This paper outlines an intellectual biography of Percival White whose major contributions to marketing thought focused on market research and the application of scientific management to marketing. White published 20 books during his career, 11 of those dealing with marketing, including one of the earliest texts on market research. Like other pioneers in the marketing discipline, White’s legacy also includes major contributions to marketing practice. His company, Market Research Corporation of America, represented some of the best technical practices of the 1930s. Unlike many other pioneers in marketing whose education was in economics, White’s background was in industrial engineering. He considered himself a marketing engineer.
BorchF.J. (1958) ‘The Marketing Philosophy as a Way of Business Life’, in KelleyE. J.LazerW. (eds) Managerial Marketing: Perspectives and Viewpoints a Source Book, pp. 18–24. Homewood, IL: Richard D. Irwin.
7.
BowenH.R. (1952) ‘How Public Spirited is American Business?’, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science280: 82–9.
8.
BowenH.R. (1955) ‘Business Management: A Profession?’, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science297: 112–17.
9.
BrownP.S. (1925) ‘The Work and Aims of the Taylor Society’, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science119: 134–9.
BrownS.SchauH.J. (2008) ‘Writing Russell Belk: Excess in All Areas’, Marketing Theory8(June): 143–66.
12.
CarrollJ.F. (1933) ‘The Impetus to Market Research’, Bulletin of the Taylor Society18(December): 94–6.
13.
ClarkeS. (1996) ‘Consumers, Information, and Marketing Efficiency at GM, 1921–1940’, Business and Economic History25(1): 186–95.
14.
ConverseJ.M. (2009) Survey Research in the United States: Roots and Emergence, 1890–1960. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
15.
ConverseP. (1959) The Beginning of Marketing Thought in the United States. Austin, TX: Bureau of Business Research, University of Texas.
16.
CowanD.R.G. (1940) ‘The Function of Management in Marketing’, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science209: 71–8.
17.
CowanS. (1924) ‘An Example of Scientific Marketing Procedure: A Yardstick for Measuring the Buying Public and Advertising Circulation’, Bulletin of the Taylor Society9(3): 143–51.
18.
CowanS.D. (1927) ‘Scientific Marketing Management: A Review of Percival White’s New Book’, Bulletin of the Taylor Society12(4): 458–64.
19.
DonhamW.B. (1927a) ‘The Emerging Profession of Business’, Harvard Business Review5(4): 401–5.
20.
DonhamW.B. (1927b) ‘The Social Significance of Business’, Harvard Business Review5(4): 406–19.
21.
DuncanC.S. (1919) Commercial Research. New York: Macmillan.
22.
EwenS. (1976) Captains of Consciousness: Advertising and the Social Roots of the Consumer Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill.
23.
FullertonR. (1988) ‘How Modern in Modern Marketing? Marketing’s Revolution and the Myth of the Production Era’, Journal of Marketing52(January): 108–25.
24.
FullertonR. (1994) ‘“And How Does It Look in America?”: H.F.J. Kropff’s Historic Report on US Marketing’, Journal of Macromarketing14(Spring): 54–61.
25.
HamiltonN. (2008) How To Do Biography: A Primer. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
26.
HealdM. (1961) ‘Business Thought in the Twenties: Social Responsibility’, American Quarterly13: 126–39.
27.
HealdM. (1970) The Social Responsibilities of Business. Cleveland, OH: Press of the Case Western Reserve University.
28.
HollanderS.C. (1986) ‘The Marketing Concept: A Deja-vu’, in FiskGM. (ed.) Marketing Management Technology as Social Process, pp. 3–29. New York: Praeger.
29.
HollanderS.C. (1989) ‘Introduction’, in NevettT.WhitneyK.HollanderS. C. (eds) Marketing History: The Emerging Discipline, pp. xix–xx. Lansing, MI: Michigan State University.
30.
HuntS. (2010) ‘Doctoral Seminars in Marketing Theory: For Incorporating the History of Marketing Practice and Thought’, Journal of Historical Research in Marketing2(4): 443–56.
31.
IveyP. (1926) Salesmanship Applied. Chicago, IL: A. W. Shaw.
32.
JonesD.G.B. (1998) ‘Biography as a Methodology for Studying the History of Marketing Ideas’, Psychology & Marketing15(March): 161–74.
JonesD.G.B.RichardsonA.J. (2007) ‘The Myth of the Marketing Revolution’, Journal of Macromarketing27(1): 15–24.
35.
