Gaining access to agency and structure in industrial marketing theory: A critical pluralist approach

Nicholson, John D.; Brennan, Ross; Midgley, Gerald

Abstract

This article is concerned with gaining greater insight into the interplay between agency and structure in industrial marketing (IM) scholarship. The article’s intent is to embed Midgley’s notion of critical pluralism within this endeavour. The article commends the movement towards increased deployment of critical realism, but cautions against the dangers of creating further atomism in marketing theory by generating another paradigm of thought with strongly defended boundaries, impervious to outside influence. The article advances a case for critical pluralism within IM scholarship and offers a three-dimensional (theoretical, methodological and methodical) framework to aid this. The discussion demonstrates how critical pluralism can be deployed to gain insights into agency and structure using a number of ‘integrative’ theoretical perspectives.

Citation

Nicholson, J. D., Brennan, R., & Midgley, G. (2014). Gaining access to agency and structure in industrial marketing theory: A critical pluralist approach. Marketing Theory, 14(4), 395-416. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593114538994

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Jun 16, 2014
• Publication Date: 2014-12
• Deposit Date: May 15, 2019
• Journal: Marketing Theory
• Print ISSN: 1470-5931
• Electronic ISSN: 1741-301X
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 395-416
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593114538994
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/1788682
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1470593114538994