Placing Alderson and his contributions to marketing in historical perspective

Abstract

Alderson's contributions to marketing (management) thought and theory are so far reaching that they are considered by some to be essential in building an understanding of marketing. Given the importance of his contributions, it is indeed surprising that he is but a name to current marketing students. The chapter attempts to find out why by analyzing the intellectual milieu in which he lived. An analysis of the environment will not only shed light as to why he has been forgotten but will also reveal where his seminal contributions came from, what their inherent weaknesses are and what's missing. The world of academic marketing began to change toward the end of Alderson's life, in part due to his unprecedented efforts to make marketing more theoretical and scientific. Current trends in marketing scholarship and education and how these trends transformed the marketing discipline in this post Aldersonian era are also discussed. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.