Conceptual reasons beyond technology for the delayed progress and innovation in marketing science

Abstract

In general, much of the traditional marketing science practice prior to the 20th century (and perhaps even throughout) remained hidebound by rules of thumb and lack of information, perhaps because of a lack of technology that enables the diffusion and sharing of information across geographies, people and disciplines. This has been true across general market and culturally specifi c research. Technological advancements have made possible the broader sharing of information, and increased computational power has made possible its measurement. Yet the expected changes in marketing science applications have not been seen empirically. Some of those transformations should already have taken place. That would, however, require organisations to remain open minded and not risk averse (or at least risk neutral), as many of the rewards of advanced analytics may not be obvious in the short term, especially as new investments to build the capabilities have to be made up front — this is a chicken and egg problem. The author of this paper has identifi ed three syndromes as the culprits of delayed progress and innovation in marketing science: syndication, academic and practitioner syndromes. Most of the shortcomings have been due to the self-imposed simplicity of the marketplace (especially in CPG) by addressing only the demand side, often overlooking the supply chain side.