Editor,
Clifford J. Shultz II
Arizona State University
The Journal of Macromarketing, now in its 28th year of publication,
is the preeminent scholarly outlet for meaningful research that examines the effects of
markets and marketing on society, the effects of social programs on marketing practice,
marketing systems and/or marketing phenomena in the aggregate. Macromarketing perspectives
are vital to marketing, business, policy and societal well being, especially in a world
that engages new explorations into the power and the limits of markets amid mounting
technological, environmental, political and socio-economic challenges.
As the sixth editor of the Journal of Macromarketing my goal is to
continue the tradition of excellence established by my predecessors and to grow the Journal
in ways that will best serve the academy and society. The Journal has evolved to
include a formalized structure of sections. These sections, championed by and
co-administered by section editors, focus attention on important facets of macromarketing.
They are Competition, Markets, and Marketing Systems; Global Policy and Environment; Marketing and
Development; Marketing History; Quality of Life; and Reviews and Communications. The
section editors play a key role in soliciting manuscripts, reviews of books and other
materials, and advancing the cause of macromarketing in fields that represent growing
opportunities for macromarketing. Where applicable, they will advise scholars on how to
bring their work up to Journal standards for competitive review. Below, the section
editors share their interests, objectives and visions.
Aspects of macromarketing not encompassed in the sections also are
encouraged. A wide range of topics and perspectives have been published in JMM;
diverse views will of course continue to be welcome. People with expertise in sociology;
anthropology; psychology; policy and law; economics; biology; agriculture, aquaculture and
agribusiness; geography; medicine and healthcare; international relations and conflict
resolution; literature and the arts, and other disciplines also are encouraged to submit
manuscripts germane to markets, marketing processes and societal outcomes. Indeed,
contributions from any scholar or practitioner with research interests relevant to
macromarketing provide an opportunity to expand macromarketing influence, to grow the Journal,
and to serve the academy and society.
To develop the macromarketing discourse, JMM sponsors three
conferences, the annual Macromarketing Conference, the
biennial Conference on Historical
Analysis & Research in Marketing, and the International Conference on Marketing and
Development, which is held every other year. Scholars are encouraged to submit manuscripts
to these conferences. The best articles from these conferences are invited for further
review and possible publication in JMM. Special sections in the Journal
occasionally may emanate from these conferences, as well as topical colloquia held around
the world.
On behalf of the section editors, the policy and review boards, and all
the scholars who have played a role in making JMM a leading scholarly outlet we
welcome your quality contributions and involvement in the most meaningful of marketing
endeavors: macromarketing.
Andreas W. Falkenberg
The University of Agder
Understanding how markets work is at
the core of our discipline. The past century has shown how open markets with freely
competing firms, operating within an appropriate institutional framework, can enhance our
material standard of living. As we look to the future of our discipline, a number of
challenges need to be addressed regarding our understanding of markets and competition.
Some of these challenges have been outlined below, and the Journal of Macromarketing
welcomes articles on these or other topics:
Concepts and measures. Are
the traditional theories, concepts, and operational definitions still appropriate?
Multinational firms and firms operating over the Internet force us to reexamine who are
our competitors, where the market is located, and where products are sold, distributed,
delivered, and paid for. It may be difficult to define relevant competitors, and
concentration ratios may be of little use.
Governments as participants in
markets. Governments participate in many markets through ownership. Some markets are
in transition from having only government-owned and government-operated monopolies to
having private firms in competition with one another. Other markets have state-owned firms
in competition with private firms (e.g., transportation, energy and postal services).
Whenever privatization and deregulation are under way, it is possible to learn from these
naturally occurring experiments and to investigate a variety of propositions.
Conflicts of interests.
Whereas we might like to see open markets and free competition to increase our material
standard of living, firms would prefer to reduce competition and achieve a
"sustainable competitive advantage," as taught by most business schools.
