Contributions to the Marketing Discipline

s were supplemented by the addition of a feature section, "Legislative and Judicial Developments in Marketing" (now "Legal Developments in Marketing"), in April 1951. It reports on important developments, not only in Congress and the federal courts, but also in state and local legislative and judicial institutions. In view of the information-overload problem confronting academicians and practitioners, this contribution has proved to be a most significant one. It permits not only an exposure to a breadth of literature, but an identification of trends, fads, and fashions in research and writing; of gaps existing in the literature; and of emerging problems and research areas. An Academician's Perspective The JOURNAL OF MARKETING has changed its emphasis, tone, coverage, and, to some extent, its purpose over the past four decades. Yet throughout its existence it has occupied a most influential position among those concerned with the academic side of marketing. What has it meant to people seriously interested in the scholarly pursuits: teaching, learning, research, writing, classes, courses, curricula, and the like? From my vantage point, it is clear that the JOURNAL OF MARKETING proved to be one publication that concerned and dedicated academicians could not ignore. It has been a continuous basic reference source and a focal point for marketing scholars and teachers. It has played several important roles in academic careers. First, the JOURNAL has continuously furnished a means of communication with others in the field, both academicians and practitioners. Before marketing meetings and gatherings were as numerous, it performed an even more significant service of informing researchers and teachers of marketing of the concerns and interests of colleagues over widely separated geographic areas. It facilitated an exchange of ideas and encouraged communications and personal contact among academicians. It served as a source for determining "who was doing what in marketing." Second, as the major outlet for substantive and theoretical marketing articles, the JOURNAL Occupied a rather special position. At one time it was the only, or at least the primary, scholarly journal of the discipline. Thus, it had a great influence on academic careers, job opportunities, and promotions. It proved to be a most important medium for transmitting and testing marketing ideas, concepts, and approaches. It often published academically oriented articles of little or no interest to other publications. It was an essential publication outlet for marketing professors. In a sense, it served as "a keeper of the standards and integrity of the discipline." Third, I have continuously found JM to be an invaluable source for keeping on top of the marketing discipline and its developments. The summary articles published periodically have been particularly rewarding. Articles concerning emerging dimensions and issues of the discipline serve to stimulate and shape one's thinking and research. The publication of article abstracts and reviews are extremely useful in providing perspective. The book reviews perform a most welcome professional service. Fourth, in developing courses and seminars, I have constantly found the JOURNAL to be a rich source of directly relevant materials. Some of the articles have formed the cores around which eminars have been structured. Many articles have been used to complement textbook readings and marketing cases. JOURNAL materials have stimulated and motivated students to pursue independent research projects, including doctoral dissertations. Related to the above, I feel that many academicians would share in my sense of an enriched perspective from reviewing the early volumes of the JOURNAL OF MARKETING and following the themes, concepts, and writings as they developed. This added historical perspective can prove to be most valuable for marketing teachers. It can instill a sense of balance, a feeling of discipline knowledge and security, an increasing awareness nd appreciation of the richness of thought that existed during the 1930s and 1940s, a better idea of the major contributions of some of the marketThis content downloaded from 157.55.39.112 on Wed, 07 Sep 2016 05:18:31 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 78 Journal of Marketing, July 1976 ing pioneers, and an increasing cognizance of many erroneous statements that have been published about the development of marketing. An improved awareness of the historical perspective in marketing is needed, and the early JOURNAL articles are a valuable source. Yet JM has not been without its weaknesses. In some ways it has tried to be an "everything publication for everyone in marketing." While many academicians might opt for more theoretical, research-based, and technically oriented articles, many other AMA members would prefer the pragmatic, directly relevant, how-to-do-it materials. While most academicians would probably insist that the JOURNAL remain a refereed publication, some of the membership would prefer greater discretion on the part of the editor, the guarantee that articles written by executives would be published, and the development of an active staff of writers. The JOURNAL to date has been geared more to the academic tastes of the membership. The total reorientation of the JOURNAL, with a significant shift in focus, has been considered several times by the AMA. Regardless of the future focus adopted, my academic life has been enriched and rewarded by the existence of the JOURNAL. For me, the JOURNAL OF MARKETING over the past 40 years has represented a standard of professionalism, a source of academic accomplishment, the major professional journal of our discipline, and an invaluable stimulus for professional development. As a past presid nt of the AMA, I know that the b nefits of the JOURNAL to the membership, its approach, orientation, and accomplishments have not been unchallenged. However, had the JOURNAL not existed, in the form that it did, I for one would have found my academic duties far less stimulating and rewarding and much more difficult to perform. The JOURNAL OF MARKETING has left an imprint on a discipline that relatively few publications have been privileged to match.