|
History
Publishing Programs
| |
David A. Reid, University of Toledo
Richard E. Plank, Western Michigan University
"Business
Marketing Comes of Age: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature"
Abstract
Since 1978 business marketing has seen a great deal of research activity. It
is reasonable to ask whether this has led to advances in theory development and
a general increase in the level of knowledge of business marketing. The business marketing literature from 1978-1997 from 23
journals, 5 sets of proceedings, and selected books of articles is reviewed in an attempt to answer that question. Close examination of the past 20 years of
research clearly indicates that certain areas have received a disproportionate share of the research effort. Organizational buyer behavior, strategy and
planning, and sales management accounted for over 40% of the articles published.
Important areas such as computers and technology in business markets, marketing to the government, ethics in business markets, and pricing, in
contrast, have received relatively little research attention. Regardless of the
uneven coverage, the research in business marketing over the past 20 years has been conceptually and
empirically strong.
|
