The industrial/consumer marketing dichotomy revisited: a case of outdated justification?

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to question again the relevance of the differences, which were first discussed over 20 years ago, between industrial marketing and consumer marketing and to suggest new ways to frame the debate on the B2BC dichotomy.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper includes an historical review of the principal texts of the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) group in order to elucidate the four key characteristics of industrial marketing; the time perspective, the role of the customer, market structure and the unit of analysis. It continues by considering the contributions that Consumer Culture Theory, which it is argued is a powerful renewing force in consumer marketing, can make in respect of these four characteristics.

Findings

The dichotomy of B2B/B2C no longer works by simply attributing it to the four historical differentiators of industrial marketing that are currently being adopted by innovators in consumer marketing. Consequently, this paper highlights the possible contributions of this development to industrial marketing and questions whether differentiation is possible. Are there not other criteria to take into consideration to differentiate the two fields?

Originality/value

This paper allows the reader to revisit a controversy that has apparently been kept hidden. It does not question the relevance of the controversy but the criteria used in trying to differentiate industrial marketing from consumer marketing. It introduces the most recent developments of consumer marketing research into the context of industrial marketing theories.

Citation

Cova, B. and Salle, R. (2008), "The industrial/consumer marketing dichotomy revisited: a case of outdated justification?", Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 3-11. https://doi.org/10.1108/08858620810841443