This essay argues that the three concepts of (1) firms' operant resources, (2) firms' masterful operant resources, and (3) masterful marketing academic competences extend S-D logic to the marketing discipline, itself. Specifically, this essay argues that individual marketing academics can, like firms, exhibit a masterful ability for addressing the marketing discipline's important problems. We argue that this ability, this competence, can attain the status of 'masterful' in certain individuals and provide evidence that Professor Michael J. Baker did, indeed, have a masterful marketing competence. That is, he did indeed have a significant body of marketing knowledge, and he did indeed use this knowledge in a masterful manner to address important problems of the marketing discipline. Accordingly, he deserves the appellation 'masterful marketing academic.'

Numerous commentators note that marketing is entering its fifth era of evolutionary development as a troubled discipline. Marketing’s troubled evolutionary trajectory has led to what this article labels “the manifesto conversation.” Using the sociology of academic disciplines as a theoretical foundation, this article contributes to the manifesto conversation by (1) showing how each of the discipline’s stages of evolutionary development was shaped by one key question, (2) developing an analysis of the discipline’s stakeholders in each era, (3) identifying four key evolutionary developments in Era IV (1980–2020) that led to the discipline’s troubled trajectory, (4) showing the importance of a discipline’s mainstream central focus for developing a discipline’s sense of academic community, (5) identifying the manifesto conversation’s three major candidates for a central focus, (6) discussing whether the discipline can renew itself in Era V (2020-?), and (7) providing a tentative prognosis for such a renewal.

Building marketing capabilities is at the forefront of marketing strategy in B2B marketing. As customisation is key for creating unique value for B2B customers, the ability to customise market offerings is, or ought to be, an integral part of B2B marketing strategy. Based on the premise that different forms of organisational capital constitute important building blocks of customisation capability, in this research, we (i) differentiate customisation capability in B2B marketing from mass customisation capability, (ii) build our model from the customisation, capability, intellectual capital, structural capital, and cognitive capital literature streams, and (iii) test the model of building customisation capability using key informant from 161 marketing research firms. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our research for customisation theory and practice, the limitations of our research, and a detailed explication of future research opportunities.

This article contributes to the macromarketing field of study by tracing its evolution through five distinct stages. (1) In Era I (1900-1920), macromarketing was the raison d’etre of the marketing discipline. (2) In Era II (1920-1950), macromarketing became the marketing discipline’s central focus. (3) In Era III (1950-1980), marketing management displaced macromarketing as the discipline’s central focus, but macromarketing continued to be an important part of the discipline. (4) In Era IV (1980-2020), macromarketing became one of four, major, institutionalized fields of study in the marketing discipline, with the others being consumer behavior, quantitative/modeling, and marketing management/strategy. (5) In Era V (2020-?), macromarketing is well-positioned to be not only a major field within the marketing discipline, but also a field of significant promise.

Abstract STUDY QUESTION Is the morphological grading system for blastocysts associated with perinatal outcomes in women undergoing frozen–thawed single blastocyst transfer (SBT)? SUMMARY ANSWER Preferential transfer of a blastocyst based on their inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE) grading appears to be supported by observed differences in perinatal outcomes. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY The transfer of a morphologically good quality blastocyst is associated with a higher chance of implantation and pregnancy as compared to transfer of a poor quality blastocyst. However, to date, the association of the morphological parameters of the blastocyst with perinatal outcomes after blastocyst transfer remains unknown. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION This retrospective cohort study started with 27 336 frozen–thawed SBT cycles from January 2013 to December 2019. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS There were 7469 women with singleton deliveries in Peking University Third Hospital eligible for analysis. Multivariate logistic regression was used to test the risk of factors with the expression of crude odds ratios (ORs) and adjusted OR with 95% CIs. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Transfer of a blastocyst with a low overall grading was associated with a higher chance of female baby (48% vs 42%, adjusted OR = 1.26 (1.13, 1.39)) and a higher rate of caesarian section (C-section; 71% vs 68%, adjusted OR = 1.15 (1.02, 1.29)). Compared with Grade A ICM blastocyst transfer, Grade B ICM and Grade C ICM blastocyst transfers were associated with a lower chance of a female baby (adjusted OR = 0.83 (0.73, 0.95), 0.63 (0.50, 0.79), respectively) and a higher risk of large for gestational age (LGA; adjusted OR = 1.23 (1.05, 1.45), 1.47 (1.12, 1.92), respectively); Grade C ICM blastocyst transfer was also associated with an increased risk of macrosomia (adjusted OR = 1.66 (1.20, 2.30)). Compared with Grade A TE blastocyst transfer, there was an increased risk of small for gestational age with Grade C TE blastocyst transfer (adjusted OR = 1.74 (1.05, 2.88)). Both Grade B TE and Grade C TE blastocyst transfer had a higher chance of female baby (adjusted OR = 1.30 (1.11, 1.53), 1.88 (1.57, 2.26), respectively) and a lower risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (adjusted OR = 0.74 (0.59, 0.94), 0.67 (0.50, 0.88), respectively) than Grade A TE blastocyst transfer. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION The main limitations of this study were its retrospective nature and the relative subjectivity of blastocyst scoring. The follow-up was conducted through a phone call and some patients may not have reported their obstetrical and neonatal outcomes, leading to a relatively lower rate of several obstetrical outcomes. Due to the missing information in our dataset, we were not able to separate out iatrogenic preterm birth nor adjust for obstetric complications in previous pregnancies as a confounder in the mutivariate analysis. Because the days of blastocyst culture in total were unclear in our dataset, analysis of the association between the time to reach blastocyst expansion and perinatal outcomes was not performed. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS Transfer of a blastocyst with a low overall grading is associated with a higher rate of C-section and a higher chance of a female baby. The association between ICM grading and LGA would suggest that Grade A ICM blastocysts should be transferred preferentially to Grade B/C ICM blastocysts. Our results support the use of current morphological systems for embryo prioritization. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFC1004100 to R.L.), the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (81925013 to R.L.) and a Zhejiang University Scholarship for Outstanding Doctoral Candidates (to K.-L.H.). All authors have read the journal’s authorship agreement and policy on disclosure of potential conflicts of interest, and have no conflicts of interest to declare. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER N/A.

