The social organisation of marketing: An introduction

This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the increasing functional importance of marketing and the problems associated with the psychologically derived, or informed, literature that tends to dominate much of the academic scholarship in the area. The chapter goes on to introduce the figurational-sociological approach and the need for, and potential benefits of, such an approach to the study of marketing and markets. This is followed by an outline of where a figurational approach has been applied to date within the general nexus of marketing-organisation studies-sociology. The chapter concludes with an overview of the various contributions within the book.