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Toward a General Theory of Marketing: Resource-Advantage Theory as an Extension of Alderson’s Theory of Market Processes

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A Twenty-First Century Guide to Aldersonian Marketing Thought

Abstract

Wroe Alderson influenced considerably the development of marketing theory and practice. This article explicates how Alderson’s differential advantage theory of competition grounds his theory of market processes. It then shows how resource-advantage (R-A) theory incorporates and extends Alderson’s key concepts and generalizations. Consequently, we argue, R-A theory is toward a general theory of marketing.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Texas Tech University, USA

    Shelby D. Hunt & Dennis B. Arnett

Authors
  1. Shelby D. Hunt
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  2. Dennis B. Arnett
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Otago, New Zealand

    Ben Wooliscroft

  2. University of Quebec, Montreal

    Robert D. Tamilia

  3. Simon Fraser University, Canada

    Stanley J. Shapiro

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© 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.

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Hunt, S.D., Arnett, D.B. (2006). Toward a General Theory of Marketing: Resource-Advantage Theory as an Extension of Alderson’s Theory of Market Processes. In: Wooliscroft, B., Tamilia, R.D., Shapiro, S.J. (eds) A Twenty-First Century Guide to Aldersonian Marketing Thought. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-28181-9_33

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