Intellectualization in Macromarketing Revisited: A Reply to Hunt

Abstract

The title of Shelby Hunt's article (1989) is steeped in irony, given what follows in his text. His effort produces a caricature of reason and a surprising misunderstanding of the nature of reification in the social sciences. His is no critique; it is a diatribe pure and simple. I will not respond to Hunt's article on a line-by-line basis. That would be too depressing an exercise. Rather, I will address what appear to be major allegations. All but his last two, his rigor-relevance issue and his reification-realism issue, are dispensed with summarily because they are superficial.

Towards a history of critical marketing studies

“…Since the subject of distributive justice embraces not only the economic analysis of rights but also ethics, morality, and religion, then macromarketing can only be a science if science is defined in a manner to permit macromarketing to maintain the human values of its researchers. (p. 9) Like Firat (1985aFirat ( , 1985b, , Benton (1985aBenton ( , 1985b, Heede (1985), O'Shaughnessy and Holbrook (1988), Arnould and Fischer (1994), O'Shaughnessy (2008), and others, Monieson appreciated the contribution that a variety of paradigms including natural science (whose knowledge-constituting interest was, for Habermas (1987Habermas ( /2004) concerned with 'controlling' nature, as well as human beings, whilst spuriously adopting a posture of value neutrality), hermeneutics (concerned with the development of inter-subjective understanding about the past and present, but which is essentially 'conservative' in Habermas' (1987Habermas' ( /2004Habermas' ( , 1990 opinion) and critical approaches can make to the emancipation and self-reflection of the subject (Crossley, 2005;Habermas, (1987Habermas, ( /2004 ;Hansen, 1981;Ingebrigtsen & Pettersson, 1981;Monieson, 1988Monieson, , 1989Peter, 1991). We must acknowledge the value of multiple paradigms, as well as interdisciplinarity, these scholars claimed (Firat, 1987;cf.…”

Macromarketing: Past, Present, and Possible Future

“…These included a concern with the philosophical foundations of macromarketing, theoretical and empirical studies of marketing systems, comparative marketing and the role of marketing systems in economic development, insights into the outcomes of marketing systems, and a growing interest in ethical issues arising from marketing activity. Monieson (1981Monieson ( , 1988 noted the gap between marketing science and marketing practice and argued that, "We should, while we still have the chance, develop an eclectic tradition in macromarketing" (1981,15). In a second article, Monieson (1988) deplored the growing intellectualization of macromarketing, as he put it, "a world disenchanted."…”

“…Monieson (1981Monieson ( , 1988 noted the gap between marketing science and marketing practice and argued that, "We should, while we still have the chance, develop an eclectic tradition in macromarketing" (1981,15). In a second article, Monieson (1988) deplored the growing intellectualization of macromarketing, as he put it, "a world disenchanted." He commented that "the reification of marketing proceeds relentlessly," and went on to note, "To be truly a social science, human values have to be incorporated so that the science of macromarketing is conducted by humans in the service of humans" (p. 4).…”

Issues and Problems in the Development of Contemporary Macromarketing Knowledge

“…Macromarketing as a social science based in social reality is particularly suitable for this paradigm. In summary, Monieson (1989)…”

“…Above all, we must avoid conceit-laden terms such as "manage," "predict," and "control.." (Monieson, 1981, p. 18) Other than logical empiricism, what other research paradigms may be suitable for macromarketing science? Monieson (1989), among others, suggests the use of hermeneutic which is ideally suited for the interpretive needs of the field. Macromarketing as a social science based in social reality is particularly suitable for this paradigm.…”