Marketing and Development in Third World Contexts: An Evaluation and Future Directions

Abstract

This study attempts to locate existing marketing perspectives on development within the larger framework of "development studies." The purpose is to ascertain the underlying principles and assumptions in the development of marketing thought and thereby to facilitate the evaluation of the role of marketing in the development process. Such an approach is in keeping with the aims of creating critical knowledge through radical deconstruction processes outlined by Firat, Dholakia, and Bagozzi (1987). This article assesses marketing perspectives in terms of their fundamental assumptions and key features as and when they fall into three schools of thought: modernization, institutional, and radical. By grounding them in this manner, we argue that a critique of such ideas is possible, which then allows for a fuller assessment of contributions made by marketing scholars.