The value of multiparadigm inquiry for understanding phenomena within the scope of marketing – the analysis of farmers’ communication on social media for the sake of agricultural industry

The goal of this article is to investigate how multiparadigm inquiry may broaden the outlook and generate novel research perspectives on the phenomena within the scope of interest of marketing science and related disciplines. A metaparadigm theory building approach and the meta-triangulation procedure were adopted to analyse the extant literature on the phenomenon of farmers’ communication on social media for the sake of agricultural industry in the face of the criticism from alternative food movements. The literature was classified into four approaches, each underpinned by common ontological assumptions – computational, applied, critical, and interpretive approach – and learning was proposed as an over encompassing concept that opens up a new research pathway.

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