This article (1) explores the nature and origins of "high impact" (i.e., highly cited) articles in marketing, (2) argues that a major factor is that highly cited articles frequently are the result of their authors' executing time-consuming, research programs, rather than simply working on individual articles that appear to be immediately publishable, (3) develops a "six-stage model" of programmatic research, and (4) illustrates the six-stage model by means of the author's "marketing theory" research program.

Progress toward the institutionalization of macromarketing continues to occur. This article addresses the suggestion, implicit in Robert F. Lusch’s “Long Macro View,” that the institutional norms of macromarketing deserve scrutiny. Specifically, this article argues that insights on macromarketing’s existing and appropriate institutional norms can be found in (1) the first, truly marketing, academic journal article ever written, “Some Problems in Market Distribution,” (2) the first macromarketing conference held at the University of Colorado in 1976, (3) the “four eras” historical analysis of aggregate marketing systems by William Wilkie and Elizabeth Moore, and (4) the service- dominant-logic of Stephen Vargo and Robert F. Lusch. This article argues that these works suggest fifteen institutional norms for macromarketing scholars to consider, discuss, and evaluate.

High-technology firms often partake in coopetitive alliances toward improving their innovation performance. As relational governance contributes significantly to explaining the coopetitive alliance success, this research examines the facilitation of relational governance in coopetitive alliances. Drawing from social contract theory, we propose that alliance's market orientation (AMO) is a means to establish social and cooperative norms, which in turn, increases the viability of relational governance. The analysis of 246 coopetitive innovation alliances among firms in high-technology industries reveals that alliance competence is an important antecedent to AMO, and AMO plays a key role in facilitating relational governance toward improving alliance performance. Furthermore, environmental turbulence enhances the positive influence of relational governance.

Three streams of strategic thought, (1) the "adaptive marketing capabilities" works, (2) the "dynamic capabilities" view, and (3) resource-advantage (R-A) theory, are converging on the view that, in today's dynamic, hypercompetitive, global economy, strategy must focus on firms' constantly renewing themselves in the marketplace. In turn, these three streams have implications for the controversies over whether strategy's focus should be "outside-in or inside-out" and whether strategy should be static or dynamic. This article addresses the three streams of strategic thought and the two controversies by (1) explicating their nature, (2) showing how strategies related to them have evolved through time, and (3) pointing toward the controversies' resolution. The article argues that all theories of strategy assume a theory of how competition works. In turn, theories of competition are housed within disciplinary research traditions. Therefore, understanding the controversies in contemporary strategy is furthered by understanding both the theories of competition that underlie each strategic approach and their respective research traditions.

