Marketing science is not an applied discipline
Byron Sharp
Research Professor (Marketing Science), Director Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, Adelaide University of South Australia.
Calling marketing science an applied discipline is sloppy logic.
It’s common wisdom that marketing science is an applied discipline. The notion being that there are some pure (note the connotations of nobility and superiority) disciplines, and then there are the more grubby applied disciplines. This notion, which I’ll point out is wrong and silly, is that marketing is really just a branch of psychology or economics. Using this logic biology is just applied chemistry, and for that matter chemistry is just applied physics - which of course is nonsense, each of these disciplines have different focuses of inquiry. Similarly marketing is not just applied psychology, nor is it applied economics, nor some mixture of the two (i.e. behavioural economics).
Marketing science studies buying and selling. It has a pure focus that no other discipline can lay claim to. There are some other disciplines that apply such pure knowledge. The study of wine marketing, for instance, uses marketing knowledge and marketing’s focus of inquiry but in a specific application area; there are many others... services marketing, B2B, food marketing, tourism marketing and so on. Here it is very clear to see the parent discipline and the application area.
Another argument is that marketing is an applied discipline because marketing knowledge is used by people, i.e. marketers. But all scientific knowledge is (hopefully) used. Engineers, architects and many others apply physical science, so is physics an applied discipline ?
So next time you hear the study of marketing described as an applied discipline reject this sloppy logic.
Byron
Assistant Professor of Business, Canadian Mennonite University / Consultant / Trying to figure out what's really going on in markets, communities and organizations.
1 个月Marketing as a field is highly contested. In my view it is not useful to view it as "a" science per se, rather as a practice that can, and occasionally does, make use of scientific methods from various other disciplines as well as marketing itself. Essentially it is concerned with practices directed at the cultivation, facilitation, activation and, yes, manipulation of the agency of particular entities toward some goal (usually that of the marketer). No need to sugar coat it. As Bhaktin says, a field has to answer the world. We can say whatever we like about marketing but the public and lay marketers don't care. They just do. As a discipline we have to account for that otherwise we will become irrelevant to the real world.
Wrong part 2 of 2 Counter-Argument for Marketing as an Applied Science Technology is a prime example of how science gets applied for practical purposes.?By definition,?technology is "the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes." Marketing science follows the same principle.?Here's how: Marketing Science as Technology:?Marketing science takes established knowledge from psychology,economics,?and statistics and applies it to understand consumer behavior and develop effective marketing strategies.?This application of scientific knowledge to influence buying and selling behavior aligns perfectly with the definition of technology. Distinct Focus and Knowledge Base:?While marketing science draws on other disciplines,?it develops its own distinct body of knowledge.?It studies areas like brand management,?marketing mix optimization,?and customer relationship management,?which are unique to the marketing domain.?This specialized knowledge base separates marketing science from its parent disciplines. Marketing science may not be a "pure" science in the same way as physics or chemistry,?but it's a valuable applied science that uses established scientific principles to solve real-world business problems.
Wrong part 1 of 2 Critique of the Argument Against Marketing as an Applied Science The argument presented has some flaws in its logic.?Here's a breakdown: False Dichotomy:?The argument sets up a false dichotomy between "pure" and "grubby" applied disciplines.Most scientific fields have both theoretical and practical applications.?Physics,?for example,?underpins engineering marvels like bridges and airplanes.?Similarly,?marketing science draws on psychology,?economics,and statistics to understand consumer behavior and develop effective marketing strategies.?These applications don't diminish the "purity" of the underlying science. Misunderstanding of Application:?The argument suggests that applied disciplines solely borrow existing knowledge from pure sciences.?Marketing science goes beyond just applying existing knowledge from psychology or economics.?It builds its own body of knowledge through research on consumer behavior,marketing mix modeling,?and effectiveness of different marketing strategies.?Wine marketing,?for instance,?while using core marketing principles,?also incorporates specific knowledge about consumer preferences for wine and the wine industry environment.
Good one ????
Strategic information and records management
7 个月Eventually applied discipline?