Practitioner perspectives

Citation

Keegan, S. (2010), "Practitioner perspectives", Qualitative Market Research, Vol. 13 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/qmr.2010.21613dab.001

Practitioner perspectives

Article Type: Practitioner perspectives From: Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, Volume 13, Issue 4

Marketers are a hardbitten bunch, more concerned with outcomes than theory. It therefore comes as something of a surprise to discover that the way in which researchers and marketers commonly conceptualise brands is remarkably similar to the thinking of radical philosophers and, indeed, Aristotle himself. Nowadays, phenomenology with social constructivism as its handmaiden is a widely accepted platform underpinning much qualitative research.

Chris Barnham presents a very cogent argument which challenges this platform. In doing so, he persuasively argues that, in practice, marketing professionals and researchers implicitly employ a model of understanding which is neither objective nor subjective. He illustrates this through specific marketing examples. This seems to me to be an interesting example of theory growing out of practice; a contrast to the academic approach in which, often, theory is developed and then applied.

Sheila KeeganPractitioner Perspectives Editor