Marketing’s intellectual health requires indigenous theory development. However, marketing is a discipline that, almost exclusively, imports its concepts and theories from other disciplines and applies them to marketing issues. Articles that either develop indigenous marketing theory or use such theory as a foundation for empirical research are notably absent from marketing journals. A major reason for the absence of indigenous marketing theory is the lack of well-developed procedures and approaches for developing theories and writing conceptual articles. This article proposes, explicates, and illustrates with a concrete example (i.e., service-dominant (S-D) logic) an approach to theory development in marketing that is labeled the “foundational premises, inductive realist approach.” Although this approach is not an algorithmic procedure for theory development, it can provide a valuable conceptual framework for furthering the development of indigenous marketing theory.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a retrospection on the importance, origins and development of the research programs in the author's career. Design/methodology/approach The study uses an autobiographical approach. Findings Most of the articles, research monographs and books that constitute this research and publishing efforts can be categorized into seven distinct, but related, research programs: channels of distribution; marketing theory; marketing's philosophy debates; macromarketing and ethics; relationship marketing; resource-advantage theory; and marketing management and strategy. The value system that has guided these research programs has been shaped by specific events that took place in the author's formative years. This essay chronicles these events and the origins and development of the seven research programs. Originality/value Chronicling the importance, origins and development of the seven research programs will hopefully motivate and assist other scholars in developing their own research programs.

To compare the overall survival of patients receiving cryoablation versus those who received thermal ablation for clinical T1a renal cell carcinoma in a large national cohort. Patients with renal cell carcinoma from 2004 to 2014 who were treated with ablation were identified from the National Cancer Data Base. Overall survival (OS) was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and evaluated by log-rank test, univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression, and propensity score-matched analysis. A total of 3,936 patients who received cryoablation and 2,322 thermal ablation met inclusion criteria. Cryoablation was more likely to be performed in later half of the study period (2010-2014) when compared to thermal ablation (64.8% vs. 59.7%; p<0.001). The 3-, 5- and 10-year survival rates were 91%, 82%, 62% for cryoablation and 89%, 81%, 55% for thermal ablation. Propensity score-matching (1:1) based on age, year of diagnosis, facility volume, facility type, facility location, insurance status, income, education level, residence, Charlson-Deyo score, tumor size, histology and treatment resulted in 2,237 patients in the cryoablation group versus 2,237 in the thermal ablation group. After propensity score matching, cryoablation was associated with longer OS when compared to thermal ablation (median, 135.8 vs 124.9 months; HR, 1.166; 95% CI, 1.021-1.33; p=0.023). For patients with tumor ≤ 2 cm, propensity score-matched analyses demonstrated no significant difference between the two treatment groups (p=0.79). Overall, cryoablation might be associated with longer overall survival when compared to thermal ablation in cT1a RCC. For patients with tumor size ≤ 2cm, there was no significant difference in survival rates between the two treatments. Limitations of the study include lack of data on ablative devices and their technical performance, local tumor progression, detailed complications.

This article provides some reflections on our paper, "Ethics in Marketing Management: An Empirical Examination," originally published in the Journal of Business Research in 1985. We first offer some thoughts as to why our paper, and others from the same research stream, have been widely accepted by other scholars in the area of marketing ethics. We then offer some thoughts on research topics that researchers might consider as we attempt to further develop our knowledge in the area of marketing ethics. Finally, we provide some perspectives on how researchers can proceed in their research on ethical issues in marketing.

Competition in the nonprofit sector has dramatically intensified in the past two decades because of (1) the increased number of nonprofit organizations (NPOs), (2) the decline and diffusion of governmental support, and (3) the entry of for-profit companies into markets that traditionally have been the domain of nonprofits. In an attempt to enhance the understanding of nonprofit competition, the authors apply resource-advantage (R-A) theory, a dynamic theory of competition adapted from the for-profit business literature, to commercial nonprofits and explain how commercial nonprofits can leverage their various resources to successfully compete and deliver social value. Contributing to the understanding of nonprofit competition and the challenge that NPOs face in balancing mission and money, this paper provides a foundation for a theory of nonprofit competition that can guide future research in the area and help NPO managers as they maneuver in today's increasingly competitive environment.

All marketing research requires philosophy of science foundations. That is, every marketing research project presumes an ontology (what entities - the referents of the constructs - does the research assume to have real existence?), a methodology (what procedures are to be followed for good research?), and an epistemology (how are the knowledge claims of the research to be properly evaluated?). This article argues for scientific realism and the inductive realist models of theory status and generation as providing an appropriate philosophy of science foundation for marketing research. The article (1) explicates the nature of scientific realism, (2) discusses the advantages for marketing researchers of using it as a philosophical foundation, (3) points out three major problems associated with scientific realism, which are labeled the problems of "approximate truth," "sociological/political factors," and "theory development," (4) reviews the inductive realist model of theory status and shows how it can address the first two problems, (5) reviews the inductive realist model of theory generation and shows how it can address the third problem, and (6) concludes with an invitation for readers to propose viable alternatives to scientific realism so that productive discussion on the philosophical foundations issue can take place.

