A stakeholder systems approach to the marketing discipline’s troubled trajectory

Abstract In what has been termed the “manifesto conversation,” the question has been raised as to “how the marketing discipline will successfully use its human and institutional resources to reverse its troubled trajectory, renew itself, and meet its responsibilities to its stakeholders” (Hunt et al., 2022, p. 139). This research question is the focus of this paper. Herein we draw on stakeholder theory amplified by concepts from systems and institutional theory, to offer an approach to address this question. Using stakeholder systems theory we argue (a) that competitiveness among sub-fields operates to invoke mutual improvements for the marketing stakeholders of each sub-field, and (b) that due to the constitutive nature of systems, each necessary contribution by a given sub-field can be identified and included in sufficiently serving marketing’s stakeholders. We offer three contributions. First, we develop theory to suggest how multiple marketing constituencies might continue to pursue novel research while remaining true to the foundations of each constituency. Second, we suggest a theoretical mechanism for integration across sub-fields. Third, we offer ideas whereby marketing-discipline actors can work proactively to create, maintain, and in some cases disrupt the institutions that presently constrain the development of marketing as a core field of study in a dynamic business environment. It therefore is our hope that our analysis in this paper can serve an effectuating purpose as the marketing discipline seeks to use its human and institutional resources in connection with its troubled trajectory, to renew itself, and meet its responsibilities to its stakeholders.