Context-Specific Meaning
We need to investigate meaning in context rather than
strive to produce universal laws and theories. Some
procedures for such research are suggested by Mischler
(1979) and Morgan and Smircich (1980). In fields
such as sociology and organizational behavior, considerable
work is currently being done on the development
of new methods of context-specific inquiry
(e.g., Knorr-Cetinaa nd Mulkay 1983, Morgan 1983).
At a minimum, consideration of these works points to
the need to more fully observe and report research details
in current approaches to research and to critically
evaluate current research methods which were designed
for seeking universal generalizations. In general,
less emphasis on following normative rules of
research conduct garnered from P/E accounts of science
may aid in the development of better methods
and theories.
Summary and Conclusions
We have shown that many aspects of scientific activity
are consistent with basic marketing concepts and
processes. We have implied that astute scientists could
make good use of basic marketing principles to develop
effective strategies for promoting their theories.
In addition, we have shown that the "science is marketing"
perspective is more consistent with the "new"
R/C philosophy of science than with the outdated
P/E orientation that currently dominates marketing
research. We have also argued that adopting an R/C
approach in marketing could produce more creative
and useful theories.
While we believe that marketing provides a useful
perspective for analyzing science, other views of science
are useful as well. For example, science can also
be analyzed as art and theater (Feyerabend 1968),
rhetoric (Gusfield 1976), communication (Edge 1979),
and cognitive psychology (Tweney, Doherty, and
Mynatt 1981). Moreover, aspects of science are similar
to mysticism (Capra 1975) as well as more formally
organized religion (Feyerabend 1968). In some
situations, even the positivistic/empiricist perspective
may offer useful ideas about science. Future research
on science might identify and create new perspectives,
combine and compare alternative perspectives,
and specify the contexts and situations under which
one perspective may be more useful than another.
Finally, it is reasonable to ask what we have learned
about the question, "Is marketing a science?" While
we recognize that no defensible criterion for distinguishing
science from nonscience has ever been found
(Laudan 1982), we believe that the main task of science
is to create useful knowledge. To the degree that
marketing has done so, then it can be labeled a science.
As marketing scientists we should be concerned