International Journal of Market Research Vol. 49 No. 2, 2007 p.257–274 Learning from giants - exploring, classifying and analysing existing knowledge on market research Agnes Nairn EM Lyon Pierre Berthon Bentley College Arthur Money Henley Management College Centuries of wisdom agree that the human race is more likely to advance its thinking if it builds on what has gone before. Yet too many market research papers simply present empirical data with scant reference for how the findings advance our existing body of knowledge. Practitioners may justifiably argue that clients don't want reams of academic justification but need sound, succinct analysis of current data to help them make better marketing decisions. But from time to time practitioners should ask themselves if the research questions posed by clients have been encountered before and if so what solutions were found. Retrospection can save time and energy; can identify major shifts in thinking; and can help construct analytical frameworks within which to investigate new research questions. Academics working within market research do tend to preface their papers with a summary of thinking to date. This is partly a conditioned response to writing a Masters or PhD thesis which formally requires a literature review and is supported by a range of good guide books (Blaxter et al 1996; Hart, 1998; Fink, 1998). However, too often, this exercise is undertaken simply to demonstrate to the reader that the author is familiar with the field. It is not undertaken in the true spirit of clambering onto the shoulders of the giant to gain a new, enlightened perspective. INTRODUCTION To state is to assume; to speak is to leave silent. In the social sciences, as in other areas, it is often these assumptions or silences that are of most concern: 'The trouble is not with what the author does say, but with what he does not say' (Whitehead 1967, p. 23). In any piece of research, various knowledge statements are made. Indeed, the aim of good market research is to make a contribution to knowledge. This contribution should be built on the foundations of a 1 of 12 17 Oct 2017 11:07:38