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A theory-first paradigm tends to be the dominant approach in much academic marketing research. In this approach, a theory is borrowed, refined, or developed and then tested empirically. In this challenging-the-boundaries article, the authors make a case for an empirics-first approach. “Empirics-first” refers to research that (1) is grounded in (originates from) a real-world marketing phenomenon, problem, or observation, (2) involves obtaining and analyzing data, and (3) produces valid marketing-relevant insights without necessarily developing or testing theory. The empirics-first approach is not antagonistic to theory but rather can serve as a stepping-stone to theory. The approach lends itself well to today’s data-rich environment, which can reveal novel research questions untethered to theory. The present article describes the underlying principles of an empirics-first approach, which consists of exploring a domain purposefully without preconceptions. Using a rich set of published examples, the authors offer guidance on how to implement empirics-first research and how it can lead to valuable knowledge development. Advice is also offered to scholars on how to report empirics-first research and to reviewers and to editorial teams on how to evaluate it. The ultimate objective is to pave a way for the empirics-first approach to enter the mainstream of academic marketing research.

Academic research into the experiences and desires of gay travellers has not kept pace with societal change and transformation. There is a dearth of inquiry that explores gay travellers’ sense of connectedness to other gay travellers, the spaces or locations they share, and the activities that are particular to the broad umbrella of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) tourists. This PhD by publication seeks to address this gap by drawing on the concept of the ‘neo-tribe’ as one way of conceptualising belonging, connectedness, and affinity for travellers identifying as gay. This thesis argues neo-tribal theory offers a powerful means to explore the social aspects of travel. In the literature, neo-tribes are defined as fluid groupings of people who come together from different walks of life. This thesis posits that there are four fundamental aspects to a neo-tribe: a) shared sentiment, b) rituals and symbols, c) fluidity in membership, and d) space. Significantly, it makes a theoretical contribution by establishing the role of space as a point of coherence around which neo-tribes form. A deepened understanding of this phenomenon is critical, as the importance of gay space to the gay community has already been acknowledged in the present body of literature examining gay travel. Within tourism studies this thesis also makes significant contributions through its application of neo-tribal theory and demonstration that the concept offers an alternative to traditional segmentation studies. While the concept has gained prominence in sociological studies, it has been applied less extensively in tourism and leisure research. This is surprising as neo-tribalism offers many opportunities to expand existing knowledge of gay travellers, especially in terms of their behaviour, motivations and experiences. The fieldwork undertaken for this research took place in an exclusively gay and lesbian resort in Far North Queensland, Australia in September and October 2014. Ethnographic methods including semi-structured interviews and participant observation were leveraged to gain a close record and understanding of the resort’s visitors, who were predominantly gay men. The data that resulted from these methods were used to build understanding of whether these travellers constituted a neo-tribe, using the four aforementioned aspects. Significantly, the intimate relationship between a LGBT minority-majority tourist community and the secluded environs of the resort demonstrated the power of the spatial element as the linking value between these disparate elements of neo-tribal identity. Drawing upon the findings, this manuscript asserts that neo-tribal theory adds new and valuable insights into our understanding of gay travellers, in terms of their behaviour, motivations and experiences. Space transcends the mere framing of neo-tribal experience; it is the fulcrum of neo-tribal assembly and life, and it mediates the other characteristics of tribal identity. The spatial characteristic becomes transformed through a paradigm of shared ownership into the very substance that holds the neo-tribe together. These findings establish that without space as this shared currency, the other three elements of neo-tribes can have no collective form, and that the tribal identity will dissipate.

This visual abstract is a graphical and layman summary of the journal article "More voices persuade: The attentional benefits of voice numerosity" published in Journal of Marketing Research in 2022. The authors posit that in an initial exposure to a broadcast video, hearing different voices narrate (in succession) a persuasive message encourages consumers’ attention and processing of the message, thereby facilitating persuasion; this is referred to as the voice numerosity effect. Across four studies (plus validation and replication studies)—including two large-scale, real-world data sets (with more than 11,000 crowdfunding videos and over 3.6 million customer transactions, and more than 1,600 video ads) and two controlled experiments (with over 1,800 participants)—the results provide support for the hypothesized effect. The effect (1) has consequential, economic implications in a real-world marketplace, (2) is more pronounced when the message is easier to comprehend, (3) is more pronounced when consumers have the capacity to process the ad message, and (4) is mediated by the favorability of consumers’ cognitive responses. The authors demonstrate the use of machine learning, text mining, and natural language processing to process and analyze unstructured (multimedia) data. Theoretical and marketing implications are discussed. Acknowledgement This visual abstract was created with contributions from Tay Mui Yen, Dong Danping, and Aaron Tay from SMU Libraries

