The practice and sociology of theorising is one of the marketing discipline¿s most
marginal specialties, yet its epistemological and methodological underpinnings including
the morphology of explanations have very substantial bearing upon the nature and scope
of marketing theory in general. Since the 1980s writings have increasingly attended to
the relationship between philosophy and the marketing discipline. While much of the use
of philosophy of science was rhetorical and directed towards either a critique or
legitimation of the post-positivist or realist image of marketing science, certain ideas
about the logic and epistemology of science nevertheless were insinuated into the
practice of inquiry (see Hunt, 1991). Against this background and focussing on theory
building and testing within marketing science, this paper discusses one act and aspect of
theorising: the use of teleological reasoning in scientific explanations of marketing
phenomena. The issues and problems surrounding the use of teleological reasoning are
illustrated by an in-depth analysis of writings on 'integrated marketing communications'
theory. Recommendations for the use of teleological reasoning in marketing and
marketing communications theory are made
