Doctoral thesis: Reimagining how markets work is possible

In his doctoral thesis "Market representations in action: Foundations for the performativity of representations in marketing", Carlos A. Diaz Ruiz investigates how markets can be reimagined to meet social and corporate goals.

"We used to believe that we know how markets work" explains Diaz Ruiz "but we now understand that some markets work fundamentally different from how economic theory predicts. In fact, commonly held beliefs about markets - such as intense competition and profit maximisation - are assumptions that are not crucial features in every market".

Diaz Ruiz investigated how marketing agencies create representations of markets for their clients and found that firms can use those representations to actually shape their markets. The findings suggest that market representations are guidelines for how markets can be reimagined in ways that are not fully predicted by theory. The work of Diaz Ruiz can be implemented by business managers to qualify market representations produced by consultancies and marketing agencies in terms of accuracy and purpose.

Diaz Ruiz argues that the implications of the doctoral thesis are important for both business and public policy.

"From street activists to corporate managers, we see a rising debate questioning whether markets can be reimagined to meet environmental, social and corporate goals. The problem is that managers and public officials make important decisions based on how markets are supposed to work, but often those representations lack correspondence with actual markets", Diaz Ruiz proposes a model to qualify market representations for accuracy and purpose.

M.A Carlos Diaz Ruiz defends his doctoral thesis in marketing "Market representations in action: Foundations for the performativity of representations in marketing" on 15 August 2014.

Time: 15 August 2014, at 11
Place: Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki
Opponent: Professor Luis Araujo, Lancaster University, UK
Custos: Professor Maria Holmlund, Hanken School of Economics, Finland

For more information, please contact:
Carlos A. Diaz Ruiz
+358 40 184 42 88
carlos.diazruiz@hanken.fi Opens in new window

A copy of the thesis can be downloaded here Opens in new window .