In the rapidly expanding influencer marketing sector, positive consumer sentiment towards sponsored content plays a crucial role in the success of sponsoring brands and influencers. However, research shows that consumers are more likely to react negatively to sponsored videos than non-sponsored ones. We investigate how influencers can potentially diminish the negative impact of sponsorship on consumer sentiment by modulating their vocal characteristics in sponsored videos compared to non-sponsored videos. We use three causal identification strategies: instrumental variables, fuzzy regression discontinuity, and two-way fixed effects. To extract multi-modal 3V features (voice, visual, and verbal), we employ deep learning methods. We conclude that influencers significantly reduce the average loudness of their voices in sponsored videos relative to non-sponsored ones, and this difference in average loudness partly alleviates the negative impact of sponsorship on consumer sentiment. This vocal strategy of lowering loudness is more likely to be employed by influencers with shorter tenure. We discuss the implications for various stakeholders, including influencers, brands, consumers, and regulatory bodies.

Purpose – Development of SMEs in the MENA region is important for its significant contribution to employment, to GDP, and to the overall economy, for that reason this study aims at investigating the critical entrepreneurial marketing (EM) strategies for internationally oriented Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) operating in niche markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and to develop a framework of practice to enhance the growth of these firms internationally. Design/methodology/approach – The researcher adopts a qualitative, exploratory approach to apply EM lens to SMEs with international orientation and (focuses) on niche markets in MENA region. Data was collected on two phases; 20 interviews were conducted with founders, cofounders, or management of SMEs operating in the MENA region in phase one, and was followed by phase two conducting 8 interviews with regional experts who have been working closely with SMEs in the region, like marketing consultants, incubators managers, mentors, or experts from international organizations who work closely with SMEs. Findings – Out of 12 Entrepreneurial marketing strategies proposed in the initial conceptual framework, 7 strategies were found out to be critical for SME’s internationalization in the region including partnerships, online marketing, utilization of networks, direct sales, followed by content creation, PR and publicity and use of referrals. Meanwhile, market selection for internationally oriented SMEs in the MENA region was done on a “trial and error” basis, some market analysis tools were concluded like digital analytical tools, google trends, desk research, and some other market attractions were considered for market selection like country regulations, market entry cost, in addition to personal network and support organizations. Originality/value –Researcher has developed a unique framework of practice that identifies a comprehensive set of EM strategies, tactics, and market selection considerations that helps the internationalization of SMEs (focusing on the MENA region is adding to the originality of this research).

Pazarlamanın akademik bir düşünce olarak kabul görmesi 20.yy’ın başlarına dayanmaktadır. Pazarlamayla alakalı konu ve problemlerin zaman içindeki değişimi pazarlama alanında farklı düşünce okullarının ortaya çıkmasına neden olmuştur. Bu okullardan biri de temeli 1950’li yıllara dayanan Sistem Okulu’dur. Mevcut çalışmanın amacı, pazarlama sistemi düşünce okulunun ve pazarlamadaki sistem yaklaşımının tarihsel gelişimini ele almaktır. Bu çerçevede, geçmişten günümüze sistem okulu literatüründe yazılmış önemli eserler incelenmiştir. Pazarlama teorisi kapsamında pazarlama düşünce okullarına dair Türkçe literatür incelendiğinde bu alandaki çalışma sayısının oldukça kısıtlı olduğu görülmüştür. Ulusal veri tabanları araştırıldığında, Sistem Okulu’nun tarihsel gelişimini ele alan ve bu düşünce okulu hakkında günümüze dek yapılmış araştırmaları derleyen bir çalışma ise bulunamamıştır. Mevcut çalışmanın literatürdeki bu açığı kapatması ve pazarlama teorisi alanına katkı sağlaması hedeflenmektedir. The acceptance of marketing as an academic thought dates back to the early 20th century. The change in marketing-related issues and problems over time has led to the emergence of different schools of thought in the field of marketing. One of these schools is the System School, which dates back to the 1950s. The present study aims to address the historical development of the marketing system school of thought and the systems approach in marketing. In this context, important studies written in the system school literature from past to present were examined. When the Turkish literature on marketing thought schools within the scope of marketing theory is examined, it is seen that the number of studies in this field is quite limited. When the national databases were searched, no study was found that deals with the historical development of the System School and compiles the researches that have been made about this school of thought until today. The present study aims to fill this gap in the literature and to contribute to the field of marketing theory.

