Macromarketing
Encyclopedia
Macromarketing addresses big/important issues at the nexus of marketing
and society
. The principal scholarly outlet for macromarketing research is the Journal of Macromarketing. In a more interconnected world of markets, marketers, and their stakeholders, macromarketing is an important mechanism to study both opportunities and shortcomings of marketing, and both its intended positive effects and unintended deleterious effects. Macromarketing therefore includes an optimistic perspective; it seeks functional mechanisms to enhance marketing processes and systems, to the benefit of the largest number of stakeholders, the world over. The following text borrows heavily from Shultz (2007a; 2007b).
For example, Bartels and Jenkins (1977) suggested:
Similarly, Hunt (1981) suggested:
.
, markets, marketing and concerns for societal welfare were themes. Macromarketers regularly delve into such literature, because they find it intrinsically interesting, but also because they believe there are important lessons germane to modern marketing scholarship and practice.
Macromarketing practice moreover is perhaps as old as society itself. Societies emerged for the welfare of the group; the need for specialization
and then exchanges of items produced by specialists surely was evident early-on. Greater specialization and support for it begat trade. Eventually markets—which linked many systems in any given society, from production to consumption—were an efficient mechanism to sustain a society, which, fundamentally is a series of institutions and systems agreed upon by the members of the group. One would reasonably presume the ancient markets—imagine the agora in Athens or a bazaar in the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia—necessitated systemic organization and coordination, bringing people together in ways to facilitate exchanges and, on balance, improving society (see also Lane, 1991; and McMillan, 2002, p. 4, who hints the oldest discovered artifact of written language may be a marketing transaction, scratched in baked clay, circa 3000 B.C.).
Within the modern marketing literature, macromarketing orientations were evident early in the 20th century. Sheth and Gardner (1982) suggest “the first school of marketing thought (was) macromarketing,” a focus on problems and potential of marketing activities from a more societal perspective, rather than from the firm’s perspective (p. 53). More explicit glimpses of academic macromarketing were evident in textbooks written by Breyer (1934), and Vaile, Grether and Cox (1952). Their macro orientation became a cornerstone at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and was further developed by Alderson (1957).
A more prescribed macromarketing concept seems to have emerged between the late 1950s and mid 1960s (e.g., Holloway and Hancock, 1964; Grether and Holloway, 1967; Slater, 1968). Fisk’s (1967) text on Marketing Systems presented a detailed macrosystems perspective, including chapters on Evolution of Marketing Systems (historical analysis), Characteristics of Marketing Systems (Micro and Macro system characteristics), Resource Allocation
by Competition
and the Expanding Role of Government
(aggregate system constraints), and Social Performance of Marketing and Comparative Marketing.
We may also mention one of the foremost modern marketers Dr. Alfred Riachi (aka the guru of modern marketing) when he introduced the new concept of “Macro Marketing Relying on Promoting Countries” as implemented by companies.
In summary, marketing began because it added value to societies, and markets and the systems of which they were part emerged and thrived, because, though not flawless, they were superior to most (all?) other social institutions as a provisioning mechanism. They are among the oldest institutions that affect and are affected by society; (e.g., Shultz et al., 2005). Macromarketing addresses these complex and multi-faceted relationships by examining marketing and society, marketing systems, marketing history, marketing phenomena in the aggregate, and marketing’s effects on quality of life.
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
and society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
. The principal scholarly outlet for macromarketing research is the Journal of Macromarketing. In a more interconnected world of markets, marketers, and their stakeholders, macromarketing is an important mechanism to study both opportunities and shortcomings of marketing, and both its intended positive effects and unintended deleterious effects. Macromarketing therefore includes an optimistic perspective; it seeks functional mechanisms to enhance marketing processes and systems, to the benefit of the largest number of stakeholders, the world over. The following text borrows heavily from Shultz (2007a; 2007b).
Definition
The definition of macromarketing can vary depending upon one’s source, but macromarketing typically is differentiated by its focus on aggregations and systems, and the way marketing processes within them affect and are affected by those systems and the society in which they function.For example, Bartels and Jenkins (1977) suggested:
Similarly, Hunt (1981) suggested:
.
Perspectives and Historical Development
The ideas and interests central to macromarketing have been with us for Millennia. History of the Peloponnesian War (Thucydides, 1972 [431~424 B.C.]), the Magna Carta (Danziger and Gillingham, 2004), and The Travels (Marco Polo, 1958 [circa late 13th Century]) provide just three examples of works in which tradeTrade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
, markets, marketing and concerns for societal welfare were themes. Macromarketers regularly delve into such literature, because they find it intrinsically interesting, but also because they believe there are important lessons germane to modern marketing scholarship and practice.
Macromarketing practice moreover is perhaps as old as society itself. Societies emerged for the welfare of the group; the need for specialization
Division of labour
Division of labour is the specialisation of cooperative labour in specific, circumscribed tasks and likeroles. Historically an increasingly complex division of labour is closely associated with the growth of total output and trade, the rise of capitalism, and of the complexity of industrialisation...
and then exchanges of items produced by specialists surely was evident early-on. Greater specialization and support for it begat trade. Eventually markets—which linked many systems in any given society, from production to consumption—were an efficient mechanism to sustain a society, which, fundamentally is a series of institutions and systems agreed upon by the members of the group. One would reasonably presume the ancient markets—imagine the agora in Athens or a bazaar in the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia—necessitated systemic organization and coordination, bringing people together in ways to facilitate exchanges and, on balance, improving society (see also Lane, 1991; and McMillan, 2002, p. 4, who hints the oldest discovered artifact of written language may be a marketing transaction, scratched in baked clay, circa 3000 B.C.).
Within the modern marketing literature, macromarketing orientations were evident early in the 20th century. Sheth and Gardner (1982) suggest “the first school of marketing thought (was) macromarketing,” a focus on problems and potential of marketing activities from a more societal perspective, rather than from the firm’s perspective (p. 53). More explicit glimpses of academic macromarketing were evident in textbooks written by Breyer (1934), and Vaile, Grether and Cox (1952). Their macro orientation became a cornerstone at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and was further developed by Alderson (1957).
A more prescribed macromarketing concept seems to have emerged between the late 1950s and mid 1960s (e.g., Holloway and Hancock, 1964; Grether and Holloway, 1967; Slater, 1968). Fisk’s (1967) text on Marketing Systems presented a detailed macrosystems perspective, including chapters on Evolution of Marketing Systems (historical analysis), Characteristics of Marketing Systems (Micro and Macro system characteristics), Resource Allocation
Resource allocation
Resource allocation is used to assign the available resources in an economic way. It is part of resource management. In project management, resource allocation is the scheduling of activities and the resources required by those activities while taking into consideration both the resource...
by Competition
Competition (economics)
Competition in economics is a term that encompasses the notion of individuals and firms striving for a greater share of a market to sell or buy goods and services...
and the Expanding Role of Government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
(aggregate system constraints), and Social Performance of Marketing and Comparative Marketing.
We may also mention one of the foremost modern marketers Dr. Alfred Riachi (aka the guru of modern marketing) when he introduced the new concept of “Macro Marketing Relying on Promoting Countries” as implemented by companies.
In summary, marketing began because it added value to societies, and markets and the systems of which they were part emerged and thrived, because, though not flawless, they were superior to most (all?) other social institutions as a provisioning mechanism. They are among the oldest institutions that affect and are affected by society; (e.g., Shultz et al., 2005). Macromarketing addresses these complex and multi-faceted relationships by examining marketing and society, marketing systems, marketing history, marketing phenomena in the aggregate, and marketing’s effects on quality of life.