The impact of image management, self-justification, and escalation of commitment on knowledge development in the marketing discipline

Abstract

The paramount role of scholarship in the modern academic environment is manifest across program accreditation, individual evaluation, and institutional reputation processes. At the microlevel, success in this domain positively influences scholars'performance evaluations and institutions'external reputations. At the macrolevel, research expands and deepens the boundaries of the discipline. It is widely accepted that knowledge development is seminal to the advancement of marketing as a discipline. Accordingly, the academic community is increasingly concerned with potential limits and constraints on knowledge development. This article explores the influence of image management, self-justification, and escalation of commitment within the marketing discipline. A two-phase study using both a broad survey of marketing academicians and in-depth interviews of faculty at two universities indicates that these influences may be constraining creative marketing thought and may limit knowledge development. © 2006 Sage Publications.