Many core marketing concepts (e.g., markets, relationships, customer experience, brand meaning, value) concern phenomena
that are difficult to understand using linear and dyadic approaches, because they are emergent. That is, they arise, often
unpredictably, from interactions within complex and dynamic contexts. This paper contributes to the marketing discipline
through an explication of the concept of emergence as it applies to marketing theory. We accomplish this by first drawing on
the existing literature on emergence in philosophy, sociology, and the theory of complex adaptive systems, and then link and
extend this understanding to marketing using the theoretical framework of service-dominant (S-D) logic, particularly as enhanced
by its service-ecosystems and institutionalization perspectives. Our work recognizes both emergence and institutionalization as
integral or interrelated processes in the creation, maintenance, and disruption of markets and marketing phenomena. We conclude
by discussing implications for marketing research and practice
