What We Explore is Important:
Delving into the Larger Field of Marketing
William L. Wilkie,
Nathe Professor of Marketing
University of Notre Dame
AMA Symposium: “Ideas That Matter…”
Boston, MA.
August 13, 2010
My Extended Effort: to Try to Discover for Myself
“What is Marketing, Anyway?”

Working for 13 years on various dimensions of how to
conceptualize our field of study… 3 primary outcomes of
the project so far…
-- 1999: “Marketing’s Contributions to Society”
Journal of Marketing (Millennium Issue 1999), with Elizabeth Moore
-- 2003: “Scholarly Research in Marketing: Exploring the 4
Eras of Marketing Thought Development”
Journal of Public Policy & Marketing (Fall 2003), with Elizabeth Moore
-- 2006- 2009: Several articles aimed at improving the AMA
Definition of Marketing (with Greg Gundlach and Elizabeth Moore)
***
All papers are available for download from my homepage at Notre Dame
(nd.edu)
Overview of My Basic Questions about What
Issues to Explore



Question # 1: Do we need aggregate perspectives
in conceptualizing the Marketing field? (a brief
reprise of the “Aggregate Marketing System.” )…
Question # 2: Should we be interested in the
impacts Marketing is having in our world? Why
are we not?
Question # 3: Is knowledge being lost from our
field? Where have we been and where are we
heading? (a brief reprise of the “4 Eras” of
Marketing Thought)…
100 Years of the Aggregate Marketing System in
the United States: What has It Brought ?

