Are current research approaches in marketing leading us astray?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7433/s90.2013.09Keywords:
action research, case study research, grounded theory, interactive research, narrative research, research methodology, theory generationAbstract
This article is about methodology in research in marketing. It questions the mainstream choice of approaches and suggests alternative directions with qualitative rather than quantitative inquiry in focus. It deals with my personal journey through Methodologyland; the establishment of a Hall of Fame of my favorite research approaches supplemented with a Chamber of Horrors; and a brief commentary on some pivotal concepts in science. It concludes that the absence of the development of general marketing theory is partly due to the preoccupation with erroneously chosen methodology and claims that scholarly research boils down to four basic strategies: curiosity, courage, reflection, and dialogue; the rest is technical support.
References
ALVESSON M., SKÖLDBERG K. (2000), Reflexive Methodology, Sage, London.
ARGYRIS C., PUTNAM R., MCLAIN SMITH D. (1985), Action Science, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
BERNARD R.H. (1995), Research Methods in Anthropology, AltaMira Press, Walnut Creek, CA.
BROWN S. (1998), Postmodern Marketing Two, Thomson Business Press, London.
BUNGE M. (1996), “In Praise of Intolerance to Charlatanism in Academia”, in Gross P., Levitt N., Lewis M.W. (eds), The Flight from Science and Reason, New York Academy of Sciences/The Johns Hopkins University Press, New York/Baltimore, MD, pp. 98-115.
CAPRA F. (1997), The Web of Life, Flamingo/HarperCollins, London.
CARNEGIE D. (1936/1999), How to Win Friends and Influence People, HarperBusiness, Sydney.
COFFEY A., ATKINSON P. (1996), Making Sense of Qualitative Data, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
COGHLAN D., BRANNICK T. (2001), Doing Action Research in Your Own Organization, Sage, London.
CZARNIAWSKA B. (1998), A Narrative Approach to Organization Studies, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
DRUCKER P. (1987), The Frontiers of Management, Heinemann, London.
EDFELDT Å.W., JANSON U. (1995), Beteendevetenskapliga förhållningssätt, Stockholm University, Stockholm.
FEYERABEND P. (1975), Against Method, Verso, London.
FIELDING N.G., LEE R.M. (1998), Computer Analysis and Qualitative Research, Sage, London.
FIRAT F., VENKATESH A. (1995), “Liberatory Postmodernism and Reenchantment of Consumption”, Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 22, n. 3, pp. 239-267.
FISK R.P., GROVE S.J., JOHN J., eds (2000), Services Marketing Self-Portraits, Introspections, Reflections and Glimpses from the Experts, American Marketing Association, Chicago.
FROSTLING-HENNINGSSON M. (2000), D@gligvaruhandel över nätet ... vad innebär det?, Stockholm University, Stockholm.
GABRIEL Y. (2000), Storytelling in Organizations, Facts, Fictions and Fantasies, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
GAME A., METCALF A. (1996), Passionate Sociology, Sage, London.
GARDNER M., ed. (1970), The Annotated Alice, Penguin, London.
GLASER B.G. (1988), Theoretical Sensitivity, CA, Sociology Press, Mill Valley.
GLASER B.G. (1992), Basics of Grounded Theory Analysis, CA, Sociology Press, Mill Valley.
GLASER B.G., STRAUSS A.L. (1967), The Discovery of Grounded Theory, Aldine, New York.
GRÖNROOS C. (1997), “From Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing, Towards a Paradigm Shift in Marketing”, Management Decision, vol. 35, n. 4, pp. 322-339.
GUMMESSON E. (1994), “Marketing According to Textbooks, Six Objections”, in Brownlie D., Saren M., Wensley R.,Whittington R. (eds.), Rethinking Marketing, New Perspectives on the Discipline and Profession, Coventry, Warwick Business School, pp. 248-258.
GUMMESSON E. (1977), Marknadsföring och inköp av konsulttjänster, Stockholm University, Stockholm.
GUMMESSON E. (1999), Total Relationship Marketing, Butterworth-Heinemann/Chartered Institute of Marketing, Oxford.
GUMMESSON E. (2000), Qualitative Methods in Management Research, 2nd revised edn. Sage Thousand Oaks, CA.
GUMMESSON E., LEHTINEN U., GRÖNROOS C. (1997), “Comment on Nordic Perspectives on Relationship Marketing”, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 31, n. 1-2, pp. 10-16.
GUSTAVSSON B. (1992), The Transcendent Organization, Stockholm University, Stockholm.
