lack thereof (Kremer et al., 2008). Causes may lie in the gate-keeping
function of the physician, the very high level of firm expenditures on
promotions, or its regulation. Moreover, the moderators of such effectiveness
may be specific to the health context (such as drug effectiveness
and side effects in Venkataraman & Stremersch, 2007).
The Health and Marketing field is also characterized by an intrinsically
unstable environment. Changing regulation, new discoveries,
and new health treatments continuously appear and give rise to new
questions. For example, research has developed and will continue to
develop on the following topics: the adoption of TRIPS by developing
countries and its consequences, the co-operation between pharmaceutical
companies and biotech companies, and the promise of targeted
treatments.
3.3. Does the field yield knowledge that can be generalized?
Some scholars in our field are greatly concerned with research
findings being generalizable. By this, they refer to the universal character
of the laws we discover. The laws of physics, like the law of
gravity, are probably perceived as close to the ideal.
However, in the social sciences, very few, if any, of these general
laws exist. Many scholars can testify to this through the contingency
studies they have undertaken (Kremer et al., 2008, in this issue, is an
excellent example). In fact, even physical laws are only valid under
clearly specified boundary conditions. Typical boundary conditions in
the social sciences, and in marketing in particular, often relate to the
cultural setting (i.e., country) and the industry.
Therefore, the primary goal of scholarship in marketing perhaps
should not be to derive theories that can be generalized perfectly to all
situations. Rather, the goal should be to develop theories and reveal
findings with an explicit reference to context (Steenkamp, 2005).
Scholarship in Health and Marketing can certainly achieve that goal
(see Gonzalez et al., 2008 for an excellent example). In fact, the previous
discussion in this paper lists some of these contextual bounds
that may apply to findings in this field. Requiring the definition of
contextual bounds on research findings as a caveat to generalizing
research findings allows one to match the demands of scientific inquiry
with the development of specialized knowledge in a particular
field, even if the field is defined by its application.
Thank you
IJRMowes a specialword of gratitude to themany people that helped
to make this special issue a success. First, many esteemed scholars
delivered high-quality reviews or acted as an AE. I remain in awe of the
quality of your reports and the speed with which they were delivered.
Second, this special issue could not have existed without authors
submitting their work to the journal. We received a total of 55
submissions for this issue. Authors had to meet a very tight timeline –
the first submissionwas due September 15, 2007 and the final version
of the paper needed to be accepted by August 15, 2008 – and had to
deal with a rather pushy editor (the average turnaround was 43 days,
all inclusive). Nevertheless, we only lost one paper, because it was
unable to meet our timeline.
Third, Cecilia Nalagon excellently managed the process, which was
vital given the tight timeline andmy own organizational flaws. Thanks
to her,we could meticulously followthe timelinewe had set originally.
Finally, IJRM owes gratitude to the Marketing Science Institute and,
in particular, Russ Winer and Ross Rizley, who were immediately
supportive of co-sponsoring the issue. I hope that all stakeholders feel
that this special issue serves its purpose well. Health and Marketing is
a fascinating field that will have more of an impact on society than any
field in marketing will ever have, with plenty of novel questions to
address. Enjoy immersing yourself in the research presented in this
issue!
References