An Epistemological Discussion on Marketing 1990-2010

Abstract

This study investigates how much the discussion of epistemology in marketing has been present in the journals in the area in the last 20 years. A bibliometric analysis was conducted using the top 5 marketing journals, according to the 2011 Journal Citation Reports’ 5-year Impact factor (Journal of Marketing, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology) plus two periodicals chosen by their editorial profile directly related with the main purposes of this research (Marketing Theory and Marketing Science). Papers, comments, and editorials published between 1990- 2010 were analyzed, as well books that may have contained discussions about marketing epistemology. The analysis revealed an inconstancy in the amount of publications about this subject, and two periodicals (Marketing Theory and Marketing Science) were identified as leading the debate in this period. The numbers indicate that the epistemological discussion was an isolated effort made by some periodicals and the Sage Publications, and it was not a broader academic debate. Lastly, the substantial amount of publications found about methodology may indicate an instrumentalization of the marketing discipline. The study is organized as it follows: Introduction, (1) the beginnings of marketing study, to understand the discipline history; (2) the rise of marketing as academic discipline; (3) marketing and science, a quick retake of the historical debate; (4) method; (5) results; discussion and conclusion.