Three Early Insights were that Marketing’s
contributions:
(1) Accumulate Over Time
(2) Diffuse Through a Society
(3) Occur within the Context of Everyday Life
This can make it difficult to distinguish them at
any given point in time, so we took a 100 year
glimpse.
The Aggregate Marketing System at Work
2 Background Issues:
--
Most elements of Marketing are “hidden from view” for
anyone but the persons participating. This is a challenge
for understanding (and appreciation).
--
Today in Business Schools we’re not looking at
Marketing as a larger system.
So let’s begin with an illustration of the Aggregate Marketing
System in action … “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” Please picture
Tiffany Jones in her New York apartment having breakfast with her
family. She blows across her cup of coffee…
THE SYSTEM AT WORK
PANEL A: COFFEE
Retail Store
(A1…n)
Retailer’s
Warehouse
(T)
Retail Store
(B1…n)
(T)
Exporter
(T)
Grower’s
Depulping
Mill
Coffee
Grower
Manuf.
Regional
Distribution
Center
Manuf.
Roasting
Plant
(T)
CONSUMERS
Large Chain
Retail Store
(C1…n)
(T)
Large Chain
Retail Store
(D1…n)
Mass
Merchandiser
(E1…n)
(T)
(T)
(T)
(T)
Grower’s
Warehouse
Mass
Merchandiser
(F1…n)
(T)
Retail Store
(G1…n)
Wholesaler’s
Warehouse
Retail Store
(H1…n)
(T)
THE SYSTEM AT WORK
PANEL B: BREAKFAST PASTRY
Wheat
Farmer
Apple
Grower
Milk
Proteins
Manufacturer’s
Plant
Fruit
Flakes
(T)
Corn
Farmer
Sweeteners
NOTE: SAME
DISTRIBUTION
CHANNELS AS
IN PANEL A
CONSUMERS
Intermediate Ingredient Production System
Dairy
Farmer
Wheat
Flour
THE SYSTEM AT WORK
PANEL C: FAMILY BREAKFAST
Family Breakfast Items
Tiffany
- Coffee
- Non-Dairy Creamer
- Sugar
- Breakfast Pastry
Robert
- Coffee
- Equal
Jim
- Corn Flakes
- Orange Juice
- Skim Milk
- Frozen Waffles
- Banana
- Butter
- Maple Syrup
Laura
- Orange Juice
- Microwaveable Oatmeal
- Skim Milk
- Daily Vitamin
Kitchen Support
System
Cooking
- Automatic Coffeemaker
- Coffee Filters
- Toaster Oven
Service
- Microwave Oven
- Electricity
- Cooking Utensils
Housewares
- Ceramic Mugs
- Plates, Bowls
- Flatware
- Tablecloth
- Napkins
- Table and Chairs
- Piped Water
- Water Purifier
- Lighting
Maintenance
- Refrigerator
- Freezer
- Dishwasher
- Dish Detergent
- Sponge, Dish Towel
PANEL D. SELECTED MARKETING SYSTEM ACTIVITIES (present in the coffee and breakfast pastry examples)
Sales and Delivery
The Classic Functions of
Distribution
- Transportation
- Storage
- Financing
- Risk-Bearing
- Assembly
- Selling
- Standardization
- Market Information
Knowledge
Development/Intelligence
Purchasing and Use
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(2)
(1)
N.B., Detailed Levels of Activities
Exist: (e.g., Transport Activities)
- Truck to Depulping Mill
- Beans to Drying Area
…..…….
- Ship to New Orleans
- Hopper Truck to Roasting Plant
…..…….
- Truck to Retail Store
… additional steps in text
Organizations:
- Sourcing Raw Material
Supply
- Quality Specifications
- Purchase of Capital
Equipment
- Outsourcing: Specialist/
Expert Services
- Purchase for Resale
- Assortment Building
- Bulk Breaking
- Order Processing
- Negotiation: Terms of Sale
- Transfer of Ownership
(2)
(1)
(1)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(2)
Consumers:
- Product Acquisition
- Product Preparation
- Product Consumption
- Product Maintenance/Repair
- Product Disposition
(2)
(3)
(3)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(3)
Organizations:
- Market Analysis
- Market Demand Assessment
- Analysis of Competitive Strategies
- Market Segmentation
- Market Forecasts
- Performance Monitoring
- Program Evaluation
Consumers:
- Consumer Education
- Information Search
- Word of Mouth
- Store Visits
- Post-Purchase Analysis
Marketing Plans and Programs/Government Actions
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(2)
(2)
(3)
(2)
(3)
Numerical Key:
Organizations:
- Financial Projections
(2)
- Board of Directors Approval (2)
- Product Design
(2)
- Product Line Decisions
(1)
- Budget Setting
(2)
- Distribution Planning
(1)
- Brand Name Selection
(1)
- Packaging
(1)
- Market Testing
(1)
- Positioning Strategy
(1)
- Pricing Decisions
(1)
- National Advertising
(1)
- Direct Marketing
(1)
- Consumer Promotion
(1)
- Trade Promotion
(1)
- Trade Advertising
(1)
- Communication to
(1)
Sales Force
- Point of Purchase Materials
- Publicity
- Warranty Terms
- Customer Service
- Retailer Assortment
- Merchandising
- Retail Advertising
- Inventory Management
(1)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(2)
Government Agencies:
-
Standard Setting
Export/Import Controls
Trademark Protection
Financing Arrangements
Nutritional Labeling
Inspections
Regulatory Rules and
Guidelines
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(3)
(2)
Centers of Little or No Marketing Involvement
(1) = Largely or entirely controlled by marketing managers
(2) = Largely controlled by others, but influenced by or coordinated with marketing managers
(3) = Little or no influence by marketing managers
(n) = Activity does not involve marketing
Organizations:
- Internal Management of Work Force
- Management of Plant & Equipment
- Financial Mgmt., Accounting & Control
- Basic Research, etc.
(n)
(n)
(n)
(n)
Government:
- All non-commerce/non-consumer sectors (n)
Consumers:
- All non-consumer aspects of daily life
(n)
PANEL E. DEPICTING THE ENTIRE AGGREGATE MARKETING SYSTEM
Brand Coffee System (Panel A)
(Multiplicative Increase)
All system activities given for the cup of coffee, beginning with harvest of beans on left, ending with consumer use and disposition on right.
(2) (2) (2) (2) (1) (1) ……
(note: not all activities controlled by marketers, see key in panel D)
…… (2) (3) (3) (2) (2)
Add all coffee systems
(Similar sets of activities, participants
and forms of value creation)
All system activities given for pastry beginning with creation, storage and transport
of 15 pastry ingredients and ending with consumer use and disposition.
“
(Large Geometric Increase)
Add all breakfast systems, on-premise restaurants and home kitchen systems
“
(Larger Geometric Increase)
Add all other food and beverage systems
“
(Huge Geometric Increase)
Add all product systems and all service systems
“
(Huge Geometric Increase)
Add all not-for-profit marketing activities
“
(Huge Geometric Increase)
Add all government and all consumer marketing system activities
“
Brand Pastry System (Panel B)
Panel D: Essential Points

Selling, purchasing and use occur throughout system.

Note the significance of infrastructure, careful planning,
coordination and repetition … this system is very
structurally sophisticated, and routinely provides
breakfasts for 100 million households every day.

The Government is an important behind the scenes
facilitator of business (marketing) activity.

