Proceedings of the 48
th
Annual
Macromarketing Conference
With a Little Help from Our Friends:
The Value of Connection and Macromarketing Research in
Addressing Critical Global Issues
2
Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
June 19 – June 22, 2023
Conference Co-Chairs*
Claudia Dumitrescu, Central Washington University
Renée Shaw Hughner, Arizona State University
*Listed in alphabetical order; both co-chairs contributed equally to the conference organization
and success.
Copyright Statement
The Macromarketing Society Inc. does not take copyright for papers appearing in the proceedings. The
copyright of all papers or abstracts in the proceedings remains that of the authors’.
Published by the Macromarketing Society, Inc. in 2023
ISSN 2168 - 1481
3
Thank You!
The 2023 Macromarketing Conference Co-Chairs would like to thank the track chairs, authors,
panelists, moderators, reviewers, the support teams of the Macromarketing Society, Central
Washington University, and Arizona State University. Their hard work, contributions, and
professionalism were key to the creation and administration of the first in-person
Macromarketing Conference since 2019, when COVID-19 changed the world.
Track Chairs
Track Name
Chairs/Co-Chairs
Email Addresses
Cultural (Digital)
Phenomena, Markets and
Marketing Systems
Ingrid Becker
Michaela Haase
Ingrid.Becker@unisg.ch
Michaela.Haase@fu-berlin.de
Ethics, Equity, and Social
Justice
Ann-Marie Kennedy Cathy
McGouran
Nicky Santos
Ann-Marie.Kennedy@canterbury.ac.nz
C.Mcgouran@liverpool.ac.uk
NicholasSantos@creighton.edu
Externalities
Shoaib M. Farooq Padela
Shoaib.Sho[email protected].nz
Food Marketing
Claudia Dumitrescu
Renée Shaw Hughner
Claudia.Dumitrescu@cwu.edu
Renee.Hughn[email protected]
Globalisation,
(Neo)Colonialism, and
Marketing
Marcus Wilcox Hemais
Olga Kravets
Marcus.Hemais@iag.puc-rio.br
Olga.Kravets@rhul.ac.uk
Historical Research in
Marketing Track
Francisco Conejo
Jayne Krisjanous
Terrence H. Witkowski
Francisco.Conejo@incae.edu
Jayne.Krisjanous@vuw.ac.nz
Terrence.Witkowski@csulb.edu
Macromarketing
Measurements and Methods
Francisco Conejo
Anthony Samuel
Ben Wooliscroft
Francisco.Conejo@incae.edu
Samuela3@cardiff.ac.uk
Ben.Wooliscroft@aut.ac.nz
Macromarketing Pedagogy
Stanley J. Shapiro
Julie V. Stanton
Stanley_Shapiro@sfu.ca
JVS11@psu.edu
Quality of Life and
Wellbeing
Ahmet Ekici
Alexandra Ganglmair-
Wooliscroft
Ekici@bilkent.edu.tr
A.Ganglmair@massey.ac.nz
Revisiting Government’s
Role in Provisioning:
Observations through a
Macromarketing Lens
Stanley J. Shapiro
Julie V Stanton
Stanley_Shapiro@sfu.ca
JVS11@psu.edu
Social Conflicts and Market
Dynamics
Andrés Barrios
Cliff Shultz
Andr-Bar@uniandes.edu.co
CJS2@luc.edu
Social Marketing for Global
Change: Aligning Social
Marketing with the
UNSDGs
Christine Domegan
Ann-Marie Kennedy
Josephine Previte
Christine.Domegan@universityofgalway.ie
Ann-marie.Kennedy@canterbury.ac.nz
J.Previte@business.uq.edu.au
Sustainability and Climate
Change
Sabrina Helm
Joya Kemper
Victoria J. Little
Helm@arizona.edu
Joya.Kemper@canterbury.ac.nz
Vicki.Littl[email protected].vn
4
Reviewers
Andrés Barrios Fajardo
Sabrina Helm
Ronan Quintão
Denise Barros
Marcus Wilcox Hemais
Don Rahtz
Ingrid Becker
Sujit Raghunathrao Jagadale
Michelle Renton
Raymond Benton
Wodajo, Kebene Kejela
João Felipe Sauerbronn
Helene Cristini
Joya Kemper
Renée Shaw Hughner
Francisco Conejo
Ann-Marie Kennedy
Anthony Samuel
Nik Dholakia
Florian Krause
Marcos Santos
Christine Domegan
Olga Kravets
Nicky Santos
Claudia Dumitrescu
Jayne Krisjanous
Joao Felipe Sauerbronn
Ahmet Ekici
Vimala Kunchamboo
Stanley J. Shapiro
Karin Ekström
Vicki Little
Clifford J. Shultz
Zeynep Ertekin
Cathy McGouran
Julie V. Stanton
Hossein Eslami Dizeje
Dario Miocevic
Emma Surman
Shoaib M. Farooq Padela
Márcio Müller
Jeff Wang
Míriam Ferreira
Edna Ndichu
Janine Williams
Alexandra Ganglmair-Wooliscroft
Mark Peterson
Terrence H. Witkowski
Stephanie Geiger Oneto
Olavo Manuel Reis Santos Pinto
Ben Wooliscroft
Mario Giraldo
Pia Polsa
Cagri Yalkin
Michaela Haase
Josephine Previte
5
Table of Contents
CULTURAL (DIGITAL) PHENOMENA, MARKETS AND MARKETING SYSTEMS TRACK................. 10
INTRODUCING THE ALGORITHMIC INTERSECTIONAL FEMINIST ACTIVIST MOVEMENT: ................................ 11
MACROMARKETING DISCLOSURES OF THE HETEROGENEOUS INTERDEPENDENCE OF HIDDEN DATA LABOR 11
JONATHAN BOWMAN, UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ................................................ 11
ETHICS, EQUITY, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE TRACK .................................................................................... 18
NO PLACE TO HIDE: IN-SCHOOL MARKETING, THE COMMODIFICATION OF CHILDREN AND THE
COMMERCIALISATION OF EDUCATION ............................................................................................................ 19
ROBERT AITKEN, UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND ................................................................................. 19
LEAH WATKINS, UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND .................................................................................. 19
RYAN GAGE, UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO, WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND ................................................................. 19
LOUISE SIGNAL, UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO, WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND............................................................. 19
THE NATURE OF “LEGITIMATE PROFIT” FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING:
IMPLICATIONS FOR MACROMARKETING ......................................................................................................... 25
NICHOLAS J.C. SANTOS, CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ................................................ 25
SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE MARKETING AND ENGAGING IMPOVERISHED POPULATIONS TOWARDS A
SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: LESSONS FROM COVID-19 .......................................................................................... 30
NICHOLAS J.C. SANTOS, CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ................................................ 30
TINA M. FACCA-MIESS, JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ........................................... 30
MARY KATE NAATUS, SETON HALL UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ................................................. 30
KAEPERNICK, JAY-Z, AND DU BOIS: ............................................................................................................... 35
RACELIGHTING AS A WICKED PROBLEM AND VIOLATION OF HYPER NORMS OF GLOBAL CONDUCT ............. 35
JONATHAN BOWMAN, UNIV OF ARKANSAS, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA .......................................................... 35
EXTERNALITIES TRACK .............................................................................................................................. 54
EXPLORING CONTROVERSY AND EMBLEMATIC EXTERNALITIES THROUGH PSYCHEDELIC MARKETS: WHEN
RULES CHANGE, SO DOES MEANING ............................................................................................................... 55
KERRYN M. LYES, UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY, NEW ZEALAND ...................................................................... 55
C. MICHAEL HALL, UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY, NEW ZEALAND .................................................................... 55
ANN-MARIE KENNEDY, UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY, NEW ZEALAND .............................................................. 55
PAUL BALLANTINE, UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY, NEW ZEALAND .................................................................... 55
FOOD MARKETING TRACK.......................................................................................................................... 67
RETAIL SALES PROMOTIONS FOR SUBOPTIMAL FOOD – HOW TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE WITHOUT HARMING
CUSTOMERS’ LOYALTY? ................................................................................................................................. 68
LINDA ANGENENDT, UNIVERSITY OF PADERBORN, GERMANY ............................................................................ 68
EVA BÖHM, UNIVERSITY OF PADERBORN, GERMANY ......................................................................................... 68
INA GARNEFELD, UNIVERSITY OF WUPPERTAL, GERMANY ................................................................................. 68
RESEARCH DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS ................................................................................................................. 70
TRANSITIONING FROM HOME TO UNIVERSITY: NAVIGATING LIMINALITY THROUGH STUDENT FOOD
PRACTICES ...................................................................................................................................................... 74
SHEENA LEEK, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM ....................................................................... 74
EMMA SURMAN, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM .................................................................... 74
TOWARDS THE ACTORS CO-CREATION AND ORGANIC INTIMACY CONTROLLED BY A MARKET MEDIATOR IN A
NASCENT CATEGORY ...................................................................................................................................... 77
JUNG-YIM BAEK, UNIVERSITY OF MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION SCIENCES, JAPAN .......................................... 77
MARI NINOMIYA, OSAKA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY, JAPAN .......................................................................... 77
TSUKASA KATO, OSAKA UNIVERSITY OF COMMERCE, JAPAN ............................................................................. 77
MITSUHISA HAMA, NAGOYA GAKUIN UNIVERSITY, JAPAN ................................................................................. 77
GENERAL MACROMARKETING TRACK ................................................................................................... 80
6
DEATH AND DIOR: A TERROR MANAGEMENT THEORY PERSPECTIVE ON THE USAGE OF LUXURY GOODS TO
COPE WITH THREATS OF MORTALITY............................................................................................................. 81
STEPHANIE GEIGER-ONETO, UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ....................................... 81
OMAR SHEHRYAR, MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ............................................... 81
THE RESILIENCE OF STREET HAWKERS IN A CRISIS: A CAPABILITY-BASED CONCEPTUALIZATION ............... 89
TAMAL SAMANTA, INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, LUCKNOW .................................................................. 89
RAJESH K AITHAL, INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, LUCKNOW.................................................................. 89
CONSUMER WELLBEING: THE INDIRECT IMPACT OF PRIVATE LABEL BRANDS ON QUALITY OF LIFE ........... 91
PETER J. BOYLE, CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ........................................ 91
JUYOUNG KIM, SOGANG UNIVERSITY, SOUTH KOREA ........................................................................................ 91
PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERNS, CANNABIS POLICY, AND CONSUMER CANNABIS BEHAVIOR (RE) SHAPING
CANNABIS MARKETING SYSTEMS.................................................................................................................... 94
CLAUDIA DUMITRESCU, CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.............................. 94
KATHRYN MARTELL, CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA .................................. 94
ENTREPRENEURSHIP ORIENTATION AND FIRM PERFORMANCE: THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF DYNAMIC
CAPABILITY AND GOVERNMENT SUPPORT TO SME BUSINESSES IN GHANA ................................................. 101
SADICK ALHAJI HUSSEINI, CORVINUS UNIVERSITY OF BUDAPEST, HUNGARY ................................................... 101
FROM STONES TO ELECTRONS: THE EVOLUTION OF HOMO SAPIENS ........................................................... 105
CHARLES INGENE, UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA .................................................. 105
JIE FOWLER, VALDOSTA STATE UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ...................................................... 105
POLITICAL MACROMARKETING PERSPECTIVE IN THE CASE OF BRAZIL’S LACK OF DEVELOPMENT GROWTH
...................................................................................................................................................................... 109
MONIQUE MATSUDA DOS SANTOS, UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ........................... 109
MARK PETERSON, UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA .................................................... 109
GLOBALISATION, (NEO)COLONIALISM, AND MARKETING TRACK ................................................ 115
EXPLORING A DEMOCRATIZED STAKEHOLDER ETHNOCRATIC FRAMEWORK: DU BOIS ON SYSTEMIC RACISM
IN A HISTORY OF NFL SCANSIS PHENOMENA ................................................................................................ 116
JONATHAN BOWMAN, UNIV OF ARKANSAS, LITTLE ROCK, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA .................................. 116
FRANK BRAUN, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, OSHKOSH, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ...................................... 116
LEARNING TO TARRY IN DECOLONISING MARKETING EDUCATION .............................................................. 138
CAROLINE CHAPAIN, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM............................................................ 138
EMMA SURMAN, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM .................................................................. 138
A TRANSMODERN PERSPECTIVE OF BRAZILIAN CONSUMERISM: THE CASE OF WOMEN FROM SALGUEIRO 140
MÍRIAM DE SOUZA FERREIRA, PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL ................... 140
MARCUS WILCOX HEMAIS, PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL........................ 140
IN FAVOR OF A TRANSMODERNIST CONSUMERIST EDUCATION: THE ESCOLA NACIONAL FLORESTAN
FERNANDES ................................................................................................................................................... 143
MARCUS WILCOX HEMAIS, PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL........................ 143
RONAN TORRES QUINTÃO, INSTITUTO FEDERAL DE EDUCAÇÃO, CIÊNCIA E TECNOLOGIA DE SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL
...................................................................................................................................................................... 143
DENISE FRANCA BARROS, UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL FLUMINENSE, BRAZIL ....................................................... 143
BEYOND THE BORDERS OF MARKETING SYSTEMS: THE ROLE OF CATALYTIC INSTITUTIONS IN THE
INCLUSION OR EXCLUSION OF PEOPLE IN THE MARKET ............................................................................... 147
MARCIO LEANDRO MÜLLER, UNIVERSIDADE DO GRANDE RIO - UNIGRANRIO - DUQUE DE CAXIAS, BRAZIL .. 147
JOÃO FELIPE R. SAUERBRONN, SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION, MEDIA, AND INFORMATION AT FGV - RIO DE
JANEIRO, BRAZIL ............................................................................................................................................ 147
POWER RELATIONS IN MARKETING SYSTEMS ............................................................................................... 149
MARCIO LEANDRO MÜLLER, UNIVERSIDADE DO GRANDE RIO - UNIGRANRIO - DUQUE DE CAXIAS, BRAZIL .. 149
ELAINE DE SOUZA SILVA, UNIVERSIDADE DO GRANDE RIO - UNIGRANRIO - DUQUE DE CAXIAS, BRAZIL ....... 149
JOÃO FELIPE R. SAUERBRONN, SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION, MEDIA, AND INFORMATION AT FGV - RIO DE
JANEIRO, BRAZIL ............................................................................................................................................ 149
7
AMBIVALENCE AND RESISTANCE TOWARD GLOBAL BRANDS’ PRACTICES: DIGITAL CONSUMER ACTIVISM IN A
DEVELOPING MARKET CONTEXT .................................................................................................................. 154
EDNA G. NDICHU, WHITWORTH UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ..................................................... 154
SHIKHA UPADHYAYA, CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ..................................... 154
HISTORICAL RESEARCH IN MARKETING TRACK ............................................................................... 160
NATIVE AMERICANS IN FIREARMS ADVERTISING: HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND REPRESENTATIONAL ETHICS
...................................................................................................................................................................... 161
TERRENCE H. WITKOWSKI, CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA .............................. 161
MACROMARKETING MEASUREMENTS AND METHODS TRACK ...................................................... 171
DETECTING VALUE LOSS, POWER ASYMMETRY AND UNDERPERFORMING PROVISIONING SYSTEMS:
EXTENDING ALDERSON’S TRANSVECTION ANALYSIS TO INCREASE SUSTAINABILITY ................................... 172
BEN WOOLISCROFT, AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, NEW ZEALAND, JAMES WILKES, TROIKA ...... 172
SUPEREROGATION THEORY: TOWARDS A MACROMARKETING UNDERSTANDING ........................................ 173
ANTHONY SAMUEL, CARDIFF UNIVERSITY, UNITED KINGDOM ......................................................................... 173
GARETH WHITE, CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY, UNITED KINGDOM .......................................................................... 173
DISCOVERING MACROMARKETING NETWORKS IN ACADEMIA AND TWITTER............................................... 177
PETTERI REPO - CENTRE FOR CONSUMER SOCIETY RESEARCH, UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI, HELSINKI INSTITUTE OF
SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE, HELSINKI INSTITUTE OF URBAN AND REGIONAL STUDIES, FINLAND......................... 177
OBSERVATIONS ON THE FIRST TWENTY YEARS OF THE MACROMARKETING SEMINAR PROCEEDINGS ......... 187
BEN WOOLISCROFT, AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, NEW ZEALAND ............................................... 187
MACROMARKETING PEDAGOGY TRACK .............................................................................................. 188
DEBATE, DISCUSSION, OR DIALOGUE: WHAT'S THE IDEAL FORMAT FOR MACROMARKETING LEARNING? . 189
FORREST WATSON, DICKINSON COLLEGE, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA .......................................................... 189
STEFANIE BENINGER, NYENRODE BUSINESS UNIVERSITY, THE NETHERLANDS ................................................. 189
JULIE STANTON, THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA .................................. 189
A NEW APPROACH TO “BOOK LEARNING”?.................................................................................................. 196
STANLEY J. SHAPIRO, SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY, CANADA ........................................................................... 196
JULIE V. STANTON, THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.............................. 196
AUTOETHNOGRAPHY AS PEDAGOGY TO UNDERSTAND MARGINALIZED PROSUMERS .................................... 204
SUJIT RAGHUNATHRAO JAGADALE, INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AMRITSAR, INDIA ............................. 204
CHATGPT IN THE MARKETING CLASSROOM: FRIEND OR FOE? ................................................................... 209
ALEX REPPEL, ROYAL HOLLOWAY, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM ............................................. 209
STEFANIE BENINGER, NYENRODE BUSINESS UNIVERSITY, NETHERLANDS......................................................... 209
CHRISTINE DOMEGAN, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, IRELAND ............................................................. 209
AUTOMATING THE PRODUCTION OF SLIDES, SHORT-FORM VIDEOS, AND OTHER COURSE MATERIALS: ..... 217
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIEND, GPT-3 ......................................................................................... 217
ALEX REPPEL, ROYAL HOLLOWAY, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM ............................................. 217
DARRYN MITUSSIS, QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM ............................................... 217
ARCGIS STORYMAPS: AN IDEAL CONNECTION TOOL FOR MACROMARKETER EDUCATORS ....................... 219
FORREST WATSON, DICKINSON COLLEGE, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA .......................................................... 219
QUALITY OF LIFE AND WELLBEING TRACK ........................................................................................ 222
EXAMINING THE DIMENSIONS AND MODERATORS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY
AND WELLBEING ........................................................................................................................................... 223
LEAH WATKINS, UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND ................................................................................ 223
ROB AITKEN, UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND ..................................................................................... 223
LOIC LI, LA TROBE UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA .................................................................................................. 223
CONSUMPTION AND HEDONIC WELLBEING: A TOP-OF-MIND EXPLORATION .............................................. 229
ALEXANDRA GANGLMAIR-WOOLISCROFT, MASSEY UNIVERSITY AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND .......................... 229
8
REVISITING GOVERNMENT’S ROLE IN PROVISIONING: OBSERVATIONS THROUGH A
MACROMARKETING LENS TRACK .......................................................................................................... 237
THE INADEQUACIES OF SOLELY USING A MACROMARKETING LENS – INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL
SESSION ......................................................................................................................................................... 238
A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF MARKETING IN THE ECONOMY AND SOCIETY ............ 240
RAYMOND BENTON, JR., LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ................................... 240
CRITICAL MACROMARKETING AND THE BETTER POST-PANDEMIC WORLD ................................................. 270
A. FUAT FIRAT, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS – RIO GRANDE VALLEY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ......................... 270
EMRE ULUSOY, PACIFIC LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ............................................... 270
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT’S PROGRAM OF WELFARE FOR THE WEALTHY ...................................................... 277
STANLEY F. STASCH, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ........................................ 277
RAYMOND BENTON, JR., LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ................................... 277
SOCIAL CONFLICTS AND MARKET DYNAMICS .................................................................................... 300
SOCIAL CONFLICTS AND MARKET DYNAMICS: AN OVERVIEW ..................................................................... 301
ANDRÉS FAJARDO BARRIOS, UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES, COLOMBIA ............................................................ 301
CLIFFORD J. SHULTZ, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ........................................ 301
WAR ON UKRAINE AND THE DELIBERATE DESTRUCTION OF A FLOURISHING MARKETING SYSTEM – A VIEW
FROM THE INSIDE .......................................................................................................................................... 303
SOPHIA OPATSKA, UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY, UKRAINE .................................................................... 303
CLIFFORD J. SHULTZ, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ........................................ 303
THE REBIRTH AND EVOLUTION OF A MARKETING SYSTEM: UPDATES FROM A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF
CAMBODIA’S RECOVERY FROM GENOCIDE ................................................................................................... 304
CLIFFORD J. SHULTZ, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ........................................ 304
DON R. RAHTZ, WILLIAM & MARY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.................................................................... 304
THE ETHICAL DIMENSIONS OF “JUST WAR” ................................................................................................. 305
GENE LACZNIAK, MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ...................................................... 305
THE TRANSFORMATIVE ROLE OF LITERACY IN ADDRESSING MARKETPLACE TENSIONS BETWEEN REFUGEES
AND THEIR LOCAL HOSTS ............................................................................................................................. 306
TUGBA OZBEK, YILDIZ TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, TURKEY ............................................................................... 306
EBRU ENGINKAYA ERKENT, YILDIZ TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, TURKEY ............................................................ 306
IBRAHIM KIRCOVA, YILDIZ TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, TURKEY ......................................................................... 306
STRENGTHENING MARKETING SYSTEMS AND MACRO POLICIES TO ADDRESS SOCIAL CONFLICT AND WELL-
BEING AMONG INDIGENOUS AND PEASANT WOMEN IN PERU ........................................................................ 313
JUNE N. P. FRANCIS, SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY, CANADA ............................................................................. 313
KRISTINA HENRIKSSON, SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY, CANADA ........................................................................ 313
THE MARKETPLACE AS INTERCULTURAL DREAMING AND COLLECTIVE DESIRE .......................................... 316
PEKKA SAARIKORPI, HANKEN SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS, FINLAND ..................................................................... 316
MARIA HOKKINEN, ÅBO AKADEMI UNIVERSITY, FINLAND ............................................................................... 316
PIA POLSA, HANKEN SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS, FINLAND................................................................................... 316
SYSTEMIC INTEGRATION OF THE SACRED AND THE SECULAR: TEMPLATE FOR SUSTAINABLE PEACE,
PROSPERITY, HUMANITY AND WELL-BEING ................................................................................................. 322
CLIFFORD J. SHULTZ, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ........................................ 322
NICHOLAS SANTOS, SJ, CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ............................................... 322
DOMINIC CHAI, SJ, BOSTON COLLEGE, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ............................................................... 322
SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE TRACK ............................................................................. 324
PACKAGING SYSTEM TRANSFORMATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: A MACROMARKETING AGENDA? .. 325
JOYA KEMPER, UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY, NEW ZEALAND ......................................................................... 325
VICKI JANINE LITTLE, RMIT UNIVERSITY VIETNAM, VIETNAM ........................................................................ 325
SABRINA HELM, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ......................................................... 325
9
THE FOREST AND ITS ROLE IN THE MOVE TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY: SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I
GO? ............................................................................................................................................................... 330
KARIN M. EKSTRÖM, UNIVERSITY OF BORÅS, SWEDEN .................................................................................... 330
CONSUMER PREFERENCES AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY: THE CASE OF REUSABLE PACKAGES ....................... 337
HOSSEIN ESLAMI DIZEJE, LEBANESE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY, LEBANON .......................................................... 337
DIA BANDALY, LEBANESE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY, LEBANON ......................................................................... 337
NEO-LIBERAL GOVERNMENTALITY AS MARKETING SYSTEM FAILURE: CASE OF STUBBLE BURNING IN INDIA
...................................................................................................................................................................... 344
SUJIT RAGHUNATHRAO JAGADALE, INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AMRITSAR, INDIA ............................. 344
JAVED M. SHAIKH, INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AMRITSAR, INDIA ...................................................... 344
BUYING UTOPIA: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF SUSTAINABLE FASHION....................................................... 347
XUBEI JIN, DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING, MONASH UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA .................................................. 347
JEFF WANG, DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING, MONASH UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA ............................................... 347
CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE CLASSROOM: WE’LL GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS ......... 353
VICKI JANINE LITTLE, RMIT UNIVERSITY VIETNAM, VIETNAM ........................................................................ 353
SABRINA HELM, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ......................................................... 353
CATHERINE FRETHEY-BENTHAM, UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND ................................................. 353
INFORMATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTIONS AND WASTE SORTING: INSTITUTIONAL RIGIDITY
PERSPECTIVE ................................................................................................................................................ 363
DARIO MIOCEVIC, UNIVERSITY OF SPLIT, REPUBLIC OF CROATIA ..................................................................... 363
SUSTAINABLE MARKETING OF METALS: A CASE STUDY OF STEEL ............................................................... 387
VENKATAPPARAO MUMMALANENI, VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ...................... 387
OLAVO PINTO, UNIVERSITY OF MINHO, PORTUGAL .......................................................................................... 392
BEATRIZ CASAIS, UNIVERSITY OF MINHO, PORTUGAL ...................................................................................... 392
FIFA’S GREENEST FOOTBALL CLUB: DELIVERING AND DISSEMINATING SOCIAL INNOVATIONS AT FOREST
GREEN ROVERS ............................................................................................................................................. 404
DR ANTHONY SAMUEL, CARDIFF UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL, UNITED KINGDOM....................................... 404
CATHY MCGOURAN, UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL MANAGEMENT SCHOOL, UNITED KINGDOM .......................... 404
ROBERT THOMAS, CARDIFF UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL, UNITED KINGDOM ............................................... 404
GARETH R.T. WHITE, CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT, UNITED KINGDOM ......................... 404
HOW PROVISIONING SYSTEMS ANALYSIS ADDS TO MARKETING SYSTEMS UNDERSTANDING: EXPLORING THE
CONNECTIONS BETWEEN MACROMARKETING AND PROVISIONING SYSTEMS THINKING .............................. 425
MICHELLE RENTON, TE HERENGA WAKA VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND .................. 425
SOCIAL MARKETING FOR GLOBAL CHANGE: ALIGNING SOCIAL MARKETING WITH THE
UNSDGS TRACK ............................................................................................................................................ 430
DRIVING DELEGITIMATION IN THE MARKETING SYSTEM ............................................................................. 431
ANN-MARIE KENNEDY, UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY, NEW ZEALAND ANNA EARL, UNIVERSITY OF
CANTERBURY, NEW ZEALAND IRINA BALOG, GOTHENBURG UNIVERSITY, SWEDEN .......................................... 431
10
Cultural (Digital) Phenomena, Markets and Marketing
Systems Track
Co-Chairs:
Ingrid Becker
University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
Michaela Haase
Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
11
Introducing the Algorithmic Intersectional Feminist Activist Movement:
Macromarketing Disclosures of the Heterogeneous Interdependence of Hidden Data Labor
Jonathan Bowman, University of Arkansas, United States of America
Disclosing the full extent of otherwise hidden artificial intelligence (AI) labor yields a hyper-
complex pattern of willful exploit upon a culturally heterogeneous workforce facing overlapping
power imbalances (Steinfield and Holt 2020). In tracking how a consumer resistance movement
could even exert counter-pressures upon structural domination, we follow (Valor, Diaz, and
Merino 2017) in conceding there are macroprocesses at work that make resistance hard to assign
against any single target oppressor. However, in contrast to their appeal to the works of Foucault
and Arendt, intersectional social justice theory holds that women of color from the developing
world have been both intentionally and unintentionally subjected to unjust domination through
systemic racism not attributable to the conscious will of a single moral agent (Burrell and
Fourcade 2021). As a guiding premise to complement the primacy of race, gender, and class as
strong demographic determinants for participation in hidden data labor, one abiding constant to
disclosing its practice is unveiling the ways in which intersectional tenets can be applied to
marginalized stakeholders that may bring competing voices, collective memories, gendered
experiences, and racial testimonies to the same material experiences (Davis 2007; Saatcioglu and
Corus 2014; Steinfield and Holt 2020).
One macromarketing contribution would be to propose actionable improvements in quality of
life through recognition of laborers that serve as necessary conditions for the possibility of
globalized AI applications. Once the true social, moral, and monetary value of their contributions
is brought to light, intersectional activist networks document and publish warranted distributive
justice aims. These include but are not limited to eliminating unpaid labor, providing more stable
work conditions, and offering access to full time benefits like a salary, healthcare, retirement
savings, and paid leave. Data labor intersectional solidarity emerges through the shared
disclosure of common negative experiences among hidden digital laborers in domains as diverse
as search, facial recognition, audio transcription, image labeling, and geo-mapping. As a
macromarketing objective of this research, we seek to pair up this hidden labor force with a
growing body of consumer market activists concerned with their own moral culpability.
In terms of methodological commitments, we agree with Helma Lutz in positing
“Intersectionality as Method” (2015) when construing intersectionality as ‘a heuristic device or
method that is particularly helpful in detecting the overlapping and co-construction of visible
and, at first sight, invisible strands of inequality’ (39). When wedding intersectional
methodologies to macromarketing aims, we can make ‘meso’ societal connections between
individual acts of micro-consumption and macro systemic institutions. Platform-mediated
marketplaces demonstrate macromarketing institutional traits of high complexity, system
heterogeneity, and species interdependence (Mittelstaedt, Kilbourne, and Mittelstaedt 2006).
Once macromarketing aids intersectional scholars in demystifying the ‘magic of AI’ (Elish and
Boyd 2018), their shared aim to disclose the intersections of race, gender, and class as crucial
demographic indicators for detecting the presence of ‘ghost work’ (Gray and Suri 2019), ‘data
janitors’ (Irani 2015), and ‘fauxtomation’ (Taylor 2018) exposes the dark side of data
12
automation. This is as an actionable first step toward mitigating the unwarranted moral harm of
systemic racism. Teasing out the adverse impacts that tech entrepreneurs otherwise attribute to
workers in a better place, their quality of life is too often cast through neoliberal images of
happy, non-white, female, and global South workers to veil the systematic labor displacement we
are all increasingly complicit in willing through everyday platform-mediated acts (Irani 2015).
In what we will term intersectional 'algoactivism,' figures like Noble, Buolamwini, Payton,
Benjamin, and Burrell not only leverage their status as elite female scholars of color and
privilege disseminating their work in the top journals of their respective disciplines, but they also
wed their scholarly efforts to social activism (see Tables 1 and 2 below for more detail). For
Noble, she began this path toward algoactivism through a testimonial experience of how teenage
female family members of color ran queries on Google (Noble 2018). She observed that even in
circumstances of private information searches concerning intersecting gender and racial
identities, media of algorithmic socialization reflected the virtual public sphere of tying the
search of 'black girls' immediately to pornographic sites as among the top 100 searches when
searches for white girls showed no similar pattern (Noble 2018). Similarly, for Buolamwini (Joy
2018), the activity of a public researcher of emergent technologies that dealt with facial
recognition could not be separated from her testimonial experience that had fueled her algo-
activism into what she has termed the ‘coded bias.’ In her early doctoral studies, she found that
she, as a woman of color, could not be algorithmically identified as the private subject she claims
by name. Through the performative act of critical research on facial recognition, she discovered
that she must wear a white mask for the technology to register her face as human. Shifting
intersectionality to the domain of public health, Professor Payton’s participatory approach to
disclosing the ways in which medical data infrastructures often marginalize the women of color
they are funded to serve (2014), has carried her to leadership prominence with the NSF. Payton
gives community-based participatory models an intersectional spin in calling public health
messaging to run through processes of co-creation among digital designers and those marginal
groups most immediately affected as program co-curators worthy of recognitional input (Kvasny
and Payton 2018).
16
Professor Benjamin’s (Ruha 2019) approach takes the macro-societal dynamic to yet another
classification of vulnerable consumers as denizens of virtual spaces algo-governed by what she
terms ‘the new Jim Code.’ Benjamin has made a career of activism in researching the training
data and biases that go into new technologies increasingly utilized by the carceral state in the
form of recidivist (likelihood of repeat criminal offense) algorithms to determine lengths of
incarceration. As an explicit critique of the limited powers of even the most technically astute
data curation, datasets cannot be parsed apart from the structural inequalities that comprise the
society from which the data curation is drawn. Lastly, for Professor Burrell, as the current
research director of Data and Society, she pairs her unique command of AI in tandem with her
encyclopedic command of the history of sociological theory to question whether the
democratizing promise of the information revolution has brought about new forms of digitalized
colonization (Burrell and Fourcade 2021). Burrell adds new meta-categories to our intersectional
framing with three distinct typologies to the opacity that helps keep data curation labor hidden
from public censure (Burrell 2016). First, proprietary opacity protects algorithms under the guise
of state-sanctioned private property protections that ensure for-profit personalization indices
cannot be gamed (or recalibrated or critically assessed) by relevant stakeholders as diverse as
advertisers, influencers, competitors, or even state actors. Second, literacy-based opacity deals
more with the interpretive framing of algorithmic personalization whereby data curation factories
are recast as technological centers to mask modes of crowdsourced divisions of labor as micro-
tasked informational gatekeeping. Thirdly, opacity due to complexity of application scale begins
to parse out the manners in which rule-based algorithmic learning (such as recognizing numbers,
faces, or handwriting) sharply differs from human learning in manners whereby we are often left
with ‘known unknowns’ that emerge through otherwise seemingly spurious correlations that
have yet to find equivalences in human information processing and learning. For Burrell, while
each level of opacity merits its separate conceptual classification, she also warns that the
intersections of proprietary, literacy, and complex application scale opacities, when embedded
within systems of maximizing market performance at the cost of those most vulnerable, show a
decided tendency to accelerate epistemic and material disparities in reinforcing systemic patterns
of racism. Insofar as the most advanced algorithmic models are under the proprietary domain of
GAFAM (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft), for better or worse, one
contribution of our research is to show that macromarketing takes on arguably the heaviest onus
of responsibility for intersectional systemic injustices since once constant to GAFAM is the
unrivaled sophistication of their personalized algorithms for strategic purposes of targeted
marketing (Gray and Suri 2019).
References
Benjamin, R. (2019). Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code.
Cambridge: Polity Press.
Buolamwini, J. (2018). ‘Gender Shades: Intersectional Accuracy Disparities in Commercial
Gender Classification.’ Proceedings of Machine Learning Research 81: 1-15.
Burrell, J. (2016). How the machine ‘thinks’: Understanding opacity in machine learning
algorithms. Big data & society, 3(1), 1-12.
Burrell, J. and Fourcade, M. (2021). The Society of Algorithms. Annual Review of Sociology
47(1): 213-237.
Davis, J.F. (2007). ‘”Aunt Jemima is Alive and Cookin’?”: An Advertiser’s Dilemma of
17
Competing Collective Memories.” Journal of Macromarketing 27(1): 25-37.
Elish, M.C. and D. Boyd. (2018). “Situating Methods in the Magic of Big Data and Artificial
Intelligence.” Communications Monographs 85(1): 57-80.
Gray, M.L. and S. Suri. (2019). Ghost Work: How to Stop Silicon Valley from Building a New
Global Underclass. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Irani, L. 2015. “The Cultural Work of Microwork.” New Media and Society 17(5): 720-739.
Kvasny, L., & Payton, F. C. (2018). Managing Hypervisibility in the HIV Prevention
Information‐Seeking Practices of Black Female College Students. Journal of the
Association for Information Science and Technology, 69(6), 798-806.
Lutz, H. (2015). “Intersectionality as Method.” Journal of Diversity and Gender Studies 2(1-2):
39-44.
Middelstaedt, J.D., W.E. Kilbourne, and R.A. Mittelstaedt. (2006). “Macromarketing as
Agorology: Macromarketing Theory and the Study of the Agora.” Journal of
Macromarketing 26(2): 131-142.
Noble, S. (2018). Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. New York:
NYU Press.
Payton, F.C. (2014). Leveraging Intersectionality: Seeing and Not Seeing. Richer Press: New
York.
Saatcioglu, B. and C. Corus. (2014). “Poverty and Intersectionality: A Multidimensional Look
into the Lives of the Impoverished.” Journal of Macromarketing 34(2): 122-132.
Steinfield, L. and D. Holt. (2020). “Structures, Systems, and Differences that Matter: Casting an
Ecological-Intersectionality Perspective on Female Subsistence Farmers’ Experience of
the Climate Crisis.” Journal of Macromarketing 40(4): 563-582.
Taylor. A. (2018). “The Automation Charade.” Logic Magazine (5) Special Issue—Failure.
Valor, C., E.M. Diaz, and A. Merino. (2017). “The Discourse of the Consumer Resistance
Movement: Adversarial Framings through the Lens of Power.” Journal of
Macromarketing 37(1): 72-84.
18
Ethics, Equity, and Social Justice Track
Co-Chairs:
Ann-Marie Kennedy
University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Cathy McGouran
University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
Nicky Santos
Creighton University, United States of America
19
No Place to Hide: In-School Marketing, the Commodification of Children and the
Commercialisation of Education
Robert Aitken, University of Otago, New Zealand
Leah Watkins, University of Otago, New Zealand
Ryan Gage, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand
Louise Signal, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand
In-school marketing (ISM) is a widespread global practice that is the focus of much debate and
increasing concern. The tension between commercial imperatives and educational priorities has
been recognised by the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur for Children who has called for
centrally mandated regulation of ISM. In response, a variety of policies have been developed in
different countries to regulate the practice. However, understanding the nature and extent of
commercial activities in schools is difficult and a growing number of academics have called for
more research in this area. Accordingly, this paper explores the nature and extent of ISM in NZ
primary and intermediate schools. Results suggest extensive incidence of ISM in a variety of
forms including product branding, corporate merchandise, sponsorship and curriculum materials.
Introduction
ISM is widespread across all levels of education and is increasingly normalised as new
marketing opportunities arise within and around schools, blurring the boundaries between private
and public, profit and philanthropy (Enright and Macdonald 2020; Marsh 2017). Schools,
struggling with inadequate public funding, are welcoming the perceived benefits of ISM without
necessarily recognising the threats that increased exposure to marketing can bring to children’s
wellbeing or to the integrity of the education they receive (Molnar et al. 2015; Thrupp et al.
2020). Balancing the need to provide the resources necessary for an effective education with the
consequences of reduced budgets, ISM seems to provide a mutually beneficial solution to the
problem. However, there is growing concern with the potentially negative effects on children of
increased exposure to marketing (Opree 2014), and the consequences of increased commercial
influence on educational imperatives (Marsh 2017; Molnar et al. 2010). ISM is also cause for
concern given the susceptibility of children to commercial messages (Oates et al. 2002) and that
they are a captive and credulous audience in an educational environment where marketing
messages are legitimised by their on-going presence in and around the school (De Lulio 2019;
Molnar et al. 2011).
The increasing incidence of ISM and research on the negative impacts of marketing on children’s
social and psychological well-being has resulted in increasing ethical concerns with its
appropriateness and a recent UK report states that “commercialising programmes in schools
bring with them serious threats to children’s education and to their psychological and physical
well-being” (Molnar et al. 2013). One key concern is that ISM contributes unnecessarily to the
already marketing saturated world of children who are vulnerable to its affects (Brent and
Lunden 2009). Concerns about children’s vulnerability to the effects of exposure to marketing
are based on their limited ability to understand its motivations and their susceptibility to
persuasive advertising (Calvert, 2008; Oates et al. 2002).
20
Specifically, literature raises concerns that commercial partnerships can harm children
educationally by displacing other educational activities and messages (Robinson et al. 2016), for
example through the presence of soft drinks and unhealthy foods which contradict nutrition
education. Another important harm is the threat that it poses to critical thinking given the implicit
endorsement of particular brands and products (Farinha 2015). (Molnar et al. 2011) suggest that
the values and goals of education are incompatible with the imperatives of business and that the
need to foster critical thinking, independent (and freedom of) choice and self-determination do
not sit easily with the preferential promotion and endorsement of particular brands and products.
As (Robinson et al. 2016) caution, ISM resources are shaped by corporations’ biased, value-
laden, and ideological views, and ‘the desired knowledge(s) of corporations are necessarily
present, if not influential or foundational, when such resources are conceived, produced, and
distributed.’ (p1). A final concern is the extent to which ISM normalises the relationship between
consumption and education. As complementary sites for the inculcation of social values, schools
have a responsibility to socialise children as citizens rather than consumers.
Summary
Children are exposed to an increasingly wide range of ISM that marketing research and educational
policy have not kept up with. Research is required, therefore, to understand the nature and
incidence of ISM to inform policy development and make recommendations for its management.
Research Question
What is the nature and extent of ISM in NZ schools?
Study 1 provides an objective analysis of children’s total in-school exposure to marketing through
an ancillary study of the NZ Kids’Cam data.
Study 2 offers a qualitative analysis of the nature and types of ISM found in schools.
Study 1 – Kids’Cam Data analysis
Methodology
Kids’Cam was a cross-sectional, observational study that used automated wearable camera
devices to capture the everyday experiences of children in NZ (Signal et al. 2017a). The cameras
captured a 136 degrees image ahead of the wearer every seven seconds (see ISM image
examples in Figure 1 below). Full details of the Kids’Cam methods, sampling and coding are
published elsewhere (Signal et al. 2017a, 2017b). The data used for the Kids’Cam branding
study (Watkins et al. 2019; Watkins et al. 2022) on which this ancillary study is based, analysed
the images of a random sample of 87 participants stratified by sex, ethnicity and deprivation
which were coded for all marketing exposures for two full days. Coding was based on a four-tier
framework, including the marketing brand name, setting, marketing medium and product
category (Watkins et al. 2022).
Analysis
For the present study we analysed the in-school exposure to determine the nature of advertising
children were seeing in this setting. Mean daily exposure rates to commercial marketing were
estimated using negative binomial regression models, represented by the count of individual
exposures divided by the exposure duration.
21
Results
In the school setting children encountered 53.9 messages per day. Significant differences in
product category exposures by demographics were also examined. While few significant
differences were found, Māori children see more brands in total, and more ‘Other’ brands than
NZ European children.
Study 2 – School Audit
To provide a fuller picture of the context within which children were exposed to marketing, we
conducted an observational analysis of ISM in 20 NZ primary schools.
Methodology
Using the Ministry of Education school directory, principals were contacted in three major NZ
cities to provide a range of population sizes and decile ratings. Direct observation was
considered to be the most appropriate method for this study given that it could be undertaken by
the research team and not require additional time from school staff (Velazquez et al. 2017).
Examples of ISM were identified visually and recorded manually on separate spreadsheets in
columns labelled Location, Brand, Medium and Frequency. A column for General comments
was also included.
Results
Initial coding revealed the main marketing mediums to be brand labels, print media (especially
posters), and promotional/merchandising. The majority of exposure was to brand labels for
‘expected brands’ e.g. Office Max, stationary; Nike, sports equipment; Apple, electronics and
Panasonic hardware. Print media in the form of posters and flyers, mostly located in classrooms,
common areas and gymnasiums, were the most prevalent. Specific examples of Brands noted for
their frequent presence in multiple schools were Scholastic Book Clubs and Fonterra.
Discussion
Results from both studies show that children are exposed to a significantly high, and increasingly
varied, amount of marketing in school. Indeed, children’s exposure to marketing in schools is
higher than it is in other settings such as at home and in the community. Some examples of ISM
include social marketing messages that discourage smoking, encourage sunsmart behaviour and
promote the importance of mental wellbeing. Clearly, these examples of socially acceptable
marketing are to be encouraged in an environment where the provision of reliable information,
advice and support are to be expected. Of concern, however, is the level of marketing saturation
within which they compete for attention. One of the most common forms of ISM observed was
sports sponsorship and merchandising. In relation to leading sports teams and competitions, the
names of the major sponsors were prominent on posters, flyers, wallcharts and calendars
advertising their relationship. Apart from leading sports brands, such as Nike, Adidas and
Reebok, none of the other major sponsors had a direct or obvious association with sport, for
example large banks (ANZ, Westpac and ASB). In relation to physical equipment, the same
pattern of associations was evident. Westpac bank, for example, provided sports bags, and Lotto,
NZ’s national gambling organisation, provided cones and Frisbees. Perhaps the most common,
and certainly the most widespread, example of ISM is represented by Scholastic Book Club. In
addition to books and reading materials, Scholastic also offers a wide range of activity products
22
such as puzzles, colouring sets, jewellery, toys, and branded merchandising products such as
Roblox, Minecraft and Pokemon. This integration of educational and non-educational products
in a non-retail setting, positions children as customers and blurs the line between commercial
interests and educational values.
In relation to health and food, the most conspicuous example of ISM was the presence of two of
NZ’s leading food producers, Fonterra and Sanitarium. Following a nationwide initiative to
provide free milk in schools, Fonterra aligned with Sanitarium, a leading producer of breakfast
cereals, to make free breakfasts available to schoolchildren throughout NZ. The merits of such
schemes have been discussed in a number of academic studies and while there is agreement on
the need for a healthy start to the school day, there is concern with the branded nature of the
products being provided. For a captive and impressionable audience, for whom early brand
experiences lead to later brand preferences (Connell et al. 2014; Nairn and Ormrod 2005), the
benefits of a branded breakfast need to be understood in relation to the strategic benefits it brings
to its sponsors (Aitken and Watkins 2017).
Increasingly, concerns with ISM are also focussing on schools’ reliance on privately produced
commercial resources to supplement their work in response to changing curriculum priorities and
reductions in central funding. The increasing availability of commercially produced educational
programmes is part of a global education industry which is redefining how education is
marketised, privatised and commercialised (Enright et al. 2020). In addition to concerns with the
propriety of industry partners and the ideological imperatives of commercially produced
educational materials, are those concerned with equity. In short, the implications of schools’
increasing reliance on commercial sources of funding, is the extent to which inequalities arise as
schools in poorer areas become disproportionately dependent on alternative sources of income
(Valequez et al. 2017; Brent et al. 2009).
Conclusion
Results from the present research show that ISM is a common feature of the school environment
and a normal part of children’s educational experience. It features explicitly in the form of
sponsored programmes and products and implicitly in the provision of equipment and teaching
resources. Increasingly, curriculum needs are being met by commercial contributions as schools
work to balance reduced budgets and increased demands. Uncritically, the relationships between
commercial interests and educational imperatives could be seen as mutually beneficial. Schools
need the resources to achieve their aims and businesses have the resources to enable them. A
more critical analysis, however, would suggest that the implications of this relationship are not
fully understood or adequately addressed. Concerns have been raised about children’s exposure
to ISM and the increasingly branded nature of their educational experience. A key concern is that
ISM contributes unnecessarily to the already marketing saturated world of children who are
vulnerable to its affects (Brent and Lunden 2009). A final concern is the extent to which ISM
normalises the relationship between consumption and education. As complementary sites for the
inculcation of social values, schools have a responsibility to socialise children as citizens rather
than consumers. The tension between commercial interests and educational imperatives has been
recognised by the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur for Children who has called for centrally
mandated regulation of ISM (2014). Identifying the nature and extent of ISM as presented in this
research is an important step to inform such regulation.
23
References
Aitken, R., & Watkins, L. (2017). “Harm or Good? Consumer Perceptions of Corporate Strategic
Giving in Schools.” Journal of Consumer Affairs, 51(2), 406-432.
Brent, B. O., & Lunden, S. (2009). “Much ado about very little: The benefits and costs of school-
based commercial activities”. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 8(3), 307-336.
Calvert, S. (2008). Children as Consumers: Advertising and Marketing. The Future of Children,
18(1), 205-234. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.0.0001
Connell, P. M., Brucks, M., & Nielsen, J. H. (2014). “How childhood advertising exposure can
create biased product evaluations that persist into adulthood.” Journal of Consumer
Research, 41(1), 119-134.
Enright, E., Kirk, D., & Macdonald, D. (2020). “Expertise, neoliberal governmentality and the
outsourcing of Health and Physical Education.” Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of
Education, 41(2), 206-222.
Farinha, I. (2015). “Ads and fundraising: a quasi-market school system. International E-Journal
of Advances in Education,” 1(1), 13-17.
Marsh, V. (2017). “The war on childhood: Commercialism in schools and the first amendment.”
Houston Law Review, 55, 511.
Molnar, A., Boninger, F., & Fogarty, J. (2011). “The Educational Cost of Schoolhouse
Commercialism”. Boulder, CO: 2010–2011 National Education Policy Center.
Molnar, A., Boninger, F., Harris, M., Libby, K., and Fogarty, J. (2013). “Promoting
Consumption at School. Health Threats Associated with School House Commercialism.” The
Fifteenth Annual Report on Schoolhouse Commercializing Trends: 2011–2012.National
Education Policy Center.http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/schoolhouse-commercialism-2012.
Molnar, A., Koski, W. S., & Boninger, F. (2010). “Policy and Statutory Responses to
Advertising and Marketing in Schools.” Legislation Policy Brief. Commercialism in Education
Research Unit.
Nairn, A., Ormrod, J. and Bottomley, P. A. (2005), “Watching, Wanting and Wellbeing:
Exploring the Links.” UK: National Consumer Council.
Oates, C., Blades, M., & Gunter, B. (2002). “Children and television advertising: When do they
understand persuasive intent?” Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 1(3), 238-245.
Opree, S. J. (2014), “Consumed by consumer culture? Advertising’s impact on children’s
materialism and life satisfaction.” PhD Thesis: Amsterdam School of Consumer Research.
http://dare.uva.nl/record/1/410142
24
Robinson, D. B., Gleddie, D., & Schaefer, L. (2016). “Telling and selling: A consideration of the
pedagogical work done by nationally endorsed corporate-sponsored educational resources.”
Asia-Pacific Journal of Health, Sport and Physical Education, 7(1), 37-54.
Signal, L. N., Smith, M. B., Barr, M., Stanley, J., Chambers, T. J., Zhou, J., & Mhurchu, C. N.
(2017a). “Kids’ Cam: an objective methodology to study the world in which children
live.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 53(3), e89-e95.
Signal, L. N., Stanley, J., Smith, M., Barr, M. B., Chambers, T. J., Zhou, J., & Ní Mhurchú, C.
(2017b). “Children’s everyday exposure to food marketing: an objective analysis using wearable
cameras.” International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 14(1), 1-11.
Thrupp, M., & Lupton, R. (2011). “Variations on a middle class theme: English primary schools
in socially advantaged contexts.” Journal of Education Policy, 26(2), 289-312.
United Nations (UN). 2014. General Assembly Report on Cultural Rights 69
th
Session. (accessed
7 June 2020) https://documents-dds-
ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N14/499/88/PDF/N1449988.pdf?OpenElement
Vanwesenbeeck, I., Opree, S. J., & Smits, T. (2017). “Can disclosures aid children’s recognition
of TV and website advertising?” In Advances in Advertising Research VIII (pp. 45-57). Springer
Gabler, Wiesbaden.
Velazquez, C. E., Black, J. L., & Potvin Kent, M. (2017). “Food and beverage marketing in
schools: a review of the evidence.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public
Health, 14(9), 1054.
Watkins, L., Aitken, R., Gage, R., Smith, M.B., Chambers, T.J., Barr, M., Stanley, J. and Signal,
L.N. (2019) “Capturing the Commercial World of Children: The Feasibility of Wearable
Cameras to Assess Marketing Exposure.” Journal of Consumer Affairs. Vol 53 (4) pp 1396-1420
https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12234
Watkins, L., Gage, R., Smith, M., McKerchar, C., Aitken, R., & Signal, L. (2022). “A Brand a
Minute–An observational study of children’s exposure to marketing in an era of
overconsumption.” Lancet Planetary Health.
Werbel, J. D., & Wortman, M. S. (2000). Strategic philanthropy: Responding to negative
portrayals of corporate social responsibility. Corporate Reputation Review, 3(2), 124-136.
Wood, B., Thrupp, M., & Barker, M. (2021). “Education policy: Changes and continuities since
1999.”
Wright, N., & Peters, M. (2017). “Sell, sell, sell or learn, learn, learn? The EdTech market in
New Zealand’s education system–privatisation by stealth?” Open Review of Educational
Research, 4(1), 164-176.
25
The Nature of “legitimate profit” from the Perspective of Catholic Social Teaching:
Implications for Macromarketing
Nicholas J.C. Santos, Creighton University, United States of America
No profit is in fact legitimate when it falls short of the objective of the integral promotion of the
human person, the universal destination of goods and the preferential option for the poor, and
we can add, the protection of our common home (Francis 2022)
In early 2023, the well-known home goods chain Bed Bath & Beyond prepared for bankruptcy
following a run of poor sales, a situation faced by other U.S. retailers such as Sears Holdings
Corp, which filed for bankruptcy in October 2018 after not turning a profit since 2011 (Reuters
2023). Profits are essential for the running of the business and businesses that do not make a
profit such as the examples of Bed Bath & Beyond and Sears Holdings and who file for
bankruptcy often face the possibility of being closed. For instance, Bed Bath & Beyond as of
early February 2023 had closed about 400 stores over the past year (Valinsky 2023) and in April
2023 announced that it would close all its stores by June 2023 (Holman and Hirsch 2023). Such
closures affect many thousands of lives of employees, suppliers etc. and create a disruption in the
social fabric and the marketing system. Therefore, one element that bestows legitimacy on profit
is its connection to the very existence and growth of the business enterprise. However, is the
existence of the business a sufficient justification as to the legitimacy of profit?
The Merriam-Webster (2023) dictionary lists several definitions for the word “legitimate.” Some
of these include “lawfully begotten;” “being exactly as intended or presented;” “genuinely good,
impressive, or capable of success;” “accordant with law or with established legal forms and
requirements;” “conforming to recognized principles or accepted rules and standards;” etc. While
the term “legitimate profit” has an element of being in accordant with the law, its usage in
Catholic social teaching is better aligned with conforming to recognized principles of accepted
rules and standards. In this paper, we explore these accepted rules or standards in Catholic social
teaching that lend legitimacy to the “profit” dimension of a business enterprise. First, to be clear,
our usage of the word “profit” relates to the financial bottom line of the business. Our focus here
is on for-profit businesses. It is possible that there might be different conceptualizations of profit
in not-for-profit or social enterprises or even indigenous contexts. However, that discussion is
beyond the scope of this paper. We begin with a quick overview of Catholic social teaching
(CST) and then discuss what in our opinion are four criteria that Pope Francis provides us to
evaluate the legitimacy of profit. We then connect the notion of legitimate profit with
macromarketing, using the concept of socially responsible marketing (Laczniak and Shultz 2021)
as the prism.
Catholic social teaching: A brief overview
Catholic social teaching (CST) comprises of all the official writings of the Catholic church
regarding social issues. While CST is rooted in the Christian scriptures and the teachings of
prominent Catholic theologians over the years, a generally accepted starting point is the
encyclical of Pope Leo XIII (1891) titled Rerum Novarum. This encyclical addressed some of the
abuses of the Industrial Revolution that were an affront to human dignity. Since Rerum
Novarum, over the course of the last 132 years, the church has issued a number of documents
26
that address varied social issues. Prominent among these are Quadragesimo Anno (Pope Pius XI
1931); Mater et Magistra (Pope John XXIII 1961); Pacem in Terris (Pope John XXIII 1963);
Populorum Progressio (Pope Paul VI 1967); Octogesima Adveniens (Pope Paul VI 1971);
Laborem Exercens (Pope John Paul II 1981); Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (Pope John Paul II 1987);
Centesimus Annus (Pope John Paul II 1991); Caritas in Veritate (Pope Benedict XVI 2009); and
Laudato Si’ (Pope Francis 2015). At the heart of the corpus of CST are four foundational
principles also called the permanent principles of CST. These are: the dignity of the human
person; the common good; subsidiarity; and solidarity. The United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops (2023) list seven key themes of CST. These are: (1) Life and dignity of the human
person; (2) Call to Family, Community, and Participation; (3) Rights and Responsibilities; (4)
Option for the Poor and Vulnerable; (5) The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers; (6)
Solidarity; and (7) Care for God’s Creation.
An encyclical of special importance is Centesimus Annus (Pope John Paul II 1991) which states
that “the Church acknowledges the legitimate role of profit as an indication that a business is
functioning well” [emphasis in original]. However, the encyclical adds “but profitability is not
the only indicator of a firm’s condition…..In fact, the purpose of the firm is not simply to make a
profit, but is found in its very existence as a community of persons who in various ways are
endeavouring to satisfy their basic needs, and who form a particular group at the service of the
whole of society.” The encyclical calls on businesses to consider other human and moral factors
together with profit which are also important for the life of the business. Here the legitimacy of
profit draws from it being an indicator of a well-functioning business. In the encyclical Caritas
in Veritate Pope Benedict (Benedict 2009) states that “once profit becomes the exclusive goal, it
is produced by improper means and without the common good as its ultimate end, it risks
destroying wealth and creating poverty.” Pope Francis (Francis 2022) goes a step further by
providing us with criteria to evaluate the legitimacy of profit. We elaborate on these in the
section below.
The legitimacy of profit
Pope Francis (Francis 2022) during his address to the participants of the meeting of Deloitte
Global lists four criteria to evaluate the legitimacy of profit: (a) Integral promotion of the human
person; (b) Universal destination of goods; (c) Preferential option for the poor; and (d) care for
our common home. The first three were mentioned in a document published by the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
(Vatican 2018) to which Pope Francis adds the 4
th
, namely, care for our common home.
Integral promotion of the human person: A foundational principle of CST is that of the dignity
of the human person (Pope John XXIII 1961; Vatican 2004). This dignity is not something that is
merited or acquired by one’s efforts but rather is a given (Santos and Laczniak 2009). In keeping
with such dignity, it becomes imperative to create structures that help the development of the
individual. In fact, “the integral development of every person, of every human community, and
of all people, is the ultimate horizon of the common good that the Church…. seeks to advance”
(Vatican 2018).
Universal destination of goods: The foundation of the universal destination of goods is that “the
earth, by reason of its fruitfulness and its capacity to satisfy human needs, is God’s first gift for
27
the sustenance of human life” (Vatican 2004). The material goods needed for the human person’s
existence are indispensable for the person to survive and to attain his or her purpose in life. The
universal destination of goods does not mean that “everything is at the disposal of each person or
of all people, or that the same object may be useful or belong to each person or all people”
(Vatican 2004). Instead, the purpose of this principle is to invite an economic vision that aims at
fairness and solidarity.
Preferential option for the poor: The principle of the universal destination of goods requires that
the poor and the marginalized be the focus of particular concern. The fact that a vast number of
people in the world lack access to housing, nutrition, adequate healthcare, sanitation etc. is an
affront to development. As the United States Catholic Bishops (1986) in their pastoral letter
Economic Justice for All point out, “the justice of a society is tested by the treatment of the
poor.” They further add, “this ‘option for the poor’ does not mean pitting one group against
another, but rather, strengthening the whole community by assisting those who are most
vulnerable.”
Care for our common home: Pope Francis (Francis 2015) elaborates on the need for caring for
the physical environment in his encyclical Laudato si’. This encyclical is aimed at bringing the
whole human family together to think about the future of the planet and to seek a path towards
sustainable and integral development. Klein and Laczniak (Klein and Lachznaik 2021) contend
that Laudato si’ provides a macromarketing manifesto for a just and sustainable environment.
Implications for Macromarketing
Laczniak and Shultz (Laczniak and Shultz 2021) define socially responsible marketing (SRM) as
consisting of “practices and perspectives mandated by an implicit social contract (SC), which
requires marketing policies, actions and outcomes to adhere to a corporate [“good”] citizenship
(CC) that is proactive and non-discretionary.” They further add that SRM “is informed by a
stakeholder orientation (SO) that recognizes an authentic consideration of stakeholder claims,
especially those of the customer/consumer and vulnerable stakeholders. Further, SRM seeks
social and environmental sustainability (SES) in all its actions.” At the heart of Laczniak and
Shultz’s definition of SRM is the concept of the social contract (SC). Laczniak and Shultz
(Laczniak and Shultz 2021) elaborate that the “social contract is the explanation and justification
for caring about and engaging in SRM” and further, “the core of a social contract is that there
exists an implicit but deducible understanding between collective members of society and
business organizations, including marketers.” In many respects, the specifics of the social
contract are elaborated in the elements of corporate citizenship, stakeholder orientation, and
social/ecological sustainability. While one could argue for the legitimacy of profit from the
perspective of these three elements, we hold that the four criteria mentioned in the section above
provide a defensible set of principles that are grounded in Catholic social teaching. We list four
normative propositions based on each of the four criteria that Pope Francis mentions below:
1. Profit should not be attained by any means that violate or compromise the dignity of the
human person.
2. Profit should not be attained by unfair means or means that deny fair access to goods and
services.
28
3. Profit should not be attained by taking undue advantage of the poor and marginalized
populations. Further, profit should not result in these populations being worse off on
account of business operations.
4. Profit should not be attained through any means that result in environmental degradation.
Conclusion
In this paper, we have elaborated on the concept of “legitimate profit” from the perspective of
Catholic social teaching. Four criteria are provided that allow us to evaluate the legitimacy of
profit of a for-profit enterprise. These are: (1) Integral promotion of the human person; (2)
Universal destination of goods; (3) Preferential option for the poor; (4) Caring for our common
home. We use the recently provided definition of “Socially Responsible Marketing” by Laczniak
and Shultz (Laczniak and Shultz 2021) to draw implications for macromarketing. In our opinion,
using the four CST criteria to evaluate the legitimacy of profit provides a sounder basis for the
social contract and complements the SRM definition provided by Laczniak and Shultz.
References
Holman, Jordyn and Lauren Hirsch (2023), “Bed Bath & Beyond Files for Bankruptcy,” New
York Times [April 23]. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/23/business/bed-
bath-beyond-bankruptcy.html
Klein, Thomas A. and Gene R. Laczniak (2021), “Laudato si’ – A macromarketing manifesto for
a just and sustainable environment,” Journal of Macromarketing, 41 (1), 75-87.
Laczniak, Gene R. and Clifford Shultz (2021), “Towards a Doctrine of Socially Responsible
Marketing (SRM): A Macro and Normative-Ethical Perspective,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 41 (2), 201-231.
Merriam-Webster (2023), “Legitimate,” Available at: https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/legitimate
Pope Benedict XVI (2009), “Caritas in Veritate,” Available at:
https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-
xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate.html
Pope Francis (2015), “Laudato si’,” Available at:
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-
francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html
Pope Francis (2022), “Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to the participants in the meeting of
Deloitte Global,” Available at:
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2022/september/documents/20220
922-deloitte-global.html
Pope John Paul II (1981), “Laborem Exercens,” Available at:
https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-
ii_enc_14091981_laborem-exercens.html
Pope John Paul II (1987), “Sollicitudo Rei Socialis,” Available at:
https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-
ii_enc_30121987_sollicitudo-rei-socialis.html
29
Pope John Paul II (1991), “Centesimus Annus,” Available at:
https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-
ii_enc_01051991_centesimus-annus.html
Pope John XXIII (1961), “Mater et Magistra,” Available at:
https://www.vatican.va/content/john-xxiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_j-
xxiii_enc_15051961_mater.html
Pope John XXIII (1963), “Pacem in Terris,” Available at: https://www.vatican.va/content/john-
xxiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_j-xxiii_enc_11041963_pacem.html
Pope Leo XIII (1891), “Rerum Novarum,” Available at: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-
xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html
Pope Paul VI (1967), “Populorum Progressio,” Available at:
https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-
vi_enc_26031967_populorum.html
Pope Paul VI (1971), “Octogesima Adveniens,” Available at:
https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/apost_letters/documents/hf_p-
vi_apl_19710514_octogesima-adveniens.html
Pope Pius XI (1931), “Quadragesimo Anno,” Available at: https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-
xi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_19310515_quadragesimo-anno.html
Reuters. (2023, January 9), “Factbox: The 10 biggest U.S. retail bankruptcies in 5 years,”
Available at: https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/10-biggest-us-retail-
bankruptcies-5-years-2023-01-09/
Santos and Laczniak (2009), “’Just’ Markets from the Perspective of Catholic Social Teaching,”
Journal of Business Ethics, 89, 29-38.
United States Catholic Bishops (1986), “Economic Justice for All: Pastoral Letter on Catholic
Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy.” Available at:
https://www.usccb.org/upload/economic_justice_for_all.pdf
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (2023), “Seven Themes of Catholic Social
Teaching,” Available at: https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-
believe/catholic-social-teaching/seven-themes-of-catholic-social-teaching
Valinsky, Jordan (2023, February 7), “Bed Bath & Beyond closes stores and raises $1 billion to
stave off bankruptcy,” Available at: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/07/business/bed-bath-
and-beyond-more-closures/index.html
Vatican (2004), “Compendium of the social doctrine of the church,” Pontifical Council for
Justice and Peace. Available at:
https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_just
peace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html
Vatican (2018), “Oeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones: Considerations for an Ethical
Discernment Regarding Some Aspects of the Present Economic-Financial System,”
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral
Human Development. Available at:
https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_
20180106_oeconomicae-et-pecuniariae_en.html
30
Socially Responsible Marketing and Engaging Impoverished Populations Towards a
Sustainable Future: Lessons from Covid-19
Nicholas J.C. Santos, Creighton University, United States of America
Tina M. Facca-Miess, John Carroll University, United States of America
Mary Kate Naatus, Seton Hall University, United States of America
Introduction
The Development Data Group of the World Bank released a policy research working paper in
October 2022 that attempts to quantify the impact of Covid-19 on Global Inequality and Poverty
(World Bank 2022). According to the report, in 2020 the world witnessed the largest increase
since the year 1990 to global inequality and poverty. Increased inequality and poverty globally
implies an unsustainable future. It is no surprise then that two of the seventeen United Nations’
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are directly connected with inequality and poverty.
SDG#1 is aimed at ending poverty in all its forms everywhere and SDG#10 aims are reducing
inequality within and among countries. The SDGs also known as the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development were adopted by the United Nations’ member states in 2015 (United
Nations 2015). The signatories of the SDGs in 2015 had no idea that the world would be hit by a
global pandemic a few years later, wreaking havoc to these well-made plans. Covid-19, in fact,
shone light on the acute disadvantages and challenges that the poor and disadvantaged face. The
advice of public health experts to avoid or minimize the effect of the pandemic such as avoiding
crowds, stockpiling groceries, working from home or contacting a doctor if ill could hardly be
followed by impoverished populations because of “their lack of economic resources, deprived
locations, employment demands, or the absence of reliable healthcare (Santos and Laczniak
2021, p. 142; Vesoulis 2020). In effect, as Santos and Laczniak (2021, p. 142) point out, “the
poor bear a disproportionate burden of the pandemic and this social outcome is ‘unjust and
unfair.” As we move into a somewhat post-pandemic future, businesses need to engage
impoverished populations in light of the lessons learned during the pandemic so as to move
towards a more sustainable future, one that works for all humanity, but particularly for the
impoverished. This paper draws on a conceptually rich document, one that proposes a normative-
ethical and macro definition of “socially responsible marketing” (Laczniak and Shultz 2021) to
recommend normative guidelines towards a sustainable future when engaging impoverished
populations.
In a seminal article published in the Journal of Macromarketing, Laczniak and Shultz (Laczniak
and Shultz 2021) begin by stating that “if marketers are to create a better world through socially
responsible marketing, they require a comprehensive roadmap of what that means and where it
leads.” According to Laczniak and Shultz, a clear definition of socially responsible marketing is
needed to evaluate social progress. Thus, their aim in their paper is “to articulate and justify a
comprehensive definition of socially responsible marketing that marketing managers and
academic researchers can utilize to evaluate and to improve ethical and socially compatible
marketing (Laczniak and Shultz 2021). The comprehensive definition they propose is (Laczniak
and Shultz 2021), emphasis in original):
31
Socially Responsible Marketing (SRM) consists of practices and perspectives mandated
by an implicit social contract (SC), which requires marketing policies, actions and
outcomes to adhere to a corporate [“good”] citizenship (CC) that is proactive and non-
discretionary. It is informed by a stakeholder orientation (SO) that recognizes an authentic
consideration of stakeholder claims, especially those of the customer/consumer and
vulnerable stakeholders. Further, SRM seeks social and environmental sustainability
(SES) in all its actions. The manifestation of SRM should be evaluated by a normative
ethic of distributive justice (DJ) and coordinated with a macromarketing disposition for
constructive engagement (CE), when addressing the marketing/society interface.
According to Laczniak and Shultz, corporate citizenship, stakeholder orientation and social and
environmental sustainability are at the core elements that define socially responsible marketing.
The social contract, distributive justice and constructive engagement are the dimensions that
vitalize the doctrine of SRM. Commenting on the Laczniak and Shultz (2021) paper, Santos
(2022) points out that even though social and environmental sustainability is one of the core
elements of the SRM definition proposed, Laczniak and Shultz give scant attention to social
sustainability. In responding to commentaries on their paper, Laczniak and Shultz (2022)
acknowledge Santos’ (2022) assessment and state that: “We hope Santos’[s] paper stimulates
further analysis of the connection between SRM and social sustainability.” This paper partially
takes up this invitation by first highlighting some lessons learned during Covid-19. We then
propose a framework for macromarketers to consider when evaluating social sustainability,
namely, the Integrative Justice Model (Santos and Laczniak 2009a, 2009b). The IJM has been
previously presented in the macromarketing literature (Facca-Miess and Santos 2016; Laczniak
and Santos 2011). The IJM is a normative ethical model for just and fair marketplace exchange,
particularly critical when engaging with impoverished or otherwise vulnerable consumers
(Laczniak and Santos 2021). The IJM posits five core tenets that, when adhered to, can facilitate
social sustainability through the evaluation of socially responsible marketing. The IJM requires
1) authentic engagement with non-exploitative intent, 2) value co-creation 3) investment in
future consumption without endangering the environment, 4) interest representation of
stakeholders and 5) a long-term profit management perspective rather than short-term profit
maximization. Further, we submit that the evaluation of these core tenets and related decision
principles (Santos and Laczniak 2012) should be grounded in the voices of the impoverished
consumer or beneficiary impacted by SRM, or lack thereof (Facca-Miess 2021; Facca-Miess and
Santos 2016).
Lessons from Covid-19
Since the time of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, there have been a number
of studies that examined the strengthened focus of organizations on Corporate Social
Responsibility in response to the pandemic, both internally from an employee care and
workplace safety perspective and externally from a marketing and communications orientation.
He and Harris (2020) describe a shift in the process of consumer ethical decision making and a
desire on the part of companies and consumers for authentic CSR and products and firms that are
authentically addressing the world’s most urgent social and environmental challenges. This not
only aligns with the Stakeholder Orientation (SO), but also signals a broader awareness of the
role of businesses and organizations in affecting the well-being of multiple stakeholders.
32
From service-oriented businesses to more traditional producers, socially responsible business
operations and marketing gained heightened awareness in the wake of the pandemic, with both
positive and negative examples of organizations’ responding to COVID-19 and the many
challenges surrounding it. Large-scale crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can be seen to
test the moral resolve of firms to remain committed to social responsibility or catalyze new
efforts to promote and proclaim CSR as a core value (Schwartz and Kay 2023). Many firms
responded swiftly to the crisis by committing to support employees, communities, and even
governments in the collective fight against the spread of the virus, but with the backdrop of
economic declines across firms, industries and regions as the effects of the pandemic escalated,
this commitment was often tested.
The integrative justice model: Practical and pedagogical implications
As mentioned before, COVID-19 presented a host of challenges to vulnerable and marginalized
populations. At the same time, as the section above alludes to, it forced companies to exhibit
greater attention to the three core elements that constitute SRM, namely, corporate citizenship,
stakeholder orientation and social/ecological sustainability. Eizenburg and Jabareen (2017) point
out that there has, in general, been a lack of theoretical and empirical studies regarding social
sustainability. Regardless of individual perceptions, understanding, or political perspectives, we
need, as corporate marketers, policy makers, and macromarketers, to focus on teaching core
concepts of social sustainability that includes respect for human dignity and working in solidarity
toward the common good.
The IJM provides a tool, a framework, for evaluating the extent to which justice, inclusive of the
aforementioned principles, is evident in an exchange, be it B2C or B2B. With a myriad of
perspectives challenging each individual’s perceptions and perspective every minute of every
day, literally, we need well-grounded frameworks that can be considered when evaluating right
from wrong, good from bad, sustainable from unsustainable. The IJM with its grounding in
religious doctrine, moral philosophy perspectives and management theories, provides such a
well-grounded framework (Santos and Laczniak 2009b). We present evidence from students at a
U.S. business school in the context of a capstone marketing experiential learning project who
presented, and won in two categories, at the 2023 annual International Business Ethics and
Sustainability Competition. Students selected their target audience as the International
Association of Jesuit Universities, but the hope and intent is that the message resonates
regardless of our institutions’ mission, be it private or public, faith based or not. Using the IJM,
business leaders and students can assess the ethical implications of their decisions while
considering economic, social, and environmental justice, and the Catholic Social Teaching (CST)
principles of respect for human dignity and the common good. The United Nations' Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) addressed include #4 Quality Education, #12 Sustainable
Consumption & Production, #16 Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions, #17 Partnerships for the
Goals. We provide evidence of students’ responsiveness to the IJM as an ethical decision-making
tool and means to implement the SDGs. Applying the IJM, educators can develop morally
courageous business leaders who create a culture of transparency and accountability within
companies by prioritizing the impact of their decisions on others, especially the poor or
marginalized. By promoting morally courageous leadership and aligning Jesuit institutions with a
shared framework for business ethics, we can create a more just and sustainable future for all.
Moreover, we can collaborate on a shared promotional strategy to attract and give hope to the
33
youth, inspire them during their business education, and accompany them throughout their
career. This work details the links between not only marketing theory and just marketing, but
marketing practice and the SDGs.
Conclusion
In this paper we focused on the recently proposed definition of socially responsible marketing
(SRM) proposed by Laczniak and Shultz (2021) with special consideration for vulnerable and
impoverished populations. These populations had to face numerous challenges during Covid-19.
At the same time, Covid-19 also presented a test to companies to evaluate their own moral
response to the three core elements of SRM, namely, corporate citizenship, stakeholder
orientation and social/ecological sustainability. While the concept of social sustainability gets
neglected in conversations around sustainability, it is important to give this special consideration
especially as marketing educators. The Integrative justice model is proposed as a framework that
can be used both to evaluate and to promote social sustainability. An example is given of
students at a U.S. business school who used the IJM in their capstone marketing class.
References
Eizenberg, Efrat and Yosef Jabareen (2017), “Social Sustainability: A New Conceptual
Framework,” Sustainability, 9 (1), 68. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9010068
Facca-Miess, Tina M. (2021), “Innovative Applications for Transformative Justice for Quality of
Life,” In B. Enquist, B. Edvardsson, and S. Sebhatu (eds.), Business Transformations for
a Sustainable Future. Routledge.
Facca-Miess, Tina M. and Nicholas J.C. Santos (2016), “Assessing Perceptions of the Integrative
Justice Model Propositions: A Critical Step Towards Operationalizing a Macro Model,”
Journal of Macromarketing, 36 (1), 68-77.
He, Hongwei and Lloyd Harris (2020), “The impact of Covid-19 pandemic on corporate social
responsibility and marketing philosophy,” Journal of Business Research, 116 (C), 176-
182.
Laczniak, Gene R. and Clifford Shultz (2021), “Towards a doctrine of socially responsible
marketing (SRM): A macro and normative-ethical perspective,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 41 (2), 201-231.
Laczniak, Gene R. and Nicholas J.C. Santos (2011), “The integrative justice model for marketing
to the poor: An extension of SD logic to distributive justice and macromarketing,”
Journal of Macromarketing, 31 (2), 135-147.
Laczniak, Gene R. and Nicholas J.C. Santos (2021), “The Integrative Justice Model as a
challenge-driven normative framework for sustainable and just business practice.” In B.
Enquist, B. Edvardsson, and S. Sebhatu (eds.), Business Transformations for a
Sustainable Future. Routledge.
Santos, Nicholas J.C. (2022), “’Socially Responsible Marketing’ To, With, and For
Impoverished Populations,” Journal of Macromarketing, 42 (4), 567-571.
Santos, Nicholas J.C. and Gene R. Laczniak (2009a), “’Just’ markets from the perspective of
Catholic social teaching,” Journal of Business Ethics, 89, 29-38.
34
Santos, Nicholas J.C. and Gene R. Laczniak (2009b), “Marketing to the poor: An integrative
justice model for engaging impoverished market segments,” Journal of Public Policy and
Marketing, 28 (1), 3-15.
Santos, Nicholas J.C. and Gene R. Laczniak (2012), “Marketing to the base of the pyramid: A
corporate social responsibility approach with case inspired strategies,” Business and
Politics, 14 (1), Article 4.
Schwartz, Mark S. and Avi Kay (2023), “The COVID-19 global crisis and corporate social
responsibility,” Asian Journal of Business Ethics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13520-022-
00165-y
United Nations. (2015), “The 17 Goals.” Available at: https://sdgs.un.org/goals
Vesoulis, Abby (2020), “Coronavirus may disproportionately hurt the poor – and that’s bad for
everyone.” Time, (March 11). Available at: https://time.com/5800930/how-coronavirus-
will-hurt-the-poor/
World Bank (2022), “The Impact of COVID-19 on Global Inequality and Poverty.” Policy
Research Working Paper 10198 [October]. Available at:
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/38114/IDU01d94e70603d
c804f990b6130751d75dccb52.pdf?sequence=1
35
Kaepernick, Jay-Z, and Du Bois:
Racelighting as a Wicked Problem and Violation of Hyper Norms of Global Conduct
Jonathan Bowman, Univ of Arkansas, United States of America
The purpose of this paper is to examine racelighting in its systemic macromarketing
manifestations by construing it as a wicked problem. While my use of the case study method
follows a narrative reconstruction of Colin Kaepernick and Jay-Z in their competing approaches
to race in the NFL (National Football League), what might be perceived as unique to the US
culture industry could be reframed from a macro-social marketing approach considering UN
social development goal (SDG 16) as pertains to facilitating the inclusion of diverse perspectives
to advance peace, justice, and strong institutions. Insofar as the NFL has been openly accused of
discriminatory abuse of labor rights, we also find a transgression of the Hyper Norms of global
codes of conduct that ought to guide societal impact research into macromarketing systems. The
originality of the paper is to address an unexplored Kaepernick tweet as an instance of
(anti)brand activism that directly references three strands of black nationalist critiques of white
nationalism in the works of Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Booker T. Washington.
Although it is common to trace some of the genealogy of critical race theory (CRT) back to Du
Bois, the tweeted literary reference by Kaepernick allows us to broaden the historical currents
feeding into the situated epistemologies of those persons most marginalized by racial oppression
in the market systems that structure NFL production, distribution, and exchange in its multi-
billion-dollar culture industry. The analysis finds that we also look to amend wicked problems of
the present with a psychological dynamic in looking at how Garvey, Du Bois, and Washington
approach the epistemic psychology of Whiteness critically. Garvey’s insights lead to the novel
conceptual genesis of a (neo-)colonial variant of racelighting. Du Bois’s reflections on critically
reflective communicative interaction with Whiteness disclose how his interlocutors presume an
ethnic framing often quite at odds with their Black counterparts to enact cultural racelighting.
Washington’s preference for interracial discourse of a purely economic nature leads to a third
variant of market capitalist (neo-liberal) racelighting. We lamentably conclude that if the culture
industry led by White NFL owners continues its racelighting epistemological framing, there is no
reason to expect any substantive systematic change soon. As contemporary macromarketing
systems increasingly incorporate and circulate the exchange of documented visual media, the
domestic and global spread of the moral outrage will likely escalate tendencies toward more
pronounced and informed expressions of athlete social marketing activism.
Introduction
In their Opinion Piece in Diverse Issues in Higher Education on ‘Racelighting: A Prevalent
Version of Gaslighting Facing People of Color,’ Harris and Wood appeal to the example of Colin
Kaepernick and Trump (2021). They first note that racelighting shares with gaslighting the
notion that a successful perpetrator gets the victim to second guess reality. However, while
gaslighting is typically communicated from one subjective consciousness to another, racelighting
is uniquely systemic. The authors explain the distinction as follows: ‘Although gaslighting is
usually discussed as occurring at the individual level (i.e., one person to another), racelighting is
both systemic and experienced individually’ (Harris and Wood).
36
To illustrate this in the context of the ensuing case study of the Kaepernick, Trump, and Jay-Z
narrative to follow, at the level of one subjective consciousness to another, the authors use the
NFL example to show that President Trump gaslighted Kaepernick’s individual perception of
reality. Trump shifted the epistemic framing from the objective reality of police abuse to the very
different context of patriotic sentiment. At the individual level, we can even concede fitting
instances of Kaepernick questioning his own motives and methods early in the history of his
protests, for instance, in shifting the form of protest messaging from sitting to kneeling.
However, for the more systemic dimensions to gaslighting that are more in line with the basic
tenets of critical race theory, while their clarifying example of Colin Kaepernick is helpful in
opening their explanation of gaslighting, they never return to it as a potential manifestation of
racelighting.
While Harris and Wood’s purpose is to critique the systemic racelighting of critical race theory
in American discourses to eliminate its teaching from public education, the task of this paper is
to employ the methods of macromarketing to demonstrate that racelighting took place in this
instance when Trump shifted the focus from the reality of police brutality to perceptions of
patriotism. This social and epistemological shift led many Blacks as a collective racial group to
question and critique the message of Kaepernick. This notion of systematic epistemological
assault on persons of color is best captured in the critical race theory principle that racism most
typically occurs at macro-institutional levels (Kaepernick 2021). The patterned reconstruction of
replete micro-aggressions can often escape the direct awareness of perpetrators and victims alike.
In setting up the introductory case as laid out by Harris and Wood for further development, we
ought to begin with their full account:
A more contemporary example of gaslighting occurred when former National Football
League player, Colin Kaepernick, was widely criticized and lost his career because he
chose to kneel during the national anthem in silent protest against racial injustices
experienced by Blacks in the United States. Responses by those who opposed
Kaepernick’s silent protest accused him of being “unpatriotic” and “desecrating a
national ritual” while completely disregarding the systemic racial oppression that was the
impetus of Kaepernick’s protest. Perhaps the most visceral gaslighting response to
Kaepernick’s actions came from former U.S. President, Donald Trump, who had this to
say during one of his rallies: “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when
somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b**ch off the field right now.
Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!’” The pervasiveness and passion with which these claims
were made led some Black people to question Kaepernick’s actions. Overall, the tactic of
deliberately asserting false information to and about communities of color has been used
as a weapon against them—a weapon made even more powerful when they themselves
begin to believe them (Harris and Wood 2021).
With this preliminary illustration, Harris and Wood support their opening characterization of
individual gaslighting of Kaepernick by Trump as moving toward a systemic racelighting
messaging that leads entire marginalized groups to second-guess lived experience (Harris and
Wood 2021).
37
Building upon where Harris and Wood start, we will continue to draw upon the Kaepernick case
to delineate three forms of systemic racism into three additional typologies of racelighting.
Employing the transdisciplinary framing of critical race theory (hereafter CRT), racelighting
takes on overlapping political, cultural, and economic dynamics that undergird its sprawling
systematicity. While the conventional approach to CRT is to reconstruct it as a phenomena
emerging from legal debates in the late 1980s to mid-1990s, we will offer a much wider
historical contextualization back to three major philosophers of post-Reconstruction Black
philosophy. Although it is relatively commonplace to trace hints of CRT tenets back to the
manifold socio-cultural reflections of W.E.B. Du Bois (Francis 2021), we expand this genealogy.
What ensues is a dialectical reconstruction of the historical and philosophical currents informing
Du Bois’s own reflections on race. While we take liberty to develop a notion of cultural
racelighting out of the work of Du Bois, we will also highlight strands of colonial racelighting
from the contemporaneous works of Marcus Garvey and capitalist racelighting from the corpus
of writings from Booker T. Washington.
In following Harris and Wood’s practical appeal to the Kaepernick example to tease out the
systematic side of racelighting in accord with macromarketing tenets, our contribution is to
redeploy the rich philosophical exchanges between Washington, Du Bois, and Garvey in the
spirit of addressing systemic racism as a wicked problem. This allows us to argue that any
discussion of racism cannot be fully developed without linking the systems logics of three
transdisciplinary movements: the socio-cultural genealogy of racism (Du Bois) back to
institutional intersections between colonialism (Garvey) and capitalism (Washington) as visually
expressed in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Racelighting as a Wicked Problem in the Works of Black American Sociology
• W.E.B. du Bois:
The ubiquity of the color
line veils one's ability to
see oneself as anything
but a persistent problem
• Marcus Garvey:
The best hope for Black
industry is enough
entrepreneurial success
for mass return to Africa
• B.T. Washington:
Excellence in skilled labor
is a better route to
accrue social merit than
enfranchisement
• Racelighted Victim:
Question own reality
from both personal and
collective standpoints.
Racelighting
Perpetrator:
Systematic social
messaging
= not individual
gaslighting
Southern
Segregationalists:
You do not merit
political rights
= Capitalist
Racelighting
American White
Gaze:
You Blacks are a
problem
= Cultural
Racelighting
American White
Supremecist:
You do not belong
here
= Colonial
Racelighting
38
As an initial step in understanding the full force of the contemporary conservative backlash
against NFL attempts to reconcile its labor relations with its 70% minority workforce through
concessions like the inclusion of a separate Black Anthem prior to games, we affirm recent
macromarketing advances as pertain to brokering conviviality and welfare in the context of the
superdiversity that characterizes intercultural marketing and public relations (Vorster et al.
2020). There the authors note that acknowledging a minority group’s need for recognition
through ethnic marketing faces two risks. On the one hand, ‘it only represents a certain subset of
the marketplace, leaving consumers not targeted by these strategies feeling excluded or
alienated’ (60). On the other hand, ‘emphasis on and/or exaggeration of cultural characteristics—
whether intentionally or unintentionally stereotypical—may evoke backlash from consumers
targeted by these strategies’ (60). As a mediating position between the extremes, we propose
looking back to these seminal Black minds, and focusing specifically on how they offer three
very different takes on how best to engage in discourse concerning racial reconciliation with
White interlocutors. The hope behind such an approach would be to illustrate the internal
richness of the Black philosophical heritage to glean insights into at least three systematic forms
of racelighting. This is a helpful manner to circumvent the perceived polarization of extremist
dualism of White conservative or White liberal perspectives. It offers a richer appreciation of the
productive dissent, heterodoxy, and creative conflict running internal to past, present, and future
theorizing from Black voices. We also take this as an advance beyond the default colorblindness
of stakeholder theory through a concerted commitment to the epistemic supremacy of
testimonies of those most immediately affected by structural oppression. Moreover, as a last
opening qualification, what might be misconstrued as a domestic debate better addressed internal
to US political dysfunction could also be reframed from a macro-social marketing approach
considering UN social development goal (SDG) sixteen as pertains to facilitating the inclusion of
diverse perspectives to advance peace, justice, and strong institutions (Kennedy and Smith
2022).
Critical White Studies and the Ideal Speech Situation
As an extension of Harris and Wood’s characterization of racelighting as both an individual and
collective assault by perpetrators on the psychology of the victims (protesting players with labor
rights), we want to extend their analysis more broadly to tap into the collective White
epistemology of perpetrators (NFL owners). As such, we hope to establish racelighting as an
explicit violation of hyper norms of global conduct in its denial of the entitlement of labor to
engage in worker advocacy (Laczniak and Kennedy 2011). If we are to develop potential
communicative means to disclose the harmful effects of racelighting as a paradigmatic wicked
problem (Kennedy 2016), we ought to attempt to enter the tacit psychological assumptions of
both sides of prospective modes of dialogue oriented toward exchanges of knowledge. Since
even the daily forms of communicative exchange that comprise racelighting will always already
take place in institutional contexts with their own situated epistemological nuances, we follow
scholars of Critical White Studies to employ transdisciplinary methods that attempt to capture
the layered nature of systematic oppression (see Figure 2 below). As our social-psychological
lens on Whiteness, we turn to the transdisciplinary sociology of race most eloquently portrayed
in Du Bois’s seven decades of unrivaled scholarly reflection and activism on these topics
(Rabaka 2021). As our colonial lens feeding into the political psychology of Whiteness, we
appeal to the corpus of writings and orations of Garvey. And for probing into the psychology of
39
economic intentions of Whites feeding into the commercial exchanges that aid in racelighting
practices, we turn to the teaching, and oration of Washington in his career role of founder and
head of the Tuskegee Institute (see Figure 3). So, while Harris and Wood appealed to the
Kaepernick example to illustrate the effects of gaslighting on the situated epistemologies of
individual victims, our additional contribution is to disclose the epistemological assumptions of
White perpetrators in the intercultural framing of these seminal Black minds (Table 1).
