Florian Gasser receives first research award in wholesale

The scientist, who hails from South Tyrol, wrote his doctoral thesis at the University of St.Gallen, where he also works as a postdoctoral researcher and teacher at the IMP. He is also a teacher at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and an external lecturer at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano.

Focus on influencer marketing

While influencer marketing has long been established in areas such as consumer goods marketing, other industries have been less studied to date. This is precisely where Gasser comes in: he analyses how companies in industries such as wholesale or tourism can gain visibility and build trust through opinion leaders and industry ambassadors – and which factors influence economic success. In particular, he examines in which contexts which influencers could be a profitable option for which companies, as well as the potentially critical aspects associated with influencer marketing.

“Dr Gasser's work provides valuable insights for improving marketing strategies in wholesale on an evidence-based basis. A worthy first recipient of our research award,” emphasised ForveG Chairman Till Blässinger.

Gasser himself put the award into perspective: “I am very grateful that, at a time when research budgets are being cut in many places, an initiative such as ForveG is highlighting and supporting scientific achievements. Research should not be an end in itself, but should – in line with the principle of ‘from insight to impact’ – benefit many: companies, employees and, above all, society at large.”

Signal for more research in wholesale

With this award, ForveG wants to draw attention to a structural deficit: research accounts for only 0.1 per cent of wholesale, even though the industry employs almost two million people. ‘That is far too little for such a central stage of the value chain,’ explained Blässinger.

The independent jury consisted of three renowned scientists:

• Prof. Dr. Michael Krupp, Augsburg University of Applied Sciences
• Prof. Dr. Julia Arlinghaus, University of St. Gallen
• Prof. Dr. Dirk Morschett, University of Fribourg

They highlighted the high practical relevance of the work and particularly praised how Gasser's research bridges the gap between marketing theory and wholesale reality.

ForveG and BGA

ForveG is a subsidiary organisation of the Federal Association of Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA), one of Germany's largest industry associations with 139,000 companies, an annual turnover of 1,700 billion euros and around two million employees. ForveG's goal is to initiate research in wholesale, promote young scientists and bridge the gap between academic knowledge and business practice.

Image: Kamil Janus / ForveG