HÅKANSSON H., SNEHOTA I. (1995), Developing Relationships in Business Networks, Routledge, London.
HAMILTON C. (2000), Absolut, Biography of a Bottle, Texere, New York.
HANSSON S.O., SANDIN P., eds. (2000), Högskolans lågvattenmärken, Natur och Kultur, Stockholm.
HIRSCHMAN E.C., HOLBROOK M.B. (1992), Postmodern Consumer Research, The Study of Consumption as Text, Sage, London.
HUNT S.B. (1983), Marketing Theory, The Philosophy of Marketing Science, Homewood, IL, Irwin.
JOHNSON P. (1989), Intellectuals, Harper & Row, New York.
KUHN T.S. (1962), The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
LARSSON H. (1892), Intuition, Några ord om diktning och vetenskap, Albert Bonniers, Stockholm.
LOWE A. (1995), “The Basic Social Processes of Entrepreneurial Innovation”, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, vol. 1, n. 2, pp. 54-76.
MATTI G. (1999), Det intuitiva livet, Uppsala University, Uppsala.
MORGAN G. (1998), Images of Organization, The Executive Edition, CA, Sage, Thousand Oaks.
NONAKA I., TAKEUCHI H. (1995), The Knowledge-Creating Company, Oxford University Press, New York.
PERRY C. (1998), “Processes of Case Study Methodology for Postgraduate Research in Marketing”, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 32, n. 9/10, pp. 785-802.
POLANYI M. (1958), Personal Knowledge, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
SAREN M. (1999), ‘Marketing Theory’, in Baker M.J. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Marketing, Thomson, London, pp. 794-809.
STACEY R.D. (1996), Strategic Management & Organizational Dynamics, Pitman, London.
STERN B., ed. (1998), Representing Consumers, Voices, Views and Visions, Routledge, London.
STRAUSS A., CORBIN J. (1990), Basics of Qualitative Research, CA, Sage, Newbury Park.
VAN MAANEN J. (1982), “Fieldwork on the Beat”, in Van Maanen J., Dabbs J.M. Jr., Faulkner R.R. (eds), Varieties of Qualitative Research, CA, Sage, Beverly Hills.
VAN MAANEN J. (2000), “Foreword”, in Gummesson E., Qualitative Methods in Management Research, 2nd revised edn., CA, Sage, Thousand Oaks.
WALLENDORF E.C., BROOKS M. (1993), “Introspection in Consumer Research, Implementation and Implications”, Journal of Consumer Research, 20 (December), pp. 55-70.
YIN R.K. (1994), Case Study Research, CA, Sage, Thousand Oaks.
ZOHAR D. (1997), Rewiring the Corporate Brain, Berret-Koehler, San Francisco.
ARGYRIS C., PUTNAM R., MCLAIN SMITH D. (1985), Action Science, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
BERNARD R.H. (1995), Research Methods in Anthropology, AltaMira Press, Walnut Creek, CA.
BROWN S. (1998), Postmodern Marketing Two, Thomson Business Press, London.
BUNGE M. (1996), “In Praise of Intolerance to Charlatanism in Academia”, in Gross P., Levitt N., Lewis M.W. (eds), The Flight from Science and Reason, New York Academy of Sciences/The Johns Hopkins University Press, New York/Baltimore, MD, pp. 98-115.
CAPRA F. (1997), The Web of Life, Flamingo/HarperCollins, London.
CARNEGIE D. (1936/1999), How to Win Friends and Influence People, HarperBusiness, Sydney.
COFFEY A., ATKINSON P. (1996), Making Sense of Qualitative Data, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
COGHLAN D., BRANNICK T. (2001), Doing Action Research in Your Own Organization, Sage, London.
CZARNIAWSKA B. (1998), A Narrative Approach to Organization Studies, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
DRUCKER P. (1987), The Frontiers of Management, Heinemann, London.
EDFELDT Å.W., JANSON U. (1995), Beteendevetenskapliga förhållningssätt, Stockholm University, Stockholm.
FEYERABEND P. (1975), Against Method, Verso, London.
FIELDING N.G., LEE R.M. (1998), Computer Analysis and Qualitative Research, Sage, London.
FIRAT F., VENKATESH A. (1995), “Liberatory Postmodernism and Reenchantment of Consumption”, Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 22, n. 3, pp. 239-267.
FISK R.P., GROVE S.J., JOHN J., eds (2000), Services Marketing Self-Portraits, Introspections, Reflections and Glimpses from the Experts, American Marketing Association, Chicago.
