Neo-colonial hierarchies of knowledge in marketing: Toxic field and illusio

Abstract

Copyright © The Author(s) 2022. We explore the knowledge production experiences of marketing academics who currently work in countries that have previously colonized their home countries. Building on Bourdieu’s concepts of illusio and the field, we first demonstrate that participants are drawn to the appeal of the academic game which perpetuates itself as a toxic field of neo-colonial relations. Second, we illustrate that two dominant exploitative academic practices sustain this toxic field. Third, we demonstrate that there is a toxic illusio which prevents academics from developing a healthy sense of colonial relations in their knowledge production.