The subject of branding, customer-brand relationships, brand equity strategies, and branding as a societal institution has become so controversial that an anti-branding movement has become widespread across several continents. This movement maintains that branding is not just problematic, but ethically wrong. This article uses the Hunt-Vitell theory of ethics to provide a framework for explicating people's personal moral codes, which in turn, helps us to understand the ethical controversy over branding. The article (1) provides a brief discussion of the nature of branding, (2) identifies major arguments that support the view that branding is morally wrong, (3) overviews the H–V theory of marketing ethics, (4) explicates the H–V theory's “personal moral codes” framework, and (5) shows how it provides a starting point for those who seek to understand, evaluate, and investigate the ethics of branding.

In this collection of short, invited essays on the topic of marketing (as) rhetoric we deal with a variety of issues that demonstrate the centrality of rhetoric and rhetorical considerations to the pursuit of marketing scholarship, research and practice. Stephen Brown examines the enduring rhetorical power of the 4Ps; Chris Hackley argues for the critical power of rhetorical orientations in marketing scholarship but cautions us on the need to work harder in conceptually connecting rhetorical theory and modern marketing frameworks; Shelby Hunt explains how rhetorical processes are incorporated in his inductive realist model of theory generation, using one of his most successful publications as an illustration; Charles Marsh demonstrates what Isocrates' broad rhetorical project has to teach us about the importance of reputation cultivation in modern marketing; Nicholas O'Shaughnessy uses an analysis of Trump's discourse to argue that political marketing as it is currently conceived is ill-equipped to engage effectively with the rhetorical force of Trump's 'unmarketing'; Barbara Phillips uses Vygotsky's work on imagination to investigate the important of pleasure and play in advertising rhetoric; and finally, David Tonks, who in many ways started it all, reiterates the need for marketers to recognise the strength of the relationship between marketing and persuasion.

For more than five decades, SWOT analysis has remained popular with business and marketing strategy educators and practitioners. However, it also attracts severe criticisms from business and marketing strategy academics and practitioners. In fact, some recommendations call for abandoning the use of SWOT for analysis. In this research, we review the literature on SWOT to delineate advantages or uses, disadvantages or concerns, and recommendations or recommended alternatives. On the foundations resource-based (R-B) strategy and resource-advantage (R-A) theory, we introduce a new framework that can be viewed as an alternative to the SWOT framework. The FREE (Firm Resources and External Environment) framework requires analysis in two parts: analyzing the firm’s resources and analyzing the external environment using the five environmental factors (the societal resources on which firms draw, the societal institutions that frame the rules of the game, the actions of competitors, the behaviors of consumers and suppliers, and public policy decisions). A discussion of the advantages of FREE framework over the SWOT framework is provided.

Addressing strategic marketing's identity problem, several highly complementary works have clarified the field's theoretical foundations, nature, and scope by (1) specifying its domain, (2) defining its central concept, "marketing strategy," (3) proposing the field's foundational premises, and (4) positing its fundamental explananda. Furthermore, the works have shown how resource-advantage (R-A) theory (5) grounds major theories of marketing strategy, (6) illuminates, informs, extends, and grounds the field's foundational premises, (7) identifies three fundamental strategies ("superior value," "lower cost," and "synchronal"), and (8) explains how the three fundamental strategies promote societal welfare. However, a major unresolved issue concerns the second fundamental explanandum of strategic marketing. Specifically, Varadarajan (AMS Review, 5, 78-90, 2015) expands his second fundamental explanandum from "marketplace and financial performance" to explaining triple bottom line (TBL) performance. That is, strategic marketing theory and research should answer: "What explains differences in [social, environmental, and financial] performance of competing brands/product lines/businesses?" This article provides a background discussion on how "sustainability" and the TBL relate to marketing in general and strategic marketing, in particular. Next, it (1) examines the nature of the TBL, (2) shows how the TBL concept and certain issues regarding its measurement parallel those in the "corporate social responsibility" literature, (3) re-examines the value of the TBL framework, (4) makes clear how R-A theory accommodates the TBL, and (5) shows how R-A theory provides seven potential explanations of differences in firms' TBL performance.

Business-to-business (B2B) professional service firms often develop highly customized offerings for their customers. Customizing B2B professional services is a knowledge intensive process that requires the coordinated efforts of individuals with specialized knowledge and skills. Drawing on customization and social capital theory, we develop and test an intellectual capital (IC) model of customizing B2B professional services that rests on two foundational premises. First, three different forms IC, that is, employees' knowledge of customers, employees' technical knowledge and abilities, and organizational creativity, make firms more effective at customizing B2B professional services. Second, internal social capital (ISC) is a precursor to the intellectual capital that enables firms to effectively produce customized B2B professional services. Analyses of data from key informants of 161 marketing research firms support our theses.