Consider the following comment from Adam Smith:
The interest of the dealers [read:
"marketers?"], however, in any particular branch of trade is always in some
respects different from, and even opposite to that of the public. To widen the market and
to narrow competition is always in the interest of the dealers. To widen the market may
frequently be agreeable enough to the interests of the public; but to narrow competition
must always be against it, and can serve only to enable the dealers, by raising their
profits above what they normally might be, to levy for their own benefit, an absurd tax
upon the rest of their fellow-citizens (Smith 1937, 210-11).
Whereas the "invisible
hand" of the market allocates resources to their most efficient use, the institutions
governing markets are put in place though a political process with active participation of
the "visible hands" of affected parties, including business interests.
Diverse markets. Marketers
have tended to study the markets for branded consumer goods. We seldom look at financial
markets, the market for firms, or commodity markets. We have limited knowledge of
industrial markets or supplier markets. We have also to a large extent ignored the
problems of poverty. Where there is little money there is no demand, but still a large
unmet need.
Value creation. Marketing
links the firm to the other members of the value chain. Marketing activity is to a large
extent responsible for value creation. As much as 90 percent of the firm’s value in
the market is related to goodwill. This includes the value of the firm’s human
resources, its reputation, its products, and its brands. We need a better understanding of
the value creation process as well as better measures of the value created.
Heterogeneous jurisdictions.
One of the roles of national governments has been to make sure that we have
well-functioning markets. Many multinational companies operate across a multitude of
jurisdictions and are able to evade many of the rules and regulations one would normally
have in a developed market economy. It may be necessary that the European Union, the North
American Free Trade Agreement, the World Trade Organization, or other international
institutions take over many of the roles so far assigned to the nation-state to ensure
well-functioning markets on a global level.
The changing nature of firms.
Traditionally, the firm has been the basic unit of analysis. In many markets, competition
occurs between closely knit value chain networks rather than between individual firms. As
firms become more knowledge intensive, the nature of inputs, outputs, property rights, and
measures of productivity will be different. There may be significant changes to how firms
are owned, controlled, and operated. John Stuart Mill predicted a shift of power from the
traditional owners to the employees of firms, which has become true in high-competence
industries. In traditional companies, employees own an increased share of their firms
through stock option plans and pension funds.
A resource-based view of
competition? Traditional industrial organization economics has provided us with an
understanding of how markets work as far as competition is concerned. The government
should stimulate competition and prevent market failure to avoid welfare losses. Are there
other conceptions of markets and competition that are more insightful, and, if so, does
this change the role of the government?
Markets and competition are at the
heart of not only marketing but also of our conception of democracy, our fundamental
freedoms and rights, and the provision of our standard of living as well as our employment
and our pensions. They are perhaps the most fundamental institution of our time as it
affects nearly every aspect of our lives. It is therefore important that we study markets
so that we can make them work to the benefit of all.
Reference
Smith, Adam. 1937. An inquiry
into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. New York: The Modern Library.
O.C. Ferrell
University of New Mexico
Marketing ethics is the study of
right and wrong with respect to marketing policies, practices, and systems. Marketing
ethics comprises principles and standards that guide appropriate conduct in organizations.
From its origins in the early 1970s
Macromarketing Seminars, the Journal of Macromarketing has welcomed papers which
consider thoughtfully the impact of marketing activities and their organization on the
disadvantaged, particularly in the less economically developed parts of the world. Before
the emergence of the business ethics discipline, the journal was a primary source of
theory and empirical work in this field. Ferrell and Gresham (1985) and Hunt and Vitell
(1986) remain the foundation references for marketing ethics scholars.
The establishment of a special
section devoted to this topic represents an effort both to reclaim this position within
the marketing discipline and to provide an outlet for first rank scholarship in an
important area of applied ethics which, in recent years, has become scattered among
journals with a primary focus on other aspects of business, marketing, or ethics.
In considering this initiative, the
relationship among marketing ethics and other JMM sections should be noted. The
ethical dimensions of economic and market development were identified previously in terms
of the impact on the poor, a well-known measure of economic justice. In transitional
economies, where institutional arrangements taken for granted in advanced societies are
still quite immature, the importance of ethics in marketing practices is a major
consideration in whether markets achieve their promise relative to previous arrangements.
As a cultural phenomenon influencing and influenced by marketing customs and practices,
ethics is an important factor in explaining both conduct and performance in markets.
