DSEF developed a library of more than 50 industry-specific videos used by professors to teach direct selling to students and help you counter critics of the channel.
  • DSEF Fellows contributed direct selling-related articles to academic journals and monographs, and included direct selling company case studies in widely-used marketing and entrepreneurship textbooks.
  • Foundation case studies and case videos are featured by the Global Jesuit Case Series, reaching 200 Jesuit colleges and universities globally.

And we’re not done yet. To find out how you can help us maintain our momentum, contact us today.

Students and Direct Selling: Key Takeaways from Our Fellows

DSEF recently asked its Fellows to share their experiences using the Foundation’s teaching content, research and case studies in the classroom. Here are a few highlights:

My students have pointedly benefited from DSEF case materials. The Big Data video is highly insightful and garners substantial discussion. The Cocoa Exchange case, particularly the related video, is wonderful for discussing corporate social responsibility, women’s empowerment and direct selling.

Dr. William F. Crittenden
Professor, International Business and Strategy
Northeastern University

 


 The students relate to selling Cutco because of Vector’s business model of using college students to sell the products. I am thrilled with the opportunities to bring experiential learning into my classroom and students gain real world skill sets which will help them in their careers.

Dr. Wendy Ritz
Assistant Teaching Professor- Marketing
Florida State University Panama City

 


As a DSEF Fellow, I have had amazing opportunities to engage with direct selling industry leaders, and it has really helped shape my research agenda. I was able to develop a teaching case that connected my research interest in effectuation and social entrepreneurship with the founders of Trades of Hope and was awarded a research grant at my university.

As a bonus, many students were introduced to the direct selling distribution channel as an avenue for social entrepreneurship and considered it in the development of their own social enterprise.

Dr. Christine Mollenkopf-Pigsley
Assistant Professor & Program Director- Applied Organizational Studies
Minnesota State University Mankato


The DSEF pedagogical support materials address real-world, timely marketing practices. I am able to leverage the articles and case videos in highly-engaging discussions about the increasing role of disintermediation in marketing channels. I also use the materials to reinforce how direct selling is an inextricable opportunity in the ‘Gig Economy.’ This is important because my students are likely engaged in the Gig Economy.

Dr. Lou Pelton
Associate Professor of Marketing
University of North Texas