Marketing Is a Transdisciplinary Body of Knowledge

Abstract

“What ‘is’ marketing?” Perusal of the marketing literature reveals that “marketing” has been defined and characterized in multiple, often inconsistent but typically ambiguous, ways that have evolved over time. The present essay argues that characterizing marketing as a transdisciplinary body of knowledge formally captures its essence and possesses numerous implications for marketing education as well as marketing practice. Following a brief review of how marketing has been conceptualized in the past, the benefits and challenges of conceptualizing marketing as a transdisciplinary body of knowledge are discussed from a paradigmatic perspective.