Quality of life is significantly affected by the degree of order and harmony present in a
society. Marketing history can be viewed as a study of changing ethical norms. Much
scholarly effort has been devoted to comparing these norms across differing cultures. The
interests of many macromarketers in the natural environment are clearly identifiable as
ethical concerns.
Much progress has been made in
public policy initiatives to encourage ethical compliance in organizations. The Federal
Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations provide a blueprint that many companies are using
for ethic programs. These public policy efforts need to be explored to determine
effectiveness and impact on marketing activities.
Taking account of the most recent
developments in marketing thought, we should also note the ethical nature of interests in
consumer privacy, particularly as related to Internet marketing and other developments in
information technology, and in whether and how products of dubious social merit - tobacco,
alcohol, and pornography - are marketed.
Ethics can be analyzed in several
different frames of reference. First, the level of moral agency may vary. We are most
accustomed to thinking about ethics in interpersonal terms, for example, disclosure
obligations of sales representatives to clients or customers. Many ethical issues are
organizational in nature, for example, the policies of corporations or government agencies
that directly or indirectly may influence actions or their consequences. In a
subdiscipline with a broader attention to systems, macromarketing should also recognize
the ethical content of varying market structures, customs, and institutions. In this
realm, we should be especially cognizant of the presence or absence of checks and balances
and how the pressures of competition and the search for market advantage may have
significant ethical implications.
Second, we can study marketing
ethics as an aspect of buyer and seller behavior, that is, empirically, or from a more
normative or prophetic perspective, how things ought to be.
Third, given the extent of
specialization in the marketing discipline, we should be responsive to the varying
interests of marketing scholars in such areas as e-commerce, product development,
marketing communications, pricing and distribution.
Finally, taking a systems
perspective, we should encourage comparative studies that attend to the similarities and
differences across political systems, cultures, and industries.
The Journal of Macromarketing
should welcome the submission of thoughtful theoretical works as well as empirical
studies. In particular, we should encourage the publication of work that attends to
interests in areas already established within the macromarketing discipline, that is,
development, environment, competition, quality of life, or history.
Over the years, many have noted the
fact that macromarketing has a prominent normative, even moral agenda. Clearly, many of
our most prominent macromarketing scholars have brought their particular moral vision to
their research and writing. This is a distinguishing characteristic of our field. The
marketing ethics section should, in time, become the vehicle for ensuring that character
is a lasting one.
Please check http://e-businessethics.com for
information on organizational ethics research and resources. A link on this site is being
provided for the Ethics and Values section of the Journal of Macromarketing.
References
Ferrell, O.C. and Larry G. Gresham.
1995. A Contingency Framework for Understanding Ethical Decision Making in Marketing, Journal
of Marketing 49 (Summer): 87-96.
Hunt, Shelby D. Hunt and Scott
Vitell. 1986. A general theory of marketing ethics. Journal of Macromarketing, 6
(Spring): 5-16.
William E. Kilbourne
Clemson University
With the inexorable move toward
globalization, macromarketing issues become increasingly critical for the survival of the
world as we know it. From the little that we are sure of today, we can come to some
reasonable conclusions. What we do as marketers today will affect others than ourselves
for centuries to come. The consequences of our actions spill over both geographically and
atmospherically. As globalization increases, so too will the environmental problems that
accompany it if we continue to frame them in the traditional way as externalities, market
failures, or the necessary cost of progress. Likewise, if we limit the domain of inquiry
to specific actions such as recycling, green consumption, or energy conservation, the
result may be too little, too late. The primary purpose of this section on global policy
and the environment is to expand the domain of inquiry in a truly macro fashion, bringing
into clear relief the global and multidisciplinary character of environmental problems.
As such, the boundaries must be
flexible and will overlap other sections of the journal. As is clear from the descriptions
of the other areas, the natural environment and the global policies it engenders cannot
easily be separated from competition and markets, marketing and development, quality of
life, or even marketing history. This suggests that there are many levels of analysis and
approaches that may be incorporated into studies of global policy and the environment.
