A general theory of business marketing: R-A theory, Alderson, the ISBM framework, and the IMP theoretical structure

a r t i c l e i n f o This article focuses on business marketing to extend the arguments in Hunt (2010) that R-A theory provides the foundations for a general theory of marketing. The article extends the arguments by showing (1) how Alderson's theory of market processes, on which R-A theory draws, clearly accommodates both B2B and B2C marketing, (2) that ISBM's normative, Value Delivery Framework assumes that the process of competition within which business marketers compete is actually the process of competition described by the premises and structure of R-A theory, and (3) that not only does R-A theory and the IMP theoretical structure have numerous commonalities, but also, that R-A theory, by means of its concept of " relational resource, " provides a foundation for key aspects of the IMP theoretical structure, with its commitment to the importance of relationships. Therefore, the article concludes that R-A theory is toward a general theory of marketing, both B2B and B2C. It's all B2B.—Vargo and Lusch (2011)The only complaint I have about Shelby's book is that it should have been titled " A General Theory of Marketing, " not " A General Theory of Competition. " —Sheth (2001) 1. Introduction The standard view in marketing is that theories are systematically related sets of statements, including some lawlike generalizations, that are empirically testable (Hunt, 1976). How, then, do general theories differ from the ordinary kind? What is it that makes a general theory general? Again, the standard view in marketing is that there are four ways that one theory may be more general than another. General theories (1) explain and predict more phenomena, (2) accommodate, integrate, or systematically relate a large number of concepts and lawlike generalizations, (3) totally incorporate less-general theories, and/or (4) have a high level of abstraction (Hunt, 1983). Alderson's (1957, 1965) functionalist theory of market processes, developed in the 1950s and 1960s, has historically been considered to be the closest thing to a general theory of marketing. In the 1990s, Hunt and Morgan developed their resource-advantage (R-A) theory of competition, and Hunt (2010) now argues that R-A theory is toward a general theory of marketing. Hunt (2010) supplies three arguments that R-A theory provides the foundations for, that is, it is toward, a general theory of marketing. First, because marketing takes place within the context of competition, a general theory of marketing should be consistent …