The Critical School and Consumer Research
Advances in Consumer Research, (1987)Abstract
The empirical and critical schools of social science research represent two quite different approaches. The former is typified by quantitative empiricism, functionalism, and positivism, while the critical school is characterized by a more philosophical emphasis, greater attention to context, an early Marxist orientation, and a concern with who controls a system. Here we trace the historical rise of the critical school, and its contemporary differences in viewing consumer behavior. The critical school tends to be concentrated in Europe, while the empirical school is strongest in the United States. Prospects for greater understanding of the critical school by members of its counterpart are discussed, along with implications of such understanding for consumer researchers.