JonesD.G.B.ShawE.H. (2002) ‘A History of Marketing Thought’, in WensleyR.WeitzB. (eds) Handbook of Marketing, pp. 39–65. London: Sage.
36.
La LondeB.J.MorrisonE.J. (1967) ‘Marketing Management Concepts Yesterday and Today’, Journal of Marketing31(1): 9–13.
37.
LeachW. (1994) Land of Desire: Merchants, Power and the Rise of a New American Consumer Culture. New York: Vintage.
38.
LivingstonA. (1925) ‘The Technique of Market Analysis: Examples of Analysis by Questionnaire, by Investigation, and by Statistics of Sales, Salesmen, and Prospects’, Bulletin of the Taylor Society10(1): 18–24.
39.
LockleyL.C. (1950) ‘Notes on the History of Marketing Research’, Journal of Marketing14(5): 733–6.
40.
LomaskM. (1986) The Biographer’s Craft. New York: Harper and Row.
41.
LothD. (1958 [1976]) Swope of G.E. New York: Arno Press.
42.
LyndR.S. (1936) ‘Democracy’s Third Estate: The Consumer’, Political Science Quarterly512(4): 481–515.
43.
MarchandR. (1998) Creating the Corporate Soul: The Rise of Public Relations and Corporate Imagery in American Big Business. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
44.
Market Research (1935) ‘Market Research Takes Its Own Medicine’, Market Research (June): 30–4.
45.
Market Research (1937a) ‘We Want to Advise the Management of a Small Business’, Market Research (March): 3.
46.
Market Research (1937b) ‘Fair Trade Acts on Resale Price Maintenance’, Market Research (April): 3.
47.
Market Research (1937c) ‘The Robinson Patman Act’, Market Research (May): 3.
48.
Market Research (1937d) ‘Industrial Relations, Public Relations, Economic Research, Market Research’, Market Research (October): 3.
49.
Market Research (1937e) ‘It Gives Us Pleasure to Announce…’Market Research (December): 3.
50.
Market Research (1938) ‘94 Years' Experience in Solving Marketing Problems’, (January): 3.
51.
Market Research Corporation of America (MRCA) (1937) ‘American Business Leaders Look Ahead’, unpublished manuscript, Box 2, Folder 20, Edward L. Bernays Papers. Washington, DC: Library of Congress.
52.
Market Research Corporation of America (MRCA) (1939) ‘Market Research and the Market Research Corporation of America’, printed by Market Research Corporation of America, Lucy Sallick Papers, Westport, CT.
53.
Market Research Council (1957) The Market Research Council, 1927–1957. New York: Market Research Council.
54.
Market Research Council (1989) The Market Research Council, 1958–1989. New York: Market Research Council.
55.
MudgettB.D. (1922) ‘Market Analysis by Percival White, Book Review’, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science100(March): 204.
56.
NadesanM.H. (2008) Governmentality, Biopower and Everyday Life. London: Routledge.
57.
New York Times (1934) ‘Business Notes’, New York Times, 27March.
58.
New York Times (1970) ‘Percival White, Marketing Aid, Researcher, Consultant and Former Car Maker Dies’, New York Times, 6June.
59.
NystromP.H. (1932) ‘A Restatement of the Principles of Consumption to Meet Present Conditions’, Journal of Home Economics24(10): 869–74.
60.
RileyM.W. (1995) ‘Oral History Interview, June’, unpublishedoral history transcript, Lucy Sallick Papers. Westport, CT.
61.
RossiterJ.R. (2001) ‘What is Marketing Knowledge? Stage I: Forms of Marketing Knowledge’, Marketing Theory1(1): 9–26.
62.
SallickL. (1993) ‘Notes About Family (MWR Side)’, unpublished manuscript’, Lucy Sallick Papers. Westport, CT.
63.
SallickL. (2010a) ‘Personal Interview with D. G. B. Jones, February 7’, Westport, CT.
64.
SallickL. (2010b) ‘Personal Interview with D. G. B. Jones, May 14’, Westport, CT.
65.
ShapiroS.J. (2006) ‘Macromarketing: Origins, Development, Current Status and Possible Future Direction’, European Business Review18(4): 307–21.
66.
ShawE.H.JonesD.G.B. (2005) ‘A History of Schools of Marketing Thought’, Marketing Theory5(3): 239–82.
67.
ShethJ.N.GardnerD.M.GarrettD.E. (1988) Marketing Theory: Evolution and Evaluation. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
68.
