We invite contributions that focus on the study of market research in the making, in various countries in Europe and elsewhere. The term ‘making’ should be understood here in both senses of the word (the emergence of the field in the 20th century, and the making, i.e. the day-to-day manufacturing of market research surveys). By focusing on the making of market research, we aim to shift the focus away from leading figures in the sector, to examine a more comprehensive range of individuals involved in conducting surveys at different stages. What was the division of labour, from fieldwork to report writing ?

Argument

In recent decades, historical and sociological research has taken an interest in market research, which can be defined as a form of codified knowledge generated from surveys of consumers and firms and conducted by specialised organisations on behalf of clients (firms, media, administrations). The literature on market research is scattered, both geographically and in terms of the research questions raised. Market research was first studied within the framework of the history of social sciences (Converse 2017 [1987]) and later within the context of the history of American society (Wells 1999 ; Zunz 1998). More recently, scholars have focused on the development of market research in the United States and Europe, within the framework of a business history of marketing (Berghoff, Scranton, and Spiekermann 2012 ; Logemann, Cross, and Köhler 2019 ; Schwarzkopf 2016). They situate consumer and market surveys within a broader set of expertise and professions – commercial design, packaging, psychology, sales management, market research – that, combined within the field of marketing, form part of a ‘consumer engineering’ that developed between the 1920s and 1970s. These studies provide information about the organisations, publications, and protagonists promoting market research, following the example of Ernest Dichter’s Institute of Motivational Research (Schwarzkopf and Gries 2010). However, they say little about the surveys themselves, or about the methods, techniques, and expertise involved in market research.

We invite contributions that focus on the study of market research in the making, in various countries in Europe and elsewhere. The term ‘making’ should be understood here in both senses of the word. A first objective is to reconstruct and narrate the emergence of the field in the 20th century, especially between the 1920s and the 1970s. In line with recent research, it is indeed necessary to understand the context in which market research emerged as a distinctive field, with specialized organizations, techniques, and knowledge outputs mobilized on a daily basis in the economy. However, we are also particularly interested in works that examine the making, i.e. the day-to-day manufacturing of market research surveys. We believe it is important to consider them as research objects in their own right. We are thus particularly interested in empirical contributions based on the surveys themselves, whether market research reports or survey materials, and in reflections on the methodological and scientific issues raised by these archival materials. What research methods and tools were used ? What were the investigators’ observation and interviewing practices ? This can be done by investigating what these materials tell us about the work of market research specialists, the methods and categories used in these surveys, and the knowledge about markets and consumption produced on behalf of client companies. This perspective can be linked to contemporary works at the articulation of sociology and science & technology studies, which have sought to enter value and market production ‘laboratories’ (Araujo, Finch, and Kjellberg 2010 ; Mellet 2025 ; Schneider and Woolgar 2012 ; Zwick and Cayla 2011).

Furthermore, the conference will examine market research surveys from the perspective of circulations – of methods, representations and knowledge of the social world. Although market research has its own history, it is not disconnected from the history of public institutions, polling organizations, and social science departments. Market research was an integral part of a diverse range of surveys that sometimes overlapped or interacted with each other, including sociological or anthropological surveys, militant surveys, and government statistical surveys, among others. The aim of the workshop is to reinscribe market research in the history of surveys, and to examine the circulations between these fields of knowledge. We also invite submissions of papers that explore the transnational circulations of research methods and analytical categories in the field of market research.

By focusing on the making of market research, we aim to shift the focus away from leading figures in the sector, to examine a more comprehensive range of individuals involved in conducting surveys at different stages. What was the division of labour, from fieldwork to report writing ? We particularly encourage papers that explore gender in relation to market research production, a subject that has received scant attention in the academic literature (Crawford 2022 ; Jones and Tadajewski 2016 ; Nixon 2012).

Areas that papers might explore include :

• The birth of market research in the 20th century
• Market research and national contexts
• Market research and transnational circulations
• Research methods and analytical categories
• Market research and social science
• Division of labour in the making of market research surveys
• Gender and the making of market research
• Market research and technology

Submission Guidelines

Please submit an abstract of no more than 500 words and a brief bio to marieemmanuelle.chessel@sciencespo.fr , kevin.mellet@sciencespo.fr and ariane.mak@u-paris.fr by 15 December 2025.

Notifications of acceptance will be sent in due course. We would appreciate if you could secure funding for your travel costs, but if you are unable to do so, let us know so that we can work out a solution.

Organizers

• Marie-Emmanuelle Chessel, Historian, Research director, CNRS, Sciences Po - Centre de sociologie des organisations - mariemmanuelle.chessel@sciencespo.fr
• Ariane Mak, Historian, Senior lecturer, Université Paris Cité (ECHELLES) - ariane.mak@u-paris.fr
• Kevin Mellet, Associate professor of sociology, Sciences Po - Centre de sociologie des organisations - kevin.mellet@sciencespo.fr

Bibliography

Araujo, Luis, John Finch, and Hans Kjellberg. 2010. Reconnecting Marketing to Markets. Oxford University Press.

Berghoff, Hartmut, Philip Scranton, and Uwe Spiekermann. 2012. ‘The Origins of Marketing and Market Research : Information, Institutions, and Markets’. Pp. 1–26 in The rise of marketing and market research. Springer.

Converse, Jean M. 2017 [1987]. Survey Research in the United States : Roots and Emergence 1890-1960. Routledge.

Crawford, Robert. 2022. ‘Seeing the Bigger Picture : Why Market Research History Matters ?’ International Journal of Market Research 64(2) :187–99.

Jones, DG Brian, and Mark Tadajewski. 2016. The Routledge Companion to Marketing History. Routledge.

Logemann, Jan, Gary Cross, and Ingo Köhler. 2019. Consumer Engineering, 1920s–1970s : Marketing between Expert Planning and Consumer Responsiveness. Springer.

Mellet, Kevin. 2025. Marketing. A Sociological Approach. Polity Books.

Nixon, Sean. 2012. ‘Mrs. Housewife and the Ad Men : Advertising, Market Research, and Mass Consumption in Postwar Britain’. Pp. 193–213 in The rise of marketing and market research. Springer.

Schneider, Tanja, and Steve Woolgar. 2012. ‘Technologies of Ironic Revelation : Enacting Consumers in Neuromarkets’. Consumption Markets & Culture 15(2) :169–89.

Schwarzkopf, Stefan. 2016. ‘In Search of the Consumer : The History of Market Research from 1890 to 1960’. Pp. 61–83 in The Routledge companion to marketing history. Routledge.

Schwarzkopf, Stefan, and Rainer Gries. 2010. Ernest Dichter and Motivation Research. Springer.

Wells, Coleman Harwell. 1999. Remapping America : Market Research and American Society, 1900-1940. University of Virginia.

Zunz, Olivier. 1998. Why the American Century ? University of Chicago Press.

Zwick, Detlev, and Julien Cayla. 2011. Inside Marketing : Practices, Ideologies, Devices. Oxford University Press.

This workshop is funded by IdEx Université Paris Cité n° ANR-18-IDEX-0001.