Eclecticism of Marketing: Strength or Weakness?

Abstract

Marketing has evolved and emerged as a distinctive field of professional endeavor. Although there has been a considerable growth in its thoughts and theories, it still suffers from a lack of theoretical maturity. Scholars argue that as a young discipline there is still room for future exploration between its theory and practice. In an effort to expand the works of previous theorists and historians, this paper sets out to deepen the epistemology of marketing genealogy. Specifically, the paper offers clearer insights on the multidisciplinary nature of marketing, assesses whether this approach strengthens or weakens the influence of marketing as a field of knowledge, and finally explores the affiliate disciplines that dominate in marketing research studies at the moment. Using a broad review of the literature in the form of a historical survey, we traced cross-disciplinary exchanges of principles, concepts, and theories. The paper argues that the body of knowledge known as marketing evolved and emerged from different but interrelated fields. And it is this eclecticism approach that strengthens the foundation of marketing as a social, behavioral, and managerial field. This paper, therefore, offers strong educational values to inform teaching, enrich, acquaint, and/or update marketing students, theorists, and historians, and serve as a springboard for future debate.