SkålenP.FougèreM.FellessonM. (2008) Marketing Discourse: A Critical Perspective. London: Routledge.
TadajewskiM. (2008) ‘Final Thoughts on Amnesia and Marketing Theory’, Marketing Theory8(4): 465–84.
71.
TadajewskiM.JonesD.G.B. (eds) (2008) The History of Marketing Thought,3 vols.London: Sage.
72.
TadajewskiM.SarenM. (2008) ‘The Past is a Foreign Country: Amnesia and Marketing Theory’Marketing Theory8(4): 323–38.
73.
TaylorF.W. (1911 [1998]) The Principles of Scientific Management. Mineola, NY: Dover.
74.
Tide (1947) ‘Research: Co-op Area Sample’, Tide (27June): 72.
75.
Tide (1948) ‘Index of Buying Intentions’, Tide (7May): 1–3.
76.
UsuiK. (2008) The Development of Marketing Management: The Case of the USA c.1910–1940. Burlington: Ashgate.
77.
WardD.B. (2009) ‘Capitalism, Early Market Research, and the Creation of the American Consumer’, Journal of Historical Research in Marketing1(2): 200–23.
78.
WhiteJ.N. (1902) ‘Genealogy of Joseph Nelson White’, unpublished manuscript, Lucy Sallick Papers. Westport, CT.
79.
WhiteM. (1946) ‘Ideal Conditions for Product Testing’, Journal of Marketing11(July): 55–61.
80.
WhiteM.RileyJ.W. (1940) ‘The Use of Various Methods of Contraception’, American Sociological Review (December): 890–903.
81.
WhiteM.WhiteP. (1946a) ‘How You Can Pre-test the Product and the Market for Soft Good Items’, Sales Management (July): 22–6.
82.
WhiteM.WhiteP. (1946b) ‘Research for Product Development’, in BlankenshipA. B. (ed.) How To Conduct Consumer and Opinion Research. New York: Harper Brothers.
83.
WhiteM.ZeiselH. (1941) ‘Reading Indices’, Journal of Marketing6(October): 103–11.
WhiteP. (1921) Market Analysis: Its Principles and Methods. New York: McGraw Hill.
86.
WhiteP. (1923) Motor Transportation of Merchandise and Passengers. New York: McGraw Hill.
87.
WhiteP. (1926a) Business Management: An Introduction to Business. New York: H. Holt.
88.
WhiteP. (1926b) Forecasting, Planning, and Budgeting in Business Management. New York: McGraw Hill.
89.
WhiteP. (1926c) ‘Market Analysis as a Basis for Advertising’, in CoverJ. H.Advertising: Its Problems and Methods, pp. 1–15. New York: D. Appleton and Company.
90.
WhiteP. (1927a) Advertising Research. New York: D. Appleton and Company.
91.
WhiteP. (1927b) Scientific Marketing Management: Its Principles and Methods. New York: Harper and Brothers.
92.
WhiteP. (1929) Sales Quotas: A Manual for Sales Managers. New York: Harper and Brothers.
93.
WhiteP. (1931) Marketing Research Technique. New York: Harper and Brothers.
94.
WhiteP. (1934a) ‘Legs – or Brains?’, Market Research (December): 3–4.
95.
WhiteP. (1934b) ‘Mass Research’, Market Research (April): 4.
96.
WhiteP.HahnL. (1924) The Merchants' Manual. New York: McGraw Hill.
97.
WhiteP.HaywardW. (1924) Marketing Practice. New York: Doubleday.
98.
WhiteP.WhiteM. (1948) Development and Marketing of New Products. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.
99.
WhiteP.HaywardW.FleekJ.MacIntyreH. (1922) Chain Stores: Their Management and Operation. New York: McGraw Hill.
100.
WilkieW.L.MooreE.S. (2003) ‘Scholarly Research in Marketing: Exploring the “4 Eras” of Thought Development’, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing22(2): 116–46.
101.
WiseD.B. (ed.) (2000) The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles. Edison, NJ: Chartwell Books.
102.
WitkowskiT. (2005) ‘Introduction to the Special Issue on the History of Marketing Thought’, Marketing Theory5(3): 235–7.
103.
WitkowskiT. (2010) ‘The Marketing Discipline Comes of Age, 1934–1936’, Journal of Historical Research in Marketing2(4): 370–96.
104.
WrightJ.S.DimsdaleP.B. (eds) (1974) Pioneers in Marketing. Atlanta, GA: Georgia State University.
