According to Hackley, critics have been against marketing and its role because of the associated theories and techniques used in the business world in the name of marketing. The author is honest about the fact that the developed world has experienced some of the benefits associated with marketing. This is through increasing affluence. Despite the evident benefits of marketing, only a few people have a conscience understanding of the functioning of marketing. Many of the books seeking to elaborate the concepts of marketing have not succeeded in doing so in accordance with the views expressed by Hackley. Hackley has the conviction that marketing research and the findings recorded as well as the theories developed from such findings do not conform to the real life aspects of marketing. These reasons prompted Hackley to develop a text that can describe marketing concepts in the appropriate context. Hackley’s book succeeds in clarifying several marketing concepts, its role, and setting a new scene that allows marketing to be understood in its appropriate context. This paper will present a critical review discussion of Chris Hackley’s introductory chapter and the conclusion he presents. The review is going to consider other chapters in the book, and describe how Hackley develops them to set a “marketing scene”.
In the first chapter of the book, Hackley develops an introduction to his involving text. In this chapter, Hackley introduces the overgeneralization of concepts that has been happening in the marketing field. More specifically, he highlights that only a few people understand marketing in its appropriate context. The efforts of previous authors have not succeeded in enlightening readers on how to understand marketing. This is despite the fact that marketing is one of the fields with a remarkable economic contribution as well as a cultural presence with numerous effects on the society.