Is Personal Branding pushing the epistemological boundaries of marketing?
Date Issued
2014
Author(s)
Abstract
Personal branding, a fast-growing body of popular literature, is
so far ignored or scorned by academics. Utilising discourse
analysis, this paper reviews definitions of personal branding,
identifies the epistemological issues they raise and highlights
the inconsistencies that point towards its interpretation as a
frantic attempt by marketers to expand the market for their
services. It re-defines the concept and positions it within the
service-dominant logic of marketing and the corporate branding
literature thus relieving the tensions caused by the productbased orientation of the extant literature.
The value of the work lies in the positioning of personal
branding as an analytical tool for understanding people as the
common ground between theory and practice. It suggested that
the time is ripe for marketing scholars to re-examine both
themselves and the role of marketing as a tool for satisfying the
emotional needs of people living in a world of flux.
so far ignored or scorned by academics. Utilising discourse
analysis, this paper reviews definitions of personal branding,
identifies the epistemological issues they raise and highlights
the inconsistencies that point towards its interpretation as a
frantic attempt by marketers to expand the market for their
services. It re-defines the concept and positions it within the
service-dominant logic of marketing and the corporate branding
literature thus relieving the tensions caused by the productbased orientation of the extant literature.
The value of the work lies in the positioning of personal
branding as an analytical tool for understanding people as the
common ground between theory and practice. It suggested that
the time is ripe for marketing scholars to re-examine both
themselves and the role of marketing as a tool for satisfying the
emotional needs of people living in a world of flux.