Following Slavoj Žižek, critical marketing scholars have interrogated the ideological fantasies of mainstream marketing, de-romanticising markets and marketing. However, Žižek argues there is no ideology-free subject, so it stands to Žižekean reason that critical marketing scholars are also ideological fantasists. Our paper seeks to de-romanticise critical marketing theory by identifying the fantasy of capitalist corruption. This sustains the ideology of critical marketing theory by disavowing (self-)destructive desires within the human unconscious and suggesting that displacing capitalism will be enough to usher in a postcapitalist utopia. This ideological fantasy has therapeutic, motivational, and institutional benefits, but romanticises the human subject in ways that ultimately frustrate the critical project of societal betterment. By acknowledging the human unconscious as a corrupting influence, we hope to make critical aspirations more likely to be realised. We illustrate our argument via studies of sustainability, a favoured topic of Žižekean, critical, and mainstream scholars alike.

Effective research propositions are key to advancing marketing theory and practice. However, our discipline provides little guidance on how to systematically craft impactful propositions. Consequently, scholars often refrain from including propositions in conceptual articles due to either a lack of knowledge or the confidence to do so. This proves detrimental to scholars looking to develop theory and conceptual papers. To address this challenge, our article defines research propositions and positions them within the broader set of the key building blocks of theory development. Based on an integrative framework that ties foundational premises, concepts, constructs, research propositions and hypothesis together, the article lays out four easy-to-follow actionable steps—grounding, crafting, connecting, and simplifying—that guide scholars in developing effective research propositions. Further, the article proposes four criteria, i.e., clarity, consistency, conciseness, and contribution to theory advancement and scholarly research, to assist scholars in evaluating outcomes achieved when writing research propositions. The article concludes by offering an agenda for how key stakeholders involved, i.e., Ph.D. students, early career researchers and established marketing scholars, university research program directors and promotion and tenure (P&T) committees, as well as reviewers and journal editors, can contribute to advancing knowledge and skills of crafting effective research propositions as part of the broader goal to stimulate the innovation and growth of marketing theories in our discipline.

Purpose The rich primary and secondary data sources for studying historical Chinese marketing theory and practice are discussed. This paper aims to briefly address possible challenges (and their solutions) to using these sources. Design/methodology/approach A bibliographic review is used to analyze historical sources pertaining to Chinese marketing theory and practice. Findings Marketing scholars can draw from multiple but neglected and underused Chinese sources to glean important historical data reflecting pre-1949 Chinese marketing. Research limitations/implications Underused Chinese multilateral historical marketing materials are inalienable to extending historical marketing study. Many studies about marketing theory and practice are amenable to such materials. Practical implications By scrutinizing these materials, contemporary marketers can formulate parallel strategies from the repertoire of historical marketing strategies. Originality/value This is the first comprehensive survey of an invaluable non-Western source for historical research in marketing.

PurposeThis paper aims to summarize peer-reviewed journal articles on national cultures and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) behavior, identify the main findings and patterns among those studies and discuss research gaps that need to be addressed in the future.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review process was utilized to analyze peer-reviewed journal articles on both eWOM and national cultures. The main research questions were defined, then proceeded by the identification of exclusive and inclusive criteria to search for relevant articles, which were further filtered based on abstracts and full texts, and then scrutinized for main findings and major variables such as countries, cultural variables and data collection methods.FindingsAn analysis of 52 papers shows that national cultures, primarily Hofstede's dimensions, influence the willingness of individuals to share eWOM, how they write eWOM and the extent to which they use eWOM to make decisions. Although the reviewed studies have provided insightful implications for marketing theory and practice, the present paper has identified a number of important questions that warrant future research attention.Originality/valueeWOM is continually being employed as a popular source of information for consumers throughout different countries to make their purchase decisions. However, eWOM behavior differs from country to country due to national cultures, and managers' eWOM strategies that work in one country may not be applicable in another. Therefore, there has been an increasing interest in this topic. Nevertheless, it remains unclear which subjects have been addressed and what areas are yet to be investigated. This paper presents a comprehensive review of how national cultures affect eWOM behavior by drawing upon prior research and provides directions for future research contributions.

Brand love has garnered increasing interest among practitioners and scholars, but little is known about how marketing actions drive brand love, and whether and how brand love transmutes to firm profitability. Using longitudinal brand love data collected from more than 20,000 customers of 152 corporate brands and financial data of firms who own these brands during 2006–2017, the authors examine the antecedents and financial impacts of building brand love. The results show that advertising investments help firms build brand love with diminishing returns after reaching an optimal point, whereas R&D investments positively contribute to brand love. The analyses further show that although brand love does not affect firm profitability and market value in the short term, it increases firm profitability and market value in the long term. More important, the results indicate that the positive effect of brand love on firm performance is stronger for hedonic brands, for firms in product categories that matter greatly to consumers, and those operating in highly competitive markets. Overall, the findings have important implications for marketing theory and provide actionable insights for managers into how to build and manage brand love.

