The marketing discipline in trouble? Academic voices vying for supremacy

Abstract

Purpose

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no study that investigates the historical roots of quantitative paradigm hegemony over the qualitative paradigm in marketing using a critical lens. The purpose of this paper is to stimulate thoughtful reflections among marketing scholars so that the dialog among paradigms expands, the stale paradigmatic debates disappear, and the marketing discipline evolves and contributes to the actual functioning of markets and the welfare of society.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is conducted in the light of foucauldian genealogy through the analysis of historical materials that Foucault called discourses, a set of languages, systems of thinking and governality techniques that determine how individuals or organizations come to be disciplined. In this paper, the concept of discourse mainly refers to visible rituals and practices by which marketing researchers have been psychologically and behaviorally shaped to reproduce and perpetuate a hypothetical-deductive mainstream within their discipline.

Findings

This paper intends to stimulate a dialog among marketing scholars about expanding paradigms so that stale debates disappear, and marketing disciplines proves their scientific status by better contributing to the functioning of markets and the welfare of society. As an evolving social science, marketing requires new theory, new concepts and new research methods.

Originality/value

The intellectual contribution of this paper lies in its intention to alert marketing researchers about the danger we are exposing our discipline to by promoting imperialist traditions and standardization of thinking.

Citation

Korai, B. and Souiden, N. (2019), "The marketing discipline in trouble? Academic voices vying for supremacy", Management Decision, Vol. 57 No. 9, pp. 2555-2569. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-02-2017-0128