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jm-theory-development

Use when building the conceptual logic for a Journal of Marketing (JM) manuscript — grounding theory in a real-world marketing phenomenon, deriving predictions, and accommodating an empirics-first route. Builds the argument; it does not select the question (jm-topic-selection) or run the analysis (jm-data-analysis).

Journal-of-Marketing-Skills/skills/jm-theory-development/SKILL.md

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# Theory Development, Phenomenon-First (jm-theory-development)

## When to trigger

- The phenomenon and question are set; you need a defensible conceptual argument
- Reviewers will ask "why does this happen?" and "what is the mechanism?"
- You have a strong empirical pattern but no organizing logic (empirics-first)
- You are tempted to bolt a generic theory onto a marketing finding

## JM's theory stance: serve the substantive question

Unlike theory-first flagships, JM does not reward theoretical machinery for its own sake. Its bar is **substantive insight into a real marketing question**. Theory in a JM paper earns its place by **explaining a consequential marketing phenomenon** and yielding predictions that, when tested, change how managers, policy makers, or society understand the market. The official editorial guidelines frame JM as a bridge between scholarly and practical stakes, so build the *minimum sufficient* conceptual structure that makes the phenomenon intelligible and the predictions sharp.

## Two legitimate routes into JM