Figure 2: Critical White Studies and the Transdisciplinary Epistemology of Whiteness
Racism/Du Bois
(Sociology)
Capitalism/Washington
(Economics)
Whiteness
(Epistemology)
Colonialism/Garvey
(Politics)
40
Figure 3: The Heritage - A Philosophical and Historical Genealogy of Black Athlete
Activism
Kaepernick's 8/30/2019 reply to Jay-Z's announced Roc Nation partership with the
NFL demonstrates a dialectical mix of Black Intellectual history and Black Activism
as he claims ' Reading always gives me clarity.' The level of intellectual acuity
in Kaepernick's thought, speaking, and activism comes from the mentorship,
readings, and friendship with Stanford Lecturer Dr. Ameer Hasan Loggins (left of
Kaepernick) as their intellectual exchanges came while Loggins got his PhD in
African Diaspora Studies at Berkeley and Kapernick took his Pop Culture course
Black Intellectuals and Social Movements
Kaepernick models his activist efforts off of the
1960s liberation movement in Robert Allen's Black
Awakening in Capitalist America (1990)
Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) was a Jamaican
activist, publisher, orator, founder of the
UNIA, and strong proponent of successful
Black enterprise funding a return to Africa
W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) received his PhD
in history from Harvard, was a prominent
civil rights activist, and documented all the
Black American experiences of the color line
B.T. Washington (1856-1915) founded
Tuskegee University, was raised in the
South, and advocated the economic social
integration of Blacks instead of civil rights
The History of Black Activism in Sport
Kaepernick's mentor Professor Harry Edwards
organized the 1968 Olympic protests and
authored The Revolt of the Black Athlete (1969)
William Rhoden's Forty Million
Dollar Slaves (2006) traces Black
sports from plantation to present
as a neo-colonial enterprise
Howard Bryant's The Heritage
(2018) recommends Black
athletes study how patriotism in
sport divides along the color line
Michael Eric Dyson's Made in
America (2019) regards Jay-Z as
perfecting a form of Black hustle
as distinctly capitalist as it gets
41
Table 1: Four Communicative Variants on Market-Mediated Political and Economic
Integration
Key = (X, Y)
Political Integration with Whites? = X—Yes (1) or No (0)?
Economic Integration with Whites? =Y—Yes (1) or No (0)?
Responses
Whiteness Epistemology (1, 0)
Ideal Speech Situation: teaching, debating, and
discussing tenets of Critical Race Theory an
illegal activity tantamount to treason
Summary: Since persons of color already live
in a colorblind society where all are treated as
political equals, there is no need to address
structural material inequality; the theoretical
template for these guiding assumptions comes
from living in a post-racial society that ought to
bear no responsibility for past injustices that
our nation is beyond (Trump)
Du Bois (1, 1)
Ideal Speech Situation: full inclusion of Black
intellectual greats in academic curriculum,
especially Reconstruction era philosophy
Summary: In terms of the classical is/ought
dilemma, the sociological description of how
society is suggests widescale systematic
political and material inequality; however, we
ought to strive for higher ideals of full
economic and political integration among
Whites and citizens of color if we are ever to
create a true republican democracy (Bryant)
Garvey (0, 0)
Ideal Speech Situation: Garvey noted the irony
in finding his discussions with the KKK and
White Supremacists as most productive
Summary: Given that Blacks continue to live
under conditions of colonial exploitation
(Fanon), they ought to seek full economic self-
sufficiency as communities (nations) within a
nation-state under current conditions of White
supremacy to one day achieve sufficient
political autonomous self-determination to
recolonize the African homeland (Kaepernick)
Washington (0, 1)
Ideal Speech Situation: the highest ideal a is to
be sought out in word-of-mouth commercial
exchanges with Whites as the best skilled
Summary: In conceding the failures of
Reconstruction era efforts at full political
integration of persons of color, the most
pragmatic route for Southern Blacks is to gain
a degree of self-sufficiency in perfecting
skilled trades that they then can bring to a
society of economic exchanges between Blacks
and Whites without full civil rights as a feasible
ideal (Jay-Z)
To schematize the multi-level complexity to discourses feeding into any wicked problem with
multiple stakeholders that may ‘not only add confusion to the problem definition, but also
summon myriad interpretations of the focal problem’ (Kennedy 2016), the main features social
discourse run as schematized in Table 1. We concede that we are creatively deploying the
Kaepernick case by extracting Kaepernick, Trump, and Jay-Z as our primary points of focus that
have sacrificed some complex nuances for the sake of conceptual parsimony. On a very general
42
characterization, we employ Trumpism as the paradigmatic expression of an epistemological
framing of reality through a very myopic lens of Whiteness in cultural, political, and economic
strands. This leads to the communicative assumption that any privileging of marginalized groups
is akin to a reverse racist assault on White hegemonic normativity. Here lies the uncanny
rhetorical flourishes of Trumpism. Culturally, its epistemological framing of public discourse
views Whiteness as impartial, fair, and even patriotic with the convenient assumption that
persons of color have already achieved full political integration to justify structural exclusion
from real economic exchanges among political equals. Its political persona thus can quickly
morph to a neo-colonial logic of strategic might makes right, hyper-masculinity, and appeals to
law and order as the bridge between White procedural justice and political realism (Kaepernick
2021). Economically, appeals to the logic of the free market as a meritocratic order regard any
concession to historically systematic patterns of material justice as an affront on White merit.
In tracing out the genealogy of Kaepernick’s communications with the NFL and owners, his
approaches come closest to those associated with Marcus Garvey. As we will see in a focal
Kaepernick tweet to follow, he views any attempts to cooperate with White NFL owners on
matters of economic exchange as complicitly with their neo-colonial efforts to continue to profit
off Black bodies, minds, talent, and labor. As far as hopes for Black political integration into the
American democratic republic, like Garvey, Kaepernick views the repeated White rhetoric of
reform toward progress as an excuse for maintaining a status quo of systematic oppression—
specifically in the domain policing and surveilling Black bodies (Kaepernick 2021).
As something akin to the Black counterfoil to Kaepernick’s activism would be the strategic
alliance forged between Jay-Z, Roc Nation, and the NFL. For our purposes, we associate Jay-Z’s
emphasis on economic exchange and individual entrepreneurship as the contemporary
manifestation of B.T. Washington’s priority on economic integration as the cost of more
comprehensive civil rights to political participation. Jay-Z offers the quintessential narrative of
Black achievement of the American Dream through Washington’s ideal of diligent disciplined
labor. Jay-Z also manifests Washington’s highest ideal of word-of-mouth referencing of Whites
soliciting elite talent in the music, entertainment, and culture industries.
As the contemporary proxy for Du Bois’s calls for pursuing both full political and full economic
integration into a multi-national republic, the contemporary work of journalist and author
Howard Bryant will offer the best approximation of Du Bois’s ideals as pertain the relevant case
study of Kaepernick, Trump, and Jay-Z. Bryant’s The Heritage: Black Athletes, a Divided
America, and the Politics of Patriotism (2018) places the cultural racelighting of Kaepernick
(and Reid) within a wider heritage of racelighting as an one abiding constant of American sport
history. In addition, as a communicative ideal behind Bryant (and Du Bois’s) ideal speech
situation between Black athletes and their White political and economic counterparts entail a
deep intellectual dive into what Bryant calls a responsibility to learning, studying, and living ‘the
Heritage’ of athlete activism in the United States. Since it is this latter category most in need to
deeper explanation and development, we turn to a brief reconstruction of that heritage in terms of
the new categories and major players introduced up to this point.
43
Towards a Black Philosophical Genealogy to the Heritage of Athlete Social Activism:
Tracing Origins Back to the Washington, Du Bois, and Garvey Dialectic
In one of the rare elite transdisciplinary journal treatments of race as pertains to (macro)
marketing and political economy in the United States, Crockett and Wallendorf investigate the
role of normative political ideology in along three categories: Black liberalism, disillusioned
liberalism, and Black nationalism (2004). As such, we need the preliminary disclaimer that such
a taxonomy is typically avoided by more orthodox CRT scholars in their overt rejections of
liberalism as impartial. In complementary pieces from Marston (2021; 2017), while they differ
slightly, he also appeals to the pioneering work of Dawson on the history of Black political
ideology in the construction of a parallel taxonomy (2001). As for the common theoretical
genealogy, each of these streams of research first describe Black liberalism as an offshoot of
traditional colorblind liberalism (in the academic sense of John Locke, Alexander Hamilton, and
The Federalist Papers) that celebrates individual liberty, basic rights, moral equality, and the
inherent dignity of the person.
Marston, Crockett, and Wallendorf all agree that the major points of differentiation between
classic liberalism and Black liberalism would be the greater concession amongst the latter on the
necessity of ethnic social solidarity, ethnic ties feeding into one’s individual identity, and a much
tighter relationship between liberty and equality than classic colorblind liberalism would concede
(L’Ouverture and Aristide 2008). Likewise, all three writers concur on a greater tendency of
Black liberalism to depart from the racial colorblindness of classical liberalism. They provide
sound empirical support behind their shared commitments to the view that racial inequality has
historically hindered Black liberal progress (Henderson, Hakstian, and Williams 2016).
At the other extreme of the spectrum, Crockett and Wallendorf posit Black nationalism as an
explicit political ideology of regarding Black communities in the United States as bound by
group double-consciousness (Johnson 2017; Du Bois 1996). The dual identity is best described
as akin to simultaneously inhabiting a nation within a nation. The general idea would be to
accept and concede the systemic fault lines that race inhabits within the United States as proving
to be something much less than the melting pot so often taught in U.S. elementary, middle, and
high school. As a minority community embedded within a White culture, Black nationalists
believe in preserving—by not ignoring—a shared colonial heritage that ought to strive towards
an ideal of autonomous self-determination. These measures include striving for fully sustainable
and self-sufficient economic communal infrastructures, Black-owned industries of commerce,
and consumption patterns reflective of a discerning embrace of this political identity.
In between Black liberal and Black nationalist extremes, the third group they characterize as
disillusioned and/or disenchanted Black liberalists. This mediating position tends toward an
ideological bent more skeptical than Black liberals of the consummating ideal of full cultural
integration of Blacks within the wider U.S. national culture of an unspoken White majoritarian
sentiment. Crockett and Wallendorf characterize this group as disillusioned in the sense that they
may have at one point held some optimism toward full integration but when that ideal was not
achieved, there was a retroactive revision in mindset. However, the collective disenchantment
does not lead to full resignation as they still seeking greater degrees of liberal political
integration in domain of basic rights, social participation as equals, and democratic inclusion in
decision-making.
44
This effectively melds the narrative and pedagogical lessons into what Howard Bryant, in the
domain of the history of the Black sports culture industry, calls the heritage of the Black athlete
in the U.S. It comprises a historical pedagogy that encourages every Black athlete to share a
collective responsibility in learning, understanding, and transmitting on models of reproducible
leadership by exemplary praxis (Bryant 2018; Edwards 2017). Along these lines, second-
generation sport anthologist Renford Reese offers a concise reconstruction of the varying social
contexts contributing to the heritage of sport (dis)integration in the United States (1998). Most
pertinent to our present purposes, we will follow Reese in adapting the major typologies of
liberalism as emphasized by Crockett, Wallendorf, Marston, and Dawson as they pertain to our
consummate focus on rooting theory in major cases, events, and figures in the history of the
intersections between sport activism and race in the U.S. In a distinctive melding of the narrative
and epistemological (paying homage to his father as the first Black sports journalist to write for a
major newspaper in the South in Atlanta), Reese summarizes his brief reconstructive history of
integration with a taxonomy he developed through years of discussion with his father. It
effectively lays out a working schema of major Black sports figures in the history of the United
States up to the close of the 20th century (1998). Their reconstruction runs as follows: liberal
conservatives were nonthreatening to the system by abstaining from opinions regarding racism
(Joe Lewis, Willie Mays, O.J. Simpson, Hershel Walker, Evander Holyfield, Marcus Allen, and
Michael Jordan), race-conscious (Crockett and Wallendorf’s ‘disillusioned’) liberals were
respectful of their culture but did not engage in overt activism (Jackie Robinson, Ahmad Rashad,
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, and Doug Williams), and activist Black nationalists
were known to confront racism publicly to different degrees of radical expression (Arthur Ashe,
Mohammed Ali, Curt Flood, Jim Brown, Bill Russell, Tommie Smith, and John Carlos).
While Crockett, Wallendorf, Marston, Dawson, and Reese do offer hints at tracing their
taxonomies back to the earliest stages of U.S. history—particularly the liberal strand—they also
note that the other two strands really came to the fore with the Reconstruction era following the
Civil War. In treating them now in reverse order, we must add yet another layer of illustrative
industry examples from the three centuries of sport history of the Black athlete in the U.S. that
date back to the advent of sport for the colonial entertainment and status display of competing
plantation owners (Rhoden 2006). To this, we can also overlay the athletic heritage with a lesser-
known heritage of epistemic apartheid (Rabaka 2010), insofar as the variable historical contexts
bore witness to the emergence of equally monumental ‘Heritage’ of Black minds that
materialized from the same crucial context of Reconstruction era history (see Figure 3) that
reverberates in Kaepernick’s present contributions to that long heritage.
Firstly, at the radical extreme, the conflation of U.S. Reconstruction sport and associated Black
intellectual schools, led authors and commentators to make the direct identification of Marcus
Garvey and his United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) with the heritage of Black
nationalists that became profoundly disillusioned with the Reconstruction era shortcomings in
advancing the economic, cultural, and political welfare of Blacks in the United States (Garvey
2014). With the home office of the UNIA in New York, Garvey played a huge role in the Harlem
Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s, encouraging Blacks to inculcate distinctive culture forms of
art, music, entertainment, and commerce publicly to embrace the dual identity of a nation within
a nation (Garvey 2004). Reese and Rhoden note that Garvey, while himself not greatly
45
successful as an entrepreneur, held an enormous intellectual influence on the history of the
evolution of the heritage of Black athletes in the U.S. In the context of baseball, Fleet Walker,
was the first Black major leaguer in baseball history in 1884. He has since been subjected to
epistemic apartheid as all but forgotten outside the heritage although he presaged Jackie
Robinson by 63 years (Rabaka 2010). While Walker was treated well by his White teammates,
the contrasting vitriol he frequently faced by opposing fans led him ultimately to become a
radical advocate of Garvey’s Back to Africa movement (Rhoden 2006). Rhoden notes that ‘By
1919 the violence directed at African Americans had reached genocidal proportions’ (109). This
bloodiest year of racial violence that the U.S. had seen since emancipation was, for Rhoden, also
a turning point in the fusion of growing Black nationalism with cultural enterprise through sport.
The violent and racist narrative faced by Fleet Walker became an important factor in the 1920
success of an even more egregious instance of epistemic apartheid with the epistemic erasure of
perhaps the most important and successful figure in the history of Black sport in the U.S.,
(un)known as The Father of Black Baseball: Arthur ‘Rube’ Foster (Rhoden 2006; Rabaka 2010).
As a former professional pitcher, he founded an economically viable alternative to Major League
Baseball through the appeal of a faster, more entertaining Negro baseball league as
commissioner, manager, marketer, and team owner (101). The Garvey-inspired model was
owned, managed, organized, marketed, and played by African Americans reaching its height of
popularity between 1943 to 1946 (Rhoden 2006), only to begin to crumble with Jackie Robinson
(re)breaking the historic segregation barrier in 1947.
Marston associates the contextual emergence of the strand of disenchanted liberalism with
Garvey’s longtime ideological opponent and intellectual contemporary W.E.B. Du Bois
(Marston 2017). The beginning of his prominence comes with Du Bois’s rise to founding leader
of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples (NAACP), assuming the
role of editor of its monthly periodical The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races. While Du Bois
devoted relatively little writing to sport in his major academic works, with his romantic notion of
the “saga of Blacks’ second-sight,” Du Bois draws upon the disillusionment of the Black
experience of apartheid, colonization, slavery, and genocide (Francis 2021). This ability to see
‘behind the veil of the color line’ makes an epistemic virtue of the unique capacity ‘to see both
Africa (the Black world) and America’s (the White world’s) strengths and weaknesses, and the
ways in which these two worlds could and should learn from and, even more, aid each other’
(Rabaka 2015; Bryant 2018; Rhoden 2006).
As for his limited reflections on sport, we do know from a crucial debate Du Bois chronicled in
The Crisis that he publicly supported students at his alma mater Fisk University in protesting the
elimination of its intercollegiate athletic department. This administrative decision came after the
1919 cessation on athletics ended at the close of WWI. The administrative justification was
driven by the chancellor’s desire to placate Northern White donors that saw intercollegiate sport
as corrupting education. This was due to sports’ growing Northern propensity to accompany
gambling and to lead to the elicit recruitment of top Black athletes for pay. In Crisis, Du Bois
chronicled the protest of 6 students and rebuked Fisk’s suspension of 4 students in calling them
martyrs in a front-page headline. While Fisk responded by vowing to continue intramural
athletics and called for students to play the empowering dual role as coaches, Du Bois justified
his support for the reestablishment of the athletic department on three main grounds. Firstly, he
46
resisted the political notion of White donors wielding authority over Fisk administration and its
students. Secondly, he placed the student demands for competitive athletics on equal par with
expressive artistic freedom against authoritarian discipline, as one might likewise find in the
student newspaper and student government as socialization outlets for free speech and free
expression (Anderson 2006, pp. 35-36). Thirdly, not only did he regard the development of
bodily and mental strength as mutually reinforcing, but he also began to see sport in its potential
as an elevated cultural expression of Black soul (Du Bois 1996) and style with political
resonance (especially activism against segregation).
As for the last of Crockett and Wallendorf’s groups, the Black liberal, we could also point to the
other contemporary and major ideological rival of Du Bois on another end of the political
spectrum with Booker T. Washington as founder of the Tuskegee Institute. As crucial points of
differentiation concerning their competing views on education and the role of sport, Du Bois
disagreed with Washington’s views of education as primarily vocational. Since the conservative
leanings of Washington saw play as an idle pursuit potentially leading to lack of discipline and
degradation of character, he openly commented that he had no favorite sport nor did he have any
care for them. Insofar as Washington was indebted to a conservative base of Northern White
donors that thought likewise, he regarded their ongoing support for his programs of rigorous
discipline through minimal leisure as essential for Black Southern school identity and distinctive
branding. As such, Tuskegee was a predominately Black trade school founded by Washington in
Alabama with the aim of working toward cultural integration in the Reconstruction era South
through the economic means of a distinctively conservative variant of Black liberalism
(Washington 2020). Washington, as Du Bois‘s leading intellectual rival of the time, went as far
as reversing Du Bois’s educational platform and branding of the ideal Black college as not in the
business of espousing or teaching racial political equality. Washington openly discouraged the
extension of antebellum voting rights to Blacks in the South and wedded his model for
adolescent socialization on the meritocratic ideology of White neo-liberalism. As such, for
Washington, the overt purpose of Black vocational schools in the Tuskegee model was for Black
tradesmen to prove their worth to White communities through their economic contributions as
the best means for social (but not full political) integration (Washington 2000).
Washington’s utter lack of interest in sport and mere fifteen minutes per day allotted to
recreational leisure allowed the tight Tuskegee variant of conservative Black liberalism to spill
over indirectly as a competing pressure against progressive counter currents pushing for sport
racial integration. Reese refers to the prominence of Washington as one rationale behind the lack
of demands for equality from most Black athletes from the Reconstruction era. Reese traces this
cultural lineage all the way up to Jackie Robinson’s (re)breaking of the color barrier in baseball
in 1957. As a concrete example of the spirit of Washington’s teaching in practice, under the
characteristic logic of liberal instrumentality, the abiding rationale behind even the selection of
Jackie Robinson (contrary to Reese’s taxonomy) could likewise be viewed as stemming more
from the market-based model of interest convergence than disillusioned Black liberalism (Smith
and Hattery 2020, p. 179). On this view, if the grooming and strategic choice of White owners
eager for Black talent on their teams derived from a liberal market mindset, sport integration is
not driven by strictly comparative measures of talent (there were better Black players than
Robinson at the time) but also by other economic factors, such as how Robinson’s his calm
47
demeanor, decent education, and obedient character would be perceived by the White consumer
base of fans (Bryant 2018; Rhoden 2006).
Kaepernick’s Reference to Allen’s Black Awakening in Capitalist America (1990):
Kaepernick (Garvey) Calling Out Jay-Z as the Middle-Man (Washington)
In returning to the opening illustration of the Kaepernick and Trump dynamic, we see a clear
instance of cultural racelighting by appeal to the disproportionately White salience imbued to
patriotic virtues (Sorek and White 2016) and of colonial racelighting in so far as Kaepernick’s
own published works have made convincing ties between the colonial legacy of slavery and the
historical origins of American law enforcement (Kaepernick 2021). However, as far as
Kaepernick is concerned, the most pernicious form of racelighting employed by White NFL
owners is capitalist (neo-liberal) racelighting. This form of reality distortion comes to
Kaepernick with the threat of making a commodity fetish out of Black excellence in sport,
entertainment, and culture industries.
In foreseeing the inherent threat of White owner infatuation with market growth, revenue
increase, and viewership ratings, Kaepernick saw the Jay-Z and NFL partnership as a step in the
wrong direction. It took Kaepernick a week to respond to the NFL announcement of its new
partnership with Jay-Z. In a short and direct response to Jay-Z as employing a tandem of colonial
gaslighting in diverting the focus away from police brutality with the capitalist gaslighting aim of
securing marketing access to a more diverse portfolio of entertainers of color. In address the
former, Kaepernick first tweeted a picture of solidarity and a message of care and support for his
brothers still kneeling during August 2019 preseason games even in the face enduring repeated
death threats. The second tweet in its direction to the latter, was lost in the haze of consumer
reactions to the Roc Nation announcement, its flurry of backlash and support, and rush of
speculation over whether a signing of Kaepernick to a team was part of a Black liberalist deal
Jay-Z had brokered.
In this second deeply reflective tweet, he posted a Twitter shot of a highlighted paragraph from
R. L. Allen’s disruptively titled Black Awakening in Capitalist America (1969) with the short
comment ‘Reading always gives me clarity.’ In the larger context of the manuscript and its
themes, Allen pays continual tribute to Washington (Allen 1990), Du Bois, Garvey, and others in
noting their respective roles in contributing to stages, nuances, and variations of Black
nationalism (see Figure 4 below). Note that Allen’s highlighted remarks on the displayed page
are a Civil Rights era radical critique of the methods and motives of CORE (the Congress on
Racial Equality), as it was founded in 1942 at the University of Chicago on a platform of pacifist
racial reconciliation. That pacifist platform made it a social movement that eventually matured
into a key player in the 1960s civil rights movements, forming strategic corporate alliances
among major urban industries (like Ford) on the hopes that CORE might be able to silence a
growing number of urban social movements, including many that erupted out of direct concern
for excessive police use of force in attempts to break up public protests. What Kaepernick found
as a timely critique already advanced almost 50 years prior saw Black intellectual nationalists
warning those persons of color most affected against the same strategic deployment of the
racelighting neo-colonial opiate of promises for progress through the strategic placement of
Black middle-class politicians as extensions of the White interest in keeping impoverished poor
48
urban Blacks from rebellion against police violence. With the politicization of White fears over
late 60’s urban race-related violence between impoverished Blacks and law enforcement
officials, the Ford Foundation sought to extend its corporate influence into quelling the violence,
particularly in American urban centers that housed its largest manufacturing plants. In other
words, in contrast to the CRT epistemic priority of those most adversely affected, they were
encouraged to remain submissively patient for the future hope of a better tomorrow that, fifty
years later, is still yet to come (Kaepernick 2021). However, in strategic exchange for the Ford
Foundation in the 1970s utilizing its corporate resources and influence to maintain the status quo,
this time it is the corporate might of the 32 NFL owners, with Jay-Z—their new entertainment
and marketing manager—to play to capitalist racelighting role of pacifying peace-enforcer by
offering better (more profitable) mass marketing entertainment.
Figure 4: Kaepernick’s Analogy—Jay-Z Is to Black Proxy Leaders as the NFL Is to CORE
When rereading the tweet above in its multi-layered temporal valence, for yet another
contemporary application, we can substitute Jay-Z’s Inspire Change social justice initiative as
49
the corollary to CORE mass marketed peace under the guise of public outreach. In short,
Kaepernick believes that the capitalist motives driving Jay-Z’s complicity with the White
colorblindness of the NFL, its owners, and the newest wave of the pacifying American culture
industry (Hylton 2010), will call it progress by simply inserting piecemeal reforms like the new
ritual of including the Black anthem, the sale of themed racially conscious jerseys and apparel,
and providing the most relevant and lucrative Super Bowl entertainment from performers of
color to continue to support White owner interests and revenue (Montez de Oca 2021). Like
Garvey, Kaepernick questioned whether better and more engaging entertainment would
ultimately help those born Black and poor, most often facing premature death at the hands of
White law enforcement in moments of greatest vulnerability, with military service openly
marketed to them (through the allure of professional sport) as their best hope in a trade of their
bodies for an exit to systemic poverty (McCain and Flake 2015).
Concluding Lessons for Intercultural Marketing in Superdiverse Society: Learning from a
Half-Century Heritage of Racelighting Black Athlete Activism
We ought to conclude by echoing Harry Edward’s abiding sentiment as pertains to the Bryant’s
heritage of Black athlete activism: ‘Those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it’
(2017, xi). Edwards brought up this claim in the context of his lack of surprise at the astounding
effectiveness of the social marketing activism of Black athletes at the University of Missouri
threatening to boycott its November 2015 football game against BYU for unaddressed campus
patterns of systemic racism (Bryant 2018). The mere tweet of their collective solidarity led in
just two days to the immediate dismissal of its President Tim Wolfe (Edwards 2017). Edwards
made this claim insofar as he was able to organize a similar game boycott with a very similar
response at what was then San Jose State College 48 years earlier in 1967 (ix-xi).
As complement to Edward’s more radical stances on Black athlete activism, Howard Bryant
makes carefully reflective notes to contextualize the Kaepernick moment within the broader
political backdrop of the post 9-11 propagandizing of sport with patriotic ritual. This period runs
from George Bush’s World Series pitch in October 2001 up to the McCain-Flake expose of ‘paid
patriotism’ as the outcome of a 2015 investigation into pork-barrel government spending
(McCain and Flake 2015). McCain and Flake disclosed $7 million dollars in paid anthem
displays to major American sports leagues by the Department of Defense, at taxpayer expense,
for the purposes of marketing recruitment that the NFL (as the major beneficiary) masked as
voluntary public outreach in its Salute to Service efforts (akin to the reiteration of this pattern in
its Inspire Change mix of public outreach and strategic marketing).
This wider backdrop helps explain the rationale behind the NFL’s amplified racelighting efforts
in response to Trump’s observations that Kaepernick’s displays were hurting the NFL ratings
and brand. As the NFL discreetly admitted to collusion in a February 2019 settlement of up to
$40 million with Kaepernick in violation of its collective bargaining agreement with its players’
association (Rische 2019), its efforts toward rebranded communal outreach included staging a
more diverse array of entertainment influencers by signing with Jay-Z and Roc Nation six
months later (see Figure 5 for the more comprehensive timeline). The most immediate rationale
for the NFL’s deal with Jay-Z was directly related to Kaepernick’s influence. The NFL struggled
to sign A-list entertainers to headline its February 3, 2019, Super Bowl LIII with most
entertainers of color opting out in labor solidarity with Kaepernick and his cause.
50
Figure 5: A Visual Timeline of Half-Century Heritage of Racelighting Black Athlete
Activism
Jay-Z’s rationale for heeding their call was that after 3 years of player protests, the movement
needed to go beyond kneeling. Jay-Z positioned himself as making the move from protest as an
outsider to activist as an NFL insider with rumors of positioning him (a billionaire) to become
the first Black owner in the NFL at some unknown future date. Since then, the NFL has steadily
incorporated Roc Nation as an ally in its more public albeit highly orchestrated ‘Inspire Change’
initiatives for advancing racial equality (Bryant 2018; Rugg 2020). As such, the NFL has
continued to adapt its racelighting strategies towards Kaepernick’s protests as they have even
begun to coopt NFL player activists into their overt branding strategy from the 2020 season to
the current middle of the 2022 season (Bryant 2018; Montez de Oca 2021). As of the onset of the
2019 season, around the time of the 2019 collaboration announcement with Jay-Z, most of the 32
owners of the NFL still condemned Kaepernick’s protests as bad for the NFL brand, led by
Roger Goodell, the Commissioner of the NFL. Goodell, in initial complicity with Trump’s
promotional teams that tracked public sentiment of the NFL viewing audience, imposed fines
against players and teams engaged in such anthem protests and instituted league-wide policies
that mandated standing during the anthem, with the qualified option for players to stay hidden in
locker rooms until the close of the anthem, if opting against standing.
Jay-Z’s rationale and justification seems most closely to align with the strand of Black liberalism
(ala Washington) that seeks out a seat in the boardroom to negotiate steps of interest
convergence among affected stakeholders to continue along the linear march to increased
revenues in a trickle-down economic logic (Dyson 2019a; Dyson 2019b). Jay-Z already has to
his credit an impressive record of success in working with the NBA in its branding through his
co-ownership and financing of the move of the New Jersey Nets to the impoverished urban
streets of his native home, Brooklyn New York (Carter 2011; Oates 2020). Jay-Z has the social
capital required to pull off successful Super Bowl halftime entertainment along with a network of
51
performers to draw upon as the NFL incorporated the Black Anthem. Jay-Z even caused a bit of
stir at the 2020 Superbowl as he and his wife Beyonce sat during the playing of the Anthem
along with their young daughter. His response was that he was ‘working’ as he was focused on
possible adjustments needed to the audio with the real ‘protest’ being his fully Latina line-up of
star singers for the Anthem and Superbowl (Demi Lovato, Shakira, and Jennifer Lopez).
In a turn of irony for those sensitive to placating contemporary public sentiment only noticed by
the likes of Bryant as a student of the ‘Heritage’ (2018, pp. 6-7), the initial August/September
2016 public outcry against Kaepernick came in the immediate context of nation-wide mourning
of the June 2016 death of Muhammad Ali whose refusal to serve in Vietnam was a
monumentally unpopular turn in the late 60s civil rights movement. Sadly, as sentiments always
shift more than principles, it took the May 2020 murder of George Floyd to stir on the staged
August 2020 public apology of NFL Commissioner Goodell to Kaepernick as another iteration
of racelighting. Goodell’s astute marketing tracked public sentiment and recognized the
increasing power of athlete activists of color that brought every major American sports league to
a halt (except the NHL). Goodell is quoted stating: “I wish we would have listened earlier, Kaep,
to what you were kneeling about and what you were trying to bring attention to” (Selbe 2020).
But then in a classic racelighting twist, Goodell subtly shifts reality and places the implicit fault
on Kaepernick: “We had invited him in several times to have the conversation, to have the
dialogue. I wish we had the benefit of that, we never did. We would have benefited from that,
absolutely” (Selbe 2020).
As for the latest development of the NFL’s seemingly ceaseless heritage of racelighting, the
candid conclusion of this analysis is that we have no reason not to expect more of the same. As
support for this lamentable state, our final most recent case precedent shows the confluence of
cultural racelighting, colonial racelighting, and capitalist racelighting in their newest corporate,
technological, and legal manifestations. In sum, an an explicit victory in realizing the hyper
norms of global codes of conduct that grant stakeholder entitlement to worker advocacy, the
rights of corporations never to trump those of persons, and the right of labor to have their voice
heard (Laczniak and Kennedy 2011), an October 2021 settlement with Black NFL retirees found
that many had been disproportionately denied claims to access the NFL’s $1 billion concussion
settlement monies that White retirees had little trouble getting processed. The settlement found
that Black players were race-normed by the algorithmic determination of settlement eligibility.
In an overt transgression of the hyper norms of global codes of conduct prohibiting workplace
abuse (Laczniak and Kennedy 2011), Black players were presumed by the algorithm to have
begun their lives at a lower cognitive level. They in turn were judged to have not met the
sufficient degree of cognitive decline to justify payment since the default for Whites was
automatically set higher that allowed for greater quantitative ‘measured’ decline post retirement.
Cultural racelighting recurs here with Whiteness as meriting automatically higher initial
thresholds for intellectual ability. Colonial racelighting recurs with post-CTE awareness
participation of White youth in tackle football on the decline, while Black minds and bodies for
colonial exploit have shown no decrease in participation (thus leading to an even more Black
future NFL to exceed 70%). Capitalist racelighting recurs in this case insofar as the former
players and their families continue to fight costly legal battles for reassessment while White
retirees have already received their due compensation for mental, physical, and psychological
loss. However, as the Heritage continues to mold new athlete social marketing activists testifying
52
to new injustices from the 1967 S.J.S.C. boycott to the 2015 University of Missouri one, the
White timeline for not conceding a systemic pattern is objectively on the wrong side of the
historical color line.
References
Allen, R. L. (1969). Black Awakening in Capitalist America. New York: Doubleday.
Anderson, D. (2006). “The ‘Discipline of Work and Play’: W.E.B. Du Bois, the New Negro
Intelligentsia, and the Culture of Sports.” Studies in Popular Culture 29(2): 21-38.
Bryant, H. (2018). The Heritage: Black Athletes, A Divided America, and the Politics of
Patriotism. Boston: Beacon Press.
Butterworth, M. (2020). “Sport and the Quest for Unity: How the Logic of Consensus
Undermines Democratic Culture.” Sport Communication and Justice 8(4-5): 452-472.
Crockett, D. and Melanie Wallendorf. (2004). “The Role of Normative Political Ideology in
Consumer Behavior.” Journal of Consumer Behavior 31(Dec): 511-528
Carter, Shawn as Jay-Z. (2011). Decoded. New York: One World.
Dawson, M. (2001). Black Visions: The Roots of Contemporary African-American Political
Ideologies. University of Chicago Press: Chicago.
Du Bois, W.E.B. (2007). The Souls of Black Folk. Ed. B. Edwards. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Du Bois, W.E.B. (1996). The Oxford Du Bois Reader. Oxford University Press: New York.
Dyson, M.E. (2019a). Jay-Z: Made in America. New York: St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
Dyson, M.E. (2019b). ‘Jay-Z Didn’t ‘Sell Out’ by Dealing with the NFL—This Is Just How
Activism Works.’ Washington Post, August 23, 2019.
Edwards, H. (1969/2017). The Revolt of the Black Athlete. 50th anniversary ed. Urbana:
University of Illinois Press.
Francis, J.N.P. (2021). “A Macromarketing Call to Action—Because Black Lives Matter!”
Journal of Macromarketing 41(1): 132-145.
Garvey, M. (2014). Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey. Ed. A. Jacques-Garvey.
Mansfield Centre, CT: Martino Publishing.
Garvey, M. (2004). Selected Writings and Speeches of Marcus Garvey. Ed. B. Blaisdell.
Mineola, New York: Dover Publications.
Harris and Wood. (2021). ‘Racelighting: A Prevalent Version of Gaslighting Facing People of
Color.’ Diverse Issues in Higher Education, Opinion Piece. Feb 2, 2021.
Henderson, G.D., Hakstian, A.M., and J. Williams. (2016). Consumer Equality: Race and the
American Marketplace. Praeger: Santa Barbara.
Hylton, K. (2010). “How a Turn to Critical Race Theory Can Contribute to Our Understanding
of ‘Race,’ Racism and Anti-racism in Sport.” International Review for the Sociology of
Sport 45(3): 335-354.
Johnson, M. (2017). “The Paradox of Black Patriotism: Double Consciousness.” Ethnic and
Racial Studies (Apr): 1-19.
Kaepernick, C. (2021). Abolition for the People: The Movement for a Future without Policing.
Kaepernick Publishing: New York.
Kennedy, A.M. (2016). “Macro-social Marketing.” Journal of Macromarketing 36(3): 354-365.
53
Kennedy, A.M. and J. Smith. (2022). “Socially Responsible (Macro-Social) Marketing.” Journal
of Macromarketing 42(4): 572-582.
Laczniak, G.R. and Kennedy, A.M. (2011). “Hyper Norms: Searching for a Global Code of
Conduct.” Journal of Macromarketing 31(3): 245-256.
L’Ouverture, T. and J.B. Aristide. (2008). The Haitian Revolution. Verso: New York.
Marston, S. (2021). “The Episodic Kneel: Racial Neoliberalism, Civility, and the Media
Circulation of Colin Kaepernick, 2017-2020.” Race and Social Problems (June): 1-10.
Marston, S. (2017). “The Revival of Athlete Activism(s): Divergent Black Politics in the 2016
Presidential Election Engagements of LeBron James and Colin Kaepernick.” Fair Play.
Revista de Filosofia, Etica y Derecho del Deporte (10): 45-68.
McCain, J. and J. Flake. (2015). Tackling Paid Patriotism: A Joint Oversight Report, Politico.
https://static.politico.com/98/a4/d61b3cae45f0a7b79256cf1da1e0/flake-report.45am.pdf.
Montez de Oca, J. 2021. ‘Marketing Politics and Resistance: Mobilizing Black Pain in National
Football League Publicity.’ Sociology of Sport Journal (38): 101-110.
Oates, T. (2020). “‘Where I’m From’: Jay-Z’s ‘Hip Hop Cosmopolitanism,’ Basketball, and the
Neoliberal Politics of Urban Space.” Sociology of Sport Journal (37): 183-191.
Rabaka, R. (2010). Against Epistemic Apartheid: W.E.B. Du Bois and the Dialectics of
Decolonialization. Landham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.
Rabaka, R. (2021). Du Bois: A Critical Introduction. Polity Press: Cambridge.
Rabaka, R. (2015). The Negritude Movement: W.E.B. Du Bois, Leon Damas, Aime Cesaire,
Leopold Senghor, Frantz Fanon, and the Evolution of an Insurgent Idea. Landham, MD:
Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.
Reese, R. (1998). “The Socio-Political Context of the Integration of Sport in America.” Journal
of African American Men 3(4): 5-22.
Rhoden, W. (2006). $40 Million Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete.
Three Rivers Press: New York.
Rische, P. (2019). ‘How the NFL’s Settlement with Colin Kaepernick May Have Approached
$40 Million.’ Forbes, Feb 19, 2019.
Rugg, A. (2020). “Incorporating the Protests: The NFL, Social Justice, and the Constrained
Activism of the ‘Inspire Change’ Campaign.” Sport Communication and Social Justice
8(4-5): 611-628.
Selbe, N. (2020). “Roger Goodell Offers Apology to Colin Kaepernick: ‘I Wish We Had
Listened Earlier.’” Sports Illustrated, Aug 23, 2020.
Smith, E. and A.J. Hattery. (2020). “Bad Boy for Life: Hip-Hop Music, Race, and Sports.”
Sociology of Sport Journal (37): 174-182.
Sorek, T. and White, R. (2016). “American Football and National Pride: Racial Differences.”
Social Science Research (58): 266-78.
Vorster, L, E. Kipnis, G. Bebek, and C. Demangeot. (2020). “Brokering Intercultural Relations
in the Rainbow Nation: Introducing Intercultural Marketing.” Journal of Macromarketing
40(1): 51-72.
Washington, B.T. (2000). Up From Slavery: An Autobiography. New York: Big Font Books.
Washington, B.T. (2020). The Booker T. Washington Collection: 8 Classic Works. Coppell, TX:
First Rate Publishers.
54
Externalities Track
Chair:
Shoaib M. Farooq Padela
Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
55
Exploring Controversy and Emblematic Externalities Through Psychedelic Markets:
When Rules Change, So Does Meaning
Kerryn M. Lyes, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
C. Michael Hall, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Ann-Marie Kennedy, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Paul Ballantine, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
“It seems like a lifetime, or at least a Main Era — the kind of peak that never comes
again. San Francisco in the middle sixties was a very special time and place to be a part
of. Maybe it meant something. Maybe not, in the long run... but no explanation, no mix of
words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and
alive in that corner of time and the world. Whatever it meant...There was madness in any
direction, at any hour. You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal
sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning...
And that, I think, was the handle — that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old
and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn't need that. Our energy would
simply prevail. There was no point in fighting — on our side or theirs. We had all the
momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave...
So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look
West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark — that
place where the wave finally broke, and rolled back.”
― Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, 1972
Introduction
This extended abstract presents a scoping review (Mays et al. 2001; Munn et al. 2018) and initial
exploration into emblematic externalities occurring through the burgeoning legalisation,
commercialisation, and subsequent marketing of psychedelics (World Drug Report 2021) and
also sets an agenda for further research on this topic. While medical researchers may focus on
health outcomes and political scientists may focus on policy development, this extended abstract
looks specifically at the emblematic and cultural externalities of psychedelics in the marketing
domain. As will be explored further, the fracturing of associations in meaning act at a subtle
level, making this shift truly unaccounted for – an externality (Padela, Wooliscroft, and
Ganglmair-Wooliscroft 2021).
Blanchet and Depeyre (2016) present knowledge as performative, in that the development of
expertise on a market actively shapes and transforms the market itself. In the case of
commercialising psychedelics, there are multiple streams of expertise both clashing and
converging - clinicians, entrepreneurs, policymakers, researchers, investors, advocates, and
‘psychonauts’ to name a few — each with vested interests in commercial, economic, political,
personal, or social outcomes.
As a knowledge synthesis regarding a controversial topic, this extended abstract aims to
contribute to the discussion of conflicting practices in markets (Blanchet and Depeyre 2016) with
a view to excavate cultural externalities at the level of meaning-making and discourse. While
56
conventionally, there may be a tendency to focus on controversies surrounding practical, material
concerns such as bodily harm or environmental harm (Blanchet and Depeyre 2016), the process
of commercialisation also brings externalities in terms of collective meaning making and cultural
influence (Padela, Wooliscroft, and Ganglmair-Wooliscroft 2021).
As such, this article aims to both identify a research gap and begin to explicate emblematic
externalities within psychedelic and psychedelic-influenced markets. This work contributes to
discussions on the role of governmental interaction with market players in shaping markets
(Wiebe and Mitchell 2023) and also provides a novel perspective by considering both positive
and negative externalities — the unaccounted-for costs and benefits of exchange (Mundt 1993),
within the controversial product category (Blanchet and Depeyre 2016) of psychedelics.
Research Approach
Scope And Span: What Are Psychedelic Markets?
Psychedelics are a group of psycho-active substances which produce hallucinatory effects in
those who ingest them (World Drug Report 2021). The term psychedelics is often used
interchangeably with hallucinogens, dissociative drugs, and more recently entheogens (World
Drug Report, 2021). From a neuroscientific perspective, when taken in acute or sub-acute doses,
psychoactive substances act on several neurological facets including reasoning, creativity,
attention, recall, and social cognition (Bălăet̨ 2022).
For the purposes of this article, the topic of psychedelics has been delineated according to the
World Drug Report’s (2021) description of psychedelics or hallucinogens as substances which
produce different hallucinatory effects and alter the users’ state of consciousness. These
substances include psilocybin mushrooms, d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), hallucinogenic
amphetamines, mescaline, and phencyclidines (PCPs), and some New Psychoactive substances
(NPS) (World Drug Report 2021). In some cases, cannabis is cases included in the category of
hallucinogens, and in other cases it is excluded (MAPS 2018; World Drug Report 2021). As
such, articles on cannabis are only included in the scoping review only where the subject of the
paper holds further relevance to externalities or marketing involved in cannabis as included in
the category of psychedelics.
Here, the commercialisation of psychedelics is addressed as a marketing system following
Layton’s (2007, p.230) definition of marketing systems as “…a network of individuals, groups,
and/or entities linked directly or indirectly through sequential or shared participation in economic
exchange that creates, assembles, transforms, and makes available assortments of products, both
tangible and intangible, provided in response to customer demand.” Given the contextualising of
his product category within emblematic externalities, symbolic applications of psychedelic-
associated ephemera are also included within this scope.
Method: Scoping Review
This extended abstract scopes the body of literature on the marketing of psychedelics and
identifies a gap as a precursor to further study (Munn et al. 2018). As a result of the scoping
review, a brief history of psychedelic markets is provided alongside preliminary discussion of
emblematic externalities in psychedelic markets.
57
An initial search on Scopus for “marketing and psychedelics” produced limited results (Table 1,
p.5). Therefore, following Mays et al. (2001) instructions for scoping reviews, a scoping review
was conducted to identify a gap in knowledge and inform further analysis (see Table 1, p. 5 for a
record of databases and search terms). Due to the small quantity of extant literature on the topic
in question, no limitations are applied regarding time of publication. From an initial return of
1303 articles, 369 abstracts were read, and 27 articles were included in the review. Following
review, reference lists of included articles were also scanned and reviewed where relevant (Mays
et al. 2001). As per Mays et al. (2001) instructed method for scoping reviews, materials were
included or excluded based on both relevance and quality of evidence. Of the limited extant
research on the marketing of psychedelics, many reviewed results originated within the
disciplinary bounds of public health and drug policy or anthropology but were relevant to the
topic in question with only three articles originating in marketing journals (see Table 2, p. 6).
59
Table 2. Scoping Review – Disciplines of reviewed research
Research
Discipline:
Marketing
Public
health and
policy
Culture/Anthropolog
y
Non-academic/Commercial
documentation
Number of
articles
reviewed
3
13
5
6
Additionally, this extended abstract employs the methodological tactics laid out by Blanchet and
Depeyre (2015) for case selection, data collection, and analysis to explore how a controversial
market is shaped through multiple perspectives. Specifically, the case selected (marketing of
psychedelics) is clearly delineated, public, and a present or ‘live’ controversy (Blanchet and
Depeyre 2015). Sources have been included where appropriate for a scoping review (Mays et al.
2001; Munn et al. 2018) across academic, media, and trade documents considering temporality,
relevancy, and pluralism (Blanchet and Depeyre 2015). Thirdly, data has been analysed with care
to consider significant events through time and through multiple facets of the issue at hand
(Blanchet and Depeyre 2015). The following discussion synthesises findings from the scoping
review to examine the issue of psychedelics from within the constructed frame while also aiming
to address overflow in the form of externalities (Blanchet and Depeyre 2015).
Discussion
Much like markets, psychedelics have been a part of human lives and cultures for centuries
(Guerra-Doce 2015). However, despite a market projected to reach 8.3 billion USD by 2028
(Bloomberg 2022), there is little available literature on the marketing or history of marketing of
psychedelic substances. What’s more, drug use overall is increasing globally (World Drug
Report 2021). As of 2021, drug sales through the dark web alone represent a multimillion-dollar
market (World Drug Report 2021). What’s more, over the course of the last decade, multiple
governments have implemented significant drug policy reform coinciding with processes of both
the commercialisation and medicalisation of these substances for clinical therapeutic markets
(Calderon, Hunt, and Klein 2018; Chi and Gold 2020; Heal et al. 2018; Sellers and Leiderman
2018).
In recent years, there has also been a significant increase in the number of New Psychoactive
Substances (NPS) that are ‘new to the market’ and, as such, remain to be regulated (World Drug
Report 2021). At the same time, the advent of encrypted transactional technology and the
associated dark web, create further complexity and availability of prohibited substances (Bălăet̨
2022; World Drug Report 2021). Considering the many unknowns in both the mechanisms and
impacts of psychedelics, the monetisation of these compounds for therapeutic use poses both
significant risks and potential benefits for the treatment of neuropsychiatric conditions, as well as
numerous second-order effects both within and beyond therapeutic settings (Bălăet̨ 2022).
60
Difficult as it is, the analysis of controversial topics in macromarketing enquiry contributes to the
overall understanding of societal issues and participate in culturally relevant debates (Blanchet
and Depeyre 2016).
The commercialisation and use of psychedelics is a complex and impactful social issue that is
closely entangled with wider systemic challenges. Some proponents herald psychedelics and
psychedelic experiences as potential solutions to broadscale ecological or spiritual crises (Elcock
2013). In examining other controlled substances, impacts on users’ self-concept (Evans-Polce et
al. 2015) and risks of criminal charges and misuse of punitive action also come into play. For
example, Hart (2020) explicates a link between the tendency in psychological research towards
overstating the negative impacts of recreational drug-use and patterns of police brutality against
Black Americans. Overall, the issues of the buying, selling, and use of psychedelics is
significantly in flux and coming into closer relationship with marketing-driven ideals through the
process of commercialisation.
Shifting Histories of Psychedelics
Despite predating sixties psychedelia, the therapeutic aspects of the history of psychedelics are
perhaps less well known than the psychedelics-fuelled counter-cultural movement which began
in America during the 1960s (Elcock 2013). For example, MDMA was synthesised in Germany
in 1914 and re-entered and exited experimental and therapeutic usage in multiple countries
through the course of the 20
th
century (Heal et al. 2018). These changes ran concurrently with the
development of increased drug control systems through both the United Nations and individual
governments, perhaps most notably the Controlled Substances Act in the United States as
influenced by political turmoil over the counterculture emerging at the time (Heal et al. 2018).
Many governments have instituted elaborate prohibition regarding mind-altering substances on a
case-by-case basis with classifications ranging from legal to legal and regulated, illegal, or
decriminalised (Heal et al. 2018; Jacques et al. 2016). A longer standing example of complex
drug laws is in Amsterdam whereby coffeeshops are legally permitted to retail hashish and
marijuana, however obtaining a supply to do so is prohibited (Jacques et al. 2016). Due to the
complexity of the issue and resulting societal impacts (of either criminalisation or legalisation),
regulatory logic risks convolution to the point of incoherence.
While it may now appear as a rapid process of commercialisation, a non-profit organisation, the
Multi-disciplinary Association for Psychedelic Substances (MAPS) has been actively advocating
for the use psychedelics at a medical, legal, and cultural level since 1986 (Emerson et al. 2014).
In 2020, MAPS’ authors published a paper on the cost-effectiveness of MDMA-assisted therapy
for patients with treatment-resistant PTSD (Marseille et al. 2020), thus cementing a foray into the
commercial, or at least financial, legitimacy of psychedelic treatments while also continuing
harm-reduction work for psychedelic usage outside of a supervised medical context (Emerson et
al. 2014). Through close to forty years of research on the part of MAPS, while their operative
principles are the same now as they were when the substances were illegal, legitimisation and
greater cultural acceptance are not being realised by the substances’ inherent therapeutic qualities
alone but are beholden to what can be explained and also what can be controlled.
In some respects, the psychedelics-informed approach of MAPS appears to tend towards
relational connectivity as the meta-argument for the use of psychedelics. For example, MAPS
61
founder Rick Doblin was inspired by Stanislav Grof’s weaving of psychotherapy with spirituality
and science (Emerson et al. 2014). Contrastingly, the current commercial momentum appears
more closely centred around science, psychotherapy, changes in legality (arguably in a nascent
rather than causal capacity), and commercial viability. One company, FieldTrip Health, raised in
excess of $95 million USD in bought deal financing (Global Newswire 2021). Specialising in
Ketamine therapy for the treatment of depression, FieldTrip Health was not founded by
clinicians, but rather legally trained Ronan Levy and management professional Mujeeb Jafeeri
(FieldTrip Health n.d.). While historically attached to idea of liberation and coupled with
spiritual and ecologically driven ideas (Elcock 2013), and even before that as a sacred tool of
indigenous cultures (Williams et al. 2022), the commercialisation process may shift associations
with psychedelic substances further toward the clinical treatment of psychosocial imbalances
which is at least in part now driven by commercial interests.
Furthermore, considering the explosion of the use of assemblage thinking in policy makers
(Savage 2020), causal and virtually causal processes are integrated between an influencing
external system on another open system with the view that emergent properties occur as a result
of the interaction between the two (Marcus and Saka, 2006). Assemblage sees power as
relationally constructed, rather than centralised (Savage 2020) – thus a controlling power,
whether employing assemblage thinking actively or incidentally, may operate in such a way that
power is retained through relationship to the dissenting forces, such as a counterculture, as in the
case of psychedelics.
Transferred Meaning of Associated Ephemera And Co-Opted Symbols Of Psychedelia
Stylised psychedelic aesthetics have also been co-opted into seemingly unrelated categories. One
such example can be seen in Coca Cola’s Fruitopia. A product discontinued in the U.S.A, but
available in Canada carries product names including ‘Fruit Integration’ and ‘Tangerine
Wavelength’ (Coca Cola n.d.). The drinks ingredients include filtered water, fruit juice from
concentrate, sugar, and a list of additives (Coca Cola n.d.). However, the marketing materials
suggest something more psychedelic — Fruitopia expands awareness. In 1994, Coca Cola
released a series of psychedelically styled commercials with soundtracks by the musician Kate
Bush, whirling geometric patterns, and taglines such as:
There is a wonderful person inside you who is dying to get out. Please drink a raspberry
psychic lemonade for him/her (YouTube, n.d.)
At the time of writing, the product is described as follows:
Fruitopia gives you the “inspiration to unleash your full imagination with unique flavour
combinations, bold colours and creative, inspiring personality.” (Coca cola, n.d.)
Continually, marketing thought is dynamically shaped by both concepts and context (Tadajewski
2022). The above presents just one among many examples of the commercialisation of
countercultural psychedelic ephemera. Consider the contrasting sets of associated ephemera, be
it a plastic bag of shrivelled fungi and a bearded character with a rainbow tie-die t-shirt, or a
physician wearing a light blue shirt and tie distributing pills in clean, quiet room.
62
As with almost anything ingested, both the individual and social impacts are influenced by
quantity and context (Hartogsohn and Petranker 2022); for example, whether the ingestion is
considered as therapeutic or pathological is at least in part a function of the location of the user –
be it clinical, recreational or illicit. Whether real or imagined, the association between an idea
with a substance along with ephemera creates a structure of associations that seems fundamental
to the premise and practice of marketing. During the period of increased availability and moves
to decriminalise, or regulate substances for clinical use, policy tensions may arise when it comes
to drawing a distinction between health use and recreational or illicit use (Luong et al. 2021).
What’s more, social, institutional, and cultural forces all interact in such a way that the outcome
of similar policy implementation is likely to vary greatly on a case-by-case basis.
Conclusion and Further Research
A potential externality evident through the above discussion, and one that warrants further
research, is an enmeshment of the use of psychedelic substances with market values. The
adaptation to a clinical setting, which is ultimately a controlled commercial setting, brings many
new symbolic attachments. These new associations risk disregarding the ritual and group aspects
of psychedelic consumption and will also likely have flow on effects to those previously
incarcerated for psychedelic use (Devenot et al. 2022; Emerson et al. 2014). Furthermore,
through the adoption into a brief counter-cultural movement, and more so now as a vehicle of
commercialisation, the indigenous psychedelic treatments among those being medicalised are at
risk of being absorbed into the dominant market-logic driven system for supply without directly
benefiting, or even preserving, the traditions which originated them (Devenot et al. 2022;
Williams et al. 2022).
Bordering on the absurd, the combination of simultaneously prohibiting a substance while
adopting them in other contexts for commercial gain contributes to a culture in constant tension.
This is a phenomenon not without historical precedent, but rather mirrored in the prolonged
tensions surrounding alcohol prohibition (Hall 2010), tobacco control (Evans-Polce et al 2015)
and cannabis policy and commercialisation (Klein 2017). Not exclusively, researchers at MAPS
have been advocating for psychedelics for over 40 years, so a clinical quasi-legalisation of
certain substances approved for use in certain cases may not be as radical as it seems at first
glance.
This work begins to demonstrate how the connection between political and legal frameworks
with marketing rhetoric shapes the perceptions of a particular substance or human activity, in the
absence of direct experience (empirically, n of 1). Just as the consistent marketing of a holiday to
a Pacific location may produce a clear, standardised mental simulacrum of what the sensory
experience entails – blue skies, blue water, and bright sand beaches – beyond the direct
experience of it, marketing messages provide a consumer with enough information that they
might imagine what it could be like, or even produce a mental image of who might partake in it.
The topic of psychedelics is unique in that it significantly changes the state of experience in
psychedelic usage and may significantly challenge ontological certainties (Elcock 2013). In this
context, the shift of psychedelics from being classed as criminal activity into a clinical industry,
while a significant shift from criminalisation, represents a managerial response to individual
experiences with differing states of consciousness. As such, psychedelics have shifted in
conceptual positioning from spiritual practices of indigenous cultures (Devenot et al. 2022;
63
Williams et al. 2022), to being adopted as a liberatory tool of a brief and radical counterculture
(Elcock 2013), to now emerging as a controlled, cost-effective tool of the clinician (Devenot et
al. 2022; Marseille et al. 2020).
The re-legalisation process presents a definitive split in the associations with these substances, as
well as the more general cultural appeal to either adopting or rejecting participation in any
related subcultures. However, as demonstrated above, neither of these shifts is entirely without
either harm or benefit. This presents an opportunity to move beyond moral-logic and the
intellectual-positioning of one’s own point-of-view as definitively right, while others are
distinctly wrong, and to create a social-communicative structure that is characterised by
diminished polarisation, critical thinking, and greater nuance. As such, further research could
include systematic analysis of the relationship between psychedelic research and commercial
viability, content analysis of commercial providers of psychedelics and their management of
externalities, ethnographies of set and setting in medicalised psychedelic markets, a
comprehensive history of psychedelic markets beyond the scope of this document, or primary
research interviewing indigenous practitioners regarding the medicalisation of psychedelic
medicines. Cross-disciplinary research to establish ethical parameters for the promotion of
psychedelics could also contribute to an integrated view of psychedelic markets.
Implications for Macromarketers
Through the example of psychedelic markets, this extended abstract begins to address how
commercialisation continually contributes to the way one thing, or subset of things, may take on
very different meanings at both the local and macrosocial levels over time. Significantly, this
extended abstract illustrates how the combination of political, commercial, and sub-cultural
interests influence the socio-cultural attachments pertaining to a particular product or substance.
Considering psychedelic markets in this frame set an agenda for further research and provides a
unique window into the understanding of how the interactions or collaboration between
marketing and government led interests has influenced collective discourse on the ethics of an
issue such as psychedelics. This enquiry also brings to light some complexities regarding the
motivations and attachments among advocates of a particular approach.
Macromarketing researchers are uniquely poised to bridge the gap between cultural and
anthropological work, public health and policy, and the commercial changes already taking place
in the marketing of psychedelics. Therefore, this topic, while it may be delicate and challenging,
warrants further discussion in the macromarketing domain.
While this article is contextualised within the commercialisation of psychedelics, as a topic
mired with controversy, these lines of enquiry are also relevant to macromarketers aiming to
address externalities in other fields (Blanchet and Depeyre 2016). Specifically, it considers
positive and negative externalities in tandem, and invites macromarketers to further elucidate
whether the focus of a particular line of enquiry is chiefly on gaining understanding (knowledge-
driven), social beneficence, or on maintaining existing market structures while reforming their
conceptualisations.
64
References
Bălăet̨ , M. (2022). Psychedelic cognition—The unreached frontier of psychedelic science.
Frontiers in Neuroscience. 16, Article 832385. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.832375
Blanchet, V., and Depeyre, C. (2016). Exploring the shaping of markets through controversies:
methodological propositions for macromarketing studies. Journal of Macromarketing,
36(1), 41–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146715603200
Bloomberg. (2022 July 19). Psychedelic therapeutics market worth $ 8.31 billion by 2028 -
Exclusive report by InsightAce Analytic. Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/press-
releases/2022-07-18/psychedelic-therapeutics-market-worth-8-31-billion-by-2028-
exclusive-report-by-insightace-analytic
Calderon, S. N., Hunt, J., and Klein, M. (2018). A regulatory perspective on the evaluation of
hallucinogen drugs for human use. Neuropharmacology, 142, 135–142.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2017.11.028
Chi, T., and Gold, J. A. (2020). A review of emerging therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs
in the treatment of psychiatric illnesses. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 411,
116715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jns.2020.116715
Consumer Time Capsule (2018, March 1) 1994 - Fruitopia - Raspberry Psychic Lemonade (with
Kate Bush) Commercial (Video). YouTube. https://youtu.be/K9442zB-Xsc
Coca Cola (n.d.) Fruitopia: Nutrition facts. https://www.coca-cola.ca/brands/fruitopia
Dean, A. K. (2019). The enchanted snake and the forbidden fruit: The ayahuasca ‘fairy tale’
tourist. Journal of Marketing Management, 35(9–10), 818–844.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2019.1601635
Devenot, N., Conner, T. and Doyle, R. (2022), Dark side of the Shroom: Erasing Indigenous and
counterculture wisdoms with psychedelic capitalism, and the open source alternative.
Anthropol Conscious, (33) 476-505. https://doi.org/10.1111/anoc.12154
Elcock, C. (2013). From acid revolution to entheogenic evolution: psychedelic philosophy in the
sixties and beyond. The Journal of American Culture, 36(4), 296–311.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jacc.12051
Emerson, A, Ponté, L, Jerome, L and Doblin. R (2014). History and future of the
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Journal of Psychoactive
Drugs, 46(1), 27–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2014.877321
Evans-Polce, R. J, Castaldelli-Maia, J. M., Schomerus, G., Evans-Lacko,S. E (2015), The
downside of tobacco control? Smoking and self-stigma: A systematic review. Social
Science & Medicine, 145, 26-34, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.09.026.
Field Trip Health (n.d.) Our team: FieldTrip Health. https://www.fieldtriphealth.com/our-team
Field Trip Health Ltd. (2021, March 17). Field Trip Health Ltd. announces closing of $95
million bought deal financing. Global Newswire. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-
release/2021/03/17/2194659/0/en/Field-Trip-Health-Ltd-Announces-Closing-of-95-
Million-Bought-Deal-Financing.html
Guerra-Doce, E. (2015). Psychoactive substances in prehistoric times: Examining the
archaeological evidence. Time and Mind, 8(1), 91–112.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1751696X.2014.993244
Hall, W. (2010). What are the policy lessons of national alcohol prohibition in the United States,
1920-1933? Addiction, 105(7), 1164-1173. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-
0443.2010.02926.xc
65
Hart, C. L (2015) Exaggerating harmful drug effects on the brain is killing black people, Neuron,
107(2), 215-218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2020.06.019
Hartogsohn, I., Petranker, R. (2022) Set and setting in microdosing: An oft-overlooked principle.
Psychopharmacology 239, 3771–3777 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-022-
06249-8
Heal, D. J., Henningfield, J., Frenguelli, B. G., Nutt, D. J., and Smith, S. L. (2018). Psychedelics
– Re-opening the doors of perception. Neuropharmacology, 142, 1–6.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2018.08.024
Jacques, S., Rosenfeld, R., Wright, R., and van Gemert, F. (2016). Effects of prohibition and
decriminalization on drug market conflict: Comparing Street dealers, coffeeshops, and
cafes in Amsterdam - Drug market conflicts in Amsterdam. Criminology and Public
Policy, 15(3), 843–876.
Klein, K. (2017). Entrepreneurship, identity, and the transformation of marketing systems:
Medical cannabis in California. Journal of Macromarketing, 37(1), 85-101.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146716655848
Layton, R. A. (2007). Marketing Systems—A core macromarketing concept. Journal of
Macromarketing, 27(3), 227-242. https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146707302836
Luong, H. T., Hoang, L. T., Le, T. Q., Hoang, T. A., Vu, M. T., Tran, H. Q., and Thomson, N.
(2021). ‘We realised we needed a new approach’: Government and law enforcement
perspectives on the implementation and future of the drug decriminalisation policy in
Vietnam. International Journal of Drug Policy, 87, Article 102990.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102990
MAPS. (2018, July 11). East Bay Express: Can Cannabis Be Considered a Psychedelic?
https://maps.org/news/media/east-bay-express-can-cannabis-be-considered-a-
psychedelic/
Marcus, G. E., and Saka, E. (2006). Assemblage. Theory, Culture and Society, 23(2–3), 101–
106. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276406062573
Marseille, E., Kahn, J. G., Yazar-Klosinski, B., and Doblin, R. (2020). The cost-effectiveness of
MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD.
PLoS ONE, 15(10), e0239997. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239997
Mays, N., Roberts, E., & Popay, J. (2001). Synthesising research evidence. In N. Fulop, P. Allen,
A. Clarke, & N. Black (Eds.), Studying the organisation and delivery of health services:
Research methods (pp. 188-219). Routledge.
Munn, Z., Peters, M. D. J., Stern, C., Tufanaru, C., McArthur, A., & Aromataris, E. (2018).
Systematic review or scoping review? Guidance for authors when choosing between a
systematic or scoping review approach. BMC medical research methodology, 18(1), 143.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-018-0611-x
Padela, S. M. F., Wooliscroft, B., and Ganglmair-Wooliscroft, A. (2021). Brand externalities: A
Taxonomy. Journal of Macromarketing, 41(2), 356–372.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146720961462
Savage, G. C. (2020). What is policy assemblage? Territory, Politics, Governance, 8(3), 319–
335. https://doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2018.1559760
Sellers, E. M., and Leiderman, D. B. (2018). Psychedelic drugs as therapeutics: No illusions
about the challenges. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 103(4), 561–564.
https://doi.org/10.1002/cpt.776
66
Tadajewski, M. (2022). Rethinking ‘marketing as applied economics.’ Marketing Theory, 22(4),
643–665. https://doi.org/10.1177/14705931221114170
Wiebe, J., & Mitchell, A. I. (2023). Government at (institutional) work: The state and market
dynamics. Journal of Macromarketing, 43(1), 17-31.
https://doi.org/10.1177/02761467221133759
Williams, K., Romero, O.S.G., Braunstein, M. and Brant, S. (2022), Indigenous philosophies and
the "psychedelic renaissance". Anthropol Conscious, 33,506-527.
https://doi.org/10.1111/anoc.12161
World Drug Report 2021. (2021, June 24). UNODC. https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-
analysis/wdr2021.html
67
Food Marketing Track
Co-Chairs:
Claudia Dumitrescu
Central Washington University, United States of America
Renée Shaw Hughner
Arizona State University, United States of America
68
Retail Sales Promotions for Suboptimal Food – How to Reduce Food Waste Without
Harming Customers’ Loyalty?
Linda Angenendt, University of Paderborn, Germany
Eva Böhm, University of Paderborn, Germany
Ina Garnefeld, University of Wuppertal, Germany
Introduction
Food Waste – defined as the disposal of food by retailers or consumers (FAO 2019) – is a social
issue of high importance. Globally, consumers and retailers waste up to 931 million tons of food
every year (United Nations Environment Programme 2021), representing 17% of the food
produced worldwide (FAO 2022). The negative effects of food waste are manifold. For instance,
wasting food releases emissions and methane (Bernstad Saraiva Schott, and Andersson 2015).
One of the main reasons for retailers’ food waste is suboptimal food (de Hooge et al. 2017),
defined as “[…] foods that consumers perceive as relatively undesirable as compared to
otherwise similar foods because they either: (1) are close to, at or beyond the best-before date; or
(2) deviate (visually or in other sensory perception) from what is regarded as optimal”
(Aschemann-Witzel et al. 2015, p. 6459). As consumers prefer products that closely meet their
requirements, they tend not to buy or consume suboptimal food (Helmert et al. 2017; Mookerjee,
Cornil, and Hoegg 2021).
Retailers are increasingly using sales promotions to promote suboptimal food (Hartmann,
Jahnke, and Hamm 2021). For example, Lidl developed a suboptimal food strategy, whereby
suboptimal foods are reduced by 30%. In doing so, retailers intend to reduce potential losses
from food waste and contribute to a more efficient use of resources. However, it is not yet clear
how sales promotions for suboptimal food affect consumers’ loyalty to the retailer. On the one
hand, prior research revealed positive effects of sales promotions for suboptimal food on
consumers’ product perceptions, willingness to pay, or purchase intention for suboptimal food,
which could lead to higher loyalty to the retailer (e.g. Mookerjee, Cornil, and Hoegg 2021;
Grewal et al. 2019). On the other hand, though, consumers have been found to distrust the
retailer when they discover food close to the expiration date at the time of purchase (Giménez,
Ares, and Gámbaro 2008), which might cause negative effects of those sales promotions for the
relationship between customers and retailers. In order to further motivate retailers’ food waste
engagement, it is important to investigate how sales promotions for suboptimal food can reduce
food waste without harming consumers’ loyalty to retailers.
Literature Review
In general, the literature shows that the application of sales promotions is a promising approach
to avoid food waste (Hartmann, Jahnke, and Hamm 2021). In particular, three characteristics of
sales promotions have been the focus of previous studies: the type of price discount, the
communication and the design of the promotion.
69
Several studies examined the impact of the type of price discount on decision-making regarding
suboptimal food. Theotokis, Pramatari, and Tsiros (2012), for example, investigated the effects
of Expiration Date Based Pricing – “[…] a pricing tactic in which a retailer charges different
prices for the same perishable products, according to their respective expiration dates”
(Theotokis, Pramatari, and Tsiros 2012, p. 72). They show that Expiration Date Based Pricing
can lead to lower perceptions of brand quality; this effect is mitigated when retailers inform
consumers that the objective of this sales promotion is to reduce food waste.
Other studies examine the impact of the communication of the sales promotion and compare
different types of appeals accompanying sales promotions for suboptimal food. For example,
prior research examined the effectiveness of budget-related (e.g. “reduced item/low price, save
more!”, Aschemann-Witzel et al. 2019) and sustainability-related appeals which make
consumers aware of food waste (e.g. “Embrace imperfection: Join the fight against food waste!”,
van Giesen and de Hooge 2019).
Few studies have investigated the influence of the design of sales promotions on consumer
behavior. For example, (Helmert et al. 2017) used eye tracking to investigate how the color of
the discount tag can influence time to fixation and total fixation duration. The findings of the
study reveal that red (compared to green) color reinforces consumers’ attention, cognitive
processing and purchase intention.
This study contributes to prior research on suboptimal food in two ways. First, we look at the
consequences of sales promotions targeting suboptimal food on retailer loyalty. This is important
given that sales promotions for suboptimal food can benefit or harm customer loyalty. With one
exception (e.g. Louis and Lombart 2018), prior studies mainly focus on the consequences of
sales promotions for product perceptions. Second, this study takes a holistic picture of sales
promotions and considers multiple characteristics, thereby taking into account potential
interactions among different characteristics of sales promotions.
Theoretical Background
We rely on signaling theory to shed light on the effects of sales promotions for suboptimal food
(Spence 1973). When purchasing suboptimal food, consumers are confronted with high
information asymmetries. Based on signaling theory, consumers actively search for signals to
counteract this information asymmetry (Spence 1973). The characteristics of the sales promotion
for suboptimal products, such as the color of the discount tag and the communication, can act as
such signals to consumers and hence influence their product perceptions (i.e. product quality)
and retailer perception (i.e. skepticism).
Building on signaling theory, we assume countervailing effects of the color of the discount tag
on customer loyalty. On the one hand, the color of the discount tag can deliver information on
the quality of suboptimal products to the consumer. Previous studies have shown that green color
(compared to red) can arouse health expectations among consumers (Huang and Lu 2015). In
turn, it can be assumed that green (compared to red) discount tags evoke more positive quality
perceptions among consumers, in turn increasing loyalty to the retailer.
70
H1: Green discount tags, compared to red discount tags, have a positive effect on consumers’
loyalty to the retailer, mediated by consumers’ perceived product quality.
On the other hand, the color of the discount tag can be used to gain inferences on retailers’
motives behind a sales promotion. According to prior research, unexpected signals tend to cause
more explanation attempts among consumers than expected signals (Pyszczynski and Greenberg
1981). Given that green discount tags are relatively rare, these tags are more likely to trigger
explanation attempts among consumers which in turn might stimulate skepticism regarding the
sales promotion, thereby reducing consumers’ loyalty to the retailer:
H2: Green discount tags, compared to red discount tags, have a negative effect on consumers’
loyalty to the retailer, mediated by consumers’ skepticism.
When multiple signals are combined, consistency among the signals determines its effectiveness
(Spence 1973). Color of the sales promotion and the related communication are two independent
signals that can be perceived as consistent or inconsistent by consumers. When consumers
encounter consistent signals such as a green discount tag and sustainability-related appeal, they
tend to trust the signals, resulting in positive perceptions of the product and higher loyalty to the
retailer. In contrast, when consumers encounter inconsistent signals such as a red discount tag
and a sustainability-related appeal, consumers will distrust the signal, stimulating negative
perceptions of the product and reducing loyalty to the retailer.
H3: Sustainability-related appeals (compared to no appeals) (a) strengthen the positive effect of
green discounts (compared to red discounts) on consumers’ loyalty via perceived product
quality, and (b) attenuate the negative effect of green discounts (compared to red discounts) on
consumers’ loyalty via skepticism.
Experimental Study
Research design and participants
We conducted a scenario experiment with a 2x2 between-subjects design, investigating the
effects of color of the discount tag (red vs. green) and communication (no appeal vs. sustainable-
related appeal) on consumers’ perceptions of the product and the retailer. In total, 707 people
participated in the experiment. The average age of participants was 32.4. 38.2% of the
participants were male, 61.1% were female, and .7% were diverse.
The experiment was conducted online. All subjects received a scenario description that asked
them to imagine that they were doing their weekly grocery shopping and would like to buy a
vanilla-flavored yogurt. Depending on the experimental group, participants were shown a picture
of a vanilla-flavored yogurt that was close to the expiration date with a red or a green discount
tag. In addition, the discount tag either showed no appeal or a sustainability-related appeal
pointing to the possibility to avoid food waste. Afterwards, participants had to fill out a
questionnaire including key constructs, manipulation and realism checks and demographics. We
relied on established scales to measure perceived product quality (White et al. 2016), skepticism
(Eggert, Steinhoff, and Garnefeld 2015), and loyalty to the retailer (Dutta et al. 2019). All items
were measured on seven-point Likert-type scales.
71
Results
We employed the PROCESS procedure (Model 7) to test the effects of sales promotions for
suboptimal food on customers’ loyalty (Hayes 2022). The results (see figure) reveal different
effects of the two characteristics of sales promotions on customers’ loyalty via product quality
and skepticism. The indirect effect of the two-way interaction between color and communication
on customer loyalty via product quality was not significant (b = .07, SE = .06, 95% CI =
[-.04; .19]). In particular, color of the discount tag has no effect on perceived product quality,
neither alone (b = -0.08, SE = 0.14, 95% CI = [-0.34, 0.19]) nor in combination with a
sustainable-related appeal (b = 0.11, SE = 0.09, 95% CI = [-0.07, 0.29]), contrasting H1 and H3a.
Yet, we find a significant indirect effect of the two-way interaction between color and
communication on loyalty via skepticism (b = .06, SE = .03, 95% CI = [.01; .12]). That is, a
green discount tag reduces loyalty due to increases in customers’ skepticism, if no appeal is
present (b
no appeal
= -.03, SE = .02, 95% CI = [-.08; -.01]), in line with H2. This negative effect
can be mitigated by appropriate communication of the sales promotion, such that a sustainable-
related appeal reduces the negative effect of a green discount on customers’ loyalty via
skepticism (b
sustainable-related appeal
= .02, SE=.02, 95% CI [-0.01, 0.06]), confirming H3b. Given that
the direct effect of green (vs. red) discount tags on customers’ loyalty is non-significant (b = .04,
SE = .09, p = .62), we can conclude that the effect of the sales promotion on loyalty to the
retailer is fully mediated by consumers’ feelings of skepticism.
Figure 1. Conceptual model and results.
Discussion
We shed light on the effects of sales promotions for suboptimal food on customers’ loyalty to the
retailer, thereby making three important contributions.
First, our study reveals the importance to account for the effects of sales promotions for
suboptimal food on the customer-retailer relationship. While past studies established mainly
positive effects of sales promotions on the sale of suboptimal food, sales promotions can also
negatively affect consumers’ loyalty to the retailer. Particularly, sales promotions can spur
customers’ skepticism resulting in negative effects for loyalty behavior when the characteristics
72
of the sales promotion are relatively unexpected (e.g. retailers use green discount tags without
any further justification). Retailers should be aware of these potential dark side of sales
promotions for suboptimal food.
Second, the results highlight the importance to consider potential interactions among different
characteristics of sales promotions. Since the interpretation of signals strongly depends on the
consistency among the signals, retailers should carefully design their sales promotions for
suboptimal food. For example, retailers can prevent potential negative effects of green discount
tags if they successfully communicate the sustainability-related motive of the sales promotion,
thereby ensuring the credibility of the sales promotions.
Third, our study shows that effective sales promotions for suboptimal food have a positive effect
on customers’ loyalty. This may motivate retailers to use sales promotions that reduce food
waste at the point of sale. Reducing food waste in turn leads to more efficient use of resources
and a more sustainable society.
References
Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica, de Hooge, Ilona E., Amani, Pegah, Bech-Larsen, Tino and
Oostindjer, Marije (2015), “Consumer-related food waste: Causes and potential for
action”, Sustainability, 7(6), 6457-6477.
Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica, Otterbring, Tobias, de Hooge, Ilona E., Normann, Anne, Rohm,
Harald, Almli, Valérie L. and Oostindjer, Marie (2019), “The who, where and why of
choosing suboptimal foods: Consequences for tackling food waste in store”, Journal of
Cleaner Production, 236, 1-35.
Bernstad Saraiva Schott, Anna and Andersson, Tova (2015), “Food waste minimization from a
life-cycle perspective”, Journal of Environmental Management, 147, 219–226.
De Hooge, Ilona E., Oostindjer, Marije, Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica, Normann, Anne, Mueller
Loose, Simone and Almli, Valérie L. (2017), “This apple is too ugly for me! Consumer
preferences for suboptimal food products in the supermarket and at home”, Food Quality
and Preference, 56, 80-92.
Dutta, Sujay, Guha, Abhijit, Biswas, Abhijit and Grewal, Dhruv (2019), “Can attempts to delight
customers with surprise gains boomerang? A test using low-price guarantees”, Journal of
the Academy of Marketing Science, 47(3), 417-437.
Eggert, Andreas, Steinhoff, Lena and Garnefeld, Ina (2015), “Managing the bright and dark sides
of status endowment in hierarchical loyalty programs”, Journal of Service
Research, 18(2), 210-228.
FAO (2019), The State of Food and Agriculture - Moving forward on food loss and waste
reduction. Rome.
FAO (2022), “Why is it important to reduce food loss and waste?”, Retrieved from
https://www.fao.org/platform-food-loss-waste/flw-events/international-day-food-loss-
and-waste/en (Last accessed: January 02, 2023).
Giménez, Ana, Ares, Gastón and Gámbaro, Adriana (2008), “Consumer attitude toward shelf-life
labeling: Does it influence acceptance?”, Journal of Sensory Studies, 23(6), 871–883.
Grewal, Lauren, Hmurovic, Jillian, Lamberton, Cait and Reczek, Rebecca W. (2019), “The self-
perception connection: Why consumers devalue unattractive produce”, Journal of
Marketing, 83(1), 89-107.
73
Hartmann, Theresa, Jahnke, Benedikt and Hamm, Ulrich (2021), “Making ugly food beautiful:
Consumer barriers to purchase and marketing options for Suboptimal Food at retail level–
A systematic review”, Food Quality and Preference, 90, 1-22.
Hayes, Andrew F. (2022), Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process
Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach. New York: Guilford Press.
Helmert, Jens R., Symmank, Claudia, Pannasch, Sebastian and Rohm, Harald (2017), “Have an
eye on the buckled cucumber: An eye tracking study on visually suboptimal foods”, Food
Quality and Preference, 60, 40-47.
Huang, Lei and Lu, Ji (2015), “Eat with your eyes: Package color influences the expectation of
food taste and healthiness moderated by external eating”, The Marketing Management
Journal, 25 (2), 71-87.
Mookerjee, Siddhanth, Cornil, Yann and Hoegg, JoAndreas (2021),” From waste to taste: How
“ugly” labels can increase purchase of unattractive produce”, Journal of Marketing,
85(3), 62-77.
Pyszczynski, Thomas A. and Greenberg, Jeff (1981), "Role of disconfirmed expectancies in the
instigation of attributional processing", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
40(1), 31-38.
Spence, Michael (1973), “Job market signaling”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 87(3), 355-
374.
Theotokis, Aristeidis, Pramatari, Katerina and Tsiros, Michael (2012), “Effects of expiration
date-based pricing on brand image perceptions”, Journal of Retailing, 88(1), 72-87.
United Nations Environment Programme (2021), Food Waste Index Report 2021. Nairobi.
Van Giesen, Roxanne I. and de Hooge, Ilona E. (2019), “Too ugly, but I love its shape: Reducing
Food Waste of Suboptimal Products with Authenticity (and Sustainability) Positioning”,
Food Quality and Preference, 75, 1-44.
White, Katherine, Lin, Lily, Dahl, Darren W. and Ritchie, Robin J. B. (2016), “When Do
Consumers Avoid Imperfections? Superficial Packaging Damage as a Contamination
Cue”, Journal of Marketing Research, 53(1), 110-123.
74
Transitioning from Home to University: Navigating Liminality Through Student Food
Practices
Sheena Leek, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Emma Surman, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Introduction
This study focuses on the food practices of young people transitioning into emerging adulthood
at UK universities. In the United Kingdom, the move to university often involves a move away
from a family home, where feeding the family and the work this entails largely falls upon the
mother (Cairns and Johnston 2015). As students begin their university life, they also face the
challenge of shopping, cooking and catering for themselves for the first time. Viewing student
life as a transitional space, this paper explores the ways in which students develop food practices
to navigate this transitory period and in particular the way they connect to family and friends as
part of this process.
Transitioning into young adulthood via university life
The term liminality is derived from the Latin word “limes” meaning threshold and has been used
in anthropological terms with reference to rites of passage (Van Gennep 1991). Rites of passage
refers to the movement from one social position to another, and liminality refers to the
transitionary phase between one stage and another. In the liminal phase individuals can find
themselves in neither the old nor the new social position, but betwixt and between the two. We
argue that life at university for students is one such liminal phase; in this phase established social
structures associated with life at home are disrupted as they move away and take on increased
responsibility and independence and new social structures are in the process of being established.
As students navigate this period we look at how they approach and adapt their food practices and
examine the role played by old and new connections (‘communitas’, Huseman et al. 2016) with
others. The paper utilises Darveau and Cheikh-Ammar’s (2021) theoretical framework of
liminality in consumer research to consider the
behaviours that enable and embrace liminality as well as those which serve to hold off liminality.
Methodology
The research is based on in-depth semi structured interviews conducted with 25 students in the
United Kingdom, in their first year of university and no longer living at home. The interviews
took place and were recorded via Zoom. The interviews were transcribed and thematic coding
was used to analyse the data (Braun and Clarke 2006).
Preliminary findings
Following on from the work of (Darveau and Cheikh-Ammar 2021), initial analysis reveals that
participants engage in a range of food practices during their first year of student life. Some of
the practices embrace the period of transition and liminality, using the opportunity to experiment
and try out news things. Others work to overcome liminality and transition to a more
independent living in terms of food consumption and others serve to postpone liminality and the
transition.
75
1) Food practices which help students adapt to the experience of transition and liminality -
When moving to university students are often in shared accommodation with other people in the
same situation as themselves; the shared kitchen thus becomes a space in which to form a
communitas of shared experiences. Within this space participants used food to make connections
with others. It was a way of initiating conversation through discussing ingredients, passing on
cookery tips or learning new recipes. Food was also a way to offer friendship and demonstrate
kindness, for example baking cookies or cake specifically to share with others. In some cases
participants reported how space was used to develop more formal approaches to sharing and
connecting with others, for example using a specific shelf in the fridge on which to placed items
that they wanted to share out. Other examples included individuals placing their kitchen
equipment in the shared space for everyone to use. Technology was also utilised to develop a
shared approach to domestic tasks, for example one student discussed a Whatsapp group which
was used to highlight when the kitchen should be cleaned and arranging a time for all to do this.
A number of participants reported that they had organised specific times and events for social
connections to form. For example, some had organised and/or participated in a “Come Dine
With Me” type of experience, whereby flatmates took it in turns preparing a three course meal
which was consumed and then rated by the group. Others discussed how they organised pizza
making evenings whereby everyone would make and then eat the pizza together. Sometimes the
participants said they learned through experimenting with food together with their friends. “We
just, yeah, we… So we just come up with meals we want to try out, and we just make them
together. We’ll go out and buy the ingredients and just, yeah, random meals. “ (P. 15). They
adjusted to the new social position of cooking for themselves by trying out and learning new
things, often in a collective way.
2) Food practices which seek to overcome liminality –participants also discussed food practices
which were done at home to reduce feelings of ambiguity and discomfort. Some participants
aware they were entering a transitory phase made an effort to learn how to cook for themselves
prior to leaving for university. They watched their parents cook and often asked them how to
make specific dishes they enjoyed e.g rice and vegetables. This enabled them to replicate these
dishes at university and remind them of home.“ Uhm, I think this (jacket potato, tuna mayo
cheese) just reminds me of home, to be honest.”(P. 25). Before she left home, one participant,
together with her mother, made a list of favourite family dishes which would be suitable to cook
at University. Another, having noticed his mom had collected recipes she used in a folder, noted
down some of these recipes in a notebook. Respondents also took equipment from home to
university to enable them to make the dishes they cook at home, for example Participant 23 took
a rice cooker so she could make her favourite rice and stew dish.
3) Food practices which seek to hold off liminality – These practices meant that although they
now lived away from home, students would not have to engage fully in the provisioning of food.
In these examples, the actions of family members played an important part in the provision of
food and can be seen to delay the transition to an independent adult. One participant was given
strict instructions not to waste time cooking, as to do so would distract them from their studies.
“So, cooking wise, she knew I wasn’t gonna get around to cooking and she didn’t want me to
cook as well, ‘cause she knew that I’ll waste my time cooking instead of studying. Also, she was,
like, yeah, just order food and stuff.” (P. 19). In order that the student didn’t ‘waste’ time
cooking, he was provided with a credit card for eating out every day. Similarly, an international
76
participant’s parents introduced their child to family and friends in the UK who would have him
to dinner so he too, did not have to cook. Other parents tried to reduce the financial pressure and
the need for their children to budget through providing them with a credit card for food
purchases which they paid off. Other participants stated that their parents provided them with
food, thus easing budgeting and/or cooking requirements. When the participants were initially
dropped off at university parents would provide them with bulk basic ingredients e.g. rice. Other
students regularly went home and would return with food, either entire meals or ingredients.
Similarly, parents would visit the participants and bring food with them either entire meals,
stocks of basic ingredients or expensive ingredients. “Well, if my parents come, then they'll bring
me lamb, 'cause, uh, that's quite expensive, so I get them to buy me that.” (P. 17).
Conclusions
The study reveals that in this emerging adulthood phase, students use established food practices
to bring comfort and familiarity into the liminal space but they also develop their food practices
through experimentation. Time, space and connections with others, whether they be family or
friends, can serve to enhance or impede this experimentation. Higher education institutions need
to support students in their adaptation to university life and to develop healthier student
communities. This requires providing information and support in this transitional phase, perhaps
linking cooking to physical and mental wellbeing and emphasising how they can consistently eat
healthily with a multitude of demands on their time.
References
Braun, Virginia. And Victoria Clarke (2006). “Using thematic analysis in psychology,”
Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 22-101.
Cairns, Kate. and Josée Johnston (2015) Food and Femininity, London: Bloomsbury.
Darveau, Jessica and Mustapha Cheikh-Ammar. (2021). “The interplay between liminality and
consumption: A systematic literature review with a future research agenda,”International
Journal of Consumer Studies, 45, 867-888.
Huseman, Katharina C., Eckhart, Giana M., Grohs, Reinhard and Raluca E Saceanu (2016). “The
Dynamic Interplay Between Structure, Anastructure, and AntiStrucutre in Extraordinary
Experiences”, Journal of Business Research, 69,3361-3370.
Van Gennep, Arnold (2019). The Rites of Passage, Second Edition, Chicago, London: The
University of Chicago Press.
77
Towards the Actors Co-creation and Organic Intimacy Controlled by a Market Mediator
in a Nascent Category
Jung-yim Baek, University of Marketing and Distribution Sciences, Japan
Mari Ninomiya, Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan
Tsukasa Kato, Osaka University of Commerce, Japan
Mitsuhisa Hama, Nagoya Gakuin University, Japan
This research was funded by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Grant No.21K01772).