A surprisingly large number of marketing system
activities in just a simple illustration (over 75 listings).
Key Lessons From the Project…

(Re: Today’s Symposium): From Panel D we see that
Marketing managers control only some (30 of the 75) of the
AGMS activities: other activities are controlled by persons
who do not consider themselves in marketing. This property
of the system demands a perspective on Marketing that
reaches far beyond a sole focus on a marketing manager’s
controllable decisions. An inclusive appreciation of business
organizations and processes is clearly required.

Overall, the U.S. AGMS is Huge, Practiced, and Powerful. It
is composed of both extensive physical infrastructure and a
massive, trained and experienced workforce (we estimate that
some 30 million U.S. adults are directly employed in carrying
out the activities of the AGMS). In my view, it deserves
much more directed attention in our Ph.D. programs, and
from our college of marketing thinkers more generally.
II. The “4 Era’s” of Marketing
Thought: What are We Thinking
About?
Background:
-- An Historical look across the last century.
-- Just as the real world of marketing has changed,
so has its body of academic thought.
-- Before discussing where we’re going, a key
perspective: where have we been?
Conceptual Offering:
The “4 Era’s” of Marketing Thought
(“Pre-Marketing”)
(Before 1900)
I.
“Founding the Field”
(1900-1920)
II.
“Formalizing the Field”
(1920-1950)
III. “A Paradigm Shift…Marketing, Management,
and the Sciences”
(1950-1980)
IV. “The Shift Intensifies: A Fragmentation of the
Mainstream of Thought”
(1980)
Era I. “Founding the Field” (1900-1920)
Academic Field of Marketing



1st Courses with “Marketing” in Title
Emphasis on Purview of Marketing’s Activities as an
Economic Institution
Focus on Marketing as Distribution
Attention to Aggregate Issues

Willingness to Raise Larger Questions
(e.g., Are there too many middlemen? Does distribution cost too much? Does advertising
raise or lower prices to consumers?)

Key Criteria: Based on Economic Efficiency
Era II: “Formalizing the Field”
(1920-1950)
Academic Field of Marketing



Development, and Integration of Marketing Thought
Aimed at “Marketing Principles”
Creation of Organized Infrastructure for Knowledge
Development and Dissemination
Some General Characteristics of the Period

Economic & Social Upheaval
(e.g., prosperity of early 1920s; Depression, WW II, Post-war)


New Product Choices, Technological Developments
Resurgence of Consumer Movement (in 1920s and 1930s)
Academic Organization



Growth in Formation in Colleges of Business and
Departments of Marketing
1924: Formation of Nat’l Association of Teachers of
Marketing & Advertising.
1930: American Marketing Society Forms (focused on
practitioners)

1937: Two Groups Merge – Form American Marketing
Association, which Provides Bases for Sharing
Marketing Thought.
Marketing Texts (1920-1950)
Core Presentation (Integration of 3 Key Approaches):

Commodity: study processes of marketing a particular product
(e.g., agricultural commodities, raw materials from extractive industries)

Institutional: analysis of wholesale and retail institutions
(e.g., chain stores, mail order)

Functional: activities performed by marketing organizations
(e.g., transportation, storage, financing, risk-bearing, assembly, selling, standardization,
market information)
Illustrative Texts: Clark (1922); Ivey (1922); Converse (1924);
Maynard, Weidler and Beckman (1927); Phillips (1938)
Academic Journals & Proceedings

1925: Journal of Retailing Begins at NYU

1936: Journal of Marketing Debuts

Diverse Contributors:
-- 40% Academics, 45% Business, 15% Government



Papers Tend to be Brief, Non-Empirical
90% Articles Single-Authored
Considerable Coordination of AMA Conferences and JM
-- (41% of JM articles originally presented at AMA)


JM A Communication Forum: Commentaries Encouraged
Becomes Center for Advancing Marketing Thought
Era II: Some Observations….

Relative to today, a Different Approach to Marketing.

Descriptive Orientation, Not Problem-Solving at Firm Level.



