Abstract
For years, the Sage series of handbooks in the social sciences has provided useful tools for exploring the large expanse of the social science landscape. Reviews of specialized areas in psychology and sociology that are found in these handbooks are frequently assigned in doctoral seminars and are necessary reading for those who are new to the field of marketing. Weitz and Wensley's Handbook of Marketing continues that long tradition, presenting 21 essays by leading scholars in marketing on topics that range from marketing's relationship with society to marketing and the Internet.
The title of the book is somewhat broader than the topics actually covered in the essays. The text focuses on substantive issues rather than methodological tools, and it centers on issues in marketing management rather than consumer behavior (for reviews similar to those in the Handbook of Marketing but that cover these other areas in depth, see, e.g., Bloom and Gundlach 2001; Robertson and Kassarjian 1990; Tashakkori and Teddlie 2003.) However, as the editors argue in their closing comments, the separation of consumer research from marketing management research is a significant problem for advancement of scientific thought in marketing. The Handbook merely reflects the somewhat loose, and sometimes limited, connection within marketing between consumer behavior and marketing management.
Given this more limited focus, the editors have brought together an impressive group of scholars to provide reviews of the major streams of research in marketing management. The contributors to the Handbook are leaders of marketing thought in their respective areas. Their essays provide an overview of the existing research in a specific area, an extensive set of references, and suggestions for further research.
The book is organized around five broad sections: Introduction, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Activities, Marketing Management, and Special Topics. The final section provides concluding observations from the editors on the current state of marketing management research.
The first section contains essays by Wilkie and Moore on marketing's relationship with society, Jones and Shaw on the history of marketing thought, and Webster on marketing's role in the firm. These discussions provide the novice with a useful foundation for the remainder of the book. They also provide the more experienced reader with a useful reminder of both the scope and the importance of marketing activities and marketing's history. Although it is difficult to single out one essay over another in this section, I was particularly impressed with Wilkie and Moore's examination of the aggregate impact of marketing on society. Not only do they provide a concise roadmap for this topic, but they also provide strong suggestions for further research and usable advice on how to track research in this area as it develops. For young scholars with an interest in this area, their essay is an excellent beginning.
The second section focuses on issues in marketing strategy, with three essays that provide a thorough examination of marketing strategy issues as they have evolved over the past 25 years. The section begins with a focus on firm and business-unit issues in which Day and Wensley explore how various theories of the firm perceive marketing strategy in different ways. Shocker's essay considers product market–based strategies, which have a long, distinguished history in marketing strategy. Gatignon and Soberman conclude the section by exploring competitive action and market evolution. These three essays provide a comprehensive view of the strategic marketing literature.
The third and largest section in the Handbook covers the marketing activities of the firm with eight essays on aspects of the marketing mix. The section begins with Keller's review of the branding literature. Dahan and Hauser examine the product development literature, and Anderson and Coughlan review channel management. Other essays in the section include discussions of sales force management (Albers), pricing (Ofir and Winer), marketing communications (Stewart and Kamin), sales promotion (Neslin), and service quality (Parasuraman and Zeithaml).
Given the comprehensive nature of this section, it is difficult in the space available here to provide even a cursory critique of these eight essays. I found myself attracted to the essays that address topics of my previous and current research. For example, Keller's essay on branding is an important review of the extensive branding literature that has emerged over the past 15 years. Similarly, Dahan and Hauser's essay on managing product development processes does an excellent job of reviewing the vast literature on product development. However, pointing out these selections merely reflects my personal interests. Essays included in this section that address the other six topics in marketing management will not disappoint other readers.
The fourth section covers areas of marketing management with three essays. Russo and Carlson explore individual decision making with a review of the extensive literature on decision making outside of the marketing management literature in areas such as consumer behavior and psychology. Mantrala examines the allocation of marketing resources in an essay organized around key marketing resource areas, such as advertising, sales force, and promotion; he concludes with a useful set of five areas of suggested further research. In the last essay of the section, Eisenstein and Lodish examine the intersection of information systems and marketing management by reviewing the body of research on marketing decision support systems.
The fifth section covers a series of special topics, defined by the special contexts in which marketing occurs. Johanson explores global marketing issues, especially with respect to market entry. Shugan explores service marketing with a focus on capacity management. Håkansson and Snehota discuss business markets, and Barwise, Elberse, and Hammond conclude the section with a review of marketing and the Internet. Each of these areas has grown significantly in their importance to both the practice of marketing management and the academic literature. I was particularly interested in and impressed by the last essay, given the realized and potential impact of the Internet to change marketing behavior.
Handbook of Marketing is a rich compilation of thorough reviews in the field of marketing management. The editors have selected premier marketing scholars and have given them the opportunity to examine their area of expertise in a format much less confining than those provided by the major journals in the field. The authors have taken this opportunity and have done an outstanding job not only of reviewing and structuring the extensive body of thought in many major areas of marketing management but also of providing valuable suggestions for further research. They have brought together major contributions from the field of marketing and from other related disciplines.
I strongly encourage marketing scholars to consider Handbook of Marketing. The text will certainly appeal to those with interests in marketing management; it may also be useful to those who are more focused on methodological issues but interested in topics that need additional, rigorous investigation. Libraries that serve schools of management should also be encouraged to acquire Handbook of Marketing for use by faculty and students.
An obvious application of the text would be in marketing seminars, particularly in those that address the broad topic of marketing management. Whether using the text in its entirety or by selecting some subset of essays, faculty can build a solid seminar with this book, possibly supplementing it with other articles. Most of the essays are written in a style that can be used in MBA classrooms, especially in marketing elective courses. The Handbook also offers much value to marketing managers who have a developed sense of the academic world of marketing. It can serve as a major doorway into the field of additional resources on topics of managerial interest.
In summary, Weitz and Wensley should be congratulated for the excellent work in developing Handbook of Marketing. The book fills a major void in the marketing literature on marketing management and will serve the discipline for many years to come.