Empirical Analysis of a Generalized Darwinism Triggered Theory of Evolutionary Marketing Research
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14738/abr.85.8261Abstract
This research aims to contribute to theory development in marketing research by proposing a model in which generalized Darwinism is the independent variable, evolutionary marketing research the intervening variable, and a non-linear marketing agenda the dependent variable. The authors argue that marketing needs to improve its scientific credentials as an academic discipline and to help bridge the gap between marketing theory and practice. Drawing on the Darwinian mechanisms of variation, selection and replication, and on Kortam's (2006) conceptualization of the marketing research process as three consecutive phases (encoding of concept, application of marketing research methods, and decoding to context), the model contends that adopting a generalized Darwinism framework should make marketing research more evolutionary and universal, and that evolutionary marketing research should in turn optimize higher marketing ends that have so far been poorly fulfilled, such as non-linear marketing contributions. The anticipated contributions include a clearer understanding of how generalized Darwinism can broaden and deepen marketing research concepts and principles, a conceptualization of Darwinism-based evolutionary marketing research, and new avenues for examining marketing research panels and analytical techniques such as meta-analysis. The authors also set out the limitations of each contribution and propose marketing research panel data as the empirical context for refining and further developing the integration of Darwinism and marketing research.
Abstract prepared by the editorial office from the full text of the article; the authors did not supply one.
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