The quest for a general theory of the marketing system

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether there is significant agreement on what constitutes the essential elements for building a general theory of the marketing system.

Design/methodology/approach

The method is an historical review of the various concepts, elements, sub-theories, axioms, components, explananda and ingredients proposed by marketing scholars over the past half century who contributed to the development of a general theory of the marketing system.

Findings

The main finding is that despite the diversity of terms and concepts found in the marketing literature, there is considerable agreement on the essential elements necessary to build a general theory.

Originality/value

The value of this work is in assembling and organizing the various concepts, elements, sub-theories, axioms, components, explananda and ingredients of a general theory. Scholars are encouraged to examine the pieces and re-join the quest to construct and empirically test a general theory of the marketing system.

Citation

Shaw, E. (2014), "The quest for a general theory of the marketing system", Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, Vol. 6 No. 4, pp. 523-537. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHRM-07-2013-0041