Pauline Arnold (1894‐1974): pioneer in market research

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a biographical sketch of Pauline Arnold focusing on her pioneering contributions to the field of market research.

Design/methodology/approach

Archival source material included the Pauline Arnold Collection at the University of Minnesota and the Lucy Sallick Papers including correspondence, unpublished documents, and the transcript of a 1995 oral history interview with Matilda White Riley, who was Pauline Arnold's stepdaughter. Primary historical source material includes the scholarship, both published and unpublished, of the subject. An important primary, published source for this study is the periodical, Market Research, to which Arnold contributed under the auspices of the Market Research Corporation of America from 1934 through to 1938.

Findings

Pauline Arnold's contributions to the field of market research are documented.

Originality/value

Pauline Arnold has been cited as having made important but neglected contributions to market research, including her advocating an understanding of customers' motives, needs, and wants. However, there is no published account of Arnold's life and work.

Citation

Brian Jones, D.G. (2013), "Pauline Arnold (1894‐1974): pioneer in market research", Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, Vol. 5 No. 3, pp. 291-307. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHRM-01-2013-0001