Christian Grönroos

Christian Grönroos (born 16 January 1947) is a Finnish academic known for his foundational contributions to the fields of service and relationship marketing. His research interest is to "develop marketing based on a service logic: promise management and marketing; transforming manufacturing into service business."

Christian Grönroos is ''finlandssvensk'' ('Finland's-Swede'). In January 1979, he defended is doctoral dissertation entitled "Marketing of services: A study of the marketing function in service firms." The official opponent was Clas Wahlbin who would become a professor at Linköping University, and rector of Jönköping University in Sweden.

In 1984, Christian Grönroos was appointed Professor of International and Industrial Marketing at Hanken School of Economics in Finland, (Svenska handelshögskolan). In 1999, he became Professor of Service and Relationship Marketing. He founded the research and knowledge centre CERS-Centre for Relationship Marketing and Service Management. He is an Honorary Professor at Nankai University and Tianjin Normal University, P.R.China as well as at Oslo School of Management, Norway. Between 2001 and 2007 he served as Guest Professor of Service Management at Lund University Sweden. Provided by Wikipedia