Significant Attention to External Developments and the
Exigencies of the Times.
Later in Period, Substantial Attention to Wartime Issues, then
Planning for Post-War Economy.
***Academics Seemed to Have a Willingness to “Stand
Outside,” Observe, and Critique.
Era III: “A Paradigm Shift: Marketing,
Management, and the Sciences”
(1950-1980)

“The Boom Arrives”

“The Field Evolves”
-- Two Emerging Perspectives Come to Dominate the
Mainstream
-- “Marketing as Science” (Behavioral - Quantitative)
-- “Marketing as Management”

“Growth in the Academic Infrastructure”
“The Boom Arrives”
The Post-World War II Period Brings a Dramatically Changing
Marketing World:
The “Mass Market” Begins, Fueled by Pent-up Demand and the
Massive “Baby Boom” Generation.
Dramatic Improvements in Transportation (e.g., interstate highway
system), Communication (e.g,, television, prime time), Technology
(computers) , Mobility (new growth regions), and Consumer
Incomes.
New Opportunities for Marketing, and New Challenges for Marketing
Thought (e.g., how to best deal with a mass market?).
Baby Boom Spurs Enrollments in Business Schools during Era III.
-- More schools become “research-oriented.”
-- Derived demand: increase for research academics.
-- Overall, dramatic growth in research, plus shortage of faculty.
FIGURE 4 (B)
GROWTH PATTERNS DURING ERA III
(1661 % in 1980)
1000%
900%
800%
700%
600%
500%
400%
300%
200%
100%
0%
1000%
900%
800%
700%
600%
500%
400%
300%
200%
100%
0%
1950
1955
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
Ph.D. degrees awarded in Business
AMA Professional Membership
*Source: U.S. Dept. of Education (2001); Degrees indexed Relative to 1955
1950
1955
1960
1965
1970
1975
Master's degrees awarded in Business
Bachelor's degrees awarded in Business
1980
The Field Evolves in New Directions
The Turn to a Managerial Perspective:



Those External Factors of the Boom (e.g., how
do I best advertise to a mass market?)
New Texts Brought New Education (e.g.,
John Howard 1957; E. Jerome McCarthy 1960;
Philip Kotler 1967).
Burst of New Key Concepts (n.b., still central
a half-century later).
Field Evolves in New Directions (con’t)
The Emergence of the Sciences:
-- Fueled by a Rapid Development of
Computerization.
-- Behavioral Science Diffused Slowly During First
Half of Era III, then Rapidly During the 1970’s.
-- Management Science was Stimulated by the
National Plan for Math, and Grew More Quickly:
•
•
•
•
Ford Foundation Program (1953 - 1961)
5 Schools, Serially ( Carnegie, Harvard, Columbia,
Chicago, Stanford), then “trickle down.”
Gordon/Howell Report (1959): Change needed,
Harvard/MIT Mathematics Institute (1960)
Growth in the Academic Infrastructure
-- Over 1100 New Marketing Ph.D.’s between 19551980, many wishing to make contributions to the
body of thought in Marketing.
-- The Knowledge Infrastructure Expands
Substantially.
-
Marketing Science Institute formed (1961) to encourage,
initiate, and support the new research.
- New Journals Arise (JAR, JMR, JCA, JCR, JAMS).
- New Associations (ACR, TIMS) are created.
- A 4-fold Increase in the body of journal thought during Era
III.
FIGURE 6
SOME EXAMPLES OF KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENTS IN MARKETING (1952-1977)
Managerial
Frameworks
and Approaches
Discipline-Based
Theories
Research Methods, Models, and Measurement
Market segmentation
Marketing concept
Marketing mix - 4 P’s
Product life cycle
DAGMAR
Development of marketing
cases
Stage approaches to
strategy development
New-product development
process
Physical-distribution
management
Marketing information
systems
Product positioning &
perceptual mapping
General and middle-range
theories of consumer
behavior
Image and attitude theory
Theories of motivation,
personality, social class, life
style, and culture
Expectancy-value theory
Theories of advertising
processes and effects
Information-processing
Attitude-change theories
Segmentation strategies
New marketing
organization concepts
(e.g., brand management)
Territory design & sales
force compensation
Marketing audit
Demand-state strategies
Creative approaches and
styles
New search & screening
approaches
Refinements in testmarketing approaches
Attribution theory
Perceptual processes
Distribution theory
Refutation and distraction
hypotheses
Theories of diffusion, newproduct adoption and
personal influence
Prospect theory
Adapted from Myers, Massy and Greyser (1980)
Data Analysis: Broad & Specific:
– Causal models
– Weighted belief models,
determinant attributes
– Bayesian analysis
– Sensitivity analysis & validity tests
– Response functions
– Marginal analysis & linear
programming
– Multidimensional scaling & attitude
measurement
– Forecasting
– Econometrics
– Time-series analysis
– Trade-off analysis & conjoint
analysis
– ANOVA
– Multivariate dependence methods:
multiple regression,
multiple discriminant analysis
canonical correlation
– Multivariate interdependence
methods: cluster and factor
analysis, latent structure analysis
Data Gathering: Adoption and Refinement
– Advances in survey research
– Focus groups, depth interviewing
– Experimental & panel designs
– Motivation research & projective techniques
– Hypothesis formulation, inference, sign. tests
– Psychographics & AIO studies
– Unobtrusive measures, response latency,
nonverbal behavior
– Physiological techniques:
(e.g., eye camera, GSR, CONPAAD)
– Probability sampling
Marketing Models
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Advertising (e.g., Mediac, Brandaid, Adbudg)
Sales management (e.g., Dealer, Callplan)
New-product (e.g., Demon, Sprinte, Steam)
Product planning: Perceptor, Accessor
Bid pricing models
Stochastic brand choice
Market-share models
Marketing Cases and Simulations
– Simulation & marketing games
– Computer-assisted marketing cases
Era III:
(con’t.)
In conclusion,
Notice also that the training required to contribute
to the Marketing Body of Thought had changed
dramatically during Era III, compared to the end
of Era II.
The Paradigm had Shifted - - The Field of
Marketing had Changed.
Era IV: “The Shift Intensifies – A
Fragmentation of the Mainstream”
(1980-present)



