The Bubble Theory

​The term sustainable development (SD) has now become a ubiquitous idea, philosophy, and guiding principle in our society. Governments, business, NGOs and individuals have embraced the mindset, and even the education institutions talk about graduating young people with sustainability in their DNA. Despite its noble origin, however, sustainable development is a concept that embodies compromise. This compromise has led to a term that is devoid of scientific foundation and actionable guidelines. 

In this volume, Min Ding offers an alternative to SD, introducing a framework, which he calls the Bubble Theory, built on three layers: the symbiotic duo (subconscious desires at the self and species levels); enlightened needs (manifested desires of the self and species beyond basic survival and procreation), and human development principles (with fair development as the ideal principle for the present).  These fundamental concepts of enlightened needs (EN) and fair development (FD) have profound implications for both the theory and application of new practices in business and policymaking.

Min Ding is Smeal Professor of Marketing and Innovation at Smeal College of Business, the Pennsylvania State University, and Advisory Professor of Marketing and Director of Insitute for Sustainable Innovation and Growth (iSIG) at School of Management, Fudan University. Min received his Ph.D. in Marketing (with a 2nd concentration in Health Care System) from Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania (2001), his Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from the Ohio State University (1996), and his B.S. in Genetics and Genetic Engineering from Fudan University (1989).

His work endeavors to provide theories and tools that have significant value to the practice of marketing, and more generally, economic development in human context. He enjoys working on problems where potential solutions require substantial creativity and major deviation from the received wisdom. Min received the Maynard Award in 2007, Davidson Award in 2012, and his work has also been voted as Paul Green Award finalists (2006 and 2008) and O'Dell Award finalist (2010).

He is V.P. of membership for the INFORMS Society for Marketing Science (ISMS), and series editor of Perspectives on Sustainable Growth (Springer).

Link to cv:

http://www.planetding.org/aboutme/files/mindingcv.pdf