The Marketing of Service-Dominant Logic : A Rhetorical Approach

Service-Dominant logic can be described as a mind-set for a unified understanding of the purpose and nature of organizations, markets and society. A concept that was first introduced by Vargo and Lusch in 2004, S-D logic has generated not just a vast host of journal articles and books but has established an expanding sphere of influence across marketing scholarship. In this book, the author uses a rhetorical approach to investigate the ‘marketing’ of Service-Dominant logic, asking how the formulation and presentation of the logic aids in its persuasive promotion. In doing so, the book explores the lexicon choices, metaphors, symbols, and persuasive gambits that have resonated so strongly with marketing academia, with the aim of understanding how these elements work together in a compelling narrative that delivers the logic’s core value proposition of transcendence. The author investigates how these rhetorical strategies have evolved as the S-D logic framework has developed, examining the revisions to its foundational premises and axioms and the introduction of new perspectives such as systems theory. It is the first book-length rhetorical analysis of a single strand of marketing discourse and as such, it serves as a showcase for the methodology, the insights it can provide, and its value for marketing scholarship. Contents List of Tables 1: S-D Logic as Persuasive Discourse S-D Logic: Its Status as Marketing A Few Words About Scope The Structure of the Study References 2: Rhetorical Analysis and Marketing Texts Rhetoric: An Overview The Rhetor and the Rhetorical Analyst Rhetorical Analysis as a Methodology in the Social Sciences Non-Western Rhetorical Analysis Key Rhetorical Concepts The Genres of Rhetoric Persuasive Proof Persuasive Style Word Choice Metaphor Metonymy & Synecdoche Repetition and Patterning Kairos Visual Rhetoric References 3: Rhetoric and the Agonistic Moment of S-D Logic The Audiences of the Foundational Paper Rhetorical History and the Creation of S-D Logic In the Beginning... Stasis and Frames Structural Repetition Kairos and the Epideictic The Place of Paradigm The Shift to Logic Logic, Metonymy, and Sympathetic Magic Logos & Rhetorical Argumentation Argument Sequence Citations, Authority, and Originality Claim 3 as Value Proposition Conclusion References 4: The Rhetorical Evolution of S-D Logic Radical Precursors and Transcendent Marketing A Rhetorical Analysis of the Evolving Premise Structure of S-D Logic Rhetoric and Revision The Rhetorical Status of the Changing FPs and Axioms The Rhetoric of Open Source References 5: A Rhetorical Analysis of sdlogic.net Structure of the Site Visual Rhetoric Maori Koru Symbol Use of Video Tables and Figures Listing of Data Colour The Home Page and Rhetorical History Pathos In Memoriam Announcements, Awards and Recognition Conclusion References 6: The Rhetoric of Emerging Systems Systems Theory & Cybernetics Systems & Cybernetics Concepts The Rhetorical Value of Systems Concepts in Marketing Systems Theory in Marketing Thought S-D Logic’s (Re)Turn to the System The Rhetorical Power of Systems in S-D Logic The Agon of Lexical Control The Agon of Kairos The Agon of Ethos The Transcendence of Systems References Index