How theory can act as a useful practitioner tool and changes through its use

What is it about?

Marketing Performativity: Theories, practices and devices addresses concerns about the theory-practice gap so often discussed by marketing scholars, and indeed reframes this 'gap' by asking 'how is marketing theory performative?' How does marketing theory shape action? Who uses it in practice and to what effects? The individual contributions in this book and Special Issue look at how marketing theories are used in practice and what this means for our understanding of the practicing-theorising landscape of marketing. We begin by considering what performativity is and how this concept is used in the marketing literature. We then considers three themes concerning the performativity of marketing that emerge from the contributions, before presenting ten empirical studies that ask how, why, and to what effect marketing theories are used and 'performed' in marketing practice. We summarises the implications of three themes and sketches research areas for further developing our understanding of the performativity of marketing theory. The book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Marketing Management.

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Photo by Helloquence on Unsplash

Photo by Helloquence on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The paper draws out the importance for marketing practitioners and academics in understanding theory in use and in explaining how the way we use theories can bring about new imaginings and realities of collective action in markets. It also shows that theories are and should be changed through their use. They are dynamic living epistemic objects that help us organise our activities and inquire into the world.