Academic Marketing Journals Research Articles

The role of critical conceptual contributions in academic marketing journals

The role of critical conceptual contributions in academic marketing journals

Gender diversity in academic publishing\u2014comment on Galak and Kahn (2021)

Galak and Kahn (Marketing Letters, 2021) report that females and underrepresented minorities face a less favorable organizational climate within academic marketing as compared to their respective counterparts. We complement this perspective by assessing the extent to which a gender gap is detectable in academic journal publications in marketing. To this end, we collect a data set which covers all publications of a broad range of peer-reviewed academic journals in business, including marketing, across two decades. We then develop an algorithm that allows us to determine the authors’ gender. We use these data to study a potential gender gap in academic marketing journals. Results indicate that a gender gap in academic publishing in marketing is present and substantial, although it has been declining over time. At the same time, it continues to be particularly visible in the most prestigious journals. While marketing is still far from being a role model, the gender gap is smaller in marketing compared to other fields in business. Our analysis complements the findings by Galak and Kahn (Marketing Letters, 2021) by showing that female scholars do not only experience an unfavorable organizational climate, but they are also underrepresented in academic marketing journals.

Evaluating National Literature Through Academic Marketing Journals

Evaluating National Literature Through Academic Marketing Journals

The Composition of the Editorial Boards of General Marketing Journals

Unlike the diversity issues in corporate governance, the diversity in top academic positions (e.g., editorial boards of academic journals in business) is rather underresearched. The editorial boards of academic marketing journals are important gatekeepers and trendsetters in the creation and dissemination of marketing knowledge. Membership on journal editorial boards usually signals scholarly stature and professional advancement. This study examines the composition of editorial boards of general marketing journals, and compares it with what it was like 15 years ago. The study also investigates the impact of the composition of editorial boards on journal quality. We find that women’s participation in editorial boards generally corresponds to their presence in the profession. We also find an overall small representation of board members affiliated with nonacademic institutions. While the presence of women, practitioners, or international members does not have any relationship with journal quality, the presence of scholars affiliated with doctoral programs seems to correlate with journal quality. The number of female and international members on the boards increased, whereas practitioners’ representation dropped from 1997 to 2012.

An introduction to the application of (case 1) best–worst scaling in marketing research

We review and discuss recent developments in best–worst scaling (BWS) that allow researchers to measure items or objects on measurement scales with known properties. We note that BWS has some distinct advantages compared with other measurement approaches, such as category rating scales or paired comparisons. We demonstrate how to use BWS to measure subjective quantities in two different empirical examples. One of these measures preferences for weekend getaways and requires comparing relatively few objects; a second measures academics' perceptions of the quality of academic marketing journals and requires comparing a significantly large set of objects. We conclude by discussing some limitations and future research opportunities related to BWS.

Sources and use of marketing information by marketing managers

PurposeThe paper aims to establish which formally and informally published sources of knowledge were mainly used by executives in the computer service industry to obtain knowledge of current developments in the field of marketing and to examine the purposes for which the knowledge gathered from these sources was employed.Design/methodology/approachMarketing managers in 141 large computer services businesses completed a questionnaire concerning the extents to which they used books, marketing magazines, academic journals, and grey literature (GL) for instrumental, conceptual, and symbolic purposes. Four “motivating factors” (e.g. occupational learning orientation) were examined plus three other influences (e.g. length of time in a marketing role). The possible consequences of the extensive use of various sources were explored.FindingsOnly 2 per cent of the sample read academic marketing journals, and just 3 per cent looked at marketing textbooks. However, 89 per cent of the sample accessed (mainly internet‐based) grey marketing literature and 62 per cent read marketing magazines. Nearly, one in six of the respondents stated that they had read practitioner “how to do” marketing books. Several hypothesised independent variables exerted positive and significant impacts on the degrees to which magazines; GL and practitioner books were employed to obtain marketing knowledge.Research limitations/implicationsIt was not possible to examine exactly why a particular knowledge source was preferred for a specific purpose. Potential connections between past academic research outputs and the contents of contemporary grey marketing literature and articles in marketing magazines could not be investigated. The results imply that GL must be recognised as a vital source of marketing knowledge. Issues relating to the codification and wider distribution of GL, copyright, the shortage of specialised GL bibliographies in the marketing area, and the long‐term availability of materials in electronic form need to be addressed.Originality/valueThis was the first empirical study to connect the use of marketing knowledge sources to the purposes (instrumental, conceptual, symbolic) for which the knowledge contained within them was required.

Research designs and scientific identity in marketing journals: review and evaluation

PurposeThis research is based upon the assumption that the empirical research designs and the scientific identity of a journal are related. The objective is to review and evaluate the empirical research design of papers to determine the scientific identity of a selection of academic marketing journals.Design/methodology/approachThe journal sample consists of the Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), the European Journal of Marketing (EJM) and the Journal of Marketing (JM). The review and evaluation considers a six‐year period, namely 2000‐2005. The content analysis consisted of 811 papers.FindingsThe scientific identity of JM may be seen as built upon quantitative research designs and the North American paradigm of research values. The scientific identity of AMJ is based upon a mix of empirical research designs and the Australian paradigm of research values. The scientific identity of EJM is also based upon a mix of empirical research designs, but a multi‐continental paradigm of research values.Research limitations/implicationsThe leading continental journals in marketing maintain a scientific identity based upon the continental paradigm of research values. If it is driven to the extremes, a paradigmatic myopia and inertia of research designs may evolve that limit the scientific identity to be dogmatic and narrow‐focused rather than variable and broad‐focused.Originality/valueA cross‐continental review and evaluation of research designs and scientific identity of academic marketing journals is presented.

