I have seen the future and it sucks: reactionary reflections on reading, writing and research

Purpose – Reading and writing are crucial components of the research process and academic life as a whole. The purpose of this paper is to ask if conventional reading and writing practices are fit for marketing purpose. Design/methodology/approach – The paper consists of an extended autobiographical essay, which reflects on the relevance of academic research output. The concerns of marketing thought leaders are also incorporated as required. Findings – Academic articles are unreadable and unread. This is due to extant writing practices which result in characterless papers with little reader appeal. Research limitations/implications – The best way forward is to look back at the approaches that prevailed prior to marketing's mid‐'60s “scientific revolution”. If adopted, they'll make learned research papers and monographs much more readable than they are at present. Practical implications – If marketing academics embrace this paper's recommendations, their writings are more likely to be read and acted upon by practitioners, policy makers and other important stakeholders. Originality/value – The style of the article is in keeping with the content. It demonstrates as well as describes.