This research fills the void in the counterfeit literature by examining the role of the dual facets of face in deterring consumers from purchasing counterfeit luxury brands. It advances understanding of counterfeiting by clarifying how consumers’ internal struggles with the desire to gain mian-zi versus the fear of losing lian predict their reactions to external branding cues, such as brand social power. Study 1, a survey research, examines the moderating role of face on the relationship between brand social power and purchase intentions, while Study 2, an experimental study, explores how the above-mentioned relationships are mediated by signaling effectiveness and consumers’ perceived psychosocial risk associated with counterfeit purchases. This research contributes to marketing theory by shedding light on the dynamics among the intriguing dual facets of face. The findings help uncover means to fight counterfeiting by reducing demand, which should prove more efficient than attempting to cut the supply.

Using text-mining, the authors develop version 1.0 of the Relevance to Marketing (R2M) Index, a dynamic index that measures the topical and timely relevance of academic marketing articles to marketing practice. The index assesses topical relevance drawing on a dictionary of marketing terms derived from 50,000 marketing articles published in practitioner outlets from 1982 to 2019. Timely relevance is based on the prevalence of academic marketing topics in practitioner publications at a given time. The authors classify topics into four quadrants based on their low/high popularity in academia and practice —“Desert,” “Academic Island,” “Executive Fields,” and “Highlands”—and score academic articles and journals: Journal of Marketing has the highest R2M score, followed by Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Research, and Journal of Consumer Research. The index correlates with practitioner judgments of practical relevance and other relevance measures. Because the index is a work in progress, the authors discuss how to overcome current limitations and suggest correlating the index with citation counts, altmetrics, and readability measures. Marketing practitioners, authors, and journal editors can use the index to assess article relevance, and academic administrators can use it for promotion and tenure decisions (see www.R2Mindex.com). The R2M Index is thus not only a measurement instrument but also a tool for change.

Understanding theory and what constitutes a contribution to theory is challenging in any discipline, but is particularly challenging in marketing. Yet, developing such contributions is important bo...

For the benefit of marketing's worldwide academic community, not least this journal's high-end readership, a relatively new, specialized, marketing-focused organization of ascending impact merits formal introduction. The Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB), founded only in 2007, is a group of marketing academics, financial professionals, other business executives, and professional association representatives organized for and committed to improving the financial accountability of the corporate marketing function through enhanced performance measurement. That informational notice is one purpose of this communication. Then, the report segment per se outlines MASB's current initiatives in furtherance of the accountability aim, with special emphasis on one that may first appear a lesser function: creation of an official, authoritative marketing language dictionary. The endeavor's justification is that a common language as embodied in a good dictionary would benefit marketing theory and practice through improved communication, thereby enabling better accountability. Yet the ultimate reach of such a language resource should transcend any impact on financial accountability.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to contribute to the theory and practice of financial services marketing in sub-Saharan Africa (sSA) by investigating how financial service providers are developing corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, in particular, seeking to uncover the involvement of stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachFollowing an interpretivist approach, the study uncovers fresh and context-rich insights through an analysis of a multiple case study consisting of retail banks in Ghana. Data consist of semi-structured interviews with senior managers and analysis of documents and archives.FindingsThe study uncovers three key CSR practices practised by the retail banks: giving, community and corporate reputation/brand with which their stakeholders are only to some extent involved. Banks not as yet drawing extensively on stakeholder resources for CSR practices.Research limitations/implicationsThe study uses an inductive and in-depth approach to explore contextual insights into CSR, but with subsequent limitations on how far the findings can be extended.Practical implicationsThe study offers outline for financial services marketing involving stakeholders in CSR.Social implicationsIt discovers that banks acquire social capital through their CSR activities in the community.Originality/valueThe study contributes to financial services marketing theory and practice through an evidence-based framework uncovering the development of CSR through practices that as yet draw on stakeholder resources to a limited extent. Research suggests that CSR practices are dynamic and subject to a range of situational conditions.

Based on a systematic analysis of extant research on apparel evaluative criteria and following the logical partitioning approach of developing classification schemes (Hunt, 2010, Marketing theory: ...

Relationship marketing establishing, developing and maintaining succesful relational exchanges constitutes a major shift in marketing theory and practice. Relationship marketing refer to all marketing activities directed toward establishing, developing and maintaining succesful relational exchanges.