Major Dislocations in Real World of Marketing.
“Publish or Perish” Pressures Intensify.
The Two Dominant Perspectives Continue.
-- Managerial Focus Persists.
-- Scientific Approach Persists as Well.
But, Tensions Burst, Much as an Overfull Dam, So
That Waters Can Find their Course.

Knowledge Infrastructure Expands Rapidly to
Accommodate Diverging Interests.
Upheavals in the Real World of
Marketing
E.g.:
-----
The Demise of Command Economies.
Globalization.
Financial Hegemony (LBO’s) Drives Business.
Technological March Continues (e.g., Internet).
Upheavals in Marketing Thought
E.g.,
-- JM Policy Change
-- “Post-Positivism” Revolution
-- nb. only 3 articles with the word “Marketing” in
the titles in the 1st 20 years of JCR.
Trend 1: Business Education Goes
Global - Many New Scholars




Huge Jump in MBA Programs Worldwide (e.g., now
50 in Russia, 60 in China, >100 in Cen./Eastern
Europe, almost all w/in15 years).
Plus, MBA’s in U.S. have doubled, now 115,000 per
year.
So, more demand for business academics.
But largest impact has been in number of
internationally-related scholars….
Trend 2: An Outpouring of New
Publication Outlets


A Remarkable Period from 1980 – 1984: in five
short years the number of research-based
marketing journals more than doubled (from 7 to
15). See Figure…
Early 1990’s: Development of AMA “SIG’s.”
Figure 9
MARKETING JOURNALS INTRODUCED
DURING THE 1980’S
Date
1980
1981
1982
1982
1983
1984
1984
1984
1987
1989
Publication
Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management
Journal of Macromarketing
Journal of Public Policy & Marketing
Marketing Science
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Psychology & Marketing
Journal of Product Innovation and Management
International Journal of Research in Marketing
Journal of Interactive Marketing
Marketing Letters
Trend 3: Research Specialization and the
Fragmentation of the Mainstream
“It is troubling to realize that Knowledge does not necessarily
accumulate in a field -- that Knowledge can disappear over
time if it is not actively transmitted and received.”
(Wilkie, 1981 ACR Presidential Address)
“… this risk has now increased – knowledge outside a
person’s speciality may first be viewed as non-instrumental,
then as non-essential, then as non-important, and finally as
non-existent, in terms of meriting attention.”
(Wilkie, July 2002 Journal of Marketing Essay)
The Crucial Question? Will future young marketing scholars
even know they have a choice? What is (will be) their
conception of the field of Marketing?
Conclusions
-- #1.
Marketing scholars should be monitoring the
impacts that marketing is having on the world., and should
be developing knowledge from this.
-- #2. The Aggregate Marketing System – its
characteristics, size, power, and capacities to both improve
and injure the world in which we live – belongs as an
intrinsic part of the mainstream of marketing thought.
-- #3.
Fragmentation of marketing thought is powerful -perhaps irresistible – but this causes knowledge to be lost
from our field... Calls for revised Ph.D. education.
-- #4. This symposium’s attention to both
conceptualization and the 1988 AMA Task Force is highly
appropriate: It is past time for another hard look at ways to
enhance scholarship in our field .