FROSTLING-HENNINGSSON M. (2000), D@gligvaruhandel över nätet ... vad innebär det?, Stockholm University, Stockholm.
GABRIEL Y. (2000), Storytelling in Organizations, Facts, Fictions and Fantasies, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
GAME A., METCALF A. (1996), Passionate Sociology, Sage, London.
GARDNER M., ed. (1970), The Annotated Alice, Penguin, London.
GLASER B.G. (1988), Theoretical Sensitivity, CA, Sociology Press, Mill Valley.
GLASER B.G. (1992), Basics of Grounded Theory Analysis, CA, Sociology Press, Mill Valley.
GLASER B.G., STRAUSS A.L. (1967), The Discovery of Grounded Theory, Aldine, New York.
GRÖNROOS C. (1997), “From Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing, Towards a Paradigm Shift in Marketing”, Management Decision, vol. 35, n. 4, pp. 322-339.
GUMMESSON E. (1994), “Marketing According to Textbooks, Six Objections”, in Brownlie D., Saren M., Wensley R.,Whittington R. (eds.), Rethinking Marketing, New Perspectives on the Discipline and Profession, Coventry, Warwick Business School, pp. 248-258.
GUMMESSON E. (1977), Marknadsföring och inköp av konsulttjänster, Stockholm University, Stockholm.
GUMMESSON E. (1999), Total Relationship Marketing, Butterworth-Heinemann/Chartered Institute of Marketing, Oxford.
GUMMESSON E. (2000), Qualitative Methods in Management Research, 2nd revised edn. Sage Thousand Oaks, CA.
GUMMESSON E., LEHTINEN U., GRÖNROOS C. (1997), “Comment on Nordic Perspectives on Relationship Marketing”, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 31, n. 1-2, pp. 10-16.
GUSTAVSSON B. (1992), The Transcendent Organization, Stockholm University, Stockholm.
HÅKANSSON H., SNEHOTA I. (1995), Developing Relationships in Business Networks, Routledge, London.
HAMILTON C. (2000), Absolut, Biography of a Bottle, Texere, New York.
HANSSON S.O., SANDIN P., eds. (2000), Högskolans lågvattenmärken, Natur och Kultur, Stockholm.
HIRSCHMAN E.C., HOLBROOK M.B. (1992), Postmodern Consumer Research, The Study of Consumption as Text, Sage, London.
HUNT S.B. (1983), Marketing Theory, The Philosophy of Marketing Science, Homewood, IL, Irwin.
JOHNSON P. (1989), Intellectuals, Harper & Row, New York.
KUHN T.S. (1962), The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
LARSSON H. (1892), Intuition, Några ord om diktning och vetenskap, Albert Bonniers, Stockholm.
LOWE A. (1995), “The Basic Social Processes of Entrepreneurial Innovation”, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, vol. 1, n. 2, pp. 54-76.
MATTI G. (1999), Det intuitiva livet, Uppsala University, Uppsala.
MORGAN G. (1998), Images of Organization, The Executive Edition, CA, Sage, Thousand Oaks.
NONAKA I., TAKEUCHI H. (1995), The Knowledge-Creating Company, Oxford University Press, New York.
PERRY C. (1998), “Processes of Case Study Methodology for Postgraduate Research in Marketing”, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 32, n. 9/10, pp. 785-802.
POLANYI M. (1958), Personal Knowledge, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
SAREN M. (1999), ‘Marketing Theory’, in Baker M.J. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Marketing, Thomson, London, pp. 794-809.
STACEY R.D. (1996), Strategic Management & Organizational Dynamics, Pitman, London.
STERN B., ed. (1998), Representing Consumers, Voices, Views and Visions, Routledge, London.
STRAUSS A., CORBIN J. (1990), Basics of Qualitative Research, CA, Sage, Newbury Park.
VAN MAANEN J. (1982), “Fieldwork on the Beat”, in Van Maanen J., Dabbs J.M. Jr., Faulkner R.R. (eds), Varieties of Qualitative Research, CA, Sage, Beverly Hills.
VAN MAANEN J. (2000), “Foreword”, in Gummesson E., Qualitative Methods in Management Research, 2nd revised edn., CA, Sage, Thousand Oaks.
WALLENDORF E.C., BROOKS M. (1993), “Introspection in Consumer Research, Implementation and Implications”, Journal of Consumer Research, 20 (December), pp. 55-70.
YIN R.K. (1994), Case Study Research, CA, Sage, Thousand Oaks.
ZOHAR D. (1997), Rewiring the Corporate Brain, Berret-Koehler, San Francisco.
Downloads
Published
2018-10-28