Background
In 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) launched the “Green Food
System Strategy,” which aims to increase the organic farming share to 25% (currently, > 1%) of
the total agricultural land area by 2050 (MAFF 2021). Organic farmers cannot make a living
without reflecting the increased costs in their selling prices. Also, it is problematic that the value
of organic produce is not evaluated in the market.
Research Objective
In the 1970s, when "food safety" became an issue due to environmental pollution and pesticide
damage, a unique Japanese "Teikei" movement, based on mutual trust between farmers and
consumers began. The basic rules of this movement are contract farming and purchase of all
harvested ones, similar to the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) that have spread in the
U.S. and Europe in recent years. Consumer (mainly women) organizations volunteered to
perform distribution functions through "cooperative purchasing," at the same time participating
in study groups, which had the aspect of a social movement.
As women entered the workforce, an increasing number of organizations began outsourcing their
distribution to specialized companies and offering individual home delivery services. In the late
1980s, distribution channels became more diversified, and organic produce became established.
However, ambiguous organic labeling and "fakes" also emerged and caused confusion. MAFF
created labeling guidelines and introduced a legally binding organic JAS (Japanese Agricultural
Standards) certification system in 2001.
However, only slightly more than 0.2% of farmland is JAS-certified organic in 2019, with more
being used to grow organic produce without certification. Certification is expensive and
complicated. It is also claimed that consumers do not fully understand the organic JAS
certification logo and do not use it as a criterion for making purchase decisions. Even if farmers
do not have this certification, they may be able to sell to specific customers because they have an
established relationship.
78
How can we induce light users into the market, instead of heavy users who participate in
partnership with farmers? We conducted the following survey to explore the possibility of
supermarkets increasing their sales and organic farmers as suppliers.
Data Collection
In Shirakawa-cho, Gifu, and Ichijima-cho, Hyogo, both of which are active in accepting
newcomers to organic farming, we interviewed a total of 10 people in 2021 and 2022. Through
"Yuki Heart Net", interviews were conducted with the manager of a farmers’ market in Nagoya
and the manager of Shunrakuzen, a membership organic supermarket.
Findings
Organic produce is basically "wide-ranging items, low-volume production," in which multiple
crops are grown in rotation to avoid the risk of drastically reduced yields due to weather
conditions or pests. Their main sales channels are road stations and farmers' markets nearby
areas, but constant sales volume is difficult. Meanwhile, sales to urban areas are made through
dealings with specialized distributors or by truck on behalf of the farmers. In transactions with
specialized distributors, farmers are instructed to comply with the pre-contracted quantity as
closely as possible. If a certain number of customers are subscribed to monthly vegetable
subscription boxes, in which farmers can freely change the combination of vegetables, sales will
be stable, but there are limits to increasing customer numbers because of the time and effort
required for delivery and claims handling. Although transactions with supermarkets are
attractive, farmers are unwilling to do business with them as long as they have to adjust crop
acreage and face strict demands for price reductions from supermarkets.
Under such circumstances, Shunrakuzen’s way was opposite to that of common supermarkets.
The company deals directly with farmers with shipment date and price determined by them. The
installation of a sales section for "Yuki Heart Net" enables direct, effective communication
through assortments, displays, and POP. Furthermore, the company holds events at its stores to
promote interaction between farmers and customers, and offers children hands-on experience in
agriculture.
Implications
Whether or not the organic produce market can expand in Japan is a social issue that should be
analyzed in the macromarketing field. Moreover, analyzing the macro/social changes that
emerge in the interaction of the players will contribute to the theoretical development of
macromarketing (Shultz 2007).
Highly convenient supermarkets that allow customers to check directly when they want to buy,
rather than the more expensive home delivery will be a more promising sales channel. However,
not only do consumers not check the organic JAS logo when purchasing in stores, they also often
do not understand what organic is and its value. Then it is not so much a market failure due to
asymmetric information that is preventing organic market expansion, but rather that a market has
not yet been formed. In this sense, “Teikei” in the early days of the Japanese organic market is
highly suggestive, as it is believed that the sharing and creation of value based on trust is taking
place.
79
We can suggest that the Shunrakuzen partnership is similar to the Teikei relationship. The
company is a local supermarket that can bridge the gap, promoting direct interaction between
farmers and consumers, and fostering intimacy (Pétursson 2018) and co-creating value (Prahald
and Ramaswamy 2004) for organic markets through information provided to consumers in
stores, product tasting, and agricultural experiences.
References
MAFF (2021), Strategy for sustainable Food System, “MeaDRI” [Online]
https://www.maff.go.jp/j/kanbo/kankyo/seisaku/midori/attach/pdf/index-10.pdf. (Written in
Japanese)
Pétursson, J.P. (2018), “Organic intimacy: emotional practices at an organic store,” Agriculture
and Human Values, 35: 581–594.
Prahalad, C. K. and Ramaswamy, V. (2004), “Co-creation experiences: The next practice in
value creation,” Journal of interactive marketing, 18(3): 5-14.
Shultz, C. (2007), “Macromarketing,” in Explorations of Marketing in Society, G. Gundlach, L.
Block & W. Wilkie, eds. Cincinnati: ITP / South-Western Publishers, for the American
Marketing Association, 766- 784.
80
General Macromarketing Track
Co-Chairs:
Claudia Dumitrescu
Central Washington University, United States of America
Renée Shaw Hughner
Arizona State University, United States of America
Julie Stanton
Pennsylvania State University, United States of America
Stan Shapiro
Simon Fraser University, Canada
81
Death and Dior: A Terror Management Theory Perspective on the Usage of Luxury Goods
to Cope with Threats of Mortality
Stephanie Geiger-Oneto, University of Wyoming, United States of America
Omar Shehryar, Montana State University, United States of America
Terror Management Theory (TMT: Solomon, Greenberg, and Pyszcynski 1991) has emerged as
a valid and meaningful framework for examining consumption decisions in the context of
consumers’ values, beliefs, and individual differences. Previous research found that making
one’s mortality salient increased consumer preferences for high-status-conferring items over
low-status ones (Mandel & Heine, 1999). This preference was attributed to consumers’ striving
for increased acceptance in society through ownership of consensually validated symbols of
value. Recent events, (i.e. COVID pandemic and images of war in Ukraine) make it seem that
our world is an increasingly unsafe place with abundant reminders of mortality imbued in daily
life. These subtle reminders of death through media consumption can heighten one’s awareness
of one’s mortality and lead to increased death anxiety followed by worldview defense that has
been observed in TMT studies (Garfin et al 2020; Yoon et al 2021).
Whereas past research explains the increased indulgence in status-conferring goods following
mortality salience as a function of participation in consumption-related value systems such as
materialism (Rindfleisch, Burrows, and Wong 2009), and status-consciousness (Mandel and
Heine 1999), less is known about cognitive mechanisms related to consumption which are
employed to reduce the death-anxiety brought about by conscious awareness of one’s finitude.
We contribute to both TMT and literature on luxury goods by testing the use of fantastical
thinking as a cognitive mechanism used by consumers in dealing with conscious reminders of
mortality. We suggest that mortality concerns activate engagement in fantastical thinking which
facilitates a preference for luxury products.
Additionally, utilizing a macro-level social psychological theory (Terror Management Theory),
allows for a better understanding of the complex relationship between one’s worldview and
consumption behaviors. While individual consumption behaviors and worldviews are micro
rather than macro in nature, a full understanding of these processes is necessary to investigate
and understand macro-level trends such as the changing demand for the luxury industry
(Hedstrom 2005; Layton 2015). Therefore, the present study aims to contribute to the
macromarketing literature by providing a link between the micro-level factors (i.e. mortality
salience, fantasy engagement and fantasy proneness) that motivate individuals to engage in the
consumption of luxury goods—which has been linked to macro-level concerns such as consumer
well-being (Cristini et al. 2022), and environmental sustainability (Cannon & Rucker 2019; Pai
et al. 2022).
Background
Terror management theory (TMT) (Greenberg et al. 1986; Pyszczynski et al. 1997; Solomon et
al. 1991a, 1991b) has improved our understanding of values and belief systems and the
protection they offer from the fear of one’s demise. A unique response to the fear of death, as
observed in tests of the mortality salience hypothesis of TMT, is greater adherence to
82
consensually held beliefs. Greater observed adherence to socially ascribed worldviews is stated
to arise from a need for increased social connectedness and acceptance following an existential
threat (Simon et al. 1997). Moreover, the increase in self-esteem that accompanies participation
in consensually held belief systems is shown to cushion one from the threat of death (Greenberg
at al. 1992).
It has been shown that brushes with mortality spur an increase in material pursuits because the
result of acquiring status-enhancing possessions is higher self-esteem and an elevated sense of
connectedness through participation in consensually validated belief systems. Therefore, our first
hypothesis stating the impact of mortality salience on preference for luxury goods is as follows:
H1: Individuals in the mortality salient condition will express more positive attitudes towards
luxury goods than those in the control condition.
Study 1: Mortality Salience and Consumption of Luxury Goods
Method
Respondents were randomly assigned to a single factor (mortality salience: mortality salient
(MS) vs. dental pain as control condition) between-subjects design and asked to complete a filler
task as well as indicate how likely they would be to purchase a luxury wallet or sunglasses. In
addition, respondents were asked to indicate their overall attitudes towards luxury products.
Analysis and Results
As predicted, those in the MS condition reported having a more favorable overall attitude
towards luxury goods compared to those in the dental pain condition (t
(67)
= 2.37, p < .05,
M
MS
=4.26, M
D
=3.43) and were more likely to purchase luxury goods in both the sunglasses,
(t
(67)
= 1.98, p < .05, M
MS
=3.97, M
D
=2.98) and wallet product categories (t
(67)
=2.21, p < .05,
M
MS
=3.63, M
D
=2.57). Therefore, H1 was supported.
Fantasy, Terror, and Luxury Consumption
Although researchers have examined the role of fantasies and daydreams in influencing
consumption, the role of fantasies evoked before and during consumption of luxury goods to
enhance status is relatively less clear. Every day, consumers are given ample opportunities to
utilize objects to express oneself. Visual reminders of consensually held symbols of value are
replete across media through advertising, promotion, and insertion of brands in entertainment.
Indeed, the transfer and movement of consensually held meaning through objects and
experiences is well-established by McCracken’s (1986) model which acknowledges the value of
objects and media in influencing and in turn being influenced by culture. The dialectical
interplay between shaping culture and being shaped by it increasingly involves objects, media,
esteem-granting sub-cultures that ritualize brand consumption, and fantastical realms such as the
metaverse.
As fantasy and reality comprise the base of the experiential consumption context, it follows that
when reality involves reminders of death as the ultimate ending of one’s plans and aspirations,
engagement in fantasy can provide an escape from imminent danger. Thus, for consumers faced
with ubiquitous reminders of their own demise, refuge is available in material objects. But, to
83
accrue the symbolic benefits, one must utilize fantastical thought. This leads to the following
hypothesis:
H2: The relationship between MS and the consumption of luxury goods will be moderated by
fantasy engagement such that when mortality is salient, those higher in fantasy engagement will
be more likely to consume luxury goods than those with low fantasy engagement.
Study 2: The Moderating Role of Fantasy
Study 2 replicates the findings of study 1 and additionally, investigates the moderating effect of
fantasy engagement on the relationship between mortality salience and the consumption of
luxury goods.
Method
Respondents were randomly assigned to a single factor (mortality salience: MS vs. dental pain as
control) between-subjects design. They were then asked to complete a filler task, indicate their
involvement in fantasy activities, and asked questions about their purchase intentions for luxury
goods and general attitudes towards luxury products.
Analysis and Results
As predicted, positive fantasy engagement (PFE) moderated the relationship between mortality
salience and purchase intentions for luxury goods in both product categories: luxury jacket and
luxury wallets such that those in the MS condition with greater PFE reported higher purchase
intentions than those with lower levels of PFE. Similarly, those in the MS condition with greater
positive fantasy engagement also reported more positive attitudes towards luxury products in
general than those with low PFE. Therefore, H2 is supported. See Figures 1a & 1b for a
graphical representation of these interactions. As hypothesized, the results support the notion that
the greater fantasy engagement within MS was more likely to increase preference for luxury
goods.
84
Figures 1a & b: Interaction of Mortality Salience and PFE on Purchase Intentions- Study 1
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
Dental Death
Purchase Intention
-Wallet
Low PFE
High PFE
85
Study 3: Fantasizing through Luxury Consumption
The purpose of study 3 was to further explore the relationship between MS and fantastical
thinking and its impact on consumption of luxury goods. The use of fantastic visualization and
imagery depends on consumers’ unique past and sociocultural background. Past research
introduced “fantasy proneness” as an individual difference variable which has been shown to
impact behavior (Wilson and Barber 1983).
Specifically, we hypothesize that when mortality is made salient, individuals who are more prone
to fantasizing will engage in greater fantasy engagement involving the objects under evaluation.
The increased engagement in fantastical thinking will positively influence such individuals’
preference for luxury goods because luxury goods lend themselves to becoming a part of one’s
fantastical realm more than non-luxury goods. The engagement in fantastical thinking about a
luxury object, its use, and its transcendent quality, in turn relieve the anxiety felt when
confronted with one’s own mortality. A moderated-mediation model was proposed and tested
which included fantasy through luxury consumption as a mediator. To test this idea, we propose
the following hypothesis:
H3: The relationship between mortality salience and the consumption of luxury goods will be
mediated by fantasy through luxury consumption; this mediation will be moderated by fantasy
proneness such that when mortality is salient, those higher in fantasy proneness will be more
likely to engage in fantasy through the consumption of luxury goods.
Study 3: Fantasy Engagement as Moderated-Mediator of Luxury Consumption
Method
Respondents first answered questions related to their fantasy proneness, followed by exposure to
the MS condition and filler task. Then, respondents were asked to indicate their purchase
intentions for two product categories, overall attitude towards luxury goods followed by
statements related to fantasy through luxury consumption.
Analysis and Results
The hypothesized moderated-mediation model (see Figure 2 for a detailed list of coefficients)
was tested using PROCESS macro (Model 7), with 10,000 bias-corrected 95% confidence
intervals to test the significance of the indirect (i.e., mediated) effects moderated by fantasy
proneness (Hayes 2013). As predicted, fantasy proneness was found to moderate the effect of
mortality salience on purchase intentions for wallets and sunglasses. Similarly, fantasy proneness
was also found to moderate the relationship between mortality salience and general attitude
towards luxury goods. Fantasy through luxury consumption was found to significantly increase
purchase intentions for luxury sunglasses and luxury wallets, and positively influenced general
attitudes towards luxury goods. The overall moderated-mediation model was supported with the
index of moderated-mediation for both product categories. We found support for a significant
moderating effect of fantasy proneness on mortality salience on the indirect effect via fantasy
through the consumption of luxury goods such that the indirect effect was strongest in those high
in fantasy proneness for both product categories and general attitude towards luxury goods. In
other words, in the MS condition, individuals higher in fantasy proneness were more likely to
engage in fantasies related to the consumption of luxury goods than those low in fantasy
86
proneness. These fantasies led to greater purchase intentions of luxury goods and more favorable
attitudes towards luxury goods.
Figure 2: Results of Moderated Mediation Model-Study 3
General Discussion, Limitations, and Future Research Directions
In three studies we tested the role played by fantastical thinking in influencing luxury
consumption in the face of an existential threat. When faced with the potential for demise,
participants leaned toward fantasy to confront “The Real”. The role played by fantastical
thinking had heretofore been alluded to, but never tested previously (Holbrook and Hirschman
1982). Thus, a primary contribution of our work is to bring the role of fantasy engagement and
fantasy proneness to the forefront and empirically test the relationship of these constructs with
luxury consumption.
In doing so, we also advance the role of fantasy as a coping mechanism that blunts the blow of a
potentially threat of one’s demise. While mortality concerns may abound in daily life, the
practicality of utilizing death primes to spur consumption as a formulaic panacea for low product
demand is questionable at best. However, an approach grounded in TMT allows us to understand
cognitive mechanisms employed by consumers to manage the terror associated with mortality.
Using a TMT approach, we can establish fantastical thinking as a critical cognitive process that
is catalyzed by the presence of luxury goods due to the opportunities for fantastical engagement
that such goods facilitate. Thus, a second contribution of our work is to extend TMT by
proposing and testing the role played by fantasy as a cognitive mechanism for coping with the
fear of death.
Mortality Salience
Index of moderated-mediation:
1. effect=.07, 95% CI= .016, .121
2. effect= .08, 95% CI =.036, .115
3. effect= .05, 95% CI= .016, .027
1. .95, ***
2. .99, ***
3. .59, ***
1. .06, ***
2. .07, *
3. .07, **
1. .43, n.s
2. .34, n.s
3. .14, n.s
87
When one’s mortality is made salient through the media coverage of war or COVID pandemic,
consumers have an increased need to escape from a terrifying outcome. The increased need to
cope with the fear of death is met by fantasizing about possibilities offering escape. A proclivity
to fantasize aids such cognition, and the ability of luxury goods to offer such engagement further
ensures that those with the ability to imagine a better future through invoking fantastical imagery
through products stand a better chance of assuaging fears stemming from heightened
vulnerability to death. Our findings have macro implications by supporting the notion that, for
some consumers, luxury goods may enhance quality of life and overall wellbeing—topics that
have been discussed within the micromarketing literature (Cannon & Rucker 2019; Cristini et al.
2022; Pai et al. 2022).
References
Cannon, C., & Rucker, D. D. (2019). The Dark Side of Luxury: Social Costs of Luxury
Consumption. Personality & social psychology bulletin, 45(5), 767-779.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218796790
Cristini, H., Kauppinen-Räisänen, H., & Woodside, A. G. (2022). Broadening the concept of
luxury: Transformations and contributions to well-being. Journal of Macromarketing,
42(4), 673-685.
Greenberg, J., Pyszczynski, T., & Solomon, S. (1986). The causes and consequences of a need
for self-esteem: A terror management theory. In Public self and private self (pp. 189-
212). Springer.
Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A
regression-based approach. Guilford Press.
Hedstrom, P. (2005). Dissecting the social: On the principles of analytical sociology. Cambridge
University Press.
Layton, R. A. (2015). Formation, growth, and adaptive change in marketing systems. Journal of
Macromarketing, 35(3), 302-319.
Mandel, N., & Heine, S. J. (1999). Terror Management and Marketing: He Who Dies with the
Most Toys Wins. Advances in consumer research, 26, 527.
Pai, C.-Y., Laverie, D., & Hass, A. (2022). Love Luxury, Love the Earth: An Empirical
Investigation on How Sustainable Luxury Consumption Contributes to Social-
Environmental Well-Being. Journal of Macromarketing, 42(4), 640-654.
Pyszczynski, T., Greenberg, J., & Solomon, S. (1997). Why do we need what we need? A terror
management perspective on the roots of human social motivation. Psychological inquiry,
8(1), 1-20.
Simon, L., Greenberg, J., Arndt, J., Pyszczynski, T., Clement, R., & Solomon, S. (1997).
Perceived Consensus, Uniqueness, and Terror Management: Compensatory Responses to
Threats to Inclusion and Distinctiveness Following Mortality Salience. Personality &
social psychology bulletin, 23(10), 1055-1065.
https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672972310006
Solomon, S., Greenberg, J., & Pyszczynski, T. (1991a). A terror management theory of social
behavior: The psychological functions of self-esteem and cultural worldviews. Advances
in experimental social psychology, 24, 93-159.
88
Solomon, S., Greenberg, J., & Pyszczynski, T. (1991b). Terror management theory of self-
esteem. Handbook of social and clinical psychology: The health perspective, 162, 21-40.
89
The Resilience of Street Hawkers in a Crisis: A Capability-Based Conceptualization
Tamal Samanta, Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow
Rajesh K Aithal, Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow
Emerging economies are dominated by small unorganized retail, and street hawkers are integral
to that retailing community. Street hawking is the act of selling items by hawkers, either by
carrying them from place to place along the street or selling them in public places (Ikechebelu et
al. 2008). Street hawkers are part of the social fabric in many emerging economies and function
as essential members of the traditional distribution channel. Also, the hawkers' community
represent the most vulnerable group among all the channel members, and the occurrence of any
crisis event increases their vulnerability manifold. Most street hawkers operate on a tiny margin;
thus, they also become a part of the bottom of the pyramid (BoP).
In the original introduction of the term, (Prahalad and Hart 2002) classified the BoP population
in terms of their annual per capita incomes. Potential marketers and multinational enterprises
(MNEs) have also indicated this market as a source of great profit and an opportunity to lift
billions of people from poverty by making them collaborators in the business. Although this
view has been widely accepted, literature has developed to challenge and enhance this to say that
the inclusion of poor consumers must be selective. Also, the participation from the BoP
population should not be constrained in terms of consumers only – rather, the best possible way
to alleviate poverty and improve livelihood is to strengthen the role of the poor people as
producers (Ramachandran, Pant, and Pani 2012). In another opinion, the BoP population is also
defined as low-income but well above the poverty line – where people can buy a car priced at
$3000 (Waeyenberg and Hens 2008). This absence of a proper boundary line defining the BoP
population has also received well-structured criticism from the researchers. Since most of the
mobile hawker's communities directly come under the low-income classification of the BoP
population, the community forms a big cluster in BoP regarding employment generation, product
availability, and last-mile delivery. However, existing management literature is yet to explore the
hawkers' contribution towards the overall society, their survival measures, and how their efforts
transform into the formation of societal welfare.
Street hawkers have been studied from myriad different perspectives, such as financial inclusions
(Bruntha and Indirapriyadharshini 2015), policy (Smart 1986; Sharma 2016), ethics (Rahman et
al. 2013), and transformative entrepreneurship (Giraldo, Garcia-Tello, and Rayburn 2020). Being
an integral part of the unorganized retail channels, especially in the context of emerging
economies, street hawkers have survived many crisis events and exhibited resilience. The present
study is probably the first to explore the aspects of street hawkers' resilience in facing all those
crises.
The study attempts to map the responses of the street hawkers to the larger crisis response model
and use the resilience theory's extended capabilities to analyze the street hawkers' responses in
facing the crisis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to capture qualitative responses
from the street hawkers. The interview transcripts were further analyzed using MAXQDA 2020
Analytics Pro data analysis software. Subsequently, the study attempts to understand the factors
90
which lead to the resilience of the hawkers' community. An attempt has also been made to use
further the capabilities framework (Pettit, Fiksel, and Croxton 2010) to classify the identified
factors into positive and negative ones. A total of eight factors that had a positive impact and
three that negatively impacted the street hawkers' resilience were identified. Given the
constraints within which the street hawkers operate and their critical role in BOP communities,
the impact of the negative factors needs to be reduced, and positive ones need to be strengthened.
The study contributes by understanding the factors leading to the resilience of the lowest rung of
street hawkers who play a critical role in the BOP communities. The study's findings are also
expected to lead to policy recommendations that could be used further to support these street
hawkers. This is one of the first studies which map street hawkers' behavioural traits to a crisis
and links them to capability factors leading to resilience. The study is expected to contribute to a
better understanding of street vendors who have been underrepresented in research.
References
Bruntha, P., & Indirapriyadharshini, B. (2015). An Enquiry into Financial Inclusion with Special
Reference to Street Hawkers of Pollachi, Tamil Nadu. IUP Journal of Marketing
Management, 14(4).
Giraldo, M., Garcia-Tello, L., & Rayburn, S. W. (2020). Street vending: transformative
entrepreneurship for individual and collective well-being. Journal of Services Marketing,
Vol. 34 No. 6, pp. 757-768. doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-08-2019-0322
Ikechebelu, J. I., Udigwe, G. O., Ezechukwu, C. C., Ndinechi, A. G., & Joe–Ikechebelu, N. N.
(2008). Sexual abuse among juvenile female street hawkers in Anambra State,
Nigeria. African journal of reproductive health, 12(2), 111-119.
Pettit, T. J., Fiksel, J., and Croxton, K. L. (2010), "Ensuring supply chain resilience:
development of a conceptual framework", Journal of business logistics, Vol. 31 No. 1,
pp. 1-21. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2158-1592.2010.tb00125.x
Prahalad, C. K., & Hart, S. L. (2002). The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid. strategy+
business, (26). Wharton University. Philadelphia.
Rahman, M. S., Haque, M. M., Khan, A. H., & Murtaza, M. (2013). Ethics in Business: Practices
by the Street Hawkers'. Journal of Management Research, 5(1), 80. doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/jmr.v5i1.2785
Ramachandran, J., Pant, A., & Pani, S. K. (2012). Building the BoP producer ecosystem: The
evolving engagement of Fabindia with Indian Handloom Artisans. Journal of Product
Innovation Management, 29(1), 33-51. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-
5885.2011.00877.x
Sharma, S. (2016). Hawking space and national policy on urban street hawkers: A study of
NDMC, Delhi. Procedia Technology, 24, 1734-1741.
Smart, J. (1986). The impact of government policy on hawkers: a study of the effects of
establishing a hawker permitted place. Asian Journal of public administration, Vol. 8 No.
2, pp. 260-279. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02598272.1986.10800180
Van den Waeyenberg, S., & Hens, L. (2008). Crossing the bridge to poverty, with low‐cost
cars. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 25(7), 439-445. doi:
https://doi.org/10.1108/07363760810915653
91
Consumer Wellbeing: The Indirect Impact of Private Label Brands on Quality of Life
Peter J. Boyle, Central Washington University, United States of America
Juyoung Kim, Sogang University, South Korea
This research was designed to reveal how the presence (or absence) of private label brands
influences the price-quality nature of markets in durable product categories, and thus how private
label brands contribute to (or reduce) consumer wellbeing. Specifically, it investigates whether
markets having private labels (PLs) exhibit more positive relationships between price and quality
than markets where private labels are not present. For the purposes of the present work, a PL is
defined as one sold by a single retailer, which may have many retail outlets; and national brands
(NBs) are defined as those available from multiple (though not necessarily all) retailers.
To conduct the analyses, price and quality measures were drawn from independent product tests
conducted in the U.S. over a period of more than eight years. Then, price-quality (PQ)
correlations were computed for each separate product category. Next, an assessment of the
market structure in terms the price-quality impact on consumer wellbeing was conducted. A
higher correlation between price and quality observed in those categories with PLs relative to
those categories without private labels would be consistent with higher levels of consumer
wellbeing for reasons elaborated next.
The questions that arise naturally are, Why should we care about private labels? and, How might
they contribute to the quality of life and wellbeing of consumers? We address these by noting
that the increasing popularity of private labels (PLs) reflects the value that both retailers and
consumers derive from them (Amaldoss and Shin 2015; Bonfrer and Chintagunta 2004; Nasser,
Turcic, and Narasimhan 2013). Retailers are drawn by their attractive margins and their ability
to foster store-level patronage; on the other hand, consumers appreciate the favorable
combination of price and quality. Indeed, while prices of PLs are typically substantially lower
than NBs, their quality is often at par with them (Boyle, Kim and Lathrop 2018). This inverted
price-quality relationship may seem to contradict the received wisdom that price signals quality,
thus eroding consumer wellbeing. Despite the apparent contradiction, PLs may nonetheless
actually contribute to market efficiency, and hence to consumer wellbeing (Tiboldo et al. 2021).
Broadly speaking, an efficient market is one having an absence of (or relatively few) inefficient
brands; an inefficient brand is one that offers either lower quality than another brand at the same
price, or the same quality as another brand but at a higher price (Kamakura, Ratchford and
Agrawal 1988). One indication of market efficiency is a positive price-quality (PQ) correlation.
Previous research has reported that the PQ correlation in markets is substantially lower than ideal
from a consumer welfare perspective (Olbrich and Jansen 2014). That is, where consumers
might reasonably expect higher prices to signal higher quality, their expectations are often
undermined by actual market structures. This work investigates the impact of PLs on market
structures in terms of PQ correlations.
To do so, data from 14,234 durable products tested by an independent organization in the U.S.
over an eight-year period were analyzed. From 276 product tests, information about each
92
brand’s price and quality was extracted, and on the basis of the brand name each was coded as
either a NB or a PL. For each of the product tests, a PQ correlation (Spearman’s rho) was
computed, separately for those tests containing at least one PL and for those tests containing only
NBs. If multiple tests of the same product occurred at different times, the correlations for each
test were averaged. Then, the results from each product category were aggregated and the grand
mean correlation was computed.
Overall, the PQ correlation was larger than when PLs were present than when they were not
present. In summary, when every product category tested was analyzed, support was found for
the premise that the PQ relationship is stronger in categories having PLs. Simulations confirmed
that the difference in correlation was attributable to the presence or absence of PLs.
The results of the present work are consistent with the premise that markets in which PLs are
present contribute to a greater degree to consumer wellbeing than those markets in which PLs are
absent. Previous research has revealed that consumer wellbeing is directly enhanced by PLs
because they tend to provide consumers with offerings that are of relatively high quality at
attractive prices. Indeed, consumers wellbeing can be improved even if they are not PL
shoppers, as NBs often reduce their prices in response to the presence of PLs. In the present
work, a case is made that the wellbeing of consumers can be enhanced indirectly if the presence
of PLs induces a greater degree of price-quality alignment in the market. Then, consumer
wellbeing can be enhanced financially, as shoppers actually “get what they pay for.” However,
when PQ correlations are higher, quality of life may be hedonically improved because consumers
can shop confidently, with greater assurance that when they pay a higher price they are more
likely to purchase a brand of higher quality.
References
Amaldoss, Wilfred and Woochoel Shin (2015), “Multitier Store Brands and Channel
Profits,” Journal of Marketing Research, 52 (6), 754-767.
Bonfrer, André and Pradeep K. Chintagunta (2004), “Store Brands: Who Buys Them and What
Happens To Retail Prices When They Are Introduced?” Review of Industrial
Organization, 24 (2), 195-218.
Boyle, Peter J., Hyoshin Kim, and E. Scott Lathrop (2018), “The Relationship Between Price and
Quality In Durable Product Categories With Private Label Brands,” Journal of Product &
Brand Management, 27 (6), 647-660.
Kamakura, Wagner A., Brian T. Ratchford, and Jagdish Agrawal (1988), “Measuring Market
Efficiency and Welfare Loss,” Journal of Consumer Research, 15 (3), 289-302.
Nasser, Sherif, Danko Turcic, and Chakravarthi Narasimhan (2013), “National Brand’s Response
To Store Brands: Throw In The Towel Or Fight Back?” Marketing Science, 32 (4), 591-
608.
Olbrich, Rainer and Hans Christian Jansen (2014), “Price-Quality Relationship In Pricing
Strategies For Private Labels,” Journal of Product & Brand Management, 23 (6), 429-
438.
93
Tiboldo, Giulia, Alessandro Bonanno, Rigoberto A. Lopez, and Elena Castellari (2021),
“Competitive and Welfare Effects Of Private Label Presence In Differentiated Food
Markets,” Applied Economics, 53 (24), 2713-2726.
94
Public Health Concerns, Cannabis Policy, and Consumer Cannabis Behavior (Re) Shaping
Cannabis Marketing Systems
Claudia Dumitrescu, Central Washington University, United States of America
Kathryn Martell, Central Washington University, United States of America
Introduction
The impact and consequences of society on marketing systems represent the core of the
macromarketing discipline (Hunt 1981; Witkowski 2015). The case of the United States of
America (U.S.)’s cannabis marketing system is remarkable as it has adapted and transformed
itself in responses to societal changes (Witkowski 2015). Once an illicit marketing system, the
cannabis marketing system has normalized its existence in response to societal change
(Witkowski 2015). Certainly, the cannabis marketing systems in the U.S. have reached levels
that were unthinkable ten years ago; for instance, in 22 states and Washington D.C. cannabis is
legal for recreational purposes (Hansen et al. 2023). Popular support throughout the years for
cannabis legalization and policy makers who responded accordingly (McCarthy 2018)
contributed to the normalization and blooming of the cannabis marketing systems. Also, the
positive effects of the cannabis industry cannot go unnoticed; for instance, Colorado has
collected more than 1.2 billion in tax revenues between 2014-2021 and Washington state has
collected more than $3 billion (Marijuana Policy Project 2023). In January 2022, the legal
cannabis industry employed more than 420.000 people (Barcott and Whitney 2022). The legal
U.S. cannabis market is expected to grow to $47.3 billion by 2028 (Kees et al. 2020).
In parallel with this remarkable growth of the cannabis industry, since recreational sales were
legalized by Colorado and Washington in 2014, there have been increased concerns and debates
among public health experts with regard to the social and health benefits and risks associated
with cannabis consumption (Kees et al. 2020; Volkow et al. 2016; Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention 2018, National Institute of Health 2018), especially as they relate to the use of
high-potency (i.e., high-THC
1
) cannabis products. Should these concerns and recent policy
initiatives - to curb such cannabis consumption - be disregarded, the support for cannabis
legalization could be overturned anytime; as (Witkowski 2015) argued, the remarkable support
for cannabis legalization could be reversed. Perhaps, we reached a point in time where the
cannabis marketing systems need to (re)shape themselves to ensure their continued positive
effect on the industry, states’ revenues, and society.
This research makes two primary contributions. First, we aim to contribute to the
macromarketing literature by focusing on three important areas relevant to (re)shaping the
cannabis marketing systems in the U.S. The purpose is to review the current literatures on public
health concerns and policy related to high-potency cannabis and examine consumer behavior
associated with the high-THC cannabis consumption, all of which are intended to help cannabis
marketing systems adapt themselves so the cannabis industry can continue growing in a socially
1
THC = Tetrahydrocannabinol is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis
95
sustainable manner. Second, policy makers have considered measures to decrease consumption
of high-THC products without a thorough understanding of the cannabis consumers. In fact,
“research on cannabis is nonexistent” in the public policy and marketing areas (Kees et al. 2020).
This research aims to fill this gap in the marketing and public policy literature by examining who
the consumers of high-THC products are.
Public Health Concerns, Cannabis Policy and Consumer Behavior
The level of THC concentration in cannabis products is often referred to as ‘potency’. The
established cannabis marketplace offers products (extracts and oils) that are reaching historic
levels of THC concentration (WA State Liquor and Cannabis Board 2019). It appears that the
THC content of cannabis (in its dried herbal form referred to as ‘flower’) has increased
significantly over the past three decades. To illustrate, THC levels in flower in 1995 were found
to be approximately 4 % (ElSohly et al. 2016) whereas studies found in the past 5 years
approximate potency of flower to be typically between 17- 28 % (Stuyt 2018). This is especially
the case in North American markets, where the THC content has also reached up to 80 to 90%
(even higher) in high potency products such as oils or waxes also known as ‘dabs,’ ‘wax,’ and
‘shatter’ (Mehmedic et al. 2010; ElSohly et al. 2016; Stogner and Miller 2015; Stuyt 2018).
While there are mixed findings that offer insufficient evidence for either positive or negative
health effects of cannabis consumption (Cousijn et al. 2018), there is a line of recent research
suggesting that the frequent use of cannabis products with higher THC concentrations poses
various risks to physical (respiratory, cardiometabolic, cancer, prenatal complications, injury,
addiction) and mental health (psychotic disorders, paranoia, marked effects on memory, and
dependence) (Volkow et al. 2014; Hall and Degenhardt 2015; Freeman and Winstock 2015; Di
Forti et al. 2015; Leos-Toro et al. 2020). Recent warnings, by researchers and physicians, of
mental health risk of cannabis products with high-potency levels were issued in the Pacific
Northwest; the availability of dabs
2
and/or other substances that are highly concentrated are
viewed as “a quiet but growing threat to public health, especially among young adults and
teenagers” (Furfaro 2022).
States that have passed legislation related to potency include Vermont caps on high THC
concentrations (at 60 % THC) and NY and Illinois have passed bills that impose higher taxes on
cannabis products with higher THC potency (IDOR 2023); since 2021, bills related to THC
potency have been introduced in Washington, Montana, Colorado, Massachusetts and Florida
(Schroyer 2021). Additionally, there appears to be interest in discouraging consumption of high-
THC products at the federal level as illustrated in a bipartisan report from the Caucus on
International Narcotics Control, Chaired by Senators Cornyn (R-TX) and Feinstein (D-CA),
recommending that the National Institutes of Health and Food Drug Administration should
develop recommendations on if, and how, THC potency should be capped. Moreover, two bills
concerning the potency of marijuana products have been introduced (although not passed) in
Washington. The 10 THC Bill (HB 2546) introduced in 2016, specified that cannabis processors
2
A highly concentrated form of cannabis is called a dab; this is produced by extracting the psychoactive compound
THC from cannabis plants. A typical cannabis flower averages around 20% THC; nevertheless, some dabs sold in
the state of Washington contain as much as 90% (Furfaro 2022).
96
are prohibited from processing, packaging, possessing, delivering, distributing, and selling
marijuana concentrates with a THC concentration greater than 10 %, except when the marijuana
concentrates are intended for medical purposes (Washington State House of Representatives
2020). The 30 THC Bill (HB 1463), introduced in 2021 (and reintroduced in 2022), addressed
serious mental health consequences of high-potency cannabis products by regulating the sale of
cannabis concentrates.
An exploratory study showed that THC potency is among the factors that consumers consider
when buying cannabis; furthermore, this predilection was evident for older and frequent
consumers to a higher degree. Therefore, we conducted an experimental study to examine how
THC levels interact with age and frequency to impact consumers’ purchase intentions and
willingness to pay. One hundred and twenty-one individuals participated; they were randomly
assigned to one of the two experimental conditions: high THC (25 %) and low THC (10 %). The
Model 2 of Hayes’ (2013) PROCESS results showed that overall consumers (regardless of their
age) expressed higher purchase intentions for high (vs. low) THC; nevertheless, these effects
were statistically stronger for older individuals. For instance, Baby Boomers were more likely to
purchase high THC products, especially those who reported higher levels of cannabis use
frequency. Moreover, consumers expressed higher willingness to pay for high THC; however,
these effects were statistically stronger for older individuals, especially for those in the high
frequency category. For example, the Baby Boomers cohort showed a higher willingness to pay
for high THC cannabis products; additionally, among those who reported higher levels of
cannabis use frequency, their willingness to pay increased significantly for these products.
Cannabis Marketing Systems and Policy Implications
The sales of high-THC cannabis flower dominate the legal cannabis market (Smart et al. 2017);
the THC content has increased significantly over the past three decades in North American
markets and although vulnerable populations may experience potential benefits, the possibility to
incur novel toxic effects is real (Volkow et al. 2016). The cannabis product landscape has
changed dramatically, with strains of higher THC potency or new ways of administration and the
breadth and depth of product assortments that have proliferated to an unexpected degree
(Volkow et al. 2016; Witkowski 2015). Consumers’ risks and benefits perceptions are rapidly
changing as well and consequently, our limited knowledge may only apply to the ways in which
cannabis products were used in the past (Volkow et al. 2016). Marketing systems react to social
changes (Layton 2015) and the cannabis marketing systems represent one notable example.
Cannabis producers therefore should consider changing the product concentration in response to
increased public health concerns, policy/tax initiatives, and consumer behavior. This research
essentially provides insights into why the cannabis producers should reformulate their products
to bring the THC levels down. Some cannabis retailers and suppliers warn that bans or increasing
taxes on certain products could encourage the development of an illegal market, which obviously
would be more difficult to monitor and control (Furfaro 2022). Nevertheless, drawing from the
sugar-sweetened beverage tax literature (Claudy et al. 2021), one possible industry response to a
THC-based tax is product reformulation; research shows that this response to the introduction of
a levied sugar tax in the United Kingdom produced the best health outcomes (Briggs et al. 2013).
Packaging and labeling are important elements of high-potency cannabis products. Some states
require cannabis product packages to include universal symbols that show the presence of THC
97
(Kees et al. 2020). Many states in the U.S. do require that cannabis packaging includes the
percentage of THC levels in a product (Kees et al. 2020). However, cannabis marketers from all
states, where cannabis consumption is legal for recreational purposes, should devote their efforts
toward a universal packaging practice accompanied by accurate potency levels or percentage of
THC. Helping consumers make informed decisions as they relate to the safe consumption of
cannabis products should be a priority for the cannabis marketers. It is always important to
remember the core of macromarketing, which refers to the impact and consequences of
marketing systems on society and the impact and consequences of society on marketing systems
(Hunt 1981). Just as the social changes in the U.S., over the past decade, have positively
influenced the cannabis industry and contributed to its normalization, the public health concerns,
policy considerations, and cannabis consumer behavior can reverse these effects; the tobacco,
alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverage industries provide great lessons in this way.
As far as the cannabis promotion strategies are concerned, cannabis products cannot be
advertised by many traditional means; also, there are different regulations in place for advertising
cannabis in every state (MSI MarketSmith 2023). A noteworthy promotional development
occurred due to social media. A study, where an analysis of the Instagram posts with cannabis-
related hashtgas was conducted, showed that 43 % posts were explicit about cannabis (e.g.,
images of cannabis, cannabis advertising) (Cavazos-Rehg et al. 2016). While cannabis marketers
can use social media as a way to promote their products, they should also consider using this
avenue to disclose relevant risks linked to the frequent use of high-potency cannabis products,
especially to various segments of consumers such as elderly and frequent users, who might have
a higher preference toward high-THC products due to, perhaps, their misperceptions relative to
the health risks and benefits. Furthermore, lessons from the food industry can be instructive here,
as food marketers, in their efforts to address increased concerns about obesity, have engaged in
various forms of corporate social responsibility. For instance, major food companies committed
their advertising efforts toward healthier food products and/or messages that encourage good
nutrition or healthy lifestyles (Council of Better Business Bureau 2016). Along the same lines,
cannabis producers should consider marketing/education strategies to raise consumers
perceptions of risks. The focus should be on disclosing important risks, associated with the
consumption of high-potency products, along with medical benefits, according to available
research. It is important to encourage safe consumption given the need for more evidence that
could speak to the health effects, whether they are negative or positive.
The current research suggests that policy makers aiming to move forward with policy
discouraging or restricting the consumption of high-potency cannabis (e.g., taxes) need to have
an integrative view that considers the ongoing research/mixed findings on the risks and health
benefits associated with high THC cannabis consumption. It is also important to better
understand how and why certain individuals purchase and consume these (purportedly) risky
products. Consumer education campaigns might be more useful as opposed to cannabis tax
increase; nevertheless, any such campaign should understand the segments of cannabis
consumers and targeted messaging should be developed to provide persuasive information to
those individuals who are at risk (Peattie et al. 2001; Moore et al. 2002). Our experimental study
shows that older and frequent users tend to prefer high-potency cannabis products and would be
willing to pay a higher price for these products. Public policies thus should evolve and the
98
cannabis marketing systems should be (re)shaped to ensure the negative health effects are
minimized and potential benefits are maximized (Volkow et al. 2016).
References
Barcott B. & Whitney, B. (2022). The US cannabis industry now supports 428,059 jobs. Leafly.
Retrieved from https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/cannabis-jobs-report
Briggs, Adam D. M., Oliver T. Mytton, Ariane Kehlbacher, Richard Tiffin, Mike Rayner, and
Peter Scarborough (2013), “Overall and Income Specific Effect on Prevalence of Overweight
and Obesity of 20% Sugar Sweetened Drink Tax in UK: Econometric and Comparative Risk
Assessment Modelling Study,” British Medical Journal, 347.
Cavazos-Rehg, Patricia A., Melissa J. Krauss, Shaina J. Sowles, and Laura J. Bierut (2016),
“Marijuana-Related Posts on Instagram,” Prevention Science, 17 (6), 710–20.
CDC (2018), Marijuana: How Can It Affect Your Health? Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/healtheffects.html.
Claudy, M., Doyle, G., Marriott, L., Campbell, N., & O’Malley, G. (2021). Are sugar-sweetened
beverage taxes effective? Reviewing the evidence through a marketing systems lens. Journal of
Public Policy & Marketing, 40(3), 403-418.
Council of Better Business Bureaus (2016). The children's food and beverage advertising
initiative (CFBAI). Retrieved from https://www.bbb.org/council/the-nationalpartner-
program/national-advertising-review-services/childrens-food-and-beverageadvertising-
initiative/
Cousijn, J., Núñez, A. E., & Filbey, F. M. (2018). Time to acknowledge the mixed effects of
cannabis on health: a summary and critical review of the NASEM 2017 report on the health
effects of cannabis and cannabinoids. Addiction.
Di Forti M, Marconi A, Carra E, et al. (2015). Proportion of patients in South London with first-
episode psychosis attributable to use of high potency cannabis: A case– control study. Lancet
Psychiatry. 2(3):233–8.
ElSohly, M. A., Mehmedic, Z., Foster, S., Gon, C., Chandra, S., & Church, J. C. (2016). Changes
in cannabis potency over the last 2 decades (1995–2014): analysis of current data in the United
States. Biological psychiatry, 79(7), 613-619.
Freeman, T. P., & Winstock, A. R. (2015). Examining the profile of high-potency cannabis and
its association with severity of cannabis dependence. Psychological medicine, 45(15), 3181-
3189.
99
Furfaro, H. (2022). Researchers Warn of Mental Health Risks of High-Potency Cannabis. Seattle
Times Mental Health project. Retrieved from https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/mental-
health/should-wa-ban-high-potency-cannabis-researchers-warn-of-mental-health-risks/
Hall W, Degenhardt L. (2015). High potency cannabis: a risk factor for dependence, poor
psychosocial outcomes, and psychosis. BMJ. 350:h1205.
Hansen, C., Alas, H. & Davis Jr., E. (2023). Where Is Marijuana Legal? A Guide to Marijuana
Legalization. U.S. News & World Report (2023). Retrieved from
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/where-is-marijuana-legal-a-guide-to-
marijuana-legalization
Hayes, A. (2013). Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis. 2
nd
Ed. The Guilford Press. New York, NY.
Hunt, Shelby D. (1981), “Macromarketing as a Multidimensional Concept,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 1 (1), 7.
IDOR (2023). Cannabis Taxes. Retrieved
from:https://tax.illinois.gov/research/taxinformation/other/cannabis-taxes.html
Kees, J., Fitzgerald, P., Dorsey, J. D., & Hill, R. P. (2020). Evidence-based cannabis policy: a
framework to guide marketing and public policy research. Journal of Public Policy &
Marketing, 39(1), 76-92.
Layton, R. A. (2015). Formation, growth, and adaptive change in marketing systems. Journal of
Macromarketing, 35(3), 302-319.
Leos-Toro, C., Fong, G. T., Meyer, S. B., & Hammond, D. (2020). Cannabis health knowledge
and risk perceptions among Canadian youth and young adults. Harm Reduction Journal, 17(1),
1-13.
Marijuana Policy Project (2023). Cannabis Tax Revenue in States that Regulate Cannabis for
Adult Use. Retrieved from
https://www.mpp.org/issues/legalization/cannabis-tax-revenue-states-regulate-cannabis-adult-
use/#:~:text=As%20of%20March%202022%2C%20states,%2C%20adult%2Duse%20cannabis
%20sales.
McCarthy J. (2018). Two in Three Americans Now Support Legalizing Marijuana. Gallup.
Retrieved from
https://news.gallup.com/poll/243908/two-three-americans-support-legalizing-marijuana.aspx
Mehmedic Z, Chandra S, Slade D, Denham H, Foster S, Patel AS, et al. Potency trends of Δ9 -
THC and other cannabinoids in confiscated cannabis preparations from 1993 to 2008. J Forensic
Scince. 2010; 55(5):1209–1217. [PubMed: 20487147]
100
Moore, Jesse N.,Mary Anne Raymond, John D. Mittelstaedt, and John F. Tanner Jr. (2002),
“Age and Consumer Socialization Agent Influences on Adolescents’ Sexual Knowledge,
Attitudes, and Behavior: Implications for Social Marketing Initiatives and Public Policy,”
Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 21 (1), 37–52.
MSI MarketSmith (2023). Advertising and Marketing Regulations on Cannabis Advertising.
Retrieved from https://www.marketsmithinc.com/advertising-and-marketing-regulations-on-
cannabis-
advertising/#:~:text=CBD%20and%20Cannabis%20Advertising%20Basic%20Rules%20and%2
0Regulations&text=Don't%20use%20animation%20or,approved%2C%20avoid%20advertising
%20ingested%20products
National Institute of Health (2018), “Monitoring the Future Survey: High School and Youth
Trends,” (December), https://www.drugabuse.gov/publicati
Peattie, Ken, Sue Peattie, and Phillip Clarke (2001), “Skin Cancer Prevention: Reevaluating the
Public Policy Implications,” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 20 (2), 268–79.
Schroyer (2021). Marijuana Foes Seek to impose THC Potency Caps to Curb Industry’s Growth.
MJBiZDaily. Retrieved from:
https://mjbizdaily.com/marijuana-foes-seek-to-impose-thc-potency-caps-to-curb-industrys-
growth/#:~:text=Marijuana%20opponents%2C%20frustrated%20by%20the,%2C%20Massachus
etts%2C%20Montana%20and%20Washington
Stogner, J. M., & Miller, B. L. (2015). The dabbing dilemma: A call for research on butane hash
oil and other alternate forms of cannabis use. Substance abuse, 36(4), 393-395.
Stuyt, E. (2018). The problem with the current high potency THC marijuana from the
perspective of an addiction psychiatrist. Missouri Medicine, 115(6), 482.
Volkow ND, Baler RD, Compton WM, Weiss SRB (2014). Adverse health effects of marijuana
use. N Engl J Med. 370(23):2219–27.
Volkow, N. D., Swanson, J. M., Evins, A. E., DeLisi, L. E., Meier, M. H., Gonzalez, R., ... &
Baler, R. (2016). Effects of cannabis use on human behavior, including cognition, motivation,
and psychosis: a review. JAMA psychiatry, 73(3), 292-297.
Washington State House of Representatives (2020). HB 2546. Office of Program Research.
Commerce & Gaming Committee.
WA State Liquor and Cannabis Report (2019). Taxing Cannabis by Potency: A Feasibility
Study. Legislative Directed Work Group Report.
Witkowski, T. H. (2015, June). Cannabis marketing systems and social change in the United
States. In Annual Macromarketing Conference (p. 103).
101
Entrepreneurship Orientation and Firm Performance: The Mediating Effect of Dynamic
Capability and Government Support to SME Businesses In Ghana
Sadick Alhaji Husseini, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary
For the past decades, Entrepreneurship Orientation (EO) has received the most investigation
regarding the connection between EO and performance (Isichei et al., 2020; Ltd, 2020;
Meekaewkunchorn et al., 2021; Saeed, Yousafzai, and Engelen 2014). The results are still
conflicting and inconclusive despite the outstanding research on the relationship between EO and
performance (Su, Xie, and Wang, 2015). According to some studies that hold the mainstream
perspective, EO and performance are favorably correlated (Wiklund and Shepherd 2003).
According to some, the impacts of this association (Renko, Carsful, and Brännback 2009;
Gruber-Muecke and Hofer, 2015) are unfavorable and insignificant. However, empirical studies
by Zahra and Covin (1995) and Wiklund (1999) show that entrepreneurship orientation impacts
firm performance over time. To uncover business opportunities and compete with other firms,
businesses must have an entrepreneurship orientation. Thus, SMEs will achieve higher firm
performance if they are innovative, risk-taking, proactive, autonomous, and have competitive
aggressiveness in the marketplace. (Li et al. 2009; Akbar et al. 2020)
This study seeks to investigate the current situation of entrepreneurship orientation in Ghana and
to propose a model where Government Support (GS), including government initiatives such as
the promotion of business expansion and activities that are in line with the goals of SMEs
strategy, assistance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in overcoming financial and
non-financial obstacles that impede business operations while enhancing their entrepreneurial
practices; and Dynamic Capability ( DC), which also, seeks to explain how and why businesses
survive in a circumstance where technology, society, and markets are changing so quickly while
others are failing (Leemann and Kanbach, 2022; Akenroye et al., 2020) are used as mediating
and moderating variables to stimulate economic growth.
Considering the point of variation in reporting the findings between Entrepreneurship
Orientation and Firm Performance (EO - FP) relationship from the existing literature (Rauch et
al., 2009), the study investigates the mediating effects of dynamic capability on the relationship
between entrepreneurship orientation and firm performance; and the moderating effect of
government support on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Ghanaian business
environment in Sub- Saharan Africa. Specifically, this study aimed: (1) to examine the effect of
Entrepreneurship Orientation (Innovativeness, Risk Taking, proactiveness, competitive
aggressive, and autonomy) on Firm Performance in SME Businesses in Ghana; (2) To test the
mediating role of Dynamic Capacity (Sensing and Learning Capabilities) in the effects of EO
(Innovativeness, Risk Taking, proactiveness, competitive aggressive, and autonomy) on firm
performance; (3) To determine the moderating role of Government Support in sensing and
Learning Capabilities on Firm Performance.
102
The study employed a quantitative methodology using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to
test the proposed conceptual model. The researcher sought and received approval from company
owners that allowed the use of their facilities and, in some cases, the companies’ premises for
managers to respond to the questionnaires outlined in the study. For this study, a total of 290
questionnaires from SMEs were collected based on the following criteria: (i) firms had employed
a minimum of five and a maximum of 500 full-time workers (Boso et al. 2013; Goedhuys and
Sleuwaegen 2010; Wiklund and Shepherd 2011); (ii) firms with a minimum of 5 years business
operation experience (Morgan et al.,2012); (iii) firms that had the complete contact information
of the founder for the chief executive officer (Khavul et al., 2010); (iv) the educational level of
managers (Śmietańska 2020; Aguinis et al. 2022); (v) the age and firm size (Coad 2018; Hansen
1992; Li et al. 2011; Loderer and Waelchli 2010); (vi) firms that were owned and controlled by
individual or group of entrepreneurs with at least 50 percent ownership (Goedhuys and
Sleuwaegen 2010). These firms were in the southern part of the country including Kumasi,
Accra, and the Eastern Region of Ghana.
The study contributes to entrepreneurship orientation in four (4) different aspects: First, it
develops a model that integrates Dynamic Capability and Government Support as both mediators
and moderators respectively, considering the knowledge-based economy (Sharif et al. 2023;
Hassan et al. 2023), which can stimulate economic growth, thereby creating opportunities for
SMEs through government policy initiatives in Ghana. Second, the existing measurement
instruments of entrepreneurial orientation (Covin and Slevin 1989; Miller and Friesen 1982) are
empirically tested and applied to SMEs operating in Ghana to provide a context for future
research opportunities for SMEs in the changing world of business today. Third, the study adds
to the few empirical works focusing on government support and business owners’ ability to adapt
to the dynamic capabilities for entrepreneurship orientation. (Feranita et al. 2020; Moreira et al.
2022; Veronica et al. 2020; Zaato et al. 2020; Akenroye et al. 2020; Kriswijayanto et al. 2022;
Pigola et al. 2022) And lastly, the study also follows calls for increased methodological rigor by
analyzing large-scale data with Structural Equation Modeling. (Barnes et al. 2016; Kollmann et
al. 2022)
For the policy side of the research and the government support, it is highlighted that policy
papers issued by the government in support of initiatives in Ghana, comprising a draft Policy
Paper on Micro and Small Enterprise Development, Strategies and Action Plan by the Ministry
of Private Sector Development should include an aspect of dynamic capability like learning and
sensing capacity to enhance the business opportunities of SME operators in Ghana. In addition,
the President’s Special Initiative on certain sectors of the economy like garment, textile, and
entrepreneurship, which are roll out by the state, should include and encourage organizations to
acquire information that can help better understand customers’ needs (Zairi 2012) for the
performance of their business.
References
Aguinis, H., Audretsch, D. B., Flammer, C., Meyer, K. E., Peng, M. W., & Teece, D. J. (2022).
Bringing the Manager Back into Management Scholarship. Journal of Management,
48(7), 1849–1857.
103
Akenroye, T. O., Owens, J. D., Elbaz, J., & Durowoju, O. A. (2020). Dynamic capabilities for
SME participation in public procurement. Business Process Management Journal, 26(4),
857–888.
Boso, N., Story, V. M., & Cadogan, J. W. (2013). Entrepreneurial orientation, market
orientation, network ties, and performance: Study of entrepreneurial firms in a
developing economy. Journal of Business Venturing, 28(6), 708–727.
Carsrud, A., Brännback, M., Nordberg, L., & Renko, M. (2009). Cognitive maps and
perceptions of entrepreneurial growth: A quasi-experimental study in the differences
between technology entrepreneurs, corporate managers, and students. Journal of
Enterprising Culture, 17(01), 1–24.
Coad, A. (2018). Firm age: A survey. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 28, 13–43.
Covin, J. G., & Slevin, D. P. (1989). Strategic management of small firms in hostile and benign
environments. Strategic Management Journal, 10(1), 75–87.
Feranita, N. V., Nugraha, A., & Sukoco, S. A. (2020). THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
SUPPORT FOR INNOVATION AND PERFORMANCE OF SMEs. POLITICO, 19(2),
124–136.
Goedhuys, M., & Sleuwaegen, L. (2010a). High-growth entrepreneurial firms in Africa: A
quantile regression approach. Small Business Economics, 34, 31–51.
Goedhuys, M., & Sleuwaegen, L. (2010b). High-growth entrepreneurial firms in Africa: A
quantile regression approach. Small Business Economics, 34, 31–51.
Gruber-Muecke, T., & Hofer, K. M. (2015). Market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation,
and performance in emerging markets. International Journal of Emerging Markets.
Hansen, J. A. (1992). Innovation, firm size, and firm age. Small Business Economics, 4, 37–44.
Isichei, E. E., Emmanuel Agbaeze, K., & Odiba, M. O. (2020). Entrepreneurial orientation and
performance in SMEs: The mediating role of structural infrastructure capability.
International Journal of Emerging Markets, 15(6), 1219–1241Ltd, I.-I. B. (2020).
Khavul, S., Pérez-Nordtvedt, L., & Wood, E. (2010). Organizational entrainment and
international new ventures from emerging markets. Journal of Business Venturing,
25(1), 104–119.
Kriswijayanto, E. K., Yasin, M., & Sudiardhita, I. K. R. (2022). The Influence of Leadership
Style and Capability Dynamics of Innovation Work Behavior: Competency and Trust as
Mediation. Specialusis Ugdymas, 1(43), Article 43.
Leemann, N., & Kanbach, D. K. (2022). Toward a taxonomy of dynamic capabilities–a
systematic literature review. Management Research Review, 45(4), 486–501.
Li, J., Chu, C. W. L., Lam, K. C., & Liao, S. (2011). Age diversity and firm performance in an
emerging economy: Implications for cross-cultural human resource management. Human
Resource Management, 50(2), 247–270.
Li, Y.-H., Huang, J.-W., & Tsai, M.-T. (2009). Entrepreneurial orientation and firm
performance: The role of knowledge creation process. Industrial Marketing Management,
38(4), 440–449.
Loderer, C. F., & Waelchli, U. (2010). Firm age and performance. Available at SSRN
1342248.
Ltd, I.-I. B. (2020). Entrepreneurial orientation dimension affects firm performance: A
perspective from the Malaysian furniture industry. Entrepreneurial Business and
Economics Review, 8(4), 157–181.
104
Ltd, I.-I. B. (2020). Entrepreneurial orientation dimension affects firm performance: A
perspective from the Malaysian furniture industry. Entrepreneurial Business and
Economics Review, 8(4), 157–181.
Meekaewkunchorn, N., Szczepańska-Woszczyna, K., Muangmee, C., Kassakorn, N., & Khalid,
B. (2021). Entrepreneurial Orientation and Sme Performance: The Mediating Role of
Learning Orientation. Economics & Sociology, 14(2), 294–312.
Miller, D., & Friesen, P. H. (1982). The Longitudinal Analysis of Organizations: A
Methodological Perspective. Management Science, 28(9), 1013–1034.
Moreira, A., Navaia, E., & Ribau, C. (2022). Moderation Effects of Government Institutional
Support, Active and Reactive Internationalization Behavior on Innovation Capability
and Export Performance. Economies, 10(8), 177.
Morgan, N. A., Katsikeas, C. S., & Vorhies, D. W. (2012). Export marketing strategy
implementation, export marketing capabilities, and export venture performance.
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 40, 271–289.
Pigola, A., da Costa, P. R., van der Poel, N., & Yamaçake, F. T. R. (2022). New perspectives
for dynamic capabilities in meeting needs of startups’ survival. Journal of
Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print).
Rauch, A., Wiklund, J., Lumpkin, G. T., & Frese, M. (2009). Entrepreneurial orientation and
business performance: An assessment of past research and suggestions for the future.
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 33(3), 761–787.
Saeed, S., Yousafzai, S. Y., & Engelen, A. (2014). On cultural and macroeconomic
contingencies of the entrepreneurial orientation–performance relationship.
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 38(2), 255–290.
Śmietańska, J. (2020). Empirical Constructing of the Managerial Talent Category in
Education. Przegląd Badań Edukacyjnych, 1(30), 107.
Su, Z., Xie, E., & Wang, D. (2015). Entrepreneurial orientation, managerial networking, and
new venture performance in China. Journal of Small Business Management, 53(1),
228–248.
Veronica, S., Manlio, D. G., Shlomo, T., Antonio, M. P., & Victor, C. (2020). International
social SMEs in emerging countries: Do governments support their international
growth? Journal of World Business, 55(5), 100995.
Wiklund, J., & Shepherd, D. (2003). Knowledge-based resources, entrepreneurial orientation,
and the performance of small and medium-sized businesses. Strategic Management
Journal, 24(13), 1307–1314.
Wiklund, J., & Shepherd, D. A. (2011). Where to from here? EO-as-experimentation, failure,
and distribution of outcomes. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 35(5), 925– 946.
Zaato, S. G., Ismail, M., Uthamaputhran, S., & Owusu-Ansah, W. (2020). THE IMPACT
OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION ON SMEs PERFORMANCE IN
GHANA: THE ROLE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL AND GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
POLICIES. Jurnal Manajemen Dan Kewirausahaan, 22(2), 99–114.
Zairi, M. (2012). Measuring Performance for Business Results. Springer Science & Business
Media.
105
From Stones to Electrons: The Evolution of Homo Sapiens
Charles Ingene, University of Oklahoma, United States of America
Jie Fowler, Valdosta State University, United States of America
Speaking extemporaneously at the 2015 Macromarketing Conference’s plenary session, Bob
Lusch set forth an agenda for macromarketers. Specifically, he encouraged us to take a “Long
Macro View” by exploring four innate human propensities over the past 40,000 years:
1) engaging in exchange with each other,
2) creating tools or technology,
3) making choices that have unseen costs, and
4) developing institutions to coordinate exchanges and other interactions (Lusch 2017).
Four well-respected macromarketing scholars have each expanded on one of these propensities
(Kravtes 2017), (Layton 2017), (Schultz 2017), (Laczniak 2017).
Consistent with Lusch’s time frame, we investigate Lusch’s propensities from an evolutionary
perspective. We start by assessing the world into which Homo Sapiens arrived – a world that was
inhabited by earlier Hominins. We begin with our terms, then turn to our analysis: (a) Exchange
may be voluntary or involuntary (e.g., robbery). Exchange may be between kinsmen and involve
a quid pro quo (e.g., Christmas gifts), or it may be between companies – again voluntarily or
involuntarily. To clarify the distinction between levels of exchange, we use the term Trade to
denote a larger scale than Exchange. Voluntary Trade typically has an explicit or implicit
pecuniary component (in currency or barter). Specialization enables production of surplus output
that can be exchanged or traded. Economists refer to this as a division of labor; the potential
surplus is dependent on tools, technology, and Knowledge (Layton 2009); (b) We use the term
Knowledge rather than “tools or technology” because it embraces more than mechanical
devices, it also includes language, medicine, and other intellectual endeavors. Many elements or
outputs that comes from Knowledge can be exchanged or traded; (c) Some actions create unseen
Costs; other actions may create unforeseeable Benefits; (d) Human groups typically have
Leaders who may focus on a single topic or who may have broader authority. Institutions
(which have Leaders) are formal methods of control.
We will develop the Dark Side of Trade, Knowledge, Costs and Benefits, Leaders and
Institutions. Our basic argument is that Lusch’s four propensities have had – and continue to
have – both positive and negative impacts on society and on significant societal segments.
Prehistory
Homo Sapiens did not enter a tabula rasa 40,000 years ago; we overlapped with Homo
Neanderthals for tens of thousands of years. A fundamental contribution of our paper is our
utilization of data that has only recently been published in scientific and archeology journals.
This expansion in our understanding reveals that Neanderthals used a division of labor, had some
106
Leadership, had considerable Knowledge, engaged in intra-group Exchanges, and incurred Costs
– foreseen and unforeseen; they may also have experienced unforeseen Benefits.
H. Neanderthal appeared some 800,000 years ago (henceforth we compress our notion as
800Kya). They had stone tools and wooden spears, generated fire, built cave hearths, crafted
simple clothes, used medicinal plants, created cave art, and were seafaring. In short, they had
substantial Knowledge. We infer a division of labor within hunter-gather groups, with weaker
members engaged in gathering edible flora, while stronger members focused on hunting fauna.
What is clear from a long-standing archeology literature is that over thousands of years H.
Neanderthal became increasingly skilled across several dimensions.
A recent publication documents that, by 125Kya, some H. Neanderthal were apex predators who
successfully hunted straight-tusked elephants – the largest terrestrial mammals of the
Pleistocene, weighing 13 metric tons (Gaudzinski-Windheuser 2023). A large Neanderthal
population remained in the same 61-acre area for over 2,000 years. The authors note that hunting
“elephants were part of the cultural repertoire of Last Interglacial Neanderthals… The nutritional
yields of these well-documented butchering activities …suggests that Neanderthals were less
mobile and operated within social units substantially larger than commonly envisioned.”
There was a considerable geographic range of skilled Neanderthal groups (northern Germany,
France, and Saxony have been documented).
Neanderthals were clearly well organized for what must have been dangerous hunting: they were
Knowledgeable about their prey, they must have occasionally incurred serious physical Costs,
and had to have Leaders – at least for hunting. Given large group size, there must also have been
intra-group divisions of labor – so there would have been intra-group Exchanges. Neanderthals
were self-sufficient for thousands of years before modern H. Sapiens arrived.
Modern Homo Sapiens
Diasporas out of Africa by modern H. Sapiens occurred some 70Kya –50Kya. From East Africa,
they reached Arabia, spread to South Asia, Maritime South Asia, and Oceania between 65Kya –
50Kya. East Asia and North Asia are thought to have been reached about 45Kya. Some evidence
suggests that, using the Bering Land Bridge, H. Sapiens may have reached the western
hemisphere during the Last Glacial Maximum.
Recent research reveals that modern H. Sapiens arrived in Europe about 54Kya – some 10Kya –
14Kya before H. Neanderthal died out (Slimak 2022). There is no evidence of slaughter, or
pandemics, eliminating the older specie. Rather, H. Sapiens and H. Neanderthal overlapped for
ten thousand years or more; this suggests that we may have learned from them by observation,
and/or through centuries of interacting – and interbreeding. Estimates are that some 20% of H.
Neanderthal genome is present in contemporary populations.
H. Sapiens did not enter a tabula rasa; there were already tools, hunting techniques, and other
activities from which later arrivals could learn or could independently improve. Here we focus
on the Neolithic age from 12Kya – 5Kya, postponing earlier and later ages to a full paper.
107
Human ingenuity blossomed during the Neolithic age. We focus on remarkable examples of
Knowledge, Leadership and possibly Institutions. Presenting our analysis chronologically,
between 11.5Kya – 10Kya, H. Sapiens constructed the world’s first – and largest – monoliths in
the foothills of the Taurus Mountains. Gӧbekli Tepe consisted of several large circular structures
supported by 50-foot high limestone monoliths featuring intricate carvings of humans and wild
animals, and stone cisterns to collect water – indicating at least a semi-permanent population. Its
creators, hunter-gathers who used flint knives to cut limestone, subsisted on local cereals and by
hunting gazelles. Gӧbekli Tepe’s creators had an exquisite understanding of tools, techniques,
and artistic skills; in short, they had considerable Knowledge. The magnitude of construction
was so great that there must have been Leaders to give precise directions to workers.
Importantly, there are at least 11 other Tepes in Turkey from the same time period; we infer that
there was an interrelated society stretching over thousands of square miles.
Today we are familiar with stone circles. Not well known is that there are several large stone
circles in Europe that predate Stonehenge by thousands of years. Amongst them are a submerged
stone circle off the coast of Israel dating from 8.6Kya; a stone circle in the Sahara and a “Spanish
Stonehenge,” both dated from 7Kya; and one in France from 6.5Kya. Stone circles involved
religious ceremonies; they had a social purpose of bringing together compatriots from some
distance. We see a possible informal Institution, substantial architectural Knowledge, obvious
divisions of labor, Exchanges within large groups and perhaps Trade with outsiders.
Arguably the most famous monolithic stone circle is Stonehenge in Salisbury, UK. First erected
5.2Kya, it went through four “renovations” up to 3.7Kya. It is aligned with the summer and
winter solstices. Most of the stones, each weighing 25 – 50 tons, came from 16 miles away;
considerable labor and mechanical ingenuity were required to haul them. Igneous bluestones
(one – two tons each) were brought from Wales 140 miles away. They ring when struck, hinting
at mystical properties. There is evidence of people travelling considerable distances for ritual
gatherings at Stonehenge – apparently social bonding.
At the other extreme of construction complexity are thousands of kites that were neither heavy
nor high – but that were quite long. Thousands of these hunting traps were erected in the post-
glacial period (10Kya – 6Kya) in what today is Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The broad time frame and
the large area over which kites were spread reveals shared Knowledge of the basic concept
(Fradley 2022). Kites consisted of stone walls some 4 kilometers long. Herds of gazelles, deer,
and other non-domesticated animals were driven through a gradually narrowing field until they
came to an enclosure where they were trapped and slaughtered. The people who built these
structures had an organized a workforce and Knowledge of their preys’ behavior. They were able
to determine the rate at which to kill trapped animals, and how to divide the meat. In short, there
was Leadership, Knowledge, and a division of labor (hence Exchange between group members).
Intriguingly, a 9Kya shrine was recently found in Jordan’s eastern desert “that was likely used in
the practice of religious hunting rituals” (Lanese 2022). Quite amazingly, the site included “an
architectural model of a desert kite.”
Next Steps
Our next step will be an analysis of the Bronze Age – and with it the growth of cities and their
large Institutions (religious buildings and royal palaces), and the development of mathematics
108
and written language (the earliest being the Epic of Gilgamesh).
Moving past the Bronze Age, wars of conquest became somewhat common; for example, Darius
the Great, ruler of Persia, tried to conquer Greece. Large scale wars ended many lives, and
sometimes empires; crops were often ruined, etc. Well into the Christian era, Attila the Hun,
Genghis Khan, and others swept through Asia, destroying cities, and often empires. While they
carried off the spoils of war, they left death and desolation in their wake (Grousset 1939). This is
a “Dark Side” of involuntary “Trade.” There was also a positive side of Trade, as exemplified by
Marco Polo’s travels to and from China in the late 1200s AD.
Knowledge – especially incorrect “knowledge” – has a Dark Side. Examples include burning of
“witches” at the stake for causing whatever perceived tragedy. More recently, Semmelweis
proved that the incidence of deaths during childbirth could be drastically reduced by requiring
doctors to disinfect their hands in obstetrical clinics. Unfortunately, doctors rejected his proof as
quackery. It was not until the 1890s when Louis Pasteur’s Germ Theory of Disease arose, and an
awareness of viruses, that common sense prevailed.
References:
Fradley, M. (2022) “Following the herds? A new distribution of hunting kites in Southwest Asia”
The Holocene, v. 32 (11).
Gaudzinski-Windheuser, Sabine, et al. (1 February 2023) “Hunting and processing of straight-
tusked elephants 125,000 years ago: Implications for Neanderthal behavior,” Science
Advances, v. 9 (5).
Grousset, René (1939) The Empire of the Steppes: a History of Central Asia, (English translation
1970).
Kravits, Olga (2017), On Technology, Magic and Changing the World,” Journal of
Macromarketing v. 37(3), pp. 331-333.
Laczniak, Gene (2017) “The Hidden Costs of Hidden Costs,” Journal of Macromarketing v. 37(3),
pp. 324-327.
Lanese, Nicoletta (2022) “'Almost intact' shrine found in Jordanian desert is 9,000 years old,”
Life Science, February 24, 2022.
Layton, Roger (2017) “Can Marketing Learn from 40,000 Years of History?,” Journal of
Macromarketing, v. 37(3), pp. 334-335.
Layton, Roger (2009) “On Economic Growth, Marketing Systems, and the Quality of Life,”
Journal of Macromarketing, v. 29(4), pp. 349 – 362.
Lusch, Robert F. (2017), “The Long Macro View,” Journal of Macromarketing v. 37(3), pp. 321-
323.
Schultz, Clifford J. (2017) “Marketing, the Next40,000 Years,” Journal of Macromarketing, v.
37 (3), pp. 328-330.
Slimak, Ludovic, et. al., (2 Feb 2022) “Modern human incursion into Neanderthal territories 54,000
years ago at Mandrin, France” Science Advances, v. 8 (6).
109
Political Macromarketing Perspective in the case of Brazil’s Lack of Development Growth
Monique Matsuda dos Santos, University of Wyoming, United States of America
Mark Peterson, University of Wyoming, United States of America
Introduction
Why has Latin America continued to lag behind the North in terms of development? In the
context of developing countries, there is a need for marketing researchers to engage in Political
Macromarketing research, approaching the understanding of how economic growth affects social
welfare and quality of life (Mittelstaedt et al. 2014; Mittelstaedt, Kilbourne, and Mittelstaedt
2006; Shultz et al. 2012; Benton, Jr. 2022).
Moreover, even though the consumer occupies a point of microanalysis, macroanalysis of
government policies' role in shaping the necessary conditions for quality of life can bring
significant benefits to consumer well-being, consequently contributing to improvements in social
welfare. As George Fisk (1981) points out, "the word macromarketing implies that we care about
the consequences of large marketing systems on large social issues," which embrace
environmental concerns, national economic development, the impact of marketing on quality of
life, and marketing efficiency in assembling and allocating resources.
Therefore, we focus on Brazil's Macromarketing issues to demonstrate how development
constraints are related to political mismanagement that contributes to keeping this country on an
emerging path and influencing Macromarketing aspects of the society.
Brazil’s Sustainable Development Compared to Other Latin America Emerging Countries
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru are considered emerging economies, except for
Argentina, a Standalone Country (MSCI 2023). We address Latin American emerging countries’
development using the Sustainable Society Index (SSI), which the Sustainable Society
Foundation developed in the Netherlands in 2006 (Saisana and Philippas 2012). SSI has been
applied to preview Macromarketing research analyzing sustainable development in developing
countries (Peterson, M., and Zehra, S. 2018; Sepulveda, Shultz, and Peterson 2023).
Brazil's SSI scores are better than the global average regarding having enough food and clean
water, safe sanitation, a healthy lifestyle, population growth, renewable water resources, energy
use and conservation, and greenhouse gas emissions. However, its public debt and employment
scores do poorly, displaying levels below those of other Latin American emerging countries (see
Figure 1).
110
111
Figure 1. SSI for Latin American emerging countries
Source: Sustainable Society Index, 2018
Political Macromarketing
Despite several problems related to social inequality, Brazil has a portfolio with an arrangement
of public policies whose objective is to encourage growth and economic development. Such
public policies are developed and directed towards monetary transferences to individuals, or I-
frame public policies.
Nonetheless, economic researchers have questioned the effectiveness of I-frame public policies
arguing that "even when I-frame interventions are highly effective, their impact may be modest"
(Chater e Loewenstein 2022). In other words, I-frame public policies' impact on social welfare is
not sustained to generate long-term benefits and change the quality of life for those who receive
public assistance.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Biodiversity
Consumption
Education
Employment
Energy Savings
Energy Use
GDP
Gender Equality
Genuine Savings
Good Governance
Greenhouse Gases Healthy Life
Income Distribution
Organic Farming
Population Growth
Public Debt
Renewable Energy
Renewable Water Resources
Safe Sanitation
Sufficient Drinking Water
Sufficient Food
Word Argentina México Colombia Peru Brazil
112
For instance, families in poverty (with monthly family income per capita between R$ 105.01 and
R$ $210.00) and those in extreme poverty (with monthly family income per capita up to R$
105.00, one hundred and five reais, one hundred and five reais and one cent and two hundred and
ten reais) (MDASFS 2023) can participate as beneficiaries in the Bolsa Família Program (BFP),
and the Auxílio Brazil Program (ABP). December 2022 set a historical record for the BFP,
reaching 21.6 million beneficiary families. The investment surpassed BRL 13 billion, with an
average benefit of BRL 607.14 for each family (MDASFS 2022).
Nevertheless, comparing the levels of poverty and extreme poverty in Brazil since the creation of
non-taxable income distribution policies, there is no significant difference in decreasing
inequality. Even with public policies of continued provision, the results achieved are still far
from reaching levels of poverty reduction and schooling increase (de Souza, Hecksher, and
Osorio 2022).
Moreover, the aforementioned public policies are derisory compared with other Brazilian
investments. For example, in December 2022, the Federal Senate approved an increase in the
remuneration of the Federal Supreme Court ministers, the Federal Public Defender, other public
defenders, and the Attorney General of the Republic. Considered super salaries, the current
allowance of BRL 39,293.32 will increase to BRL 41,650.92 as of April 1st, 2023, R$44,008.52
as of February 1st, 2024, and R$46,366.19 as of February 1st, 2025. The three bills will be sent
for presidential approval (Junior 2022).
Even in the case of the most extreme poverty, according to data from the National Household
Sample Survey (PNAD Contínua) 2022, over 60% of people would be poor if welfare programs
did not exist and remain poor despite their existence. In the case of the highest poverty line, less
than 10% of those who would be poor without social programs are no longer poor due to
transfers (de Souza, Hecksher, and Osorio 2022).
In this sense, Brazilian public policies' ineffectiveness is an example of what Dercon (2022)
argues that the difference between prosperous nations and others that are behind the schedule of
growth is the lack of "a development bargain," where countries and the elite in power are
committed to the development, using the available resources in order to increase welfare.
Final Remarks and Future Research
We propose that the Brazilian government policies' inefficiency can exemplify how government
plays a central role in shaping the necessary conditions for consumer welfare and quality of life
(Benton 2022; Sepulveda, Shultz, and Peterson 2023). Therefore, this research resonates and
contributes to marketing research by applying a Political Macromarketing approach to explore
how political mismanagement impacts marketing systems and consumer welfare (Shultz and
Peterson 2019; Amore and Corina 2021; Benton 2022).
Moreover, we propose that the disparity between the monetary amounts allocated to Brazilian
public policies focused on reducing poverty and social inequality and other public expenditures
is an example of a lack of development bargain (Dercon 2022). Brazil's example demonstrates
the absence of commitment of those in power and a limited vision that shows the search for the
welfare of specific interest groups.
113
Therefore, our focus is on political mismanagement, which is one factor contributing to the need
for development. However, it is essential to note that it is just the starting point of this analysis.
The other institutions, or "catalytic institutions" as named by Shultz et al. (2012), need to be
further explored in the search for solutions to problems related to social welfare.
Macromarketing researchers can guide this discussion by the understanding that there is a need
for an "elite bargain" (Dercon 2022), representing a credible commitment of the catalytic
institutions toward the well-being of nations like Brazil and other emerging economies.
According to Dercon (2022), one of the ways to analyze how to "reset the development" in
emerging countries is by improving the image of the government recipients of international aid
(for example, the Official Development Assistance - ODA). It can be done by attracting foreign
aid by increasing the trust that the government recipient will make well use of the resources
invested by directing this to social and economic development projects. Brazil's score in the
Corruption Perception Index is 38 (where a country's score is the perceived level of public sector
corruption on a scale of 0-100; 0 means highly corrupt, and 100 means very clean),
demonstrating high levels of corruption in Brazil's public sector, and showing how possible
investors perceive it (Transparency International 2023).
Future research could investigate the impact of other catalytic institutions on the lack of social
welfare and economic development in emerging countries. In addition, questions remain open
about how problems related to political mismanagement affect other macromarketing issues,
such as foreign direct investment and the participation of emerging countries in the international
market.
Therefore, following (Benton 2022; Dercon 2022; Mittelstaedt et al. 2014; Mittelstaedt,
Kilbourne, and Mittelstaedt 2006; Peterson 2021; Shultz et al. 2012) and, we also argue that
catalytic organizations are called upon to elaborate public policies for social and economic
development involving a "development bargain" between these institutions. Moreover,
Macromarketing research could investigate Latin American governments' role in facilitating
market operation through an effective legal system and how this differs among countries
(Peterson 2021).
References
Benton Jr, R. (2022), “Despair, Rigging, Anger, and Degrowth”. Journal of Macromarketing,
42(3), 345-355.
Chater, N., and Loewenstein, G. (2022), “The i-frame and the s-frame: How focusing on
individual-level solutions has led behavioral public policy astray”. Behavioral and Brain
Sciences, 1-60.
Dercon, S. (2022), Gambling on development: why some countries win, and others lose. Huest
and Company: London.
Fisk, G. (1981), “An invitation to participate in affairs of the Journal of Macromarketing”.
Journal of Macromarketing, 1(1), 3-6.
114
Júnior J. (2022), “Project provides for 18% readjustment in subsidy of STF ministers”.
[Available at https://www.camara.leg.br/noticias/907921-projeto-preve-reajuste-de-18-
em-subsidio-de-ministros-do-stf/]
Mittelstaedt, J. D., Kilbourne, W. E., and Mittelstaedt, R. A. (2006), “Macromarketing as
agorology: Macromarketing theory and the study of the agora”. Journal of
Macromarketing, 26(2), 131-142.
Mittelstaedt, J. D., Shultz, C. J., Kilbourne, W. E., and Peterson, M. (2014), “Sustainability as
megatrend: Two schools of macromarketing thought”. Journal of Macromarketing, 34(3),
253-264.
MSCI ACWI Index (2023), MSCI ACWI Index market allocation. [Available at
https://www.msci.com/our-solutions/indexes/acwi]
Peterson, M. (2021), Sustainable Marketing: a holistic approach. 2nd ed., Sage.
Peterson, M., and Zehra, S. (2018), “Putting African country development into macromarketing
perspective”. Emerging Issues in Global Marketing: A Shifting Paradigm, 333-368.
Saisana, M., and Philippas, D. (2012), Sustainable society index (SSI): Taking societies' pulse
along social, environmental and economic issues. Luxembourg: Publications Office.
[Available at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michaela-
Saisana/publication/284405662_Sustainable_society_index_SSI_taking_societies'_pulse_
along_social_environmental_and_economic_issues/links/57962c9908aeb0ffcd0584fb/Su
stainable-society-index-SSI-taking-societies-pulse-along-social-environmental-and-
economic-issues.pdf]
Sepulveda, C. A., Shultz, C. J., and Peterson, M. (2023), “Evolving Marketization, Societal
Trends, and Indicators in Chile and the Andean Region”. Markets, Globalization and
Development Review, 7(3).
Shultz, C. J., Deshpandé, R., Cornwell, T. B., Ekici, A., Kothandaraman, P., Peterson, M., ... and
Veeck, A. (2012), “Marketing and public policy: Transformative research in developing
markets”. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 31(2), 178-184.
de Souza, P. H. G. F., Hecksher, M., and Osorio, R. G. (2022), A country against the grain:
poverty in Brazil in the last ten years. [Available at
https://repositorio.ipea.gov.br/handle/11058/11563]
Transparency International (2021), Corruption perception Index. [available at
https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2021]
115
Globalisation, (Neo)Colonialism, and Marketing Track
Co-Chairs:
Marcus Wilcox Hemais
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Olga Kravets, Royal Holloway
University of London, United Kingdom
116
Exploring a Democratized Stakeholder Ethnocratic Framework: Du Bois on Systemic
Racism in a History of NFL Scansis Phenomena
Jonathan Bowman, Univ of Arkansas, Little Rock, United States of America
Frank Braun, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, United States of America
As pro sports play a crucial role in the unprecedented growth of macromarketing systems of the
global exchange in entertainment and culture, the NFL is increasingly burdened with the
marketing scansis (scandals turned into public relations crises) of systemic racism. As the
complexity of these problems exceed the capacity of any single manager to contain it, a
democratized stakeholder ethnocratic framework (DSEF) makes a virtue of the plurality of
stakeholders’ views through different racialized framings of the same polarizing events. As sport
manifests the cultures from which it springs, systemic racial injustice is common to both the NFL
and its target markets. As athletes of color increasingly utilize social media platforms to advance
the cause for great racial equality, we ought to expect sport domestically and globally to continue
as an increasingly visible sight for social movements that disrupt unfair exchanges through
concerted activist mobilization translated into democratic reform.
Introduction
In contrast to the colorblind norm to macromarketing ethics, it is the objective of this project to
formulate an explicitly racialized macromarketing stakeholder theory. Fortunately, on the one
hand, we need not reinvent the wheel insofar as the transdisciplinary sociological work of
W.E.B. Du Bois on the interface between colonialism, racism, and capitalism can inform our
recasting of macromarketing systems. On the other hand, the recent work of Professor Rashedur
Chowdhury in a 2021 contribution to Business Ethics Quarterly offers us “A New Way of
Thinking through W.E.B. Du Bois: The Self-Representation of Marginalized Groups” that
amends iconic stakeholder theory by stripping color-blindness of its epistemic white privilege.
Our contribution will be to extend the work of Professor Chowdhury into the domain of
macromarketing through the treatment of race, capitalism, and colonialism as overlapping
systems that comprise an inherently racialized social contract with all affected stakeholders. As
an amendment to Chowdhury’s Du Bois-inspired model, we will also draw on the insights of
Professor Davis in attempting to extend her case methodology beyond the defunct branding of
Aunt Jemima to the contemporary iconographic American brand: the NFL. Moreover, in the
spirit of Professor Francis’s call to further her decolonial and anti-racist research agenda for
macromarketing, we expand Chowdhury’s stakeholder theory (mostly focused on the individual)
to include what we term an epistemic difference principle in lending epistemological priority at
the macro-level to the standpoints of the most marginalized stakeholders.
In cataloging the rise in disproportionately negative public perceptions ties to the growing litany
of cases the NFL scansis problems (scandals that turn into public relations crises), lessons can be
learned from an extended look at the multi-leveled complexity of case precedent from the NFL
(Coombs and Tachkova 2019). The contribution to follow seeks a clearer delineation of public
community outreach versus growth in financial revenue. The cause-oriented public outreach
117
advanced by the NFL’s Inspire Change initiative was purportedly designed to advance minority
rights to voice, transparency, and effective agency of its majoritarian African American players.
However, the overwhelming tendency of NFL public outreach has been to leverage value co-
creation disproportionately toward financial growth at the cost of its players as the league is
steered by white owners and commissioners to maximize revenue. While the following lessons
are drawn from a collation of case study analysis and newsworthy ‘scansis’ events involved
charges of racism over the last two decades of the NFL, we must not lose sight of the
cosmopolitan dimensions to cases that have extended to other arenas of international sport. As
the NFL continues to seek out market entry (akin to the NBA) in the wider global culture
industry, its systemic default ‘color-line’ undergirding the wicked problem of systemic racism
include paid patriotism, inconsistent player discipline, pending lawsuits by coaches for racial
discrimination, CTE head injury litigation concerning unequal treatment of White and non-White
former players, the sportwashing character of its Imagine Change initiative, and the extra burden
placed on its African American labor force through the international market integration of
regular season games in London, Mexico City, and Berlin (Coombs and Tachkova 2019). While
the Kaepernick protests brought the NFL to the forefront of the BLM movement, the NFL
duplicity of its revenue-driven public responses offer systemic cues for raising awareness among
other similarly situated minority group stakeholders in the expanding sport culture industry like
the NBA, Premier League, FIFA, and mega-sporting events (MSEs) like the Olympics ad World
Cup. This NFL case study ought to aid in navigating the situational complexities of new forms of
imperial exploit, social media, industrial-military tensions, brand influencer prominence, and
labor-managerial stakeholder environments that have become increasingly geo-political in scope
(Wang, Reger, and Pfarrer 2021).
