Dimensions of power and resistance: a critical review of racial dynamics in the marketplace

This comprehensive review provides a critical examination of the literature on marketing and racial dynamics centring the concept of racialised market structures, emphasising aspects of power and resistance within marketing domains which shape racial dynamics in Global North and Global South marketplace contexts. Grounded in theoretical frameworks positing a macro-level racial structuring of markets and enduring presences of racial hierarchies, this article identifies key historical antecedents; important power domains surrounding race in market-oriented organisations, institutions and systems; and addresses associated market navigation and resistance activities by marketplace participants. Through systematic analysis of 330 sources spanning 2017–2026, a model of racial dynamics in the marketplace is developed to guide future examinations of marketplace racial dynamics across multinational contexts, providing actionable research questions for scholars in global settings.