These can range from specific environmental problems and their solutions to the
conceptualization of alternative paradigms within which sustainable marketing practices
can be developed. Among the topics that this approach might call for are the following:
The conceptualization of
sustainability including its compatibility and conflict with contemporary marketing
practices.
The role and consequences of
anthropocentrism in marketing practices.
The relationship between
marketing, the environment, and quality of life.
Materialism and its environmental
consequences--this might include resource allocation problems, wealth distribution, waste
disposal, or other consequences of growth in the globalization of materialism.
The implications of neoclassical
economic models on marketing and the environment--this might include different conceptions
of efficiency and justice, environmental pricing, environmental cost/benefit analysis, or
similar conceptions prevalent in the prevailing models.
The effects of political
liberalism on marketing and the environment--this might include different conceptions of
freedom, democracy, and private property rights and how prevailing political institutions
affect the environment and the conduct of marketing.
Technological risk to the
environment--this might include the impact of large-scale technologies, including all
applications of human knowledge to global transformations, on environmental problems.
Increases in the probability of
global disaster resulting from the globalized industrial-era marketing technologies might
be examined along with approaches for the greening of technology.
Individual value systems and their
relationship to environmental perceptions and behavior.
Conceptualization of the new
environmental paradigm. While the concept has been studied extensively, it has not been
adequately defined as yet. What is it and how would marketing practices differ if it were
accepted?
Environmental ethics--Can the
environment be adequately incorporated into prevailing ethical systems or must new systems
be devised? On what basis can environmental rights be established? What are the rights of
future generations?
Can economic growth and
environmental quality be sustained simultaneously? If not, what are the marketing,
economic, and political implications?
Is free-market capitalism
sustainable?
Can a truly green, sustainable
marketing be profitable as we currently define profits? If not, how must the prevailing
conceptions be transformed?
The foregoing are examples of
questions that might be examined within the global policy and environment section. This is
by no means an exhaustive list, and many others might be added. The list demonstrates the
character of the questions sought, however, and suggests that approaches prevalent in the
majority of marketing literature to date are too managerial, narrow in focus, and
generally fail to offer an adequate critique of prevailing institutional structures that
motivate and inform marketing practices. Environmental problems transcend specific
cultures, geography, and time, and, as a consequence, the preference is for studies that
do the same.
Studies examining the
environment/marketing relationship from a macroperspective considering institutional
variables, value systems, and general ecological beliefs across cultures are encouraged,
while studies of specific attitudes and behaviors are not discouraged if they are framed
within a macrocontext and have more than managerial implications.
Multiple methodologies are also
encouraged. Research approaches may be historical, quantitative, or qualitative as
environmental problems and individuals’ perceptions of them are historically and
culturally embedded, and a thorough understanding of them will require many different
approaches. In addition to multiple methodologies, multidisciplinary studies are highly
encouraged and are considered imperative in uncovering the nature of the
marketing/environment relationship and developing global policies that will direct us into
the new millennium.
Similarly to a call from the first
issue of the Journal of Macromarketing, we extend an invitation to participate in
the macromarketing subdiscipline of economic development and encourage marketers to commit
their energies toward the scholarly examination of development phenomena (Fisk 1981, 3).
Toward those ends we welcome classical examinations and analyses and also more
nontraditional studies that will abet economic development and societal well-being.
On the first score, we seek
manuscripts that revisit the visions of Charles Slater and consider the importance of
systems, trade-off analysis, social performance, host performance, interdisciplinary
approaches, the elements of the marketing mix, market reforms, model building, and
anticipated effects of development (Nason 1981). Accordingly, classicists will be keen to
examine, for example, the effects of macroeconomic policy, unemployment, inflation, and
business cycles on marketing environments and societal prosperity more generally.
Looking beyond fundamental economic
factors and indicators, the lines of our subdiscipline begin to blur. Indeed, economic
development is inexorably connected to many systems and forces--these include natural
forces (geographic location; geological, agricultural, and aquacultural wealth; and
weather patterns); cultural and political forces; education, administration, and marketing
systems; and life quality and societal welfare (Shultz and Pecotich 1997). Thoughtful,
systemic analyses that address the interactive and reciprocal relationships among these
factors and forces are most welcome. Such analyses might include comparative studies
within and across political boundaries, best practices or policy recommendations, and
ultimately solutions to humanity's most pressing development challenges.
