Abstract:

Can any market researcher think of a plausible reason why research in industrial markets lags so far behind research amongst consumers? Let us examine some facts, a literature about industrial market research (abbreviated IMR) is almost non-existent. The classical textbooks either neglect the subject, or devote a meagre last chapter to its most glaring problems. The Journal of Marketing has published-, in the last six years, some real contributions to IME literature. Not counting some short and simple features on industrial marketing, the Journal has done practically nothing to remove IME from the attic in Esomar-circles the industrial market researchers don’t fill a bus at the annual outing. Their papers are few, their specialty is regarded upon as a queer and demanding hobby. This might seem to be any specialist's sob-story, but for the economic factors to be observed. Granted that marketing outlay, including market research, is correlated to added value in an industry, we can say. that industrial, market research will be correlated to the aggregate added value minus the added value of the consumer goods industry. So there must be a reason why the hinterland of the modern consumer goods industry is such a barren territory for both researchers and marketeers. We intend to review some possible explanations.