Marketing Solutions to the Challenges of a VUCA Environment: What Have We Accomplished and What More Can We Do?

The marketing discipline is coming of age amidst the challenges of the Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA) environment of the 21st century and the violent push into the phygital era that the COVID-19 pandemic gave to businesses and consumers. This chapter introduces the contributions of distinguished academics, from parts of the world which are under-represented in the literature, towards the development of innovative and sustainable solutions to these challenges. It discusses the theoretical, empirical, and practical solutions to problems faced by professionals in tourism and travel, consumer behaviour, and marketing management. The relentless pursuit of competitive advantage is identified as a thing of the past which needs substituted by resilience and the ability to orchestrate the co-creation of valuable eco-friendly brand experiences which solve customer problems. The responsibilities of the discipline and its disciples for what is promoted and how, and the importance of trust, commitment, and diligence are also proposed as means for turning marketing from part of the problem to the force that will show the way out of the permacrisis.