The professionalization of marketing in Britain

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with two questions (1) "in what sense if any, can marketing be called a professional occupation?", and (2) "what has been its historical development along the road to professionalism?". In this study two theoretical approaches are adopted, derived from Functionalist and Trait schools of sociological analysis. In addition the model of the evolution of a profession as advocated by Wilensky is employed as a framework from which to address our objectives. Marketing in this study is examined from several different perspectives. These provide empirical data and a description of the organization of marketing in Britain. The first of these approaches centres on tracing the historical development of professionalism in the occupational association since its foundation. The second examines how a sample of the public views the notion of profession, its application to marketing, and the extent of their knowledge of the occupation. The third approach acknowledges the ascriptive position of the marketing practitioner and therefore involves a survey of employers. The fourth approach entails an extensive survey of practitioners who were members of their occupational association. The historical study of marketing's development is addressed primarily to the question of how the occupation has travelled towards professionalism. The surveys of present day opinion are used to buildup a portrait of marketing's degree of professionalism and professional recognition at the present time. In addition it is hoped the study will offer some guidance as to how improvements can be made to marketing's professional standing. With these objectives the thesis might act as a guide for future studies on the professionalization process of occupations.