This study examines the presence and impact of complex alternative organizational configurations of pricing on firm performance. The dataset is from a survey of company owners and company CEOs, of which a subsample was used previously and analyzed with multiple regression analysis. Analyzing an enlarged dataset that includes new data using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) supports the perspective that multiple price policy paths are identifiable for indicating high performance for different firm operational contexts. By applying the perspective of complex interdependences of specific pricing activities and specific organizational configurations related to pricing, this study offers a nuanced contribution to marketing theory. To practicing managers, this study offers guidance for adopting specific configurations of pricing policies in specific contexts for achieving high firm performance as well as guidance on which configurations indicate negative firm performance outcomes.

This issue of the Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science (JGSMS) is a tribute to the contributions of Shelby D. Hunt to the marketing discipline. There are nine contributions by – Dennis B...

This study aims to examine system interactivity affecting member commitment and intention to continue participating in the online hijabs community. At the same time, testing how the role of virtual sites in the form of posting in strengthening the relationship (moderate) system interactivity to continue to participate in the online hijabs community. An online hijabs community was researched because the problem observed in the research was relevant to the virtual community. Based on 358 valid responses from students in Surabaya who actively joined the online hijabs community obtained from questionnaires at each university in Surabaya, structural equations modeling (SEM) was used to test the research model. The results show that system interactivity affects commitment to the community, but does not affect the intentions of members to continue their participation in online hijabs communities. Likewise, commitment to the community does not stimulate the intentions of members to remain actively participating in online hijabs communities. Although, an interesting form of posting can strengthen the system’s interactivity relationship of members’ intentions to continue their participation in online communities. Implications for both marketing theory and practice, limitations, and future research on video storytelling in social media are discussed.

A particular point in time can be framed as either the start or end of a given time period. However, limited research is available on how such temporal landmarks influence consumers' judgments. This research addresses this issue by investigating how start vs. end temporal landmarks influence consumers' attentional focus and subsequent judgments. Six studies demonstrate that framing a temporal landmark as the start of a time period shifts visual attention to the left, while framing a temporal landmark as the end of a time period shifts visual attention to the right. By changing attentional focus within the visual-spatial environment, a temporal-spatial congruity between a temporal landmark (start vs. end) and the location of a target object (left vs. right) increases people's preference for that target object. Overall, these findings provide valuable implications for marketing theory and practice.

Given that conceptual contributions are essential for enhancing marketing thought, scholars are increasingly lamenting the decline in conceptual advances in marketing. Remarkably, while the marketi...

Dr. Shelby D. Hunt is a world-renowned marketing scholar and thought leader. Over the course of his first five decades of distinguished and illustrious academic journey, he has made numerous semina...

To a new generation of marketing scholars, Shelby Hunt might be identified with Resource-Advantage (RA) Theory, marketing theory books, or philosophy of science debates from the 1980s. This article...

This article (1) explores the nature and origins of “high impact” (i.e., highly cited) articles in marketing, (2) argues that a major factor is that highly cited articles frequently are the result ...

This paper develops the Möbius strip as an ‘ordering theory’ (Sandberg and Alvesson, 2020) that brings CCT studies into dialogue with mainstream marketing approaches. The aim is to work toward a transdisciplinary understanding of market spatiality, a topic that has become increasingly important for theorists and practitioners (Warnaby and Medway, 2013; Castilhos et al., 2016; Chatzidakis et al., 2018). Building on psychosocial interpretations of the Möbius strip as a ‘tactical’ way of thinking, a range of insights and ideas are organized along a single strip of theorization. This paper maps a continuous plane of logic between the concepts of space, place, emplacement, spatiality, implacement, and displacement. The potential applications of the Möbius strip are then demonstrated by showing how the transdisciplinary topic of ‘atmosphere’ can be theorized from multiple perspectives. The paper concludes by exploring how the Möbius strip might also be employed in other areas of marketing theory and practice, potentially generating further transdisciplinary conversations between CCT and the marketing mainstream.

In the last fifty years, marketing theory and practice has made significant advances toward becoming more scientific and rigorous. This paper reviews significant past developments in marketing stra...

This paper is a result of the analysis and observations that the researchers conducted directly and openly. This research was carried out continuously by looking at several aspects related to the promotion of candidates as participants in the 2020 Bengkulu Provincial Election for Cagub. In this case the researchers focused on political marketing used by the number 1 pair, Helmi-Dedi. The research method used is the constructivist paradigm. Based on the results of research on political marketing applied by candidate pairs Helmi -Dedy in the Regional Head Election for the 2018-2023 period using an analysis knife, namely the Political Marketing Theory of Adnan Nursal (Nursal, 2004: 242) has three target groups that can be grouped into three: 1. Direct marketing of political products to potential voters (push political marketing), 2. Marketing of political products through mass media (pull political marketing) and 3. through influential groups, figures or organizations (pass political marketing).