What follows first builds upon the transdisciplinary sociological work of W.E.B. Du Bois on the
relevant historical ties between race, capitalism, and colonialism that that aid in making sense of
how the BLM movement unveiled a global ‘color line’ that Du Bois had prefigured as the best
sociological framing for interpreting all major socio-cultural systems of the 20
th
century. In
bringing together the sociological insights of Du Bois on ‘the Veil’ with Chowdhury’s potential
contributions to macromarketing stakeholder theory, his model that privileges the self-
representation of marginalized groups in addressing wicked problems that most immediately
affect them helps disclose that systemic patterns of racism that run deep in the American
experience (Pitz, T. G., S.D. Steiner, and J.R. Pennington 2020; Francis 2021). The North
American context of the NFL scansis cases complement Chowdhury’s appeal to stakeholder
theory in successful social movements against silencing the self-representation of minority
groups in the HIV epidemic in South Africa. By placing epistemic priority on the experiences,
voices, and testimony of those most marginalized (the epistemic difference principle), we can
continue to advance the macromarketing lessons first initiated by Francis’s path-breaking 2007
insights concerning the Aunt Jemima brand. In seeking to establish the systemic dimensions of
racism to macromarketing, piecing multiple cases into a regularized pattern show the color line
of Du Bois having reemerged through macromarketing of sporting systems as perhaps the
definitive sociological framing for the 21
st
century too.
In terms of methodological innovation beyond Du Bois, the unique contribution proposed here
seeks advance a democratized stakeholder ethnocratic framework as a novel interpretive framing
for these complex racially charged contexts characterized by geopolitically divided stakeholders
118
(Chowdhury 2021; Francis 2021; Mower, Bustad, and Andrews 2018). On such a framing, we
employ the framing of an ethnocracy as a political structure whereby the state is controlled by a
dominant ethnic group (White/Caucasian) to further its power, resources, and interests (as in
South Africa, the US, and associated European cases). As a classic NFL/US instance of
ethnocratic sport governance systems, African American players comprise close to 70% of the
NFL but only about 10% of the coaches and none of the owners. As players leverage the
collective bargaining power of their players’ associations through basic rights to non-
discrimination, we expect stadiums and player-influencer platforms to comprise a new public
sphere for a global reckoning with the interspersed ethnocratic power structures that are endemic
to global capital markets, colonialism, and race.
Macromarketing Methods for Racialized ‘Scansis’ Problems, Stakeholder Recognition, and
the Epistemic Difference Principle to Address Systemic Racism
Our goal is to follow the general methodological spirit of Professor Judy Foster Davis’s 2007
Journal of Macromarketing article entitled “Aunt Jemima is Alive and Cookin’? An Advertiser’s
Dilemma of Competing Collective Memories.” In this magnificent case study, she outlines the
comparative White versus African American consumer perceptions of brand images in the
increasingly critical climate around multicultural advertising practices of the 1990s forward. In
complementing her historical genealogy of multicultural branding as contained in artefacts as
diverse as collectibles, magazine ads, product labels, evolving product imagery, casting of varied
traveling trade show influencers, and evolving proprietary imagery, she intersperses the stages of
brand evolution with comparative interviews and archives from competing White and African
American perspectives. While her focus is limited to the implications for ad strategy in an
increasingly multicultural market, perhaps the most important lessons that can be gleaned come
from how the essay eventually fit into the wider path dependency of disclosing racial bias in
macromarketing systems that fed into the 2020 brand PepsiCo choice to retire the brand image
and name in a final concession of its overt and covert racist stereotyping.
Fifteen years later, she authored an ambitious critique of academic marketing as itself riddled by
ethnocratic power imbalances. This 2022 piece includes multiple references to the scholarly
insights of Du Bois, that frame Professor June Francis’s task of “Rescuing Marketing from Its
Colonial Roots: A Decolonial Anti-Racist Agenda.” In line with the transdisciplinary societal
critiques of Du Bois, she emphasizes the direct links of marketing as a discipline to imperialism,
colonization, and slavery. Akin to the lifework of Du Bois, she re-historicizes the achievements
of European modernity in detailing the role of white epistemic norms that rationalize the
foundation of modern marketing structures on Transatlantic supply chains, administrative
arrangements for international trade in persons, and domestic print advertising to sell the implicit
acceptance of imperialism to a mass consumer base.
In yet another sweeping historical commentary that leads all the way into the present, in a 2021
Journal of Macromarketing essay just one year prior, Professor Francis lamented the systemic
racism of her own discipline in critique of its characterization of Professor Davis’s 2007 Aunt
Jemima essay. She makes note of the ‘ethnocratic’ mismatch between essay content and editorial
description in the preface essay of that special edition on marketing history as ‘Using collective
memory as a theoretical framework and following a nice historical overview of the brand, the
study recounts how Quaker Oats and its advertising agencies in the early 1990s wrestled with the
119
meanings conveyed by this iconic trade character’ (137). In her meta-critical analysis of the
Journal of Macromarketing, Professor Francis asks deeper questions about the integrity of the
ethnocratic gatekeeping system within which these potentially transformative research insights
were held in check by asking: ‘Given that the paper reveals the debasement of African American
women and their harmful portrayal, how does the key takeaway valorize the brand as “iconic”?
How is the paper’s key contribution reduced to the way the Aunt Jemima brand endeared itself to
all consumers’ (137). Note that a quick search of synonyms for ‘iconic’ includes but is not
limited to words like ‘exemplary,’ ‘archetypical,’ ‘classical,’ ‘important,’ ‘representative,’
‘classical,’ and ‘paradigmatic.’ If true, what does this say about her verdict on our marketing
paradigms (and macromarketing as standard bearer for AACSB ‘societal impact’) as nonetheless
inherently ethnocratic in racist, colonial, and imperialist dimensions?
In making headway toward a tentative response, if we are nonetheless going to follow the
recommendations of Professors Davis and Francis to reconsider ‘marketing industry’s long
history of ignoring the views of its minority consumers’ (2007, p. 35) and seek actively to
‘radically transform marketing with a decolonial and anti-racist research agenda’ (2022, p. 7), we
propose experimenting with how Du Bois’s epistemology of ‘second-sight’ facilitates a
democratized stakeholder recognition Framework (DSEF) for pro sport neo-colonial collective
coopetition (NCCC) with a prolonged looks at the myriad case precedent of racially-charged
branding controversies over the last three decades of the NFL.
The development of a democratized stakeholder ethnocratic framework (DSERF) draws upon the
sociological heritage of Du Bois that regards capitalist competition colonial in scope as defined
by the racial color line. The unique contribution of Du Bois’s epistemology to our
macromarketing framework is to a) disclose the default cultural epistemic stance of whiteness as
the heretofore unquestioned norm and b) adapt the well-known Rawlsian difference principle so
that the test for legitimate epistemic disparities in cases of cultural coopetition requires
stakeholder explicit consent of marginal groups most immediately affected (Rawls 1971). [See
Figure 1: Du Bois on the Ethnocratic Epistemology of the White Gaze]. On Du Bois’s view, the
unique epistemic solidarity created by the conditions for new racialized networks of cooperation
was always already intimately coupled with the attendant vitriol that the Souls of Black Folk
(1903) perpetually faced in the United States through his famous query: ‘how does it feel to be a
[wicked] problem’ (my bracket emphasis)? Since stakeholders are defined on a democratized
principle of all affected, we employ the theoretical framing of Du Bois on the global color line to
bring to the forefront the epistemological benefits of ethnocratic diversity for optimizing problem
solving efficacy on a model oriented to mutual recognition.
120
Figure I. The Unchallenged Epistemic Priority of the Colorblind White Perspective
As far as Du Bois goes, with his Harvard doctoral dissertation in history on The Suppression of
the African Slave-trade to the United States of America (1904), he inaugurated his own variant of
a democratized stakeholder ethnocratic framework by retracing the archival transcripts of
Congressional Proceedings (Chowdhury 2021). This research called explicit attention to how the
nascent American republic repressed and censured media news coverage domestically and
abroad of the 1791-1804 successful slave revolt in Haiti. Du Bois read this back into prior
historical materialist dialectics the Haitian revolt as an instance of a widescale slave protest that
culminated in the first republican democracy to embody the French republican ideals of social
freedom, reciprocal recognition, independence, and equality to extend universally, even across
the great historical and global dividing line of race. Secondly, Du Bois in his Black
Reconstruction (1935) contributes to the neo-colonial reckoning of the present in its requisite
deliberative democratic and neo-colonial renderings by positing the great ‘general strike’ as the
Racism
(Sociology)
Capitalism
(Economics)
Whiteness
(Epistemology)
Colonialism
(Politics)
121
definitive moment in US history. Du Bois highlights the social movement driven by 4 million
self-emancipated Blacks actively choosing to leave plantations to join Northern forces that had
yet to decide on their own abolitionist intents. It would be remiss to withhold such a general
strike as a real possibility for sport sporting leagues when crises boil over to the moral outrage
associated with scandals, such as the 2015 Missouri NCAA football team refusing to play due to
rampant racism on campus. Having engaged in distinctly republican democratic activism that
included a yearly counts of American lynchings as editor of the black-run and owned Crisis, we
find affinity too with his cataloging of these atrocities and the ‘say their name’ social media
attention to police brutality definitive of the BLM activist movement. Thirdly, in a racialized
recasting of Hegelian recognition denied, Du Bois attributes the uncanny Black American
capacity for ‘second sight’ in Souls of Black Folk (1903) as a prescient iteration of the pragmatic
benefits of ethnocratic diversity we will adapt to the Kaepernick narrative. [See Figure 2 below
for an illustration of the two distinct vantages on American pro sport culture.]
Figure 2: Du Bois on Sport Behind the Veil of the Color Line
We contend that without due recognition of the Black perspective of ‘second-sight’ behind the
Veil, there is really no means by which the White homogenous standpoint would even think to
challenge their own epistemic framing. However, as an epistemic advance captured in our
122
democratized stakeholder ethnocratic framework (DSEF), the inclusion of Black testimonial
experience into our reservoir of racially situated vantages makes it more likely that bias could
become disclosed from ‘behind the veil.’ Part of the assumption would be that latent biases that
have become routinized may fare more likely to ensconce bias systemically over time, leading to
structural racism. These epistemic insights of Du Bois lead us to the democratized stakeholder
ethnocratic framework to depict how sharing common causes (being on the same team, playing
for the same country with a colonial heritage, playing in the same transnational league, or even
being equally subjected to racist toxicity) can serve as solidarity-inducing mechanisms for
coordinated cooperation in an incredibly competitive environment. In the spirit of Du Bois, we
thus posit the DSEF as enmeshed sociologically in a situated context of neo-colonial collective
coopetition (NCCC). In other words, NCCC, considers the neo-colonial exploits of profit-
seeking pro sports firms and leagues perpetually seeking to maximize the scope of their
marketing, social media, and influencer efforts to carve out a global market for their fan and
consumer base. [See Figure 3 below for the democratized stakeholder ethnocratic framework.]
Figure 3: The Democratized Stakeholder Ethnocratic Framework (DSEF)
Despite the intensely competitive luster of the global sport culture industry, players, owners, and
leagues are in a constant state of coopetition since the absolute market dominance of one or more
teams threatens the integrity of pro sport as the definitive product of the global culture industry
(Lardo, Trequattrini, Lombardi, and Russo 2016). Insofar as uncertainty of outcome (will my
123
team, nation, favorite player win?) amplifies the satisfaction induced by the product (the game,
the season, the playoffs, etc.), a major tacit component to any successful pro league is the
market-mediated cooperative balance required among league members as precondition for
maximally exciting competition (thus, coopetition). As a mediating concession to the either/or
dyad of mitigating pro sport scansis with an emphasis on maximizing (neo-colonial) market
expansion versus normative consistency of communal outreach social movement messaging
(NFL—Inspire Change), revisiting the work of Du Bois thus provides insights from a unique
vision for workplace internal democratization. His stakeholder model lays out best practices for
leveraging administrative monitoring, athlete activism, and fan trust in the integrity of sport
behind just more ad hoc oversight investigations like the McCain/Flake 2015 Tackling Paid
Patriotism 150-page report (akin to the better-know 2007 Mitchell 409-page PED investigation
in MLB) towards more democratic and emancipatory aims.
Paid Patriotism (2015), Stakeholder Recognition, and the Epistemic Difference Principle for
Addressing NFL Systemic Racism
Nowhere does Du Bois’s prognostication of the frequency of scansis phenomena of increasing
magnitude and market disruption find a better corporate case study than the last two decades of
NFL history (predominantly since 9/11/01). These stakeholder cases range from very public
scandals of moral outrage from former players and their families struggling with debilitating
CTE head injuries to NFL owners immersed in their own scandals of gender discrimination and
abuse, racism, and white-collar crime (Washington Redskins turned Commanders post-Floyd).
As a lucrative stream of capital with a single team now selling for billions of dollars, the NFL
boasts quite of list of the marquee crises that our proposal offers as a template for plugging into
the above DSEF model. For our present purposes, see Appendix A for a timeline of cases that
contextualize the independent crises of paid patriotism, Kaepernick kneeling during the anthem,
and the signing of Jay-Z and Roc Nation for entertainment and Inspire Change community
outreach.
These cases as tied to embodied athletes complement our framing of these scanses traceable back
to the neo-colonization of bodies, brains, and more and more market spaces. However, as the
marketing to new fans grows, so does an array of cause-related stakeholder undertakings for the
performative sake of feigned community outreach. As part of a perpetual climate of scansis
public relations strategy containment is a growing assemblage of CSR cause-related efforts that
the NFL strategically supports. In employing Du Bois’s triangulation of race, capitalism, and
colonialism, we can start with its first and second officially sponsored stakeholder causes. The
express commitment to Women’s Breast Cancer Awareness month through a cooperative
alliance with the Komen foundation began during a period in which increasingly public player
conduct violations in the mid to late 1990s began to threaten the integrity of the NFL brand
image (Smith and Hattery 2020). To cater to a declining female stakeholder viewership and to
present the NFL cooperative commitment among owners and players to serve and support their
communities through establishing cause-related alliances with a community outreach emphasis
that could be showcased as part of the pro sport product. The second formalization of a cause-
related alliance came in the domain of the well-documented macromarketing ‘wicked problem’
of child obesity (Pitz, T. G., S.D. Steiner, and J.R. Pennington 2020). As obesity among children
in the US showed a precipitous increase, its disproportionately higher levels among lower-
income and minority demographics, led the NFL to devote another month of the league calendar
124
to promote its efforts to encourage kids to engage in 60 minutes of rigorous activity as day. This
includes the tacit added benefit that showcases players teaching kids in low-income and minority
urban environments the game of football to ensure a steady flow of future players into its
competitive streams of talent.
As the cases of Women’s cancer awareness and child obesity emerge as stakeholder strategic
causes for league-wide cooperative community outreach, the overlaps between CSR for the sake
of the public good and strategic marketing began to morph into mutually reinforcing and
increasingly complex ties of interdependence. Nowhere has this become more salient than in the
third major cause alliance that now comprises yet another month of the season: the 2011 NFL
commitment to a month-long Salute to Service initiative started at the 10-year commemoration
of the 9/11 attacks. While the 2011 naming of Salute to Service as a prolonged yearly
commitment of donations and ceremony was thereby formally integrated into the player-manager
CBA, there is a much longer history of cooperative cause-related integration of recognition of
military service as part of NFL and Armed Forces marketing and community outreach efforts. As
part of this more extended narrative, we will argue that the Kaepernick anthem protest context
that eventually led to the fourth major stakeholder CSR cause alliance—the Inspire Change
initiative—cannot be fully understood without a deeper dive into the origins of Salute to Service
and the related crisis of Paid Patriotism (2015). [See the Table 1 below for an overview of the
major causes, associated influencer efforts, ties to NFL market expansion, and associated
potentials for scansis.]
Table I. Epistemological Stances, CSR Causes, and Scansis Instances of Systemic Racism
Stakeholder
Names and
Roles
Basic
Consumer
Right(s)
Corresponding
NFL CSR
Cause
Epistemological
Stance
Scansis in Public
Relations
Outreach
Kaepernick as
Former Player
and Social
Activism
Voice—Be
Heard
Anthem
Kneeling/Salute
to Service
Second-sight as an
African American
elite quarterback
raised by adoptive
White parents
NFL owners
admit guilt in
collusion in
violation of the
player CBA
Flores as
Current Coach
and Advocate
for Greater
Managerial
Representation
from African
Americans
Voice--
Representation
Inspire Change
Second-Sight as an
outstanding coach
held to double-
standards by White
owners
Flores was fired
for rejecting his
owner’s plea to
lose games on
purpose and
recruit illegally
Tillman as a
White Former
Player Co-
Information—
Fair and
Accurate
Salute to
Service
Critic of Iraq
invasion gaslighted
by military, media,
and the NFL in
Tillman’s death
was lied about
for NFL and US
military gain
125
Opted into a
False Narrative
order to be recast as
a patriotic hero
McCain/Flake
as Senators and
Advocates for
Responsible
Stewardship of
Taxpayer
Monies
Info--
Transparency
Paid Patriotism
White Senators
accidentally coming
across the scandal
of paid patriotism in
conservative efforts
to render
government
spending more
accountable and
transparent to
taxpayers
Funding for Iraq
exceeded the
ability of the
government to
pay while the
DoD was paying
millions to pro
teams for
anthem
pageantry
Jay-Z as
Billionaire
Performer, Part
Team Owner,
and Cultural
Icon
Choice
Inspire Change
Regards
entrepreneurial
success and
conspicuous
consumption as
warrant for mass
public recognition
Kaepernick
tweeted that Jay-
Z was co-
conspirator with
the NFL
ethnocratic
governance
McMahon,
Seau, Lewis,
and Owens as
Former Players
and Family
Advocates of
Former Players
Suffering from
CTE
Safety
Player
Safety/CTE
Skeptical critics of
the pattern of
settlements not
going out to former
Black players (the
majority) that
viewed the scandal
as part of a wider
repeated systemic
failure of the NFL
to consider minority
perspectives on par
with an implied
standard of White
privilege
The NFL players
will become
even more
majority Black
as White youth
are not playing
for head safety
reasons
Tillman, Salute to Service, and Fair Release of Information (2004)
The century-long history gestured at above can only be presented in truncated form. However,
perhaps no better case encapsulates the first deeply public exposure of the NFL to the moral
outrage characteristic of scandal than Pat Tillman’s enlistment in the military to participate in
avenging the 9/11/01 terror attacks. The NFL and military marketing/community outreach efforts
produced this telling instance of neo-colonial collective coopetition (NCCC) as a framing
mechanism for the many-sided ‘scansis’ narrative of the Pat Tillman story that continues to
126
resonate and evolve to this day. Upon enlisting in the Armed Forces, Tillman’s aim of serving in
Afghanistan conflicted with the military’s strategic use of his influencer publicity to bolster
popular support for an increasingly unpopular assault on Iraq.
Tillman was very public questioning the legitimacy of the Iraq front on the war on terror,
explicitly regarding it as a neo-colonial front for accessing valuable Iraqi oil and setting up a
larger military presence in this oil-rich geopolitical terrain. Contrary to his wishes, he was
nonetheless coaxed into service there on a tour that was documented by repeated dissent and
crisis-inducing statements that continue to challenge the credence of the military information and
intelligence hinting at Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. The ensuing negative publicity
bordered on scansis for both the NFL and Department of Defense (DoD) brands as Tillman
called into question the marketed exaltation of his heroic stature at odds with the military neo-
colonial marketing objectives of rallying support for the Iraq invasion. This represents the classic
differentiation of crisis from scandal, as the latter must be fueled by greed rendered openly
public as the military used terror as the proxy for expanding its presence in the deeply
competitive domain of oil, gas, and energy markets.
In a tumultuous set of events, Tillman died on tour. What stoked even more moral outrage and
anger was that the NFL and US military were found complicit in conducting a false narrative (for
marketing purposes) of Tillman dying in battle in leading a courageous counter assault against
attacking Iraqi terrorists. However, as Tillman’s own family pieced together gaping holes in the
narrative over years of fact-finding legal battles, they were eventually able to get the US military
and NFL to concede mutual complicity in concocting a false narrative to replace the more tragic
tale that Tillman was killed by friendly fire under circumstances that today border on a liminal
plane between somewhere between freak accident to frustrated fellow servicemen or superiors
silencing a dissenter.
McCain and Flake, Paid Patriotism, and Information Transparency (2015)
What began as a fact-finding mission into pork-barrel politics evolved into an indictment of the
NFL, the US Military, and all other major American pro sports for engaging in deceptive
advertising. As a war veteran and staunch public supporter of the Iraq invasion, McCain began
with conservative gestures of outing irresponsible waste of taxpayer money and connected it to
taxpayer calls for increasingly accountability of the Department of Defense asking for $100M in
additional funding for its ongoing and increasingly unpopular engagement in Iraq. McCain’s role
as a Washington insider also saw much of the military-industrial millions in funding included
public displays of patriotic pageantry at numerous professional and college sporting events. In
this manner, McCain and Flake deemed the ‘paid patriotism’ crisis as a violation of basic
taxpayer and consumer/fan rights against fraudulent deception. For further clarification of the
various nuances through a visual outlay of the intricate contextual factors, see Appendix B.
Insofar as the deep causal ties between every major American pro sport league marketing
departments and community outreach are laid bare in the 150-page Tackling Paid Patriotism
report (McCain and Flake 2015), the copious documentation offered for public critical inquiry
evinces clear examples of the imperialist ambitions behind the strategic use of sport more than a
decade prior to Kaepernick’s first anthem kneeling.
127
As a documented outcome of the Tackling Paid Patriotism publication, public statements from
the federal level of the Department of Defense called for a permanent line of demarcation
between marketing initiatives through paid advertising for recruitment versus community
outreach for honoring members of the Armed Services (see Appendix B for reference again).
Similar memos were circulated by Commissioner Goodell to all team owners. When the anthem
display and color guard were to use National Guard members in the ritual process, the National
Guard lamented that miscommunications occurred between Federal National Guard and State
National Guard arrangements that offered a highly flexible array of state to team informal and
formal stakeholder dealings. Going forward, Department of Defense Federal authorities require
any state national guard to document and report arrangements for the color guard and anthem
prior to appearing at league games. The DoD and NFL expressed documented alliance that color
guard and anthem arrangements ought never to be compensated to honor troops in sincerity. As
such, any case of compulsory participation in the anthem ritual for pay, ought to be viewed as an
illicit exercise of NFL/military resources for the sake of a duplicitous aim.
Kaepernick, the Anthem Kneeling Protests, and Voice (2016)
To hold that Kaepernick and other recently kneeling athletes unnecessarily brought the messy
nuances of geopolitics into sport is contrary to the history of the US anthem ritual association
with pro sport. For instance, while an array of competing songs was employed to rally patriotic
sentiment up to the context of WWI, it was the 1918 World Series between the Chicago Cubs
and Boston Red Sox that found sport building upon Woodrow Wilson’s 1916 order to play the
anthem at military and naval occasions by playing the anthem during the 7
th
inning stretch. This
followed the 1917 entry into the war and reverse Wilson’s initial stance of neutrality. This
initiation of the anthem into major sporting events was to honor Cubs’ Hall of Fame pitcher
Grover Alexander who had missed most of the season in France serving in the war efforts. As a
telling instance of what crisis-oriented management scholars call sense-making by retrospection,
it was sport that legitimized the patriotic act as an appendage of the culture industry. While the
narrative does offer a century of cultural precedent for those that hold dear to retaining this
heritage, it nonetheless shows as a telling instance that even routines of high symbolic
importance often have contingent origins that easily could have played out differently.
Adding to the tacit, routinized, often unnoticed, sub-narratives of neo-colonial collective
coopetition (NCCC) as applied to the nuances of NFL scansis (failed) mitigation, comes an
ethnocratic tie between the underlying demographic profiles to the major stakeholder parties to
any CBA agreement. These are brokered at the NFL level between Commissioner, owners, and
players (that incidentally does not include any reference to compulsory anthem participation). At
this point in time, the approximately 1700 NFL players are about 70% African American while
there have never been any African American owners or Commissioners. In the context of
surveying fan responses to ‘paid patriotism’ in 2015, just prior to the Kaepernick moment, Sorek
and White found that NFL fandom intensity was on the increase equally for African American
and White fan bases during the span of the paid patriotism period (2006-2015). While the authors
tested the hypothesis that with increased indices of fandom emotional investment in team-
identification as a source of belonging, for those surveyed within the context of nearly a decade
of paid patriotism pageantry as subtle indoctrination, one might expect African American fans
and White fans to show parallel increases in patriotic sentiments commensurate with increasingly
positive team-fandom sentiments. As a telling instance of the potential experimental and
128
epistemic benefits of our DSEF for the NFL, when tested empirically upon racially disaggregated
consumer/fan test groups, this was clearly not the case (Johnson 2017). Although aggregate
patriotic sentiments of White NFL fans increased over the paid patriotism period, the African
American fan-base (extrapolated by Sorek and White to players too in the immediate context
leading up to the Kaepernick moment) showed decreases year by year in patriotic sentimentality.
The authors attribute these differences to the competitive meritocracy of all pro sports as
perceived by the NFL’s White fan base as directly reflective of a racially colorblind
epistemological framing of patriotic displays. White fans surveyed continually appealed to the
assumption that the meritocratic achievements of pro athletes can become emulated at all other
levels of the American competitive landscapes for careers, political positions, and upward
societal mobility (Rhoden 2006). In contrast, African American fans surveyed expressed a
disjunct between African American player achievement as a unique public expression of Black
excellence. However, such rare case of excellence were outliers to fans’ lived experience as
African American. As such, the decade-plus of paid patriotism as a paradigmatic instance of the
internal complexity of NCCC, led to a marked decline in African American patriotic sentiment
(Bryant 2018). In the concluding remarks to the study of Sorek and White, they presciently
observed these competing racial attitudes toward paid patriotism as a telling cue (in 2015) to the
Kaepernick moment about to unfold months later. The authors noted that stakeholder dissent to
the dominant framing of patriotic displays in sport as contributing to national unity were likely to
emerge from Black players making explicit what Black fandom already gave empirical support:
And yet, visible black protest in the football stadium is a rare phenomenon.
Sporadic cases of protest by athletes (such as the ‘don’t shoot me’ gesture of five
NFL players in November 2014), are rightfully considered as rare exceptions to
the rule. We suggest, however, that the scarcity of explicit political statements by
the players does not tell us how the fans experience the field. Even without
talking, by only providing a model of black prowess the black players may create
the conditions for questioning the national ideology (Sorek and White 2015)
As a fitting illustration of the cultural conditions for NCCC as crisis turned scandal (thus
scansis), the efforts at patriotic pageantry as mechanisms of inculturation toward unity are often
complicated by community outreach causes that do not adequately weigh minority epistemic
stances through colorblind bias of whiteness as the only hermeneutic. Such public relations
disasters devolve into a scansis when marketing and public relations place competing market
segments and fan bases at polarizing odds with one another to the point that athletes at the
margins feel compelled to protest. Such minority sport influencer activism proves most salient at
the convergence of Du Bois’s transdisciplinary insights on the sociological import of viewing
race, capitalism, and colonialism as mutually reinforcing strands of an unsustainable system of
ethnocratic governance by silence.
Flores, the Representation Deficit, and the Refusal to Tank or Tamper (2019)
While Du Bois’s remedy to seeing ‘behind the Veil’ and across the world-historical color line
requires ethnocratic communicative channels in circumstances of crisis and scandal, the
representative bridge to the ‘cratic’ (Greek krasia: to govern, to rule) in ethnocratic lacks the
‘ethno’ (Greek ethnos: people, nation, class, tribe, caste) in the case of NFL Black leadership.
With 70% of players Black, there are 3 Black coaches (10%), VPs are at 7%, GMs are at 6%,
129
and owners (0%). Insofar as sharing a common ‘ethnos’ is a strong prerequisite for mutual
recognition and mutual understanding, the gift of ‘second sight’ that comes from inhabiting a
Black body behind the Veil ought to serve as a compelling rationale for hiring more Black
coaches, general managers, etc. This stakeholder governance weighting of minority as majority
will only amplify with compelling empirical projections of an increasingly disproportionate
Black player profile to the league as non-Black youth participation declines.
As one avenue of bridging these ethnocratic gaps in governance, when the Miami Dolphins hired
Brian Flores in 2019, he had been an assistant coach for the dynastic Patriots from 2008-2018.
Although he eventually led them to their first two consecutive winning seasons in 2020 and 2021
since 2003, nonetheless he was fired at the close of the 2021 season. Per his account, he was
fired by Dolphin’s owner Stephen Ross for refusing to lose games intentionally for higher draft
picks at the request of his owner. Despite a winning record over 3 years and a playoff
appearance, he was also fired for refusing to tamper with the CBA rules on soliciting players
under current contract (namely, pressure from his owner to tamper with the restricted agency of
Tom Brady prior to his 2021 impending free agency). For reasons of conscience that he surmised
would undermine his ability ever to aspire to be a head coach again, he filed a 2022 class-action
lawsuit against the New York Giants, Denver Broncos, and Miami Dolphins organizations for
alleged racial discrimination, joined in the pending lawsuit by former Arizona Cardinals head
coach Steve Wilks and long-time assistant coach Ray Horton.
Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, Consumer Choice, and the Inspire Change Campaign (2019)
As another instance of collective coopetition, upon enlisting Jay-Z and Roc Nation as a joint
partner in both marketing (A-list Super Bowl entertainment) and community outreach (through
helping steward the funds and initiatives of the Inspire Change cause), the NFL introduced the
idea of playing both the traditional anthem and a Black anthem. Given Sorek and White’s
findings on the inverse relationship between African American fandom and patriotic sentiments
(2016), the incorporation of the Black anthem ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ is a path-setting
precedent for NCCC (Dyson 2019a; Dyson 2019b). The marketing concession that two distinct
cultural grouping within the target audience of the United States might perceive the anthem in
very different manners, incorporates the marketing logic of coopetition into sporting ritual
displays as the same game. Teams will compete under the same league rules while it is left to
consumer choice how to consume and perceive the respective duality of anthem performances
perceived very differently in the collective memories of African American versus White
consumers (Northcutt, Henderson, and Chicoski 2020; Oates 2020).
Although the NFL partnership with Jay-Z and Roc Nation made some unprecedented changes in
the domain of ethnocratic coopetition, as for some of the other key stakeholders outside owners
and major corporate partnerships, the reactions were mixed. On the one hand, many fans,
players, and black leaders celebrated Jay-Z’s success on the Black liberal model of strategizing
one’s way to the elite of elite in American business in striking a deal between Roc Nation and the
32 NFL owners.
On the other hand, many saw this as an unwelcome fissure in Black leadership, with Black
pundits, entertainers, and athletes labeling Jay-Z a traitor of sorts (pointing to the seeming
conundrum that Jay-Z previously sported a Kaepernick jersey during a 2017 SNL performance
130
and publicly voiced support on multiple other occasions). Critics also wondered: would Jay-Z’s
own pursuit of blazing new ground for Blacks to pursue financial interests on their own terms
amount to a hindrance to the progress Kaepernick had made in drawing attention to the
symbiotic relationship between American capitalism, democratic dysfunction, and systemic
racism?
From the counter narrative of leveraging the prevalent disruptive intensity of the emergent social
movement (Butterworth 2020), it took Kaepernick a week to respond to the NFL announcement
(8/18/19). Kaepernick first tweeted a picture of solidarity and a message of care and support for
his brothers still kneeling during August 2019 preseason games even in the face enduring
repeated death threats. However, even more significantly, the second tweet was lost in the hyped
mix of consumer reactions to the Roc Nation announcement. In his second deeply reflective
tweet he radically disrupts the linear narrative of progress presumed in the American ethos of
moving forward to a better tomorrow (Daum 2019). He initiates a direct call to redeem a lost
intellectual Black sporting heritage that posits reflective Black minds and the solidarity of a
shared fate over Black body productive entertainment (Bryant 2018). On 8/30/2019 Kaepernick
posted a Twitter shot of a highlighted paragraph from R. L. Allen’s disruptively titles Black
Awakening in Capitalist America (1969) with the short comment ‘Reading always gives me
clarity.’ While overlooked as of little consequence, it strategically forced Jay-Z and any cultural
participant to reckon with an internally diverse, non-linear (Comaroff and Comaroff 2012),
heritage of Black nationalists of varying degrees of social and democratic resistance to White
neo-liberal capitalism (186-187). In the larger context of the manuscript and its themes, Allen
pays continual tribute to Washington, Du Bois, Garvey, and other seminal Black intellectuals in
noting their respective roles in contributing to stages, nuances, and ethnocratic variations on
Black nationalism. As a teaser, Kaepernick even offered incentive for any stakeholder to crack
the book by drawing explicit attention to Allen’s thematic line ‘What [they] seek is not an end to
oppression, but the transfer of the oppressive apparatus into their own hands.’
As a further layer of multifaceted temporal context, Allen’s quoted remarks are a Civil Rights era
radical critique of the methods and motives of CORE (the Congress on Racial Equality), as it
was founded in 1942 at the University of Chicago on a platform of pacifist racial reconciliation.
That pacifist platform made it a social movement that eventually matured into a key player in the
1960s Civil Rights movements, forming strategic corporate alliances among major urban
industries (like Ford) on the hopes that CORE might be able to silence a growing number of
urban social movements, including many voiced out of direct concern for excessive police use of
force in attempts to break up public protests. What Kaepernick found as a timely critique already
advanced almost 50 years prior saw Black intellectual nationalists warning those persons of color
most affected against the same strategic deployment of the unhealthy narrative of progress by
reform.
As such, Kaepernick’s main motive in highlighting the part of the tweeted passage below is to
recast Jay-Z, Roc Nation, and the nascent NFL Inspire Change initiatives as the 2019 equivalent
to CORE’s complicity with a systemically racist order that places corporate gains over the care
and well-being of those comprising its major source of labortainment. Rather than the Ford
Foundation in the 1970s strategically utilizing its corporate resources and influence to maintain
131
the status quo, this time it is the corporate might of the 32 NFL owners to play to corporate role
of pacifying peace-enforcers.
In summary, CORE and the cultural nationalists draped themselves in the mantle of
nationalism, but upon examination it is seen that their programs, far from aiding in the
achievement of black liberation and freedom from exploitation, would instead weld the
black communities more firmly into the structure of American corporate capitalism.
(Robert L. Allen 1969)
Since Kaepernick tweeted the above textual quotation on August 20, 2019, his posting of it
exactly one week after Jay-Z’s Roc Nation NFL deal signed 8/13/20 renders his disruptive intent
quite clear. Substitute Jay-Z’s 2019 Roc Nation partnership with the NFL for entertainment and
social justice initiatives as the corollary to CORE. Kaepernick believes that the capitalist motives
driving Jay-Z’s complicity with the White colorblindness of the NFL, its owners, and the newest
wave of the pacifying American culture industry, will call it progress by simply inserting
piecemeal reforms like the new ritual of including the Black anthem, the sale of themed racially
conscious jerseys and apparel, and providing the most relevant and lucrative Super Bowl
entertainment from entertainers of color (to continue to support White owner interests and
revenue). Kaepernick was explicitly calling out Jay-Z out for not just working alongside the NFL
owners as oppressors, but in collaborating with the profiteering on Black labor. On Kaepernick’s
view, Jay-Z had come the closest to complicity in the hierarchical domination one could get
without being a co-owner. However, perhaps worse, was that Kaepernick questioned whether
better and more engaging entertainment would ultimately help those born Black and poor, most
often facing premature death at the hands of White law enforcement in moments of greatest
vulnerability (Varman and Vijay 2018), with military service openly marketed to them (through
the allure of professional sport) as their best hope in a trade of their bodies for an exit to systemic
poverty.
Lewis on Player Head Safety Advocacy, Pending CTE Lawsuits, and Race-Norming (2022)
It is the volume, velocity, and variety of social media responses that the Kaepernick images of
kneeling evoked that evinced the power of real time visual imagery as a newly interactive model
of public social media engagement with NCCC events in real time (Dickerson and Hodler 2021).
Key to this new component would be the unprecedented candor of President Trump as
Commander in Chief from elected office to express such animosity directed toward Kaepernick
as a player to fire and the NFL as an institution for permitting such protests to occur in their
organization. President Trump even waded into the complexities of McMahon/Seau 2013 $675M
concussions and player safety lawsuit paid out to former players with one tweet lamenting how
the game (with rule changes to protect players) had become ‘soft’ as among contributing factors
to its declines in viewership. Incidentally, the social media attention Kaepernick brought to
systemic racism led to the 2022 Owens and Lewis successful lawsuit against the NFL’s
concussion pay-outs that had rejected a disproportionate number of Black former player claims
by ‘race-norming’ them to have presumably started at a lower cognitive threshold by being Black
and thus did not satisfy the degree of cognitive decline requisite for compensation. This recent
court victory allowed more than 4,000 Black former NFL players to refile for reassessment under
criteria not maladjusted to race-norming.
132
From a labor-managerial perspective, the stakeholder recognition of minority voices required
concerted activism on the part of players affected, to rectify reparations to injured players that
offers yet enough instance of separate and unequal brand representation. However, in a shift in
stakeholder epistemic weight, in contrast to African Americans making up a minority of the Aunt
Jemima brand consumer base in the opening Aunt Jemima case study, the brand valuation of the
NFL resides in the extraordinary contributions of its African American players that contribute
the vast majority of NFLPA members. This market supply of African American labor is only on
the increase, as the 2013 Dorsett, McMahon, and Seau efforts in calling attention to football head
injuries has reduced the overall supply of youth playing football as parents begin to steer
children to other sports (see Appendix B again). However, while White youth football
participation has declined each year in the past decade, African American youth participation has
shown no measurable decline. As management prepares for a future that likely will see an even
greater proportion of Black players, the dual anthem incorporation sets a new benchmark for
planning for NCCC and restoring any prior breaches of trust between players and placating the
moral outrage of both extremes of affected fans (Gillespie and Siebert 2018).
Concluding Areas for Future Research, Limits, and Potentials for Industry Application(s):
How the DSEF Model Applies to Past, Current, and Future Marketing Scansis Cases
As a potential limitation to the study, we concede that the US phenomena of militaristic displays
at sport is quite outside the global norm. This could affect the application of the DSEF model
globally while it also might aid in the interpretation in international sport as nationalist populism
is on the rise globally. In addition, the longlist of weaknesses the NFL’s history of crisis
management might seem to offer few strengths upon which other pro leagues might build.
However, on the one hand, many of the problems with the NFL’s underperformance on racial
and sexual discrimination are suggestive of patterns in other global sporting regimes. On the
other hand, the scholarly precedence for assessing resilient performance across all industries sets
its stringent thresholds out of ‘brutal audits’ whereby classical case(s) of failure benchmarked
against highly reliable organizations sometimes make for the best instruction by highlighting
incremental and structural fissures in crisis preparedness (Weick and Sutcliffe 2007). While
failures in pro sport organizational reliability and resilience are abundant, set benchmarking
standards high with basic human rights protections is a start. However, the setting thresholds for
near-perfect resilience that are a better organizational fit for sport than nuclear facilities and
emergency medical room care would require further research.
As another potential domain of research beyond the scope of this project, worthwhile
consideration ought to go into the stadium (globally) as something akin to the new public sphere.
If there is any credence to such a conjecture, more research into the presumed equilibrium to the
co-creation of value through pairing marketing with community outreach seems even more
salient. Insofar as stadiums go unused more than not, they also ought to be considered as sites of
public service, as witnessed during COVID, natural disasters, new urban voting initiatives, and
even sites of social movement protest for the shock value of entertainment/consumption/escape
versus a new domain for attention grabbing for causes and initiatives that others may not
otherwise be aware of without that new public square.
On the heals of the most recent October 2022 disclosure of systemic sexual and emotional abuse
faced by players at the hands of male coaches and managers in the National Women’s Soccer
133
League, these perpetual scansis issues are not unique to the United States and the distinctively
American pro sports culture industry. A similar European dynamic emerged as Premier League
fans called for a change in Chelsea ownership as sanctions against Russian oligarchs brought to
fore the tension between the marketing advantages of wealthy international club owners that can
offer mega-contracts to elite players without subjecting owners to due diligence as the origins of
the billions. Even in the Premier League where new record elite player contract signings set
global records each year, these financial advantages of limitlessly deep pockets were judged
secondary to the communal cause of presenting European wide solidarity against the aggressive
acts of Russia. As Western sanctions of Russian oligarchs targeted Putin’s ‘inner circle,’ Roman
Abramovich known as ‘the original Russian oligarch,’ ceded to public pressure and just
completed the sale of his majority ownership in the club in May 2022. Moving into this more
global dispersal of stakeholders as geopolitical crises become increasingly complex, the world
just celebrated the completion of the November 2022 World Cup in Qatar. This unique venue of
an oil-rich Middle Eastern country was chosen strategically to expand FIFA’s marketing efforts
to an area of the globe that has never hosted a World Cup. However, akin to the citizen critique
of the costs of 2014 World Cup stadium construction costs in Brazil (with one venue charged
with environmental protest mobilization as it required infrastructure deep into the rainforest on
indigenous lands) and the 2018 World Cup critiques of host Russia’s aggression against Crimea
and abuse of LGBT rights (Rosenthal and Cardosa 2015), Qatar was from start to finish riddled
in public relations scandal. The list includes but is not limited to human rights violations of
Nepalese migrant workers doing the construction (with modest estimations of deaths of migrant
workers at more than 6,000), moving the normal World Cup calendar from the summer months
of June and July to November attempt player safety in the unique heat of a desert climate, and
documented evidence of bribery in securing the hosting selection for a team that ranked 133
rd
in
the world. As these sorts of scansis cases are likely to continue to grow in prominence, more
macromarketing research needs to be done into how democracy, basic rights, and racial
recognition can redirect the moral outrage of this new typology of ‘wicked problem’ as scansis
continues to check the limits of corporate greed.
References
Anderson, S. (2020), “United We Stand, Divided We Kneel: Examining Perceptions of the NFL
Anthem Protest on Organizational Reputation,” Communication and Sport, 8 (4-5), 591-
610.
Andrews, D. (2019), Making Sport Great Again: The Uber-Sport Assemblage, Neoliberalism,
and the Trump Conjuncture. Palgrave MacMillan: Cham, Switzerland.
Barlow, R. (2021), “Deliberation without Democracy in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives: A
Pragmatic Way Forward,” Journal of Business Ethics, Oct 2021, 1-19.
Benjamin, R. (2019) Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code.
Cambridge: Polity Press.
Bryant, H. (2018), The Heritage: Black Athletes, A Divided America, and the Politics of
Patriotism. Boston: Beacon Press.
Butterworth, M. (2020), “Sport and the Quest for Unity: How the Logic of Consensus
Undermines Democratic Culture,” Sport Communication and Justice, 8(4-5), 452-472.
134
Butterworth, M. (2021), “There Is No Unity, Only Politics: A Reply to Kurtz,” Communication
and Sport, 9(2): 188-197.
Child, J. (2009), “Challenging Hierarchy.” In The Oxford Handbook of Critical Management
Studies. Eds. Alvesson, M, T. Bridgman, H. Willmont. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
pp. 501-514.
Chowdhury, R. (2021). “Self-Representation of Marginalized Groups: A New Way of Thinking
through W.E.B. Du Bois. Business Ethics Quarterly 31(4): 524-548.
Comaroff, J. and J. Comaroff. (2012). Theory from the South: Or, How Euro-America is
Evolving Toward Africa. Routledge: New York.
Coombs, W.T. and E.R. Tachkova. (2019). “Scansis as a Unique Crisis Type: Theoretical and
Practical Implications.” Journal of Communication Management 23(1): 72-88.
Crockett, D. and Melanie Wallendorf. (2004). “The Role of Normative Political Ideology in
Consumer Behavior.” Journal of Consumer Behavior 31(Dec): 511-528
Daum, C. (2019). “Taking a Knee: Neoliberalism, Radical Imaginaries, and the NFL Player
Protest.” New Political Science 41(4): 514-528.
Davis, J.F. (2007). ‘”Aunt Jemima is Alive and Cookin’?”: An Advertiser’s Dilemma of
Competing Collective Memories.” Journal of Macromarketing 27(1): 25-37.
Dewey, J. (1927). The Public and Its Problems. Denver: Henry Holt and Company.
Dickerson, N. and M. Hodler. (2021). “‘Real Men Stand for Our Nation’: Construction of an
American Nation and Anti-Kaepernick Memes.” Journal of Sport and Social Issues
45(4): 329-357.
Dorf, M. C. and Sabel, C. (1998). “A Constitution of Democratic Experimentalism.” Cornell
Law Faculty Publications 98(2): 267-473.
Dyson, M.E. (2019a). Jay-Z: Made in America. New York: St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
Dyson, M.E. (2019b). ‘Jay-Z Didn’t ‘Sell Out’ by Dealing with the NFL—This Is Just How
Activism Works.’ Washington Post, August 23, 2019.
Edwards, H. (1969/2017). The Revolt of the Black Athlete. 50
th
anniversary ed. Urbana:
University of Illinois Press.
Falcus, M., Hawzen, M. and J. Newman. (2019). “Hyperpartisan Sports Media in Trump’s
America: The Metapolitics of Breitbart Sports.” Communication and Sport 7(5): 588-
610.
Francis, J.N.P. (2021). “A Macromarketing Call to Action—Because Black Lives Matter!”
Journal of Macromarketing 41(1): 132-145.
Francis, J.N.P. (2022). “Rescuing Marketing from Its Colonial Roots: A Decolonial Anti-Racist
Agenda.” Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. and No. ahead-of-print.
Freeman, R.E. (1984). Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach. Boston: Pitman
Publishing Inc.
Gillespie, N. and Siebert, S. (2018). “Organizational Trust Repair.” In Searle, R., Nienenbar, A.
and Sitkin, S. The Routledge Companion to Trust. London, Routledge: 284-301.
Intravia, J., A. Piquero, N. Picero, and B. Byers. (2020). “Just Do It? An Examination of Race on
Attitudes Associated with Nike’s Advertisement Featuring Colin Kaepernick.” Deviant
Behavior 41(10): 1221-1231.
James, W. (1907). Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking. New York:
Longman Green and Company.
Johnson, M. (2017). “The Paradox of Black Patriotism: Double Consciousness.” Ethnic and
Racial Studies (Apr): 1-19.
135
Kaepernick, C. 2021. Abolition for the People.’ San Francisco: Kaepernick Publishing.
Kurtz, J. (2021). “Sport, Social Justice, and the Limits of Dissent After George Floyd: A Reply
to Butterworth.” Communication and Sport 9(2): 171-187.
Lardo, A., Trequattrini, R., Lombardi, R., and Russo, G. (2016). “Co-opetition Models for
Governing Professional Football.” Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship 5(1): 1-
15.
Lee, J.S. and D. H. Kwak. (2016). “Consumers’ Responses to Public Figures’ Transgression:
Moral Reasoning Strategies and Implications for Endorsed Brands.” Journal of Business
Ethics (137): 101-113.
Logan, N. (2019). “Corporate Personhood and the Corporate Responsibility to Race.” Journal of
Business Ethics 154: 977-988.
Marston, S. (2021). “The Episodic Kneel: Racial Neoliberalism, Civility, and the Media
Circulation of Colin Kaepernick, 2017-2020.” Race and Social Problems (June): 1-10.
Marston, S. (2017). “The Revival of Athlete Activism(s): Divergent Black Politics in the 2016
Presidential Election Engagements of LeBron James and Colin Kaepernick.” Fair Play.
Revista de Filosofia, Etica y Derecho del Deporte (10): 45-68.
McCain, J. and J. Flake. (2015). Tackling Paid Patriotism: A Joint Oversight Report, Politico.
https://static.politico.com/98/a4/d61b3cae45f0a7b79256cf1da1e0/flake-report.45am.pdf.
McDonald, M. (2020). “Once More, With Feeling: Sport, National Anthems, and the Collective
Power of Affect.” Sociology of Sport Journal (37): 1-11.
Mead, G.H. (1934). Mind, Self, and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Mirer, M. and A. Grubic. (2020). “Promotional Space or Public Forum: Protest Coverage and
Reader Response in Team-Operated Media.” Sport Communication and Social Justice
8(4-5): 489-506.
Montez de Oca, J. 2021. ‘Marketing Politics and Resistance: Mobilizing Black Pain in National
Football League Publicity.’ Sociology of Sport Journal (38): 101-110.
Montez de Oca J., S. Mason, and S. Ahn. (2020). “Consuming for the Greater Good: ‘Woke’
Commercials in Sports Media.” Communication and Sport (Aug): 1-23.
Mower, R., Bustad, J.J. and Andrews, D. (2018). “Black Commercial Aesthetics, Athlete
Activism, and the Nation Reconsidered.” In Sport and National Identities: Globalization
and Conflict. Eds. P. Doland and J. Connolly. London: Routledge, pp. 129-49.
Northcutt, K.J., K. Henderson, and K. Chicoski. (2020). “Jay-Z and O.J.: Sport and Performance
of Race in Hip-Hop Music.” Sociology of Sport Journal (37): 192-206.
Oates, T. (2020). “‘Where I’m From’: Jay-Z’s ‘Hip Hop Cosmopolitanism,’ Basketball, and the
Neoliberal Politics of Urban Space.” Sociology of Sport Journal (37): 183-191.
Park, B., S. Park, and A. Billings. (2020). “Separating Perceptions of Kaepernick from
Perceptions of His Protest: An Analysis of Athlete Activism, Endorsed Brand, and Media
Effects.” Sport Communication and Social Justice 8(4-5): 629-650.
Peirce, C.S. (1877). “The Fixation of Belief.” Popular Science Monthly 12(Nov1877): 1-15.
Pfarrer, M., Decelles, K., Smith, K. and Taylor, S. (2008). “After the Fall: Reintegrating the
Corrupt Organization.” Academy of Management Review 33(3): 730-749.
Pitz, T. G., S.D. Steiner, and J.R. Pennington. (2020). “An Ethical Marketing Approach to
Wicked Problems: Macromarketing for the Common Good.” Journal of Business Ethics
164: 301-310.
Reese, R. (1998). “The Socio-Political Context of the Integration of Sport in America.” Journal
of African American Men 3(4): 5-22.
136
Regan, M., A. R. Carter-Francique, and J. R. Feagin. (2014). “Systemic Racism Theory:
Critically Examining College Sport Leadership.” In Out of Bounds: Racism and the Black
Athlete. Ed. L. Martin. Santa Barbara: Praeger, pp. 29-54.
Rhoden, W. (2006). $40 Million Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete.
Three Rivers Press: New York.
Rosenthal, B. and F. Cardosa. (2015). “‘There Will Not Be a World Cup’: The Kratophanous
Power of the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil.” In Consumer Culture Theory: Research
in Consumer Behavior, Vol. 17. Eds. Thyroff, A., J. Murray, and R. Belk. Emerald
Books: Bingly, UK, pp. 367-400.
Rugg, A. (2020). “Incorporating the Protests: The NFL, Social Justice, and the Constrained
Activism of the ‘Inspire Change’ Campaign.” Sport Communication and Social Justice
8(4-5): 611-628.
Schmidt, S., E. Frederick, A. Pegoraro, and T. Spencer. (2019). “An Analysis of Colin
Kaepernick, Megan Rapinoe, and the National Anthem Protests.” Communication and
Sport 7(5): 653-677.
Sheth, H. and K.M. Babiak. (2010). “Beyond the Game: Perceptions and Practices of Corporate
Social Responsibility in the Professional Sport Industry.” Journal of Business Ethics (91):
433-450.
Smith, E. and A.J. Hattery. (2020). “Bad Boy for Life: Hip-Hop Music, Race, and Sports.”
Sociology of Sport Journal (37): 174-182.
Smith, J. and D. Keeven. (2019). “Creating Separation from the On-Field Product: Roger
Goodell’s Image Repair Discourse During the Ray Rice Domestic Violence Case.”
Communication and Sport 7(3): 292-309.
Sorek, T. and White, R. (2016). “American Football and National Pride: Racial Differences.”
Social Science Research (58): 266-78.
Thomas, K.D., et. al. (2020). “Repetition or Reckoning: Confronting Racism and Racial
Dynamics in 2020.” Journal of Marketing Management 36(13-14): 1153-1168.
Visser, M. (2019). “Pragmatism, Critical Theory, and Business Ethics: Converging Lines.”
Journal of Business Ethics (156): 45-57.
Wang, X., Reger, R. and M. Pfarrer. (2021). “Faster, Hotter, and More Linked In: Managing
Social Disapproval in the Social Media Age.” Academy of Management Review 46(2):
275-298.
Weick, K. and K. Sutcliffe. (2007). Managing the Unexpected: Resilient Performance in an Age
of Uncertainty. 2
nd
ed. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Whitehead, A.N. (1929). Process and Reality. New York: Free Press.
Yan, G., Pegoraro, A., and N. Watanabe. (2021). “Examining IRA Bots in the NFL Anthem
Protest: Political Agendas and Practices of Digital Gatekeeping.” Communication and
Sport 9(1): 88-109.
Zhao, H. and Valentini, C. (2022). “Navigating Turbulent Waters: From Corporate Advocacy to
Scansis in the Case of the NBA-China Crisis.” Journal of Public Relations Research
34(1-2): 64-87.
137
Appendix B
138
Learning to Tarry in Decolonising Marketing Education
Caroline Chapain, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Emma Surman, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
What would it look and feel like to deliver marketing education that is decolonised both in terms
of content and approach? This article explores an approach to engaging students with the
concept of decolonisation as part of a module on responsible marketing and society at a
University in the United Kingdom. The module addresses the relationships between marketing,
society and morality and endeavours to encourage and offer opportunities for student to
recognise and explore their own position in terms of responsible marketing practices. The
activity discussed here involves a workshop developed in partnership with the Barber Institute of
Fine Art, an art institution which sits on the University Campus, but which is funded and run by
the Barber Foundation, with a legacy bequeathed by the Barber family.
The gallery houses a world class collection and working together with the Director of External
engagement and a freelance art curator and educator, we selected pieces from the Barber’s
collection through which to explore issues around decolonisation, critical thinking, morality and
our individual identities.
As sites of knowledge (re)production, Western Universities serve to perpetuate ideologies and
practices entwined with colonial histories, this is particularly an issue for Business School’s
given that colonialism is integral to capitalism (Eckhardt et al. 2021). Although lagging behind
other disciplines, business schools have started to address the legacy of colonisation, for example
the renaming of Bayes Business School (formerly CASS) in London and work undertaken by
their Centre for Responsible Business ETHOS (Banerjee, Rodriguez and Dar 2020).
Racism and discriminatory practices have been identified in marketing activity (Foster Davis
2018, RIM) and examples have been put forward as to how this might be addressed in pedagogy,
for example through a focus on critical reflexivity when teaching advertising (Thomas and Jones
2019). However, given that decolonisation requires a recognition that there are multiple ways of
knowing and doing and to disrupt the status quo (Eckhardt et al. 2021) decolonisation in
marketing remains ‘in a nascent state, with so much important research to be done’ (Eckhardt et
al. 2021).
This paper reports on a project which attempts to the disrupt this status quo through introducing
the topic of decolonisation into the marketing classroom. Contentious, difficult and emotionally
charged topics are not unknown within a business school environment. For example, Tallberg et
al (2022) discuss tackling animal ethics within the food system, calling for ‘fierce compassion’
from both students and staff as important when tackling uncomfortable realities.
Drawing on inspiration from the writings of George Yancy, we make the case for finding the
space and time within the marketing curriculum for students and staff to slow down, what Yancy
(2005: 26) refers to as ‘tarrying together’. His calls are directed at white people, urging them to
take time to dwell with the emotional and cognitive difficulties ‘as they become more and more
attentive to the ways in which they are entangled in the social and physic web of white racism’
139
(Yancy 2005:26). We argue that the art gallery along with the ethos of ‘slow learning’ advocated
by arts educators provide an ideal mix for tarrying. The approach of looking very slowly in order
to engage with an object or artefact provides the opening to hear our own experience as well as
those of others. An opportunity to engage with what Swan (2017) refers to as ‘fearless
listening’, an engagement in which we supress the urge to take action to address the perceived
injustice, which may inadvertently make things worse, and instead create opportunities to listen
to, and hopefully hear and the connect with ‘other’. Such opportunities may require bravery and
care on the part of the educator, but if we can find the time and space to tarry, we can create
opportunities for ‘generous encounters’ (Ahmed 2002) with the other and gain new insights into
what decentring Eurocentrism might mean for marketing education.
References
Ahmed, Sara (2002). “This other and other others”, Economy and Society, 31,4, 558–72.
Banerjee, Bobby, Rodriguez, Jenny and Dar, Sadhvi (2020). “Beyond name changes and pulling
down statues -how to decolonise business schools” The Conversation, available at
https://www.rimnetwork.net/rim-repository, last accessed 14
th
February 2023.
Eckhardt, Giana. Belk, Russell. Williams Bradford, Tonya. Dobscha, Susan. Guliz, Ger. And
Varman Rohit. (2021). “Decolonizing marketing”, Consumption Markets and Culture,
25(2): 176-186.
Foster Davis, Judy (2018). “Selling whiteness? – a critical review of the literature on marketing
and racism,” Journal of Marketing Management, 34(1-2): 134-177.
Race in the Marketplace (RIM) https://www.rimnetwork.net/rim-repository
Swan, Elaine. (2017). “What are white people to do? Listening, challenging ignorance, generous
encounters and the ‘not yet’ as diversity research praxis,” Gender, Work & Organization,
24(5): 547-563.
Tallberg, Linda. Valikangas, Liisa and Hamilton, Lindsay. (2022).”Animal activism in the
business school: using fierce compassion for teaching critical and positive perspectives”,
Management Learning, 53(1): 55-75.
Thomas, Kevin and Jones, Naya (2019). “Teaching about race and racism in the advertising
classroom”, Advertising & Society Quarterly,20(2).
Yancy, George (2015). “Tarrying together”, Educational Philosophy and Theory, 47(1): 26-35.
140
A Transmodern Perspective of Brazilian Consumerism: The Case of Women From
Salgueiro
Míriam de Souza Ferreira, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Marcus Wilcox Hemais, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
During the 1970s, in the United States (US), marketing scholars began focusing on consumerism,
given the rise of such phenomenon in US society, as a result of social, political and economic
turmoil at the time (Becker 1972; Day and Aaker 1970; Kotler 1972). These academics were
committed to presenting definitions, causes, and forecasts related to the consumerist movement,
in an attempt to better understand and bring marketing closer to it. Nevertheless, these debates
scarcely embraced discussions on the geopolitical context surrounding consumerism, ignoring,
particularly, the important role of the black consumer movements, particularly those practiced by
black women, both in the US and abroad.
More recently, in the early 2000s, a “newer” version of this consumerist movement, known as
the New Global Consumerism (NGC), surfaced, originated in an ambivalent postmodern turn
that neglects the subordination of consumers to a major capitalist system (Micheletti, Follesdal,
and Stolle 2006). NGC enabled the appropriation of alternatives that arose outside of modernist
capitalism to control transmodern theories and practices, but maintained capitalist globalization
ideology. This renewed rhetoric of racialist liberal capitalism therefore still refuses to recognize
everyday consumerism and histories-others constructed by transmodern praxis (Faria and
Hemais 2021).
Based on a decolonial perspective from Latin America, scholars from the Global South reflect on
the fact that the consumerism agenda overlooks histories of the majority oppressed by gender,
race, and colonialist issues (Faria and Hemais 2021). Such discussions are underpinned by a
transmodernity concept and praxis (Dussel 2002), which emerges as a life-preserving approach
developed by the majority excluded by globalization (Dussel 2006). Transmodernity embodies
the preservation of heterogeneous oppressed existences in the world by acknowledging its
pluriversalist coexistence. Therefore, by adopting a transmodern perspective towards official
histories in consumerism, it is possible to challenge their supposed universalist status (Hemais
and Santos 2021).
Everyday re-existence praxis made by those who engage in an integrative society was silenced
by the official history of consumerism, as a way to “protect” the centers of knowledge
production from transmodern ideals and praxis (Faria and Hemais 2021). Consequently, this
official discourse is dubious, given how its arguments are based on the denial and censoring of
topics concerning race, class, gender, and sexuality that criticize traditional consumerism
concepts, and aimed at symbolically annihilating such criticism from consumerist discussions
(Davis 2018). So, the normalized consumerism supported by scholars in management, in general,
and marketing, in particular, is a whiteness consumerism, which supposedly aims to provide
individual rights to non-racialized people, but in truth only exploits and continues to marginalize
them (Rodrigues, Hemais, and Costa 2022). Movements assembled by black peoples – such as
the Black Campus Movement in the 1960s-1970s in the US, for instance – were dismantled or
141
misrepresented by these academic discourses. Hence, this invalidation and judgment of values
based on neoliberal capitalist perspectives, which contributed to canonizing a partial, incomplete,
and allegedly universal consumerism (Faria and Hemais 2021).
Accordingly, this interpretation shows that both old and new histories of consumerism still fail
majorities since they scarcely provide suitable insights towards racial, gender and colonialist
issues, thus continuing to invalidate consumerist mobilizations by people who still suffer from
the shortcomings of a transnational neoliberal capitalism system (Faria and Hemais 2021). For
this reason, the Brazilian context seems to be a convenient one to investigate, given how its
marginalization from consumerism discussions has enabled “alternative” consumerist practices
to arise.
For a long time, authorities in Brazil denied the existence of racial identities, resulting in entire
populations accepting such distorted reality, especially considering the lack of public policies for
the inclusion of racialized people. Even though the myth of racial democracy has been widely
disseminated by Brazilian national politics, the fact is that significant racialized portions of the
population continue to be oppressed (Gonzalez 2020). In this context, black women have a
significant history of survival practices. In the 1970s, during the military dictatorship, Brazilian
black feminists presented the Manifesto of Black Women at the Brazilian Women’s congress.
The Manifesto stated the problematic conditions of black women’s lives in spheres of work,
economy, and family, and how the dynamics of gender, race, and sexuality shaped the
oppressions experienced by them (Collins and Bilge 2021). The mobilizations of those women
who dared to highlight problems of intersectionality - anticipating the contemporary knowledge
on this topic - and point out a historical period of oppression inspired new generations of black
Brazilian women to claim their rights.
By offering an analysis on a type of consumerism neglected by old and new histories of
consumerism, this paper aims to investigate consumerist practices carried out by groups of black
peripheral women in the Brazilian context. In doing this, we aim to show how their actions can
be characterized as a form of consumerism originating from black activism and, thus, broaden
the scope of the concept of consumerism, in order to become more inclusive of black diasporas.
We focus particularly on an activist group located in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, the Women
from Salgueiro, as our main example of a consumerism other originated in black diaspora.
Located in Complexo do Salgueiro, São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, the Women from Salgueiro is a
collective that has been operating for approximately 20 years, working towards developing
socio-educational actions and generate positive social impacts for the community surrounding it.
The location where the collective operates is poverty stricken, and experiences grave lack of
public policies and adequate services (Tavares 2020). To make things worse, the local
government allowed a dump site to surface in the region, harming even more the quality of life
of its citizens. Although the dump was deactivated in 2015, its residues still affect the
subsistence and salubrity of the nearby community and its natural environment (Lucena 2019).
Thus, the Women from Salgueiro collective has participated actively in the fight to guarantee
human rights and quality of life for the local population, as well as engaging in actions to
encourage sustainable entrepreneurial practices, especially among women from the region.
142
We argue, then, that the actions undertaken by the Women from Salgueiro constitute a
transmodernist type of consumerism, given how it aims to protect intersectional individuals from
market failures, but does this based on the realities of the marginalized, those forgotten by
traditional capitalist consumerist organizations and activists. It is, therefore, an
acknowledgement that the daily life-preserving practices of those excluded by the racialist, sexist
and colonialist capitalist system is also a consumerist matter, and consequently worthy of more
attention by management and marketing scholars, both in Brazil and abroad.
References:
Becker, Boris (1972), “Consumerism-challenge or a threat,” Journal of Retailing, 48(2), 16-28.
Collins, Patricia and Sirma Bilge (2021), Intersectionality. São Paulo: Boitempo Editorial.
Davis, Judy (2018), “Selling whiteness? - A critical review of the literature on marketing and
racism,” Journal of Marketing Management, 34(1-2), 134-177.
Day, George and David Aaker (1970), “A guide to consumerism,” Journal of Marketing, 34(3),
12-19.
Dussel, Enrique (2002) “World-Systems and “Trans”-Modernity,” Nepantla: Views from the
South, 3(2), 221-244.
Dussel, Enrique (2006), “Globalization, organization and the ethics of liberation,” Organization
13(4), 489-508.
Faria, Alexandre and Marcus Hemais (2021), “Transmodernizing Management Historiographies
of Consumerism for the Majority,” Journal of Business Ethics, 173(3), 447-465.
Gonzalez, Lélia (2020), “Racismo e sexismo na cultura brasileira,” In. Por um feminismo afro-
latino-americano: ensaios, intervenções e diálogos, Flavia Rios and Márcia Lima (orgs.).
Hemais, Marcus and Rafaela Santos (2021), “Understanding the Brazilian Consumerism
Movement from a Decolonial Perspective: The Case of Proteste,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 41(2), 315-331
Kotler, Philip (1972), “What consumerism means for marketers,” Harvard Business Review,
50(3), 48-57.
Lucena, Felipe (2019), “Deactivated landfill in São Gonçalo dumps slurry in Guanabara Bay,”
Diario do Rio. From: https://diariodorio.com/lixao-desativado-em-sao-goncalo-despeja-
131-040-000-de-litros-de-chorume-por-ano-na-baia-de-guanabara/
Micheletti, Michele, Andreas Follesdal and Dietlind Stolle (eds.) (2006), “Politics, Products and
Markets – Exploring Political Consumerism Past and Present,” Transaction Publishers,
London.
Rodrigues, Laís, Marcus Hemais, and Alessandra Costa (2022), “The 40 years of discourse on
racism in the Brazilian advertising self-regulation system,” Journal of Consumer
Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-03-2021-4558.
Tavares, Maria Tereza (2020), “Infâncias e o direito à cidade em São Gonçalo: investigando a
participação de crianças na cidade,” Práxis Educacional, 16(40), 164-183.
143
In Favor of a Transmodernist Consumerist Education: The Escola Nacional Florestan
Fernandes
Marcus Wilcox Hemais, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Ronan Torres Quintão, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de São Paulo, Brazil
Denise Franca Barros, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil
Consumerism is a theme that has been debated in marketing since the early 1970s, especially in
the United States (USA), when concerns about the protection and defense of consumers against
corporate abuses became part of the area’s agenda (Day and Aaker 1970; Kotler 1972). The
asymmetry of power between companies and individuals in the market motivated discussions on
how to resolve such differences and guarantee the fulfillment of consumer rights. On the one
hand, it was argued that such objectives would be achieved if greater government regulations on
business activities were implemented and changes at the corporate level regarding a greater focus
on meeting the needs and desires of consumers were adopted - thus reinforcing the fundamentals
principles of marketing (Buskirk and Rothe 1970). On the other hand, it was believed that
individuals would be better off at defending themselves if they were more educated about
consumption, which involved a broader understanding of their roles as consumers and the
performance of companies in the market and the products and services they offered to their
public, as this would supposedly make them more aware of their purchases, choosing the options
that best suited them (Mann and Thornton 1978).
The consumerist focus on individual empowerment through consumer education emerged in the
US around the 1930s, when consumer organizations, such as the Consumers Union (one of the
longest-running and most important organizations of its kind in the world), began to carry out
comparative tests of products and publish their results in their magazines (Warne 1971). It was
believed that companies provided scarce information about the goods they marketed, so
consumers had little knowledge of what they were buying and if they were getting the best
benefits for their costs. Communicating the findings of these tests, therefore, was fundamental
for individuals to be better informed, thus helping them to have more say over the choices they
made, resulting in them becoming more conscious consumers (Hilton 2009). Access to
information was just part of a broader consumer education movement, which included alerting
them about their rights and making them aware of their responsibilities as individual participants
in the market (Mann and Thornton 1978; McGregor 2005).
The success of this consumer education model in the US meant that, shortly afterward, it was
also adopted by European organizations. Nevertheless, with the end of the Cold War and the
advance of capitalist market ideals worldwide, consumerist practices expanded globally,
becoming one of the main forms of consumer protection (Hilton 2009). In Brazil (the locus
where we live/work and will locate our paper), concerns with consumer education emerged in
the 1980s, however were more significantly advanced from the 1990s and 2000s onwards by
organizations such as the Movimento das Donas de Casa de Minas Gerais (in English: Minas
Gerais Housewives Movement), Instituto de Defesa do Consumidor do Brasil (Idec) (In English:
Brazilian Institute of Consumer Defense), and Proteste – the latter two even adopted the practice
144
of comparative product testing in their consumerist actions, along the same lines as international
organizations (Hemais 2018).
When analyzing more critically the consumerist education model adopted globally, it is
perceived that it follows a neoliberal capitalistic logic, as it attributes to the individual the
responsibility of defending him/herself, which supposedly would be possible since he/she would
be equipped with information and knowledge about market practices, becoming an empowered
being. Therefore, governmental regulations would no longer be necessary (Nath 2015).
However, such discourse disregards that the empowerment promised by this type of education
does not occur equally among all consumers, so only a minority can be considered empowered,
while majorities still suffer to guarantee their rights (Francis and Robertson 2021; Varman and
Vijay 2018; Varman et al. 2021). Without the necessary knowledge and skills, consumers can
find themselves in a situation of fragility in the face of corporate market practices, leading them
to a condition of vulnerability that is not inherent to their nature. However, such
vulnerabilization can occur at any stage of the production, commercialization, or consumption
process of goods and services (Silva et al. 2021). Adkins and Ozanne (2005) found an interesting
paradox in this regard: while consumer education programs can have positive effects, most
consumers with limited knowledge do not seek help, for various reasons.
Therefore, other educational alternatives, which can also serve consumerist purposes of
empowering individuals the market, are ignored. For example, the Movimento de Trabalhadores
Rurais Sem Terra (MST) (in English: Landless Rural Workers Movement), known for being a
political and social movement that seeks the redistribution of unproductive land in Brazil, has as
one of its pillars the education of its members so that they can become citizens more aware of
their rights (MST 2023). Although its focus is not on the protection of consumers per se,
according to the traditional capitalist consumerist molds, its pedagogical guidelines touch on
several issues that concern the individual in the market, but in a more collectivist way, so that
changes can occur equally for all, and not for only a few (MST 2023). As a result, society is
strengthened, curbing corporate advances that harm individual rights, empowering the individual
as part of a broader cluster, and more prepared to deal with problems that affect this collective.
For the MST, it is important “to collectively build a set of educational practices towards an
emancipatory social project, led by male and female workers" (MST 2023). The movement’s
initiatives include full formal education for children, adolescents, and adults, following
traditional curricula adopted by the Brazilian government. However, in addition to this, in 2005,
the movement created a school aimed “to meet the formation needs of militants of social
movements and organizations that fight for a fairer world” (AAENFF 2023a), both in Brazil and
abroad. The Escola Nacional Florestan Fernandes (ENFF) (in English: Florestan Fernandes
National School), named after one of the greatest Brazilian sociologists, provides “meetings and
thematic seminars of short duration and training courses for militants developed in several stages
(...) higher education courses, (...) specialization and postgraduate courses in agreements with
universities and/or developed by social movements and various partnerships” (Mota 2015).
Twenty-four thousand people have already taken part in courses and lectures at the school, which
has 500 volunteer teachers (AAENFF 2023b).
145
The way the field of consumerism was shaped in marketing suggests that only one type of
consumerist education model can be considered adequate to empower individuals in the
marketplace (Mann and Thornton 1978). However, other forms of education, such as that
proposed by the MST, should also be considered adequate, even if they originate from a different
epistemology than the capitalist and individualist one commonly associated with consumerism.
To acknowledge that epistemologies originated in non-hegemonic contexts can also offer
knowledges that could be used for consumerist purposes is thus a step towards accepting that
other realities of transmodern origin are just as valid to advance discussions about the protection
and defense of individuals in the market as those of hegemonic contexts.
Given this contextualization, the objective of this research is to describe ENFF's educational
projects, discussing how the school’s potentially positive and transmodernist developments can
contribute to overcome the inequalities established in the asymmetrical relations of production,
commercialization, and consumption associated to consumerism.
Based on the decolonial perspective, which has as its starting point discussions regarding
coloniality and the violent erasure that it has promoted against knowledges that are distinct from
those associated to modernity, transmodernity would be the space that emerges from “other”
onto-epistemologies and seeks to develop itself based on realities that confront the failures of the
modernist world (Dussel 2002). The MST and the educational system it postulates would then be
a form of transmodernization, as they pave ways of thinking and being different from those of
hegemonic origin, but which could, precisely because of these particularities, serve consumerist
purposes, given the focus they have in seeking the well-being of the collective, and not just of
the individual.
It is hoped that, with such a discussion, this article can contribute to consumerist discussions by
analyzing this phenomenon from a decolonial lens, with the purpose of re-discussing the concept
of consumerism, so that it can be less focused on individualism aspects and more on a
collectivist orientation. Furthermore, by reconceptualizing what consumerism in marketing is -
by contemplating knowledges coming from the realities of marginalized majorities -, it is
possible to imagine a better understanding on how to resolve several problematic issues currently
associated with consumerism, such as racism, sexism, and coloniality, but which are still
scarcely acknowledged by the area (Faria and Hemais 2021; Rodrigues, Hemais, and Costa
2022).
References:
Adkins, Natalie and Julie Ozanne (2005), “The low literate consumer,” Journal of Consumer
Research, 32(1), 93-105.
Buskirk, Richard and James Rothe (1970), “Consumerism – an interpretation,” Journal of
Marketing, 34(4), 61-65.
Day, George and David Aaker (1970), “A guide to consumerism,” Journal of Marketing, 34(3),
12-19.
Dussel, Enrique (2002) “World-Systems and “Trans”-Modernity,” Nepantla: Views from the
South, 3(2), 221-244.
146
Faria, Alexandre and Marcus Hemais (2021), “Transmodernizing Management Historiographies
of Consumerism for the Majority,” Journal of Business Ethics, 173(3), 447-465.
Francis, June and Joshua Robertson (2021), “White spaces: how marketing actors (re)produce
marketplace inequities for Black consumers,” Journal of Marketing Management, 37(1-
2), 84-116.
Hemais, Marcus (2018), “A post-colonial perspective on consumerist Organizations in Brazil,”
Cadernos Ebape.br, 16(4), 594-609.
Hilton, Matthew (2009) Prosperity for All: Consumer Activism in an Era of Globalization.
Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Kotler, Philip (1972), “What consumerism means for marketers,” Harvard Business Review,
50(3), 48-57.
Mann, James and Peter Thornton (1978), “Consumerism in perspective,” European Journal of
Marketing, 12(4), 253-263.
McGregor, Sue (2005), “Sustainable consumer empowerment through critical consumer
education: a typology of consumer education approaches” International Journal of
Consumer Studies, 29(5), 437-447.
Mota, Maria Eleusa (2015), “Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra - MST e Escola
Nacional Florestan Fernandes - ENFF: a construção da educação do campo no Brasil,”
Masters Dissertation, Federal University of Uberlândia.
MST. (2023). Educação MST. Available at: https://mst.org.br/educacao/. Accessed: 23 Jan,
2023.
Nath, Giselle (2015), “Reproducing or contesting the global? Belgian organized consumerism
and its international entanglement (1957-1995),” International Review of Social History,
60(3), 413-448.
Rodrigues, Laís, Marcus Hemais, and Alessandra Costa (2022), “The 40 years of discourse on
racism in the Brazilian advertising self-regulation system,” Journal of Consumer
Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-03-2021-4558.
Silva, Rosana, Denise Barros, Tânia Maria Gouveia, and Daniel Merabet (2021), “A necessary
discussion on consumer vulnerability: advances, gaps, and new perspectives,” Cadernos
Ebape.br, 19(1), 83-95.
Varman, Rohit and Devi Vijay (2018), “Dispossessing vulnerable consumers: derealization,
desubjectification, and violence,” Marketing Theory, 18(3), 307-326.
Varman, Rohit, Per Skålén, Russell Belk, and Himadri Chaudhuri (2021), “Normative Violence
in Domestic Service: A Study of Exploitation, Status, and Grievability,” Journal of
Business Ethics, 171, 645-665.
Warne, Colston (1971), “The impact of consumerism on the market,” San Diego Law Review,
8(1), 30-37.
147
Beyond the Borders of Marketing Systems: The Role of Catalytic Institutions in the
Inclusion or Exclusion of People in the Market
Marcio Leandro Müller, Universidade do Grande Rio - UNIGRANRIO - Duque de Caxias,
Brazil
João Felipe R. Sauerbronn, School of Communication, Media, and Information at FGV - Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
Marketing systems are a core concept of macromarketing and can be defined as “complex social
networks of individuals and groups linked through shared participation in the creation and
delivery of economic value through exchange” (Layton 2014). Much effort has been devoted to
understanding how marketing systems emerge, grow, change and, eventually, die (Layton 2009,
2014). While the macromarketing literature has been addressing the social consequences of
marketing for over 30 years (Nason 1989), it is only in the recent years that the failure of
marketing systems has received more attention (Redmond 2018, Williams, Davey, and Johnstone
2021, Chadhuri and Jagadale 2021). However, little attention has been given to understanding
the mechanisms of exclusion from markets and the experiences lived by those who are excluded.
We aim to contribute to the study of marketing systems by understanding more deeply the
exclusion of marketing systems. Dixon (1984) places the macromarketing emphasis on the
objectives of the marketing system and on the behavior of agents in terms of these objectives, but
in this paper, we intend to look beyond the borders of marketing systems and analyze how and
why people are excluded from marketing systems. As posed by Lusch (2017), institutions are
created to efficiently coordinate exchanges and interactions among parties to the exchanges. We
must suppose that the most efficient coordination of markets should be also the more inclusive,
but the scenario we see around us is not quite like that. Many people are unable to participate in
the housing market and are forced to live with increasing risks to their lives (Muller and
Sauerbronn 2022). In a more extreme but still recurrent situation people have difficulty buying
food and the world has still to fight food insecurity (FAO 2021). In this study we aim to
understand why people are excluded from marketing systems and the social and economic
effects of this. Herewith, we want to understand the roles of institutions in the inclusion and
exclusion of people in marketing systems. For that, we use the systemic framework presented by
Shultz, Rahtz and Sirgy (2017), highlighting the role of catalytic institutions.
References
Chaudhuri, Roy H. and Jagadale, Sujit R. (2021), “Normalized Heterotopia as a Market Failure
in a Spatial Marketing System: The Case of Gated Communities in India,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 41 (2), 297-134.
Dixon, Donald F. (1984), “Macromarketing: A Social Systems Perspective,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 4 (2), 4-17.
FAO, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (2021), FAO. Retrieved
from https://policycommons.net/artifacts/1850109/the-state-of-food-security-and-
nutrition-in-the-world-2021/2596732/ on 02 Feb 2023. CID: 20.500.12592/p0dx35.
148
Layton, Roger A. (2009), “Marketing systems, macromarketing and the quality of life,” In
Maclaran, P., Saren, M., Stern, B., & Tadajewski, M., eds., The Sage Handbook of
Marketing Theory. London: Sage.
Layton, Roger A. (2014), “Formation, Growth, and Adaptive Change in Marketing Systems,”
Journal of Macromarketing, 35 (3), 302-319.
Lusch, Robert F. (2017), “The Long Macro View,” Journal of Macromarketing, 37 (3), 321-323.
Müller, Márcio L. and Sauerbronn, João Felipe R. (2022), “Observing the Edges of the Market:
An Analysis of How Institutions and Regulatory Systems Shape Marketing Systems,” in
XLVI ENANPAD Proceedings.
Nason, Roger W. (1989), “The Social Consequences of Marketing: Macromarketing and Public
Policy,” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 8 (1), 242-251.
Redmond, William (2018), “Marketing Systems and Market Failure: A Macromarketing
Appraisal,” Journal of Macromarketing, 38 (4), 415-424.
Shultz, Clifford J., Rahtz, Don R., and Sirgy, Joseph (2017), “Distinguishing Flourishing from
Distressed Communities: Vulnerability, Resilience and a Systemic Framework to
Facilitate Well-Being,” in Handbook of Community Well-Being Research, R. Phillips &
C. Wong, eds. Dordrecht: Springer, 403-421.
Williams, Janine, Davey, Janet, and Johnstone, Micael-Lee. (2021), “Marketing System Failure:
Revisioning Layton’s Marketing System Model,” Journal of Macromarketing, 41 (2),
411-426.
149
Power Relations in Marketing Systems
Marcio Leandro Müller, Universidade do Grande Rio - UNIGRANRIO - Duque de Caxias,
Brazil
Elaine de Souza Silva, Universidade do Grande Rio - UNIGRANRIO - Duque de Caxias, Brazil
João Felipe R. Sauerbronn, School of Communication, Media, and Information at FGV - Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
Marketing systems are the performative result of the relational dynamics between structures and
agents with mercantile purposes (Layton 2007) and can be understood as complex multilevel
systems. For Layton (2009), marketing systems emerge, grow, adapt, and thrive in environments,
driven by institutional and technological changes. For that reason, it is necessary to understand
the subjacent processes of marketing systems shaping (Layton 2014).
The study of marketing systems makes it possible to understand the patterns and market
structures that form, grow, and adapt in human communities, as individuals, groups and entities
engage in market exchanges based on values within and across each system (Layton 2019). In
this way, researchers of marketing can offer to expand the domains of the subject and bring it
more relevance. In an attempt to explain how and why economic exchanges lead to formation,
growth and adaptive change of the marketing system, Layton (2014) presented the Theory
Mechanism, Action, and Structure (MAS), articulating the theories of social mechanisms, fields
of strategic action, and marketing systems. Afterwards, Layton (2015) addressed the
development of marketing systems, which prepared the field for the study of path dependency on
markets that would come later (Layton and Duffy 2018).
Regarding social mechanisms, Layton (2014) states that agents interact with each other,
sometimes cooperatively, sometimes competitively, according to their interests and ambitions.
There are hierarchical disputes in search of power, and power relations are commonplace, in a
way that common understandings and communication between the agents are necessary, so that
voluntary exchanges occur (Layton 2015). The agent’s self-interest makes them realize the
benefits of economic exchanges, specialization, growth, production in scale, strategic innovation
and risk management. To manage all this complexity of relations, it is necessary for the system
to self-organize, through norms, conventions, rules, structures and institutions created by the
agents themselves, according to their hierarchical position. Finally, as a result of all these
dynamics, the system will evolve or regress, depending on the agents whether or not they are met
by the way the system is shaped. If the marketing system fails to meet the agent’s expectations,
they will leave the system, and it may collapse.
The fields of action brough by Layton (2014) are the “arenas” where all social mechanisms
occur. Markets can be physical or not (internet), but marketing systems have borders that allow
identifying who is inside or outside (Müller and Sauerbronn 2022). These borders are often
defined by the system agents themselves, through the dynamics that occur through social
150
mechanisms, where who is being beneficiaries want stability, and those who are not beneficiaries
want to change the rules.
Structures (Layton 2014) are created to stabilize marketing systems, through conventions
between the agents, the definition of the roles that each agent (actor) will play, networks and
forms of governance. Shultz et al. (2017) brought the concept of catalytic institutions, which
would be governments, businesses, and non-governmental organizations. One could add to these
three catalytic institutions a fourth, that acts in a decentralized way, which Fowler et al. (2022)
called “collectivism”. Together, these institutions establish virtually all the structures of the
marketing system.
Although studies about structures have evolved from Shultz et al. (2017) with catalytic
institutions, and studies on fields of action are evolving with research about the borders of
marketing systems (Müller and Sauerbronn 2022), a deeper understanding of social mechanisms
is necessary. In this way, this work proposes to study the relations of strengths and power
between the agents of marketing systems, drawing inspiration from the work of Foucault (1997,
2001, 2010) to give more robustness to the works of Layton (2014, 2015) and Shultz et al.
(2017). Layton (2014) states that the agents seek forms of control and influence, and according
to their capabilities, they can change existing power relations. By analyzing the behavior of
markets over the time it is noticed that several changes occur by appropriating of institutional
power by individuals, by changing their hierarchical positions (Layton 2015).
A first analysis that can be done is that catalytic institutions have more power than individuals,
and that is precisely the purpose of its creation. Institutions, in general, are created to provide
stability, reduce uncertainties and control the system environment (Layton 2015) – which gives
governmentality to the system (Foucault 1997, 2010) – and the way they increase their power is
through the association of individuals. Therefore, the individual who is in a high hierarchical
position within a catalytic institution, has much more strength to assert his own wills.
Thus, one of the ways to ascend hierarchically in a marketing system is through a catalytic
institution. If each catalytic institution is strengthened by its number of adherents, whoever holds
power over the institution automatically holds power over all those individuals connected to it.
Furthermore, as different institutions compete with each other, the one that stands out in front of
the others, will exert its will on all those individuals covered by the other institutions.
For example, if a pastor is leader of a religious community, and he does not want people to drink
alcohol, he can exercise his power with his followers (members of the community). If his
community has strength enough to convince the government to prohibit the commercialization of
alcoholic beverages, the ban will be system-wide. On the other hand, if the president of a
beverage company convinces the government to allow this business, the permission is valid for
all the system, except for the members of the religious community, who are under the yoke of
their spiritual leader. It is worth remembering that these members are there because of their
leader’s convincing capacity, and their participation is free. On the other hand, the strength of the
beverage company is in its economic power. In this hypothetical dispute, different forces are
measured, which makes political outcomes even more unpredictable.
151
It is observed in the given example that who determines the rules for the total system is the
government, which is one of the catalytic institutions. In order to have a balance, democratic
governments are divided into three powers: executive, legislative, and judiciary. However, there
may be an imbalance between the other catalytic institutions, such as business and NGOs. Some
corporations are more powerful than some countries, such as the big techs Google, Apple,
Facebook, and Amazon, which changed markets by developing technologies for the permanent
monitoring of people, that is called surveillance capitalism (Zuboff 2020). Similarly, some
NGOs have global strengths (WWF, Greenpeace, Catholic Church, Islamic State) that institute
guide rules for their followers. When there is balance between the forces, one can speak of
resistance, but when the forces are very unequal, there is domination (Foucault 1997).
The analysis of economic relations is a subject treated in Foucauldian thought, which points out
that these relations are always intertwined with the relations of strength and power. The
expectation is to determine what are the mechanisms, the effects, and the different devices that
exercise power. Also, to assess how these relations are present at different levels of society, in
different fields and with varied extensions, proposing an analysis of the way how power relations
can be deduced from the economy through the multiplicity of speeches of truth (Foucault 1997).
When talking about the power relations and disputes that occur within the marketing system, it is
possible to identify different strengths of individuals and institutions that can change the system
balance. The force varies according to the time and context of each marketing system, but some
of the main ones can be identified: physical, military, economic, beauty, knowledge,
communication skills, ascendence, and ability to convincing.
In marketing systems, physical force cannot be used in the form of violence, because it goes
against the principle of voluntary changes. However, physically stronger people have an
advantage in menial or security work. In the past, this strength was more important, but today,
with technological development, other strengths stand out in the macrosystem.
One of the main strengths in marketing systems is economic capability. Agents with more
resources tend to have more power than others, being able to acquire more goods, and hire other
people. The owner of a company has hierarchical power over his employees, in addition to
bargaining power in negotiation with other companies.
Agents with more knowledge use the asymmetry of information to obtain better planning
strategies. In the long term, they tend to grow hierarchically in the system. The analysis of
watchful logic (Zuboff 2020) makes sense when thinking about information management, when
corporations like Google retain user data from their search technologies, for example.
Communication capability is important for building larger network. Inside marketing systems,
for exchanges to take place, it is necessary for agent to know the interest of the others, and the
greater the agent’s ability to communicate, the more advantage he has in relative to his
competitors.
152
The ability to convince helps the agent to convince others that his ideas are better, getting more
support in his demands. It is the main force used by NGOs, which aim to change society’s
behavior through persuasion. In this topic also enters the production of truth (Foucault 1997).
Military forces serve to protect markets from competitors. Mostly, this type of force is used in
unstable regions, such as war zones, by militias, or traffickers in neighborhoods abandoned by
the government.
Beauty generates sympathy and desire in other agents, which ends up influencing the allocation
of individuals in hierarchical positions for personal reasons. This occur both in ostensive
situations, such as choosing sellers who are more attractive to the consumer, as well as in the
choice of management positions, where beauty can be both a benefit as a problem (favors, moral
and sexual harassment).
