Historical research, academic politics and editorial activism^*

ABSTRACT

I am a passionate advocate for historical research. It provides insight, context, illuminates the dynamics of our discipline and should anchor everything we think, write, and profess in the present. Careful historical research can question, undermine, and revise the existing set of representations that underwire our subject. It may help us untangle why certain views of the subject, topic, period, or person remain in wide currency, explaining the power relations, politics, institution building and wider discursive and non-discursive factors that foreclose, enhance, or otherwise influence what we think, write, teach, and practice. We desperately need more research that challenges everything we take for granted and fail to subject to scrutiny. This paper reflects a call to action.

KEYWORDS:

• History
• history of marketing
• history of marketing thought
• history of marketing theory
• theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. It is reasonably simple to put these courses together. There are a number of multiple volume collections that could form the appropriate foundations. Sage, Routledge and Edward Elgar all publish them (e.g. https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/the-history-of-marketing-thought/book232187 and https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Companion-to-Marketing-History/Jones-Tadajewski/p/book/9780367868710).

2. This was the question posed as a stimulus for the present contribution. My thanks to the special issue editors for their motivational cue.

3. Needless to say, this editorial activism applies to all forms of study in marketing, not just historical analysis.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mark Tadajewski

Mark Tadajewski is the Editor of the Journal of Marketing Management.