Levitt, Ted (1925–2006)

US management theorist. Levitt's career was launched in a landmark article, ‘Marketing Myopia’, in the July 1960 issue of the Harvard Business Review, in which he highlighted the importance of marketing to organizations. He was the Edward W Carter Emeritus Professor of Business Administration, at Harvard Business School (1990–2006), former editor of the Harvard Business Review, and author of numerous articles and books on economics, management, and marketing.

‘Marketing Myopia’ was published in the post-war era when companies concentrated on efficiency and high-volume production. Levitt argued that this policy was short sighted and would lead to complacency rather than growth, as it did not take into account what the customer actually wanted. In The Globalisation of Markets (1983), Levitt argued that companies should offer standardized products around the world instead of taking into account cultural preferences, stressing the fact that people ‘desire the same products and lifestyles’ no matter where they live.

Born in Germany, Levitt moved to the USA in 1935, where he studied economics. He worked as a consultant in Chicago in the 1950s before joining the Harvard Business School where he first taught marketing, despite professing never to have read a book on the subject.