The "solutions
orientation" may evoke new and nontraditional analyses. Novelty would seem to address
at least three fundamental questions: economic development for whom, which methods, and
what measures? That is, the old standards of gross domestic product per capita, income per
capita, or even the more recent purchasing power parity, though helpful indices vis-à-vis
development trends for large aggregations and entire nations, may not indicate the
developmental progress for vulnerable populations within a society, such as infants,
women, the elderly, the sick, and ethnic minorities. This concern indicates opportunities
for new methods, thoughtful considerations about units of analysis, and appropriate
measures. Conditions and tendencies among families, communities, and the aforementioned
vulnerable populations, in addition to national and regional trends, should be examined
and measured, using an array of methods.
Finally, whether choosing classical
or nontraditional approaches, econometric, ethnographic, or other methods, we encourage
authors to think in terms of impact, both on the human condition and the literature. As
the Chinese curse would have it, we live in "interesting times," and many of the
most dire problems in our time are associated with economic development, or lack thereof.
Socioeconomic transition, pollution, overpopulation, labor relations, malnutrition,
societal angst, infant mortality, trade relations, intellectual property, the spread of
infectious diseases, agricultural production and distribution, and ethnopolitical
conflict, to name just a few quandaries and research opportunities, are all linked to
economic development and may very well have their solutions in macromarketing analyses.
References
Fisk, George. 1981. An invitation to
participate in affairs of the Journal of Macromarketing. Journal of
Macromarketing 1 (1): 3-6.
Nason, Robert. 1981. The visions of
Charles C. Slater: Social consequences of marketing. Journal of Macromarketing 2
(1): 4-18.
Shultz, C. and A. Pecotich. 1997.
Marketing and development in the transition economies of Southeast Asia: Policy
explication, assessment and implications. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing
16 (1): 55-68.
Terrence Witkowski
California State University, Long Beach
History broadens and deepens our
understanding and contributes to a sense of continuity and tradition. It puts contemporary
events and ideas into a more realistic perspective. Great strides have been made in
marketing history over the past two decades. Yet, marketing history is still a vast data
bank that contains many empty safety deposit boxes. Filling in some of the blanks can be a
major contribution to the discipline. The editor of the Marketing History section
actively seeks manuscripts that deal with the origins, growth, and development of both
marketing history (as an activity) and marketing thought (as an intellectual pursuit).
I
offer these guidelines to prospective authors:
Marketing history has occurred in
many venues around the world. Therefore, no limits are placed on times or geographic
venues.
Marketing is defined broadly to
include commercial exchange, commercial-like activities, and the marketing efforts of
governments, nonprofit organizations, and other such parties.
Marketing thought is also defined
broadly to include not only the writings and speeches of the marketing professorate but
also ideas brought into the field by critics, reformers, politicians, entrepreneurs, and
scholars from other disciplines.
History is valuable in its own
right and for its own sake. Nevertheless, since marketing is an applied discipline,
readers of JMM are interested in and authors should explore the implications of
historical phenomena for current pursuits.
We will accept many approaches,
philosophical positions, and methodologies. Yet, we always look for signs of scholarly
rigor and favor papers that come closest to using primary sources as their major input.
Authors should be familiar with and draw on the current literatures in their fields, but
unlike other marketing publications, emphasis should be on earlier rather than later
iterations of a particular datum.
Some appropriate manuscripts may
deal with historical methodology, data sources, or pedagogical matters. All such articles
should be grounded in a macromarketing context.
This section also publishes
"Retrospective Book Reviews"--reviews of historical works of scholarship that
warrant a new reading. Book reviewers should read these books critically for their
contribution to marketing thought and/or practice and, where possible, place these
historical works in the context of their time.
Company biographies may be
appropriate if the subject company is (1) sufficiently large, innovative, or controversial
to affect society or (2) can be shown to be representative of an important market segment.