Finally, according to Foucault (1997), those who are a little stronger do not want to dispute, for
fear of randomness; neither do those who know they are weaker want to face it, because they
have certain of defeat. Thus, demonstrations of power are common to frighten possible
opponents. In marketing systems, these demonstrations are often the ostentation of riches for
those who are rich, diplomas and publications for those who are intelligent, photos on social
media for who are beautiful, weapons for those who are drug dealers or militiamen. The society
of image is very much the result of disputes and insecurities that agents have about their
hierarchical positions.
References
Foucault, Michel (1997), Society Must Be Defended – Lectures at the Collège de France 1975 -
1976. New York, NY: Picador.
Foucault, Michel (2001), Power – The Essential Works of Foucault 1954-1984. New York, NY:
The New Press.
Foucault, Michel (2010), The Birth of Biopolitics - Lectures at the Collège de France 1978 –
1979. New York, NY: Picador.
Fowler, Jie G., Gentry, James, and Chu, Rongwei (2022), “Catalytic Institutions and Community
Resilience: COVID-19, Obstacles, and Adaptive Mechanisms in Wuhan, China,” in
Community, Economy, and COVID-19: Lessons from Multi-Countries Analyses of a
Global Pandemic, Clifford J. Schultz, Don R. Rahtz, M. Joseph Sirgy, eds. Cham:
Springer, 119-135.
Layton, Roger A. (2007), “Marketing Systems – A Core Macromarketing Concept,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 27 (3), 227-242.
Layton, Roger A. (2009), “On Economic Growth, Marketing System, and the Quality of Life,”
Journal of Macromarketing, 29 (4), 349-362.
Layton, Roger A. (2014), “Formation, Growth, and Adaptive Change in Marketing Systems,”
Journal of Macromarketing, 35 (3), 302-319.
Layton, Roger A. (2015), “Marketing, Marketing Systems, and the Framing Marketing History,”
Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 7 (4), 549-572.
153
Layton, Roger A. and Duffy, Sarah M. (2018), “Path Dependency in Marketing Systems –
Where History Matters and the Future Casts a Shadow,” Journal of Macromarketing, 38
(4), 400-414.
Layton, Roger A. (2019), “Marketing Systems – Looking Backward, Sizing Up and Thinking
Ahead,” Journal of Macromarketing, 39 (2), 208-224.
Müller, Márcio L. and Sauerbronn, João Felipe R. (2022), “Observing the Edges of the Market:
An Analysis of How Institutions and Regulatory Systems Shape Marketing Systems,” in
XLVI ENANPAD Proceedings.
Shultz, Clifford J., Rahtz, Don R. and Sirgy, Joseph (2017), “Distinguishing Flourishing from
Distressed Communities: Vulnerability, Resilience and a Systemic Framework to
Facilitate Well-Being,” in Handbook of Community Well-Being Research, R. Phillips &
C. Wong, eds. Dordrecht: Springer, 403-421.
Zuboff, Shoshana. (2020), The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at
the New Frontier of power. Rio de Janeiro, RJ: Intrínseca.
154
Ambivalence and Resistance toward Global Brands’ Practices: Digital Consumer Activism
in a Developing Market Context
Edna G. Ndichu, Whitworth University, United States of America
Shikha Upadhyaya, California State University, United States of America
Introduction
Consumer and marketing research on globalization has highlighted both the positive and
negative aspects of global brands. On one hand, global brands are associated with modernity,
access to high-quality products, and improved quality of life for consumers in developing
countries (Sandıkcı et al. 2016; Sharifonnasabi, Bardhi and Luedicke 2020). On the other hand,
global brands may be the subject of culture wars in contexts where these brands are considered to
be in opposition to cultural values and norms, thus presenting tensions that consumers must
negotiate, including eliciting different resistance strategies (Eckhardt and Mahi 2012; Izberk-
Bilgin and Roux 2018).
Consumer resistance has been conceptualized as individuals’ or groups’ opposition to dominant
forces (Roux 2007; Galvagno 2011), through practices such as boycotts and voluntary simplicity
(Roux and Izberk-Bilgin 2018). Consumer resistance can be specific (e.g., directed at a specific
brand), or more general (e.g., directed at the system of capitalism or corporate greed) (Paschen,
Wilson, and Robson 2020). The proliferation of the Internet and online platforms such as
Facebook and Twitter around the globe presents easy and fast avenues for consumer resistance to
be enacted through digital activism (Roux and Izberk-Bilgin 2018). Prior research has examined
consumers’ utilization of digital spaces such as social media to individually and collectively
engage in activism, making their voices heard in contexts such as perceived service failure
(Legocki, Walker, and Kiesler 2020), challenging “highly sexualised and objectified
representations of femininity” (Matich, Ashman, and Parsons 2020), and challenging marketers’
unsolicited marketing communications on online communities (Lillqvist, Moisander, and Firat
2020). Such research has focused on consumers and contexts in developed countries; adequate
attention has not been paid to consumer resistance through digital activism in developing country
markets, particularly in the context of supply chain and marketing practices of global brands.
This research aims to provide a better understanding of consumer resistance through digital
activism in the globalization process in developing country markets by investigating the
following questions: (RQ 1) What discourses related to consumer consciousness and choice
paradox emerge at the intersection of consumer resistance, digital activism, and globalization?
(RQ 2) How do these discourses impact global and local production and consumption systems?
Methodology
The first phase of this research employs a qualitative approach, specifically netnography or the
ethnography of online communities (Belk, Fischer, and Kozinets 2013). We focused on content
associated with the KFC controversy in Kenya that happened in January 2022 when KFC Kenya
posted an announcement on its social media pages indicating that they had run out of chips
(French Fries). The company offered customers other options that they could choose from as a
155
replacement for the fries. This announcement elicited several consumer responses on social
media as well as coverage on local and regional news regarding the company’s sourcing
practices, especially as it emerged that KFC Kenya does not source its potatoes locally, despite
the Kenyan market having an oversupply of potatoes from local farmers (Njoroge 2022). We
utilized publicly available user-generated content from platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.
Several online posts of consumers discussing the KFC Kenya chips shortage, majority of which
were derived from #BoycottKFC, were downloaded. This content yielded more than 100 pages
of text and images. The data has been manually coded for themes and categories, and the
findings are presented in the next section. Netnography data was complemented by online data in
the form of newspaper articles and television broadcasts from Kenyan media on the topic.
Preliminary Findings
Preliminary findings that address the first research question (RQ 1) revealed three broad themes
regarding consumer ambivalence and resistance towards global and local consumption systems:
(1) competing narratives related to the brand’s local practices and responsibilities, (2) broader
structural barriers that complicate the brand’s access to and ability to utilize available local
resources, and (3) the complacent global consumer. The first theme revealed two sub-themes of
global business realities supporting the brand and its sourcing practices, and consumer
expectations for responsible local sourcing practices. The second theme uncovered two sub-
themes, unpacking the role of policymakers and brokers or channel intermediaries. These
findings are summarized in Table 1.
158
Findings from online news sources (e.g., newspaper articles), revealed some changes that
resulted from consumer digital activism, addressing the second research question (RQ 2). For
instance, in February 2022 it was reported that KFC Kenya had reached an agreement with one
of the county governments for local farmers to produce potatoes for KFC (Muia 2022). In March
2023, a KFC led initiative resulted in the formation of the Potato Consortium, consisting of five
corporations and stakeholders offering various services in the potato value chain to help
smallholder farmers increase potato yields and incomes (Amadala 2023). One of the members of
the consortium is the company that will purchase potatoes from local farmers and supply them to
KFC.
Conclusion
Preliminary findings from consumers’ narratives on digital platforms reveal the conundrum
consumers in a developing country face as they navigate consumption of a global brand. While
there is general consumer backlash against lack of integration of local resources in the global
brand’s supply chain practices, there is also consumer awareness of institutional and regulatory
challenges that limit global brands’ range of activities in global markets.
Themes from the preliminary findings collectively provide key insights on consumer
expectations for global brands in approaches they take to implement supply chain systems and
utilize local resources. While consumers may not boycott the consumption of these products
completely, the consumers are becoming more conscious of global brands’ practices and altering
the social perceptions of these brands through digital activism. Global brands need to re-think
their current social and institutional integration in different markets while also understanding and
addressing consumer sentiments.
References
Amadala, Victor (2023), “Potato consortium formed to help farmers grow yields by 50%,”
Retrieved from https://www.the-star.co.ke/business/kenya/2023-03-06-potato-
consortium-formed-to-help-farmers-grow-yields-by-50/.
Belk, Russell, Eileen Fischer, and Robert V. Kozinets (2013), Qualitative Consumer and
Marketing Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Eckhardt, Giana M. and Humaira Mahi (2012), “Globalization, Consumer Tensions, and the
Shaping of Consumer Culture in India,” Journal of Macromarketing, 32(3), 280-294.
Galvagno, Marco (2011), “The Intellectual Structure of the Anti‐Consumption and Consumer
Resistance Field: An Author Co‐citation Analysis,” European Journal of Marketing,
45(11/12).
Legocki, Kimberly V., Kristen L. Walker, and Tina Kiesler (2020), “Sound and Fury: Digital
Vigilantism as a Form of Consumer Voice,” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 39(2),
169-187.
Lillqvist, Ella, Johanna K. Moisander, and A. Fuat Firat (2018), “Consumers as Legitimating
Agents: How Consumer‐Citizens Challenge Marketer Legitimacy on Social Media,’”
International Journal of Consumer Studies, 42(2), 197-204.
159
Matich, Margaret, Rachel Ashman, and Elizabeth Parsons (2020), “#freethenipple–Digital
Activism and Embodiment in the Contemporary Feminist Movement,” Consumption
Markets &Culture, 22(4), 337-36.
Muia, Joseph (2022), “Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia Discloses Deal with KFC On
Local Potatoes,” Retrieved from https://www.citizen.digital/news/nyandarua-governor-
francis-kimemia-discloses-deal-with-kfc-on-local-potatoes-n292228.
Njoroge, Josephine (2022), “Import Customers as Well, Kenyans Retort after KFC Announces
Potato Shortage,” Retrieved from https://nation.africa/kenya/business/import-customers-
as-well-kenyans-retort-after-kfc-announces-potato-shortage-3671730.
Paschen, Jeannette, Matthew Wilson, and Karen Robson (2020), “# BuyNothingDay:
Investigating Consumer Restraint using Hybrid Content Analysis of Twitter Data,”
European Journal of Marketing, 54(2), 327-350.
Roux, D. (2007), “Consumer Resistance: Proposal for an Integrative Framework,” Recherche et
Applications en Marketing (English Edition), 22(4), 59-79.
Roux, Dominique and Elif Izberk-Bilgin (2018), “Consumer Resistance and Power Relationships
in the Marketplace,” Consumer Culture Theory, 309-331.
Sandıkcı, Özlem, Mark Peterson, Ahmet Ekici, and Travis Simkins (2016), “Development and
Quality of Life in Turkey: How Globalization, Religion, and Economic Growth Influence
Individual Well-Being,” Journal of Macromarketing, 36(3), 304-320.
Sharifonnasabi, Zahra, Fleura Bardhi, and Marius K. Luedick (2020), “How Globalization
Affects Consumers: Insights from 30 years of CCT Globalization Research,” Marketing
Theory, 20(3), 273-298.
160
Historical Research in Marketing Track
Co-Chairs:
Francisco Conejo
University of Colorado, Denver, United States of America
Jayne Krisjanous
Te Herenga Waka -Victoria University of Wellington, New
Zealand
Terrence H. Witkowski
California State University, United States of America
161
Native Americans in Firearms Advertising: Historical Context and Representational
Ethics
Terrence H. Witkowski, California State University, United States of America
For centuries, the dominant white culture of the United States has appropriated Native American
tribal names, language, and imagery for use as school and professional team mascots, place and
brand names, and advertising trade characters and their dialog. In the fine arts, many painters,
sculptors, and novelists have represented American Indians in their works. Myriad forms of
popular culture, from dime novels and comic books to Wild West shows to motion pictures and
television, have fed an unsatiable appetite for commodifying Indigenous peoples as imagined by
others (Berkhofer 1978). Generations of adults and children dressed as Indians for plays,
pageants, and other activities. The photo in Figure 1, for example, was printed from a lantern
slide of white children participating in a Hiawatha pageant. Their elaborate clothing and
accessories indicate that they probably came from well-heeled families. A real Hiawatha lived in
precolonial times and, according to legend, co-founded the Iroquois Confederacy. However,
Americans knew the name from a popular epic poem, The Song of Hiawatha, written in 1855 by
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This work had no connection with the actual person.
Criticism of this widespread appropriation and its blatant stereotyping, racism, sexism, and
historical ignorance gained traction in the late 1960s, and has remained quite vocal in the twenty-
first century. Numerous tribal voices, joined by non-Native advocates for Indian rights, have
been raised in opposition (see e.g., Merskin 2001; Race & Ethnicity in Advertising 2023;
Sanchez 2012). The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights called for the retirement of Native
American mascots in 2001 and the American Psychological Association made similar statements
in 2011 and 2014 (Merskin 2012). As will be discussed below, advertising historians also have
weighed in with pointed accounts of dubious past practices (Biron 2016; O’Barr 2013; Steele
1996). This mounting censure has persuaded businesses, and perhaps American society at large,
to adopt new ethical norms. Mascot, brand, and place names have been retired and popular
commercial imagery has been greatly diminished.
The historical arc of one culture marketizing another deserves serious consideration. This paper
aims to extend historical research on the topic by investigating how Native Americans have been
represented in firearms advertising and promotional ephemera. The firearms connection is
important because American Indians have had a very long and deep association with guns, one
that had devastating consequences for them and their ways of life (Silverman 2016). Evidence
from three manufacturers will be examined. Savage Arms used Indian trade characters to sell its
rifles around the turn of the twentieth century when cultural appropriation had become wide-
ranging. A few years later Remington Arms tried its hand and Winchester Repeating Arms did
so again in the late 1960s when opposition to such stereotyping had begun to materialize.
Commercial exploitation raises questions of representational ethics, a topic within the
macromarketing domain (Borgerson and Schroeder 2008; Schroeder and Borgerson 2005;
Merskin 2012).
162
Primary visual sources include oil paintings, prints, magazine ads, trade cards, posters, and
additional promotional ephemera. These data come from the digital collections of the
Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog, the
Digital Commonwealth (Massachusetts Collections Online), the Amon Carter Museum of
American Art in Fort Worth, Texas, and the Roy Marcot Firearms Advertisements Collection in
the McCracken Research Library at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming.
Searches of listings on eBay and online auction sales catalogs revealed additional sources,
especially for later twentieth century material. Gordon Fosburg shared Remington ads from his
extensive private collection. A visual database of art and advertising representations of Native
Americans was constructed and from this group particularly expressive images were selected for
the figures. Assembling these sources entailed an iterative process where insights gained from
interpreting a set of visual data would trigger new searches that led to still more evidence and
further analysis.
The paper begins with relevant historical context. It first recounts the general upsurge in placing
American Indians in advertising, along with the simultaneous craze for collecting indigenous
material culture (Hutchinson 2009; Valdes-Dapena 2004). Next, the paper presents a brief
history of Native American gun culture and how it was depicted visually in important paintings
by three noted Western artists. Subsequent sections examine Savage, Remington, and
Winchester advertising that appropriated Indian characters and language. The final sections
consider the societal implications and representational ethics of Native Americans in gun
advertising before ending with a few concluding thoughts.
Following the custom of leading historians who specialize in this area (see, e.g., Hämäläinen
2022; Silverman 2016), the terms “Native American,” “American Indian,” and “Indian” will be
used interchangeably. Interestingly, most Indigenous people in North America refer to
themselves as Indians though it was whites who coined this collective noun centuries ago
(Berkhofer 1978). Tribal names will be applied when and where they are known. “First
Nations,” a term popular in Canada, seems less pertinent to U.S. history and will not be utilized.
References
Berkhofer, Robert F. (1978), The White Man’s Indian: Images of the American Indian from
Columbus to the Present, New York: Vintage Books.
Biron, Gerry (2016), “The Cultural Appropriation of American Indian Images in Advertising—
1880s-1920,” Whispering Wind, 44 (3), 20-25.
Borgerson, Janet L. and Jonathan E. Schroeder (2008), “Building an Ethics of Visual
Representation: Contesting Epistemic Closure in Marketing Communication,” in
Cutting-edge Issues in Business Ethics: Continental Challenges to Tradition and
Practice, ed. Mollie Painter-Morland and Patricia Werhane, Boston: Springer, 87-107.
Hämäläinen, Pekka (2022), Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America, New
York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Hutchinson, Elizabeth (2009), The Indian Craze: Primitivism, Modernism, and Transculturation
in American Art, 1890-1915, Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
163
Merskin, Debra (2001), “Winnebagos, Cherokees, Apaches, and Dakotas: The Persistence of
Stereotyping of American Indians in American Advertising Brands,” The Howard
Journal of Communications, 12, 159-169.
Merskin, Debra (2012), “How Many More Indians? An Argument for a Representational Ethics
of Native Americans,” Journal of Communication Inquiry, 38 (3), 184-203.
O’Barr, William M. (2013), “Images of Native Americans in Advertising,” Advertising & Society
Review, 14 (1), 1-51.
Race & Ethnicity in Advertising (2023), “Native Americans & Advertising,” The ANA
Educational Foundation and the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media,
(accessed January 18, 2023), [available at
https://raceandethnicity.org/exhibits/show/native-americans-and-advertisi/native-
americans-in-advertisin].
Sanchez, Victoria E. (2012), “Buying into Racism: American Indian Product Icons in the
American Marketplace,” in American Indians and the Mass Media, ed. Meta G.
Carstarphen and John P. Sanchez, Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 153-168.
Schroeder, Jonathan E. and Janet L. Borgerson (2005), “An Ethics of Representation for
International Marketing Communication,” International Marketing Review, 22 (5), 578-
600.
Silverman, David J. (2016), Thundersticks: Firearms and the Violent Transformation of Native
America, Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Steele, Jeffrey (1996), “Reduced to Images: American Indians in Nineteenth-Century
Advertising,” in Dressing in Feathers: The Construction of the Indian in American Popular
Culture, ed. S. Elizabeth Bird, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, Inc., 45-64.
Valdes-Dapena, Antonia (2004), “Marketing the Exotic: Creating the Image of the ‘Real’
Indian,” in Visualizing a Mission: Artifacts and Imagery of the Carlisle Indian School,
1879-1918, Carlisle, PA: Dickinson College, 35-41.
A copy of the full paper with complete reference list and all figures can be obtained from the
author (terrence.witkowski@csulb.edu). Below are a few selected images.
164
Figure 1. Children dressed in Native American clothing, ca. 1913-1950. Photograph from glass
lantern slide. Source: Boston Children’s Museum via Digital Commonwealth.
165
Figure 3. Trade card, Magnolia Ham, ca. 1880. Louisville Lithographic Co. Source: Boston
Public Library via Digital Commonwealth.
166
Figure 8. Crow Indians Hunting Elk by Charles M. Russell, 1890. Oil on canvas, 18 1/8 x 24 in.
(46.0 x 61.0 cm). Source: Amon Carter Museum of American Art.
167
Figure 11. Ad for Savage .303 Model 1899 Hammerless Repeating Rifle, Recreation, March
1899. Source: Roy Marcot Firearms Advertisements Collection, McCracken Research Library,
Buffalo Bill Center of the West.
168
Figure 16. Remington cover for Hardware Age, December 22, 1932. Source: Collection of
Gordon Fosburg.
169
Figure 18. Winchester poster, circa late 1960s. Paper, 37 x 26 in. (94 x 66 cm). Source: Rock
Island Auction (2022).
170
Figure 21. The author as Indian boy in war paint, circa 1954. Source: Collection of the author.
171
Macromarketing Measurements and Methods Track
Co-Chairs:
Francisco Conejo
INCAE Business School, Costa Rica
Anthony Samuel
Cardiff Business School, United Kingdom
Ben Wooliscroft
Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
172
Detecting Value Loss, Power Asymmetry and Underperforming Provisioning Systems:
Extending Alderson’s Transvection Analysis to increase Sustainability
Ben Wooliscroft, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand, James Wilkes, TROIKA
Business research has offered many tools to understand the opportunity for firms to create or
realise value in the provisioning system. It has been less forthcoming on tools to understand the
relationship between different members of the provisioning system and to understand the
distribution of costs and profits through the system. Building on the work of Wroe Alderson, we
provide a tool — the extended transvection — to analyse a provisioning system that provides
insights into; information flows, value creation/capture/loss, risk, externalities, equity and
fairness, and underperforming provisioning systems. The extended transvection also allows for
considering scenarios regarding adjusted/alternate provisioning systems.
173
Supererogation Theory: Towards a Macromarketing Understanding
Anthony Samuel, Cardiff University, United Kingdom
Gareth White, Cranfield University, United Kingdom
The turn of the twenty-first century marks the significant shift in the temporal horizon of
societies, and the businesses that operate within them, regarding their impact upon global
ecology. The need to reduce the deleterious effects of business activities has become enshrined
in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) frameworks and legislation but there is a growing
recognition that the study and performance of this alone is insufficient to achieve triple–bottom-
line (TBL) sustainability (Barnett, Henriques and Husted 2020; Fukuda and Ouchida 2020;
Humphreys 2014; Li, Wang, and White 2015; Mazutis 2014; White, Samuel and Thomas 2022).
Looking beyond the mandatory legislation, philanthropic and otherwise meritorious ecological
endeavours are to be found throughout human history, but in reality “few people address human
obligations regarding the nonhuman world” (Gladwin, Kennelly, and Krause 1995), and even
seemingly commendable initiatives can be found to be disturbingly lacking when examined in
detail (Prasad and Elmes 2005). See for example recent reporting’s on Verra, the World’s
leading carbon offsetting organisation that argues 90% of their rainforest offset credits (used by
companies such as Disney, Shell and Gucci) fail to deliver genuine carbon reductions
(Greenfeild 2023).
The difficulties of reconciling the pressing material needs of today with the prospective
consequences of those actions tomorrow is reflected in the dichotomous business literature
including special issues in the Journal of Macromarketing regarding Sustainability as a
Megatrend (Prothero and McDonagh 2014). Hancock (2008) expresses concern that the ‘ethical
organization’ discourse is dominated by two quests. First, the deontic, to understand and
prescribe the codes of conduct and legislative practices that organizations must follow. Second,
the aretaic, to determine the ethical principles that organizations should uphold in order to be
truly sustainable. Ezzamel and Willmott (2014) also question the validity of the theoretical and
practical divide that adopts either an anthropocentric or an ecocentric perspective, neither of
which they argue is sufficient to achieve sustainability. They venture that organization and
management theory as a whole is dominated by anthropocentric views of the world that “impede
the emergence of alternative (e.g. ecocentric) organization theory” (p.1031). Their emphasis of
the ‘ethical register’ is contingent to the development of knowledge that is cognizant of the
biosphere within which organizations not merely operate but are dependent upon since “virtually
all production and welfare are totally dependent upon ecological health” (Gladwin et al. 1995).
This is in stark contrast with the realization that the biosphere is not reciprocally dependent upon
organizations and is likely better served without such edifices.
Gladwin et al (1995) highlight the “pathological dangers” (p.875) of myopically progressing
either the dominant technocentrism or emerging ecocentrism paradigms, and afford a means of
reconciling the rift by proposing the notion of ‘sustaincentrism’. This paradigm is “grounded in
the good of both human and nonhuman nature” (p.891) but they admit is lamentably lacking in
implementation. Sustaincentrism is a worldview that attempts to reconcile technocentrism and
ecocentrism that are “self-defeating” (Gladwin et al. 1995). It recognises the infinite
174
interconnectivity between humanity and the environment, and that human needs may not
supervene those of nature.
The contribution of this study is to expand the notion of supererogatory acts by recognising that
they go beyond the superficiality of CSR (White, Samuel and Thomas 2022) and may be
considered and conducted, in a non-reciprocal arrangement, for the benefit of non-human and
future recipients. Thus, making the theory relevant to both advancing the idea of sustaincentrism
and macromarketing scholarship that includes sustainability (Mittelstaedt et al. 2014; Prothero
and McDonagh 2014), climate change (Helm and Little 2022), CSR (Humphreys 2014), quality
of life (Layton 2009; Lee and Sirgy 2004) and marketing systems (Layton 2009; 2019).
The notion of supererogation, which to date has attracted no attention in macromarketing
literature refers to those actions that ‘go above and beyond’ what may be expected of individuals
or organizations and are carried out for the benefit of others without concern for the self. Heyd
(1982) argues supererogatory acts are identified by the presence of four necessary conditions
(Heyd 1982): (i) The acts are neither mandatory nor illicit, (ii) whose omissions are not wrong,
and do not deserve sanction or disapproval, (iii) are morally good, both by virtue of their
intended consequences and (iv) are done voluntarily for the sake of someone else. In summery
supererogation activities are suggested to be good to do but not bad not to do (Chisholm 1963;
Urmson 1958) and are completed by an agent who possess altruistic intentions (Heyd 1982).
Heyd (1982) presents an established taxonomy of supererogatory acts consisting of six acts:
1. Moral Heroism: Heyd (1982. 144) posits moral heroism as “overcoming natural fears,
desires, and considerations of self-interest, and also great self-sacrifice either in terms of
risk, or moral virtues and, in most cases, deserves praise and admiration.”
2. Beneficence: This is concerned with the act of giving and “the contribution of one’s
material goods” towards causes that one may have a limited responsibility for (Hyde
1982.146).
3. Volunteering: Hyde (1982.150) argues that volunteering is a special kind of
supererogatory act outlined as “the offering of one’s services (help etc) to do something”
for which there is no reason why they should do it or there is good reason they should not
do it.
4. Favour: Heyd (1982) argues favours consisting of small acts of kindness that require
limited if any personal sacrifice.
5. Forgiveness: Heyd (1982) posits that forgiveness becomes supererogatory when it is
enacted in situations where appropriate punishment is justified.
6. Forbearance: Acts of forbearance “involve doing less of the due amount of something
which is undesirable to another person” (Heyd 1982 p.153)
In addition to this White, Samuel and Thomas (2022) added a seventh act to the taxonomy
indicating that sharing should also be considered as a supererogatory act. Each of these acts are
suggested to be praiseworthy and favourable, however they are not required moral obligations
for any organisation or individual to follow.
We posit that each of Hyde’s (1982) and White, Samuel and Thomas (2022) seven
supererogatory acts can evolve from a micro anthropocentric taxonomy to become a
175
macromarketing, sustaincentric framework capable of measuring and informing pro-
environmental macromarketing scholarship and practice.
References
Barnett, M. L., Henriques, I., & Husted, B. W. (2020). Beyond Good Intentions: designing CSR
initiatives for greater social impact. Journal of Management, forthcoming.
Chisholm, R. M. (1963). Supererogation and offence: A conceptual scheme for ethics. Ratio, 5,
1-14.
Ezzamel, M., & Willmott, H. (2014). Registering ‘the Ethical’ in Organizational Theory
Formation: Towards the Disclosure of an ‘Invisible Force’. Organization Studies, 35(7), 1013-
1039.
Fukuda, K., & Ouchida, Y. (2020). Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the Environment:
does CSR increase emissions? Energy Economics, 92, 1-10.
Gladwin, T. N., Kennelly, J. J., & Krause, T-S. (1995). Shifting Paradigms for Sustainable
Development: implications for management theory and research. Academy of Management
Review, 20(4), 874-907.
Greenfield, P. (2023) The Age of Extinction: Carbon Offsetting available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/18/revealed-forest-carbon-offsets-biggest-
provider-worthless-verra-aoe.
Hancock, P. (2008). Embodies Generosity and an Ethical Organisation. Organization Studies,
29(10), 1357-1373.
Heyd, D. (1982). Supererogation. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Hughes, M., & Ziegler, M. (2019). Premier League’s £7.6bn Contribution to UK
Humphreys, A. (2014) How is Sustainability Structured? The Discursive Life of
Environmentalism. Journal of Macromarketing, 34(3) 265-268.
Helm, S., & Little, V. (2022) Macromarketing Our Way to a Zero Carbon Future. Journal of
Macromarketing, 42(2), 262-266.
Layton, R. A. (2019) Marketing Systems- Looking Backwards, Sizing Up and Thinking Ahead.
Journal of Macromarketing, 39(2), 208-224.
Layton, R. A. (2009) Economic Growth, Marketing Systems, and the Quality of Life. Journal of
Macromarketing, 29(4), 349-362.
176
Lee, D-J., & Sirgy, J. (2016). Quality-of-Life (QOL) Marketing: proposed Antecedents and
Consequence, Journal of Macromarketing, 24(1), 44-58.
Mazutis, D. (2014). Supererogation: beyond positive deviance and corporate social
responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 119, 517-528.
McDonagh, P. & Prothero, A. (2014) Introduction to the Special Issue: Sustainability as a Mega
Trend. Journal of Macromarketing, 34(3), 248-252.
Mittelstaedt, J. D., Shultz, C.J.II, Kilbourne, W. E., &Peterson, M., (2014) Sustainability as a
Megatrend: Two Schools of Thought. Journal of Macromarketing, 34(3), 265-281
Prasad, P., & Emes, M. (2005). In the Name of the Practical: unearthing the hegemony of
pragmatics in the discourse of environmental management. Journal of Management Studies,
42(4), 845-867.
Urmson, J. O. (1958). Saints and heroes. In A. I. Melden (Ed.), Essays in Moral Philosophy (pp.
198-216), Seattle: University of Washington Press.
White, G.R.T., Samuel, A., & Thomas, R. (2022) Exploring and Expanding Supererogatory
Acts: Beyond Duty for a Sustainable Future. Journal of Business Ethics, In print.
doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05144-8
White, G. R. T., Wang, X., & Li, D. (2015). Inter-Organisational Green Packaging Design: a
case study of influencing factors and constraints in the automotive supply chain. International
Journal of Production Research, 53(21), 6551-6566.
177
Discovering Macromarketing Networks in Academia and Twitter
Petteri Repo - Centre for Consumer Society Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki Institute
of Sustainability Science, Helsinki Institute of Urban and Regional Studies, Finland
This study encourages macromarketers to become familiar with network analysis. It first argues
for network analysis as an advantageous alternative to other analytical techniques such as
categorization and classification when the data analyzed is complex. Then it introduces two cases
that examine co-occurrences: keywords in academic articles, and hashtags and user names in
Tweets. The findings of the former characterize research thematics in macromarketing with
consumption and sustainability, as well as marketing systems as areas of key interest. The latter,
in turn, exhibits how macromarketing is displayed to the public and highlights the importance of
activities and journals. The two cases also demonstrate how network analysis can be performed
on varying sets of data and which matters require attention when curating data and making
parametric choices.
Introduction
The academic field of macromarketing is interesting from the perspective of network analysis
because it examines systemic interactions among markets, marketing and society while also
covering an extensive range of thematics and approaches (Hunt 1981; Grossbart and Layton
2006; Wooliscroft 2021). Network analysis examines structures consisting of objects and their
relationships, and as a methodology it is suited to recognizing such relationships even when the
networks observed are complex. DeQuero-Navarro, Stanton, and Klein (2021) explore such
complexity in their review on macromarketing recognizing 13 topics of interest, of which several
are divided into subtopics
3
. The authors also connect key articles falling under these topics to
their contributions to theory and conceptual models, applied understanding of constructs, type of
methodologies applied, and guidance on research agenda.
Earlier review articles on macromarketing have followed a similar categorical or typological
approach: Shapiro, Tadajewski, and Shultz (2009) on a research collection and Layton and
Grossbart (2006) as challenges and scenarios. Works such as these guide the field as Ekici, Genc,
and Celik (2021) can confirm in their interesting category-based article on how macromarketing
has responded to visions set out by Fisk (2006) and Peterson (2006).
Large sets of data have not been common in the analyses of macromarketing due to focus in
research designs. For instance, the panoramic article of Dequero-Navarro, Stanton, and Klein
(2021) relied on 108 articles whereas Shapiro, Tadajewski, and Shultz (2009) used a total of 189
readings. While these certainly are high numbers, the selection process inevitably leaves out
3
The topics recognized by DeQuero-Navarro, Stanton, and Klein (2021) include the following: 1 Marketing
systems, 2a Economic development, 2b Poverty alleviation, 2c Globalization, 3 Externalities, 4a Sustainability, 4b
Sustainable consumption, 5 Quality of life, 6a Distributive justice, 6b Consumer vulnerability, 6c Macromarketing
and reconstruction: Natural and human-induced disasters, 7a Marketing ethics, 7b Corporate social responsibility, 8
Governance: Public policy and regulation, 9 Consumer culture, 10 Critical marketing, 11 Emergent theme:
Religion’s implications for macromarketing, 12 Emergent theme: Social entrepreneurship, and 13 Emergent theme:
Macro-social marketing.
178
many articles. What if one were instead to analyze all articles identifying themselves as
macromarketing – how would the panoramic view then look? Further, how could connections
between macromarketing thematics be recognized in such a large set of data? A study that
addressed these questions could also help overcome issues relating to selectivity, and see
pluralism fostering vitality and creativity in macromarketing (Layton and Grossbart 2006).
This paper demonstrates the use of network analysis to explore macromarketing thematics and
their connections. Two instances of network analysis are performed to demonstrate how both
structured and unstructured data can be explored. The first network examines academic works,
i.e almost 1200 articles retrieved from the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science database (Web of
Science 2022). The second, in turn, examines how the macromarketing community reaches out
to the public in over 1900 short messages in Twitter (Schmidt 2014; Twitter 2023). A major
advantage of network analysis compared to other procedures, such as categorization and
classification, is that it distinguishes foci in the field as well as connecting them to each other. A
comparison of the two analyses further recognizes differences in how macromarketing is
represented in scholarly works and how it is communicated to the public.
Networked Macromarketing
Several published network analyses consider contributions in macromarketing. Many of these
analyses have concerned focused thematics such as social marketing (Farrukh et al. 2021),
franchising (Alon and Bretas 2021), digital marketing (León-Castro et al. 2021), historical
research in marketing (Akpınar, Çetin, and Tiltay 2021), entrepreneurial marketing (Ferreira and
Robertson 2020), and the bottom of pyramid concept (Merigó and Pineda-Escobar 2020).
These analyses show that macromarketing has not only made important contributions in these
thematics, but that a network approach is useful in examining complex matters. One particular
strength of network methodology is that it can present tabular data in statistically processed and
visualized ways. Thereby it may recognize perspectives that extend beyond categorizations,
whether simple or complex. For instance, the Web of Science categorizes macromarketing
articles as belonging to ‘business’ (90.7%), ‘management’ (7.9%), ‘economics’ (7.5%), ‘history
of social sciences’ (3.0%), and smaller shares in an additional 19 categories (Web of Science
2023). While this categorization can be considered apt, it is arguably overly simplistic and raises
further questions on how the categories are defined. A very detailed categorization, in turn,
would require complex tables or large numbers of them.
Network analysis represents an attempt to overcome the rigid structure and definitions required
in categorical tabular data. Keyword co-occurrences have become a pivotal technique for
analyzing contents and concepts across articles. For instance, de Lima Dantas (2021) used
keyword co-occurrences when examining how macromarketing articles relate to the fields’
outlined thematics. Keyword co-occurrences were also used in several of the above-mentioned
articles examining focused marketing thematics (Alon and Bretas 2021; Farrukh et al. 2021;
Ferreira and Robertson 2020). One notion which merits attention is that it is useful to see
concepts or co-occurrences in relation to each other rather than representing fixed dimensions or
associations (Latour 2005).
While Twitter has certainly been of interest in macromarketing research (Fischer 2019; Lee,
Cherrier and Belk 2013), data from Twitter has to the best of the author’s knowledge not yet
179
been used to profile macromarketing. A similar co-occurrence technique as in the case of article
keywords is applied in this study, and makes use of a tweet’s coded hashtags and user accounts
to help in positioning data. While the analytical techniques are similar in the two demonstrations,
the data types are in fact quite different because bibliographical data is highly structured whereas
Twitter data is unstructured (Holmlund et al. 2020).
Data and Methodology
The bibliographical data from 1194 macromarketing articles were retrieved from the Clarivate
Analytics Web of Science (2023) using the search string ‘macromarketing’. This data set was
processed with the VOSviewer software tool to construct and visualize bibliometric data (van
Eck and Waltman 2010). The co-occurrences of keywords that appear five times or more in the
data are visualized with standard parameters in Figure 1.
The short messaging Twitter data consists of 1916 tweets which were acquired through the
academic research access to Twitter API (v2). Hashtags are here used in a similar way as
keywords in academic texts because they summarize and connect contents. User account names
are also used to make it easier to position connections. Because neither Twitter hashtags nor user
account names follow even a loosely formulated set of codes, some preparatory data curation is
required. Hence, all Twitter data is converted to lower case letters and only items which appear
more than 5 times are analyzed. The Gephi data visualization software (Bastian, Heymann, and
Jacomy 2009) is used in a similar way as VOSviewer for academic articles (Figure 2). Clustering
is performed with the modularity algorithm (Blondel et al. 2008) and network visualization using
the Yifan Hu proportional layout (Hu 2005).
Findings
This section describes the findings from network analysis of co-occurring keywords published in
academic macromarketing articles and hashtags as well as usernames in Tweets. Recognized
clusters are described through their main contents and connections with other clusters. Findings
from the two analyses are compared in the final section to find differences in how
macromarketing is viewed in academia and by the public.
Academic Keyword Networks
Keyword analysis of a substantial number of academic articles reveals networked insights into
the thematics and approaches evident in macromarketing. The applied standard layout and
clustering parameters recognized eight clusters in the keyword network, and a qualitative
analysis described these clusters and their connections (Figure 1). Consumption and
sustainability (in red) and Marketing systems (yellow) emerge as key clusters which also connect
to the other clusters. Other thematics include Culture and identity (orange), Ethics and behaviour
(green), Policy and education (purple), Service-dominant logic, innovation and value co-creation
(light blue), Entrepreneurship and the economy (brown), and Poverty (blue).
180
Figure 1. Clustered keyword network of macromarketing articles
Consumption and sustainability appear as two key nodes in the examined set of macromarketing
articles and are part of the same cluster marked in red. Within this cluster, besides sustainability,
consumption also relates to ‘consumer culture’, ‘consumers’, ‘markets’, ‘marketing’, ‘brands’,
and ‘materialism’. The sustainability aspect, in turn, is positioned closer to ‘well-being’,
‘fashion’, ‘anti-consumption’, and ‘dominant social paradigm’. This dichotomy between
consumption at large and the perspective of sustainability is also reflected in the connections
with other clusters. While both consumption and sustainability are widely connected to all
clusters, consumption is more closely positioned to issues in marketing history and retailing (vs.
institutions, marketing, and society) in the Marketing systems cluster (yellow). The issue of
sustainability, on the other hand, is more extensively connected to the cluster on Ethics and
behavior (green), with a greater focus on ‘health’, ‘distributive justice’, ‘responsibility’, and
‘reflections’ (vs. ‘corporate social responsibility’ and ‘consequences’).
Marketing systems (in yellow) emerges as a major cluster but appears quite different from the
cluster of Consumption and sustainability (red). The cluster is quite compact, with the central
keyword ‘marketing systems’ being connected to ‘institutions’, ‘marketing and society’,
‘marketing history’, ‘politics’, ‘competition’, and ‘regulation’. At the same time, marketing
181
systems connect extensively to the other clusters. Therefore, the marketing systems cluster
should not only be seen as a focus in macromarketing but also as an approach for examining
many matters of interest in macromarketing.
The other six clusters do not revolve as clearly around accentuated keywords. Ethics and
behavior (in green) is characterized by ‘distributive justice’, ‘model’, ‘environment’, ‘corporate
social responsibility’, and ‘health’. It is noteworthy that its main connecting clusters are
Consumption and sustainability (red), Marketing systems (yellow), and Culture and identity
(orange).
The cluster on Culture and identity (in orange) brings together matters relating to ‘gender’,
‘women’, ‘advertizing’, ‘obesity’, and ‘images’ on the one hand and ‘China’ as an item of its
own on the other. It is evident that, in particular, ‘impact’ and also ‘culture’ and ‘identity’
connect to all other clusters, indicating their important roles in macromarketing.
Service-dominant logic, innovation, and value co-creation (in light blue) forms a cluster of its
own around these keywords and connects closely to Marketing systems (yellow) and
Consumption and sustainability (red) and to a lesser degree to ‘marketing education’ and
‘perspectives’ in the cluster on Policy and education (purple). In turn, the cluster on Policy and
education (purple) brings together ‘pedagogy’ and ‘education’ with ‘policy’, ‘strategy’, and
‘perspectives’, which for their part connect widely to the other clusters in a similar way as the
concept of ‘impact’ does. Interestingly, the ‘consumer’ as an individual is addressed in this
cluster in a critical way, covering matters of ‘ideology’ and ‘neoliberalism’ as well as
‘vulnerability’, and connecting to the cluster on Consumers and sustainability (red), where
consumers are treated collectively in terms of ‘materialism’ and ‘anti-consumption’.
Entrepreneurship and the economy comes forth in a cluster of its own (in brown) with keywords
such as ‘trade’, ‘exchange’, and ‘technology’, and with connections to the large clusters on
Consumption and sustainability (red) and Marketing systems (yellow), but perhaps more
interestingly also to the more focused clusters on Poverty (blue) and Culture and identity
(orange). Finally, the Poverty cluster (blue) is the most focused of all, and involves keywords
such as ‘poverty’, ‘globalization’, ‘subsistence marketplace’, ‘quality of life’, ‘growth’,
‘integrative justice model’, and countries such as ‘India’ and ‘Vietnam’. The Poverty cluster
further connects to the large clusters on Consumption and sustainability (red) and Marketing
systems (yellow), as well as the cluster on Culture and identity (orange), indicating that it is
indeed a thematic rather than an approach.
The network findings are in parallel with the topical organization in DeQuero-Navarro, Stanton,
and Klein (2021). The two largest clusters (‘Consumption and sustainability’; ‘Marketing
systems’) have direct counterparts (‘Sustainability and sustainable consumption’; ‘Marketing
systems’) and three of the remaining six clusters associate well (‘Culture and identity’ -
‘Consumer culture’; ‘Ethics and behavior’ - ‘Marketing ethics and corporate social
responsibility’; ‘Poverty’ - ‘Economic development, poverty alleviation and globalization’).
Interestingly, three clusters do not have direct counterparts: ‘Service-dominant logic, innovation,
and value co-creation’, the education dimension of ‘Policy and education’, and the economy
dimension of ‘Entrepreneurship and the economy’. The remaining topics recognized in
182
DeQuero-Navarro, Stanton, and Klein (2021) appear in keywords but do not emerge as distinct
clusters with the granularity applied in the network analysis.
A comparison of the findings against those in DeQuero-Navarro, Stanton, and Klein (2021) is
interesting because the network analysis examined a significantly larger data set and focused on
co-occurrences of keywords rather than a categorization of topics. It further recognized
connections between clusters, positioned them in relation to each other, and recognized scales of
scholarly interest. Finally, network analysis showed that interests in leading scholarly
publications are widely shared in the scholarly macromarketing society at large.
Tweet Networks
A network analysis of tweets shows how macromarketing appears to the public. Tweet hashtags
and usernames are used in the analysis, which is conducted in a similar way as the analysis with
article keywords. Co-occurrences of hashtags and usernames form the data, and analysis reveals
clusters of data and connections between the clusters. A similar number of clusters is targeted to
demonstrate the relative character of the analysis, which requires setting appropriate network
parameters and making data curation choices (Yifan Hu proportional layout, connection filtering
(K-core: 5), including 5 instances or more, examining core network). It is also important to note
that the macromarketing Twitter network is quite small because so many posts lack hashtags.
Seven central clusters are recognized as an outcome of this procedure (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Clustered hashtag and username core network of macromarketing Tweets.
183
The distinctly largest cluster is concerned with Macromarketing’s Twitter Core (in purple) and
involves thematics, approaches, activities, and journals. ‘Consumption’, ‘sustainability’, and
‘branding’ emerge as thematics, with ‘cct’ (consumer culture theory) and ‘marketingeducation’
as examples of focuses. Even more so, tweets highlight the role of activities and journals.
Macromarketing conferences, in particular, are accentuated, and journals such as Journal of
Macromarketing, Marketing Theory, and Journal of Marketing Education brought forth. Hence,
the key perspective on macromarketing as seen by the public in Twitter appears in terms of the
society’s annual conference and key journals as well as particular thematics and focuses.
Macromarketing, being the central node in the network, connects to all other clusters.
The Marketing cluster (in green) complements the main cluster with two parallel sets of contents.
Firstly, marketing is directed towards social media networks (‘socialmedia’,
‘socialmediamarketing’, and ‘digitalmarketing’). Secondly, marketing is approached critically in
the context of multiculturality (‘multiculturalmarketplaces’, ‘postcolonial’, ‘intercultural’).
Similarly, the cluster on Technological advances (light blue) also complements macromarketing
thematics with a focus on change (‘technological’, ‘tech’, ‘advances’, ‘futures’). Neither of these
clusters have major connections to other clusters than the core cluster, which emphasizes that
they provide thematic expansions for the Twitter public.
The Inequality cluster (in orange) continues with a critical macromarketing view. Inequality is
seen in terms of conditions and developments (‘global’, ‘power’, ‘gender’, ‘gentrification’,
‘privileged’, ‘impact’), and this cluster connects not only to the core cluster (purple) but also to
the Marketing cluster (green) that covers social media and multiculturality. The Refugees cluster
(light brown) (‘refugiados’) is also connected to these two clusters.
Ethics (in grey) also forms a cluster of its own (‘ethics’, ‘justice’, ‘religion’), which is connected
to the core cluster (purple) and the Marketing cluster (green). There is an additional cluster of
interest, which is not depicted in Figure 1, namely a Well-being cluster (‘wellbeing’,
‘healthcare’, ‘healthsafety’, ‘protection’, ‘safety’). The Ethics cluster connects to both the core
cluster (purple) and the Marketing cluster (green), whereas Well-being connects only to the core
cluster.
In conclusion, macromarketing Tweets display thematics, approaches, and activities to the
public. Much attention is connected to the field’s conferences and publication activities, but
examples of thematics and approaches are also evident. The public presentation of
macromarketing in Twitter seems to contrast with that in the field’s academic publications,
which is discussed next.
Comparative Discussion
While macromarketing journal articles and tweets have different audiences and contents, they do
cover similar thematics. Network analyses examining keywords and hashtags show that similar
key terms are evident in both arenas: consumption, sustainability, ethics, well-being, and
marketing. It is also not surprising that the body of academic macromarketing work is
considerably larger in terms of volume and endurance. Macromarketing tweets are indeed more
focused and activity-driven, concerning conferences and journals.
184
Academic interest in consumption and sustainability as well as policy and education finds
counterparts in tweets on Macromarketing’s Core, albeit the latter additionally focuses heavily
on activities. Academic focus on service-dominant logic, innovation, and value co-creation can
be seen to relate to tweets on technological advances, although, of course, they cover much more
than that.
It is clear that the idea of marketing systems does not appear in tweets the way it does in
academic publications. Similarly, entrepreneurship and the economy receive little attention in
tweets. Cultural and identity matters, in turn, are handled quite differently as part of ethical
matters that further connect to inequality and well-being.
This comparison of results of network analyses show that there is a clear difference between how
macromarketing presents itself to academia and to the public. Although some of the differences
can be attributed to the type and limitations of the Twitter data set, it can nevertheless be
concluded that whereas macromarketing scholarship is broad and thematically interconnected, its
tweets are thematically more focused and highlight activities such as conferences. This
comparison suggests that the public’s perception of macromarketing may be more limited than is
academically documented. Both types of scholarly activity have distributed authorship although
there is also centralized authorship in tweets, so differences may also accrue simply because
some scholars tweet more than others.
Conclusion and Future Work
This paper has demonstrated the use of network methodologies to explore thematics and their
connections in macromarketing. The first analysis was based on co-occurrences of keywords in
scholarly macromarketing articles and recognized eight clusters, of which Consumption and
sustainability and Marketing systems were most prevalent, with a range of other clusters also
evident. Connections between keywords within clusters as well as between clusters could be
reviewed through network analysis in a way that is difficult to achieve through categorization,
for instance, because macromarketing is such a large and varied scholarly field (see DeQuero-
Navarro, Stanton, and Klein 2021, Shapiro, Tadajewski, and Shultz 2009). The findings can also
be seen as starting points for further research. For instance, deeper scholarly insights could be
achieved by comparing keyword networks with select articles in those fields or focusing analysis
according to relevant criteria or dimensions. Another interesting opportunity would be to
recognize how thematic interest has evolved over time.
The analysis of macromarketing tweets, in turn, demonstrated the use of network analysis on a
much more varied set of unstructured data. The public is given a more activity-based view of
macromarketing which revolves around conferences and journals, as well as a more selective set
of thematics than that directed to scholars. This observation emerged from a demonstration of a
comparison of the findings from a network analysis.
While network analysis is generally apt for examining scholarly fields and subfields, it suits the
examination of any coded connections. Benefits of the approach pertain to good scalability of
methodology with large data sets and, due to its relative qualities, also to overcoming challenges
relating to fixed definitions (Latour 2005). The network metaphor can assist in visualizing
complicated sets of data. Challenges relate to coding and meanings attributed to codes, data
185
curation when using non-standard data sets, as well as making parametric choices when
accommodating data to research designs.
Macromarketing scholars are in an advantageous position when examining social marketing
thematics and connections. Social media such as Twitter and Tumblr provide application
programming interfaces, which help in collection of large data sets, and methodologies such as
network analysis make it viable to analyze them. Performing analysis with many other types of
data is achievable, and requires development of research designs, data curation, and
methodological configurations.
References
Akpınar, Ayhan, Canberk Çetin, and Muhammet Ali Tiltay (2021), “A bibliometric overview of
the journal of historical research in marketing between 2009 and 2021," Journal of
Historical Research in Marketing, 13(3-4), 188-213.
Bastian, Mathieu, Sebastien Heymann, and Mathieu Jacomy (2009), “Gephi: an open source
software for exploring and manipulating networks,” International AAAI Conference on
Weblogs and Social Media, 3(1), 361-362.
Blondel, Vincent D., Jean-Loup Guillaume, Renaud Lambiotte, and Etienne Lefebvre (2008),
“Fast unfolding of communities in large networks,” Journal of Statistical Mechanics:
Theory and Experiment, 2008(10), P10008.
Bretas, Vanessa P. G., and Ilan Alon (2021), “Franchising research on emerging markets:
Bibliometric and content analyses,” Journal of Business Research, 133, 51-65.
Dantas, Bruna Lourena de Lima (2021), Atravessando fronteiras: vulnerabilidade, relações de
consumo e bem-estar de refugiados sob a ótica do macromarketing. Doctoral thesis. João
Pessoa, Universidade Federal Da Paraíba.
DeQuero-Navarro, Beatriz, Julie Stanton, and Thomas A. Klein (2021), “A panoramic review of
the Macromarketing literature,” Journal of Macromarketing, 41(1), 48-64.
Ekici, Ahmet, Tugce Ozgen Genc, and Hafize Celik (2021), “The future of macromarketing:
Recommendations based on a content analysis of the past twelve years of the Journal of
Macromarketing,” Journal of Macromarketing, 41(1), 25-47.
Farrukh, Muhammad, Ali Raza, Fanchen Meng, Yihua Wu, and Zhouyang Gu (2021), “Shaping
social marketing research: A retrospective of the Journal of Social Marketing,” Journal of
Social Marketing, 11(4), 523-548.
Ferreira, Caitlin, and Jeandri Robertson (2020), “Examining the boundaries of entrepreneurial
marketing: A bibliographic analysis,”Journal of Research in Marketing and
Entrepreneurship, 22(2), 161-180.
Fischer, Eileen (2019), “If not now, when? The timeliness of developing a dialogue between
consumer culture theoretic and macromarketing perspectives,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 39(1), 103-105.
Fisk, George (2006), “Envisioning a future for macromarketing,” Journal of Macromarketing,
26(2), 214-218.
Holmlund, Maria, Yves Van Vaerenbergh, Robert Ciuchita, Annika Ravald, Panagiotis
Sarantopoulos, Francisco Villarroel Ordenese, and Mohamed Zakif (2020), “Customer
186
experience management in the age of big data analytics: A strategic framework.” Journal
of Business Research 116, 356-365.
Hu, Yifan (2005), “Efficient, high-quality force-directed graph drawing,” Mathematica Journal,
10(1), 37-71.
Hunt, Shelby D. (1981), “Macromarketing as a multidimensional concept,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 1(1), 7-8.
Latour, Bruno (2005), Reassembling the Social – An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory.
Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Layton, Roger A., and Sanford Grossbart (2006), “Macromarketing: Past, present, and possible
future,” Journal of Macromarketing, 26(2), 193-213.
Lee, Michael S. W., Hélène Cherrier, and Russel Belk (2013), “Journal of macromarketing
special issue: Anti-consumption research and society,” Journal of Macromarketing, 33(3),
187-189.
León-Castro, Marcelo, Homero Rodríguez-Insuasti, Néstor Montalván-Burbano, and José
Avelino Victor (2021), “Bibliometrics and Science Mapping of Digital Marketing,” in
Marketing and Smart Technologies Álvaro Rocha, José Luís Reis, Marc K. Peter,
Ricardo Cayolla, Sandra Loureiro, and Zorica Bogdanović, eds. Singapore, Springer, 95-
107.
Peterson, Mark (2006). Focusing the future of macromarketing. Journal of Macromarketing,
26(2), 245-249.
Pineda-Escobar, Maria Alejandra, and José M. Merigó (2020), “A bibliometric analysis of the
Base/Bottom of the Pyramid research,” Journal of Intelligent & Fuzzy Systems, 38(5),
5537-5551.
Schmidt, Jan-Hinrik (2014), “Twitter and the Rise of Personal Publics,” in Twitter and Society,
Katrin Weller, Axel Bruns, Jean Burgess, Merja Mahrt, and Cornelius Puschmann, eds.
New York: Peter Lang, 3-14.
Shapiro, Stanley J., Mark Tadajewski, and Clifford J. Shultz (2009), “Interpreting
macromarketing: the construction of a major macromarketing research collection,”
Journal of Macromarketing, 29(3), 325-334.
Van Eck, Nees, and Ludo Waltman (2010), “Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program
for bibliometric mapping,” Scientometrics, 84(2), 523-538.
Web of Science (2023). Analyze results: macromarketing. Last accessed 10.1.2023 at
https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/analyze-results/57b166db-4a30-471e-81b1-
351c0990f305-60b929a4
Web of Science (2022). Clarivate Web of Science, https://www.webofscience.com.
Wooliscroft, Ben (2021), “Macromarketing and the systems imperative,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 41(1), 116-123.
187
Observations on the First Twenty Years of the Macromarketing Seminar Proceedings
Ben Wooliscroft, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
Recently a sub-committee of the Macromarketing Policy board organised the digitisation of the
early proceedings of the Macromarketing Seminars (conferences). I was not involved in that
project, but have been indexing the proceedings while tidying up some of the scans. This
presentation represents first observations on the wealth and diversity of methods, approaches and
topics from the first two decades of proceedings.
188
Macromarketing Pedagogy Track
Co-Chairs:
Stanley J. Shapiro
Simon Fraser University, Canada
Julie V. Stanton
Pennsylvania State University, United States of America
189
Debate, Discussion, or Dialogue: What's the Ideal Format for Macromarketing Learning?
Forrest Watson, Dickinson College, United States of America
Stefanie Beninger, Nyenrode Business University, The Netherlands
Julie Stanton, The Pennsylvania State University, United States of America
Introduction
Macromarketing focuses on societal issues, including the impact of marketing on society, society
on marketing, and the broader systems in which marketing operates. Such a focus denotes a
certain amount of “messiness”, where issues are seldom fully understood and where there is
rarely – if ever – a unanimous agreement on the issue cause and effect. Indeed, scholars who
acknowledge such complexities suggest that only when multiple views and values are
incorporated might a reasonable forward action be found (Pittz, Steiner and Pennington 2020).
Given this challenge, as well as calls by accreditation boards, marketing educators are
increasingly looking for tools in the classroom that encourage a diversity of thought and
outcomes, with the goal of developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. As
macromarketers, we aim to equip our students to think about complex, systemic problems, and
we recognize that there are rarely simple answers to wicked problems. Accordingly, we also
acknowledge that training students how to think and grapple with these complexities will require
pedagogy beyond the lecture-based format. We cannot impart to students the “right” answers for
tomorrow’s questions; they need to be prepared to confront those challenges themselves, with a
range of tools at hand. Here, we offer a perspective on how to help students develop the tools
that permit a broader, more inclusive framing of society’s challenges and therefore a greater
likelihood of being prepared to confront them.
The 3Ds of Controversies
In what follows, we propose that a combination of the use of academic controversies and a
carefully designed scaffolding of debate, discussion and dialogue offer a valuable means to
developing the perspective just described. Each offers its own pedagogical power, but, in
combination, they illustrate to students how to generate both a broad appreciation for diverse
views, and a range of possible solutions to complex issues.
The 3D’s
As a pedagogical framework (summarized by Nagda et al. 2008), the use of debate, discussion
and dialogue – the “3Ds” – can be useful in macromarketing. These terms are, at times,
characterized in various ways. For our purposes, they are described as follows. Debate is an
oppositional approach, where two sides oppose each other in an attempt to prove each other
wrong. Discussion, on the other hand, encourages participants to voice different opinions to
recognize more facets of an issue. Dialogue, finally, is collaborative, where two or more sides
work together toward common understanding. The goals vary from winning (debate), voicing the
most perspectives (discussion), to finding common ground (dialogue). A summary is provided
in Table 1.
190
Table 1: Classroom Communication Paradigms: 3Ds
Debate
Discussion
Dialogue
Tag line
“Might is right”
“The noisier, the
smarter”
“Connectivity for
community”
Key Adjective
Oppositional
Ideational
Collaborative
Assumptions
Individuals – or teams
– are autonomous and
judged on intellectual
might
“Equal playing field”
with little attention to
identity, status, and
power
Identities, experiences,
and differences are
essential for
understanding
Self-orientation
Requires investing
wholeheartedly in
one’s side to defend it
as best
The
comprehensiveness of
contributions is valued
Introspection and
reevaluation;
temporarily
suspending judgments
Others-
orientation
Listen to find flaws and
weaknesses in other
positions
Listen to insert one’s
own perspective and
ideas
Listen to find strengths
in other positions; Seek
meaning and points of
connection
Emotions in the
process
Feelings and
relationships ignored;
opposition deprecated
Centered on content;
emotions tolerated.
Emotions deepen
understanding and
relationships
Goal
Winning; a determined
conclusion (usually
from an outside judge)
The more perspectives
voiced, the better;
may be open or close-
ended
Common ground;
remains open-ended
Traditional debates can be beneficial, such as when structured debates – as opposed to just
hosting open discussions – are used, and result in students finding it easier to talk about
diverging topics (Fallahi & Haney 2007). Another strength of the debate paradigm is that
students are stretched to defend their thinking against challenges. It trains students how to
recognize flaws and weaknesses in different positions, including their own. However, debate has
been critiqued as entrenching one’s own position and feeding polarization (Hyde and Bineham
2000). Debate can also create negative interdependence, wherein one group tries to dominate
other groups through, for example, hoarding information (Jacobs 2010). Because individuals
invest themselves in defending a position, debates may result in the belittling of the other people
involved. As the winners of a debate are often assessed on how well they have argued their
position (Johnson & Johnson 1985), debate can therefore push participants to think in terms of
one right answer, with distinct winners and losers.
191
Controversies
It is here that the framing of 'controversies' becomes important. The use of academic
controversies in marketing education has been advocated by some macromarketers (Watson et al.
2022; Shapiro 2008; 2021). Controversies happen “when one person’s ideas, information,
conclusions, theories, or opinions are incompatible with those of another person, and the two
seek to reach an agreement” (Johnson and Johnson 1979). Controversies therefore involve topics
that many find important, yet involve a lack of consensus (Jacobs 2010), such as the use of non-
renewable energy sources, the regulation of organic or fairly traded products, and the use single-
or few-use items (e.g., fast fashion, plastic bags), among other pressing societal topics.
Controversies are often posed as compelling statements that can capture either broad theoretical
topics or even very specific industry or product level issues. One such general topic is posed in
this controversy statement, “All stakeholders are (not) the social responsibility of business”
(Watson et al. 2022), while a more specific topic could be, “All coffee should (not) be FairTrade
certified”. While these topics are posed in a yes/no framing (by employing the word ‘not’), other
sentences could be solely positive or negative in construction. Such statements can be created by
students, by marketing education materials (e.g., Pedagogy Place, textbooks, etc.), industry
created (e.g., Intelligence Squared), or student-created (e.g., as a course exercise).
Controversy statements are used in a variety of ways in the marketing classroom. For example,
in-class exercises can make use of controversy statements by briefly posing a question and
polling students on their thoughts (e.g., “Companies are responsible for the after-market use of
their products”) by a show of hands or electronic poll. Another efficient approach could be to ask
students to quickly brainstorm some salient aspects on the topic as a class or in pairs. Classrooms
can also be split into two, asking each side to advocate for their respective side, while guest
lecturers can be brought in to provide alternative perspectives. Watson et al. (2022) used online
breakout rooms to have students discuss a controversy in a virtual classroom.
Exercises can also take place outside of the class, with students, either individually or in groups,
being required to do a deep-dive in their respective side of the topic, or both sides at the same
time, providing a report, online discussion post, and/or presentation (in-class or recorded) of
what is uncovered. Other students can be asked to respond in writing or spoken word. For
example, (Shapiro et al. 2021) detailed how students could engage in detailed research outside of
class towards understanding the harms and benefits for stakeholders impacted by the
controversies, with formal debates (e.g., group presentations followed by timed spoken rebuttals)
taking place in the classroom. In another example, (Watson et al. 2022) had groups develop a
400-word written position on the topic outside of class. Groups took turns with writing either the
“position” paper or a response to another group’s position. Final exams can also bring in
controversy statements, asking them to elaborate, defend, and explain the various ‘sides’ of the
issue.
Benefits of using a controversy approach may include contributing to the creation of novel ideas
(Johnson, Johnson, and Tjosvold 2006), encouraging research (Johnson & Johnson 1994),
sharing ideas (Johnson & Johnson 1985), enhancing intrinsic motivation, prompting cooperation
(Jacobs 2010), managing conflict (Tjovold 2006), increasing tolerance for ambiguity (Bunder
1962), strengthening understanding of the existence of complex problems (Watson et al. 2022),
192
and facilitating understanding of interconnected and conflicting stakeholder views, with potential
positive implications for future workplace success (Shapiro et al. 2021). (Watson et al. 2022)
articulated in the learning outcomes of the described course for students to demonstrate “the
ability to discuss broader social controversies” and “ability to understand different perspectives
of a controversy” (p. 377).
The 3Ds of Controversies
At first glance, it appears that the use of controversy statements lends itself to align with the ‘D’
of debate, wherein students can defend an assigned or chosen position on a controversy
statement (Shapiro et al. 2021). However, looking to the literature, the academic controversy
approach uses controversies in a way that goes beyond debate (e.g., Johnson et al. 1996). The
beginning of such an approach is focused on understanding the opposing views of the topic,
perhaps through discussion and even structured debate. However, an academic controversy
approach requires the students to actively work towards a ’common’ position towards addressing
the issues; if no such consensus is possible, a next best outcome (e.g., presenting the different
views/solutions) is called for (Jacob 2010). Such an approach encourages students, as they
receive new ideas and thoughts, to change their position over the duration of the process
(Johnson & Johnson 1985). While there is an intentional two-sided opposition created in the
positioning of the controversy statements, the aim is nonetheless that of moving towards mutual
understanding, aligning itself more with dialogue.
When encouraging students to come to a consensus, a controversy-based approach in the
classroom overcomes the above critiques of traditional debates. As opposed to the traditional
debate approach, the controversies approach was found to increase information search, support
peer sharing of information, encourage changing of viewpoints, and improve the involvement of
otherwise excluded group members (Johnson & Johnson 1985). Likewise, when discussing the
3Ds, Hyde and Bineham (2000) advocate the movement from debate to dialogue. “Dialogue is
non-polarized discourse. Its dynamic is not oppositional, but collaborative. Its proposed outcome
is not the ascendance of one perspective over another, but the fusion of all perspectives to enable
a larger, more inclusive view, one which allows the tension of disagreement” (Hyde and
Bineham 2000). In other words, seeking towards achieving a holistic ‘meeting of the minds’ is a
goal.
A Suggested Way Forward
Opportunities with 3Ds and Controversies
From the above, it could be inferred that we are advocating to throw out discussion and debate,
towards fostering dialogue. However, this would be short-sighted since each of the 3Ds – and
their employment in controversies – can serve important roles, if used purposefully.
In fact, this leads to the question of which of these paradigms, under which circumstances, will
best serve the macromarketer educator. Variety in techniques can engage students in different
ways. Discussion is a starting point for getting students thinking about the different facets of an
issue, drawing on their personal experiences and knowledge. On especially sensitive topics,
dialogue can be vital, where students can work together to a holistic shared understanding. On
other less sensitive public policy issues, a debate approach might prepare students for opposition
in the public arena, as students practice defending different positions. Similarly, all three aspects
193
are likely needed to effectively move the students through an academic controversy process,
from the initial discussions, to the debate of either sides, towards the ultimate goal of coming to
a shared – although not always completely aligned – dialogue and assessment of the issues and
potential solutions.
While some instructors “avoid discussions of controversial issues in their classrooms altogether
for fear of alienating students and discouraging shy or less verbal students” (Fallahi & Haney,
2007, p. 83), we feel this would be a missed opportunity. Using live online brainstorm tools and
Post-It notes, even anonymously, allows for a way for students to share their voice. Students can
also be encouraged to present their viewpoints in unique ways that go beyond just speaking to
include aspects such as roleplays, songs, visuals (Cohen 1994), written submissions, and videos
(Watson et al. 2022).
Towards successfully employing a controversy-based approach, Jacobs (2010) argued that such a
process is best served by creating heterogenous groups, where instructors can encourage
balanced student involvement through, for example, setting time limits on contributions (e.g., a
clock or the speaker holding a particular object), asking students to prepare something written or
visual (e.g., a mind map) in advance, encouraging group bonding (e.g., using a team name,
motto, or cheer), and allowing students to choose their own topic. Engendering dialogue over
debate, and therefore the related skills of problem recognition, can be fostered more directly
when topics are personally relevant to the students, such as posing controversies around online
surveillance related to undergraduate’s use of social media on their mobile phones (Watson et al.
2022).
A Practical Example
To provide a more detailed example of how each of the 3Ds can influence the value of an
academic controversy approach, we share here an approach that includes the United Nations’
Sustainable Development Goals. Specifically, since SDG #12 (“Responsible Consumption &
Production”) offers fertile grounds for seeing complexities associated with marketing systems,
we use that as the basis for developing students’ critical thinking skills in a marketing course.
The steps involved are the following:
(1) SDG #12 is discussed in general terms during class, with students brainstorming on
specific issues (e.g. food waste, as encompassed in target 12.3) and using stakeholder
mapping.
(2) Students then can generate their own controversy statements (amplifying student
commitment to and interest in the statements) around key issues that comes up in the
discussion. The class then votes on which statement they wish to use for subsequent
analysis.
(3) Students then self-select onto a ‘side’ of the chosen controversy statement, moving into
groups organized by that self-selection. However, in a “bait and switch” moment, they
are instead assigned to the opposite side of the controversy. This facilitates their ability
to appreciate both sides as a result.
(4) A formal debate is then scheduled for a later class period, with each group presenting
their “side” via 3-4 strong contentions. However, instead of (or in addition to) asking
each side to simply rebut the arguments of the other side, as in a traditional debate, they
194
are tasked with finding sufficient arguments and evidence to bolster the 3-4 contentions
of the other side.
(5) Equipped in this way with elaborated contentions for a side that they did not choose to
support initially, the students can then be brought into a collaborative dialogue and asked
to find 3-4 appropriate solutions to the issue at hand.
This scaffolded approach to the 3Ds – discussion, then debate, followed by dialogue – in the
context of academic controversies can be applied for other topics besides the UN SDGs and in a
wide variety of marketing courses, with appropriate adjustments for contexts. What is key is that
students recognize their own power in developing solutions that purposefully incorporate a
variety of views and an appreciation of the issue at hand.
Conclusions
While there are many ways to engage students in complex macromarketing issues, pedagogical
tools which enhance their ability to consider multiple perspectives and utilize them to identify a
range of possible actions will provide lasting value. Not only are such tools helpful for
illustrating to students how markets frequently present these challenges, but they equip students
to be the critical thinkers that employers and governments are seeking. As educators, we have
the responsibility to foster the development of these skills as often as practical, and the 3Ds and
controversies approach offers options to consider.
References
Cohen, E. (1994). Designing groupwork: Strategies for the heterogeneous classroom (2nd ed.).
New York: Teachers College Press.
Fallahi, C. R., & Haney, J. D. (2007). Using debate in helping students discuss controversial
topics. Journal of College Teaching & Learning (TLC), 4(10).
Hyde, Bruce, and Jeffery L. Bineham. "From debate to dialogue: Toward a pedagogy of
nonpolarized public discourse." Southern Journal of Communication 65, no. 2-3 (2000):
208-223.
Jacobs, G. (2010). Academic controversy: A cooperative way to debate. Intercultural
Education, 21(3), 291-296.
Johnson, David W. and Roger T. Johnson (1979), “Conflict in the Classroom: Controversy and
Learning,” Review of Educational Research, 49 (1), 51-69.
Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. (1985). Classroom conflict: Controversy versus debate in
learning groups. American educational research journal, 22(2), 237-256.
Johnson, David W. and Roger T. Johnson (1994), “Constructive Conflict in the Schools,”
Journal of Social Issues, 50 (1), 117-137.
Johnson, David W., Roger T. Johnson, and Dean Tjosvold (2006), “Constructive Controversy:
The Value of Intellectual Opposition,” in The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory
and Practice, M. Deutsch, P. T. Coleman, and E. C. Marcus, eds. San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass, 69-91.
Nagda, Ratnesh, Patricia Gurin, Jaclyn Rodriguez and Kelly Maxwell (2008) “Comparing
Debate, Discussion and Dialogue,” Handout originally developed by Diana Kardia and
195
Todd Sevig (1997) for the Program on Intergroup Relations(IGR), University of
Michigan.
Pittz, Thomas G., Steiner, Susan D. & Pennington, Julia R. (2020), “An Ethical Marketing
Approach to Wicked Problems: Macromarketing for the Common Good,” J Bus Ethics
164, 301–310. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04277-7
Shapiro, Stanley, Stefanie Beninger, Christine Domegan, Alexander Reppel, Julie Stanton, and
Forrest Watson (2021), “Macromarketing Pedagogy: Empowering Students to Achieve a
Sustainable World,” Journal of Macromarketing, 41 (1), 104-115.
Shapiro, S. J. (2008). Marketing, society, and controversy: An online course from a
macromarketing perspective. Journal of Macromarketing, 28(2), 195–196.
Watson, F., Stanton, J., Beninger, S., Domegan, C., Reppel, A., & Shapiro, S. (2022). Teaching
what society needs: “Hacking” an introductory marketing course with sustainability and
macromarketing. Journal of Marketing Education 44(3): 375-389.
196
A New Approach to “Book Learning”?
Stanley J. Shapiro, Simon Fraser University, Canada
Julie V. Stanton, The Pennsylvania State University, United States of America
Introduction
“The Day the World Stops Shopping”. That book title called out from the shelf and the book
itself was soon in my hands. But that was only to be expected, wasn’t it given that I was an
emeritus professor of marketing, one who had also been a member of the macromarketing clan
for over for over forty years?
MacKinnon’s (2021) book focuses on how the push for more consumption as a contributor to
economic success uses planetary resources at a rate than cannot be sustained over time. He
argues that if the entire world consumed as those in the US do, we would need five planets to
support our consumption. In his “thought experiment”, he considers what sustainable
consumption would entail, what changes to society and human interaction would occur, and what
forces stand in the way.
With that, two possible uses of the volume, other than the self learning any reader experiences,
immediately came to mind. First, this seems like a book that I might review for the Journal of
Macromarketing if in fact it proves to be as relevant as both its title and its subtitle “How ending
consumerism gives us a better life and a greener world” suggested. Also, and at least equally
attractive to me, was the possibility of using books like this, in whole or in part, as another way
of “hacking” an Introductory Marketing course with both sustainability and macromarketing, an
approach very different from that laid out in a recent Journal of Marketing Education article
(Watson et al. 2022).
Some months and two careful readings later, I concluded that, while a more or less traditional
macromarketing focused review could be written, a different approach might prove far more
useful. And, yes, this book could be used to hack either a Marketing Principles or second level
Marketing Management course but not in the way I originally had in mind--assigning selected
chapters throughout the semester. Rather, and as I will try to show below, a much more time
efficient approach would involve devoting time to having students read, listen to and/or watch a
variety of already available online material subsequently generated by the publication. This
material includes written reviews, freely available short excerpts from the book, related
commentary subsequently written by the author, J.C. MacKinnon, podcasts in which MacKinnon
had participated and You Tube recordings of his book-related presentations that one finds online
and available to all concerned.
External Materials
After having screened all that material, or at least all that Google made available to me, I have
the following recommendations as to what students might be assigned by instructors wishing to
experiment with this approach.
197
Book Reviews: There are many ways to categorize book reviews but, for present purposes, let’s
make a distinction between those that primarily summarize (Number 1 below); those that tend to
evaluate as well as summarize (Number 2); and those whose authors, while reviewing, tend to
draw on other sources as well (Number3). The latter are ones I tend to call “launching pad”
reviews. Each has merit to be assigned to students, and most are relatively brief.
1. Consumed by Ink,” The Day the World Stops Shopping” by J.B Mackinnon. October 4,
2021
https://consumedbyink.ca/2021/10/04/the-day-the-world-stops-shopping-by-j-b-
mackinnon/
2. Jamie Waters, “Overconsumption and the Environment; Should we all stop shopping?”
The Guardian, May 30, 2021
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/may/30/should-we-all-stop-shopping-
how-to-end-overconsumption
3. Brian Harvey, “1247 The Less the Merrier”, The British Columbia Review, October
12, 2021
https://thebcreview.ca/2021/10/12/1247-harvey-mackinnon-shopping/
Book Extracts: There are two focused extracts from the book available online and I recommend
both be assigned. These extracts allow students to get a feel for the approach taken in the book,
and for the author’s writing style, one that has earned him numerous awards. Apart from their
usefulness in terms of content, they may also spark student interest in reading the full book at a
later time.
4. J.B. Mackinnon. “We need to get used to the night again”, Canadian Geographic
Online, May 18, 2021.
https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/excerpt-the-day-the-world-stops-shopping/
5. J.B. MacKinnon, “What Would Happen if the World Stopped Shopping (An excerpt
on Fast Fashion), Fast Company, May 28, 2021
https://www.fastcompany.com/90640964/what-would-happen-if-the-world-stopped-
shopping
Subsequently written Author Comments: After publication, Mackinnon wrote two short columns
that linked his book, in large part completed before the Covid pandemic, with both what
happened to shopping during that pandemic and what he believed would follow. Once again, I
recommend both be assigned.
6. J. B. Mackinnon, “Could Covid-19 Force Us to Confront our Consumption Problem?
“, ZOCALO, June 20, 2021
https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2021/06/28/could-covid-19-force-us-confront-
consumption-problem/ideas/essay/
198
7. J. B. Mackinnon, “We are ready to spend again, but there are profound costs to
consumption” The Globe and Mail, May 14, 2021
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-were-ready-to-spend-again-but-there-
are-profound-costs-to-consumption/
You Tube Videos: Somewhat surprising, at least to me, was the fact I found eleven You Tube
recordings in which Mackinnon discusses his book. Since the ones selected (below) each run
about an hour, I suggest only one be assigned. The first is quite closely text related with the host
quite effectively marching Mackinnon through the volume. The other two both assume a degree
of text awareness and both also involve a second guest participant. For example, the one
recorded at The Cambridge Forum includes a senior executive from Patagonia, a firm widely
recognized for its outstanding environmental behavior. The other, recorded at the Vancouver
Public Library, has as a host participant Tsiporah Berman, a well known Canadian
environmental author and activist in her own right.
8. Kansas City Public Library, “The Day the World Stops Shopping” You Tube, July 22,
2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKtlB365FPU
9. The Cambridge Forum, “The Day the World Stops Shopping”, You Tube, December
13, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLt5qhQauRk
10. Vancouver Public Library, “The Day the World Stops Shopping” (On You Tube but
as a Zoomed presentation) May 18, 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqri_6OA038
The Question
While the use of non-textbook materials – articles, videos, targeted websites – is not a novel
pedagogical tool, what is proposed here is that the coordinated use of materials related to one
text, each offering a piece of the larger “whole”, may offer a more effective learning opportunity
than if the entire book were assigned as a reading. There is, certainly, an element of time
efficiency which may carry both benefits and losses. Would reading the entire volume lead to
better learning? Would instead this “bits and pieces” approach prove more effective given the
“from early childhood” Internet exposure of today’s students? This seems worth implementing
to see.
One Approach to Using These Materials
It was decided to incorporate the “bits and pieces” approach into a fourth-year undergraduate
marketing course entitled “Sustainability in Marketing” taught at a large state university. Up to
now, the course has been supported with two required readings: the Belz and Peattie (2012)
textbook which is not anticipated to be further updated, and Humes (2012) Garbology: Our Dirty
Love Affair with Trash, a popular press book that carefully distinguishes between waste and
trash. As both books have become somewhat dated, the course has also relied on student-led
updates of socio-ecological problems, an in-depth coverage and reflection on the United Nations’
Sustainable Development Goals, and student analysis of current company strategies.
199
For the incorporation of the MacKinnon materials, it was decided to structure the course slightly
differently. Two key assignments have been introduced:
1. The external materials detailed above were infused into a series of written reflections and
linked directly to a repeated task to respond to the question “What is sustainable
consumption?”
2. To enhance the relevance of these lessons, a multi-part small-team “Consumption
Choices” assignment requires students to challenge current US consumption patterns,
taking note of the many options available for a particular consumption goal, a comparison
to (a) the US past and (b) a “one planet” country like Ecuador, and a considered analysis
for how US consumption “should” look in the future.
These new assignments are spread across the 15 weeks of the course, and are interspersed with
other normal class discussions and assignments. Table 1 summarizes the plan.
Table 1: Weekly Plan
Week 1
Students are asked to record a brief video of themselves responding to the
question “What is sustainable consumption?” They are told to not research it, and
instead to simply record what it means to them. These videos last typically less
than one minute.
Week 2
The first set of materials – the Book Reviews listed above – are assigned to the
students for reading, along with a discussion board on which they must respond
to this prompt:
“What consumption behavior in your own life may be a particularly
good example of something that has ‘excessive’ impact on the
planet or society? Why do you pursue this behavior -- is it the
influence of family or friends or your own choices? Why? In your
response, be sure to refer to specific points raised in one or more of
the reviews.”
This discussion board (with responses to other students) is due early in week 2,
such that only our introductory week of material may contribute to their responses
outside of the MacKinnon reviews. During week 2, we talk in more detail about
socio-ecological problems in the world, framing business and consumption
choices as contributors.
Subsequently, at the end of week 2, students are assigned to watch any one of the
YouTube videos listed earlier, and begin to build a formal written response to
the question "What is Sustainable Consumption?" They are permitted to use
external sources but must create their own wording, and reflect on the video’s
lessons. They are also asked to contrast their new answer to the one previously
200
provided in their introductory video, taking note of what they understand
differently at this point.
Week 3
This week is devoted to covering the UN SDGs in detail, allowing additional in-
class discussion of the types of strategic and behavioral changes that are needed to
achieve sustainable development.
Week 4
As a class, we discuss what “sustainable consumption behavior” generally has
meant in the US and western countries. We then use the two Book Extracts on
electricity consumption and fast fashion choices to explore our everyday
assumptions further. On a discussion board, they respond to this prompt:
“What other examples of modern consumption choices do you
think fit the examples that MacKinnon provides? How and why?
Provide details.”
Week 5
Students present to one another on their selected socio-ecological challenge, and
the class discusses the individual v. system-wide changes required to meet any of
them. This directly responds to the MacKinnon message that individuals acting
alone cannot bring about sufficient change; institutional/system change is needed
as well.
Students also complete a second revision of their “What is sustainable
consumption?” response, expected now to be expanded and more specific in
details.
Week 6
In teams of two, students begin the multi-part “consumption choices” assignment
to analyze how US-based behaviors (that would require 5 planets equivalent for
the world to sustain) are unsustainable. In phase 1, they pick a common
behavior from a list provided (e.g. have cake for a birthday party, clean one’s
home, etc.) and begin building a thorough treatment of current consumer options.
They must provide updated market information as well as reflect on socio-
ecological negatives associated with each option.
Week 7
Class lecture material turns to firm sustainability objectives, and focuses on
mission statements, indirect values for natural resources, building an inside-out
perspective, and corporate sustainability leadership as it stands today.
After weeks of student journaling on consumption, resource use & waste
behaviors in their daily lives, they now identify at least one of their regular
behaviors to improve significantly over the coming month. This ties directly into
MacKinnon’s themes of our mindless consumption patterns.
Week 8
During the week, we openly discuss what students have found on their
consumption choice topic, looking for commonalities in terms of wastefulness
and planetary impacts across different behaviors. Their written reflection focuses
on synthesizing these lessons.
Week 9
Calendar week 9 is Spring break – no classes
Week 10
Class lecture material turns to the strategic options that firms consider regarding
sustainability, and the micro & macro environment factors which either impede or
201
further firm goals. This offers a framework for considering how consumption
choices are shaped by more than habit, more than firms themselves, but by the
system in which all operate.
Week 11
In the consumption choice analysis assignment, the teams look for counter-
examples to what they observe in our consumption. Specifically, they must
research (1) the corollary behaviors from 50 to 100 years ago in the United States,
and (2) the current corollary behaviors in a country like Ecuador with its lower
planetary impacts. As they describe the two counter-examples, they must reflect
on the tools, knowledge and expectations associated with that consumption.
Week 12
In weeks 11 to 14, we discuss one alternative to the standard 4P’s teaching of the
principles of marketing, using the 4C’s. In week 11, Customer Solutions topic (v.
Product) ties in neatly to the consumption choice analysis assignment and
MacKinnon’s work. In week 12, the focus is on Communication (v. Promotion).
We incorporate MacKinnon’s message here as well, asking about the role that
advertising plays in promoting over-consumption. We contrast the messaging of
companies like Patagonia with others who promote product obsolescence (either
true or fictional).
Week 13
In week 13, the Customer Cost (v. Price) topic addresses search & acquisition
costs, usage costs as well as disposal, and helps to further MacKinnon’s message
regarding the mindless consumption habits we share. In week 14, we discuss
Convenience (v. Place), including ease of purchase but also how goods make our
lives easier in their “convenient” form. The importance of convenience in the
modern lifestyle is a major factor to the over-consumption that MacKinnon’s
message conveys.
Week 14
In the consumption choice analysis assignment, the teams begin to build their
forward view of what consumption can/should look like in 50 years if the system
were to adjust. What new learning would be prioritized? What tools would we
use (and not use)? What priorities would emerge over existing ones? How would
wastefulness be avoided? How do we get to MacKinnon’s “buy less – buy
better”? Which specific company or companies do the teams relate this to, at least
among current market participants? We discuss their topics in class to help set
objectives clearly.
Week 15
Now with course lessons, socio-ecological issue presentations, and on-going
discussions related to consumption choices in hand, the students return to the
original question: “What is Sustainable Consumption?” with a formal written
analysis. Their responses now must be elaborated more fully and must include
each of the following:
1. Direct reflection of course lessons, in terms of competing influences over
firm and consumer choices, and in terms of UN SDGs and governmental
efforts to reach them.
2. Reflection on how their view of sustainable consumption may influence
their own career paths, including how the status quo of an employer may
202
challenge even an ardent sustainability advocate to bring about change, and
what small and large steps a new employee can take to seek that change.
3. A detailed reflection on how the US household – with their own as a guide
– must endeavor to make changes that contribute to sustainability, and
what circumstances hinder or help achieve those goals. A minimum of 5
distinct changes that could/should be made for their own households must
be proposed, with influencing factors identified clearly.
Week 16
As we finish the semester, students present formally to one another what they’ve
learned in their Consumption Choices analysis. The focus is what individual and
systemic changes would be needed to reduce US consumption patterns from the 5-
planet resource level. This includes roles for government, technology change,
labeling and pricing adjustments, and other factors. The discussion is open and
collegial as what one team identifies may aptly fit the topic of another, and the
broader implications become apparent for how certain changes can be truly
impactful.
Lessons and Outcomes
One outcome of this approach to infusing a discussion of sustainable consumption throughout
the course became evident quickly: the students read or viewed the materials provided. In
contrast, Humes’ (2013) Garbology text has been incorporated into the course for several years,
and yet is systematically underutilized by students. This is despite regular encouragement to
read a few chapters here and there in what is an agreeable popular press book about the same
length as MacKinnon’s book. Thus, there is a clear indication that the “bits and pieces”
approach may indeed foster greater engagement with the material.
Beyond this, the goal was to have these materials adequately move student critical thinking skills
from a place of little knowledge to one where they saw the complexities and challenges of
reaching what should be more clearly and meaningfully defined goals. This is quite evident in
their responses to the “What is Sustainable Consumption?” prompt. For instance, in the initial
video recording of their pre-semester idea of what sustainable consumption is, several indicated
that they were uncertain, and those that seemed more confident largely lumped all relevant
criteria under “environmental” effects. These recordings averaged about 37 seconds in length
with some of that time dedicated to introducing themselves.
As we progressed through the course, their responses became more clearly stated as well as
broader in scope. In week 2, with the benefit of the MacKinnon-related YouTube videos and
book reviews, the students move from either pure guessing to a clear, accurate statement, or a
generally correct idea to one where they now elaborate on with confidence and examples. By
week 5, after we have covered the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, considered the
MacKinnon book extracts, and had some depth discussions on socio-ecological problems in the
world, their 3
rd
response to the “What is Sustainable Consumption?” question begins to assign
responsibility to consumers and businesses, with clear examples of how that would have to look.
Finally, in the week 15 response, they have developed a stronger sense of the connections
203
between consumers’ choices, business decisions, and socio-ecological considerations that they
can articulate the issue in a more “macro” way. While not all wrote about government
regulations in their final responses, this became a recurring theme in other assignments and in-
class discussions, further suggesting that they see the need for system changes as well.
Conclusions
Our experiment with using book reviews, author commentaries, YouTube videos, and book
extracts in lieu of requiring a full-text reading is not scientific, but nonetheless suggests that
student engagement in important and complex subjects can be quickly and meaningfully
increased with their use. During this same semester, the aforementioned Garbology text
continued to be assigned, yet students did not open the book, and were unprepared for
discussions about it. This distinction is quite striking to experience.
In terms of learning, the use of these varied materials in the context of students responding more
than once to the same question also demonstrated that they could advance and broaden their
thinking on the subject with relatively limited ‘gems’ of information and analysis. While other
assignments and in-class discussion surely contributed to that improvement, the deepest changes
in student responses to the posed question occurred earliest in the semester when the MacKinnon
materials were assigned. In our view, this strongly suggests that use of alternative media –
whether in addition to or perhaps in lieu of traditional texts – may be of particular value for
student learning.
References
Belz, Frank-Martin and Ken Peattie (2012) Sustainability Marketing, UK: John Wiley & Sons.
Humes, Edward (2013) Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash, NY: Penguin Group.
MacKinnon, J.B. (2021) The Day the World Stops Shopping: How ending consumerism gives us
a better life and a greener world, US: Penguin Random House.
Watson, F., Stanton, J., Beninger, S., Domegan, C., Reppel, A., & Shapiro, S. (2022). Teaching
what society needs: “Hacking” an introductory marketing course with sustainability and
macromarketing. Journal of Marketing Education, 44(3), 375-389.
