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For re-institutionalizing the marketing discipline in Era V

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Abstract

Commentaries on the status of the marketing discipline conclude that it is significantly troubled, which raises the question: Do the troubles identified portend a de-institutionalization of the discipline in marketing’s Era IV (1980–2020) and its potential re-institutionalization in Era V (2020-?)? This article examines (1) the marketing discipline’s founding in Era I (1900–1920), (2) how the discipline became institutionalized in Era II (1920–1950), (3) how marketing was re-institutionalized in Era III (1950–1980), and (4) how the discipline’s fragmentation in Era IV (1980–2020) portends its de-institutionalization. The article concludes by arguing for the marketing discipline’s re-institutionalization in Era V (2020-?).

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Notes

  1. There are numerous other areas of study within marketing, for example, pricing, new product decisions, sales, and advertising. However, no other area of study fulfills the requirements of an institutionalized subdiscipline within the overall marketing discipline.

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Acknowledgments

The author thanks Professors Roy Howell, Sreedhar Madhavaram, and Atul Parvatiyar for their comments on a draft of this article.

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  1. The Jerry S. Rawls and P.W. Horn Distinguished Professor of Marketing, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA

    Shelby D. Hunt

  2. Department of Marketing, Rawls College of Business, Lubbock, TX, 79409-2101, USA

    Shelby D. Hunt

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Correspondence to Shelby D. Hunt.

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Hunt, S.D. For re-institutionalizing the marketing discipline in Era V. AMS Rev 10, 189–198 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-020-00183-8

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