Broadening the boundaries of marketing yet again : cavalier surveying or a paradoxical gold mine?

Marketing’s ‘boundaries’ have been defined, disputed, broadened, tightened and re-defined in varying permutations over the years. The motives have ranged from attempts to keep up with social and technological change to improving operational definitions, and even to establishing distinctive consultancy positioning. Some have argued that this broadening has been to the detriment of ‘true’ marketing, essentially the result of cavalier ‘surveying’. An alternative metaphor that could be used is that a potential gold mine is exposed within the paradoxes inherent in this process. This paper focuses on the relevance and possible usefulness to marketing’s boundaries of accepting, confronting or transcending paradox, as well as utilising the paradoxes or learning, organising and belonging.