In this paper we explore the relationship between knowledge, trust, and space in the production and consumption of retail financial services as part of a wider enquiry into processes of financial exclusion. (1) The analysis in this paper is influenced by two metaphors that have recently been the subject of considerable critical attention within the social science literature. The first metaphor is that of the network. From the work of Castells (2001), and that of actor-network theorists such as Latour, Callon, and others (Callon, 1988; Law and Hassard, 1999), the metaphor of the network is now widely used within economically oriented research to give a sense of the relative connectedness of individuals, institutions, and places to broader social processes (for example,

There has been considerable recent discussion about the relevance of critical theory to management discourse and its implications for the education of managers. Within this debate, marketing, and by implication, marketing academics, have been extensively criticised by those outside the discipline for failing to embrace more critical theoretical approaches in their work. Unfavourable parallels have been made with management accounting which has a similar academic/practitioner profile but where critical theory was embraced over two decades ago. The objectives of this paper are threefold: to attempt to account for the lack of critical theory in the discipline; to provide a critical evaluation of the usefulness of critical theory in marketing discourse; and to assess some of the practical implications associated with the implementation of critical theoretical approaches in teaching, research and publishing.

Service quality has attracted considerable attention within the service marketing literature, but despite this, high profile consumer education has not been considered a valuable strategy. Argues that consumer education is a powerful quality strategy in a variety of service contexts and that it is already being used by an increasing number of service organizations. This paper sets out the conceptual relationship between consumer education and service quality prior to developing an information‐education continuum that could help organizations recognize when consumer education might be a useful competitive strategy. The article concludes with a discussion of practical issues that organizations need to consider before implementing consumer education programs.

The aim of the paper is to assess the role of doorstep credit companies in the delivery of financial services in areas affected by high levels of financial and social exclusion. In particular, the paper looks at the relationship between agents and customers using two metaphors associated with interaction between different species in an ecological setting-namely, parasitism and symbiotic mutualism. The metaphor of parasitism circulates widely within debates about moneylending in the media and among advocacy groups, such as the Consumer Association, that work on behalf of low-income individuals and households. The metaphor of symbiotic mutualism describes the depiction of the relationship between consumers and moneylenders put forward by the moneylending industry. Drawing on field work undertaken within moneylending companies, this paper argues that the relationship between the agents and customers is cultivated to overcome information asymmetries; that is, to produce information about customers' ability to repay. The paper investigates the way in which the initial knowledge about customers is developed during the weekly visits that agents make to the homes of customers. 'Friendly' relationships are cultivated by agents to retain profitable customers who have earned the agent's trust.

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