204
Autoethnography as Pedagogy to Understand Marginalized Prosumers
Sujit Raghunathrao Jagadale, Indian Institute of Management Amritsar, India
The purpose of this paper is to explore how autoethnography (Adams, Ellis, and Jones 2021;
Adams, Ellis, and Bochner 2011) can be used as a pedagogical tool for students from elite
management institutes in India, who are unable to relate with the life experiences of poor
prosumers. It is expected that it could engender innovative thinking where budding managers are
sensitised for issues concerning majority of the population which skew marketing systems (e.g.
Chakraborty, Jagadale, and Kadirov 2018; Jagadale and Roy Chaudhuri 2021) and start
contemplating solutions for wicked problems (e.g. poverty, inequality, etc.) (Kennedy 2016) in
their society.
Sustainable Development Goal 1 calls for an end to poverty in all its forms by 2030. It aims to
ensure social protection for the poor and vulnerable and increase their access to essential services
(Sustainable Development Goals 2023). India assumes a vital position in the global fight against
poverty as it is widespread in India, with low median income and globally the highest number of
poor. It would be worthwhile to mention that there is also a substantial population that is just
above poverty line and vulnerable to falling into the poverty trap (Nitnaware 2022). Moreover,
the recent pandemic has aggravated the challenge by erasing four years of poverty eradication
work (Sustainable Development Goals 2023). Thus, almost any Indian has had experiences of
poverty either through own experiences, or through widespread day-to-day interactions with the
omnipresent poor.
Issues about poverty and hunger cannot be considered peripheral to the academic discourse.
These are system level issues that define and structure marketing systems and add to the ‘market
complexities’ (Andrus, Hunt, and Redford 2015). Poverty, besides denying choices and
opportunities to individuals, de-dignify prosumers thus, negatively impacting marketing system
outcomes (Layton 2009; Roy Chaudhuri and Jagadale 2021). It strips individuals of their
essential capability to meaningfully participate in marketing systems (Jagadale, Kadirov, and
Chakraborty 2018). Consequently, poor individuals, families, and communities become
vulnerable to systemic viciousness and remain marginal without rightful opportunities to better
their well-being (e.g., Chakraborty, Jagadale, and Kadirov 2018; Belk, Varman, and Vikas
2015).
The critical question for macromarketers here is whether marketing education can afford to
ignore or treat this issue as a secondary dyadic issue which essentially affects billions of people
worldwide. Marketing and poverty have intricated systemic links where marketing education can
play a crucial role in achieving a better quality of life for billions below poverty line (Shapiro et
al. 2021). Thus, it is prudent that budding (elite!) managers are made aware and taught about
poverty and its’ various aspects as an integral part of marketing systems where they can be
committed to these pressing issues. Hence, it becomes imperative for macromarketing academics
to bring poverty and related issues from the margins of curricula to the core.
205
Against this backdrop, teachings and curricula in Indian business schools assume greater
importance. In reality, the presumed value neutrality of management education leads to accepting
skewed realities and naturalized desubjectification (lack of agency) of poor prosumers. Although
globally, business schools have begun to address poverty issues in their teaching and learning,
and curricula have become inclusive, Indian B-schools are far away from systemically
addressing these issues (e.g., Ojha 2017). The author's experience with these schools suggests
that they do not (except for some isolated efforts) 'foster alternatives'. Unfortunately, these
schools advance only select agendas by ignoring poverty's impact on the markets, businesses,
and marketing systems.
Indian Institutes of Management (IIM)- Indian government, with the help of American
universities, established the first two of its current 20 IIMs at Ahmedabad and Calcutta,
respectively. It helped structure the Indian management education, which has been, ever since,
producing an elite managerial cadre to serve corporations. Remarkably, teaching material and
pedagogy both were imported from the American universities (Varman 2014) without giving
much thought to the country's hitherto prevailing and embedded issues, like poverty, inequality
and hunger. The only social reference for overall management education in India was western
universities (Varman 2014; Vijay and Nair 2021). Yet, IIMs are aspirational institutes for the
lower and middle classes, and have been vehicles of social mobility for many, hitherto, relatively
not well-off population. Admission to these institutes happens through Common Admissions
Tests (CAT), which is touted as one of the most challenging admission tests in the country and
globally. Students are tested for their quantitative skills, logical reasoning abilities, and, most
notably, their English language skills. Thus, it would be safe to say that this test is essentially
designed for students from Engineering and English-educated backgrounds, excluding students
studying in vernacular (native) languages and other educational streams (Mitra 2020).
Unfortunately, it ensures sociocultural homogeneity in incoming classes excluding diverse
narratives and life experiences.
The socio-economically homogenous student group remains oblivious to the realities of the
marginalized and the epistemologies to understand it, consequently narrowing the ontological
boundaries. Also, the experiences with poverty are side-lined through curricula of IIMs which
almost completely wipe out the local contexts. We attempted to reverse it in the classroom.
However, existing pedagogies (like discussions, case studies, and field visits) remain limited,
particularly in, yielding desired results of connecting students to the multiple realities of the
marginalised prosumers.
We mainly faced the issues in our Rural & Inclusive Marketing (RIM) course. Rural comprise
65% of India's population, mostly involved in agriculture and related activities (World Bank
2022). The course seeks to introduce participants to rural markets and underline the importance
of rural prosumers. Rural markets in India considerably differ from urban markets regarding
consumers (low purchasing power), channels, and media. Therefore, budding managers are
required to be sensitized to the needs of these markets. There were 68 registered students in a
course. The author has redesigned the course from corporations selling their products and
services in rural to empowering rural and marginalized producers using various alternate
aggregation systems. However, due to students' limited and often lop-sided understanding of
rural India, we face significant challenges like the narratives of Us and Them, poverty being a
206
unique phenomenon aggravated due to suboptimal choices of poor, inability to comprehend the
role of institutions, etc.
To address these challenges, authors put/advocate autoethnography as a potent pedagogical tool
(Denzin 2013; Sharon 2022) based on their experience of using it in these culturally homogenous
classrooms. It is put forward as a research-based reflective self-study that enables participants
(students) to develop awareness about 'them' through/by understanding 'self' vis-à-vis culturally
distant 'them.'
"Autoethnography" consists of three characteristics or activities: the "auto," or self; the "ethno,"
or culture; and the "graphy," or representation/writing/ story (Adams, Ellis, and Jones 2021).
Autoethnography is "an approach to research and writing that seeks to describe and
systematically analyze (graphy) personal experiences (auto) to understand cultural experiences
(ethno)" (Adams, Bochner, and Ellis 2011). This approach can enable students to self-reflect to
begin understanding the taken-for-granted cultural and socio-economic phenomenon. It helps
develop students' awareness about the "social hidden"- its multiple layers and underneath
complexities. It assumes larger importance on the backdrop of the cultural domination of the
Western mass-media, language, methods and consumption paradigms.
As the first step towards employing this pedagogical tool, 'educator autoethnography' is offered
as a potential application of this strategy in a classroom. Secondly, the students in the authors'
RIM classes were asked to reflect on their experience in rural, and with poor and marginalized
communities. We also encouraged students to engage proactively with their service providers
like sweepers, domestic helpers, etc. By engaging with self-reflections in the classroom,
educators and students explored links between poverty and markets. This method also created a
democratic and collaborative educational environment where learning happened through ones
lived experience.
This work in progress will draw on data assemblage consisting of authors' experience as
instructor-auto-ethnographer, students’ accounts of their stories and their reflections on this
method. Through this, we attempt to create images of poor prosumers in the Indian context,
beyond students' current imageries and imagination. We, based on the data mentioned above,
thematically develop some aspects and questions that can be advanced as crucial success factors
of this pedagogical approach, viz,
• Changing narratives from Them to, Us and Them;
• Diluting narratives between Us versus Them;
• Challenges are more pressing and urgent;
• Institutional factors and not individual (irrational) decisions create poverty traps;
• Compassion is needed to understand the space between Us and Them;
• Cooperative ethos (thus, partnerships) required to develop solutions;
• Will social justice ever be achieved through marketing, ever?
These themes will stimulate approaches for students to understand poor prosumers in a better
way than they would otherwise be understood. This paper will finally outline how
207
autoethnography can be applied as a methodology to systemically unlock the life stories of poor
prosumers that have been hitherto excluded in premier management institutes in India.
References
Adams, Tony. E., Jones, Stacy. H. and Ellis, Carolyn (2021), "Introduction: Making Sense and
Taking Action: Creating A Caring Community of Autoethnographers," In Handbook of
Autoethnography, Adams, Tony. E., Jones, Stacy. H., and Ellis, Carolyn ed. New York
and London: Routledge, 1-19.
Denzin, Norman. K. (2013), Interpretive Autoethnography, Thousand Oak, CA: Sage
Publications.
Denzin Norman K. (2006), "Pedagogy, Performance, and Autoethnography," Text and
Performance Quarterly, 26 (4), 333-338.
Ellis, Carolyn, Tony E. Adams, and Arthur P. Bochner (2011). "Autoethnography: An
Overview." Historical Social Research 36 (4), 273-290.
Jagadale, Sujit. R., Kadirov, Djavlonbek and Debojyoti Chakraborty (2018), "Tackling the
Subaltern Quandary: Marketing Systems of Dignity," Journal of Macromarketing, 38 (1),
91-111.
Kennedy, Ann-Marie (2016), "Macro-social Marketing," Journal of Macromarketing, 36 (3),
354-365.
Layton, Roger A. (2009), "On Economic Growth, Marketing Systems, and the Quality of
Life," Journal of Macromarketing, 29 (4), 349-362.
Mitra , Arnab (2020), "Why Mostly Engineers Crack CAT?" (accessed February 1, 2023)
[available at: https://indianexpress.com/article/education/why-mostly-engineers-crack-
cat-5541898/].
Nitnaware, Himanshu (2022), "India Has Pushed Back Poverty, Still Home To Most Poor People
In World: UNDP Index," (accessed January 29, 2023) [avaialable at:
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/governance/india-has-pushed-back-poverty-still-
home-to-most-poor-people-in-world-undp-index-85502].
Ojha, Abhoy K. (2017), "Management Education in India: Avoiding the Simulacra Effect," in
Management Education in India: Perspectives and Practices, Manish Thakur and R.
Rajesh Babu ed. Singapore: Springer, 55-77.
Radford, Scott K., Hunt, David M. and Andrus, Deborah (2015), “Experiential Learning
Projects: A Pedagogical Path to Macromarketing Education,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 35 (4), 466-472.
Roy Chaudhuri, Himadri and Jagadale, Sujit R. (2021), “Normalized Heterotopia as a Market
Failure in a Spatial Marketing System: The Case of Gated Communities in
India,” Journal of Macromarketing, 41 (2), 297-314.
Shapiro, Stanley, Stefanie Beninger, Christine Domegan, Alexander Reppel, Julie Stanton, and
Forrest Watson (2021), “Macromarketing Pedagogy: Empowering Students to Achieve a
Sustainable World,” Journal of Macromarketing, 41 (1), 104-115.
Sharon Auld (2022), "Autoethnography as a Pedagogical Tool for Developing Culturally
Situated Psychotherapeutic Practice," Critical Arts, 1-20.
208
World Bank (2022), "Rural Population (% of total population) - India," (accessed on February 1,
2023) [available at:
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.RUR.TOTL.ZS?locations=IN].
209
ChatGPT in the Marketing Classroom: Friend or Foe?
Alex Reppel, Royal Holloway, University of London, United Kingdom
Stefanie Beninger, Nyenrode Business University, Netherlands
Christine Domegan, National University of Ireland, Ireland
Introduction
Artificial intelligence (AI), broadly understood as an attempt to simulate humans (e.g., de Kleijn
et al. 2017; Lieto et al. 2018), is increasingly being employed in—and impacting—many areas of
society. Education is no exception. Recently, a new AI application called ChatGPT reignited the
discussion on how an AI-driven future will look like (e.g., Galloway 2023). Created by
American startup OpenAI, ChatGPT (short for “Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer”) is an
internet-based experimental chatbot application to process natural language. ChatGPT provides a
detailed response in dialogue form to user input. It does this by drawing on a variety of sources,
crafting an argument, and outputting a usually well-written response. ChatGPT has already been
used for a variety of purposes, such as “generating poems, songs, and TV scripts, to answering
trivia questions and writing and debugging lines of code” (Vincent 2022).
Accessing the service is easy. All that is required is an internet connection, an email account, and
verification with a phone number. So far, the application, which is still in an experimental phase,
can be used free of charge. Since its launch on November 30, 2023, uptake of ChatGPT has been
impressive. Over one million people tried it out in its first week alone (Stokel-Walker 2022).
More recently, the website has seen intermittent outages due to the high demand. For example,
on January 11, 2023, visitors to the website were greeted with the message that “ChatGPT is at
capacity right now” (Chat.OpenAI.com 2023). Moreover, tech giant Microsoft announced in
mid-January that it will invest $10 billion in OpenAI, resulting in a valuation of OpenAI at $29
billion (Browne 2023).
Given the increasing importance artificial intelligence plays in business, and society more
broadly (e.g., data-driven decision making, automation, etc.), we argue that ChatGPT creates an
opportunity to advance the notion of “AI literacy” in the classroom, which we suggest should be
of particular importance macromarketers. We begin by reviewing initial responses from
educators to ChatGPT, prior to turning our attention to how it can potentially drive “AI literacy.”
ChatGPT and Education
Given its impressive capabilities, educators and students alike immediately grasped the potential
of such an application. The first reaction was largely that this application could be used to
support—or complete—classroom assignments. This is not limited to assignments requiring a
written response but could also include actions such as preparing arguments for discussions and
debates, asking ChatGPT for answers to factual questions, and have ChatGPT write scripts for
presentations, among other applications. As with many new technologies, ChatGPT’s potential
provides downsides, as well as upsides, discussed below.
210
Potential Downsides
ChatGPT can be used as a way for students to bypass doing classroom assignments themselves
and to rely on an AI-generated response instead. As we look towards the marketing classroom
specifically, many instructors are still using written responses, discussions, and debates as part of
their assessments that ChatGPT could write instead. In the words of a recent article in Nature,
“some academics are calling the bot the death knell for conventional forms of educational
assessment” (Stokel-Walker 2022). The media, academic groups, and department meetings are
awash in discussions around how students will—and are—using ChatGPT to complete
assignments and passing it off as their own efforts.
While some argue that ChatGPT is yet another alternative to students accessing essays written by
other humans at passing it off as their own (Stokel-Walker 2022), the ease of which ChatGPT
can be used may tempt a hight number of students to use it in their education. After all, it can
provide a reliably coherent and, arguably, well-written response. To provide further insights into
the potential of ChatGPT, consider the following concrete example of an interaction with
ChatGPT. In December 2022, we asked ChatGPT, “How does ChatGPT contribute to student
plagiarism and what can teachers do about it?” and the response—which took mere seconds—
was as follows,
“Like any technology, ChatGPT (short for "Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer")
can be misused in research if it is not used ethically or responsibly. ChatGPT is a
language model that was trained on a large dataset of human conversation and is capable
of generating human-like text when given a prompt. It is a powerful tool that can be used
to generate realistic-sounding text, but it is important to remember that it is not a real
person and its responses are not always accurate or appropriate.”
ChatGPT’s response went on to detail that its services could be used for plagiarism if not cited
appropriately. Additionally, ChatGPT wrote that it could provide misleading, and false
information, given its response are “generated based on patterns it has learned from the data it
was trained on,” where data itself can be rife with inaccuracies or “misrepresentation of people's
beliefs, opinions, or behaviors.” Indeed, many are concerned about the accuracy of the ‘facts’
provided by the application, even while it presents the results in a plausible way (Vincent 2022),
where the application has been found to provide wrong answers to even simple mathematical
questions. Additionally, the data can be outdated, limiting its applicably to current events, as
ChatGPT is trained on a data set unconnected to the Internet; this data set comes from September
2021 (Gao et al. 2022).
The responses to these downsides of ChatGPT have been variable. In its own response, ChatGPT
emphasised the importance of (a) using the application “responsibly and ethically,” (b) not to
rely on it entirely, and (c) not using it to deceive others. Moreover, the company who created
ChatGPT suggested that users should check the accuracy of what ChatGPT produces (Hurst
2022). While such a suggestion is well-meaning, it relies on the user to use and manage this
service responsibly.
211
Others have gone further than relying on students to behave appropriately. For example,
educational institutions have already banned access to the application on their devices (e.g., the
New York City education department) (Bowman 2023), while other platforms (e.g,
StackOverflow) are following suit (Vincent 2022). Guidelines are also emerging from business
schools to manage for academic integrity and plagiarism. At the instructor level, anecdotally,
some instructors have mentioned their plan to switch their assessments from written ones to
alternatives such as asking students to prepare video reports, poster boards, and image-based
outputs, such as creating advertisements or the like (noting that other AI platforms can already be
used to generate videos and visual content). In contrast, other instructors remain confident of
their ability to spot such plagiarism, especially given the reportedly false information provided
by such platforms. While such suggestions to combat ChatGPT are not without their merits, it
falls significantly short of a concrete solution. Arguably, for example, students could use
ChatGPT as an input for even alternative assessments, given that ChatGPT can produce TV
scripts and other creative outputs.
Technological solutions to the problems posted by ChatGPT are also emerging. Towards
providing a more comprehensive solution to misuse of such AI applications, a 22-year-old
computer science student, Edward Tian, decided to design his own app, GPTZero in early
January 2023. His app can, with increasingly reliability, identify whether text was written by the
AI—such as ChatGPT—or by a human, where the technology is based on two components,
namely perplexity and burstiness. The former is a about complexity, where humans tend to write
more complex text, while the latter is focused on variety, where humans tend to write in a less
uniform way, allowing for their identification (Bowman 2023).
While this emerging solution is a promising one for instructors who aim to combat AI-generated
plagiarism, one can quickly imagine how, in turn, ChatGPT could be improved to provide
sentences that are more perplexing and have more variability, thereby lowering the effectiveness
of such a solution. Plagiarism software packages are updating their offerings to identify and
account for AI generated content, but the application is not (yet) integrated into current
electronic plagiarism checkers, such as Turnitin, and thus creates an extra burden on instructors
to have to input the text into this additional software offering.
More concerningly, detectors are not infallible. A late 2022 study by Gao et al. (still in preprint
and not yet peer reviewed) found that identifying AI-creations remains difficult. The researchers
asked ChatGPT to write scientific abstracts given “only a title and journal” where it generated “a
superficially readable abstract, with accurate themes and topic-specific patient cohort sizes” (p.
8). They found that a plagiarism checker failed to capture anything amiss with the ‘fake’
abstracts. Even blinded human reviewers only identified 68% of the AI-generated abstracts (as
well as identifying 14% of genuine abstracts as being AI-created). The AI output detector (an
older version called GPT-2 Output Detector) didn’t do much better, where it only identified 66%
as having a high probability of being AI-generated (Gao et al. 2022). Taken together, the study
indicates that ChatGPT can write plausible abstracts, with concerns that ChatGPT “could be used
to entirely falsify research,” or, more positively, could “be used in conjunction with a
researcher’s own scientific knowledge as a tool to decrease the burden of writing and formatting”
(Gao et al. 2022). Nonetheless, they recommend that abstracts for both journals and conferences
212
be run through detectors as standard (Gao et al. 2022), something that can be done for college
essays as well, with limitations.
Despite these movements to detect and even ban the use of such applications, it is important to
note that ChatGPT and the like might provide a way to enrich education, rather than only
detracting from it. We are concerned that by focusing on the practical consequence of ChatGPT
and similar technologies, educators miss an opportunity to assess their potential long-term
consequences. Concerns around ChatGPT challenging the status quo of assessing student work,
or potential benefits—the upsides—to support group discussions are short-term implications.
While important, we must be cautious that they do not become the focus of our attention. Thus,
in what follows we discuss potential upsides and the potential of AI to positively impact
education.
Potential Upsides
Proponents argue that this technology offers an alternative way to learn and potentially be
harnesses to support classroom learning. Our goal as educators is to support students to become
critical thinkers (Galloway 2023). ChatGPT may be able to support this by, for example,
“act[ing] almost as a collaborator off which users can bounce ideas” (Stokel-Walker 2022) and
provide answers to queries across a huge range of topics. Indeed, rather than hunting down
disparage sources, ChatGPT offers a handy and quick shortcut to provide a clear and concise
summary of a general topic.
To illustrate this potential upside, consider the following two examples of how ChatGPT could
be used by instructors. In the first example, a co-author asked ChatGPT to design an assessment
rubric for a sustainable marketing plan assignment in January 2023. The output included a
specific example of a rubric, with clear weights assigned to different aspects (e.g., goals and
objectives, positioning and messaging, strategy, and tactics, etc.), as well as specific objectives
of each aspect. Similarly, the colleague of another co-author explored ChatGPT by asking it to
summarise current state of the art of setting up a post-experience management programme. In
both examples ChatGPT is an additional source for colleagues to begin their discussion on how
to proceed. Other examples, such as summarising the content of instruction materials for
dissemination in other forms (incl. “bite-size” videos) demonstrate how instructors could benefit
from artificial intelligence tools to automate specific tasks (Mitussis and Reppel 2023).
While details of these and other potential use cases have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis,
perhaps the most pressing issue is how ChatGPT and similar tools can be used to support student
learning. We believe that the publicity around ChatGPT is an opportunity to create awareness of
AI technology and to facilitate critical engagement with it. For example, instructors could
leverage the application in their classrooms to support the development of needed skills by
asking students to pose ChatGPT a question (beginning with specifying certain basic
parameters), and to add additional parameters as the semester—and knowledge—grows. The
intellectual task for students thus shifts towards reflecting on the strengths and limitations of the
application and AI technology more broadly, towards fostering AI literacy.
213
Towards AI Literacy: A Way Forward?
Literacy around artificial intelligence is largely absent from mainstream marketing education, yet
arguable more important than any other single marketing topic. Of course, discussions around
technology “literacy” are nothing new. During the early 1980s, for example, the need for
children to become “computer literate” was heavily promoted, leading to initiatives such as the
BBC microcomputer in the UK and the promotion of Apple computers to schools across the US.
At the time, critics, such as Roszak (1986), observed that the call for “computer literacy” was
largely driven by consultants and those selling computers and related services. In other words, it
was promoted by those benefiting from the widespread adoption of computers. In response,
Roszak questioned whether young people—and society more broadly—really benefit when
“computer literacy” takes priority over, say, “music literacy” and other appreciations of
language, history, culture, and the arts.
In this context, ChatGPT offers a welcome opportunity to revisit Roszak question whether
technology “literacy” should take priority over other, less employer-focused, topics. It is a
common misconception to equate “education” with the training of “skills” deemed useful and/or
demanded by (often imaginary) employers. While we are sympathetic to the argument that
educators must never be blinded by the light of technology, we acknowledge that, this time, it
may really be different. Given the profound consequences artificial intelligence will have on
individuals, but, more importantly, for society in general, facilitating literacy around it is much
more important than “Internet literacy,” “social media literacy,” or indeed “computer literacy”
were in the past.
While these examples have in common that they cover important aspects of personal safety and
productivity, artificial intelligence, in contrast, increasingly determines our collective fate. It
impacts us individually as, say, consumers (e.g., how much an algorithm says we are “worth”),
but, more importantly, collectively as citizens; with some observers worried that it threatens
democracy itself (O’Neil 2018). Consider the (often used) example of applying for insurance.
Whether we qualify for an insurance and how much our annual premium will be is based on a
statistical model or algorithm that consists of parameters and is trained on past data. Both
parameters and the data it is trained on are unknown to us. “AI literacy” helps to expose this
information asymmetry and the fact that the algorithm determining whether we qualify for an
insurance is not something abstract, but the result of decisions made by humans. It is the result of
a model build by humans, data produced and/or selected by humans to train it and applied by
humans in a certain way.
A Macro Response
This example supports the argument that “AI literacy” is one of the most important skills for
students—marketing or otherwise. Without it, citizens are unlikely to ever demand transparent
algorithms, that is, to call for mandating that algorithms must be made available for public
scrutiny. As the implications become more apparent, educators may need to factor into our
learning objectives, content, and assessments the complex and interrelated impact of AI, like the
way the UN SDGs are increasingly being reflected in syllabi.
However, while it is easy to call for “AI literacy” to be embedded into the curriculum, but as it is
so often the case, difficult to implement. Nonetheless, a fascination of “artificial” intelligence
214
amongst the public, observed as early as the 1960s by Joseph Weizenbaum for example
(Weizenbaum 1966; Weizenbaum 1976) may still be strong enough to convince enough people
to focus their attention on potential benefits or criticise immediate challenges. Once again, we
are not arguing for those to be ignored. Instead, we call on macromarketers to focus their
attention on what the implications of ChatGPT and similar technologies will be at the
intersection of markets, marketing, and society. In other words, we call on macromarketers to
create awareness of the friction between what organisations and individuals “want” from a new
technology, and what society “needs” from it.
Building on the suggestion that the goal of education is to support students becoming critical
thinkers (Galloway 2023), macromarketers are particularly well positioned to perceive the
convenience of ChatGTP becomes an asset to facilitate “AI literacy” across a wide range of
student populations, notably by contrasting the micro perspective of “AI as yet another tool”
with the macro perspective being mindful of consequences for society. How we frame ChatGPT
and AI matters for the future of education. In the following, we expand on our proposal that
macromarketing pedagogy is well positioned to facilitate and advance “AI literacy” in
management education.
Immediate actions to ChatGPT from educational system stakeholders range from easy fixes
(including amendments to an Academic Integrity statements) and AI checks as part of plagiarism
software. These passive and immediate reactive solutions—a case of a few weeks—come from
framing ChatGPT as another technology, another operational tool to cheat the system. The
responsible, ethical, and just use of ChatGPT and by inference, artificial intelligence, is put back
on the student as an individual choice. From a MAS theory perspective, this narrow-limited
framing of ChatGPT presents it as a non-causal mechanism in a classroom, in the educational
system and in society.
However, when two macro trends collide, disrupt, and integrate, as AI and education are doing,
in many ways, ChatGPT and similar technologies challenge the status quo and make it
increasingly difficult to keep relying on established ways of assessing student work.
Consequently, it is perhaps more constructive to emphasise on the ways in which they can
support student learning instead of trying to maintain the status quo. A pedagogical,
macromarketing and/or digital framing of ChatGPT and emerging AI platforms, through AI
literacy, allows various stakeholders in the educational system to diagnose and design unknown
pathways forward that benefit society.
AI will create new marketing jobs and careers. With AI, cloud computing, the “Internet of
Things” (IoT), and the connectivity the three will give, is it conceivable to deliver ecological,
social, educational, and societal impacts to individuals, communities, organisations, and society?
What is the role of macromarketing and systems management in that? For example, when
combined with virtual and augmented reality (AR/VR), will AI significantly influence marketing
education, e.g., through immersive learning? As the technology develops, the implications will
become even more far reaching.
215
Conclusion
We began by asking a question if ChatGPT in the marketing classroom is friend or foe? Is AI
friend or foe for marketing professionals? What about marketing systems and macromarketing?
Is AI and other systemic technological trends friend or foe? The jury is still out. Best we get busy
answering these questions before others answer them for us.
References
Bowman, Emma (2023, 9 January), “A college student created an app that can tell whether AI
wrote an essay,” NPR. Accessed 15 January, 2023.
https://www.npr.org/2023/01/09/1147549845/gptzero-ai-chatgpt-edward-tian-plagiarism
Browne, Ryan. (2023, January 10), “Microsoft reportedly plans to invest $10 billion in creator of
buzzy A.I. tool ChatGPT,” CNBC. Accessed 15 January, 2023.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/10/microsoft-to-invest-10-billion-in-chatgpt-creator-
openai-report-says.html
Chat.OpenAI.com (2023, 11, January), OpenAI Website. Accessed 15 January, 2023.
https://chat.openai.com/auth/login?next=%2Fchat
de Kleijn, Maria, Mark Siebert, and Sarah Huggett, (2017), "Artificial Intelligence: How
knowledge is created, transferred and used," IFLA WLIC. Corfu, Greece.
http://library.ifla.org/2814/
Galloway, Scott (2023), “Hear Professor's Prediction on the Future of AI Tools,” CNN. Accessed
03 March, 2023. https://youtu.be/I4psRiE_YaM?t=183
Gao, C. A., Howard, F. M., Markov, N. S., Dyer, E. C., Ramesh, S., Luo, Y., & Pearson, A. T.
(2022 - preprint). “Comparing scientific abstracts generated by ChatGPT to original
abstracts using an artificial intelligence output detector, plagiarism detector, and blinded
human reviewers.” bioRxiv.
Hurst, Luke (2022, 15 December), “ChatGPT: Why the human-like AI chatbot suddenly has
everyone talking,” Euronews.Next. Accessed 15 January, 2023.
https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/12/14/chatgpt-why-the-human-like-ai-chatbot-
suddenly-got-everyone-talking
Lieto, Antonio, Mehul Bhatt, Alessandro Oltramari, and David Vernon (2018), "The Role of
Cognitive Architectures in General Artificial Intelligence," Cognitive Systems
Research, 48, 1-3.
Mitussis, Darryn and Alex Reppel (2023), "Reusing and Automating Content for Efficiency:
Lessons from the Lockdown,” Learning, Teaching & Student Experience (LTSE 2023), 22-
23 May, ICC Wales: Chartered Association of Business Schools.
O'Neil, Cathy (2016). Weapons of Math Destruction. London: Allen Lane.
Stokel-Walker, Chris (2022, 9 Deceber), “AI bot ChatGPT writes smart essays—should should
professors worry?” Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-04397-7
216
Roszak, Theodore (1986). The Cult of Information: the folklore of computers and the true art of
thinking. New York: Pantheon.
Vincent, James (2022, 5, December), “AI-generated answers temporarily banned on coding
Q&A site Stack Overflow,” The Verge. Accessed 15 January 2023.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/5/23493932/chatgpt-ai-generated-answers-temporarily-
banned-stack-overflow-llms-dangers
Weizenbaum, Joseph (1966). “ELIZA—A Computer Program for the Study of Natural Language
Communication between Man and Machine,” Communications of the Association for
Computer Machinery, 9 (1), 36-45.
Weizenbaum, Joesph (1976). Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgement to
Calculation. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman.
YouTube (2019, December), “How Far is Too Far? The Age of A.I.,” YouTube Originals.
Accessed 22 September, 2022. https://youtu.be/UwsrzCVZAb8
217
Automating The Production of Slides, Short-Form Videos, And Other Course Materials:
With A Little Help from My Friend, GPT-3
Alex Reppel, Royal Holloway, University of London, United Kingdom
Darryn Mitussis, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom
As educators, we aim to maximize our intellectual involvement in producing high-quality
teaching materials, while minimizing our manual involvement in the process (Mitussis and
Reppel 2023). In more practical terms, we perceive manual involvement along a continuum
ranging from "high" to "low". Creating a detailed course outline with accompanying presentation
slides requires high manual involvement. Not only is it necessary to develop separate outputs,
but it also falls on the instructor to keep them in sync and up to date. Over the past few years,
demands for "bite-sized" videos grew, which further increases manual involvement.
Instructors have two options to protect their time for intellectual involvement in producing high
quality teaching materials. Either to rely on external resources by assembling textbooks, YouTube
videos, and slides prepared by publishers, or to automate the practical aspects of producing
teaching materials. While the first option decreases manual involvement, it does not necessarily
make space for intellectual involvement as, in the case of textbooks and publisher-produced slides,
that task will essentially be managed by those producing the textbook. In other words, relying on
external teaching materials decreases manual and intellectual involvement. This is not what we are
after, which is why we are experimenting with automating parts of the production process.
Specifically, we have invested in writing detailed course materials (high intellectual involvement)
and have automated publishing them in a variety of outputs (lowering manual involvement).
While this works very well for detailed course manuals (e.g., Reppel 2019) and course-specific
textbooks (Mitussis and Reppel 2023), the creation of slide decks and short-form videos constitute
an interesting challenge as it requires considerable manual and intellectual involvement with the
source material. For example, converting a course manual or chapter from a textbook into a
narrated video, requires selecting headlines and short lists of bullet points as visual aids, as well as
creating shorter versions of written documents prepared for narration.
Our shared interest in utilizing digital tools without allowing those tools to determine and/or limit
what we are trying to achieve led us to experiment with different approaches to minimize the
manual involvement required to create presentation slides and video summaries from our
intellectual outputs (both those typically destined for academic audiences, such as conference
papers and journal articles, and those typically destined for student audiences, such as textbooks
and other teaching materials).
In this practical session, we will share what we have learned so far by demonstrating different
approaches of turning our written course materials into presentation slides and video summaries.
These range from minimal manual effort to a fully automated toolchain that uses GPT-3 to create
course manuals and narrated video presentations from our existing intellectual outputs.
218
As is so often the case with new technologies, our experiments once again highlight the need for
educators to leave our comfort zone—most notably of continuing to work with the tools we are
familiar with. The work we have done automating some of our processes is not without cost, it
required us to develop a knowledge based and skills in the relevant technology. The solutions are
not turn-key in the sense that manual interventions are still necessary, but they are more intellectual
than manual. For example, technology to automate the creation of summaries from our existing
intellectual materials has improved dramatically, but it still requires proof reading and editing.
Because the technology is advancing rapidly, many functions that need to be integrated in these
types of systems need constant review to ensure the best ones are deployed (and hence we continue
our experiments).
In this session, we will demonstrate different toolchains and reflect on the trade-offs we have
encountered. On the benefits side, we value the opportunity to take more ownership of the narrative
arc and content of our courses that comes from being less of an educational bricoleur (see Hatton
1989) more of an author of our courses. However, we have dedicated considerable time developing
our skills that is unnoticed, and unrewarded, there are fees to use some of the systems, and the
systems we have developed are not suitable for widespread diffusion, and there is a risk of a certain
homogeneity of style and character, if more widely diffused. We conclude with possible ways
mitigating them.
References
Hatton, E. (1989), 'Lévi-Strauss's Bricolage and Theorizing Teachers' Work' Anthropology &
Education Quarterly, 20: 74-96. https://doi.org/10.1525/aeq.1989.20.2.05x0841i
Mitussis, D. and Reppel, A. (2023) 'Reusing and automating content for efficiency: Lessons from
the lockdown', presented to the Chartered Association of Business Schools Learning,
Teaching & Student Experience Conference, 22-23 May 2023, Cardiff, Wales.
Reppel, A. (2019). 'Advising students at scale: Using single-sourcing to advise a large cohort of
postgraduate students on their final project ' . 11th International Conference on Education
and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN19). 1-3 July 2019, Palma, Spain. DOI:
https://www.doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2019.2408
219
ArcGIS StoryMaps: An Ideal Connection Tool for Macromarketer Educators
Forrest Watson, Dickinson College, United States of America
As Macromarketers, we care not only about the value of connection in our research, but also in
how we teach the next generation of macromarketers to address critical global issues. We
remain on the lookout for new assignments and tools that engage our students. Yesterday’s tools
may be inadequate for preparing our students for tomorrow’s macro-level challenges. We desire
to incorporate the latest technology into the classroom in ways that facilitate our teaching
objectives.
ArcGIS StoryMaps is a tool that opens up new possibilities for our students. Here, I introduce the
tool, make the case that it is particularly relevant for the students’ development of
macromarketing thinking, and provide an example of how I applied it in the classroom.
A StoryMap can be anything that brings together multimedia and narrative to tell a story (Olson).
ArcGIS StoryMaps is one of many digital applications designed to enable users to create
StoryMaps without having website development or design experience. ArcGIS is a geographic
information system (GIS) created by the company Esri (Esri). “StoryMaps are configurable web
applications that combine interactive maps and scenes with multimedia content (like photos and
videos and other content from the web), narrative text, and they tell stories about the world”
(Esri, 5/31/22). StoryMaps are a tool that allows complex information to be more easily
communicated to a general audience (Olson).
StoryMaps have been used for years in disciplines such as geography and the natural sciences.
The relatively user-friendly and non-technical interface makes StoryMaps ideal for use as an
educational technology (Strachan and Mitchell 2014). Student evaluations are shown to be
positive, favoring the technology over PowerPoint (Cope et al. 2018).
There are several important points of connection for macromarketers. The interactive maps
prompt the creator and audience to think more about the connectedness of a marketing system.
We need to think in terms of stories to inspire audiences about the challenges facing the world
and the need for solutions. Current and future macromarketers should be concerned with making
their case to an audience beyond their own academic discipline (Olson).
Online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rethinking of our traditional ways
of teaching and student demonstration of learning. Even though many of us are back to in-
person teaching, this is still a moment to be innovative about new techniques. I sensed a value in
moving away from a tradition term paper or presentation, both because of the increasing
opportunities for plagiarism and a desire to breathe new life into the semester-long project.
In Fall 2022 I was given the opportunity to design a new course in our international business
department, entitled, “Global Business: Theory and Context.” I immediately began to think about
the possibilities of incorporating macromarketing into the curriculum and what type of a project
and technology would best support the learning objectives. I do not consider myself an early
adopter of technology, but appreciate partnering with others who can push my teaching forward.
220
We can discover allies in other departments and offices on our campuses and communities. I
reached out to the academic technology office on our campus, which has the stated mission of,
“Supporting faculty and students in the creation and use of new media for presenting ideas in the
classroom and to the world” (Dickinson College). I discovered that we have a Spatial Literacy
Center and GIS lab on campus with staff and tutors available to support our students. Without
mastery of the technology myself, by partnering with this center, our students had the resources
to dive right in.
For the project, students worked with a partner to complete a PESTEL analysis of one global
corporation of their choice. Throughout the semester, students followed the changing macro-
contextual factors confronting the managers of the selected corporation and refined their ideas in
several writing assignments. The final deliverable was a StoryMap in which students showed the
changing and interconnected macro factors, suggested response to be resilient in the face of risk,
and the societal and sustainability implications of its decisions. Students presented their
StoryMaps to their classmates and representatives of the academic technology office at the
conclusion of the semester. Students also had a link to their StoryMap to share with future
employers to demonstrate understanding about the context of global business and also their
technical ability using ArcGIS StoryMaps.
The students connected ideas and created presentations that went far beyond what I have seen in
standard PowerPoint presentations. The incorporation of multimedia also made the presentations
more current and interesting to a wider audience. The students demonstrated at least progress
toward telling a compelling story rather than merely conveying information. Student feedback
was positive.
I hope that presenting this tool at the Macromarketing Pedagogy track will inspire other
macromarketers to consider another tool for educating their students, and more generally to think
innovatively about the use of new technologies in teaching, research, and communication to
broader audiences.
References
Cope, Michael P., Elena A. Mikhailova, Christopher J. Post, Mark A. Schlautman, and Patricia
Carbajales-Dale (2018), “Developing and evaluating an ESRI story map as an
educational tool." Natural Sciences Education, 47, no. 1: 1-9.
Esri. “Get to know ArcGIS StoryMaps.” https://learn.arcgis.com/en/paths/getting-to-know-the-
new-storymaps/
Esri (5/31/2022), “ArcGIS StoryMaps: An Introduction to the What, Why, and How of
Storytelling with Maps.” Video at https://mediaspace.esri.com/media/t/1_9jznnv11.
Olson, Andrea, “Create StoryMaps: Creating Dynamic Digital Narratives,” Stanford University.
https://storymaps.umn.edu/pages/student-resources#storymaps
Dickinson College. “Academic Technology.”
https://www.dickinson.edu/info/20392/academic_technology
221
Strachan, Caitlin, and Jerry Mitchell (2014), “Teachers’ perceptions of Esri Story Maps as
effective teaching tools.” Review of International Geographical Education Online 4.3:
195-220.
222
Quality of Life and Wellbeing Track
Co-Chairs:
Ahmet Ekici, Bilkent University, Turkey
Alexandra Ganglmair-Wooliscroft, Massey University
Auckland, New Zealand
223
Examining the Dimensions and Moderators of the Relationship between Voluntary
Simplicity and Wellbeing
Leah Watkins, University of Otago, New Zealand
Rob Aitken, University of Otago, New Zealand
Loic Li, La Trobe University, Australia
Against a background of concerns with the unsustainability of present patterns of consumption,
this paper contributes to our understanding of the relationship between voluntary simplicity
practices and wellbeing. Overall, our results suggest that it is the psychological and emotional
need fulfilment of VS, derived from the relationships, social connection, community
involvement and sense of living a purposeful and meaningful life that positively impacts
wellbeing for voluntary simplifiers.
Introduction
Exacerbated by existential threats such as global warming, and by continuing uncertainties and
anxieties following the health and financial implications of the pandemic, motivations to live
more simply need to be better understood and the relationship between consumption and
wellbeing more closely examined. Defined as the limiting of “expenditures on consumer goods
and services, and the cultivation of non-materialistic sources of satisfaction and meaning”
(Etzioni 1999), VS provides “the possibility of a double dividend for society promoting both
ecological and personal well-being” (Rich et al. 2020). Although a generally positive
relationship between VS and wellbeing has been established in recent studies, there remains a
number of gaps in our understanding (Hook et al. 2021). Specifically, as identified by Rebouças
and Soares (2020), which of the elements of a VS lifestyle are most significant in predicting
wellbeing and which aspects of wellbeing are most enhanced by VS. The authors also suggest
that there is a gap in our understanding of the nature and role of the most influential moderators
of the relationship (Rebouças and Soares 2020). Accordingly, the present papers addresses these
gaps and provides empirical and validated support for the nature and role of the mechanisms and
moderators that explain the relationship between VS and wellbeing.
Voluntary Simplicity (VS)
VS is seen to encompass both a value and behavioural component, defined as a system of beliefs
and practices centred on the idea that personal satisfaction, fulfilment and happiness, result from
a commitment to the nonmaterial aspects of life (Zavestoski 2002). In the first systematic review
of the VS literature, Reboucas and Soares (2021), suggest that VS is as an umbrella term
covering numerous motivations and practices and identify six recurrent aspects of VS: reduced
material consumption; search for intrinsic values, well-being and quality of life; environmental
responsibility; social consciousness and focus on relationships; self-sufficiency, and, reduction of
working hours.
The current study employs Rich et al’s (2020) scale to explore the 6 dimensions of VS: material
simplicity; a frugal approach to the use of resources; local procurement; self-sufficient food
production; giving back to the community, and, individually enacted work/life preferences and
their relationship with wellbeing.
224
VS and Wellbeing
The current research investigates both hedonic (Cummins et al. 2003) and eudemonic wellbeing
(Diener et al. 2010) to provide a better understanding of the multidimensional phenomena of
wellbeing. Research on the relationship between VS and wellbeing initially concentrated on the
lifestyles focus on restraint of consumption desires and replacement of materialistic values.
Research has also considered the lifestyles focus on intrinsic values as leading to wellbeing.
More recently, it has been proposed that VS might also influence wellbeing through the
satisfaction of psychological needs for self-determination (Hook et al. 2021; Lloyd & Pennington
2020; Rich et al. 2017).
In their recent review of research examining the relationship between VS and wellbeing, Hook et
al (2021), identified 23 studies and found a positive relationship in the majority of them. Hook et
al (2021), suggest that further research is needed to identify and understand the potential
moderator variables of the relationship, in particular, identifying income, age and gender as
moderators requiring further investigation. Importantly, Hook et al’s review (2021) also
suggests further research is needed to provide a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding
of the nature of the relationship between VS and wellbeing, including exploring whether certain
aspects of voluntary simplicity are more strongly related to wellbeing than others, as well as
further research to explore the effect of voluntary simplicity on different types and domains of
wellbeing (Hook et al. 2021).
Method
The current study uses data collected for the New Zealand Consumer Lifestyles study (Watkins
et al. 2021). Data was collected from 1643 individuals in late 2020 using an on-line
questionnaire covering a range of psychographic, consumption and lifestyle questions. The
sample closely reflects the NZ census (Stats NZ 2022) for gender, age, education, income and
ethnicity.
For the present study, three scales included in the NZ Consumer Lifestyles Study, the Voluntary
Simplicity Engagement Scale (Rich et al. 2020), the Personal Wellbeing Index to measure
hedonic wellbeing (Cummins et al. 2013) and the Flourishing Scale to measure eudemonic
wellbeing (Diener et al. 2010) were analysed.
Results
Multivariate linear regression was employed to test the relationship between VSE at the second-
order level and the overall level of quality of life and flourishing, as well as the seven individual
aspects of quality of life. The results suggest that VSE positively influences satisfaction with
overall quality of life (b = 0.128; t (852) = 3.766, p < 0.01), and flourishing (b = 0.368, t(852) =
11.551, p < 0.01).
At the dimensional level, with the exception of future security (b=0.039, t (852) = 1.147,
p=0.252), VSE has a significant positive relationship with all six individual aspects of quality of
life, namely Living Standard (b = 0.084, t (852) = 2.461, p < 0.01), Health (b = 0.099, t (852) =
2.916, p < 0.01), Achievement (b = 0.123, t (852) = 3.628, p < 0.01), Relationship (b = 0.105, t
(852) = 3.081, p < 0.01), Safety (b = 0.068, t (852) = 1.986, p=0.047) and Community (b =
0.182, t (852) = 5.390, p < 0.01).
225
Linear regression analysis was conducted in SPSS to test the relationship between the five first-
order constructs of VSE (Resources, Procurement, Self-sufficiency, Beneficence, and Material
simplicity) and overall quality of life. The regression model is significant (F(5,848) = 5.680, p <
0.01, R
2
= 3.2%). Beneficence is the most influential predictor of overall quality of life (b =
0.233, t (848) = 3.246, p < 0.01). While both Procurement and Self-sufficiency are significant at
the 10% level, Self-sufficiency positively influences quality of life (b = 0.056, t(848) = 1.713, p
= 0.087), but Procurement negatively influences satisfaction with quality of life (b = -0.075,
t(848) = -1.831, p = 0.068). No significant results were found for Material simplicity (b = 0.022,
t(848) = 0.836, p = 0.403) or Resources (b = -0.059, t(848) = -0.196, p = 0.844).
A moderation effect was found for income and gender, while age does not moderate the
relationship between VSE and quality of life. The same moderation analyses were performed on
the relationship between VSE and flourishing. Similar to the findings of the moderation analyses
with quality of life, the moderation effect was found with income and gender, while age does not
moderate the relationship between VSE and flourishing.
Discussion
In relation to the validation of Rich et al’s (2020) Voluntary Simplicity Engagement scale (VSE),
our exploratory factor analysis confirmed 5 of the 6 factors. The work/life dimension was not
found to be stable. Our results suggest that the refined VSE scale with 5 first order constructs
provides researchers with a valid VS identification tool and a reliable base from which future
research may be developed.
Results also show a direct and positive relationship between VS and both hedonic and
eudemonic wellbeing. Our findings suggest that VS positively impacts both psychological
flourishing as well as satisfaction with quality of life as a whole and many of its dimensions,
including standard of living, health, relationships and community. Further to this we have made
new contributions called for by Hook et al (2021) regarding relationships at the dimensional
level. Results show that the VSE dimensions of beneficence (that is, community and sharing),
and self-sufficiency have a direct and positive relationship on satisfaction with overall quality of
life. The dimension of procurement, that is, the reasons for, and the nature of, obtaining food,
had a negative relationship to wellbeing. This result suggests that the benefits gained from a
commitment to VS, are not always balanced by the efforts required to achieve it. This aligns with
previous research which suggests that product availability and accessibility barriers to
consuming more responsibly (Aitken and Watkins 2014). The potentially limited availability of
products, the relative inconvenience of their location and the ‘maximising’ efforts required to
obtain them have been shown to be negatively correlated with happiness and life satisfaction
(Schwartz et al. 2002).
In relation to dimensions of wellbeing, results show a direct positive relationship between VSE
and the wellbeing dimensions of living standard, health, life achievement, satisfaction with
personal relationships, safety and community, but non-significant effects for future security.
This suggests that VS has a direct positive effect on most aspects of life satisfaction.
226
In relation to the key moderators of income, gender and age, results suggest that income and
gender moderate the relationship between VS and wellbeing, this is true for both hedonic and
eudemonic wellbeing.
Conclusion
Responding to calls for research to more fully understand the relationship between VS and
wellbeing, the present paper provides a number of important contributions.
Firstly, the findings highlight the importance of personal and community relationships, sharing
and cooperation, and feelings of autonomy and competence characteristic of the VS lifestyle, as
leading to a greater sense of satisfaction with the quality of various aspects of life and a sense of
personal flourishing.
A further contribution is in response to understanding the moderating influence of age, income
and gender on the relationship between the dimensions of VS and wellbeing. Our results show
that age is not a significant moderator, however, we show that income negatively moderates the
relationship to wellbeing, and the female gender has a stronger positive influence on this
relationship.
Overall, our results suggest that it is not directly the commitment to, or enactment of frugality
and material simplicity that leads to wellbeing, but, instead, it is the psychological and emotional
need fulfilment that derives from relationships, social connection, community involvement and a
sense of living a purposeful and meaningful life that promotes it.
The main contributions of this study are the empirical insights we provide to better understand
the relationship between sustainable lifestyles and wellbeing. Given the increasingly urgent calls
for changes to patterns of consumption and the continuously important concerns with human
wellbeing, lifestyles such as VS offer a way to reconcile the demands of both. Our results
suggest that resisting the exhortations of consumerism by living simply, connecting meaningfully
and achieving purposefully, can lead to greater happiness and wellbeing. This understanding may
aid the development of policy that encourages changes to consumption behaviours and help
policy makers in the framing of their communication and message appeals in this regard.
Perhaps, most importantly, this knowledge might help to normalise the adoption of VS and
sustainable lifestyles as a route to personal and social wellbeing.
Implications
Empirical evidence of the wellbeing benefits of a simple lifestyle can provide the encouragement
to both reduce individual consumption and adopt more sustainable and collaborative forms of
consumption.
In demonstrating the positive relationship between sustainable consumption practises such as
collaborating, sharing, material simplicity and wellbeing, public policymakers have a more
robust and informed basis upon which to develop policies that benefit both people and the planet.
This knowledge could allow the promotion of sustainable lifestyles by emphasising that reduced-
consumption practices are not only beneficial for the environment, but also to the financial,
subjective, psychosocial and overall life satisfaction of individuals. Informational and
227
educational campaigns should promote efforts to live more simply by highlighting the personal
benefits, such as independence, autonomy and the wellbeing advantages of a less materialistic
approach to life. In line with behaviour change theory, associating simple living with positive
emotions and outcomes rather than messages that focus on the possible negative effects of
overconsumption are more likely to motivate behaviour. Messages can also position
collaborative consumption as a form of social interaction to strengthen its appeal to communities.
The promotion of the links between simple living and personal wellbeing and environmental
sustainability is also an important socialisation message for young consumers as we seek to
change overconsumption norms.
Our results suggest that collaborative consumption is an important aspect of VS’s relationship
with well-being. Therefore, policy changes and business innovations can support behaviour
change through opportunities for collaborative consumption e.g. shared gardens, leasing and
renting platforms.
Limitations
While panel surveys are widely used in social science research and there is no reason to suggest
that their responses are likely to be markedly different to those of the general population, it is
important to note the possibility. As with much social science research, particularly that in
relation to personal evaluations of emotional and psychological states, the presence of social
desirability bias needs to be recognised (Chéron et al 2022).
Future Research
Further exploration of VS and the moderating effects of culture, education and spirituality on the
dimensions of wellbeing could provide a more comprehensive understanding of the behaviours
and motivations across a range of VS lifestyles and practices. Further understanding the
moderating role of moral (Peifer et al. 2020) and political orientation on voluntary simplicity,
particularly in relation to the ideological imperatives that underpin political beliefs, could
provide a useful way to align public sentiment with political will.
Given the importance of fulfilling psychological needs in the relationship between VS and
wellbeing, more research investigating this interaction specifically would be useful. Finally, the
extent to which the motivating values for VS (egoistic, hedonic, eudemonic and altruistic)
predict wellbeing outcomes would provide a number of complementary insights to the ones
presented here.
References
Chéron, E., Sudbury-Riley, L., & Kohlbacher, F. (2022). In Pursuit of Happiness: Disentangling
Sustainable Consumption, Consumer Alienation, and Social Desirability. Journal of Consumer
Policy, 45(2), 149-173.
Cummins, R. A., Eckersley, R., Pallant, J., Van Vugt, J., & Misajon, R. (2003). Developing a
national index of subjective wellbeing: The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index. Social indicators
research, 64(2), 159-190.
228
Diener, E., Wirtz, D., Tov, W., Kim-Prieto, C., Choi, D. W., Oishi, S., & Biswas-Diener, R.
(2010). New well-being measures: Short scales to assess flourishing and positive and negative
feelings. Social Indicators Research, 97(2), 143-156.
Etzioni, A. (1999). Voluntary simplicity: Characterization, select psychological implications, and
societal consequences. In Essays in Socio-Economics. Springer: Berlin.
Hook, J. N., Hodge, A. S., Zhang, H., Van Tongeren, D. R., & Davis, D. E. (2021). Minimalism,
voluntary simplicity, and well-being: A systematic review of the empirical literature. The
Journal of Positive Psychology, 1-12. DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2021.1991450
Lloyd, K., & Pennington, W. (2020). Towards a theory of minimalism and
wellbeing. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, 5, 121-136.
Peifer, L. J., Chugani, S., & Roos, M. J. (2020). The ethical underpinnings of nonmaterialistic
values and voluntary simplicity behaviour in the United States. Psychology and Marketing,
37(2), 232-249.
Rebouças, R., & Soares, A. M. (2021). Voluntary simplicity: A literature review and research
agenda. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 45(3), 303-319.
Rich, S. A., Hann, S., & Wright, B. J. (2017). Simply satisfied: The role of psychological need
satisfaction in the life satisfaction of voluntary simplifiers. Journal of Happiness
Studies, 18(1), 89-105. DOI:10.1007/s10902-016-9718-0
Rich, S. A., Wright, B. J., & Bennett, P. C. (2020). Development of the voluntary simplicity
engagement scale: Measuring low-consumption lifestyles. Journal of Consumer Policy, 43(2),
295-313.
Stats NZ, New Zealand Government, https://www.stats.govt.nz/2018-census/
Watkins, L., Aitken, R., Robertson, K., Williams, J., Thyne, M & van Kerkhof R. (2021).
Challenge, Constraint and Commitment to Change: A New Zealand Consumer Lifestyles Study.
https://www.otago.ac.nz/marketing/otago832662.pdf
Zavestoski, S. (2002). The social-psychological bases of anticonsumption attitudes. Psychology
and Marketing, 19(2), 149-165.
229
Consumption And Hedonic Wellbeing: A Top-Of-Mind Exploration
Alexandra Ganglmair-Wooliscroft, Massey University Auckland, New Zealand
Consumption and wellbeing are complex topics, both can be approached using different
(philosophical) lenses and operationalizing the concepts is often challenging. This study uses an
exploratory approach and focuses on hedonic wellbeing outcomes of consumption, analysing
consumers top-of-mind responses to an open-ended question (n=1124): “What do you enjoy to
consume and why”. Results show that consumers think of a broad range of consumption
activities (26 categories) that they enjoy, with food and travel being most often mentioned. The
broad range of consumption activities most frequently acted as enablers of an experience, with
many respondents emphasizing social connections that are enabled. While the enjoyment of
shopping/consuming was hardly discussed, a substantial group of people talked about not-being
able to consume beyond basics, or choosing not to consume.
Introduction and Background
Consumption can range from consuming basic necessities of life to luxury brands, from everyday
purchases to once-in-a-lifetime experiences, or from purchasing gifts to addictive or destructive
acts of consumption (Ganglmair-Wooliscroft 2021). People consume goods, services, ideas or
experiences with an underlying intention of making their lives ‘better’. Similar to Particularly in
the Western World, people strive to be happy (Schkade, Lyubomirsky, and Sheldon 2005) and
that state of mind is supported, or hindered, by the various facets of consumption (Bond et al.
2014; Sirgy, 2018; Gilovich and Van Boven 2003). In addition to impacting personal/individual
wellbeing, consumption also effects social and ecological wellbeing of a society (Kilbourne,
McDonagh, and Prothero 1997; Sethia, Sheth, and Srinivas 2011).
Consumption can be an enabler of various facets of happiness, and consumer segments gain that
happiness from purchasing and using (consuming) different products, services and experiences
(Ganglmair-Wooliscroft 2017). This view of consumption as an enabler can be related to Vargo
& Lusch’s (2004, 2008, 2016) Service-Dominant Logic and the premises of co-creation of value
that ultimately creates wellbeing and happiness (I would like to thank Ahmet Ekici for
suggesting this connection).
In everyday life, the word ‘happiness’ is often used to indicate emotional experiences, but the
term is also used more generically when evaluating ones’s life (Biswas-Diener and Diener 2019).
Happiness, Wellbeing or Quality-of-Life are used as umbrella terms that can include multiple
measurable elements (Seligman 2012; Stanca and Veenhoven 2015). Different philosophical
viewpoints and different research disciplines do not use terms consistently (Kahneman, Krueger,
Schkade, Schwarz, and Stone, 2004; Peterson, Park, & Seligman 2005; Deci and Ryan 2001;
Huta and Ryan 2009; Waterman 2008).
230
The conceptualisation and measurement of wellbeing elements is complex due to the multi-
dimensional nature of the constructs (Delle Fave et al. 2011; Disabato et al. 2018; Sirgy 2012). It
is useful to classify wellbeing research using three broad categories (Diener 2009; Sirgy 2012):
hedonic wellbeing, eudaimonic wellbeing and/or life-satisfaction (or domain satisfaction)
research, with the latter traditionally receiving most attention in marketing (Larsen et al. 2002;
Lee and Sirgy, 2012).
Given the broad and complex nature of both concepts, researching relationships between
consumption and wellbeing is challenging. Consumption can further be approached from
different levels of aggregation. For example, existing wellbeing and consumption research
ranges from exploring the links between happiness/wellbeing and purchasing a particular
product/service/experience (e.g. Bhattacharjee and Mogilner 2013; Gilovich and Van Boven
2003; Goodman, Irwin, and Nicolao 2009), to highly aggregate indicators of consumption (e.g.
income or household spending; e.g. Hill and Howell 2009; Sirgy 2018).
The current research takes a meso-level approach of consumption, focusing on perceived
hedonic wellbeing. Taking a highly exploratory approach, I investigate consumers’ short, top-of-
mind responses to the question ‘what do you enjoy about consuming and why’. This question
was intentionally phrased in a very broad and vague manner as the study wants to explore what
angle or direction consumers take when providing top-of-mind responses about the enjoyment of
consumption in general. Building on research streams that focus on a particular, often narrow
aspect of consumption and (hedonic) wellbeing, the data analysis will explore if consumers
mention specific brands or product categories (Ganglmair-Woolliscroft and Lawson 2011), the
purchase of goods or experiences (Gilovich and Van Boven 2003), every-day or extraordinary
consumption, if consumers include social connections in their top-of mind responses (e.g. pro-
social spending (Aknin et al. 2013; Aknin, Dunn, and Norton 2008; Caprariello and Reis 2013;
Hill & Howell 2014; Matz et al. 2016) or the importance of personal relationships (Ganglmair-
Sirgy 2012; Wooliscroft 2017), or if they enjoy/ not enjoy shopping and buying (e.g. materialism
(Dittmar et al. 2014; Kasser 2018) or voluntary simplicity (Etzioni 1999; Newholm and Shaw
2002).
Methodology
Most studies exploring hedonic wellbeing – and related measurement instruments – focus on the
frequency with which people experience a range of positive and negative emotions e.g. applying
Kahneman et al.’s Day Reconstruction Method (DRM; Kahneman, et al., 2004) or Diener et al’s
(2010) short Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE).
The current research took a different approach and asked consumers for top-of-mind (TOM)
answers to an open-ended question embedded in an online survey that otherwise contained
traditional quantitative responses. The exact open-ended question read: “Consuming goods,
services and experiences is an important part of many peoples' lives. Please briefly describe
what you enjoy consuming/experiencing and why.” The question was placed in the middle of the
online questionnaire - the first part of the questionnaire referred to sustainable consumption
behaviours (recycling, buying organic, etc), followed by different Well-being measures. The
231
open-ended question directly followed Personal Wellbeing Index questions (Cummins et al.
2003).
Asking for top-of-mind (TOM) awareness borrows an approach frequently used in branding
research where TOM “refers to whether or not buyers recall the brand first …when asked to
name brands” (Romaniuk & Sharp, 2004, p. 328). It is the easiest retrieved part of the memory
(Stepchenkova and Li 2014). Given the position of the open-ended question in the middle of a
quantitative survey, it was assumed that respondents provide immediate responses, without
substantial prior contemplation. Similar to TOM in brand awareness and recall research the
current study aims to uncover the first association consumers have – the easiest retrieved part of
their memory – when thinking about what they enjoy consuming.
The online survey was distributed by a commercial market research company and the final
sample contained 1124 usable response from New Zealand (NZ) consumers. The dataset consists
of a broad range of consumers: The age of respondents spans from 18 to 85 years (average age
52 years; slightly above NZ average), 52% are female, average income is NZ$ 80,000-90,000
(compared to NZ population, the highest income groups are under-represented), 52% of
respondents are in some form of employment (slightly under-represented compared to NZ
population), 29% are retired (an over-representation of that group compared to the country’s
population) and the remaining respondents are equally split between homemakers, students and
unemployed (see www.stats.govt.nz for population comparison).
The analysis of the responses, conducted in Excel, was exploratory and took the generally nature
of answers into account. Similar to a Content Analysis as discussed by Kassarjian (1977): the
researcher first familiarized themselves with the data before extracting broad themes and
assigning actual codes to the each comment. This process was iterative, the data was considered
several time and a combination of manual coding and key-word counts was undertaken. The aim
of this analysis was to gain an understanding of what consumer consider most important (most
top-of-mind) when thinking about the enjoyment of consumption (and, if respondents took the
time to provide an meaningful answer within the otherwise quantitative survey). The final
themes relate to different consumption activities/categories (26 categories), any social focus of
consumption (word extraction for social …, family, friends, spouse, or child) and/or the
expressed sentiment (emotional, resigned/pragmatic; frugal).
Analysis and Results
The open-ended (and not-forced) question asking respondents to explain what they enjoy to
consume and why was answered by almost all respondents with less than 2% of the sample
providing no, or a un-useable (gibberish) response, pointing towards the perceived importance of
and interest in the topic. The most frequent type of answer related to a consumption
category/activity with approximately 70% of respondents mentioning at least one of 26
categories (see Figure 1). Of those respondents who provided a consumption category, most
focused on one, or two categories they considered most important (40% mentioned one, and 30%
mentioned two categories).
The 26 consumption categories reflect a variety of consumer characteristics and interests with
food (29% of the entire sample; 41% of respondents who mentioned any consumption category)
232
and travel (13% of sample; 19% of people who mentioned any category) being discussed most
often. In line with characteristics of short answers for open ended questions, the comments are
generally brief and to the point. For example, one respondent who mentioned both categories
stated: “I'm vegetarian so I enjoy consuming fruit and veggies. My best experiences are
travelling the world”.
The two dominant consumption categories food and travel are followed by a range of
activities/characteristics, from being outdoors/in nature, and going out/eating, to consuming
music or art, to gaming or social media (Figure 1). These top-of-mind most important
consumption activities are a reflection of the broad and varying characteristics of consumer. For
example, one respondent discussed the enjoyment of craft and gardening, two home-based and
rather sedate activities - “I enjoy buying equipment for my needlecraft hobby and my vegetable
garden as it makes me feel happy” – while another emphasized the need for excitement by
stating “I thrive for adventure and learning and experiencing new things, for me that is what I
enjoy consuming and/or experiencing. This could simply be trying a new food to jumping off a
side of the cliff. It is all about the adventure and the challenge that I really like and enjoy in life”.
Figure 1: Categories that Respondents ‘Enjoy’ to Consume
233
More than one-in-five respondents explicitly talked about the enjoyment of being with and
consuming with other people. Again, reflecting the various characteristics and lifestyles of
respondents, this covered a broad range of consumption activities. For example while one
respondent emphasized sharing food and spending time with others - “Good food and good
company – I love enjoying food and spending time with those important to me” – another talked
about travel and events shared with others: “Most of the travel is to see family. Also experiences
like attendance at music events, cycling with a group and tramping.”
The final theme related to respondents commenting on the enjoyment – or otherwise – of
consumption. Only 3% of respondents explicitly mentioned that they enjoy shopping or buying
things – “I love getting new stuff’- while others explain that they have earned their enjoyment of
buying things now by overcoming some previous hardship. For example, “I never had much
when my children were growing up because any extra money went on food, clothing, schooling
and other things for the children because we put them first before us as any parent would do, but
now that we are in a much better financial position we can enjoy buying the things we like or
need.”
Almost three times as many consumers (8%) were resigned and discussed not being able to
afford things. These comments were generally rather brief, “I buy necessities, can’t afford any
luxuries” or “I don't have extra money to throw around”. Roughly the same number of people
emphasized that they chose to reduce consumption and to be frugal. For example, “I enjoy the
great outdoors and the simpler things eg my garden, my animals. I rarely buy brand new clothes,
preferring to buy them on Trade Me [a second-hand online platform]. My food tastes are very
basic”, while others explicitly highlight that they are not materialistic “I am not materialistic so I
like to keep things simple and only purchase what I need”. The final theme highlights that there
is a considerably big group of respondents who either cannot enjoy being a consumer due to
financial limitations, or choose not to strive to consume and or to finding enjoyment in buying
things.
Discussion & Conclusion
This study is explorative and investigates top-of-mind responses about what consumers enjoy
consuming and why. In line with previous research on consumer lifestyles (Ganglmair-
Wooliscroft and Lawson 2011; 2012), and contrary to the vast area of consumer-brand studies,
respondents talk about consumption categories rather than brand level consumption. Only one of
over 1100 respondents mentioned a particular brand name in their answer.
Similarly, only a small group of respondents link areas of consumption that are frequently
discussed in the popular media and/or are the subject of numerous academic studies with top-of-
mind enjoyment – for example fashion (5%), beauty (2%), but also consumption of their car
(1%). Overall, it can be seen that many consumption activities relate to purchases that enable
experiences, beginning with the 2
nd
most often mentioned category, travel (13%), being outdoors
234
or in nature (8%), exercise and sport (7%) or home improvements (DIY), cooking or enjoying
music (4% each).
The social component of consumption is clearly evident in the answers provided, particularly the
importance of family and spending time with people, both often in combination with an activity:
doing things together. The purchase of ‘things’ (food, transportation, diverse equipment) again is
an enabler for these shared experiences.
The categories and their frequency ranking reflect a mixture of every-day consumption that is
enjoyed – particularly related to preparing or consuming food and drinks - and special
(extraordinary) consumption activities – most frequently related to holidays and travel.
The discussed results reflect the breadth of activities that different consumers, or groups of
consumers enjoy as they maintain/improve their hedonic wellbeing. Consumption and
purchasing ‘things’ is an enabler for (shared) experiences. It is about what people do with the
things they buy that makes them happy.
References
Aknin, L. B., Barrington-Leigh, C. P., Dunn, E. W., Helliwell, J. F., Burns, J., Biswas-Diener,
R., & Norton, M. I. (2013). Prosocial spending and well-being: Cross-cultural evidence
for a psychological universal. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(4), 635.
Bhattacharjee, A., & Mogilner, C. (2013). Happiness from ordinary and extraordinary
experiences. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(1), 1–17.
Caprariello, P. A., & Reis, H. T. (2013). To do, to have, or to share? Valuing experiences over
material possessions depends on the involvement of others. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 104(2), 199.
Cummins, R. A., Eckersley, R., Pallant, J., Van Vugt, J., & Misajon, R. (2003). Developing a
national index of subjective wellbeing: The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index. Social
Indicators Research, 64(2), 159–190.
Delle Fave, A., Brdar, I., Freire, T., Vella-Brodrick, D., & Wissing, M. P. (2011). The
eudaimonic and hedonic components of happiness: Qualitative and quantitative findings.
Social Indicators Research, 100(2), 185–207.
Diener, E., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2019). Well-being interventions to improve societies. Global
Happiness Council, Global Happiness and Well-being Policy Report, 95–110. Retrieved
from: https://www.happinesscouncil.org/report/2019/global-happiness-and-well-being-
policy-report
Diener, E., Wirtz, W., Tov, W., Kim-Prieto, C., Choi, D., Oishi, S. et al. (2010). New well-being
measures: Short scales to assess flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social
Indicators Research, 97(2), 143–156
Diener, E. (Ed.) (2009). The Science of Well-being: The Collected Works of Ed Diener. Vol. 37.
Springer Science & Business Media.
Dittmar, H., Bond, R., Hurst, M., & Kasser, T. (2014). The relationship between materialism and
personal well-being: A meta-analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
107(5), 879–924.
235
Dunn, E. W., Aknin, L. B., & Norton, M. I. (2008). Spending money on others promotes
happiness. Science, 319(5870), 1687–1688.
Etzioni, A., & Etzioni, A. (1999). Voluntary simplicity: Characterization, select psychological
implications, and societal consequences. Essays in socio-economics, 1-26.
Ganglmair-Wooliscroft, A. (2017). Glück und Konsum (Happiness and Consumption) in L.
Bormans, The Worldbook of Happiness 2.0. Köln, Germany: DuMont Verlag, p 315-317.
[ISBN 987-3-8321-9931-9]
Ganglmair-Wooliscroft, A. (2022) Quality of Life / Wellbeing and Consumption in Krzysztof
Kubacki; Lukas Parker; Christine Domegan; Linda Brennan (eds) Routledge Companion
to Marketing and Society. Routledge, Chapter 6, pp. 93-108. DOI:
10.4324/9781003028079-9
Ganglmair- Wooliscroft, A. & Lawson, R. (2011). Subjective Well-Being of Different Consumer
Lifestyle Segments. Journal of Macromarketing, 31(2): 172-183.
Goodman, F. R., Disabato, D. J., Kashdan, T. B., & Kauffman, S. B. (2018). Measuring well-
being: A comparison of subjective well-being and PERMA. The Journal of Positive
Psychology, 13(4), 321–332.
Hill, G., & Howell, R. T. (2014). Moderators and mediators of pro-social spending and well-
being: The influence of values and psychological need satisfaction. Personality and
Individual Differences, 69, 69–74.
Howell, R. T., & Hill, G. (2009). The mediators of experiential purchases: Determining the
impact of psychological needs satisfaction and social comparison. The Journal of Positive
Psychology, 4(6), 511–522.
Kahneman, D., Krueger, A. B., Schkade, D. A., Schwarz, N., & Stone, A. A. (2004). A survey
method for characterizing daily life experience: The day reconstruction method. Science,
306(5702), 1776 –1780.
Kassarjian, H. H. (1977). Content analysis in consumer research. Journal of consumer research,
4(1), 8-18.
Kasser, T. (2018). Materialism and living well, in: Handbook of Well-Being. Salt Lake City, UT:
DEF Publishers, 821–831
Kilbourne, W., McDonagh, P., & Prothero, A. (1997). Sustainable consumption and the quality
of life: A macromarketing challenge to the dominant social paradigm. Journal of
Macromarketing, 17(1), 4–24.
Lee, D. J., & Sirgy, M. J. (2012). Consumer well-being (CWB): Various conceptualizations and
mea- sures, in: Land, K. C., Michalos, A. C., & Sirgy, M. J. (Eds.), Handbook of Social
Indicators and Quality of Life Research. Dordrecht: Springer, 331–354.
Lee, D. J., Sirgy, M. J., Larsen, V., & Wright, N. D. (2002). Developing a subjective measure of
consumer well-being. Journal of Macromarketing, 22(2), 158–169.
Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture
of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 111–131.
Matz, S. C., Gladstone, J. J., & Stillwell, D. (2016). Money buys happiness when spending fits
our personality. Psychological Science, 27(5), 715–725.
Nicolao, L., Irwin, J. R., & Goodman, J. K. (2009). Happiness for sale: Do experiential
purchases make consumers happier than material purchases?. Journal of Consumer
Research, 36(2), 188–198.
Peterson, C., Park, N., & Seligman, M. E. (2005). Orientations to happiness and life satisfaction:
The full life versus the empty life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 6(1), 25–41.
236
Romaniuk, J., & Sharp, B. (2004). Conceptualizing and measuring brand salience. Marketing
theory, 4(4), 327-342.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on
hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 141–166.
Ryan, R. M., & Huta, V. (2009). Wellness as healthy functioning or wellness as happiness: The
importance of eudaimonic thinking (response to the Kashdan et al. and waterman
discussion). The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(3), 202–204.
Stepchenkova, S., & Li, X. R. (2014). Destination image: Do top-of-mind associations say it
all?. Annals of tourism research, 45(1), 46-62.
Shaw, D., & Newholm, T. (2002). Voluntary simplicity and the ethics of consumption.
Psychology & Marketing, 19(2), 167-185.
Sheth, J. N., Sethia, N. K., & Srinivas, S. (2011). Mindful consumption: A customer-centric
approach to sustainability. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(1), 21–39.
Sirgy, M. J. (2012). The Psychology of Quality of Life: Hedonic Well-being, Life Satisfaction,
and Eudaimonia, Social Indicators Research Series (2nd ed., Vol. 50). Dordrecht:
Springer.
Sirgy, M. J. (2018). The psychology of material well-being. Applied Research in Quality of Life,
13(2), 273–301.
Stanca, L., & Veenhoven, R. (2015). Consumption and happiness: An introduction. International
Re- view of Economics, 62, 91–99
Seligman, M. (2012). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being.
New York: Simon and Schuster.
Van Boven, L., & Gilovich, T. (2003). To do or to have? That is the question. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 85(6), 1193–1202.
Vargo, S. L., and Lusch, R. F. (2004). Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing,'
Journal of Marketing, 68(1), 1–17.
Vargo, S. L., Maglio, P. P., and Akaka, M. A. (2008). On value and value co-creation: A service
systems and service logic perspective. European Management Journal, 26(3), 145–152.
Vargo, S. L., and Lusch, R. F. (2016). Institutions and axioms: an extension and update of
service-dominant logic. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 44(4), 5-23.
Waterman, A. S. (2008). Reconsidering happiness: A eudaimonist’s perspective. The Journal of
Positive Psychology, 3(4), 234–252.
237
Revisiting Government’s Role in Provisioning: Observations
through a Macromarketing Lens Track
SPECIAL SESSION
Co-Chairs:
Stanley J. Shapiro
Simon Fraser University, Canada
Julie V. Stanton
238
Pennsylvania State University, United States of America
The Inadequacies of Solely Using a Macromarketing Lens – Introduction to the Special
Session
This special session resulted from Stan Shapiro reaching out to Professor Benton, asking about
possible interest in contributing to his and Julie Stanton’s track, Revisiting Government’s Role in
Provisioning: Observations through a Macromarketing Lens. He had noticed a theme in essays,
and in the recent work of others, regarding how free market Friedman economics, carried to
extremes by special interest groups, has made government a tool for facilitating income
inequality. Stan felt the track would be especially appropriate for anyone interested distributive
justice, broadly defined. He then proposed a special session exploring various dimensions of the
“macromarketing and public policy” interface.
Professor Benton responded that he might be interested in a special session designed and
intended to make clear that marketing is the servant of classical/neoclassical/neoliberal
economics and that macromarketing is little more than the liberal wing of that handmaidenship.
Professor Shapiro replied, “Now that's a statement … worth attention.” Prof. Benton reluctantly
agreed to a special, invited session, hopefully arguing that there are inadequacies in the
239
macromarketing lens that Professors Shapiro and Stanton have suggested contributors to their
track use to highlight the role of government. Bringing these inadequacies to light, and perhaps
what should be done about them would make a great session. And, hence, this special session
was born. We hope this session fulfills the hopes and dreams of Professors Shapiro and Stanton.
The first paper is that of Professor Benton. He explains how he came to the position that
mainstream marketing—what macromarketers sometimes refer to as micromarketing—is
inevitably tied to classical, neoclassical, and neoliberal economics. It is not criticism; it is
recognition of what is. Professor Benton uses the anthropological concept of culture, and
especially that of religion as a cultural system, to structure his argument. (This is not a new
argument, but one he has made before that he feels is worth repeating.) He then draws on a
wider, marketing literature to illustrate, and then hints at what marketers and macromarketers
need to do to free themselves from the yoke of classical, neoclassical, and neoliberal
economics—if they want to free themselves.
The second paper, by Professors Stasch and Benton, is entitled “The U.S. Government’s
Program of Welfare for the Wealthy.” This paper specifically addresses the initial theme for this
track: how is it that special interest groups have made government a tool for legally facilitating
income inequality? Their paper discusses how, beginning in the 1970s, the law has been used by
certain parties—they call them the power elite and the rich—to regain the incomes and wealth
they lost under the Roosevelt (1933-1945) and Truman (1945-1953) administrations, income and
wealth they feel was rightfully theirs. The paper is an historical tour de force revealing how the
law was used to strategically withhold the generated wealth of the past two generations from 99
percent of the population. They discuss why this should this be of concern to macromarketers,
and why the focus of at least some macromarketers should shift to financial institutions and to
how government, and the law, really work (as opposed to the eighth grade civics lessons about
how it supposedly works). Macromarketing, they conclude, needs to become vigilant and pay
attention to the discipline's foundational concerns with social, economic, and labor inequities of
the middle and lower classes.
They propose that the success of the past several decades’ disappearing act depended on the
equally strenuous efforts on the part of macromarketers to believe in the egalitarian fictions
associated with the market and, until now, an unwillingness to see what is hidden in plain sight.
They hope to shed some light in at least one dark corner of the macromarketing system.
The final paper by Professors Fuat and Ulusoy addresses the COVID-19 Pandemic and how it
has highlighted shortcomings of a market society, vividly exposing and further propagating pre-
existing socio-economic inequalities and inadequacies. That the economy has become an end
rather than a means to serve humanity’s purposes is a highlight of their paper. They also
highlight the individual’s predicament of being abandoned in a market society without real
support and with very little authority regarding how lives will be organized.
Professors Firat and Ulusoy then explore, taking the state and market dynamics into
consideration, and using the lens of critical macromarketing, the foundations of these
shortcomings and the role marketing may be playing. Finally, they reflect on what changes may
be needed in the conceptualizations of marketing and macromarketing for them to help rather
240
than hinder the reduction of structural disparities and marketplace discrimination and in social
change.
A Framework for Understanding the Role of Marketing in the Economy and Society
Raymond Benton, Jr., Loyola University Chicago, United States of America
As explained in the introduction to this special session, my paper explains how I came to see
marketing — what macromarketers sometimes refer to as micromarketing — as the servant of
classical/neoclassical/neoliberal economics and that macromarketing as little more than the
liberal wing of that handmaidenship. As Firat and Tadajewski (2009), and others, observed more
than a decade ago, macromarketing scholars tend toward a managerial perspective, too, in the
sense of “wanting to transform business practice for the better, or at least modify it in the face of
social concern and legal criticism” (p. 132). They continued, “For most macromarketers … the
economic doctrine of neoliberalism [is] largely accepted … without much criticism” (p. 132).
Similarly, Steffen Böhm and Vinícius Brei once noted, “there are a lot of uncritical, even
‘evangelical’ voices in the macromarketing field” (2008). But that is getting ahead of myself.
241
I told Stan Shapiro that I would not create an entirely new analysis but rely on what I have
written since the early 1980s. I stand by everything I have written and feel much of it bears
repeating. This is my opportunity to repeat it.
Coming out of anthropology, as I did, [1] I understood that if economics was anything it was a
system of belief. I came to this with the help of experiences I had after my undergraduate years
[2], rogue economists like and Kenneth Boulding (the first chapter of his book, The Image
(1956), itself titled “The Image” was included in a collection of essays intended for anthropology
students), John Kenneth Galbraith (1970), and others.
One might expect that the phrase, the idea, the notion that economics is a system of belief, might
invoke ideology, and there is an abundant literature arguing that economics is ideology or
ideologically laden (Foley 2004; Freedman 2008; Hoover 2003; Katouzian 1980; Martin 199).
Such articles can even be found in what might seem strange places. For example in First Things:
A Monthly Journal of Religion & Public Life (Spady 2018) and in the American Journal of
Physiology—Cell Physiology (Dawson 2021). Some defenders argue that economics is pure,
although economists are not.
I was drawn, instead, toward thinking of economics as a cultural system, a system of symbols
(concrete objects in experience including words, gestures, drawings, rituals, idols, musical
sounds and tools; mechanical devices such as clocks, hammers, knives, boats, guns, automobiles,
and jet planes; natural objects such as jewels and water holes, markings, images, representations,
gestures and social interaction itself) and meanings (the ideas, concepts, values and expressive
forms which have been impressed upon, and are transmitted by, the symbols). I recall, as a
masters student in anthropology, applying to the Ph.D. program in economics, being asked by
fellow anthropology students, “Why economics?” My reply was that economics is our culture
and I wanted to study our culture. I worked on that, that economics is our culture (Benton 1982,
1986) and eventually migrated toward the notion that economics is not just a cultural system, but
specifically a religious system (Benton 1990, 2012).
I am not alone in viewing economics as a religious belief system. As long ago as the 1950s the
economist Wilford Beckerman (1956) wrote an article in The Economic Journal entitled “The
Economist as a Modern Missionary.” Others have played with the notion, sometimes only
rhetorically, while others have been serious but in a way that could be mistaken as rhetorical,
sarcastic, or cynical. For example, Jay McDaniel, a psychologist, suggested (McDaniel 1997):
In our time the dominant religion of the planet is ‘economism.’ Its god is endless
economic growth, its priests are economists, its missionaries are advertisers, and its
church is the mall.
Then there is David Loy’s “The Religion of the Market” (Loy 1997), Harvey Cox’s “The Market
as God: Living in the New Dispensation” (Cox 1999), and Richard Foltz’s “The Religion of the
Market: Reflections on a Decade of Discussion” (Foltz 2007). A few economists have argued
that economic theory is a religion, a theology. In this vein see Robert H. Nelson (1991, 1993,
2001, 2004, 2010, 2019), Hill (2001), Rapley (2017a, 1017b), and Waterman (2002).[3]
242
If you are skeptical that economics is a religion, you have company. In his review of Nelson’s
2010 book, The New Holy Wars, Carden (2011) suggested that Nelson “uses theological
reasoning” to explore “economic religion and environmental religion.” A decade later, in his
memorial to Nelson [4], Carden admitted that he had “not yet read [Nelson’s] books on
economics as theology.” Despite not having read them, Carden was confident enough to write,
“There are a lot of important parallels between ‘actual’ religions like the Abrahamic faiths …
and the environmental and economic religions” analyzed by Nelson (Carden 2011). The
environmental religion and the economic religion are not, to Carden, actual religions. Carden’s
view of what is and is not a religion is decidedly Western and decidedly theological.
Jonathan Smith (1998) traces the historical use of, and the meanings attached to, the term
religion. Smith’s primary point is that religion “is an anthropological not a theological category”
(p. 269), by which he means it “is not a native category” but one “imposed from the outside on
some aspect of native culture” (p. 269). In fact, non-European languages have historically not
had a direct equivalent to the word religion, and before the sixteenth century Europeans simply
understood that there were only three kinds of people in the world: Christians, Jews and
heathens. To have a religion, or religions, was not part of the vocabulary nor the
conceptualization.
Religion, then, is a term “created by scholars for their intellectual purposes” and “plays the same
role in establishing a disciplinary horizon that a concept such as ‘language’ plays in linguistics or
‘culture’ plays in anthropology” (Smith, p. 281, 281-282). To this we can add the role society
plays in sociology, the economy plays in economics, and marketing plays in marketing. They
mark off a specialists’ territory.
Consider (to bolster Smith’s point) the way we regularly refer to the economy without
questioning its objective existence. Yet, as Margaret Schabas (2005) points out, it is by no means
clear that just a few centuries ago “people, even the learned communities of Western Europe,
perceived such an entity as the economy” (p. 1, italics in original). She continued, “That is, the
learned communities” of Western Europe did not perceive “the economy” to be a separate entity.
Similarly, Diana Wood, author of Medieval Economic Thought (2002), suggested the title of her
own book was “a misnomer.” All thought, she wrote, “whether political, philosophical, legal,
scientific, or economic would have been regarded as an aspect of theology” (2002: 1). Finally,
Michel Foucault (1970: 127–8) suggested that historians want to write histories of biology in the
eighteenth century “without realizing that biology did not then exist.” His point: “the pattern of
knowledge that has been familiar to us for a hundred and fifty years is not valid for a previous
period.” If biology was unknown, he continued, “there was a very simple reason for it: that life
itself did not exist. All that existed was living beings, which were viewed through a grid of
knowledge constituted by natural history.”
Returning to religion, it is a term and a concept created by scholars for intellectual purposes and
it is theirs to define—and define they have. (Smith 1998) points out that in an appendix to James
H. Leuba’s 1912 book, Psychological Study of Religion, contained more than fifty definitions of
religion. Jared Diamond (2012) lists and discusses sixteen definitions of religion in his chapter,
“What Electric Eels Tell Us About the Evolution of Religion.” After reviewing them, Diamond
adds his own, a seventeenth. Hence, there are no actual religions, Carden notwithstanding; there
243
are only definitions and models of religion created by scholars for their own intellectual
purposes.
I used Clifford Geertz’s model for the analysis of sacred systems and his expanded and
elaborated definition of religion as a cultural system (1973) [5] and applied them to economics
and came up with economics as a cultural system (Benton 1982, 1986). I eventually mustered the
courage to call it what I thought it was: a religious system (Benton 1990). I then took Geertz’s
discussion of common sense as a cultural system (1983) and applied that to marketing (Benton
1987a), arriving at my position that marketing is the handmaiden of economics and that
macromarketing is the liberal wing of that relationship.
What is Meant by Cultural System
Most of us are familiar with the term culture, perhaps holding a sense similar to the following,
taken from my American Heritage Dictionary (1996, p. 454):
The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other
products of human work and thought characteristic of a community or population.
This is Firat’s sense when he wrote, “Culture [is] all that is humanly constructed” (2020, p. 27).
We (and he) may not be aware of it, but this definition comes from the first page of E.B. Tyler’s
1871 book, Primitive Culture. In anthropology it is known as “the complex whole” definition of
culture.
This is not what I intend when I use the word culture. The concept of culture I employ is
borrowed from Clifford Geertz. “Culture” he wrote,
denotes an historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbols, a system
of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which men
communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and their attitudes toward
life (1973, p. 89).
Most importantly, culture, in the Geertzian sense, is that
intersubjective world of common understandings into which all human individuals are
born, in which they pursue their separate careers, and which they leave persisting
behind them after they die (Geertz 1973).
Cultural systems can be thought of as extrinsic sources of information, as models, sets of
symbols whose relations to one another model relations among entities, processes or what-have-
you in physical, organic, social, or psychological systems by paralleling, imitating, or simulating
them. There are two senses to the term model, an of sense and a for sense.
What is stressed in the model of is the manipulation of symbol structures so as to bring them,
more or less closely, into parallel with the pre-established non-symbolic system. This is what we
do when we develop a theory of hydraulics or construct a flow chart. The theory or chart models
(describes) physical relationships in such a way that those physical relationships are, as we say,
understood. The theory, the flow chart, is a model of reality.
244
The model for stresses the manipulation of the non-symbolic systems in terms of the
relationships expressed in the symbolic. This is what we do when we construct a dam according
to the specifications implied in the hydraulic theory or the conclusions drawn from the flow
chart. Here, the theory is a prescription, a model for creating (or recreating) reality.
It is easy to read this, to understand it, and quickly move on. To really grasp it (to use a
metaphor) I found it necessary to understand, to really understand and appreciate, the following
passage (also from Geertz):
Thinking, conceptualization, formulation, comprehension, understanding, or what have
you, consists not of ghostly happenings in the head but of a matching of the states and
processes of symbolic models against the states and processes of the wider world
(Geertz 1973).
This, too, is contrary to how my American Heritage Dictionary defines thinking. “Thinking,” it
says, is “To have or formulate in the mind” (p. 1864, emphasis added).[4] Rather, thinking,
analyzing, conceptualizing, formulation, comprehension, understanding—they are metaphorical
processes, and monumentally so. Consider Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the Product Life
Cycle, the Wheel of Retailing (if it is still part of the canon), the BCG Matrix (with its rising
stars, dogs, cash cows, and question marks), the balanced scorecard, the intersecting Laws of
Supply and Demand, even regression equations. They are metaphors, all of them.[6] As
professors we hope students learn the models and use them in their analyses of cases so that the
unknown (the case) becomes known (in terms of the model, the metaphor). We then hope
students carry those perceptions and comprehensions out from the classroom, from the ritualized
use of them, into the wider world.
