Rescuing marketing from its colonial roots: a decolonial anti-racist agenda

Abstract

Purpose This paper illuminates the mechanisms through which marketing practice and institutions produced, normalized and institutionalized systemic racism in support of imperialism, colonization and slavery to provide impetus for transformational change. Critical race research is drawn on to propose paths toward decolonial and anti-racist research agenda and practice. Design/methodology/approach The paper integrates multidisciplinary literature on race, racism, imperialism, colonialism and slavery, connecting these broad themes to the roles marketing practices and institutions played in creating and sustaining racism. Critical race theory, afro pessimism, postcolonial theories, anti-racism and decoloniality provide conceptual foundations for a proposed transformative research agenda. Findings Marketing practices and institutions played active and leading roles in producing, mass mobilizing and honing racist ideology and the imagery to support imperialism, colonial expansion and slavery. Racist inequalities in market systems were produced globally through active collusion by marketing actors and institutions in these historical forces creating White advantage and Black dispossession that persist; indicating an urgent need for transformative anti-racists and decolonial research agendas. Research limitations/implications Covering these significant historical forces inevitably leaves much room for further inquiry. The paper by necessity “Mango picked” the most relevant research, but a full coverage of these topics was beyond the scope of this paper. Practical implications Marketing practitioners found themselves at the epicenter of a crisis during the Black Lives Matter protests. This paper aims to foster anti-racist ad decolonial research to guide practice. Social implications This paper addresses systemic and institutional racism, and marketplace inequalities – urgent societal challenges. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the paper is the first in marketing to integrate multidisciplinary literature on historical forces of imperialism, colonization and slavery to illuminate marketing’s influential role in producing marketplace racism while advancing an anti-racist and de-colonial research agenda.