A Theory of Marketing

Marketing has become one of the most influential forces in contemporary market economies. Yet despite ubiquitous empirical presence, uncountable textbook definitions, and sixty years of scholarly work, a coherent sociological understanding of this powerful concept is still amiss.

Drawing on Luhmannian social systems theory, historical analysis, and four qualitative studies, the author theorizes on the marketing function as a self-contained system of communications. It is argued that marketing systems prosper within a host organization if and as long as they successfully influence observers' preferences towards particular brands. On these conceptual foundations a comprehensive brand- and communication-centered theory is developed that fulfills Alderson', Cox' and Bartels' foundational requirements for a general theory of marketing in an unprecedented way.

Auteur
Dr. Marius Lüdicke promovierte bei Prof. Dr. Beat F. Schmid am Institut für Medien- und Kommunikationsmanagement an der Universität St. Gallen.

Résumé
Marius Lüdicke documents and explains the largely abandoned scholarly ambition to develop a general theory of marketing. Drawing on Luhmannian social systems theory the author proposes a fundamentally different comprehensive concept of marketing that fulfills foundational scholarly and managerial requirements in an unprecedented way.

Contenu

Theory.- Critique.- Methods.- Marketing as a Social System.- Discussion.- Conclusions.