We generally realize, for example, that the rising stars, dogs, cash cows and question marks are
metaphors. Do we recognize that the BCG matrix, itself, is a metaphor. Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs was created by Maslow in 1943. It has now become so ingrained in our way of thinking
that it is automatic, intuitive. How else do any of us think of human needs except in terms of
Maslow’s hierarchy? But how did we think of human needs before 1943? The point, again, is
that all of these (and so many, many, more) are conceptualizations created by scholars for their
intellectual purposes.[7]
Economics and Religion as Cultural Systems
I first began with the notion that economics is a cultural system (Benton 1982, 1986), that it is, or
is one of our intersubjective worlds of common understandings into which we have been born, in
which we pursue our separate lives, and which we leave persisting behind us after we die. My
intent was to unpack the meaning and meaninglessness of economics.
In any society the number of generally accepted and frequently used culture patterns is large,
sometimes extremely large. Sorting out the most important ones and tracing their
interrelationships is a staggering analytical task. Certain patterns and certain sorts of
relationships among patterns recur from society to society simply because the orientational
245
requirements they serve are generically human. “The problems, being existential, are universal;
their solutions, being human, are diverse” (Geertz 1973).
People cannot live in a world they cannot understand. The existential challenges that people
everywhere face is that the world, and hence life in it, has no genuine order — no empirical
regularity, no emotional form, no moral coherence. Religion as a cultural system addresses and,
as we say, solves each of these challenges, for the believer. For the believer (and we are all, in
this room and increasingly globally, believers), economics as a cultural system, as a religious
belief system, also addresses and solves each of these challenges.[8]
The double aspect referred to above — models of and models for — was captured by Geertz
when he wrote, “Religion is never merely metaphysics” and it is “never merely ethics either”
(1973). It is always both metaphysics and ethics. Religion brings together a metaphysic (a model
of the world as it in sheer actuality is) and an ethic (a model for living in that world as
conceived). Religions demonstrate “a meaningful relation between the values a people holds and
the general order of existence within which it finds itself” (Geertz 1973). In anthropological
discussions, models for are designated the ethos; models of are designated the world view.[9] I
like to say that religion exists at the intersection of Ethos and Worldview.
The Worldview. A people’s world view is their image of the way things in sheer actuality are,
their concept(s) of nature, of self, of society (Geertz 1973). A people’s ethos is the tone,
character, and quality of their life, its moral and aesthetic style and mood; the underlying attitude
toward themselves and their world that life reflects. Religious belief brings together a metaphysic
and an ethic, a world view and an ethos, a model of and a model for, in such a way that the ethos
is made intellectually reasonable by being shown to represent a way of life implied by the actual
state of affairs which the world view describes, and the world view is made emotionally
246
acceptable by being presented as an image of an actual state of affairs of which such a way of
life is an authentic expression. This demonstration of a meaningful relation between the values a
people hold (ethos) and the general order of existence within which it finds itself (world view) is
an essential element in all religions however those values or that order be conceived (Geertz
1973). It is an essential element in economics, too.
Taken separately, the normative and the metaphysical are quite arbitrary. A French ethic in a
Navaho world would lack any sense of naturalness and simple factuality that it has in its own
context, as would a Hindu ethic in a French world. When taken together they form a gestalt with
a particularly strong sense of inevitability. What all sacred symbols systems assert is that the
good for people is to live realistically; where they differ is in the vision of reality they construct
(Geertz 1973). That last sentence is particularly illuminating. Mull it over.
Economics as Religious Belief
Geertz wrote, “Meanings can only be ‘stored’ in symbols, in a cross, a crescent, or a feathered
serpent” (1973).
To get directly to my point now, the cross can be a Latin Cross, a Maltese Cross, or a
Marshallian Cross.[10] This image is one of our most powerful symbolic expressions, the one
that sums up most what we need to live.
247
To consider economics as a religious belief system will shock most of us. Why? While we teach
and study economics (we all took at least one course in economics and some of us teach it, and
we all teach it if we have an introductory class in marketing). But we do not teach nor do we
learn about economics.
When we teach economics we do so as though it, the science of economics, is a model of our
price-directed market economy. We teach it as though it is a description of how a price directed
market economy works. We teach it as a model of the economy. In the present interpretation,
economics is better understood as a model for the price-directed market economy.
We teach them as laws akin to the laws in the physical sciences, like the law of gravity. To grasp
the meaning and significance of these the laws of supply and demand we must consider them not
as symbolic expressions of natural processes (nor even as the representation of statistical
regularities) but as a specific set of rules found in a particular society that, if followed, assures
the material provisioning of that society.
The Laws of Supply and Demand provide us with a distinctive directive for our decisions and
actions. They formulate a social code that, when followed, brings the actions and reactions of
discrete individuals into agreement. They thus contain an imperative rather than a description of
objective facts. We will do well to consider Adolph Lowe’s account (Lowe 1942): “If
commercial exchange is to be an effective instrument for want satisfaction, sellers should raise
prices when buyers increase their demand,” and so on for its various propositions. Only in this
way does the price system act as the signal system that conveys the information that economists
say it conveys.
248
The laws of physics can never be more than principles of explanation; we cannot escape them.
Economic laws are better conceived as principles of action; though we can evade them, we
should not because if we do society will not turn out as imagined. The Laws of Supply and
Demand do not “describe what an individual member of the market actually does, nor does it
predict what he will do. It prescribes what he should do” (Lowe 1965).
The mere existence of a set or sets of rules does not guarantee they will be followed. People must
believe that the tensions, conflicts, and injustice that they see around them, and that they may
personally experience, are the result of people not following them. They must also believe that
by adhering to the rules both the conflicts and injustice will be ameliorated, if not eliminated. In
the case of economics, and in particular with the Laws of Supply and Demand, only if people go
along with the rules then the social world will turn out as economists imagine it will. And lest we
forget, the social world, as imagined by economists, is one that is perfect and pure.
The Worldview. But wherein lies the world view, our image of the way things in sheer actuality
are, our concepts of nature, of self, of society?
Self. Regarding our concept of self, I can do no better right now than to draw attention to Firat’s
recent discussion (2020). “Each party engaged in economic exchange,” he summarized, is
liberated
from all obligations to others with whom [he or she] exchanged. For each party, the
only obligation [is] to swap the resources that it had in return for the resources it
received. No other relationship needed to occur. The buyer of, say, mulberries, who
paid money for her/his purchase would have no obligation to the seller other than the
payment. S/he did not have to have any other considerations regarding, for example,
whether the seller’s child had to climb the mulberry tree to shake the branches to collect
the fruit, whether there might have been an accident and the child might have been hurt,
and feel guilt or any reason to feel for the seller.
All parties, he continues, are “freed…from any such issues as long as a fair exchange of
resources occurred.” That is, in part, what lies behind, or beneath, the laws of supply and demand
— the liberated and socially unconnected individual.
Society. Social friction exists and has a great many sources: difference between young and old,
males and females, rich and the poor, urban and rural, and between levels of income and wealth.
There are more. Consider the differences that exist between people of different ethnic origins and
identities, each adhering to, and interpreting the world, through different cultural systems (hence
Peterson and Minton’s (2018) emphasis on teaching belief systems in our marketing classes).[11]
There is a single root cause to all of these points of conflict. Nelson discussed the degree and
extent to which the concern with social conflict and tension is embedded in economics. He writes
(Nelson 1993),
Economic theology starts with the recognition that through most of history humans have
been afflicted by poverty, hunger and disease. These problems are considered the
249
fundamental reasons that human beings have so often killed, stolen, lied, cheated and
committed so many other evils. They have simply been driven to these acts by
economic circumstances. Original sin, according to economic theology, is material
privation, the condition in which most people have lived.…If this diagnosis is correct,
then the means of abolishing evil is clear: salvation lies in eliminating all shortages of
goods and services.
Hence, the paramount position of production and of economic growth. Notice, however, the
world view component that is embedded in Nelson’s passage, the “diagnosis.” Killing, stealing,
lying, cheating and so many other evils that humans engage in are due to one paramount fact —
material privation. If that “diagnosis” is correct, the only reasonable way to live is to live a
productive life (the ethos). (Notice, too, that if that diagnosis is not correct the wind in the sales
of economic growth dissipates.)
Conflict passes easily and directly to the problem of justice. If severe enough, conflict also often
seems undeserved, especially to the sufferer but also to onlookers. The problem has to do with
the gap between what various individuals deserve, or feel they deserve, and what they in fact get.
“[T]o be just,” Alasdair MacIntyre pointed out, “is to give each person what each deserves”
(1984). Here a quatrain quoted by Geertz (1973), and perhaps attributable to Charles Bowen, is
relevant:
Rain falls upon the just
And upon the unjust fellow.
But mostly on the just
Because the unjust has the just’s umbrella.
The trick is to come up with a definition of justice, and an institutionalization of that definition,
that is acceptable to all and grounded in the unalterable facts of life. One concept of justice is
that people should receive in accordance with what they produce: payment in accordance with
product; reward in relation to effort. The contemporary institutionalization of this definition is
the market, and it becomes manifest if the Laws of Supply and Demand are religiously followed.
We believe that actual prices and incomes (incomes being simply a factor price) are ethically just
because they are either based on labor effort expended (the labor theory of value) or on one’s
contribution as valued by the consumer (the marginal productivity theory of value). Topel
(quoted in Bennett 1988) expressed it this way:
I am of the opinion, until proven otherwise, that the market is competitive. Competition
is going to dictate what people make. The best measure we have of the value of what
someone produces is what he was paid.
This is a familiar refrain. We have all heard it often. That it is a tautology bothers no one. If I am
well off, I can explain to myself and to others that I am productive and that what I produce is
valued. If I am poor, I explain to myself and to others with a similar affirmation; I am either not
sufficiently productive or that which I produce is not so valued by others. No other conclusion is
250
possible, and it all emanates from the inexplicable working of the Laws of Supply and Demand,
if they are being followed.
While there is pain and suffering, and the distribution of spoils is unequal, it is not inequitable. If
the mind is not set to rest, it is spurred to action, especially among the poor as they see that they
must work more, work harder, or work differently. That is what a cogent ethos does if grounded
in a cogent world view.
If the gap between what various individuals deserve, or feel they deserve, and what they in fact
get is experienced as just, people accept their suffering in silence; if it is not experienced as just,
they do not suffer in silence. Among the faithful, belief is strong: “Adam Smith’s invisible hand,
guided by supply and demand in the labor market, equitably signs everybody’s paycheck”
(Bennett, 1988, p. 1).
The story that economics tells is that the price-setting market is comprehensible, that the
problems and difficulties people experience are sufferable, and that, in the end, justice will
prevail — but only if all abide by the Laws of Supply and Demand. If we do not, it will not.
Nature. The whole of the Enlightenment, as William Leiss expressed it (1972, p. 30), subscribed
to the notion that “the...inadequate provision for human wants was the source of the instability of
society and the internecine battle over the share of spoils that threatened the fabric of civility.”
Solving the problem of “material privation, the condition in which most people have lived” (to
refer, again, to Nelson), of the inadequate provisioning for human wants, a new conception of
nature was needed as well. Nature, the natural world, had to be desacralized.
The notion of a desacralized nature is often associated with Bacon, Descartes, Newton, and other
Enlightenment thinkers. The attitude, Kinsley accurately writes, “still dominates modern
perceptions of the world” (1995, p. 127). Whatever the precursors, and there were precursors
(Dijksterhuis 1961), it was not until the Enlightenment that we find a thoroughly desacralized
and mechanistic view of nature, a view of nature undeserving of moral consideration in the
affairs of human beings. This is the reason so much literature in the area of environmental ethics
calls, either directly or indirectly, for a “Post-Mechanistic Philosophy of Nature” (Keller 2009),
or for moving “Beyond the Enlightenment Mentality” (Wei-ming 1994; see also Hinchman and
Hinchman 2001).
It is the desacralized and mechanistic view of nature that largely determines that we see it as
having instrumental value only and as not having intrinsic value, value in and of itself. As Kant
(1963) said about animals, “we have no direct duties” to them because they “are not self-
conscious and are there merely as a means to an end. That end is man....[A]nimals must be
regarded as man’s instruments.”
In short, since the other-than-human deserves no moral consideration we can do with it, and to it,
as we please. It is this understanding of nature, and our relationship with nature, that makes
possible the paramount position of production and of growth in economics. [12]
251
This was not caused by but was clearly associated with a major metaphorical shift that was
underway, a shift in the root metaphor undergirding it all (Pepper 1935). “Medieval thinkers
practically without exception,” Warner Stark wrote (1956, possibly on page 4), “conceived of
society as an organism. The Pope is the head, the warriors are the arms, the peasants are the feet
[and] the misery of the lower orders was a kind of social gout.” Or, as Tawney put it, “society is
a spiritual organism, not an economic machine” (Tawney 1962). Organism was replaced by the
machine as the root metaphor. The machine remains our metaphor of choice today.
Marketing as a Cultural System
Enough with economics. What does all this have to do with marketing, macro or otherwise?
“Marketing,” Firat writes (2012, p. 81), is “the institutionalized practices of the modern market
in its contemporary form” and, as such, is devoted to the expansion of the market. Continuing
with my framework, marketing, too, is a cultural system, a form of common sense as a cultural
system (Benton 1987a; Geertz 1983).
All peoples have multiple generally accepted and frequently used culture patterns, systems of
symbols and meanings, by and through which they give form, order, point and direction to their
lives. Economic theory falls into the category of the religious, the sacred. Marketing falls into
that category of common sense. As the term itself implies, commonsense is a senseness held in
common, which means that it is public, it is shared, it can be questioned, disputed, affirmed,
developed, formulized, contemplated, and taught (Geertz 1983). And teach it we do. As a body
of knowledge, common sense is vitally important. The everyday world is
the paramount reality in human experience—paramount in the sense that it is the world
in which we are most solidly rooted, whose inherent actuality we can hardly question…,
and from whose pressures and requirements we can least escape. A man, even large
groups of men, may be aesthetically insensitive, religiously unconcerned, and
unequipped to pursue formal scientific analysis, but he cannot be completely lacking in
common sense and survive (Geertz1973).
As a body of knowledge, common sense responds to that human tendency “to take the world, its
objects, and its processes as being just what they seem to be,” combined with “the pragmatic
motive, the wish to act upon that world so as to bend it to one's practical purposes, to master it,
or so far as that proves impossible, to adjust to it” (Geertz 1973). Unlike sacred symbol systems,
the particular orientation of common sense is action upon the world — not mere acceptance of it.
Marketing as a field of inquiry was built by people interested primarily in providing information
for the solution of practical problems (; Benton 2021; Jones and Tadajewski 2018). Although
initially concerned with, and acting in response to, pressing social issues rather than reasons of
business urgency, there was always a concern for generating useful, as Bartels (1976) expressed
it, “how-to-do-it” knowledge. It is in this sense that Bartels writes, “The development of
marketing thought represented an effort to compensate for the omissions of existing theory”
(Bartels 1976). By “existing theory” he intended economic theory because “the economic facts of
life [were] departing farther and farther from the theories which had been devised to explain
economic activity and to guide entrepreneurs and government authorities in behavior concerning
252
the market” (Bartels 1965).[13] I can’t imagine that anybody in attendance today fails to see how
textbook marketing isn’t instruction in the “how-to-do-it,” and the “it” here is the expansion of
the market. Beyond description and explanation marketing was faced with justifying the
emerging distributive practices and institutions. Though analytically separate, description,
explanation, and justification go hand in hand.
Marketing today is perceived and presented as a set of tools and techniques employed by
organizations (mostly businesses but since the “broadening” movement of the 1970s increasingly
non-business and social cause organizations as well) to elicit desired responses from
organizations or individuals within the employing organization's environment. This how-to-do-it
perspective is the dominant perspective in micro (or managerial) marketing today. Kotler (1972,
p. 50) once wrote, “Effective marketing means the choice of marketer actions that are calculated
to produce the desired…response in the market.”
We easily and frequently move back and forth between the perspective of economics and that of
marketing. We do so despite the fact that they are different and contrasting ways of looking at
the world. As ways of looking at the world, and of acting in it, they are separated by gaps across
which one must leap, slip, slide, crawl or climb. How the meanings, the significances, the moods
and motivations, the commitments induced by economic theory carry over to marketing thought,
and thereby to marketing actions and institutions? How are the two, marketing and economics,
knotted together? And is it a Gordian knot?
Marketing textbooks and the marketing literature make abundant if unthinking and unintentional
use of rhetorical devices, subtle references to economic concepts, and close association to the
supposed results of economic analysis (I more fully discuss this in Benton 1987). All such
associations serve to call up the moods and motivations associated with economic theory.
Concern here is with certain deliberate conceptual inventions made within the field of marketing
that serve as vehicles for transferring meaning and purpose from economic thought to marketing
thought. It is not supposed that these devices were intentionally invented to serve as vehicles for
the transfer of meaning, although they might have been. They nonetheless serve that function.
These inventions include, among others, the term marketing (used instead of distribution), the
notion of marketing utilities, and the marketing concept. There are more.[14] But these serve to
illustrate how common sense how-to-do it rules and guidelines are justified by appeal to formulas
and theories grounded in formulas and theories of economics.
Marketing. Early courses in the new subject, taught as early as 1900-1910, dealt with what were
known as the distributive industries. The most common designators were trade, commerce, and
distribution. A professor at the University of Wisconsin during the formative period, Ralph Starr
Butler, was one of the first to have used the term marketing (his 1911 text was entitled Marketing
Methods). Bartels (1976, p. 241) included a letter from Butler where he recounts how he come
up with the term marketing. That letter reads, in part:
I surveyed the very meager literature of business which was available at that time and
was astonished to find that the particular field that I have very briefly described above
had never been treated by any writer. I decided to prepare a correspondence course
covering this phase of business activity. A name was needed [and] I remember the
253
difficulties I had in finding a suitable name, but I finally decided on the phrase
“Marketing Methods”.
Why did Butler choose it rather than sticking with the already widely used terminology like
Distributive Methods?
The vocabulary of economics centers on the market and economic theorizing, then and now,
pivots on the market. It is reasonable to expect that those scholars studying the buying and
selling processes in and of themselves, in their institutional settings as they actually existed,
would be drawn to something that reflected their intellectual and heuristic
heritage —
marketing.
[15]
But there is more to it than this simple intellectual affinity; there is a cultural aspect as well. Up
to this time the American economy had been a system of largely private (not corporate)
enterprise and market entrepreneurship. Economic theory, which generally and adequately
described this waning economic system, comprised an understanding that held wide appeal to
scholars and the
general
public. It was compatible with the Jeffersonian basis of American
ideology and it reflected the world as it had been and to some extent still was.
It is understandable how and why the name associated with the new body of knowledge that
described the new area of business activity (which was, then as now, often criticized) would
appeal to traditional values, traditional beliefs, and traditional institutions. Needed was a bridge
for the transfer of
meaning
from economics, with its transcendent emphasis on the market, to the
new discipline faced with describing the world as it had come to be. The linguistic similarity
between the market and marketing is too close to be capricious. It was, and is, a perfect term. It
serves in a capacity where distribution or mercantile institutions cannot and where terms, in
economics, such as institutionalism (the school from which marketing arouse) and monopolistic
or imperfect competition do not and cannot. Further, the term marketing is consistent at the level
of implied meaning with the political predispositions of those economists who preached about
the market and of those businessmen who wanted to continue to elude state intervention and
control.
The Utilities of Time, Place and Possession. Marketing emerged just after economics had been
recast in terms of marginal utility analysis. Not surprisingly, utility emerged as another bridge
over which meaning could flow from economics to marketing.
Louis D. H. Weld was originally a teacher of economics who came to marketing when he
received a teaching and research assignment which required that he look into how Minnesota
farm products were marketed. Indeed, a phrase which had become popular in agricultural circles
after the turn of the century was “the marketing problem,” by which was meant the suspected
manipulation of prices for farm products by middlemen to the detriment of producers and
consumers alike. He began to teach marketing in 1913 and was, like so many others, impressed
by the lack of literature on the subject. A course on the marketing of farm products was the result
of his first hand investigations. His course was actually one of the earliest in which marketing
254
appeared in the title, as was his 1915 publication, Studies in the Marketing of Farm Products, an
early example of commodity analysis in marketing.
Bartels (1976) points out that Weld's contributions to marketing thought were influenced by his
training in economics. He regarded marketing as a part of the productive process and therefore as
something that created utilities — specifically time, place, and possession utilities. The argument
is that if productive activity was esteemed for generating utility in the form that something took,
the newer distributive activities, which even today are not accepted on a par with productive
activities, must also be esteemed because they generated other utilities without which the actual
product would have no utility. In order to be useful, in order to generate utility for consumers, a
product must not only have an appropriate form but it must also be in the right place, at the right
time, and get into the right hands.
Time, place, and possession utilities were inseparable from form utility. They had been ignored
or went unrecognized until the geographic separation of production and consumption made them
evident. These latter utilities, however, were the domain of distribution, not of production. It was
the task, the function, of marketing to create these utilities just as the traditional producer was
responsible for creating form utility. As Bartels points out, “These three utilities, later
supplemented by some others, were key concepts in the economic rationalization of marketing at
the time”
(1965:
p. 52).
The position is incontestable. Form utility is no utility unless accompanied by the other three. It
is not the principle as much as the terminology that acts as the bridge for meaning. UTILITY!
Marketers and marketing activities produce utility just as do producers and production activities.
With producers accorded a dominant position in the social hierarchy, it was important for
marketers and others to realize that they generated utility, too, because with it came meaning,
purpose, importance,
and
significance. In a production oriented society, in a society which places
so much emphasis on the ability to produce, little can bestow more or convey a greater sense
of
meaning and purpose than the discovery that one is also part of the grand forces generating
utility, forces which are thereby consonant with traditional meaning and purpose.
The Marketing Concept. Although the utility approach to the rationalization of marketing
activities is still employed, the marketing concept has taken over as the main vehicle by which
meaning and purpose were transferred from economics to marketing.
The shift in marketing orientations that occurred during the 1950s and 1960s, culminating in the
adoption of an explicitly managerial perspective, involved the abandonment of any pretense on
the part of marketers to be standing on the outside and observing the marketing system as a
whole — as a system. The abandonment, that is, of a macromarketing perspective. No longer
seeing themselves as intervening on behalf of the system as a whole, as at least some early
marketers had, marketers emerged as a force intervening on the side of and in support of the
interests of a particular class in society: the business class in general, and the managerial class in
particular. The change in orientations was accompanied by a major addition to the arsenal of
connective tissue by which marketing and marketing activities were made meaningful — the
invention of a new philosophy of business, communicated by marketers to marketers as the
marketing concept.
255
The marketing concept refers to several interlocking ideas, paramount of which is the notion that
companies should be customer oriented rather than production oriented or sales oriented as they
had supposedly been in the past. According to the marketing concept, the way to achieve
organizational goals is to determine the needs and wants of various target markets and deliver the
desired satisfactions more efficiently and effectively than competitors. It was argued that
business decisions are best when they start with the market, but also emphasized was that the end
and object of all business activity is customer satisfaction.
The essence of the marketing concept and the explicit recognition that it was a philosophy of
business, a needed philosophy of business, were well expressed by businessmen. Indeed, unlike
other modes of rationalizing and justifying marketing activities, the marketing concept came not
from the academy but from the business community, itself. In a now classic presentation entitled
“The Marketing Philosophy as a Way of Business Life,” Fred Borch (1957), an executive at
General Electric, wrote, “when the economy was much younger” a customer or consumer
orientation “was a built-in feature of business enterprise.”
As a company grows in size it can drift further and further from a customer orientation because
size takes away the ability of the marketer to know personally each customer. As a company
grows in size, therefore, it is necessary that it become consciously aware of that possibility.
“What we refer to today as the marketing philosophy is a recognition of just this situation”
(Borch 1957).
J.B. McKitterick, also an executive at General Electric, opined (1957, p. 2)
I would speculate that looking back [in] 20 years hence, the marketing concept
belatedly will be recognized as an appropriate voicing of the basic purpose of corporate
institutions grown too large to be adequately guided by the profit interests of a single
compact group of owners (p.77).
These excerpts reveal that the new philosophy of business, symbolized by the marketing concept,
was a means by which corporate management could reconnect with a vague and imagined but
nonetheless sacred past, a past that had become and remains frozen in all its timelessness in
economic theory. The affinity with the economists’ concept of consumer sovereignty should be
clear. To readers of Kotler’s textbook back in the day, just in case they missed it, the affinity was
made clear. In his discussion of the marketing concept, Kotler stated that it is an expression of
the company's “commitment” to the time-honored concept in economic theory, “consumer
sovereignty” (Kotler 1984). I don’t know if such a reminder is necessary today.
There is a significant difference between the marketing concept and the concept of consumer
sovereignty in economics. In economics, consumer sovereignty is the unintended consequence of
a social and economic system of a particular structure, a structure characteristic of the economy
when it “was much younger.” In such an economy, self-interest, motivated by private gain and
profit making, can be pursued and the end result, of no intention of the businessman, is the
satisfaction of consumer needs and wants as consumers, themselves, define and express those
needs and wants. That is the essence of the doctrine of consumer sovereignty and it was once “a
built-in feature of the system.” The consumer orientation via the marketing concept is an
256
expression of intent. Since the institutional nature of the modern economy is no longer such that
consumers’ sovereignty is the unintended result of economic action, it had to become corporate
management’s intent to bring about that same result. The conscious goal of corporate enterprise
was proclaimed to be consumer satisfaction.
It is this symbolic congruity between the marketing concept and the doctrine of consumer
sovereignty that made it possible for McKitterick to say that the marketing concept “will be
recognized as an appropriate voicing of the basic purpose of corporate institutions.” It is
appropriate because it is consistent with the philosophical position of economic theory — it is
consistent with custom, tradition, and a bygone era. (Missing from both, however, is an account
as to why the consumer should be sovereign to begin with. See more on this, below.)
The rub is, of course, that those same sophisticated marketing techniques used to accomplish
traditional goals can also be used to manage demand. A few pages before Kotler juxtaposes the
marketing concept with the concept of consumer sovereignty, thereby symbolically equating the
two, he wrote (Kotler1984),
Marketing management has the task of influencing the level, timing and composition of
demand in a way that will help the organization achieve its objectives. Simply put,
marketing management is demand management.
In context and as used by Kotler[16] the word management implies its traditional meanings and
attendant images of controlling and arranging and demeaning and reducing.
Thus the marketing philosophy is not an end in itself, as is the case with consumer sovereignty,
but a strategic means to another end — continued corporate growth and expansion. It is far easier
to castigate a corporation pursuing growth and expansion by pursuing profits than to castigate it
for pursuing consumer satisfaction.
By symbolically establishing a congruity between managerial intentions and economic doctrine
the marketing concept provided another bridge to transfer the meaning and significance of
economic thought to marketing thought, marketing practice, and modern marketing institutions.
This link is critically important since it is marketing that has been largely the cause of recent
economic growth, is credited with bringing about the contemporary emphasis on consumption,
and is the primary receptor of moral and ethical criticism of business today. The Marketing
Concept provides the meaning and purpose, the primacy of decision values, for corporate
managers. The Marketing Concept provides the soundest and tightest knot yet tied between
marketing thought and economic thought.
Those are a few of the symbolic links that join marketing as a cultural system to economics as a
cultural system, with economics being the senior partner. As suggested, above, when I first wrote
the paper to which I refer (Benton 1987) I was remiss in not including the obvious bridge:
exchange. As Firat (2022, p. 23) reminds us, citing Bagozzi (1975) and Kotler (1972),
“Marketing, the institutionalized practices of the modern market in its contemporary form,
has…adopted exchange as its core concept (Bagozzi 1974 and 1978).
257
On the first page of his 1978 article in the American Behavioral Scientist, Bagozzi suggested that
marketing had historically progressed through a stage during which it “was more concerned with
the technology for performing everyday activities in the marketplace than with the nature and
adequacy of its conceptual underpinnings” (1978, p. 535). This was followed by a second stage
during which attempts to create a marketing Weltanschauung (Bagozzi’s word) by applying
paradigms borrowed from allied disciplines. Thus, marketing employed a functionalist approach,
a systems approach, and a decision-theory approach. He wrote that each left marketing
wallowing for specification and definition. “A lacuna still exists between problems found in the
marketplace and our ability to understand and react effectively to them.” His solution, without
realizing that he, too, was borrowing from another discipline, was to conceptualize “marketing as
exchange.” [17]
Broadening the Marketing Concept. At about the same time there was a movement to broaden
marketing to apply to organizations other than business: government, nonprofit, healthcare.
Dholakia, Ozgun, and Atik (2020) have provided a provocative exposé of how that, too, is
related to economics — and specifically to the neoliberal economics of the past fifty years (see,
also, the related literature on the marketization of the economy, e.g., Firat 2020 and Tadajewski
2020).
The broadening movement in marketing has become “an instrumental (albeit often
reluctant) tool of neoliberal capitalism” (p. 870). They look at the “overlaps and the influences”
that have occurred across two seemingly unrelated historical processes — the broadening of the
marketing concept and the rapid rise of neoliberal ideologies and policies (p. 870).
If my framework for this paper is accepted, it could be nothing other than expected that many
more “influence flows” could be discovered should critically oriented macromarketers care to
look for them. Why bother?
Dholakia, Ozgun, and Atik write (p. 870):
Revealing the latent relations of the broadening of marketing discourse with
neoliberalism … provides us with the incentive to theorize alternate discourses in
marketing and allows better theoretical articulations that lead to socially and politically
responsible marketing practices.
Positive Marketing. The movement for positive marketing, not to be mistaken for positive
economics (Friedman 1953; Hutchison 2003; Mosini 2012) is a case in point. It is not possible to
read the definition of positive marketing and not see the most recent definition of marketing from
the American Marketing Association. That AMA definition (2017, its approval date) is:
Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating,
delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners,
and society at large.
The definition of Positive Marketing is:
Positive marketing is marketing in its ideal form, in which parties – individual customers,
marketers, and society as a whole – exchange value such that individually and
collectively they are better off than they were prior to exchange. (Center for Positive
Marketing)
258
I am hard pressed to see a difference. Neither did Tadajewski (2016, see, below). In fact, neither
does The Center for Positive Marketing. Their discussion, following their presentation of the
definition, is clear:
Positive marketing simply shifts the focus to the latter part of the
definition…recogniz[ing] the interdependency of the parties mentioned…deliver[ing]
value to customer(s), the firm, and society at large.
It is an attempt to reframe marketing, to nudge it to engage with important issues: race, poverty,
human exploitation, colonialism and neo-colonialism, gender and sex disparities as well as
efforts to resist neoliberalism and related ideological doctrines. It is not an attempt, to change
marketing.
Tadajewski (2016, pp. 8-15) scrutinized positive marketing and found it to be (pace Mittelstaedt,
Kilbourne, and Shultz 2015) “at best…a minute reworking of a definition of marketing from the
first chapter of an introductory textbook” (Tadajewski 2016). It is a manifestation of a desire to
retain (or regain?) legitimacy for marketing.
Better Marketing for a Better World. A similar attempt to retain or regain legitimacy for
marketing is the initiative known as Better Marketing for a Better World (BMBW). In their
introduction to this initiative in the Journal of Marketing Chandy et al. (2021) began with two
quotations the authors they say “reflect concerns shared by many marketing academics and
practitioners … about marketing’s role in creating a better world” (p. 1). Then they note, both
quotations appeared in a special issue of the Journal of Marketing 50 years ago and, therefore,
“reflect opportunities lost” (p. 1). They propose (here the nudge is explicit rather than implicit)
that marketing, and marketers (academic and otherwise), must now include “persistent poverty,
inequality, illiteracy, insecurity, disease, climate change, pollution, and human trafficking” in
their agenda. It is a call to recognize, in their words, that “the world’s current economic model is
deeply flawed” (p. 2). They do not identify, however, what model they are talking about that is
deeply flawed. Is it the neoliberalism of the past 50 years. Is it that, and neo-classical economics
that preceded it, to which (I and others argue) marketing is tethered? What alternative economic
model do they have in mind? And if “the world’s current economic model is deeply flawed,”
isn’t marketing as we know it also deeply flawed. That logic seems uncontestable.
In his scrutinization of positive marketing Tadajewski, taking a page from Spolestra and
Svensson (2016), opines that we should be alert to attempts to rethink marketing through
concepts that seem attuned to managerial needs, as broadened or as enlightened as they may be,
rather than reflective of any substantial change in the underlying values and assumptions that
frame the discipline of marketing. Like social marketing before it, positive marketing and now
BMBW seem to be, more than anything else, “[a manifestation] of a desire to retain legitimacy
for marketing (Tadajewski 2016)” but with “a tinge of the regressive” about them (p. 14).
Both Positive Marketing and the BMBW initiative are utilitarian in orientation: “our discipline
has no shortage of talent or tools with which to address these challenges” (Chandy et al. 2021).
They are extensions of a pre-existing body of common sense as a cultural system. To paraphrase
the passage from Geertz, above, a marketer, even large groups of marketers, may be aesthetically
259
insensitive, religiously unconcerned, and unequipped to pursue formal scientific analysis, but
they cannot be completely lacking in common sense and survive.
As a body of knowledge, even as extended by positive marketing and by BMBW, common
sense, continuing with my paraphrase, takes the world, its objects, and its processes as being just
what they seem to be and combine that the wish to act upon that world so as to bend it to one's
practical purposes, to master it, or so far as that proves impossible, to adjust to it. To act, that is,
upon the world—not merely accept it.
If I am correct, the next 50 years will be as disappointing as the past 50 unless “the…current
economic model” is changed, unless economics as a cultural system is somehow jettisoned. That
should not prevent as many of us, especially macromarketers, from doing what we can to make
the world a better place.
Doing what we can. In that regard,
Dholakia, Ozgun, and Atik (2020, pp. 886-889) provide, as
they say, “numerous ways to escape from the determination of neoliberal hegemony” for those
that wish to escape it (there are reasons many will not want to escape beyond being intellectually
and emotionally enthralled by the market). Among the six possibilities they discuss are:
• An unabashed commitment to macromarketing and Fisk’s intriguing possibility of
conceptualizing marketing as a “provisioning technology.” (In this regard, see
Benton 2021).
• Rather than trying to preserve the liberal social order, we can consider broadening
the concept of marketing but only after dislodging marketing theory and practice
from the free market economy to which it has been indexed since the inception of
discipline. (This will be more difficult than they imagine. It is in our name —
marketing and macromarketing.)
• Third, a strong movement could be launched to dislodge the consumer from the false
throne of sovereignty (Dholakia 2013; Schwarzkopf 2011a, 2011b). As they argue,
consumers are declared sovereign, the earthly sons and daughters of the invisible,
ethereal, omnipotent Market-God. Under the neo-classical and especially under
neoliberal theology, all other life roles must pay obeisance to, be subsumed by the
consumer role — or else simply be quashed by it.
In this regard, I once asked (Benton 1987b), after noting that each of us are
both producers and consumers, what elevated the consumer in us over the worker,
the producer? After all, I noted, “All religious traditions place primacy of importance
on work over consumption. It is only the liberal tradition of the West that has
reversed the ordering and given pride of place to consumption over work” (Benton
1987b). In a more rhetorical flair I suggested, “The Book of Genesis states that man
was created ‘in the image of God,’ in the image of the ‘creator,’ the ‘Creator’ of the
Universe. It is God the Creator, not God the Consumer” (p. 242). As far as I can tell,
the question did not inspire any follow up. Perhaps now is the opportunity.
• Technological innovations offer hope for developing “production-distribution-
consumption methods that are not in the neoliberal thrall” (p. 887).Whether they do
or not depends on the social design and the social forces which shape those
innovations.
260
• There are intriguing prospects of digitally revitalizing quite old and established concepts
and practices of such as cooperativism, of providing goods and services via cooperatives.
(See, for example, Chatzidakis and Lee 2013; Compana, Chatzidakis, and Laamanen
2017; Lloveras and Quinn 2016;.)
• Finally,
Dholakia, Ozgun, and Atik
invoke Hutton and Heath (2020) to suggest
marketing scholars consider the political nature of their research, even when it
remains largely obscured.
To this list of six, I tack on a seventh.
• Macromarketing scholars can engage in recent efforts to expose the colonization of
marketing knowledge and to decolonize it (Eckhardt et al. 2022; Everett 2023).
Conclusion
To conclude I can do no better than to draw attention to Firat’s recent comments (2012, p. 81).
Economics, either the neoclassical or neoliberal forms, serves the expansion of the market.
Everything that expands the market is good; anything that hinders it is bad. Those who think that
the market is simply a “mechanism” without vested interests are gravely mistaken. Maintaining
and reinforcing that enlargement is inscribed in the institutional practices that constitute modern
marketing.
It will be difficult for marketing as a cultural system to change, to loosen much less lose its
hegemonic hold over global culture, even as we chip away at the margins. It will require a new
“constituting imaginary that gets traction in the public's mind” (p. 81).
In terms of the present framework, marketing as a cultural system to will not change until a new
economics, or whatever it is we will call it, replaces the economics we know as a cultural system.
Until then, not only will economics maintain its hegemonic hold but so, too, will marketing —
regardless of the tweaking we do at the margins.
Firat continues:
For a new imaginary to get a footing, a persuasive exposé of the current human
condition, along with a convincing presentation of a potential organization of life that
captures the imagination, is required. As we realize and persuasively expose the fact
that the market as a modern institution and marketing as its institutionalized set of
practices have dominated contemporary global ideology, humanity may be able to
constitute and reconstitute other institutions — institutions that may be better to serve a
richer, diverse, multidimensional existence.
That is the call, the challenge, for macromarketers, albeit macromarketers with a tinge of
criticality in their makeup. If we are unable to contribute to the realization and persuasively
expose the market, neoliberalism, and modern marketing for what they are, we will be unable to
supplant hegemonic hold modern marketing and its god, the market, has over global culture.
Notes
[1] My B.S. was in marketing at the University of Arizona, my M.A. in anthropology at
Colorado State University, and my Ph.D. in economics also at Colorado State University.
261
[2] Chief among them was an appreciation that much of what I learned as an undergraduate
business major was wrong. I recounted and discussed these experiences in a presentation
made before the Colorado State University’s Department of Anthropology in 2013 (Benton
2013).
[3] My own contribution is this discussion (Benton 1990) went unnoticed, although it was the
first among recent contributions, beating Nelson by a year. The reason it went unnoticed, I
suspect, is that I placed my paper in a book (albeit edited by a noted economist, Warren
Samuels). Books do not get indexed, noticed, nor much read. My title, too, was probably too
clever. It was descriptive, but meaningful only to those who already knew to what I was
referring. There is a lesson here for younger scholars — be careful where you publish, seek
advice (as a younger scholar, no one advised me to avoid books), and use descriptive titles
with key words in the title.
[4] Nelson passed away during a conference in Finland on December 15, 2018, just six months
after he and I had breakfast together in Copenhagen during which he told me he was
unaware of the existence of my 1990 paper.
[5] “Ethos, World View, and the Analysis of Sacred Symbols,” was first published in 1957 and is
Chapter 5 in The Interpretation of Cultures (1973). “Religion as a Cultural System” was first
published in 1966 and is Chapter 4. I recommend “The Impact of the Concept of Culture on
the Concept of Man,” Chapter 2, also first published in 1966.]
[6] Symbolic models work and function as metaphor works and functions. The old Aristotelian
view metaphor was that it is merely ornamental or heuristic. New metaphor theories that
have emerged since Nietzsche argue that metaphor functions cognitively, not (or at least not
only) decoratively. Metaphor, once thought to be a happy extra trick with words, is now
thought of by many as constitutive of perception and comprehension. Geertz is of the
constitutive school.]
[7] Consider Maslow’s purposes. In the 1930s and 1940s he was what, at the time, was referred
to as an abnormal psychologist. His focus was on low-level neuroses. There were no
explanatory models, no theories, that worked for him to explain neurosis, so he created one,
the hierarchy of needs. The now familiar pyramid was not part of his conceptualization. It
was a heuristic added later by somebody else. Nor was it Maslow’s idea that a person
proceeded through the various levels of needing until, if lucky, he or she reached the level of
self-actualization. His idea was that a healthy person would satisfy all of his or her needs all
the time. True, there would be occasions when circumstances forced a person to focus on
one need to the exclusion of others (his notion of prepotency). If that focus and
concentration on one need over all others persisted, that person was neurotic. That was his
definition of neurosis.
[8] At the Macromarketing Conference in 2011 I invoked a passage from C. S Lewis’ Is
Theology Poetry? (Benton 2011). Lewis wrote, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the
sun has risen. Not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” I then
substituted the word economics for his Christianity to make my point. As rephrased it is: “I
believe in economics as I believe that the sun has risen. Not only because I see it, but
because by it I see everything else.” My point was that every student in every class in the
nation’s schools of business (and increasingly all other disciplines) sees economics
everywhere and by it they see everything else. Is there any doubt about that?
[9] The convention today is to spell this as a single word, worldview, as for example in Ninian
Smart’s publications (1983, 1995, 1998) and in Peterson and Minton (2018). Geertz
262
consistently spelled it as two words. While I adopt his convention the reader may find it both
ways. That is because spell check prefers the one word version.
[10] Alfred Marshall was the 19th century British economist that brought the separate ideas of a
Law of Supply and a Law of Demand together in one illustration, the now familiar graph
depicting a downward sloping demand curve and an upward sloping supply curve. Being the
first to illustrate these two laws economics in a single graph it is now standard, in
economics, to refer to it as the Marshallian Cross.
[11] I agree whole heartedly with Peterson and Minton. I part company with them in their failure
to recognize, or to emphasize, that marketing, too, rests on a world view. It is important to
recognize when we teach marketing that we, too, are already teaching a world view. For a
treatment of this notion, in terms of teaching environmental ethics, see Benton and Benton
(2004).
[12] This is only a sketch of the argument. I deal with it extensively in “Economics and the Loss
of Meaning” (1986), “A Hermeneutic Approach to Economics: If Economics is Not a
Science, and If It is Not Merely Mathematics, then What Is It?” (1990), “Why Teach
Environmental Ethics? Because We Already Do” (2004), “Teaching Environmental Ethics
to MBA Students” (2012), and in “Environmental Ethics: Theory and Implications for
Marketing” (2015).
[13] The story has been told many times. Sidney Ratner, et al., poignantly put it as follows. At
least up until around 1875, the American economy was a system of decentralized economic
decision making:
A multitude of entrepreneurs made decisions about investment, output, and price
in relation to their perception of the market, an institution in which Americans
placed great faith. Most manufacturing firms were small in size, were organized
as proprietorships or partnerships of a few men, were managed by their owners,
required relatively little capital, performed a single function, produced a single
product, and served local markets. Few exceptions were to be found in this pattern
except in the cotton-textile industry (1979, p. 285).
Summarizing the changes that occurred over an ensuing 50-year period, they write,
The emergence of the “mega corp,” the growth of “managerial enterprise,” or the
“corporate revolution,”…was the most significant change in the organization of
economic decision making since the development of market orientation and
capitalist institutions in the Middle Ages (1979: 296).
The emergence of marketing occurred during this same fifty-year period. The disconnect
was captured by George Brown (1951, p. 60) in his opening paragraph,
Most economic theorists apparently conceive of the marketplace as a small open
square in which producers display their wares, rent free, and to which consumers
travel to inspect the offerings and to make their purchases on a cash and carry
basis. In this particular world there are no brokers, no wholesalers, no retailers, no
railroads, no delivery trucks, no advertising, no salesmen — in short, no
marketing.
[14] In my original presentation of these bridges between economics and marketing I was remiss
in omitting the obvious one: exchange as the core concept in marketing discourse (Firat
2020, p. 23).
[15] Similarly, John C. Narver and Ronald Savitt published a book under the title The Marketing
Economy: An Analytical Approach (1971). At the outset they explain why they chose the
263
vocabulary they did. “Why call our…economy…a ‘marketing economy’? Why not simply a
‘market economy’?” They respond to their own question: “Choosing our words advisedly,
the former term [marketing economy] distinguishes contemporary market-based economies
from the name typically associated with the pure market economy of classical economic
theory. “The pure market economy” is solely an analytical framework rather than a portrayal
of the real world. Thus, to distinguish the real world of markets and market behavior from
the classical pure market economy, we employ the term “marketing economy” (p. 3).
[16] In the summer of 1988 I was at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, giving a talk to
assembled faculty. I made reference this is juxtaposition of the marketing concept as a
modern expression of consumer sovereignty and marketing management as demand
management. In the audience was Kotler’s Canadian co-author at the time, somebody named
Turner I believe. At one point he objected, saying that they assume demand cannot be
managed (or something like that). I remarked that I found it strange that early in their
textbook they proclaim a commitment to consumer sovereignty right after so clearly
indicating that the role and function of marketing is to manage demand, and then spend the
next 400 or 500 pages instructing how to do it, how to influencing the level, timing and
composition of that demand in a way that will help the organization achieve its objectives.
Above I suggested that today it may not be necessary to remind students of the marketing
concept/consumer sovereignty nexus. And I do not suggest a cause and effect relationship,
but the next edition of the Kotler textbook omitted the phrase about the marketing concept
being a “commitment” to the time-honored concept of “consumer sovereignty.”
[17] An enterprising student or young scholar could unpack the early marketing as exchange
literature and answer questions regarding how and why it entered the lexicon of marketing
as completely as it did, and when and how it did.
References
AMA (2017), “Definition of Marketing.” (Available at https://www.ama.org/the-definition-of-
marketing-what-is-marketing/) (last accessed April 3, 2023).
American Heritage Dictionary, 3rd edition (1996). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Bagozzi, Richard P. (1974), “Marketing as an Organized Behavioral System of
Exchange,” Journal of Marketing 38 (October), 77–81.
Bagozzi, Richard P. (1975), “Marketing as Exchange,” Journal of Marketing 39 (4): 32–39.
Bagozzi, Richard P. (1978), “Marketing as Exchange: A Theory of Transactions in the
Marketplace,” American Behavioral Scientist 21(4), 535-556.
Bartels, Robert (1965) “Development of Marketing Thought: A Brief History,” Science in
Marketing, George Schwartz editor. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Bartels, Robert (1976) The History of Marketing Thought, 2nd ed. Columbus, Ohio: Grid, Inc.
Beckerman, Wilford (1956), “The Economist as a Modern Missionary,” The Economic Journal
66(261), 108-115.
Bennett, Amanda (1988), “Corporate Chiefs’ Pay Far Outpaces Inflation and the Gains of
Staffs,” The Wall Street Journal, Monday, March 28
th
, pp. 1,6.
Benton, Jr. and Christine S. Benton (2004), “Why Teach Environmental Ethics? Because We
Already Do,” Worldviews 8(2-3), 227-242.
264
Benton, Jr., Raymond (1982), “Economics as a Cultural system,” Journal of Economic Issues 16
(2), 461-469.
Benton, Jr., Raymond (1986), “Economics and the Loss of Meaning,” Review of Social Economy
44 (3), 251-267.
Benton, Jr., Raymond (1987a), “The Practical Domain of Marketing: The Notion of a ‘Free’
Enterprise Market Economy as a Guise for Institutionalized Marketing Power,” American
Journal of Economics and Sociology 46 (4), 415-430.
Benton, Jr., Raymond (1987b), “Work, Consumption, and the Joyless Consumer,” in
Philosophical and Radical Thought in Marketing edited by A. Fuat Firat, Nikhilesh
Dholakia and Richard P. Bagozzi. Lexington, Massachusetts: D.C. Heath and
Company/Lexington Books, pp. 235-250.
Benton, Jr., Raymond (1990), “A Hermeneutic Approach to Economics: If Economics Is Not
Science, and If It Is Not Merely Mathematics, Then What Could It Be?” in Economics as
Discourse: An Analysis of the Language of Economists edited by Warren J. Samuels.
Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers (pp. 65-89).
Benton, Jr., Raymond (2011), “Comments Made During the Plenary Session on Macromarketing
and Politics, Roundtable on Macromarketing and Politics,” 36th Annual Macromarketing
Conference, Mason School of Business, College of William & Mary, June 5-June 8,
2011. (Available at https://ecommons.luc.edu/business_facpubs/221/, or from the author)
(last accessed April 14, 2023)
Benton, Jr., Raymond (2012), “Teaching Environmental Ethics to MBA Students,” Journal of
Strategic Innovation and Sustainability 7(3), 35-53.
Benton, Jr., Raymond (2013), “What is an Anthropologically Oriented Economist, Trapped in
the Body of a Marketing Man, Supposed to Do?” Talk presented at the Department of
Anthropology, Colorado State University, October 2013 (Available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWtQ9mDKvTw&t=25s) (last accessed April 15,
2023)
Benton, Jr., Raymond (2015), “Environmental Ethics: Theory and Implications for Marketing,”
in Handbook on Ethics in Marketing, edited by Alexander Nill. Cheltamham, U.K.:
Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 238-262.
Benton, Jr., Raymond (2021), “Our Obsolete Marketing Mentality: George Fisk, Meet Karl
Polanyi,” Journal of Macromarketing 41(1), 88-103.
Benton, Jr., Raymond (2021), “Review of D.G. Brian Jones and Mark Tadajewski (2018),
Foundations of Marketing Thought: The Influence of the German Historical School.
London and New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis. Journal of Macromarketing 41(3),
509-511.
Better Marketing for a Better World (Accessed at https://bmbw.org) (last accessed April 5,
2023).
Böhm, Steffen and Vinícius Brei (2008), “Marketing the Hegemony of Development: Of Pulp
Fictions and Green Deserts,” Marketing Theory 8(4), 339-336.
Borch, Fred J. (1957), “The Marketing Philosophy as a Way of Business Life,” in The Marketing
Concept: Its Meaning to Management, Marketing Series No. 99. New York: American
Management Association, pp. 3-5 (reprinted in Classics in Marketing edited by C. Glenn
Walters and Donald Robin. Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear Publishing Company,1978, pp.
385-96.
265
Boulding, Kenneth E. (1956), The Image: Knowledge in Life and Society. Ann Arbor: University
of Michigan Press.
Brown, George H. (1951), “What Economists Should Know About Marketing,” Journal of
Marketing 16, 60-66.
Carden, Art (2011), “The New Holy Wars: Economic Religion Versus Environmental Religion
in Contemporary America,” FEE Foundation for Economic Education (Available at
https://fee.org/articles/the-new-holy-wars-economic-religion-versus-environmental-
religion-in-contemporary-america/) (last accessed March 20, 2023)
Carden, Art (2019), “In Memoriam: Robert H. Nelson, 1944-2018,” Forbes, Jan 1, 2019
(Available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/artcarden/2019/01/01/in-memoriam-robert-h-
nelson-1944-2018/?sh=13c926fbe9dc) (Last accessed March 20, 2023). Reposted on The
Independent Institute webpage, January 7 (Available at
https://www.independent.org/news/article.asp?id=11669) (Last accessed March 6, 2023).
Center for Positive Marketing. (Available at
https://www.centerforpositivemarketing.org/positive-marketing) (last accessed April 3,
2023).
Chandy, Rajesh K., Gita Venkataramani Johar, Christine Moorman, and John H. Roberts (2021),
“Better Marketing for a Better World,” Journal of Marketing 85(3), 1-9. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429211003690.
Chatzidakis, Andreas and Michael S.W. Lee (2013), “Anti-consumption as the Study of Reasons
Against,” Journal of Macromarketing 33(3), 190-203.
Compana, Mario, Andreas Chatzidakis, and Mikko Laamanen (2017), “Introduction to the
Special Issue: A Macromarketing Perspective on Alternative Economies,” Journal of
Macromarketing 37(2), 125-130.
Cox, Harvey (1999), “The Market as God: Living in the new dispensation,” The Atlantic
Monthly (March):18-23.
Dawson, David C. (2021), “Searching for Laws of Economics: Causality, Conservation, and
Ideology, American Journal of Physiology—Cell Physiology 320(3), 428-C447
https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpcell.00324.2020.
Dholakia, Nikhilesh (2013), “Fusing Back the Human, Radically,” in R.J Varey and M. Pirson,
editors, Humanistic Marketing. London and New York: Palgrave, pp. 137-149.
Dholakia, Nikhilesh, Aras Ozgun, and Deniz Atik (2020), “The Unwitting Corruption of
Broadening of Marketing into Neoliberalism: A Beast Unleashed? European Journal of
Marketing 55(3), 868-893. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-10-2018-0688.
Diamond, Jared (2012), “What Electric Eels Tell Us About the Evolution of Religion,” Chapter 9
in The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? New
York: Penguin Books.
Dijksterhuis, Eduard Jan (1961), The Mechanization of the World Picture: Pythagoras to
Newton. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Eckhardt, Giana M., Russell Belk, Tonya Williams Badford, Susan Dobscham Güliz Ger, and
Rohit Varman (2022), Decolonizing Marketing, Consumption, Markets, and Culture
25(2), 176-186.
Everett, Sally (2023), Decolonizing the Business School Curriculum, AACSB Insights (Available
at https://www.aacsb.edu/insights/articles/2023/02/decolonizing-the-business-school-
curriculum) (accessed April 3, 2023).
266
Firat, A. Fuat (2012), “Marketing: Culture Institutionalized,” Journal of Macromarketing 33(1),
78-82. DOI: 10.1177/0276146712465187
Firat, A. Fuat (2020), “The Nature of Modern Marketization,” Chapter 2 (pp. 21-28) in
Marketization: Theory and Evidence from Emerging Economies edited by Himadri Roy
Chaudhuri and Russell W. Belk. Singapore: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-
15-4514-6
Firat, A. Fuat and Mark Tadajewski (2009), “Critical Marketing – Marketing in Critical
Condition,” Chapter 8 in The Sage Handbook of Marketing Theory edited by Pauline
Maclaran, Michael Saren, Barbara Stern an Mark Tadajewski. London: Sage
Publications, pp. 127-150.
Foley, Duncan K. (2004), “Rationality and Ideology in Economics,” Social Research, 71 (2),
329-342.
Foltz, Richard (2007), “The Religion of the Market: Reflections on a Decade of Discussion,”
Worldviews 11(2), 135-154.
Foucault, Michel (1970), The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences. New
York: Pantheon Books.
Freedman, Craig (2008), Chicago Fundamentalism: Ideology and Methodology in Economics.
Hackensack, NJ: World Scientific.
Friedman, Milton (1953), Essays in Positive Economics. Chicago University of Chicago Press.
Galbraith, John Kenneth (1970), “Economics as a System of Belief,” The American Economic
Review 60(2), 469-478.
Geertz, Clifford (1973), The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books.
Geertz, Clifford (1983), “Common Sense as a Cultural System,” Chapter 4 in Local Knowledge:
Further Essays in Interpretive Anthropology. New York: Basic Books.
Hill, Lisa (2001), “The hidden theology of Adam Smith,” The European Journal of the History of
Economic Thought 8(1), 1-29.
Hinchman, Lewis P. and Sandra K. Hinchtnan (2001), “Should Environmentalists Reject the
Enlightenment?” The Review of Politics 63(4), 663-692.
Hoover, Kenneth R. (2003), Economics as Ideology: Keynes, Laski, Hayek, and the Creation of
Contemporary Politics. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Hutchison, T. W. (2003), ‘Positive’ Economics and Policy Objectives. London: Routledge.
Hutton, Martina and Teresa Heath (2020), “Researching on the Edge: Emancipatory Praxis for
Social Justice,” European Journal of Marketing, 54(11), 2697-2721.
Jones, D.G. Brian and Mark Tadajewski (2018), Foundations of Marketing Thought: The
Influence of the German Historical School. London and New York: Routledge/Taylor &
Francis.
Kant, Immanuel (1963), Lectures on Ethics, translated by Infield, L. New York: Harper & Row.
Katouzian, Homa (1980), Ideology and Method in Economics. New York: New York University
Press.
Keller, D. R. (2009), “Toward a Post-Mechanistic Philosophy of Nature,” Interdisciplinary
Studies in Literature and Environment 16(4), 709-725.
Kinsley, David (1995), Ecology and Religion: Ecological Spirituality in Cross-Cultural
Perspective. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Kotler, Philip (1972), “A Generic Concept of Marketing,” Journal of Marketing 36 (April): 46-
54.
Kotler, Philip (1984), Marketing Management, 5th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
267
Leiss, William (1972), The Domination of Nature. New York: G. Braziller.
Levine, Michael P. (1997), “Ninian Smart on the Philosophy of Worldviews,” Sophia 36 (1): pp.
11-23.
Lloveras, Javier and Lee Quinn (2016), “Growth and Its Discontents: Paving the Way for a More
Productive Engagement with Alternative Economic Practices,” Journal of
Macromarketing 37(2), 131-142.
Lowe, Adolf (1942), “A Reconsideration of the Law of Supply and Demand,” Social Research
9(4), 431-457.
Lowe, Adolf (1965), On Economic Knowledge. New York: Harper and Row.
Loy, David (1997), “The Religion of the Market,” Journal of the American Academy of Religion
65 (2): 275-290.
MacIntyre, Alasdair (1984), After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory, second edition. Notre Dame,
Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press.
Martin, David A. Martin (1990), “Economics As Ideology: On Making ‘The Invisible Hand’
Invisible,” Review of Social Economy 48 (3), 272-287.
Maslow, Abraham H. (1943), “A Theory of Human Motivation,” Psychological Review 50(4),
370–396. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054346
McDaniel, Jay (1997), “The Sacred Whole: An Ecumenical Protestant Approach,” in The
Greening of Faith: God, the Environment, and the Good Life, edited by John E. Carroll,
Paul Brockelman, and Mary Westfall. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England
(pp. 105– 125).
McKitterick, J.B. (1957), “What is the Marketing Management Concept?” in The Frontiers of
Marketing Thought and Science edited by F.M. Bass. Chicago: American Marketing
Association, pp. 71-82.
Mittelstaedt, J. D., Kilbourne, W. E., &, Clifford J. Shultz II (2015), “Macromarketing
Approaches to Thought Development in Positive Marketing,” Journal of Business
Research, 68(12), 2513–2516. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.06.038
Mosini, Valeria (2012), Reassessing the Paradigm of Economics: Bringing positive economics
back into the normative framework. New York : Routledge.
Narver, John C. and Ronald Savitt 1971 The Marketing Economy: An Analytical Approach (New
York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Nelson, Robert H. (2001), Economics as Religion: From Samuelson to Chicago and Beyond.
University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press.
Nelson, Robert H. (2010), The New Holy Wars in America: Economic Religion vs.
Environmental Religion. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press.
Nelson, Robert H. (1991), Reaching for Heaven on Earth: The Theological Meaning of
Economics (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield).
Nelson, Robert H. (1991), Reaching for Heaven on Earth: The Theological Meaning of
Economics (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield).
Nelson, Robert H. (1993), “The Theological Meaning of Economics,” Christian Century 110
(23): 777-781.
Nelson, Robert H. (2001), Economics as Religion: From Samuelson to Chicago and Beyond.
University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press.
Nelson, Robert H. (2004), “What Is ‘Economic Theology’?” The Princeton Seminary Bulletin 25
(1): 58-79.
268
Nelson, Robert H. (2019), “Economic Religion and the Worship of Progress,” American Journal
of Economics and Sociology, 78(2), 319-362.
Pepper, Stephen C. (1935), “The Root Metaphor Theory of Metaphysics,” The Journal of
Philosophy 14, 365-374.
Peterson, Mark and Elizabeth A. Minton (2018), “Teaching Belief Systems in Marketing
Classes,” Journal of International Education in Business 11(1), pp. 43-62
Rapley, John (2017a), Twilight of the Money Gods: Economics as a Religion and how It All Went
Wrong. London and new York: Simon & Schuster.
Ratner, Sidney, James H. Soltow, and Richard Sylla (1979), The Evolution of the American
Economy: Growth, Welfare, and Decision Making. New York: Basic Books.
Rapley, John (2017b), “Few Things are as Dangerous as Economists with Physics Envy,” Aeon
(Available at https://aeon.co/ideas/few-things-are-as-dangerous-as-economists-with-
physics-envy) (last accessed April 10, 2023).
Schabas, Margaret (2005), The Natural Origins of Economics. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press.
Schwarzkopf, Stefan (2011a), “The Consumer as Voter, Judge and Jury: Historical Origins and
Political Consequences of a Marketing Myth, Journal of Macromarketing 31(1), 8-18.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146710378168
Schwarzkopf, Stefan (2011b), “The Political Theology of Consumer Sovereignty: Towards an
Ontology of Consumer Society,” Theory, Culture & Society 28(3), 106–129.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276410396912.
Smart, Ninian (1983), Worldviews: Crosscultural Explorations of Human Beliefs. New York:
Scribner's.
Smart, Ninian (1995), “The Philosophy of Worldviews, or the Philosophy of Religion
Transformed,” in Thomas Dean (ed.), Religious Pluralism and Truth: Essays on the
Cross-Cultural Philosophy of Religion. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, pp. 17-31.
Smart, Ninian (1998), The World's Religions, second edition. Cambridge, UK and New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Smith, Jonathan Z. (1998), “Religion, Religions, Religious,” Chapter 15 in Critical Terms for
Religious Studies edited by Mark C. Taylor. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Spady, Richard (2018), “Economics as Ideology,” First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion
& Public Life. (New York, N.Y.), 2018 (282), p.1-16.
Spoelstra, S., and P. Svensson (2016), “Critical Performativity: The Happy End of Critical
Management Studies?” In A. Prasad, P. Prasad, A. J. Mills, & J. H. Mills (Eds.),
Routledge Companion to Critical Management Studies. New York: Routledge, pp. 69–
79.
Stark, Warner (1956), The Contained Economy: An Interpretation of Medieval Economic
Thought. London: Blackfriars.
Tadajewski, Mark (2016), “Relevance, Responsibility, Critical Performativity, Testimony and
Positive Marketing: Contributing to Marketing Theory, Thought and Practice,” Journal of
Marketing Management 32(17-18), 1513-1536.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2016.1244974
Tadajewski, Mark (2020), “Marketization: Exploring the Geographic Expansion of Market
Ideology,” Chapter 1 (pp. 3-20) in Marketization: Theory and Evidence from Emerging
Economies edited by Himadri Roy Chaudhuri and Russell W. Belk. Singapore: Springer
Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4514-6
269
Tawney, Richard H. (1962), Religion and the Rise of Capitalism. Glouchester, MA: Peter Smith.
Waterman, A.M.C. (2002), “Economics as Theology: Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations.”
Southern Economic Journal 68: 907–21.
Wei-ming, T. (1994), “Beyond the Enlightenment Mentality,” in M. E. Tucker & J. A. Grim,
editors, Worldviews and Ecology: Religion, Philosophy, and the Environment.
Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books.
Wood, Diana (2002), Medieval Economic Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
270
Critical Macromarketing and the Better Post-Pandemic World
A. Fuat Firat, University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley, United States of America
Emre Ulusoy, Pacific Lutheran University, United States of America
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the inadequacies and pre-existing socio-economic
inequalities of market society and has even further exacerbated them. One of the highlights of
this crisis is that the economy has become an end in itself rather than a means to serve
humanity's purposes. Another issue is the individual's predicament of being abandoned in a
market society with little authority over how their lives are organized.
Using the lens of critical macromarketing, we will explore the foundations of these shortcomings
and the role marketing plays in perpetuating them. We will consider the state and market
dynamics and conclude by reflecting on what changes may need to occur in the
conceptualization of marketing to help, rather than hinder, the reduction of structural disparities
and bring about social change.
Critical Macromarketing
Macromarketing differs from traditional marketing by examining the impact of marketing
systems on society, instead of just targeting individual consumers to maximize company profits.
Wilkie and Moore (2006) argue that macromarketing plays a crucial role in understanding the
impact of marketing on the world. It is essential for marketing to consider the environmental
implications of consumerism and its impact on society and quality of life. Marketing activities
and products must be designed to enhance our lives, as the world's resources are limited. If one
uses them without considering the social implications, fulfilling customer demands without
discretion can result in environmental degradation, reduced quality of life for consumers, and
social inequality.
Hence, it is imperative to create fresh theories in macromarketing that consider critical marketing
perspectives and address the ecological and social crisis to improve the human condition.
Marketing is a rapidly expanding field that has a significant impact on our lives, and critical
macromarketing perspectives can have a vital role in bringing novel insights to the discipline by
offering both macro-level approaches and theoretical and philosophical critiques from within the
field. Ultimately, this can enable marketing to attain a more holistic understanding of the
intricacies in the world and contribute to the betterment of humanity. As Fırat 1985) proposed, a
discipline that grows quickly, such as marketing, necessitates self-critique to guide its
advancement in a more coherent and scientific manner, foster its growth, and explore new and
thought-provoking avenues in the study of humankind.
Critical macromarketing emerged as a subfield that delves deeper into the power structures and
exploitative forces underlying marketing systems. It investigates how these systems can lead to
social and economic inequality, discrimination, oppression, "cruelty in the marketplace" (Ulusoy
2015), and environmental degradation (Kilbourne 2018), among other issues. Critical
macromarketing provides a nuanced understanding of marketing systems by questioning
271
traditional economic models that assume consumers always make rational choices in a market-
based system. This perspective recognizes that marketing practices are influenced by broader
social and cultural forces, which may ultimately perpetuate inequality and oppression (Kilbourne
2018).
Marketing systems reflect and reinforce existing power structures, and focusing on individualism
and consumer choice in marketing can reinforce societal and cultural values. This perspective
emphasizes the need for more socially and environmentally responsible marketing practices,
which may require greater collaboration among firms, government, and civil society
organizations. Marketing is integrated into social structures and power dynamics, and the field
recognizes its role in shaping and reinforcing broader social and cultural norms, values, and
practices. Critical macromarketing challenges conventional assumptions about marketing
systems by analyzing how marketing practices are shaped by and contribute to larger social,
economic, and political systems and structures, such as capitalism, globalization, and consumer
culture. Ultimately, critical macromarketing seeks to encourage marketing practices that benefit
society as a whole.
Foundations of Market Society
The economic system that we know today as a market society is a result of modernity, according
to Slater (1997). Although marketplaces existed before, they differed significantly from the
modern market. These traditional marketplaces were multifunctional spaces that incorporated
non-economic activities such as politics, education, and arranged marriages (Braudel 1993).
They were not purely economic arenas, but rather cultural spaces. The modern market was a
symbolic construct developed by the architects of modern life organization (Miller 1987). Early
classical economists such as Smith (1994/1776) and Ricardo (1911/1817) envisioned the market
as a space that would liberate individuals from all kinds of subjugation, whether from nature or
other humans or human-made institutions (Giddens 1990). The market was seen as a place where
purely economic transactions could occur without any social, political, or personal interference,
freeing people from all obligations other than the resources they were exchanging.
Putnam (2016), however, suggests that economic factors alone cannot free individuals and that
institutions across various cultural domains are required for individuals to realize their full
potential. These institutions include science, which provides knowledge for individuals to take
control of their futures; art, which enriches the spirit and allows for creative visions of the future;
and morality, which ensures justice and fairness and enables the creation of a lawful existence.
The three practical domains of culture are political, social, and economic, and the modern market
is seen as the institutionalization of the modern principle of the economy. In this view, free
market exchanges and competition would serve as mechanisms for optimization. Therefore, the
modern market is regarded as the most important institution of modernity, and political, social,
and economic institutions are considered necessary to balance one another and ensure the
completion of modern projects (Slater and Tonkiss 2001).
Transformations on Late(r) Modernity
As modernity has progressed (Caputo and Marsh 1992), the economic domain has become more
prominent, with capital representing power in contemporary society. Industrialization and
economic growth have propelled capitalism to a position of global influence, and concepts such
272
as development, growth, freedom, affluence, and success are now closely tied to the economy.
This has led to a shift from liberalism to neoliberalism as the dominant ideology (Harvey 2007),
with the market exerting a hegemonic influence on human lives in the present day.
Marx (1976/1867) anticipated that economic value would become the fundamental principle of
modern culture, and all aspects of human life would be organized to maximize and expand
economic value (Marx 1976/1867). Today, the accumulation of economic value and the
economy's overall health are the primary concerns of global political systems (Chomsky 1999).
Countries have transitioned into market societies, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the drive
to protect the economy has guided policies, leading to unnecessary deaths as people returned to
work out of fear of economic losses or due to losing their jobs and being unable to support
themselves. As a result of an economy-focused culture, people's only means of sustaining
themselves is through the market, relying on their labor as the sole resource available to them.
The individual's emancipation in a market-oriented society led to the expectation that one should
take care of oneself and their family. This notion was promoted as the freedom to choose one's
way of life, resulting in an individualistic culture (Dholakia and Zwick 2006) where people are
vulnerable and left to fend for themselves without much guidance or support. This approach
drains individuals' energy, leaving them with insufficient resources to care for others. The
consequences of economic downturns, such as job loss, have a significant impact on them. This
was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals lack the authority or influence to shape
policies that affect their lives and livelihoods.
Recognizing Roadblocks
Numerous factors hinder change in the aforementioned circumstances, with corporate interests
controlling government policies being a significant obstacle. This control is exerted through
financial resources in politics and corporate representatives having a majority in government
agency decision-making committees (Van Cleave 2019). These conditions constitute a powerful
force that is challenging to overcome. The market economy and consumer culture, backed by the
same corporate interests, have become an unstoppable force in modern society (Toynbee and
Walker 2017). Despite its original purpose of fulfilling society's needs, marketing has played a
role in developing these conditions (Alderson and Martin 1965). The discipline shifted its focus
to exchange as the central concept of marketing, driven by managerial and business interests
(Bagozzi 1975). Consequently, the discipline's focus shifted from people's interests to the
interests of market growth, perpetuating the existing system.
Marketing is often said to exist for the purpose of satisfying demand, but organizations are
reluctant to fulfill needs until there is effective demand, which requires purchasing power. Many
individuals experiencing hunger, famine, illness, and other hardships display demand by going to
great lengths to seek relief, but this demand is often not on the radar of marketing organizations.
Rather than providing necessary resources, such as food, much of it is wasted by being dumped
into the ocean (Cornil, Hoegg, and Mookerjee 2021). As a result, charities and aid organizations
must step in to fill the gap, but they often fall short due to inadequate resources. Marketing
organizations justify their inaction by claiming that they need to remain profitable to continue
providing products to the market, and that profits are necessary to incentivize entrepreneurs to
undertake the risk and effort of running businesses. This reasoning stems from the capitalist
273
organization of market society, which has historically led to economic growth and worldwide
power. However, this logic ignores the inequalities and worldwide suffering that have also arisen
as a result.
However, it is important to note that humans are not solely driven by profit, economic wealth, or
power. Examples of individuals like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Rosa Parks and mass
movements advocating for the less fortunate prove that there are other incentives that drive us.
Blindly adhering to a single ideology, particularly when it has negative consequences, is a major
flaw in the human experience. We should have more faith in human capacity for critical thinking
and innovation, as history has shown us. Critics such as Baudrillard (1988) and Deleuze and
Guattari (1987) have pointed out the fallacy of these concepts. As social beings (Cameron 1973)
with a symbolic existence (Levy-Strauss 1963), individuals may rely heavily on others and
culture to shape their desires.
Consumers and marketing organizations are closely intertwined in shaping the complex nature of
desire. Cultural influences, largely shaped by marketing institutions, heavily impact the
formation of individual desires. These modern institutions are responsible for identifying existing
and potential desires through trend and disruption analyses, while also organizing production and
promoting certain lifestyles. In order to achieve social change and reduce structural disparities
and marketplace discrimination following the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential to rethink
marketing concepts. Novel marketing approaches must be developed to address these issues and
promote a more equitable future.
Rethinking Marketing for a Better Post-Pandemic World
By using a critical macromarketing framework to promote diversity, inclusivity, and awareness
of social issues, marketing can help reduce structural disparities and marketplace discrimination
and drive social change. The COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, has brought to light the already
existing discrepancies and prejudicial treatment in society, which predominantly affect low-
income communities, individuals of color, and women (Bailey 2020; Ostry, Loungani, and
Furceri 2020). From a critical macromarketing lens, several key state and market dynamics can
help reduce structural disparities and marketplace discrimination and thus drive social change in
a post-pandemic world. In order to establish a fair and just society in the aftermath of the
pandemic, it is crucial to encourage diversity, inclusivity, and cultural programs through
marketing efforts. While the government enacts policies and regulations to support marginalized
groups, the market commits to reducing discrimination and advocating for social justice.
To create a better post-pandemic world, a combination of government and market efforts must
prioritize social and economic fairness. This initiative should involve investing in education,
supporting small businesses and entrepreneurship, implementing progressive taxation, strong
regulations and enforcement, green technology and infrastructure, and international cooperation.
Ultimately, the critical macromarketing perspective stresses the importance of a systemic
approach to these issues, promoting fairness, inclusivity, diversity, sustainability, proactive
government intervention, and participatory decision-making.
In order to construct a marketing logic that can contribute to building a better world post-
pandemic, it is essential to openly acknowledge the limitations of modern marketing and face
274
uncomfortable truths without hesitation. One such truth is that individual success and security
cannot be guaranteed if a culture that perpetuates insecurity and failure exists. Without a culture
that promotes collective commitment to preventing failure and insecurity, even those who are
currently affluent and well-resourced are at risk of falling into desperation. Until people
recognize this reality and are dedicated to caring for those who are struggling, we will all be
susceptible to desperation, conflict, and destruction, which will persist indefinitely.
What implications do these inevitabilities hold for the type of marketing that is necessary?
Firstly, marketing must play a role in constructing and integrating into a culture that values
compassion and empathy towards others. Secondly, it should dissociate itself from purely
economic objectives and develop a comprehensive, multi-dimensional cultural perspective.
Traditional marketing approaches are inadequate when addressing public health concerns
(Jongenelis and Pettigrew 2016). The literature suggests various proposals for marketing, such as
"embedded marketing" (Dholakia and Fırat 2006) and "constructive engagement" (Shultz 2007),
both of which envision marketing as an active participant in communities and an equal partner in
finding solutions to challenges they may encounter. Constructive engagement positions
marketing as a separate agency, providing expertise and know-how, while embedded marketing
views the field as an intrinsic part of the community, responding to observed desires and
contributing to the construction of desired outcomes.
Marketing plays a significant role in creating desire and treating it as a set of practices related to
consumption could reinforce an illusion that serves the interests of dominant players in
contemporary market societies. Moreover, when we see marketing institutions as distinct from
the individuals who crave their products and define their identity as mere "consumers," we strip
people of their agency to make decisions beyond the limited choices presented to them by the
market (Dholakia and Fırat 2017). Rather than being mere consumers, people must have the
authority, as members of communities, to decide what is offered for consumption in the market
and beyond.
The construction of desires is a cultural process that involves all members of society and reflects
a power structure. Therefore, marketing should focus on understanding how desires are formed,
spread, institutionalized, and satisfied under various circumstances and contexts, rather than
solely on promoting and organizing exchanges. As beings that seek and create meaning (Nancy
2000), humans should have access to multiple forms of meaning, rather than being restricted to
only economic value, which is the predominant form of meaning in contemporary market
society.
Marketing should contribute to building a culture that values caring for others. Trying to reduce
structural disparities and marketplace discrimination by creating systems of provisioning based
on market exchange is futile in a culture where many lack valuable resources. Instead, we need a
new marketing framework that is revolutionary in its conceptualization to promote and achieve a
better world.
Conclusion
The concept of critical macromarketing challenges the dominant marketing discourse and
advocates for the inclusion of social and environmental concerns in marketing practices. This
275
approach stresses the importance of education and alternative economic organization to create a
more equal distribution of resources in the market, and it supports social justice and
sustainability in marketing activities. Critical micromarketing helps us explore the societal
implications of marketing practices on a macro level and highlights the role of marketing in
shaping social and cultural norms. More specifically, it examines the potential positive and
negative impacts of marketing activities on society, the drawbacks of a market society, and the
relationship between state and market dynamics and marketing practices and outcomes.
The article suggests several strategies to promote responsible and sustainable marketing and
social justice. These include emphasizing value creation and experiences as a community,
collaborating with all stakeholders, promoting diversity and inclusion, and fostering
collaboration between the state and the market. Ultimately, the article underscores the need for a
long-term commitment to diversity, inclusion, and social justice to achieve these goals. In
conclusion, the article advocates for a critical macromarketing approach that takes into account
the broader social and cultural context in which marketing occurs. It stresses the importance of
considering the potential positive and negative impacts of marketing activities on society and
calls for critical reflection and reform of structures and institutions to mitigate negative effects
and prioritize social, cultural and environmental considerations.
References
Alderson, Wroe and Miles W. Martin (1965), "Toward a Formal Theory of Transactions and
Transvections," Journal of Marketing Research, 2 (May), 117-127.
Bagozzi, Richard P. (1975), "Marketing as Exchange," Journal of Marketing, 39 (October), 32-
39.
Bailey, Dominic (2020), “Coronavirus: Who would Get the Vaccine First?,” BBC, September
11, (accessed on September 23, 2020).
Baudrillard, Jean (1988), "The System of Objects," in Jean Baudrillard: Selected Writings (ed.
by M. Poster), Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 10-28.
Braudel, Fernand (1993), A History of Civilization. New York: Penguin Books.
Cameron, Kenneth N. (1973), Humanity and Society: A World History. New York: Monthly
Review Books.
Chomsky, Noam (1999), Profit Over People: Neoliberalism and Global Order. New York: Seven
Stories Press.
Deleuze, Gilles and Félix Guattari (1987), A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism & Schizophrenia.
Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Fırat, A. Fuat (1985), “A Critique of the Orientations in Theory Development in Consumer
Behavior: Suggestions for the Future,” Advances in Consumer Research, 12 (1).
Fırat, A. Fuat and Nikhilesh Dholakia (2006), "Theoretical and Philosophical Implications of
Postmodern Debates: Some Challenges to Modern Marketing," Marketing Theory, 6 (2),
123-162.
Fırat, A. Fuat and Nikhilesh Dholakia (2017), "From Consumer to Construer: Travels in Human
Subjectivity," Journal of Consumer Culture, 17 (3), 504-522.
Giddens, Anthony (1990), The Consequence of Modernity. Stanford, CA: Stanford University
Press.
276
Harvey, David (2007), A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Kilbourne, William E. (2018), "Critical Macromarketing, Sustainable Marketing, and
Globalization," in The Routledge Companion to Critical Marketing. Routledge, 98-114.
Lévy-Strauss, Claude (1963), Structural Anthropology. New York: Basic Books, Inc.,
Publishers.
Marsh, James L. and John D. Caputo (1992), Modernity and its Discontents. New York:
Fordham University Press.
Marx, Karl (1976/1867), Capital, vol. 1. New York: Penguin Books.
Miller, Daniel (1997), Material Culture and Mass Consumption. Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.
Mookerjee, Siddhandt, Yann Cornil and JoAndrea Hoegg (2021), "From Waste to Taste: How
"Ugly" Labels Can Increase Purchase of Unattractive Produce," Journal of Marketing, 85
(3), 62-77.
Nancy, Jean-Luc (2000), Being Singular Plural. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Ostry, Jonathan D., Prakash Loungani and Davide Furceri (2020), “The Pandemic will Leave the
Poor further Disadvantaged – IMF,” World Economic Forum, May 18, (accessed on
September 30, 2020).
Pettigrew, Simone and Michelle J. Jongenelis (2016), "Promoting Public Health: Understanding
the Limitations of Marketing Principles and the Need for Alternative Approaches," in
Making a Difference Through Marketing: A Quest for Diverse Perspectives (ed. by C.
Plewa and J Conduit). Singapore: SpringerNature, 61-72.
Putnam, Hilary (2016), Naturalism, realism, and Normativity (ed. by M De Caro). Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.
Ricardo, David (1911/1817), The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation. London, UK:
J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
Shultz, Clifford J., II (2007), "Marketing as Constructive Engagement," Journal of
Macromarketing, 26 (2), 293-301.
Slater, Don (1997), Consumer Culture and Modernity. Cambridge, UK: Polity
Slater, Don and Fran Tonkiss (2001), Market Society. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
Smith, Adam (1994/1776), The Wealth of Nations. New York: Random House.
Toynbee, Polly and David Walker (2017), Dismembered: How the Attack on the State Harms Us
All. London, UK: Guardian Books.
Ulusoy, Emre, (2015), "I Think, therefore I am Vegan: Veganism, Ethics, and Social Justice,"
Proceedings of the 40th Annual Macromarketing Conference.
Van Cleave, Kris (2019), "Relationship between FAA and Boing under Scrutiny after Deadly
Crash," CBS News, March 19.
Wilkie, William L., and Elizabeth S. Moore (2006), "Macromarketing as a Pillar of Marketing
Thought," Journal of Macromarketing, 26 (2), 224-232.
Zwick, Detlev and Nikhilesh Dholakia (2006), "The Epistemic Consumption Object and
Postsocial Consumption: Expanding Consumer-Object Theory in Consumer Research,"
Consumption Markets & Culture, 9 (1), 17-43.
277
The U.S. Government’s Program of Welfare for the Wealthy
Stanley F. Stasch, Loyola University Chicago, United States of America
Raymond Benton, Jr., Loyola University Chicago, United States of America
Introduction
Recently there has been a fair amount of discussion about the degree and the extent of income
and wealth inequality in the United States (Atkinson 2015; Baker 2016; Benton 2022; Blawatt
2022; Greig, Hulme, and Mark 2007; passim.). There have also been assertions to the contrary,
that inequality is less than it seems (Early and Gramm 2018; Gramm, Ekelund, and Early 2022;
Kalinowski 2012;). In their push to improve the functioning of the macromarketing system as a
whole it is important that macromarketers understand how inequality affects the way people
think, how they live, and how they die (Payne 2017). It is also important that they understand the
source and sources of that inequality. To do so, however, macromarketers must breach the high
wall that academics place between the disciplines. [1]
In the context of the present session on Government’s Role in the Macromarketing System, it is
important to grasp how the government impacts the degree of inequality—or serves to correct it.
Put another way, is it a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, or is it a
government that negatively impacts the nation’s already very large income inequality?
The United States prides itself on being governed by the rule of law, as do other liberal
democracies. The present paper discusses how, beginning in the 1970s, the law has been used by
certain parties—let’s call them the power elite and the rich—to regain the incomes and wealth
that they had lost between the 1920 and the 1970s, income and wealth they feel was rightfully
theirs.
From the late 1940s to the mid-1970s, ordinary people in the United States enjoyed a tremendous
increase in their prosperity. It was the highest level of prosperity the world had ever experienced,
and it resulted in the creation of the great American middle class. That period was followed by
four decades which witnessed the destruction of that great American middle class, a development
caused, in part, by the vast income inequality between management and their workers that
emerged in the 1970s and continued, relentlessly, for the next 40-50 years. The present paper
argues that the U.S. Government was an instigator, perhaps the major instigator, of that growing
income inequality.
Much of what happens in government occurs behind the scenes, in the dark, such that the
citizenry is deprived of accurate information about matters of importance to them. On such
occasions, typically a special interest group influences government to do something that favors
its welfare, often at the expense of the welfare of others. At other times the special interest group
convinces government to not do something that would prevent the special interests from
278
benefiting from an already enacted rule or law, one that is already beneficial to the special
interests, but harmful to others. We refer to such activities as stealth activities of the U.S.
Government working against the general welfare of the American people. From 1970 to 2010
there were at least 17 occasions when the U.S. Government acted in this manner.
This paper describes how, from the 1970s to the decade of the 2000s, the U.S. Government
enacted its Program of Welfare for the Wealthy.
Background: The Creation of the Great American Middle Class
The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of
those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have
too little.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Second Inaugural Address, 1937
In the late 1920s, before the onset of the Great Depression of the 1930s, the top one percent of
the U.S. population claimed about 23.9 percent of the income earned by all of the people in the
U.S. The other 99 percent of the population claimed the remaining 76.1 percent of the nation’s
income.
That is, in the late 1920s the top one percent of the population earned almost one-fourth of the
nation’s income while, on average, each one percent of the remaining population was claiming
only about 0.77 percent of the nation’s earnings (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Share of the U.S. Income Going to the Top One Percent, 1913 to 2007.
279
Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman, presidents of the United States from 1933 to
1953, legitimized labor unions. This strongly encouraged workers to form and join labor unions
at their places of employment, which they did in great numbers from the mid-1930s to the 1950s.
This resulted in their receiving better wages, benefits and working conditions than before. Figure
two, below, shows that as union membership increased significantly in the 1930s – 1950s, the
share of the nation’s income going to the top one percent of the population fell into a long
decline from the 1930s to the mid-1970s. Furthermore, because non-unionized businesses had to
offer competitive wages and benefits, this prosperity extended to millions of other workers from
the late 1940s into the 1970s and 1980s (see Figure 2).
Figure 2. Union Membership and U.S. Income Share of the Top One Percent.
(Source: Income Inequality, a project of the Institute for Policy Studies. (Available at
https://inequality.org/facts/income-inequality/) (last accessed February 22, 2023).
280
The result of that prosperity was that, by 1976, the top one percent of the population claimed
only 8.9 percent of the nation’s earnings, down from 23.9 percent in the late 1920s, while the
remaining 99 percent of the population claimed the other 91.1 percent of the nation’s earnings,
up from 76.1 percent. On average, each one percent of the bottom 99 percent of the population
claimed about 0.92 percent of the nation’s earnings.
Table 1, below, combines these statistics from the late 1920s and 1976. Compared with
the late 1920s, the 1976 numbers clearly indicate that the nation’s income was being distributed
more evenly across the entire working population. The great American middle class had been
created!
Table 1. Income distribution, late 1920s compared with 1976.
Population Segment
Late 1920s
1976
1920 –1976
Difference
Top 1 Percent
23.9 Percent
8.9 Percent
- 15.0 Percent
Middle 1 Percent
0.77 Percent
0.92 Percent
+ 0.15 Percent
The Destruction of the Middle Class. [2]
The progressive, populist tendencies that entered the US polity after the
Great Depression did not last long. With a few lulls such as the 1960s Great
Society program of President Lyndon B. Johnson, the American political
economy of [the] rest of the 20th century and the early part of the 21st
century was one of whittling down the New Deal programs.
Dholakia, Ozgun, and Atik (2021, p. 871)
The Business Community, the Republican Party, and Conservative Democrats joined together in
a strong faction to regain the wealth status they enjoyed in the 1920s and before.
By the 1970s, the business community and the Republican Party, along with conservative
Democrats, decided to fight to regain the incomes and wealth they had lost. To succeed in that
fight, the faction would first have to destroy or severely weaken the power that labor unions had
acquired during the Roosevelt and Truman administrations. This section describes six important
actions the faction took in their effort to destroy the power of labor unions and regain the wealth
they believed rightfully belonged to them.
• In 1947 Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act, a very harsh, anti-union law.
281
• In the late 1950s, President Eisenhower supported passage of the Landrum-Griffin Act,
the harshest law against labor unions since the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act.
• In 1965 the business community/Republican Party/conservative Democrats faction
successfully prevented President Lyndon Johnson’s and the Democratic Party’s attempt
to reform the Taft-Hartley Act. Johnson won the 1964 election by a wide margin, and the
Democrats won both houses of Congress (by 68 to 32 in the Senate, and by 295 to 140 in
the House). With their substantial victory at the polls, Johnson and Congressional
Democrats tried to repeal the most blatantly anti-labor portions of the Taft-Hartley Act.
However, Republicans in the Senate were joined by enough conservative southern
Democrats to sustain a filibuster of the proposed reform legislation.
• In the 1970s the business community made a big move to regain its influence in
Washington. In 1970 the New York-based National Association of Manufacturers moved
its headquarters to Washington, D.C. Because New York City was the country’s center of
business, the organization had been headquartered there. But the interrelationship of
business with business was no longer considered as important as the interrelationship of
business with government. The chief executives of America’s top 200 corporations
formed the Business Roundtable, and it, too, moved to Washington. The National
Federation of Independent Businesses, with a half a million members, also moved to
Washington. So did the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of
Wholesalers-Retailers, and the National Restaurant Association. These were the big six
business associations and they relocated to Washington to form an extremely powerful
force to lobby for their own special interests.
From the late 1970s throughout the 1980s, these groups increased their spending on
congressional elections some five hundred percent. By the late 1970s these groups had
hired such a large force of lobbyists that, when combined, they had 130 lobbyists for each
of the 535 members of Congress. The result of this lobbying effort was that the anti-
business Congress of the early 1970s became the pro-business Congress of the late 1970s.
