Enhancing theory development in marketing

Abstract

It is an honor and a privilege to serve as Editor ofAMSReview. As I start my term, I would like to discuss my views about the journal, the challenges and opportunities it faces, and its future prospects. I would also like to describe initiatives that build on the efforts of the founding Editors, Vicky Crittenden and Bob Peterson, and the Academy of Marketing Science (AMS). These initiatives, over time, can play an important role in significantly elevating AMS Review’s stature in the marketing discipline and set the stage for the journal to reach its full potential. AMS Review aspires to become a premier academic journal that is focused exclusively on conceptual articles in the marketing discipline. It will take time; however, with the support of marketing scholars who wish to elevate our discipline’s impact, this aspiration can be realized. The marketing discipline, historically, has had a very healthy appetite for theory development work. Unfortunately, over the past few decades, the discipline’s deep-seated tradition of publishing highquality conceptual articles has been broken (MacInnis 2011; Yadav 2010). As a result, there has been a steady decline of conceptual articles published in our major journals. Recent commentaries suggest that these trends are perhaps emblematic of deeper, more systemic problems in the marketing discipline (see, e.g., Reibstein et al. 2009). Systemic problems necessitate systemic solutions; clearly there are no silver bullets. Although concerted, imaginative efforts are needed on multiple fronts, I believe that a renewed focus on developing impactful theory is essential. AMS Review is uniquely positioned to play an important role in this regard. The journal can rejuvenate interest in crafting conceptual articles and facilitate the growth of a new generation of theory development scholars in our discipline. By accomplishing these goals, the journal has the potential to carve out a very special place for itself in the discipline. Of course, before that happens, much remains to be done. My comments below focus on three fundamental issues: (1) the supply of high-quality conceptual articles; (2) the scope of conceptual articles; and (3) initiatives planned for moving forward with AMS Review and enhancing theory development work in marketing.