This paper details how marketing scholars can address important marketing issues. It starts by clearly distinguishing importance from relevance and, on that basis, discerns four types of research projects: (1) thought leadership; (2) science leadership; (3) applied science; and (4) puzzling science. It proposes to funnel more resources from applied and puzzling science to thought leadership and to sustain science leadership. To do so, it offers a research funnel (awareness-consideration-choice-execution) and how ability and motivation throughout the funnel guide a scholar towards more important research. It offers three key takeaways on how to achieve more important research: (1) socialize with practice; (2) embrace residual ambiguity; and (3) do not get bored or boring from hyperspecialization.

本文详细介绍了营销学者如何解决重要的营销问题。首先要从区分重要性和相关性开始，并在此基础上辨别出四种类型的研究项目：（1）思想领导力；（2）科学领导；（3）应用科学；（4）令人费解的科学。它建议将更多资源从应用科学和令人费解的科学中转移到思想领导力上，并保持科学领导力。为此，它提供了一个研究漏斗（意识-思考-选择-执行），以及整个漏斗中的能力和动机如何引导学者进行更重要的研究。它提供了关于如何完成更重要的研究的三个关键要点：（1）与实践进行社交；（2）包含残留的歧义；（3）不要因过度专业化而感到无聊或无聊。