Pembroke Consulting’s Adam Fein recently led a panel of professors at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The conversation touched on a number of timely topics, including the U.S. dollar, exports, China, customer relationships, pricing and the credit and housing bubbles. (Here’s the full article.)  
 
Perhaps one of the more interesting parts of the discussion came closer to the beginning. The question: Should firms increase spending during a recession? The answer, provided by Penn State Professor Gary Lilien, was that it depends. He says that those companies with the marketing expertise, a culture that can go against a tough trend and the resources to invest should …