Despite segmentation's importance for marketing in general and the extensive research published on the topic over several decades, business-to-business segmentation is still not fully developed as a general theory—a status that may decrease academic interest in the field. Based on a recent contribution on the definition and typology of theory, this paper explores the degree to which segmentation can be considered a theory and, more specifically, which elements and perspectives are currently underdeveloped. We highlight some fundamental challenges that must be addressed to establish a better theoretical foundation for segmentation's evolution into a more developed theory. We also present questions for future research to guide the advancement of business-to-business segmentation, which is necessary for a concept so central to business-to-business marketing.

尽管细分对于总体营销很重要，而且几十年来针对该主题发表了广泛的研究，但企业对企业的细分仍然没有完全发展为一般理论，这种状况可能会降低该领域的学术兴趣。基于最近对理论定义和类型学的贡献，本文探讨了细分可以被视为理论的程度，更具体地说，哪些要素和观点目前尚未发展。我们强调了一些必须解决的基本挑战，以便为分割发展成为更成熟的理论奠定更好的理论基础。我们还提出了未来研究的问题，以指导企业对企业细分的发展，这对于企业对企业营销如此重要的概念是必要的。