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Robert Bartels was one of marketing's most prolific scholars. His research covered a broad array of marketing topics, including the marketing-as-a-science debate, theory, metatheory, the nature and scope of marketing, credit management, international marketing, comparative marketing, macromarketing, and marketing education, among others. Bartels's most significant and enduring contribution, however, was his fifty years of ongoing research, from dissertation to last publication, in the area with which his name became synonymous-The History of Marketing Thought. Although not without criticism, no other work provides such a long view of marketing's past and wide sweep of its subdisciplines. By tracing the history of marketing thought in the twentiethcentury American academy, Bartels nurtured the interest in marketing's heritage and established a common knowledge base for generations of marketing students. RobertBart els's academic contributions to the marketing discipline are numerous and varied. He wrote books and articles on credit management, international marketing, and comparative marketing. Passionate about teaching, he wrote articles on improving marketing education. He also made frequent and significant contributions to the literature in the areas of marketing as a science, the nature and scope of marketing, marketing principles, marketing theory, and metatheory in marketing. Bartels received many prestigious awards for his scholarship; in 1977, his article "Macromarketing" (Bartels 1977) earned the Journal of Marketing's Harold H. Maynard Award, named after his mentor, for its contribution to marketing thought and theory. His book Marketing Theory and Metatheory (Bartels 1970a) received the Paul D. Converse Award in 1981 for its contribution to the advancement of the science of marketing. The focus of the present article, because it affected Bartels's thinking during his entire academic career, influenced much of his writing in other areas, and represents his greatest intellectual contribution, is the work with which Bartels's name has become synonymous-The History of Marketing Thought (Bartels 1976, 1988).

PurposeMarketing boards are an integral part of the farm economy in Canada. Their purposes have been debated for decades but seldom from a marketing perspective. Such an approach makes for an interesting way to study them. The purpose of this paper is to assess the pros and cons of marketing boards, suggesting how they can be made more responsive to market forces.Design/methodology/approachThe paper positions the need for Canada to bring agricultural market reforms. The wave toward freer access to world markets makes the study of supply management that more interesting and relevant in the twenty‐first century. A brief history of marketing boards is presented, followed by a discussion of their economic, social and constitutional impacts on Canadian society. Dairy supply management issues are discussed because they serve as the basis for comparative analysis, given that dairy trade liberation has been the most successful. The impact of marketing boards on consumers is well documented.FindingsThe research points out that marketing boards lack managerial savvy to make them more efficient and responsive to market changes. Logistical and supply chain management approaches seem to be lacking. A failure to respond to markets has resulted in lost market opportunities, both domestically and abroad. The quota values, the legal and constitutional powers of Canadian marketing boards and the interprovincial trade barriers, among other issues, have stifled entrepreneurship and innovation, all with rising prices to consumers. Trade liberation will not be easy to implement even if it is urgently needed.Practical implicationsSome of the suggested market reforms presented in the paper are bound to have repercussions not only on farmers and their current ways of doing business but on Canadian society as well.Originality/valueFew studies on marketing boards have been done from a marketing perspective rather than an agricultural economic one. It is the most current review of Canadian marketing boards. Marketing studies are needed to know more about how such boards are managed and function. They need to be more accountable. The recommended managerial studies on boards make the paper unique. While trade liberation is highly recommended for milk and dairy boards to meet world pressure, the paper does not call for their elimination.

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