Some observations on the state of the art in marketing research

This paper provides some observations on the state of the art in marketing research. The primary and secondary thrust of the articles published in the Journal of Marketing Research during 1980–1986 is briefly reviewed to identify important areas of inquiry. In each of these areas, we summarize recent developments, highlight the state of the art, offer some critical observations, and identify directions for future research. A cross-classification of various techniques and problem areas is also presented and some observations are made on the application of these techniques to address specific substantive and methodological issues in marketing research.