Commentary on Kohli & Haenlein: The study of important marketing issues in an evolving field

In response to Kohli and Haenlein (2021), this paper addresses how, at this point in timemarketing can be maximally useful, both for contributing to the body-of-knowledge of marketing and for solving practical marketing problems. I first discuss the three current major dynamics in marketing and how to deal with them: (i) Vertical drift (movement away from marketing in the direction of its supplying disciplines); (ii) Lateral drift (new business fields becoming active in native marketing territories); and (iii) The ICT revolution. Next, the paper examines the alleged low tide of marketing theory and discuss how, in the absence of new grand theories but in an abundance of studies on specialized marketing problems, the field can organically develop marketing knowledge. Finally, the paper investigates the role of subdomains in marketing and related issues of the unity of the field and the self-identity of marketing scholars. The paper produces several recommendations, summarized in the last section.