Ethnocentricity in academic marketing journals

PurposeThis paper aims to examine and compare a set of key characteristics of ethnocentricity that influence the policy of academic marketing journals, and hence the provenance, authorship and nature of articles in academic marketing journals.Design/methodology/approachThe “fundamental” characteristics of three major marketing journals, published in the USA, the UK and New Zealand, were examined for the six‐year period from the start of 2000 to the end of 2006. Data were collected from editorials and web homepages. Analysis was conducted of 811 articles, 1,676 authors, three editorial teams and three sets of reviewers.FindingsThere is a challenging academic ethnocentricity in the management and implied policy of the three journals. The extent varies, but the inescapable conclusion is that the world‐wide research community in marketing is not properly represented by leading journals.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample was intentionally small, and unrepresentative of any category except “leading quality”. The findings are intended to add momentum to a debate and point ways forward, not to provide generalisable answers.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that: the editorial boards and reviewing teams should be made more representative geographically; editorships should be organized around the concept of a team of geographically differentiated editors; editorial and review teams should be ethnographically representative of individuals who do research and wish to publish it, particularly beyond the English‐speaking world. In general, the world‐wide research community in marketing would benefit from less ethnocentricity in academic journals, and these leading examples should strive to reduce it.Originality/valueThe impact of ethnocentricity is underestimated in this context. The issue needs to be discussed, because of paradigmatic influences that it can have on a journal and the profile of its authors, and hence on journal ranking and perceptions of journal quality.

Analysing 'theory networks': identifying the pivotal theories in marketing and their characteristics

Social network theory and descriptive statistical analysis are used to identify and analyse the characteristics of the pivotal themes emerging from within the key marketing literature. Data are collected over a ten-year period from three leading academic marketing journals i.e. Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, and Journal of Marketing Research. Our findings highlight the most important pivotal theories based upon a combination of citation frequency, and theory-to-theory network linkage power. Whilst none of the leading theories identified appear to stem from marketing, most come from closely related disciplines such as economics and psychology, and relate to several common themes including the management of relationships and human behaviour, organisational issues and behaviour, and decision making. We identify some limitations associated with our research, several areas worthy of future investigation, and based upon the theory, extract some insights that practitioners may also find beneficial.

‘We Are All Customers Now . . .’ Rhetorical Strategy and Ideological Control in Marketing Management Texts*

ABSTRACT This paper critically appraises the rhetoric of marketing management texts. Its interpretive frame is informed respectively by critical management and discourse analytic theoretical traditions. Its main data set is drawn from popular textbooks written for taught university courses but it also draws attention to similar rhetorical strategies in leading academic marketing journals. In addition, parallels are drawn with other popular management and consulting fields. In this way the paper attempts to mark out an initial topology of the ideological influence that is enabled and mobilized by marketing's rhetorical strategies. Marketing rhetoric often escapes critical attention precisely because it is platitudinous. Marketing management axioms have become slogans and the slogans have become clichés regularly employed in organizational, educational and political settings. But the prevalence of platitudinous rhetoric in management consulting schemes does not necessarily hinder their popularity or inhibit the deployment of their rhetorical/ideological strategies in other settings. Popular marketing management rhetoric is a special case because it positions itself not only as a prescriptive management‐consulting framework but also as a legitimate academic field. It is in the latter guise that the success of managerial marketing's rhetorical/ideological strategies has proved most striking.

Commentary

The current environment in higher education drives faculty members towards research and publication. What the system values most is publication in refereed journals, preferably those which have achieved high reputation. Examines the extent to which academic research informs practitioners engaged in marketing. Clear evidence was obtained that academic marketing journals are neither read nor recognised by the great bulk of the sample. The consequence for academics and other writers in the subject area is significant. They can either strive to meet the demands of academically rated journals and publications which will undoubtedly further their career or they can publish their work in outlets more likely to be read by the practitioner. In the latter case, they then risk their colleagues and superiors taking them less seriously. Finally, they can attempt to achieve both, although this is a somewhat difficult task. The evidence from this study confirms, however, that whatever efforts are made by marketing faculty to publish their work, their readership, most likely, will be disappointingly exclusive.

Marketing Journal Rankings Revisited: Research Findings and Academic Implications

The purpose of this study is to update perceived quality rankings of leading academic marketing journals by sending questionnaires to chairpersons of marketing departments in AACSB accredited business schools. The latest top ten journal rankings are: 1) Journal of Consumer Research, 2) Journal of Marketing, 3) Journal of Marketing Research, 4) Marketing Science, 5) Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 6) Journal of Retailing, 7) Journal of Advertising Research, 8) Journal of Advertising, 9) Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, and 10) Journal of Macromarketing. This study builds on work by Browne and Becker and Luke and Doke and offers important implications for marketing scholarship.