And May the Odds Be Always in Your Favour: 'The Hunger Games' as a Metaphor for Marketing Academia, Journal Rankings and the REF

Markus Wohlfeil

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

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Abstract

Some consumer researchers suggested in the 1980s that fictional novels and artworks would tell us more about consumer behaviour, life and the human condition than scientific papers in our top-tier journals. Following in their tradition, this critical paper argues that “The Hunger Games”-trilogy provides a perfect mirror for The Publishing Games that haunt marketing academia in recent years. Just like the Hunger Games are the means by which the Capitol’s ruling elite subdues Panem’s wider population, the Publishing Games seem to reinforce the dominance of what an established scholarly elite perceives to be the appropriate marketing thought and methodology – perhaps to the detriment of innovation, creativity and broader impact within marketing academia. This paper suggests that marketing scholars have the choice: Either to sacrifice your integrity and play the game or to subvert the system. Perhaps a new consumer behaviour odyssey is needed to rekindle a new way of thinking…
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - 2013
Event16th Irish Academy of Management Annual Conference - Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford, Ireland
Duration: 2 Sept 20134 Sept 2013

Conference

Conference16th Irish Academy of Management Annual Conference
Country/TerritoryIreland
CityWaterford
Period2/09/134/09/13

Keywords

  • The Hunger Games
  • The Publishing Games
  • Journal Rankings
  • Marketing Academia
  • REF
  • Research Excellence Framework
  • RAE
  • Research Assessment Exercise
  • Academic Integrity
  • Pure Research
  • Critical Analysis
  • Consumer Culture Theory
  • Review Process

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