Wroe Alderson
Wroe Alderson | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Wroe Alderson from Wharton Magazine | |
| Born | September 27, 1898 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | May 31, 1965 (aged 66) |
| Board member of |
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| Spouse | Elsie Wright Alderson[1] |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards |
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| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Economics |
| Sub-discipline | Marketing |
| Institutions | Wharton School of Finance and Commerce |
Wroe Alderson (September 27, 1898–May 31, 1965),[2][3] an active Quaker, is widely recognized as the most important marketing theorist of the twentieth century and the "father of modern marketing".[4][5]
Background
Alderson's academic training was at George Washington, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania. He served as president of the American Marketing Association and was highly active in The Institute of Management Sciences. He began his business career at the U.S. Department of Commerce, founded the internationally prominent marketing consulting firm of Alderson Associates, and served as a professor at Wharton University of Pennsylvania after joining it in 1959. While always deeply involved in the advancement of marketing science he also believed that theory and practice go hand in hand. This also suited his scientific method. From a methodological perspective, he emphasized inductive theorizing from market place events, providing a balanced to the neo-classical theories of firm behaviour.[6] He also had the ability to communicate in the language of many disciplines and to bridge the business and academic communities.[7]
A significant element of his contribution to marketing thinking is his insistence upon an interdisciplinary approach, attracting the interest of scientists from other fields and borrowing from other disciplines such as psychology, philosophy and anthropology.[8]
He argued that firms are ecological systems that grow and adapt to change; each seeks its own niche based on organised behaviour systems: "All marketing activity is an aspect of the interaction among organized behavior systems related to each other in what may be described as an ecological network. Operating systems are a subclass of behavior systems, distinguished by inputs and outputs and the structuring of processes to achieve efficiency."
"The functionalist approach is concerned with the functioning of systems, and the study of structure is essential to the analysis and interpretations of functions. Every phase of marketing can be understood as human behavior within the framework of some operating system. Survival and growth are implicit goals of every behavior system, including most particularly those that operate in the market place."[9]
He also argued for heterogeneity of both supply and demand, introducing the ideas of market segmentation and niche marketing and the status of the brand. Increased product variety provides consumers with offerings nearer their ideal points. Firms can strive for differential advantage through product variety.
Amongst other accomplishments, he redefined the value-in-use concept as an alternative to the dominant value exchange theory, tracing it back through the ideas of Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas (the leading mediaeval theologian) and a variety of 17th, 18th and 19th century economists.[10] Wroe Anderson also rejected the idea that different aspects of utility should be attributed to production and marketing.[4] Wroe Alderson established the Annual Marketing Theory seminars, founded the Management Science Center at the University of Pennsylvania, and received the Pabst Award in 1944, Hall of Fame in Distribution in 1953, the Charles Coolidge Parlin Award in 1954, and the Paul D. Converse Award in 1955.
Selected publications
- Alderson, W. (1965) Dynamic Marketing Behavior: a Functionalist Theory of Marketing, Homewood, Illinois, Richard D. Irwin.
- Alderson, W. (1965) (1957) Marketing Behavior and Executive Action. Homewood, Ill.: Richard D. Irwin, Inc.
- Alderson, W. (1958) "The Analytic Framework for Marketing," in Proceedings of the Conference of Marketing Teachers from Far Western States, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, pp. 15–31.
References
- ^ "Wroe Alderson Obituary". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 2 June 1965. p. 36. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
- ^ "Wroe Alderson Papers". University Archives and Records Center. University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
- ^ "WROE ALDERSON, 66, OF WHARTON SCHOOL". The New York Times. 1 June 1965. p. 45. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
- ^ a b Jones, Brian D.G.; Shaw, Eric H. (January 2002). Weitz, Barton A.; Wensley, Robin (eds.). "A History of Marketing Thought". Handbook of Marketing. Sage Publications: 45. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
- ^ Shaw, Eric H.; Lazer, William; Pirog, Stephen F. (23 October 2007). "Wroe Alderson: Father of Modern Marketing". European Business Review. 19 (6): 440–451. doi:10.1108/09555340710830091. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
- ^ "The Wroe Alderson Distinguished Lecturer Series". Marketing Department. The Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on 26 July 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
- ^ Wright, John S.; Smith, Wendell R. (1966). "Leaders in marketing: Wroe Alderson". Journal of Marketing. 30 (1): 64–65. doi:10.1177/002224296603000115. S2CID 220596128.
- ^ Wright, John S. (1 October 1966). "Wendell R. Smith". Journal of Marketing. 30 (4): 64–65. doi:10.1177/002224296603000415. ISSN 0022-2429. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
- ^ Introduction to part one of his 1957 book, Marketing Behavior and Executive Action
- ^ Dixon, 1990