Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
1-2020
Abstract
This article’s objective is to inspire and provide guidance on the development of marketing knowledge based on the theories-in-use (TIU) approach. The authors begin with a description of the TIU approach and compare it with other inductive and deductive research approaches. The benefits of engaging in TIU-based research are discussed, including the development of novel organic marketing theories and the opportunity to cocreate relevant marketing knowledge with practitioners. Next, they review criteria for selecting research questions that are particularly well-suited for examination with TIU-based research. This is followed by detailed suggestions for TIU research: focusing on developing new constructs, theoretical propositions (involving antecedents, moderators, and consequences), and arguments for justifying theoretical propositions. A discussion of TIU tradecraft skills, validity checks, and limitations follows. The authors close with a discussion of future theory-building opportunities using the TIU approach.
Keywords
building theory, grounded theory, theories-in-use, theory construction, theory development
Discipline
Marketing
Research Areas
Marketing
Publication
Journal of Marketing
Volume
84
Issue
1
First Page
32
Last Page
51
ISSN
0022-2429
Identifier
10.1177/0022242919888477
Publisher
SAGE
Citation
ZEITHAML, Valarie A.; JAWORSKI, Bernard J.; KOHLI, Ajay K.; TULI, Kapil R.; ULAGA, Wolfgang; and ZALTMAN, Gerald.
A theories-in-use approach to building marketing theory. (2020). Journal of Marketing. 84, (1), 32-51.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/6489
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242919888477