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A general theory of marketing: Conceivable, elusive, or illusive

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  • Rajan Varadarajan

    (Texas A&M University)

Abstract

Hunt et al. (2022, in this issue) provide a perspective on the evolution of the marketing discipline spanning five eras, its current state, and outlook. Looking back, they view certain developments in the evolutionary trajectory of the discipline during Era 4 as troubling. Looking ahead at Era 5, they propose certain course correction initiatives for consideration by the marketing academia. They delineate the service-dominant logic, general framework of integrative marketing, and resource-advantage theory of competition as candidates that merit consideration for the mainstream focus of the discipline during Era 5 and propose a set of questions for evaluation. In reference to the evolutionary trajectory of the field during Era 4, they characterize the fragmentation of the field and subsequent loss of community as a troubling development. As argued in this commentary, fragmentation is an inevitable consequence of specialization and a normal phenomenon in the evolutionary trajectory of academic disciplines. Upheavals due to fragmentation, if any, are likely to be transient. Of the three candidates highlighted by the authors as meriting consideration for the discipline’s mainstream focus during Era 5, this commentary primarily focuses on Hunt’s resource-advantage theory as a foundation for developing a general theory of marketing from the perspective of Hunt’s fundamental explananda of marketing.

Suggested Citation

  • Rajan Varadarajan, 2022. "A general theory of marketing: Conceivable, elusive, or illusive," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 12(3), pages 177-183, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:amsrev:v:12:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s13162-022-00246-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s13162-022-00246-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Melissa Archpru Akaka & Kaisa Koskela-Huotari & Stephen L. Vargo, 2021. "Formalizing service-dominant logic as a general theory of markets: taking stock and moving forward," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 11(3), pages 375-389, December.
    2. Rajan Varadarajan, 2020. "Relevance, rigor and impact of scholarly research in marketing, state of the discipline and outlook," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 10(3), pages 199-205, December.
    3. Shelby D. Hunt & Sreedhar Madhavaram & Hunter N. Hatfield, 2022. "The marketing discipline’s troubled trajectory: The manifesto conversation, candidates for central focus, and prognosis for renewal," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 12(3), pages 139-156, December.
    4. Atul Parvatiyar & Jagdish N. Sheth, 2021. "Toward an integrative theory of marketing," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 11(3), pages 432-445, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Sreedhar Madhavaram & Hunter N. Hatfield, 2022. "Continuing the manifesto conversation: Toward building a renewal capability for the marketing discipline," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 12(3), pages 188-195, December.

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