Service-dominant logic as a unifying theoretical framework for the re-institutionalization of the marketing discipline

Abstract

This manuscript addresses growing concerns about the impact and relevance of the marketing discipline and its ability to replicate itself through common theoretical, empirical, and historical-knowledge foundations available to current and future scholars and practitioners (Hunt, 2020a). Specifically, we echo the calls by Hunt (and others) for the need of more indigenous theories, the bridging of subdisciplines, and the building of stronger links between positive and normative theories. We do so by positing that service-dominant (S-D) logic can serve as a metatheoretical framework that can facilitate the development of a general theory of markets. We view such a positive, general theory of markets as a necessity for developing a mainstream, central focus of the discipline and providing a foundation for re-institutionalizing marketing as a discipline. Such a central focus is needed to develop more impactful normative theories and to overcome the increasingly extreme fragmentation among consumer behavior, marketing strategy, and macromarketing subdisciplines that threaten the cohesion and intellectual health of our domain.