Decolonialism and marketing theory

Decolonial perspective is defined by its recognition of the inextricable link between modernity and colonialism and the associated imposition of racial classifications in societies that maintain global inequalities. In marketing, this perspective aligns with other critical approaches to challenge the dominance of Western theoretical canon and the universality of Eurocentric thought. In the commentary, we review the contributions of recent decolonial research to marketing theory, including the introduction of the original work of decolonial thinkers to critique epistemic blindness, foreground subaltern voices, and identify alternative epistemologies. While Marketing Theory has served as a key venue for this research, the decolonial perspective remains marginal and is primarily adopted by scholars from the Global South. We argue for expanding decolonial thinking in the field to enrich the critique of racial capitalism and to develop a power-aware conception of a shifting (multipolar) world.