From time to time, such biographies may be published as notes rather than full essays. The
Marketing History section editors always stand ready to discuss proposed topics with
potential contributors.
M.
Joseph Sirgy
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
JMM publishes a section
devoted to quality-of-life (QOL) studies in marketing. We strive to publish two to three
manuscripts per issue. QOL studies in marketing are studies that focus on the marketing of
products, services, or programs specifically designed to enhance the QOL of consumers in
general or specific segments of consumers (e.g., elderly), families/households in general
or specific types of families/households (e.g., single-parent households), communities in
general or specific types of communities (e.g., rural communities), and wide geographic
regions/countries or specific types of regions/countries (e.g., developing countries).
The philosophical underpinning of
QOL studies in marketing involves the notion that the ultimate goal of marketing is the
enhancement of QOL of consumers of goods, services, and programs without adversely
affecting other organizational stakeholders such as employees, suppliers, distributors,
stockholders, bondholders, the local community, and the environment. It is a marketing
philosophy grounded in utilitarian ethics. From that vantage point, this section invites
papers dealing with topics such as:
developing QOL measures gauging
the impact of the marketing system at large;
developing QOL measures gauging
the impact of a specific marketing element (e.g., modern television advertising,
telemarketing, sales promotion, and electronic commerce);
developing measures of consumer
well-being at the societal level;
developing measures of consumer
well-being for a specific industry (e.g., tobacco, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications,
higher education);
developing measures of consumer
well-being for specific populations such as the elderly, children, teens, and shopoholics;
developing measures of consumer
well-being for households;
developing measures of
product-specific consumer well-being (e.g., the QOL impact of using a specific technology
such as wireless Internet access);
determinants of consumer
well-being at the societal level;
determinants of consumer
well-being in a specific industry (e.g., wireless Internet access);
determinants of consumer
well-being for specific populations, such as college students in their use of credit
cards;
determinants of product-specific
consumer well-being (e.g., factors determining the well-being of employees in their use of
ISDN technology);
how to develop marketing
strategies guided by the QOL concept;
how to plan and manage the product
mix guided by the QOL concept;
how to plan and manage the
distribution mix guided by the QOL concept;
how to plan and manage the
promotion mix guided by the QOL concept;
how to price goods, services, and
programs guided by the QOL concept;
how to allocate marketing
resources guided by the QOL concept;
conducting a QOL marketing audit;
rethinking marketing ethics guided
by the QOL concept;
how to market goods and services
internationally guided by the QOL concept;
developing measures tapping the
QOL orientation of international marketers;
differences between marketing
guided by the marketing concept, relationship marketing, and the QOL concept; and
marketing organizational
structures: traditional marketing versus QOL marketing.
QOL marketing is becoming
increasingly important because of the growing complexities and interdependencies of the
marketing institution with other societal institutions. Marketers can no longer conduct
their business with little regard to the negative impact of their decisions and programs
on consumers and other organizational stakeholders. With the increasing role of marketing
ethics on marketing thought and practice, marketers are likely to demand concepts, models,
and measures that would enable them to enhance the QOL of consumers with little or no
adverse effects to other organizational stakeholders. This is an important and awesome
challenge for marketing scholars. We need to accept this challenge by conducting studies
that address the many and complex issues facing contemporary marketing. I invite marketing
scholars to accept this challenge and submit work in QOL marketing for possible
publication in the QOL section in JMM.
The Reviews and Communications
section assumes that marketing academics are poorly educated and, in general, narrow in
focus. Unfortunately, the narrowness of marketing academics appears to increase with years
in the discipline. The Reviews and Communications section is an attempt to remedy some of
the above deficiencies. Almost any serious intellectual effort in a related discipline may
be worthwhile if reviewed by a marketing scholar, knowledgeable in the subject area of the
particular review and macromarketing. In addition, the Reviews and Communications section
attempts to span all serious works related to the designated sections of the journal.
Scholars are encouraged to submit
reviews of books that meet the above criteria. The reviewer should feel that the selected
book makes a contribution to the field of macromarketing.
This page last edited
March 19, 2008
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