Marketing Scholarship and Society

I just finished reading an article entitled “Marketing Scholarship, Intellectual Leadership, and the Zeitgeist” by Dr. Alan R. Andreasen (Journal of Public Policy & Marketing). It very much resonates within me. Just a few months back, I had struggled with the feeling of a missing component in what I did in my work/research, and I came to the conclusion that what I was doing was not making enough contributions to the common good and to those in need. When I talked with my philosopher friend Yvette, she commented that marketing scholarship does not necessarily conflict with the pursuit of the common good. This article certainly summarizes very succinctly how the two can intersect.

Branching into this field, I am currently working on a project with Yvette on the direct-to-consumer marketing of genetic tests through the Internet. This area has created quite some controversies in recent news, and we believe that much more research is needed to fully understand the impact of these marketing practices on consumer welfare and public health.