Marketing theory on exchanges is dominated by market/nonmarket exchanges and their hybrid versions. However, unlike these relatively more secular exchanges, little is known about religious exchanges or “gifts-to-gods” in marketing theory, in spite of evidence to indicate its overwhelming presence around the world. Using the context of a Pentecostal consumption field, this article examines three forms of religious exchanges—exchange with the church (institution), exchange among church members (communal pooling), and exchange with God (sacred) and how they influence the consumption of religion in this context. Instead of market/nonmarket economic systems, the article advances a divine economic system—a system of exchanges governed by divine agents (gods, spirits, saints), which centralizes and legitimizes these religious exchanges. This article extends marketing theory on exchanges, reciprocity, and the consumption and marketization of religion.

This commentary presents a dissenting point of view on some of Key et al.’s (AMS Review, 2020) observations concerning the relevance and rigor of scholarly research in marketing, impact of scholarly research in marketing on research in other disciplines, and influence of the marketing function in firms at the top management level.

The goal of this paper is to conduct a detailed review of research on foreign market entry alliances mediated by information technology (IT). This paper offers the conceptual structure of cross- border IT interactions and performance effects that is technically aware. It combines resource-based view (RBV) viewpoints and transaction cost economics (TCE), arguing that developing IT interface capabilities improves the commercial efficiency by enhancing interfirm relationship governance in the host location of the foreign partner. More relevant modulators are often known as IT-related threats and contextual limitations. It proposes concepts of IT capabilities, enhanced IT interfirm governance and improved IT marketing efficiency. Building from RBV and TCE, IT capital, relevant human resources, and IT integration, the capacity of companies to better manage the connection through joint control, interfirm collaboration, organizational formalization and hybrid centralisation is improved by the combination of RBV and TCE. These advantages contribute to increased marketing efficiency at the host place upstream and downstream. IT capabilities also lead to mitigating potential contextual constraints and threats. The paper presents a range of research ideas based on theory and literature that will be empirically evaluated in future studies. Top managers of companies currently or intend to enter into foreign market entry partnerships should consider carefully improving inter-company IT capabilities with regard to hardware and software preparation, human resources and organizational assets.

Vargo and Lusch (V&L) have claimed that there was a movement from a goods-dominant logic to service-dominant logic in marketing. We problematise this narrative via attention to multiple strands of service discourse from the late 19th to mid-20th century. Our focus begins with the promotion of service in the economics literature. A close reading of a publication important to V&L’s account reveals the politics associated with the rise of service discourse. This is elided in their work. Our genealogy subsequently engages with the publications of A. F. Sheldon. His views are unpacked and links to the Rotary Club explicated. The evidence indicates that service discourse was relational in orientation and ethically driven, with the intertwined themes in Sheldon and Rotary’s publications generalised into an emergent ‘theory of society’ that had applicability around the world. We term this discursive formation ‘service capitalism’. This perspective was contested by a ‘counter manoeuvre’ labelled ‘service socialism’. Service socialism differed fundamentally from Sheldon’s axiology, Rotary’s service capitalism or the midpoint view detailed by Edward Filene due to its focus on the deleterious impact of the profit motive, the significance of ‘use value’, the reorientation from ownership to access-based consumption and attention to human welfare and economic security. Service socialism, we conclude, generates insights that require engagement today.

Despite the pivotal role of positioning in marketing strategy formulation, few studies explicitly examine positioning strategies employed by foreign and indigenous firms operating in the same cultural milieu. Relying on the concepts of culture and positioning as the backdrop, this research contributes to the literature by answering two key research questions: What are the differences between African indigenous firms' and Africa-based foreign firms' pursuits of positioning strategies? And is a Western-developed typology of positioning strategies applicable in an African cultural milieu, and more specifically, in the Ghanaian cultural environment? The results of the study demonstrate that indigenous and foreign firms replicate each other's positioning strategies to carve out positions, although foreign firms aggressively pursue a wider range of strategies than indigenous firms. While there is a uniform attempt by indigenous and foreign firms to reach the mass-market and lower- to middle-class target audiences, foreign firms focus more on middle-class audiences than do indigenous firms. The authors discuss implications for marketing theory and practice.

