KNOWING MARKETING: AN ACTIVITY THEORY PERSPECTIVE ON KNOWLEDGE AND LEARNING IN THE MARKETING DOMAIN Keywords activity theory, practice theory, marketing knowledge, organizational learning

The paper highlights the need for an activity theoretical approach to the understanding of marketing knowledge and learning. In particular, we argue that activity theory has the potential to enable insights into the contradictory and complex systems of activity in which marketing practices reside. We contrast the tenets and applications of activity theory with the static, individualistic and linear assumptions which dominate the marketing knowledge domain. We show that activity theory supports the understanding of change, complexity and uncertainty related to marketing contexts by recognising and supporting the contradictory, collective and distributed character of knowledge and learning.