Resumo

In a system of intense competition, organizations are compelled to provide maximum returns to their shareholders and this can distort their decisions. Although these organizations always seek to emphasize the positive side, considering their failures as exceptions and not an integral part of their practices, what is frequently noticed is that unethical and antisocial postures, accidents, failures and even crimes are committed in seeking their objectives. That is, a context marked by contradictions that lead to constant clashes and ideological confrontations.

From the entire discussion of the context of businesses, the new perspectives of understanding markets in marketing linked to a more critical and politically engaged perspective of marketing studies, there emerged the motivation to develop a theoretical essay aiming to propose a study agenda that can articulate market studies and critical marketing. In other words, the intention is to make a contribution to market research in the field of marketing, beyond the current stage of market dynamics, proposing an analysis of markets from a critical perspective.

The first section provides space to discuss the evolution of marketing concepts. The intention was to bring historical and contextual issues to the debate, which culminated with the current stage of the concept of market, in the area of marketing. The next section sheds light on the movement known as studies of market dynamics. Another section was included in the text with the scope of favoring discussions regarding critical marketing that, in the present essay, were considered a lens to denaturalize the concept of market.

When assessing the evolutionary line of marketing, it is possible to see that we have made a lot of progress in studies focused on consumer understanding regarding their individual autonomy and consumer groups with studies on identity and resistances. However, we need to move forward in the “macro” marketing perspective studies. Marketing has been summoned to engage in the discussion. In addition, it is necessary, in marketing studies, to focus more on criticism that may challenge some assumptions and ideological identifications around which the discipline has historically been based.

We conclude that the various dysfunctions which business activities can cause cannot be addressed by observing only their dynamics and the relations among their actors. It is necessary to create a path that includes the moral and political aspects of markets, their wrongdoings, illegalities, as well as their dark, dirty and sometimes clandestine side. This is only possible by adopting a critical and denunciative orientation, committed to the goal of removing the "veil" that covers these issues, historically erased from the marketing debates that can be represented by critical marketing.

Dholakia, N. (2012), “Being Critical in Marketing Studies: The Imperative of Macro Perspectives”, Journal of Macromarketing, 32(2), pp. 220-225. Giesler, M. and Fischer, E. (2017), “Market system dynamics”, Marketing Theory, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 3–8. Kjellberg, H. and Helgesson, C. (2007), “On the Nature of Markets and their Practices”, Marketing Theory, Vol. 7 No. 2, pp. 137–62. Tadajewski, M. (2012), “History and critical marketing studies”, Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, Vol. 4 No. 3), pp. 440-452.