Jagdish. N. Sheth is seen as one of the most important authors contributing to the development of marketing science worldwide. Sheth has pioneered the emergence of many innovations in marketing, with more than 200 academic studies on marketing. The focus of most of the academic studies written by Sheth is to explain the factors that affect the buying behavior of buyers in the market. Apart from buyer behavior, the author has also carried out very important studies in marketing research, marketing strategy and marketing theory. While Sheth's work was an important reference to many academic studies that were done later, he also guided many businesses in determining their marketing strategies. This research aims to reveal the important contributions of the author to marketing science by conducting a detailed literature research on Sheth's work. Within the framework of the research, important articles written by Sheth are examined and Sheth's contributions to different areas of marketing are explained in the light of these articles. Important results in various publications produced by Sheth within the framework of the research will be an important source for future research.

Purpose This viewpoint sheds light on an as yet underrepresented consumer group. Considering impaired consumers in our theories would not only change these theories’ meaning but also add variance. These theories would therefore develop from a specific case theory to a broadly acceptable and applicable theory. Design/methodology/approach As a viewpoint paper, this work relies on previously published literature and highlights exemplary shortcomings in the servicescape and customer experience theory. Findings The paper specifies shortcomings in the current theory development and application. While service marketing scholars consistently consider the normal and representative consumer, changing the customer groups will lead to a broader understanding of consumer behavior. Originality/value This paper not only highlights impaired consumers’ different needs and expectations, but also discusses the difference between impairment and disability. Given this distinction, the paper calls for further research on such consumers.

The Klenik Tourism of the Alas Purwo National Park is visited by many groups of people especially shamans who come to the Alas Purwo National Park from various regions and various religious identities. They did not come alone but by bringing their men to Alas Purwo National Park to perform rituals in the caves and Pancur Beach in the Pancur Resort. In the caves they do semedi also bring the necessary equipment such as incense, flowers, and incense. Because the place is indeed in the forest and still sacred, they still come back to Alas Purwo National Park with certain needs including seeking peace, penance, rituals with a specific purpose. obstacles encountered in efforts to develop the occult destinations of the Alas Purwo National Park, Analyze and Explain the factors that support the success in the development of the occult destinations of the Alas Purwo National Park in Banyuwangi Regency. That is why this research was conducted using qualitative research methods and the analysis used an interactive model (Miles and Hubermen), namely by reducing data, presenting data and drawing conclusions. From several research findings, it was concluded that there were factors that triggered them to do heresy including: insufficient economic needs, repentance or calming down to pray, meditation with specific goals, economic adequacy, shifting life in the family. The occult process is basically the same as people doing rituals, meditation or the like in different ways and places according to the stability of the individual with all kinds of equipment that they think are important for example by bringing offerings, flower flowers, flower flowers, telon flowers, incense or incense. According to the study of occult marketing theory conducted by visitors of the Alas Purwo National Park, it can add to the income of the Alas Purwo National Park, this can be proven by looking at visitor data through the increasing entrance of Rowobendo, due to the increasing number of people from various regions visiting the Park The Alas Purwo National Park which was invited by previous visitors who had performed the ritual by directly speaking to the people who had never visited Alas Purwo National Park, so that those who had never been to the Alas Purwo National Park had a curiosity by joining with those who have performed rituals in Alas Purwo National Park with various successes which according to them have changed their lifestyle after visiting Alas Purwo National Park.

This study examines the factors influencing customers' online purchasing intentions. A questionnaire was administered to a group of 584 respondents through the purposive sampling method. Data were analyzed via the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach to examine the posited research hypotheses. The PLS-SEM approach revealed that impulse purchase orientation was the strongest predictor of customers' online purchase intention in Malaysia. This was followed by an online purchase experience, and then online trust and quality orientation. It is also discovered that brand orientation does not significantly influence customers' online purchase intention in Malaysia. This research is helpful to online retailers in the development of business strategies and also the academicians to conduct further research by adding a new variable in the mix for generation and evolution of the concept. The originality of the paper is its investigation of the determinants as the predictors in the proposed theoretical framework and the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior (DTPB) as the underpinning theory for this study, something that has been overlooked in prior studies. The results underpin new and extensive inputs into marketing theory and enlarge the emergent literature related to customers' purchase intention in online shopping in Malaysia. Directions for future research are offered.

The paper is a first-person account of Professor Robert F. Lusch’s early academic career at the University of Oklahoma during the late 1970s and early 1980s by one of his earliest students. The author describes and reflects on what some might consider a tumultuous period in marketing’s disciplinary evolution and suggests how these early years might in fact inform us of Professor Lusch’s later prolific contributions and deep impact on our discipline. Though perhaps more known for his uniquely critical thinking and his seminal contributions to the foundational elements of marketing, the author also tries to shine a light on Bob Lusch as a dedicated teacher, a tireless mentor and as a peerless educator—whose genuine care and friendship to his students knew no bounds. Though on this occasion his passing saddens us as he left us too early, the legacy of this exceptional scholar and educator will always be fondly remembered by his students and friends and will have a profound impact on all future students of marketing.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze millennial generation purchase behavior on halal cosmetic products in Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach The research approach used is a quantitative approach with the research method in the form of a survey and the sampling technique using purposive sampling. The respondents in this study are 206 Muslim females of the millennial generation. Structural equation modeling (SEM) with AMOS software is used for analyzing the data of this study. Findings This study found that of the 11 hypotheses tested, 10 of them were accepted: H1, H2, H3, H4, H6, H7, H8, H9, H10 and H11. The accepted hypotheses are the influence of perceived value on trust, brand image on trust, brand image on attitude, religious belief on attitude, halal certification on halal awareness, trust on attitude and halal awareness on attitude. As for trust, attitude toward product, halal awareness affects the intention to purchase halal cosmetics. Moreover, H5 was not accepted, namely, the influence of religious belief on halal awareness. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to the development of marketing theory, specifically related to consumer behavior of halal cosmetic products, as well as the development of the concept of consumer behavior based on demographics, namely, the millennial generation. Originality/value This study is more comprehensive than previous studies, and this study is focused on the millennial generation.

Over the years, marketing scholars have voiced concerns regarding the dearth of indigenous theory development in marketing, reliance on theories developed in other disciplines, and the downward trend in conceptual articles published in marketing journals. Advancing marketing theory encompasses developing organic marketing theories, refining and extending theories developed in other disciplines used to explain and predict marketing phenomena, evaluating theories currently in vogue in the field and discarding flawed theories, and developing overarching theories that in addition to explaining marketing phenomena also explain a broader range of phenomena that transcend disciplinary boundaries. Along the lines of the demonstrated potential of theories developed in other disciplines to shed light into marketing phenomena, the potential of organic marketing theories to shed light into phenomena that are the focus of research in other disciplines also merit exploration. Against this backdrop, drawing on theory insights from marketing literature and other disciplines, this commentary focuses on issues relating to development of new theories, extensions and revisions of theories in vogue, and discarding of flawed theories.

Conceptual review papers can theoretically enrich the field of marketing by reviewing extant knowledge, noting tensions and inconsistencies, identifying important gaps as well as key insights, and proposing agendas for future research. The result of this process is a theoretical contribution that refines, reconceptualizes, or even replaces existing ways of viewing a phenomenon. This paper spells out the primary aims of conceptual reviews and clarifies how they differ from other theory development efforts. It also describes elements essential to a strong conceptual review paper and offers a specific set of best practices that can be used to distinguish a strong conceptual review from a weak one.

Marketing’s intellectual health requires indigenous theory development. However, marketing is a discipline that, almost exclusively, imports its concepts and theories from other disciplines and applies them to marketing issues. Articles that either develop indigenous marketing theory or use such theory as a foundation for empirical research are notably absent from marketing journals. A major reason for the absence of indigenous marketing theory is the lack of well-developed procedures and approaches for developing theories and writing conceptual articles. This article proposes, explicates, and illustrates with a concrete example (i.e., service-dominant (S-D) logic) an approach to theory development in marketing that is labeled the “foundational premises, inductive realist approach.” Although this approach is not an algorithmic procedure for theory development, it can provide a valuable conceptual framework for furthering the development of indigenous marketing theory.

Qualitative research is designed to generate in-depth and subjective findings to build theory. Combined with the quantitative bias of top-tier journals, many qualitative researchers do not utilise ...

Using bibliometrics, this study provides a comprehensive overview of Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice (JMTP) during 2005–2019. The study finds that JMTP has positioned itself as an importan...

In the 21st century the world is changing; dramatic shifts in technology and the global marketplace are having a profound impact on organizations. Whether they operate in the private, public or non-profit sectors, organizations in every continent need to rethink the way they do business.Organizations can no longer afford to build a strategy on existing environmental and industry conditions, but instead shape them in their favour. Blue Ocean Strategy is a marketing theory by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, professors at INSEAD Business School, in their 2005 book - Blue Ocean Strategy.Based on a study of 150 strategic moves spanning more than a hundred years and thirty industries, Kim and Mauborgne argue that companies can succeed by creating "blue oceans" of uncontested market space, as opposed to "red oceans" where competitors fight for dominance. They assert that these strategic moves create a leap in value for the company, its buyers, and its employees while unlocking new demand and making the competition irrelevant