By 1984, these lobbyists had established a powerful reputation: “When business really
tries, when it is fully united and raring to go, it never loses a big battle in Washington”
(Noah 2012, p. 108).
• In the mid-1970s Republican President Gerald Ford vetoed two bills that would have
strongly benefitted ordinary consumers and labor unions.
• In 1978 the Democrats in Congress were pushing another bill that would support labor
unions when confronted by the Taft-Hartley law. Because the bill would have passed the
Senate if it came up for a vote, two Republican Senators, Orrin Hatch of Utah and
Richard Lugar of Indiana, offered one amendment after another, until the number of
amendments eventually totaled almost one thousand. After five weeks of such delaying
tactics, three votes were finally taken to end the filibuster. The closest vote favoring
ending the filibuster was 58 – 41, two short of the needed 60 votes. A noted historian
called this defeat a Waterloo for labor (Pizzigati 2012).
Did these actions weaken labor unions? Four observations clearly indicate that they were very
effective in greatly weakening the power of unions.
282
a) The effectiveness of labor union activities reached its zenith in about 1976, when the
bottom 99 percent of workers received 91.1 percent of the nation’s income. After 1976,
that 91.1 percentage constantly trended downward, and by 2010, was only 75 percent.
b) The bottom 99 percent of workers were able to achieve the rewards noted above because,
from the late 1930s to the 1960s-1970s, union membership continued to grow until about
33-34 percent of workers in the U.S. were union members. After that, union membership
went into a steady decline until 2010, when only 10-12 percent of U.S. workers were
union members.
c) After the business community moved to Washington in the 1970s, it had thousands of
lobbyists doing their bidding. Labor unions could not afford an army of lobbyists who
were strong enough to compete with the business-community’s lobbyist force.
d) Once the power of labor unions had been significantly weakened, the U.S. Government
proceeded to utilize what we call stealth government actions to create its Program of
Welfare for the Wealthy.
Stealth government actions in the 1970s
There were four stealth government actions during the 1970s, two undertaken by Congress and
two facilitated by Supreme Court decisions.
1. Student loans guaranteed by the government rewarded bankers at the expense of students.
In the 1972 student loan program established under Sallie Mae, the government did not
lend money directly to students. Banks made the loans, and the government guaranteed
the loans. The banks took absolutely no risk. Banks could borrow money from the
Federal Reserve at low interest rates and lend that money to students at substantially
higher interest rates. President Clinton tried to change the system to one where students
borrowed directly from the government. Congress prevented that approach. The net effect
was that Congress passed laws that forced students to pay higher interest rates on their
loans than they would have, had there been available a system of direct-government
loans.
2. The new bankruptcy law of 1978 strongly favored management over workers. In 1978
Congress passed a little-noticed bankruptcy law that greatly shifted legal power in
bankruptcy cases away from the courts and the public, giving that power to the
management of the company declaring bankruptcy. Instead of ousting the company’s
management and replacing them with an outside bankruptcy trustee (as had been
common practice), the new law not only left the old management in place, but also
allowed them to mastermind the entire bankruptcy process. This new law permitted the
old management to shed old debts and abrogate long-standing labors union contracts that
had guaranteed wages, health benefits, and lifetime pensions. Thus, management was
empowered to deprive rank-and-file employees of millions of dollars in hard-won
economic gains.
3. Supreme Court decisions in the late 1960s made all labor union strikes illegal. Labor
disputes now had to submit to arbitration. The Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932, among
other things, barred federal courts from issuing injunctions to prevent strikes, picketing,
or boycotts by labor groups. It also prohibited contractual agreements in which an
employee agreed, as a condition of employment, to not join a union while employed by
the company. In a 1969 case (the Boys Market case), the Supreme Court decided that it
would begin to issue injunctions to enforce no-strike clauses in labor contracts. The Court
283
then went even further. It would imply no strike clauses even if no such clause existed.
The Court reasoned that labor unions did not need strikes anymore, and that everything
could be decided by a neutral arbitrator. With these decision, the Supreme Court declared
strikes illegal, thus denying unions the use of their most powerful weapon in their
struggle to improve workers’ conditions.
4. A 1978 Supreme Court decision allowed banks to charge high credit card interest rates
for low-income credit card holders. In Marquette National Bank of Minneapolis v. First
of Omaha Service Corp., the Court invalidated the use of a state’s anti-usury law against
nationally-chartered banks. Those laws were designed to prohibit banks from charging
excessively high interest rates. That decision effectively deregulated credit cards interest
rates. Banks could now charge 30 percent interest to people who previously could not
qualify for a bank loan because they were too high a risk.
Because of that decision, Citicorp decided to move its credit card operations to South
Dakota. To do so, it had to convince the Governor of South Dakota to persuade that
state’s legislature to formally invite Citicorp to operate there, as required by federal law.
The Governor then successfully lobbied the legislature to pass a bill to repeal the state’s
cap on interest rates. That done, Citicorp then moved its entire credit card operation to
South Dakota. Citicorp then began to aggressively market their high-interest rate cards to
customers who carried large balances but rarely paid more than the monthly minimum.
Other banks soon followed the Citicorp–South Dakota model.
Stealth government actions in the 1980s
There were four stealth government actions in this decade, three by President Ronald Reagan’s
administration, one by Congress.
5. The Reagan presidency allowed corporations to replace pension plans with 401(k) plans,
thus greatly reducing the retirement incomes of millions of middle- and lower-class
workers. In 1981 the Reagan Treasury Department, without specific legislation passed by
Congress and signed by the president, ruled that a tax provision allowing the use of
401(k) plans—narrowly intended for a dozen or so New York state corporations—could
be applied across the nation. As a result, the percentage of large and medium-sized
American firms that offered traditional lifetime pensions fell from 83 percent in 1980 to
28 percent in 2011.
In the old system, employers put up 89 percent of the money for retirement, while the
employees only contributed 11 percent. Under the 401(k) system, the employees now
paid 51 percent of the cost of the system, while the employers paid 49 percent. Under the
old system, companies’ guaranteed monthly retirement checks to employees for as long
as they lived. Under the 401(k) system, it was now up to employees to provide for their
own retirement savings and to manage their money for long-term security, a task beyond
the capability of millions, as the record now shows.
6. The Reagan administration allowed corporations to buy back their own company stock.
In effect, when buying back their own company stock the CEOs were stealing money
from current stockholders because their stock options devalued the stocks currently held
by stockholders. Prior to 1982, a corporation’s repurchase of their own stock was
considered an attempt to manipulate the company’s stock price. Doing so was illegal, and
284
had been for decades. In 1982, under Reagan, the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) adopted rule 10b-18, the result of which was that a corporation’s repurchasing of
its own stock was no longer an illegal act. By making this change, the SEC ceased to be
a stock regulator, as decreed by law, and, instead, became an active promoter of stock
price manipulation.
7. Congress passed the Garn-St. Germain Act and eliminated three important banking
regulations, the absence of which contributed to the nation’s subprime housing mortgage
crisis that culminated in the financial crash of 2007-2008. In 1982 Congress passed the
Garn-St. Germain Act, which basically deregulated the savings and loan industry. The
Act allowed thrifts (i.e., savings and loans associations) to increase the interest rates they
offered savers in order to attract more savers, as well as more deposits from each saver.
The thrifts could then use the extra deposits to make speculative investments, which
previously they had not been permitted to do. Due to the poor investments they made,
several thousand thrifts failed in the 1986-2002 period. That created a shortage of
mortgage-lending institutions (i.e., lenders), a shortage that was quickly filled by newly
emerging mortgage-writing companies, which were both unregulated and unscrupulous.
Also in the early 1980s, through the Secondary Mortgage Market Enhancement Act,
Congress (1) abolished usury interest rates on mortgages and the requirement of a down
payment when buying a home, (2) allowed banks to offer adjustable-rate mortgages to
financially unqualified individuals, and (3) allowed the securitization of those mortgages
on the secondary market, even though they were of very questionable quality. This was
the start of the “subprime mortgages” market.
Because of these deregulations, lenders sold their subprime mortgages to investment
banks like Goldman Sachs, who securitized them and sold them as high-quality securities
to private individuals and pension funds that expected to receive a high rate of return on
their purchases. Lenders used that new source of income (reselling their subprime
mortgages to investment banks) to again begin issuing adjustable-rate mortgages to
financially unqualified individuals, thus starting the cycle all over again.
From the very beginning, these home mortgages were loaded “with poisonous features
that made them virtually impossible to repay” (Smith 2012). When those home buyers
began to default on their mortgages in the early 2000s, they lost most or all of the
investments they had made in their homes. Individuals or pension funds that had
purchased those securitized mortgages as good investments also lost most or all of their
investments. During the decade of the 2000s, those subprime mortgage foreclosures
occurred with increasingly greater frequency, and that caused the financial crisis of 2007-
2008.
8. Reagan and Republicans aligned themselves with the ultraconservative Federalist Society
to identify young, prospective Supreme Court nominees who strongly embraced very
conservative political ideals, while avoiding the nomination of candidates who might
have liberal tendencies.
From President Reagan’s point of view, the federal judiciary system was no longer meant
to be politically independent—that is, be one of the three equal branches of government.
285
Instead, it was to become a legal force aligned with and supporting the Republican Party.
To accomplish his goal, Reagan decided that the source of these future Republican-
friendly Supreme Court justices was to be the Federalist Society.
All Federalist Society members were libertarians who strongly opposed government
programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. They also opposed legal
abortions, governmental regulation of private industry, and other popular initiatives like
progressive income taxes.
Consider the last four Republican presidents and the eight individuals they appointed to
the Supreme Court. Almost all were Catholic and members of the Federalist Society.
Ronald Reagan appointed both Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy. George Herbert
Walker Bush appointed Clarence Thomas. George W. Bush appointed John Roberts and
Samuel Alito. Donald Trump appointed Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett
Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh was raised Catholic, although now embraced the Episcopalian
faith. Kennedy, while very conservative, was not a member of the Federalist Society.
By the end of the George W. Bush presidency (2008), the pro-business/anti-common
worker bias of this Republicanized Supreme Court (e.g. Scalia, Alito, Thomas, Kennedy,
and Roberts) was evident in the Court’s decisions (1) in the halting of the Florida recount
of votes in the Bush vs. Gore presidential election of 2000 (reflecting a strong business
bias), (2) in the Lilly Ledbetter case (indicating a strong favoritism for big business and a
very strong bias against women and common workers), and (3) in the Citizens United
case, which allowed corporations and very wealthy people to make unlimited political
campaign contributions that benefitted their favorite candidates. Because of the financial
freedom given to corporations and wealthy individuals by the Citizens United decision,
the historical one man, one vote principle no longer applied to those in the top three or
four percent of earners. The rich person’s ability to influence the political system was
now much, much stronger than the working man’s ability to do so.
Stealth government action in the 1990s
Democrat Bill Clinton was president of the United States from 1993 to 2000. There were three
stealth government actions taken in the 1990s. Two were initiated by Congress, one by the
Supreme Court.
9. Congress encouraged a substantial increase in use of stock options to dramatically
increase CEO compensation and cause even greater income inequality. From 1990 to
2001, CEO annual compensation grew about 400 percent. To a great extent, that growth
was due to the use of stock-option grants as a form of executive compensation.
On average, in the early 1990s, stock options only represented about 20 percent of an
executive’s compensation. Twenty years later that figure tripled to about 60 percent. In
1980, only about 30 percent of CEOs had been granted company stock options. By 1994,
70 percent were receiving options. By 2000, mega-option grants of millions of shares or
more had become the norm (Smith 2012).
The use of stock options was controversial because they were not treated as an expense in
the company’s accounting system. As a consequence, when CEOs exercised their stock
286
options, they represented transfers of wealth from the shareholders of the company’s
stock to corporate executives. Since such transfers of wealth occurred without the
permission of the shareholders, they were illegal.
In 1993 the quasi-regulatory Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) announced
that it intended (1) to rule that stock options were illegal because “failing to charge
options as a business expense was deceptive accounting” (Smith 2012). Congress quickly
came to the rescue of corporate America the following year (1994), when the Senate
voted 88-9 in favor of a resolution that condemned the FASB’s proposed actions as
reckless. Fearful that Congress would eliminate the FASB and reduce funding for the
Securities and Exchange Commission, the chairperson of the SEC directed the FASB to
withdraw its proposed ruling. That Senate resolution presented CEOs with another ten
years of bountiful wealth.
10. Congress excluded waitresses and waiters when it increased the federal minimum wage,
thus relegating them to poverty or near-poverty incomes. In the early 1960s, the National
Restaurant Association persuaded Congress not to give any minimum wage protection to
waitresses and waiters. Those workers would have to live only on the tips they received
at work. That changed in 1966, when the minimum wage for waitresses and waiters was
set at 50 percent of the minimum wage for other workers. From 1966 to 1996 the tipped
wages for waitresses and waiters varied between 50 and 60 percent of the regular
minimum wage. In 1996, the Republican-led Congress again raised the minimum wage
for regular workers, but that raise did not apply to waitresses and waiters.
11. The Supreme Court allowed forced arbitration clauses in consumer contracts to prevent
class action lawsuits against corporations. When consumers sign a credit card contract, a
cellphone agreement, or a cable television contract, the contract’s fine print is likely to
include a forced arbitration clause. By signing such a contract or agreement, such
consumers give up the right to join with other like consumers in a class action lawsuit
against the company issuing the contract. Instead, if they believe the company is being
unfair, dishonest, or doing something illegal, they must hire a lawyer and enter into
individual arbitration with the company. Since the financial reward for any consumer, if
they win the arbitration, is likely to be less than the legal fees incurred, there is no
incentive for the consumer to enter into such a legal action.
Forced arbitration clauses in a company’s contract typically cost customers several
dollars a month. If there are hundreds of thousands of contract signees, those relatively
small monthly amounts may total in the millions. Over the course of a year, they may
total in the tens of millions of dollars. By including such clauses in their contracts,
companies reap great financial benefits, but they are not subject to costly class action
lawsuits because of their unfair, dishonest, or illegal practices. The use of forced
arbitration clauses was well-established in the late 1990s, and the Supreme Court
legalized the practice in ATT v. Concepcion.
Stealth government actions in the 2000s
George W. Bush was president from 2001 to 2009, and the Republicans controlled Congress
from 1994 until 2006. There were six stealth government actions during this decade: one was
initiated by President Clinton and supported by Congress; two were initiated by President
287
George W. Bush and supported by Congress; two were initiated by Congress and supported by
President Bush; one was supported by both Congress and President Bush.
12. The business community helped President George W. Bush pass tax cuts for the rich. In
1993 President Clinton instituted a tax increase on the rich, and it was one of the major
forces that resulted in the economic prosperity of the mid-to-late 1990s. For the first time
in over 30 years, the U.S. Government’s budget showed a surplus. In fact, it showed a
surplus in four straight years, 1998 through 2001, the year that George W. Bush became
president. (At the time, economists reported that, if the current economic policies
remained unchanged, the federal budget would be in surplus for years to come, and that
the entire national debt would be completely eliminated sometime around 2010.)
In January 2001, George W. Bush became president when the Supreme Court intervened
in the controversial state of Florida vote recount. In February 2001, President Bush
promised Congress he would eliminate $2 trillion from the national debt over the next
decade. Referring to the recent budget surpluses, Bush also said, “the people of America
are being overcharged” (Marcus 2012) and that, therefore, it was appropriate to give them
a tax cut. Republicans had a small margin of control in the House of Representatives at
the time, but there was a 50-50 tie in the Senate. As a result, Bush’s proposed tax cuts
were likely to be stopped by a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.
Smith (2012) described how the business community assisted Republicans in getting this
tax-cut bill through Congress. Tax policy, Smith also noted, is “a highly technical realm
that is ripe for concealment and mystification” (Smith 2012) and the Gang of Six and the
Bush White House were not above exploiting public confusion or gullibility. (The Gang
of Six refers to the business community’s six top lobbyist groups: the National
Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business
Roundtable—CEOs of the top 200 corporations, the National Federation of Independent
Businesses, the National Association of Distributors-Wholesalers, and the National
Restaurant Association.) The Democrats warned that 43 percent of the tax cut would go
to the top one percent of the income scale. But the White House highlighted the promise
of a quick rebate for the average taxpayer—$300 for single people and $600 for couples.
That pitch masked the larger truth that, as the years rolled on, the lion’s share of the tax
cuts would go to the super-rich.
With the full-court press by the Gang of Six reinforcing the White House push, the Bush
bill offering $1.35 billion in tax cuts over a decade passed the House 240-154. In the
Senate, Republicans sidestepped a Democratic filibuster by invoking the process of
budget reconciliation—which required them to guarantee there would be no loss in
revenue, an impossibility with such a huge tax cut. The Republican majority ignored that
requirement, and the looming deficits, and passed the bill 58-33 (Smith 2012).
If 43 percent of $1.35 billion ($580 million) went to the top 1.0 percent of citizens, the
remaining 99 percent of citizens received only $770 million. On average, then, any 1.0
percent portion of the middle-lower income citizenry received only $7.8 million ($770
million/99 percent = $7.8 million), while the top 1.0 percent received $580 million. That
288
ratio, $580 million-to-$7.8 million, is 74 to 1 in favor of the rich. This stealth action is a
very good example of the U.S. Government’s program of welfare for the wealthy.
13. A new treaty, passed by Congress, greatly facilitated outsourcing U.S. manufacturing
jobs to China and increasing imports from China. Prior to 2000, U.S. trade with China
was based on, and limited to, annual agreements between the two countries: that is, a new
agreement was negotiated each year. Because that arrangement did not allow for the
establishment of longer-term relationships between U.S. and Chinese companies, the
business community put pressure on Washington to make appropriate changes. Business
people argued that freer trade with China (that is, longer-term trade agreements with
China) would result in an export bonanza from which all Americans would benefit.
President Clinton strongly supported the U.S.-China Relations Act, which passed the
House in May 2000. He argued that the agreement would open up China to all of
America’s products, “everything from corn to chemicals to computers,” the Republican
candidate for president, George W. Bush, further declared that it would “open markets to
American products and help export American values.” The U.S. trade representative
proclaimed that it represented broad export potential “across all sectors and all fields of a
magnitude unprecedented in the modern era.” The Business Roundtable lobbied Congress
for its support and envisioned massive export gains in its advertisement: “A New trade
agreement opens China’s market to our goods and services.” A number of U.S. industries
jumped on the bandwagon in support of the treaty, including automobiles, farm
equipment, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, and electronics. (All quotations are
from Smith 2012).
But organized labor was opposed to the treaty, believing that it would lead to massive job
losses at home as U.S. companies would move factories to China to take advantage of
China’s cheap labor. Smaller U.S. manufacturing firms feared that big U.S. companies
would use their China advantage to crush them by producing cheap goods there and
exporting them back home.
As U.S. trade with China increased year-by-year after 2000, so also did unemployment in
the U.S. manufacturing sector. From 2000 to 2010, employment in the U.S.
manufacturing sector declined by some 33-34 percent. Many of those who lost high-
paying jobs in manufacturing had to settle for lower-paying jobs in the service sector, or
worse. Meanwhile, owners and executives of U.S. firms that were involved in
outsourcing U.S. jobs to China were rewarded with significantly greater compensation,
leading to even further increases in the nation’s income inequality. For example,
reportedly the “six Walmart heirs were worth as much as the bottom 41 percent of
American households put together” (Kristoff 2014).
14. Congress and President George W. Bush allowed employers to steal billions of dollars
from their employees through legalized wage theft. First passed in 1938, the Fair Labor
Standards Act required that certain hourly workers be paid time-and-a-half for hours
worked beyond the standard forty-hour work week. The act did not apply to salaried
managers and executives.
289
Under this law, workers would be entitled to time-and-a-half overtime pay if they earned
less than $460 per week ($11.50 per hour, or $23,600 ). If they earned $460 or more a
week they would not be entitled to overtime pay no matter how many hours worked. (If
that 1975 salary level ($23,660) had been regularly updated to reflect the effect of
inflation since 1975, the newly adjusted salary figure would be in excess of $52,000 per
year. If such a change had been made, at least 5 million, and perhaps as many as 10
million more workers would have been eligible for overtime pay over those many years.)
By changing the law in 2004 to reclassify many ordinary workers as executives, Congress
and President George W. Bush legalized, and encouraged, wage theft that denied millions
of workers of billions of dollars of overtime pay that was due to them according to the
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
15. In 2005, Congress passed a new bankruptcy law that discouraged ordinary homeowners
from declaring bankruptcy, thus allowing lending banks to continue to charge the
homeowners the usurious interest rates demanded by their mortgages. Republicans were
already in control of both houses of Congress when George W. Bush became President.
With such friends in high places, the financial industry began lobbying for new laws that
would make it more difficult for ordinary individuals to file for bankruptcy when they
could no longer pay their bills.
Average Americans were having difficulty paying off their subprime mortgages and the
principles on their high-interest credit cards. Many were declaring bankruptcy, thus
depriving banks of the usurious interest rates they were receiving from their loans. As a
result, the financial industry wanted Congress to make it more difficult for average
Americans to declare bankruptcy.
To disguise their true intent, the financial industry claimed that such a new law was
needed in order to prevent “high-income deadbeats” (Smith 2012) from using bankruptcy
to avoid paying their debts. The real purpose was to make it harder for ordinary
individuals to get into bankruptcy court. The harder it was, the longer it would take and
the more expensive it would be, so those people would have to continue paying big
penalty fees to their banks.
In 2005, Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection
Act, which raised the legal and financial barriers to bankruptcy filings. This caused
personal bankruptcy applications to plummet about 62 percent from 2005 to 2006. The
new law acted like a legal barricade that prevented hundreds of thousands of honest
Americans from using bankruptcy to seek relief from their financial burdens. The longer
they were prevented from entering bankruptcy, the longer they were legally obligated to
keep paying their banks the usurious interest rated demanded by their mortgages.
16. The George W. Bush administration bailed out banks too-big-to-fail during the financial
crisis of 2007-2008, but prevented distressed homeowners from declaring bankruptcy.
Shortly after the financial crisis began, Secretary of the Treasury, Hank Paulson, the
Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Ben Bernanke, and the head of the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York, Timothy Geithner, warned of impending economic disaster
for the nation if $700 million was not immediately made available to the nation’s largest
290
banks. President Bush told Congressional leaders that if such funding were not
forthcoming for the banks, the country’s economy would collapse, as per his comment,
“this sucker could go down” (Reich 2010)
Paulson had been the head of Goldman Sachs, and Geithner had been installed at the New
York Fed by major bankers, including Citigroup. The two of them secretly decided which
institutions would get money, and how much they would get. Inasmuch as Goldman and
Citigroup were the largest beneficiaries of the bailout, this reflected badly on the deal.
The bailout was made even more suspect by the fact that neither Geithner nor Citigroup
revealed any details of the bailout for several months. As a result, the bailout came to
look like “a giant insider deal created by Wall Street for Wall Streeters, at everyone else’s
expense” (Reich 2010).
During the financial crisis, there were also proposals to allow distressed homeowners to
declare bankruptcy rather than forfeit their homes to their lenders. Such a development
would have given those homeowner more bargaining strength when dealing with their
banks. But through their lobbying efforts with Congress, the banking community was
able to prevent such developments.
17. Congress and President Bush allowed U.S. corporations to transform themselves into
global corporations, and move thousands of high-tech jobs to foreign countries. During
the decade of the 2000s, a large number of U.S. corporations outsourced thousands of
high-tech jobs to foreign countries because they no longer felt the need to manufacture,
or do research, or have operations, in the U.S.
Alex Trotman, the CEO of Henry Ford’s old company, was among the first to openly
sound that theme in the late 1990s. “Ford isn’t even an American Company, strictly
speaking,” he said. “We’re global.” Ron Rittenmeyer, CEO of EDS, the largest
American-based IT services company, described his firm as “agnostic about specifically
where we operate.” In 2005, former Intel CEO Barrett was so bullish about Intel’s global
presence and operations in an interview with New York Times columnist Thomas
Friedman that Friedman paraphrased Barrett as contending that “Intel can be a totally
successful company without ever hiring another American.” In 2006, Cisco CEO John
Chambers went further. “What we are trying to do,” he said, “is outline an entire strategy
of becoming a Chinese company.” (All quotations are from Smith 2012).
The National Science Board reported that 85 percent of the growth in R&D workers by
U.S. multinationals between 2003 and 2009 had been abroad, while American-based
employment in high-tech manufacturing had dropped 28 percent since 2000.
Other large, well-known U.S. companies that used high-tech job outsourcing in a big way
were IBM, Accenture, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Deloitte, Affiliated Computer Services,
Computer Sciences Corporation, J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup.
With no public announcements by either corporate or U.S. Government officials, former
U.S. corporations that for decades and decades had benefited hugely from being U.S.
corporations quietly transformed themselves into global corporations. In so doing, they
moved thousands of high-tech jobs out of the U.S. into foreign countries, and rejected
291
many of the responsibilities it owed the United States and it citizens. To reduce the
unflattering headlines, IBM went sub rosa with its firings. Although federal and state
laws require companies to report material events such as large layoff, IBM stopped
announcing large job cuts in 2006. (For a complete description of IBM’s outsourcing
activities see Smith 2012).
A careful inspection of the 17 stealth government actions reveals that each action somehow
caused a segment in or near the top one percent of the population to benefit financially, while at
the same time financially penalizing one or more income segments of the population that are idle
or lower income.
The Status of Income Inequality
I have previously expressed skepticism not about whether this has happened
but about the magnitude of the increase in high-end inequality. Over time,
my skepticism has eroded …
Megan McArdle, The Atlantic (2012a)
So, what has been the impact of the stealth government actions described above? [3] Before
answering that question, a cautionary warning is in order. Interpreting the figures that are
commonly cited, especially those that are simply thrown around, is complicated. There are
shortcomings in the data and there are ambiguities throughout. But, as Megan McArdle (2012b)
wrote in The Atlantic, “some potential shortcomings [in the data] do not seem to actually alter
conclusions about the rise in inequality.” The outsized gains are at the top of the income
distribution, and there they are “mostly concentrated in the top half of the top one percent.” They
are gains that came, she continued, “even as the poor and middle class became significantly
better off.”
Figures commonly cited compare the incomes of the top 10 percent, the top one percent, or the
top one-tenth of one percent, with the bottom 90 percent, as does, for example, McArdle
(2012b). That tells part of the story and often reveals the U-shaped curve depicted in Figure 3,
below. Figure 3 illustrates that in 1976—1978 the top one percent of the population earned about
30-35 times as much of the nation’s total income as the bottom 90 percent of the population.
However, some 30 years later, by 2010-2012, the top one percent segment's share had exploded
to about 150-200 times as much as the bottom 90 percent segment's share.
292
Figure 3. Average income of the top 0.1% as a multiple of the bottom 90%.
(Source: Income Inequality, a project of the Institute for Policy Studies. (Available at
https://inequality.org/facts/income-inequality/) (last accessed February 22, 2023).
That U-shaped curve also hides part of the story. Leonhardt (2019) suggested that it is better to
focus on five income segments, as illustrated in Figure 4 (below): the top 0.01 percent; the rest of
the top 01.0 percent; the 90th-99
th
percentile; the middle 40 percent; and the bottom 50
percent. Figure 4 shows how each of these five income segments performed against the per
capita G.D.P. performance over the 1980-2010 period. (Note that Figure 3 uses the top 0.1
percent segment, while Figure 4 uses top 0.01 percent segment.)
293
Figure 4. Growth of Incomes per segment compared with growth of per capital GDP, 1980-
2015.
Source: Leonhardt 2019
294
The incomes of the bottom 50 percent segment and the middle 40 percent segment have trailed
Per Capita G.D.P. over time. Since 1980 “their share of the economy's bounty has shrunk”
(Leonhardt 2019). The 90th-99
th
percentile segment's income (i.e., the middle class earning
$120-425 thousand per year), has grown at almost an identical rate as has the economy.
However, the top 0.01 percent segment has experienced astronomical growth, very probably
earning well over 150-200 times more than the bottom 90 percent segment's share of the nation's
total income. The rest of the top one percent segment has clearly done better than the 90
th
to
99
th
percentile segment.
That, we assert, has been the outcome of the various stealth government actions enacted over the
years. The top of the top have made out like bandits. The upper middle class have held their own
(as a share of GDP), not getting ahead and not falling behind. The lower middle and those below
have been losing ground; they have failed to partake in the economy’s bounty. Some might say
they have failed to receive their fair share of the country’s economic growth.
The Challenge for Macromarketers
…people don’t even know. If poor people knew how rich rich people are,
there would be riots in the streets.
Chris Rock (2014)
As the forgoing illustrates, while productivity and wealth creation exploded during four decades
following the 1970s, a critical mass of the United States citizenry continue to desperately
struggle to make ends meet. Part of the reason for that is that the dramatic increase in wealth has
been almost entirely absorbed by what we called, above, the power elite and the rich — the top
one-tenth of one percent and, in that the top one-hundredth of one percent.
Our argument is that this was not an accidental outcome of free markets working their magic. It
was using the law to steal and strategically withhold the generated wealth of the past two
generations from 99 percent of the population. Why should this be of concern to
macromarketers? It implies, if it does not demand, that macromarketers concentrate on truly
macro issues—how institutions outside of what we traditionally consider the marketing system—
impact that marketing system. Perhaps now, more than ever, the focus of macromarketers needs
to shift to financial institutions and to how government, and the law, really work (and not the
eighth grade civics lessons about how it supposedly works).
Macromarketing needs to once again become relentlessly vigilant and pay attention to the
discipline's foundational concerns with all manner of social, economic, and labor inequalities of
the middle classes (Jones and Tadajewski 2018, Benton 2021a, Benton 2021b). They do, after
all, represent the most vital elements of economic and cultural growth in any society.
295
The middle classes do the living, they do the buying, dreaming, and dying. They build families,
homes, ambitions, businesses. Without a vibrant middle class—well, we see what a shrinking
and desperately neglected middle class can become: fractured, fragmented, forgotten, fearful,
and angry. When people are frightened, they do frightening things, they believe in frightening
principles, populist politicians, and propaganda. Macromarketing must commit its efforts to
unveiling the opaque limitations of a dated 20th century business paradigm with transparency
while advancing an honest strategic approach to business strategy at the dawn of the AI and the
genetic-code revolutions.[4]
As Michael Lind (1995) wrote 28 years ago,
The American oligarchy spares no pains in promoting the belief that it does not exist,
but the success of its disappearing act depends on equally strenuous efforts on the part
of an American public anxious to believe in egalitarian fictions and unwilling to see
what is hidden in plain sight.
We propose that the success of its disappearing act depends as well on the equally strenuous
efforts on the part of macromarketers to believe in the egalitarian fictions associated with the
market and, until now, an unwillingness to see what is hidden in plain sight. We hope to have
shed some light in at least one dark corner of the macromarketing system.
Notes
[1] It is also important that macromarketers understand the nuances in and the veracity of the
debate as to whether the inequality that many see is actually less than it seems. That is not
part of the present discussion.
[2] The following section is an abbreviated version of Stanley F. Stasch, “The U.S.
Government’s Program of Welfare for the Wealthy,” available at
https://fixcapitalism.com/the-u-s-governments-program-of-welfare-for-the-wealthy/. That
paper is, itself, derived from The Creation and Destruction of the Great American Middle
Class: 1930-2010, third edition, a 200-page history of these actions (available at
http://ecommons.luc.edu/business_facpubs/5/).
[3] Some might object the we are here confusing correlation with causation. Consider, however,
the following: “The well-intentioned assertion that relationships do not mean causation,
while useful in contesting gross simplemindedness, is paralyzing and misleading in the
social sciences. Or, as Dewey [1960, pp.124-125] puts it, the critical characteristic of all
scientific operations is revealing relationships” (Luker et al. 1998).
[4] We thank our colleague, Eve Geroulis, for her impassioned plea regarding the future role of
macromarketing.
296
References
Atkinson, Anthony Barnes (2015), Inequality: what can be done? Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press.
Baker, Dean (2016), Rigged: How Globalization and the Rules of the Modern Economy were
Structured to Make the Rich Richer. Washington D.C.: Center for Economic and Policy
Research. (accessed January 22, 2023) [available at
https://deanbaker.net/books/rigged.htm]
Benton, Raymond, Jr. (2021), “Marketing: A Forgotten (or Ignored) School of Institutional
Economics,” a review of D.G. Brian Jones and Mark Tadajewski, Foundations of
Marketing Thought: The Influence of the German Historical School,” Journal of
Economic Issues 55(4): 1157-1162.
Benton, Raymond, Jr. (2021), “Review of D.G. Brian Jones and Mark Tadajewski, Foundations
of Marketing Thought: The Influence of the German Historical School,” Journal of
Macromarketing 41(3): 509-511.
Benton, Raymond, Jr. (2022), “Despair, Rigging, Anger and Degrowth,” Journal of
Macromarketing 42(3): 345-355.
Blawatt, Ken (2022), The Power Elite and Disparity in America: Cause and Correction.
Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Dewey, John (1960), The Quest for Certainty. New York: Capricorn Books.
Dholakia, Nikhilesh, Aras Ozgun, and Deniz Atim (2021), “The Unwitting Corruption of
Broadening of Marketing into Neoliberalism: a Beast Unleased?” European Journal of
Marketing 55(3): pp. 868-893. DOI 10.1108/EJM-10-2018-0688
Gramm, Phil and John F. Early (2018), “The Myth of American Inequality: Taxes and transfers
in the U.S. put its income distribution in line with its large developed peers.” Wall Street
Journal, August 9 (accessed January 22, 2023) [available at
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-myth-of-american-inequality-1533855113].
Gramm, Phil, Robert Ekelund and John Early (2022), The Myth of American Inequality: How
Government Biases Policy Debate. New York: Rowman & Littlefield.
Greig, Alastair, David Hulme, and Mark Turner (2007), Challenging Global Inequality:
development theory and practice in the 21st century. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Jones, D.G. Brian and Mark Tadajewski (2018), Foundations of Marketing Thought: The
Influence of the German Historical School. London and New York: Routledge/Taylor &
Francis.
Kalinowski, Joseph S. (2012), “Politics and Policy – the truth about income inequality,” a
personal blog posted October 5, 2012 (available at:
https://www.jkalinowskicfa.com/single-post/2012/10/05/politics-and-policy-the-truth-
about-income-inequality) (accessed February 7, 2023)
Kristoff, Nicholas (2014), “It’s Now the Canadian Dream,” New York Times, May 15, p. A25.
Leonhardt, David (2019), “How the Upper Middle Class is Really Doing: Is it more similar to
the top 1 percent or the working class?” New York Times, February 14. (Available at
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/24/opinion/income-inequality-upper-middle-
class.html) (last accessed February 15, 2023)
Lind , Michael (1995), “To Have and Have Not: Notes on the Progress of the American Class
War,” Harper’s Magazine 290(1741) (June95): 35-43.
297
Luker, Bill, Bill Luker, Jr., Steven L. Cobb, and Robert Brown (1998), “Postmodernism,
Institutionalism, and Statistics: Considerations for an Institutionalist Statistical Method,”
Journal of Economic Issues 32(2): pp. 449-456.
Marcus, Ruth (2012), “A History Lesson on Tax Cuts,” Liberal Opinion Week, December 19,
2012, p. 4.
McArdle, Megan (2012a), “We Are the 99.5%: The Real Inequality Jump Is in the Top Half-
Percentile,” The Atlantic May 9 (Available at
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/05/we-are-the-995-the-real-
inequality-jump-is-in-the-top-half-percentile/256937/) (last accessed February 23, 2023)
McArdle, Megan (2012b), “What Really Happened to Income Inequality in the 20
th
Century,”
The Atlantic May 14. (Available at
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/05/what-really-happened-to-income-
inequality-in-the-20th-century/257156/) (last accessed February 23, 2023)
Noah, Timothy (2012), The Great Divergence. New York: Bloomsbury Press. (See also Noah,
Timothy (2010), “The Great Divergence and the Death of Organized Labor,” Slate,
September 12, 9:56 pm (accessed January 31, 2023) [available at https://slate.com/news-
and-politics/2010/09/the-great-divergence-and-the-death-of-organized-labor.html].
Payne, Keith (2017), The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the way we Think, Live, and
Die. New York: Viking.
Pizzigati, Sam (2012), The Rich Don’t Always Win: The Forgotten Triumph over Plutocracy that
Created the American Middle Class, 1900-1970. New York: Seven Story Press.
Reich, Robert B. (2010), Aftershock. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Rock, Chris (2014), Interview with Frank Rich of Vulture. (Available at
https://www.vulture.com/2014/11/chris-rock-frank-rich-in-conversation.html) (last
accessed February 21, 2023).
Smith, Hedrick (2012), Who Stole the American Dream? New York: Random House. (See also
Smith, Hedrick (2013), “Who Stole the American Dream?” The Saturday Evening Post
285(4): p. 44.)
Further Reading
Books Addressing the General Topic (listed chronologically)
Michael Goldfield, The Decline of Organized Labor in the United States (The University of
Chicago Press, 1987).
Thomas Geoghegan, Which Side Are You On? Trying to be for Labor When It’s Flat on Its
Back (The New Press, 1991).
Ravi Batra, Greenspan’s Fraud (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005).
Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson, Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington, DC Made
the Rich Richer – and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class (Simon & Schuster,
2010).
Jeff Madrick, Age of Greed (Alfred A. Knopf, 2011).
Susan George, Hijacking American: How the Religious and Secular Right Changed what
Americans Think. Cambridge, UK and Malden, MA: Polity Press.
Susan George, Shadow Sovereigns: How Global Corporations are Seizing Power.
Cambridge, UK and Malden, MA: Polity Press.
Kevin M. Kruse, One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian
America (Basic Books, 2015).
298
Jane Mayer, Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the
Radical Right (Doubleday, 2016).
Books Addressing the Second Conservative Great Depression
Paul Krugman, The Great Unraveling (W.W. Norton, 2003).
Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera, All the Devils Are Here (Portfolio/Penguin, 2010).
Bill Clinton, Back to Work (Alfred A. Knopf, 2011).
Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein, It’s Even Worse Than It Looks, (Basic Books,
2012).
Joseph E. Stiglitz, The Price of Inequality (W.W. Norton, 2012).
Books Addressing Honest American History
Harvey Wasserman, Harvey Wasserman’s History of the United States (New York: Four
Walls Eight Windows Press, 1972).
Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States (Harper Perennial/Modern Classics,
2003).
James W. Loewen, Lies My Teacher Told Me, second edition (Touchstone, 2007).
299
300
Social Conflicts and Market Dynamics
Co-Chairs:
Andrés Barrios
Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia
Clifford J. Shultz
Loyola University at Chicago, United States of America
301
Social Conflicts and Market Dynamics: An Overview
Andrés Fajardo Barrios, Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia
Clifford J. Shultz, Loyola University Chicago, United States of America
This track continues a conference tradition to include and feature research intended to study and
ideally to redress harmful social conflicts via deliberate and constructive interactions among
markets, marketing, policy, society and consumer behavior.
Social conflict is a phenomenon whereby two or more people oppose each other during social
interaction; the conflicted parties exert social power with reciprocity to achieve goals that are
incompatible or mutually exclusive (Pruit and Kim 2004; Kriesberg 1998). It appears in
numerous forms, and at widely varying scope and scale (Deutsch 1973; Deutsch, Coleman and
Marcus 2006). It can profoundly affect markets, marketing, consumers, policy, ideology and the
global and local well-being of literally everyone and everything on this planet (Barrios et al.
2016; Shultz et al. 2005; Shultz and Wilkie 2021; Varman and Belk 2009).
The explorations by various scholars participating in this track largely examine macromarketing
forces and factors that affect and/or are affected by social conflict and its resolution (e.g.,
Barrios, Montes, and Shultz 2019; Shultz 1997, 2007; see also Deutsch 1973; Fort 2014;
Schelling 1960). That is, how dynamic interactions among markets, marketing, policy and
consumption can create, exacerbate, reduce, and resolve social conflicts and ultimately enhance
individual quality-of-life and societal well-being (e.g., Shultz 2015; Shultz and Malter 2022).
These explorations more specifically examine evolving marketing systems during and following,
for example, war, genocide, colonialism, and exploitation and disenfranchisement; the fact or
fallacy of “just” wars; the well-being of refugees, indigenous people and impoverished women;
research methods; megatrends; and integrative justice – all with implications for individual and
societal resilience, resolve, recovery and flourishing.
References
Barrios, Andrés, Clifford Shultz and Juan Carlos Montes (2019), “Entrepreneurship as Boundary
Object: Toward Reintegration of Colombia’s Ex-Militants into Civil Society,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 39 (4), 368-384.
Barrios Andrés, Kristine de Valck, Clifford Shultz, Olivier Sibai, Katharina Husemann, Matthew
Maxwell-Smith and Marius Luedicke (2016), “Marketing as a means to transformative
social conflict resolution: Lessons from transitioning war economies and the Colombian
coffee marketing system,” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 35 (2), 185-197.
Deutsch, Morton (1973), The Resolution of Conflict: Constructive and Destructive Processes,
New Haven: Yale University Press.
Deutsch, Morton, Peter Coleman, and Eric Marcus (2006), The Handbook of Conflict Resolution,
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
302
Fort, Timothy and Cindy Schipani (2004), The Role of Business in Fostering Peaceful Societies,
New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kriesberg, Louis (1998), Constructive Conflicts: From Escalation to Resolution, Lanham,
Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.
Pruitt, Dean G. and Sung Hee Kim (2004), Social Conflict, Escalation and Settlement, New
Yori: McGraw Hill.
Shelling, Thomas (1960), Strategy of Conflict, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Shultz, Clifford (1997), “Improving Life Quality for the Destitute: Contributions from Multiple-
Method Fieldwork in War-Ravaged Transition Economies,” Journal of Macromarketing,
17 (1), 56-67.
Shultz, Clifford (2007), “Marketing as Constructive Engagement,” Journal of Public Policy &
Marketing, 26 (2), 293-301.
Shultz, Clifford (2015), “The Ethical Imperative of Constructive Engagement in a World
Confounded by the Commons Dilemma, Social Traps, and Geopolitical Conflicts,”
Handbook on Ethics in Marketing, A. Nill, ed., Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 188-
219.
Shultz, Clifford, Timothy Burkink, Bruno Grbac, and Nataša Renko (2005), “When Policies and
Marketing Systems Explode: An Assessment of Food Marketing in the War-Ravaged
Balkans and Implications for Recovery, Sustainable Peace, and Prosperity,” Journal of
Public Policy & Marketing, 24 (1), 24-37.
Shultz, Clifford and Alan Malter (2022), “Introduction, Purpose and Next Steps: ‘Marketing to
End War, Create Peace and Enhance Sustainable Well-Being,’” AMA Summer Academic
Conference, Chicago, IL, August 13, 2022.
Shultz, Clifford and William Wilkie (2021), “Macromarketing, the Indispensable Discipline,”
Journal of Macromarketing, 41 (1), 5-9.
Simmel, Georg (2009 [1908]), Inquiries into the Construction of Social Forms, Lieden: Brill.
Varman, Rohit and Russell Belk (2009), “Nationalism and Ideology in an Anticonsumption
Movement,” Journal of Consumer Research, 36 (December), 686-700.
303
War on Ukraine and the Deliberate Destruction of a Flourishing Marketing System – A
View from the Inside
Sophia Opatska, Ukrainian Catholic University, Ukraine
Clifford J. Shultz, Loyola University Chicago, United States of America
In February 2022, the world watched in horror as Europe again devolved into full-scale war; this
time, in the form of an unprovoked attack and invasion by Russia on the sovereign nation of
Ukraine.
4
What Russian political and military leadership expected to be a brief “special military
operation” and quick Ukrainian capitulation has become a protracted war in Ukraine, drawing
massive amounts of resources and commitments from many countries, with implications for
every country and indeed the well-being of all global citizens.
The toll in blood and treasure already is staggering; the human suffering incomprehensible, and
the depth and breadth of atrocities – including genocide and other war crimes – is
unconscionable. And while “war in the 21
century is an absurdity” (Guterres 2022), it remains a
grotesque reality in Ukraine. This crisis moreover raises questions about the roles of markets,
marketers and marketing; government(s) and their policies; consumer choices and behaviors;
democracy, human rights and sustainable well-being; and the systemic flow and assortment of
goods, services and experiences they require. In sum, the Russian War in/on Ukraine is a
condition that cries-out for macromarketing understanding and intervention.
In this presentation the authors provide a brief overview of Ukraine, prior to the 2022 Russian
attack, to frame some key issues. We then share assessments of political, societal, economic,
cultural, marketing and consumer dynamics, while a nation and its marketing system are under
siege – with implications and obligations for other nations, marketing systems and global citizens
that choose to align with Ukraine or Russia, or to abstain from choosing/supporting sides.
We hope the comments shared generate interest, rich discussion and explorations toward
solutions for ending war, affecting peace and sustaining well-being in Ukraine and all countries.
References
Guterres, António (2022), Comments in Borodianka, Ukraine / “UN secretary general describes
war in Ukraine as ‘absurdity’ in 21st century,” April 28, 2022. The Guardian,
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/28/un-secretary-general-describes-war-in-
ukraine-as-absurdity-in-21st-century [retrieved April 30, 2022].
4
Most of the world recognizes February 2022 as the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Ukrainians
however consider the 2014 Russian invasion of Crimea to be the start.
304
The Rebirth and Evolution of a Marketing System: Updates from a Longitudinal Study of
Cambodia’s Recovery from Genocide
Clifford J. Shultz, Loyola University Chicago, United States of America
Don R. Rahtz, William & Mary, United States of America
The authors update a thirty-year longitudinal study of Cambodia’s recovery from Genocide,
perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge under the ruthless dictatorship of Pol Pot, from 1975-1978. The
authors briefly revisit lingering effects of the crushing policies during the era of “the killing
fields” – including the annihilation of an extant marketing system and the brutal elimination of
more than a million people favoring or associated with it, followed by a decade of socialist
reconstruction. They then explore the transition to a more civil society and concomitant
market/marketing reconstitution, and evolution of a new marketing system subsequent to the
1993 UNTAC elections.
Emphasis is placed on events from 2020 to the present, particularly the impact of COVID-19,
growing Chinese influence, President Hun Sen’s grip on power and plausible succession, and
related political, societal, environmental, technological, and marketing dynamics. The authors
update and expand two diagnostic, explanatory and predictive models, which have been
especially useful over the course of this longitudinal study (e.g., Shultz 1997; Shultz and
Pecotich 1997; Shultz and Rahtz, WIP), to assess the evolution and state of Cambodia’s
marketing system, key players affecting it, ongoing social traps, and the obligations for
constructive engagement over time and place to ensure inclusion, social justice and sustainable
peace and prosperity.
The authors conclude with implications for future developments and the well-being of
Cambodians and stakeholders with interests in Cambodia, the greater Mekong River Basin,
ASEAN and the global community.
References
Shultz, Clifford (1997), “Improving Life Quality for the Destitute: Contributions from Multiple-
Method Fieldwork in War-Ravaged Transition Economies,” Journal of Macromarketing,
17 (1), 56-67. https://doi.org/10.1177/027614679701700106
Shultz, Clifford and Anthony 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. (Finalist for “Best Article Award,” Journal
years 1996-1998.) https://doi.org/10.1177/074391569701600106
Shultz, Clifford and Don Rahtz (WIP), “Glocal Value-Mapping a Dynamic, Recovering
Marketing System: A Field Assessment,” working paper, Loyola University Chicago and
William & Mary.
305
The Ethical Dimensions of “Just War”
Gene Laczniak, Marquette University, United States of America
The author outlines the historical CRITERIA for “just wars” as developed in Catholic Social
Thought including “just cause, right intention, competent authority, comparative justice,
probability of success, proportionality and last resort.” The presentation will delve into how
current geo-politics complicate these criteria as well as the possible contribution of marketing
insights to improving potentially hostile situations.
306
The Transformative Role of Literacy in Addressing Marketplace Tensions Between
Refugees and Their Local Hosts
Tugba Ozbek, Yıldız Technical University, Turkey
Ebru Enginkaya Erkent, Yıldız Technical University, Turkey
Ibrahim Kircova, Yıldız Technical University, Turkey
Over 100 million people have been forcibly displaced across the world, primarily as a result of
violence, conflict, persecution, or abuses of human rights (UNHCR 2023). The forced migration
of nearly 7 million individuals, largely due to the Syrian crisis, to many countries, particularly
Turkey, is described as a humanitarian issue requiring attention (World Bank 2017). Considering
today’s social conflicts and the global climate crisis (UNHCR 2019), while it is impossible to
reject the heterogeneity in the social structure with the ongoing migration waves, it is possible
that the opposite situation will cause multiculturalism to be ignored and social cohesion
problems to be exacerbated (Bauman 2018; DeQuero-Navarro et al. 2020; Penaloza 1995;
Sennett 2015; Shultz et al. 2020).
Markets and consumption can also be sources of exclusion, stigma, inequality, and social conflict
as well as producing meaning, improving well-being and bringing prosperity (Barrios et al. 2016;
Krisjanous and Kadirov 2018; Singh et al. 2021; Sredl, Shultz, and Brečić 2017). Consumer
vulnerability may emerge when encountering distresses in addition to daily tensions or trigger
events (Baker and Mason 2012). Consumer vulnerability impacts billions of people throughout
the world and refers to imbalances in marketplace interactions (Baker, Gentry, and Rittenburg
2005; Baker, Hunt, and Rittenburg 2007; Commuri and Ekici 2008; Hill and Sharma 2020;
Shultz and Holbrook 2009). There is a range of potential consequences of vulnerability as
consumers try to cope with their situations as either nondefensive or defensive mechanisms (Hill
and Sharma 2020). Penaloza (1995) found that immigrant consumers become more vulnerable
due to internal characteristics such as language proficiency, literacy level, and experience in the
marketplace. It is related to the fact that limited literacy skills increase the potential for
economic, physical, and psychological harm in the marketplace (Adkins and Jae 2010; Adkins
and Ozanne 2005a, 2005b; Kapoor and Belk 2022; Ozanne, Adkins, and Sandlin 2005;
Viswanathan, Rosa, and Harris 2005; Viswanathan et al. 2021a, 2021b). Adkins and Ozanne
(2005a) present a social practice conceptualization of literacy which means a consumer skill
including understanding consumer rights, managing exchange transactions and
miscommunications, asserting one’s voice and achieving agency in the marketplace. Literacy is
also a negotiation of identity and is central to how people define themselves (Adkins and Ozanne
2005a; Penaloza 1995; Wallendorf 2001). In line with this, literacy is critically important for
social cohesion and integration during permanent and temporary settlement of refugees in their
host countries at the same time (Hanemann 2018; Netto et al. 2022). Language proficiency as a
form of literacy empowers refugees to be involved in their host community and participation in
the marketplaces. Among refugees, proficiency in the dominant language of the host country can
also be considered linguistic capital as a form of cultural capital in markets (Bourdieu 1986,
1991).
307
This paper illustrates literacy as a consumer skill from a perspective of reducing tensions among
socially conflicting potential groups in a multicultural marketplace. It is to investigate this
phenomenon through the study of how literacy can play a transformative role in addressing
marketplace tensions between the host community and Syrian refugees with different literacy
levels in the Turkish language in their host country, Turkey. We aim to discover the most
significant challenges refugee consumers face and how they navigate these issues through
literacy skills. We focus on examining refugee consumers who have and do not have literacy
skills in their host countries to gain insights from comparisons between refugee consumers with
different literacy levels in creating a social impact on market dynamics. Thus, this proposal is
about how being relatively less or more literate in the marketplace transforms the state of
powerlessness and dynamically creates a threshold for vulnerability and resilience. In the current
literature, studies on literacy as a well-being and vulnerability output in different forms such as
financial, health, service, and digital, and entrepreneurial literacy have been conducted (Adkins
and Corus 2009; Bernardes et al. 2020; Floyd and Sakellariou 2017; Jae and Delvecchio 2004;
Netemeyer et al. 2020; Netto et al. 2022; Stewart and Yap 2020; Viswanathan, Rosa, and Harris
2005; Viswanathan, Gajendiran, and Venkatesan 2008; Xiao and Porto 2022). However, little
attention has been paid to the influence of language and literacy in enabling refugees to navigate
marketplace tensions in their new consumption surroundings and understanding the
transformative role of literacy as a social impact mechanism in the marketplaces in the context of
refugees as vulnerable consumers. This gap leads to the following research question:
RQ: How does literacy contribute to navigating ‘tension’ in refugee-hosting marketplaces?
The idea for this proposal emerged from the focus group meetings and in-depth interviews held
with Syrians in Istanbul, Turkey, within the scope of the author’s doctoral research ongoing on
consumer vulnerability in the context of forcibly displaced persons. While answering the
questions on their marketplace experiences and challenges, an informant noteworthily stated how
she navigated the tension they experienced with a local host in the marketplace as follows:
Since I speak Turkish very well, I do not have too many problems at large because they
do not understand that I am Syrian. A salesperson who heard us speak Arabic during
shopping with my low-literate Syrian friend put an overprice. I knew it was too
expensive! When I opposed it in the Turkish language, he first looked at me in surprise
and was ashamed of his action. I felt powerful to be able to express myself in that
situation.
Tension in the marketplace exposes another dimension of intolerance that hinders integration,
social cohesion, and trust between both communities (Baktir and Watson 2021; Kheireddine,
Soares, and Rodrigues 2016, 2021). Refugees with limited literacy abilities may encounter
stigmatization in their host countries; that is, they may face unfavorable social judgment, be
labeled inferior, and suffer unjust or unequal treatment. However, literacy as a social impact
mechanism can help restrict powerlessness by making price comparisons, building trust,
improving tolerance, enhancing self-reliance, and negotiating stigma. It also demonstrates how
literacy can be used to enhance consumer ability and motivation.
308
Lack of effective communication between refugees and their local hosts can undermine trust and
tolerance (Baktir and Watson 2021; Gau and Viswanathan 2008). Unequal treatments such as
high prices, few options, or no sales to refugee communities limit market transactions, and this
can prompt marketplace tension by triggering discrimination. On the other hand, vulnerability
experiences revolve around social stigmatization and marginalization that arise from ascribed
categories of gender, class, ethnicity, religiosity, and nationality (Mitra et al. 2022; Pechmann et
al. 2011; Penaloza 1995; Shultz et al. 2020). In identity management as a way of supporting
resistance, literacy can be used as a challenge to be more successful in negotiating in a
marginalized marketplace. For this reason, language acquisition for humanitarian migrants is
critical for employment, social interaction and cohesion within their local communities, and
access to accurate information as well as a sense of subjective well-being, dignity and
independence in the new environments (Catibusic, Gallagher, and Karazi 2021). Extending
beyond the vulnerability focus, self-reliance can consider as a program approach including the
psychological, social and economic ability of an individual or a community to meet their needs
in a sustainable manner (Skran and Easton-Calabria 2020; UNHCR 2005). Literacy can therefore
promote self-reliance by adjusting to their new location through programs such as marketplace
education. As highlighted in the existing literature (Adkins and Ozanne 2005b; Viswanathan et
al. 2021a; Viswanathan, Gajendiran, and Venkatesan 2008), it is notable to discuss how
marketplace literacy education can provide opportunities in the context of refugee consumers
with less literacy to improve their literacy skills.
For a better world, research on critical social issues makes a tangible contribution to improving
individual, community and societal well-being. This understanding is embedded in the ontology
of macromarketing (Ekici, Genc, and Celik 2021; Iacobucci 2019; Shultz 2007; Shultz and
Wilkie 2021). There is an emphasis on consumer inclusion in the ‘transformative’ paradigm and
studies focus on improving consumer well-being. It is also observed that studies dealing with the
subject of “refugee” have increased with the “Syrian refugee crisis” (The Guardian 2015;
UNHCR 2015), which reached its peak in 2015 (also see Web of Science). However, although it
is seen that studies on these vulnerable groups in the business and marketing literature are pretty
inadequate, it is thought that this gap in the literature should be filled by focusing on outputs that
will create meaningful transformation within the framework of social values. Turkey hosts about
4 million Syrians under temporary protection (UNHCR 2021; World Bank 2023). Therefore, the
analysis unit of the proposed research includes Syrians under temporary protection in Turkey.
The primary goal of this study is to comprehend rather than measure. Thus, this proposal has
been attempted by adopting a qualitative approach because consumer-led phenomenological
studies develop a narrative on the shared meanings of lived expressions (Crick 2021; Holbrook
and Hirschman 1982; Schallehn et al. 2019; Thompson, Locander, and Pollio 1989). This paper
embraces the approach proposed by Boenigk et al. (2021) who define refugees are persons who
have fled their home country due to tragedy, violence, persecution, or climate change, which has
made it impossible for them to return safely. They believe a person may be a refugee even
without having received formal legal status because a refugee’s basic requirements may not
begin or end with receiving or surrendering legal status. This proposal has been handled in this
light and formed by various observations obtained from Turkey, the country with the largest
refugee population globally.
309
References
Adkins, Natalie Ross and Julie L. Ozanne (2005a), “The low literate consumer,” Journal of
Consumer Research, 32 (1), 93–105.
Adkins, Natalie Ross and Haeran Jae (2010), “Marketplace vulnerability of limited english
proficient consumers: Opportunities to increase knowledge in macromarketing,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 30 (1), 93–104.
Adkins, Natalie Ross and Julie L. Ozanne (2005b), “Critical consumer education: Empowering
the low-literate consumer,” Journal of Macromarketing, 25 (2), 153–62.
Baker, Stacey Menzel, James W. Gentry, and Terri L. Rittenburg (2005), “Building
understanding of the domain of consumer vulnerability,” Journal of Macromarketing, 25
(2), 128–39.
Baker, Stacey Menzel, David M Hunt, and Terri L Rittenburg (2007), “Consumer Vulnerability
as a Shared Experience: Tornado Recovery Process in Wright, Wyoming,” Journal of
Public Policy & Marketing, 26 (1), 6–19.
Baker, Stacey Menzel and Marlys Mason (2012), “Toward a process theory of consumer
vulnerability and resilience: Illuminating its transformative potential,” in Transformative
consumer research for personal and collective well-being, D. G. P. S. Mick, C. C.
Pechmann, and J. L. Ozanne, eds., Routledge, 571–92.
Baktir, Zeynep and Forrest Watson (2021), “Trust-Driven Entrepreneurship for Community
Well-Being of Refugees and Their Local Hosts,” Journal of Macromarketing, 41 (2), 251–
66.
Barrios, Andrés, Kristine de Valck, Clifford J. Shultz, Olivier Sibai, Katharina C. Husemann,
Matthew Maxwell-Smith, and Marius K. Luedicke (2016), “Marketing as a means to
transformative social conflict resolution: Lessons from transitioning war economies and the
colombian coffee marketing system,” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 35 (2), 185–
97.
Bauman, Zygmunt (2018), Kapımızdaki Yabancılar (Strangers at our door), (Emre Barca,
Trans.). Ayrıntı Yayınları.
Bernardes, Juliana Reis, Cecília Lima de Queirós Mattoso, Marco Aurelio Carino Bouzada, and
Claudia Affonso Silva Araujo (2020), “Vulnerability of poorly literate adult consumers
regarding over-the-counter drugs,” International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare
Marketing, 15 (2), 212–34.
Boenigk, Silke, Raymond Fisk, Sertan Kabadayi, Linda Alkire, Lilliemay Cheung, Canan Corus,
Jörg Finsterwalder, Aaron A. Kreimer, Nadina Luca, Mansour Omeira, Pallab Paul, Marcos
F. Santos, and Nina Smidt (2021), “Rethinking Service Systems and Public Policy: A
Transformative Refugee Service Experience Framework,” Journal of Public Policy &
Marketing, 40 (2), 165–83.
Bourdieu, Pierre (1986), “The forms of capital,” in Handbook of Theory of Research for the
Sociology of Education, J. E. Richardson, ed., New York: Greenword, 241–58.
Bourdieu, Pierre (1991), Language and symbolic power, (J. B. Thompson, ed.), Polity Press.
Catibusic, Bronagh, Fiona Gallagher, and Shadi Karazi (2021), “Syrian voices: an exploration of
the language learning needs and integration supports for adult Syrian refugees in Ireland,”
International Journal of Inclusive Education, 25 (1), 22–39.
Commuri, Suraj and Ahmet Ekici (2008), “An enlargement of the notion of consumer
vulnerability,” Journal of Macromarketing, 28 (2), 183–86.
310
Crick, James M. (2021), “Qualitative research in marketing: what can academics do better?,”
Journal of Strategic Marketing, 29 (5), 390–429.
DeQuero-Navarro, Beatriz, Karine Aoun Barakat, Clifford J. Shultz, Rafael A. Araque-Padilla,
and Maria Jose Montero-Simo (2020), “From Conflict to Cooperation: A
Macromarketing View of Sustainable and Inclusive Development in Lebanon and the
Middle East,” Environmental Management, 66 (2), 232–47.
Ekici, Ahmet, Tugce Ozgen Genc, and Hafize Celik (2021), “The Future of Macromarketing:
Recommendations Based on a Content Analysis of the Past Twelve Years of the Journal
of Macromarketing,” Journal of Macromarketing, 41 (1), 25–47.
Floyd, Annette and Dikaios Sakellariou (2017), “Healthcare access for refugee women with
limited literacy: Layers of disadvantage,” International Journal for Equity in Health, 16
(1).
Gau, Roland and Madhubalan Viswanathan (2008), “The Retail Shopping Experience for Low-
Literate Consumers.” Journal of Research for Consumers, 15.
Hanemann, Ulrike (2018), “Language and literacy programmes for migrants and refugees:
challenges and ways forward.” Background paper prepared for the 2019 Global
Education Monitoring Report (UNESCO).
Hill, Ronald Paul and Eesha Sharma (2020), “Consumer Vulnerability,” Journal of Consumer
Psychology, 30 (3), 551–70.
Holbrook, Morris B and Elizabeth C Hirschman (1982), “The Experiential Aspects of
Consumption: Consumer Fantasies, Feelings, and Fun,” Journal of Consumer Research,
9 (2), 132–40.
Iacobucci, Dawn (2019), “A Challenge within Macromarketing: Global Disasters,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 39 (3), 334–38.
Jae, Haeran and Devon Delvecchio (2004), “Decision making by low-literacy consumers in the
presence of point-of-purchase information,” Journal of Consumer Affairs, 38 (2), 342–54.
Kapoor, Vikram and Russell W. Belk (2022), “Coping and career choices: Irish gay men’s
passage from hopelessness to redemption,” Consumption Markets and Culture, 25 (1),
52–78.
Kheireddine, Bassem Jamil, Ana Maria Soares, and Ricardo Gouveia Rodrigues (2016), “A
social marketing approach to understanding intolerance among refugees and citizens in
Lebanon,” in 15th International Congress of the International Association on Public and
Nonprofit Marketing.
Kheireddine, Bassem Jamil, Ana Maria Soares, and Ricardo Gouveia Rodrigues (2021),
“Understanding (in)tolerance between Hosts and Refugees in Lebanon,” Journal of
Refugee Studies, 34 (1), 397–421.
Krisjanous, Jayne and Djavlonbek Kadirov (2018), “‘Migrants Are Splendid Types’: The
‘Beautiful Balts’ Megamarketing Campaign to Boost the Reception of Displaced Persons
in Australia after World War II,” Journal of Macromarketing, 38 (4), 425–40.
Mitra, Nilanjana, Ronald Paul Hill, Himadri Roy Chaudhuri, and Anindita Chaudhuri (2022),
“Identity Management as a Coping Strategy for Stigmatization: The Case of Indian Sex
Workers in a Libidinal Market,” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 41 (2), 124–40.
Netemeyer, Richard G., David G. Dobolyi, Ahmed Abbasi, Gari Clifford, and Herman Taylor
(2020), “Health Literacy, Health Numeracy, and Trust in Doctor: Effects on Key Patient
Health Outcomes,” Journal of Consumer Affairs, 54 (1), 3–42.
311
Netto, Gina, Lynne Baillie, Theodoros Georgiou, Lai Wan Teng, Noraida Endut, Katerina Strani,
and Bernadette O’Rourke (2022), “Resilience, smartphone use and language among
urban refugees in the Global south,” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 48 (3),
542–59.
Ozanne, Julie L., Natalie Ross Adkins, and Jennifer A. Sandlin (2005), “Shopping [for] power:
How adult literacy learners negotiate the marketplace,” Adult Education Quarterly, 55
(4), 251–68.
Pechmann, Cornelia, Elizabeth S Moore, Alan R Andreasen, Paul M Connell, Dan Freeman,
Meryl P Gardner, Deborah Heisley, R Craig Lefebvre, Dante M Pirouz, and Robin L
Soster (2011), “Navigating the Central Tensions in Research on At-Risk Consumers:
Challenges and Opportunities,” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 30 (1), 23–30.
Penaloza, Lisa (1995), “Immigrant Consumers: Marketing and Public Policy Considerations in
the Global Economy,” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 14 (1), 83–94.
Adkins, Natalie Ross and Canan Corus (2009), “Health literacy for improved health outcomes:
Effective capital in the marketplace,” Journal of Consumer Affairs, 43 (2), 199–222.
Schallehn, Holger, Stefan Seuring, Jochen Strähle, and Matthias Freise (2019), “Defining the
antecedents of experience co-creation as applied to alternative consumption models,”
Journal of Service Management, 30 (2), 209–51.
Sennett, Richard (2015), Yeni kapitalizmin kültürü (The culture of the new capitalism), (Aylin
Onocak, Trans.). Ayrıntı Yayınları.
Shultz, Clifford J. (2007), “Marketing as Constructive Engagement,” Journal of Public Policy &
Marketing, 26 (2), 293–301.
Shultz, Clifford J., Andrés Barrios, Alexander V. Krasnikov, Ingrid Becker, Aronté M. Bennett,
Renu Emile, Maria Hokkinen, Julia R. Pennington, Marcos Santos, and Jaime Sierra
(2020), “The Global Refugee Crisis: Pathway for a More Humanitarian Solution,”
Journal of Macromarketing, 40 (1), 128–43.
Shultz, Clifford J. and Morris B Holbrook (2009), “The Paradoxical Relationships Between
Marketing and Vulnerability,” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 28 (1), 1547–7207.
Shultz, Clifford J. and William L. Wilkie (2021), “Macromarketing, the Indispensable
Discipline,” Journal of Macromarketing, 41 (1), 5–9.
Singh, Ramendra, Tahir Wani, Saiyed Wajid Ali, and Apoorv Khare (2021), “Conflict-induced
entrepreneurial resilience, self-efficacy and the new social compact: a study of BoP
micro-entrepreneurs in conflict zones,” Decision, 48 (3), 309–26.
Skran, Claudena and Evan Easton-Calabria (2020), “Old Concepts Making New History:
Refugee Self-reliance, Livelihoods and the ‘Refugee Entrepreneur,’” Journal of Refugee
Studies, 33 (1), 1–21.
Sredl, Katherine C., Clifford J. Shultz, and Ružica Brečić (2017), “The Arizona Market: a
Marketing Systems Perspective on Pre- and Post-War Developments in Bosnia, with
Implications for Sustainable Peace and Prosperity,” Journal of Macromarketing, 37 (3),
300–316.
Stewart, Cordelia Rose and Sheau Fen Yap (2020), “Low literacy, policy and consumer
vulnerability: Are we really doing enough?,” International Journal of Consumer Studies,
44 (4), 343–52.
The Guardian (2015), “Syrian refugees: four million people forced to flee as crisis deepens,”
(accessed February 10, 2023), [available at https://www.theguardian.com/global-
development/2015/jul/09/syria-refugees-4-million-people-flee-crisis-deepens].
312
Thompson, Craig J, William B Locander, and Howard R Pollio (1989), “Putting Consumer
Experience Back into Consumer Research: The Philosophy and Method of Existential-
Phenomenology,” Journal of Consumer Research, 16 (2), 133–46.
UNHCR (2005), “Handbook for Self-reliance.” (accessed February 10, 2023), [available at
https://www.unhcr.org/44bf7b012.pdf].
UNHCR (2015), “The year of Europe’s refugee crisis,” (accessed February 10, 2023), [available
at https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/2015/12/56ec1ebde/2015-year-europes-%20refugee-
crisis.html].
UNHCR (2019), “Climate change and displacement,” (accessed February 10, 2023), [available at
https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/2019/10/5da5e18c4/climate-change-and-
displacement.html].
UNHCR (2021), “Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2021.”
UNHCR (2023), “Refugee Population Statistics Database,” (accessed February 10, 2023),
[available at https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/].
Viswanathan, Madhubalan, S. Gajendiran, and R. Venkatesan (2008), “Understanding and
enabling marketplace literacy in subsistence contexts: The development of a consumer and
entrepreneurial literacy educational program in South India,” International Journal of
Educational Development, 28 (3), 300–319.
Viswanathan, Madhubalan, Saravana Jaikumar, Arun Sreekumar, and Shantanu Dutta (2021a),
“Marketplace literacy education and coping behaviors among subsistence consumer–
entrepreneurs during demonetization in India,” Journal of Consumer Affairs, 55 (1), 179–
202.
Viswanathan, Madhubalan, Antonio Rosa, James Edwin Harris (2005), “Decision Making and
Coping of Functionally Illiterate Consumers and Some Implications for Marketing
Management,” Journal of Marketing, 69, 15–31.
Viswanathan, Madhubalan, Nita Umashankar, Arun Sreekumar, and Ashley Goreczny (2021b),
“Marketplace Literacy as a Pathway to a Better World: Evidence from Field Experiments in
Low-Access Subsistence Marketplaces,” Journal of Marketing, 85 (3), 113–29.
Wallendorf, Melanie (2001), “Literally literacy,” Journal of Consumer Research, 27 (4), 505–11.
World Bank (2017), “Forcibly Displaced Toward a Development Approach
Supporting Refugees, the Internally Displaced, and Their Hosts.”
World Bank (2023), “Refugee population by country or territory of asylum,” (accessed February
10, 2023), [available at https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SM.POP.REFG].
Xiao, Jing Jian and Nilton Porto (2022), “Financial capability and wellbeing of vulnerable
consumers,” Journal of Consumer Affairs, 56 (2), 1004–18.
313
Strengthening Marketing Systems and Macro Policies to Address Social Conflict and Well-
Being Among Indigenous and Peasant Women in Peru
June N. P. Francis, Simon Fraser University, Canada
Kristina Henriksson, Simon Fraser University, Canada
Peru is a leading mining producer of various metals (gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron, tin,
molybdenum, tellurium, among others). The Andes Range, Peru´s backbone, is the largest source
of mineral deposits in the world and is the location of the majority of mining projects as well as
home to numerous peasant communities. Mining accounts for 9% of Peru’s gross domestic
product (GDP) reaching almost 60% of the total value of exports (SNMPE 2019). However,
large scale resource extraction in Peru are also sites of significant social conflict. Data from
Peru’s Defensora del Pueblo indicate that 66%
of local level conflicts in the country are linked to
mining operations, representing more than 150 active conflict sites (Defensoria del Pueblo 2015)
These conflicts can turn deadly. For instance, in Sept 2015 violence erupted at the Las Bambas
mining project, a US$ 10 billion investment that left 4 dead, 15 wounded, and 21 detained.
Indigenous and peasant communities in Peru are beset by poverty, exclusion and inequality
leading to high levels of mining-related conflict (Loayza and Rigolini 2016). The Ombudsman
Office of Peru defines these conflicts as “a complex process in which different sectors of society,
the State and/or the mining companies involved perceive that their interests, objectives, values
worldviews or needs are contradictory, and which dynamic revolves around the control, use
and/or access to the environment and its resources, creating a situation that could result in
violence. Political, economic, social and cultural components are also present” (Defensoría del
Pueblo 2012).
Women fare particularly poorly in mining affected regions, experiencing disproportionately high
levels of discrimination, marginalization and exclusion, especially within the economic spheres
(Lahiri-Dutt & Macintyre 2017) and are disproportionality excluded from the benefits from
mining. Unemployment and underemployment are almost twice as high for women with women
accounting for less than 10% of the mining workforce in Peru (PNUD) and almost half of rural
women do not have their own income (INEI-ENAHO 2014). Those women who do participate in
the mining sector often labour in obscurity as economic actors because much of this labour
occurs in the informal (ASM) sector or in marginal and often precarious areas of mining. Mining
has also been shown to negatively impact food availability among women in addition to other
negative impacts (Beck and Wegenast 2020).
To address these exclusions and related social conflicts, a plethora of initiatives, laws and
programs have been aimed at quelling social conflicts in the sector by establishing market-based
alternatives to mining. Diversification away from mining is seen as critical to addressing
poverty and inequality, reducing social conflict and improving wellbeing in mining affected
communities. For example, our survey of mining related corporate social responsibility spending
indicates that approximately half is spent on economic development. Yet these spendings and
programs have not translated into market related expansions and women issues remain highly
314
excluded. Women’s voices remain silent in decision making, especially related to critical stages
of decision making, in these regions, due to social, cultural and historical factors.
This presentation will present findings from action research initiative – ‘Colab Peru’ that took
place in Peru over 5 years with one of its’ aims to foster more inclusive policies and practices to
support marketplace solutions to reducing conflict through improving women’s benefits from
mining and from the legacies of the sector.
The findings illuminate key obstacles to women’s inclusion and the development of thriving
marketplace solutions including, exclusion from decision making, poor linkages to local or
regional development plans, lack of synergy among CSR and marketplace development,
unproductive projects, and poor integration into supply-chains and global markets. The
presentation will also cover the results of a pilot project applying The Co-Laboratorio approach
(Francis, Henriksson & Stewart 2021), a novel methodology to increase meaningful participation
by women in national, regional and integrative planning and governance, aimed at improving
community well-being while reducing social conflict. Beyond inclusion in decision making,
macro market systems-centered solutions include the coordination of CSR resourses, alignment
with government investments, women capacity building, co-financiang arangements, common
planning platforms and supply-chain integration.
The results adds to our understanding of the role of maketing systems in reducing social conflict
and increasing women’s well being in mining affected regions.
References
Defensoria del Pueblo (2012). Violencia en los conflictos sociales, Informe Defensorial N° 156.
Accessed February 13, 2023 https://www.defensoria.gob.pe/wp-
content/uploads/2018/05/informe-156.pdf
Defensoria del Pueblo (2015). Accessed February 13, 2023
http://www.defensoria.gob.pe/blog/defensoria-del-pueblo-registro-209-conflictos-
sociales-en-julio/
Francis, June N.P, Kristina Henriksson, and Alonso, Jason Stewart. (2021), “Collaborating for
transformation: applying the Co-Laboratorio approach to bridge research, pedagogy and
practice” Canadian Journal of Development Studies/Revue Canadienne D'études Du
Développement, 42(3), 416–
INEI-ENAHO (2014), Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática –
https://www.inei.gob.pe/media/MenuRecursivo/publicaciones_digitales/Est/Lib1429/libr
o.pdf
Lahiri-Dutt, Kuntala and Martha Macintyre (2017), “Women Miners in Developing Countries,”
Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315233734
Loayza, Norman and Jamele Rigolini, (2016) “The Local Impact of Mining on Poverty and
Inequality: Evidence from the Commodity Boom in Peru,” World Development, 84(C),
219-234.
SNMPE (2019) The Contribution Of Mining To The National Economy, Sociedad Nacional de
Minería, Petróleo y Energía/National Mining, Oil and Energy Society,
315
https://www.snmpe.org.pe/informes-y-publicaciones/contribuci%C3%B3n-de-la-
miner%C3%ADa-a-la-econom%C3%ADa-nacional.html
Wegenast, T., & Beck, J. (2020). “Mining, rural livelihoods and food security: A disaggregated
analysis of sub-Saharan Africa,” World Development, 130, 104921–12.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.104921
316
The Marketplace as Intercultural Dreaming and Collective Desire
Pekka Saarikorpi, Hanken School of Economics, Finland
Maria Hokkinen, Åbo Akademi University, Finland
Pia Polsa, Hanken School of Economics, Finland
The paper focuses on intercultural imaginaries and utopia as a collective desire for individuals
(micro), organisations (meso) and societies (macro). Drawing on relevant marketing literature,
the research paper distinguishes between various utopian concepts and views that then are
applied to different levels of the macromarketing system. The research advances the conceptual
understanding of the intercultural dimension of utopian desires and shifts the focus of the utopian
ideal as a Western into a broader intercultural phenomenon where experiences and imaginaries
emerge as a result of collective desires and migration from one place to another emerging from
and building up micro, meso and macro utopian desires. The empirical research is built on 131
photos taken by refugees in Finland between 2017-2021. These are coupled with one-on-one
photovoice interviews (n=9) and micro focus group interviews (n=23). The paper answers the
following questions: How is utopian social dreaming shaped by migration in the macromarketing
system? How does intercultural social dreaming create alternative marketplaces for micro, meso
and macro utopia? The paper provides a complementary approach to the extant macromarketing
literature on utopia by extending the research towards intercultural imaginaries of the ideal
exemplified in the empirical sphere.
Introduction to the Utopian View
Although Utopia as a Western concept was first introduced by Thomas More in the 16
th
century
(Davis 2010), both utopian and its counterpart, dystopian ideals, have existed even long before.
Utopian stories are grounded in writings about Biblical lands, the myths of the Wonders of the
Far East from the time of Hellenistic expansion, and fictional stories of travellers during
colonialization (Eco 2013). If the Western identity is strongly rooted in the colonialized
worldview–orientalism (Said 1978) and otherness (Bhabha 1994)–the same is true for utopian
ideals (Dutton 2010; Eco 2013; Pohl 2010; Sargent 2010).
The utopian project became societal as the shift from ‘elsewhere’–unknown and inaccessible
place–to a ‘time to come’ materialized during the Enlightenment (Roemer 2010), which initiated
the utopian projection into the ideal society located in the future (Vieira 2010). In broad sense,
utopianism has its basis on ‘western dreams of a better world, an ideal existence or a fantastic
future’ (Dutton 2010).
In general, utopian ideals seem to question the current state of being for individuals,
organisations and societies at large. Whether it is a no-place (utopia), a good place (eutopia) or
an imaginary and liberating way of organizing society, utopias are grounded in the desire for a
better life, where ‘the principal energy’ is hope (Vieira 2010). Thus, there is a bond between
reality and imaginary as the utopian imaginary is always anchored to being in real society (ibid.).
The loss of hope as the end of utopia seems to be a dominant idea in many recent sociological
writings. This becomes evident in the writings of Popper (1945), Fukuyama (1992) and Fisher
317
(2009) about ‘the end of utopia’, ‘the end of the history’, and ‘the end of hope’ as the
nightmarish twentieth century with world wars and loss of humanity finally shifted from
dystopian totalitarianism towards collapse of Marxist ideology and the overcome of capitalism.
“Too bad. We’re in paradise. Illusion is no longer possible”, the sightless present was summed
up by Baudrillard (2008, p. 97).
If the literary dystopian view has often been didactic and moralistic while referring to imaginary
places worse than the real (Vieira 2010), in marketing literature the dominant dystopian view
seems to be grounded in criticism against neoliberalist markets and desirable fetishistic
consumption, where democracy has “drown in popcorn and toothpaste, with citizenship debased
to a mere commodity” (Claeys 2010).
Utopia in marketing literature
If utopia literature has been strongly divided into a literary utopia of imaginary lands (non-
places) (Claeys 2010) and an emancipatory/societal utopia of better time (society)-to-come
(Levitas 2011), most of the utopia research in marketing focuses on liberatory utopian
imaginaries based on Western myths (e.g. Llamas and Belk 2011), dystopian nightmares (e.g.,
Belk, Gopaldas, and Humayun 2020), or the relations between these two (e.g., Bradshaw et al.
2021). In this sense, the current utopia research is highly focused on a transformative and
emancipatory view where marketplaces are seen through both utopian and dystopian imaginaries.
Research focusing on utopian marketplaces often criticizes neoliberal capitalism and
consumption culture, where fantasy shopping and commodity fetishism (e.g. Brottman 1997), or
carnival-like gambling in Las Vegas (Belk 2000; Humphreys 2010) represent a market utopia
grounded in neoliberalism, while for others utopian marketplaces (e.g. Brown and Maclaran
2005), anti-capitalist and communal festivalization (Kozinets 2002), street arts in urbanscapes
(Visconti et al. 2010), or the Star Trek fandom (Kozinets 2001) appear as participatory and
consumer-driven emancipatory utopian movements and breaking free from capitalist structures.
As an alternative to neoliberalism and the ‘rational man’s utopic mastery over the nature’
(Cronin, Hadley, and Skandalis 2022), utopian post-capitalism can be seen as a model of
sustainable and green consumption (Fitchett and Prothero 2000) built on peoples’ power and
civic, political and environmental activism (Dermody et al. 2021). However, non-Western
utopian imaginaries embedded at societal level and available for citizens to consume are largely
ignored. Yet, migration is often grounded in collective desire or utopian hope for a better place
or time to come (Belk 1994). While the film industry and science fiction are heavily rooted in
‘otherness’ and peoples’ desire towards dystopian realms (e.g., Bradshaw, Fitchett, and Hietanen
2021), techtopian narratives–technological development for the common good–appear as a
counter-phenomenon where the future is seen as bright and joyful (Kozinets 2007). Otherwise,
techno-utopian literature, whether based on artificial life (Belk, Gopaldas, and Humayun 2020),
the self in virtual consumption (Denegri-Knott and Molesworth 2010) or different technology
narratives (Kozinets 2007) open up consumers' fascination and fears of various techno-utopias.
Although utopia is defined as an imaginary place ‘nowhere’ or societal transformation towards a
better future, a surprising number of articles deal with nostalgia-framed utopian past (e.g., Brunk,
Giesler, and Hartmann 2018), which see the “idealisation of the past” as a “similar process to
idealising the future." (Blanchette 2014). In addition to these views, Foucaldian (1984, p. 3)
318
heterotopia - spaces where the real is ‘simultaneously represented, contested, and inverted’ - has
been used by several marketing scholars to study embodied heterotopia and a body as a place
(different than the real) created through tattooing (Belk and Roux 2019), heterotopian gated
communities rooted in neoliberal prosperity and normalization of the social separation
(Chaudhuri and Jagadale 2021), heterotopian selfie practices as part of the attention economy
and social media platforms (Canniford and Rokka 2016), or urban neighbourhood as an
alternative for green and ethical consumption (Chatzidakis, Bradshaw, and Maclaran 2012).
What these studies have in common is that they all describe imaginary places, transformation
into better utopian societies or dystopian visions rooted in Western myths and images–grounded
in the ‘otherness’ or neoliberal desires–but not much on intercultural imaginaries (intercultural
imaginaries: see Dutton 2010) or forcibly displaced individuals experiencing heterotopias in
their new communities.
Empirical research
By seeing the hope and desire for a better future as a universal concept, this research looks at
migration, refugees and their social dreaming of/in a new place. The empirical context is Middle
Eastern and Turkish refugees living in Finland. The empirical research is built on 131 photos
taken by refugees in Finland between 2017-2021. These are coupled with one-on-one
photovoice interviews (n=9) and micro focus group interviews (n=23) to uncover the meaning
behind the photos and what kind of experiences they reflect. The research context is specific to
the existing utopian research in marketing, as the utopian dreaming has largely been seen as a
Western concept.
Preliminary results
The preliminary results show that photos that the refugees had taken or uploaded from the
internet vary from everyday objects like food and clothes to more tangible dreams of houses and
furniture. The food, representing the interviewees’ current consumption habits, enabled cultural
dreaming of lost homeland, mixed with local ingredients. Rather than integrating to the local
food culture the refugees combined food items from their own country or regions nearby with
local Finnish food.
Some photos also included images of ethnic restaurants, showing how the migration has led to
the rise of alternative and heterotopian marketplaces such as ethnic grocery stores, restaurants
and festivals in Finland. While refugees are forced to leave their homelands, migration creates
alternative marketplaces for immigrants to dream of their nostalgic past or maintain their cultural
identity. Gradually, these heterotopias also offer locals the opportunity for an alternative
marketplace built on the perception of otherness and a social dream of distant places.
It seems that the utopia and cultural dreaming that the photos reflect is in flux. Overall, the
photos reveal a longing for a better future. However, rather than completely and eagerly adopting
the integration to local consumer culture the utopian and nostalgic dreaming is holding refugees
back to the past life. The intangible, liquid consumption (Bardhi, Eckhardt, and Arnould 2012)
of food items serves both the purpose of nostalgic dreaming and the preservation of cultural
identity, while the more tangible, or solid (ibid.) consumption objects have an orientation both to
the past and to the utopian future. When it comes to the utopia of tangible items, such photos
319
more reflect a distant dream, not the current consumption. Photos of tangible possessions, such
as houses, cars and fashion items, reflect, on the one hand, the styles and customs of Finland,
while on the other hand, remind of the life lost when fleeing from the home country. The
previous lifestyle in the home country, prior to the events leading to forced displacement,
emerges as a type of material nostalgia which the individuals want to return to, not physically,
but through their consumption.
Conclusion - social dreaming
If particular society’s cultural world – the dreams that have guided it to a certain point –
become dysfunctional, the society must go back and dream again (Thomas Berry)
While the history of utopia derives from the 16
th
century literary field, the utopian roots are in
Biblical lands, ancient myths of Otherness and colonialization. Likewise, utopian ideals can be
seen as global phenomena as all societies have their own founding myths and stories about
imaginary lands. In this sense, this paper broadens the utopian concept into culturalscapes and
shared symbolic realities built on the fantasies and desires of the nostalgic past and the hope for a
better future. Furthermore, this research sees utopia as an intercultural social dreaming, a
collective desire for a place at the end of the fairy tale, where ‘they all lived happily ever after’
(Parrinder 2010).
The paper provides a complementary approach to the extant marketing literature on utopia by
extending the research towards ‘intercultural imaginaries of the ideal’ (Dutton 2010) that has not
been addressed in previous macromarketing studies.
References
Bardhi, F., Eckhardt, G. M., and Arnould, E. J. (2012), “Liquid relationship to possessions,”
Journal of Consumer Research, 39(3), 510-529, DOI: 10.1086/664037.
Baudrillard, J. (2008 [1990]), Fatal Strategies. Philippe Beitchman and W. G. J. Niesluchowski
(trans.). Los Angeles: Semiotext(e).
Belk, R. W. (1994), “Battling Worldliness in the New Zion: Mercantilism versus Homespun in
Nineteenth-Century Utah,” Journal of Macromarketing, 14(1), 9–22.
https://doi.org/10.1177/027614679401400103
Belk, R. (2000), “May the farce be with you: On Las Vegas and consumer infantalization,”
Consumption, Markets and Culture, 4(2), 101-124, DOI:
10.1080/10253866.2000.9670352
Belk, R., Humayun, M., and Gopaldas, A. (2020), “Artificial Life,” Journal of macromarketing,
40(2), 221-236. https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146719897361
Bhabha, H. (1994), The Location of Culture, Abingdon: Routledge
Blanchette, A. (2014), “Revisiting the “passée”: history rewriting in the neo-burlesque
community,” Consumption Markets & Culture, 17(2), 158-184, DOI:
10.1080/10253866.2013.776307
320
Bradshaw, A., Fitchett, J. and Hietanen, J. (2021), “Dystopia and quarantined markets – an
interview with James Fitchett,” Consumption Markets & Culture, 24(6), 517-525, DOI:
10.1080/10253866.2020.1823378
Brottman, M. (1997). “The last stop of desire” Covent Garden and the spatial text of
consumerism,” Consumption, Markets and Culture, 1(1), 45-79, DOI:
10.1080/10253866.1997.9670291
Brunk, K. H., Giesler, M., and Hartmann, B. J. (2018), “Creating a Consumable Past: How
Memory Making Shapes Marketization,” The Journal of consumer research, 44(6), 1325-
1342. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucx100
Chatzidakis, A., Maclaran, P., & Bradshaw, A. (2012), “Heterotopian space and the utopics of
ethical and green consumption,” Journal of marketing management, 28(3-4), 494-515.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2012.668922
Chaudhuri, R., H., and Jagadale, S. R. (2021), “Normalized Heterotopia as a Market Failure in a
Spatial Marketing System: The Case of Gated Communities in India,” Journal of
macromarketing, 41(2), 297-314. https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146720957382
Claeys, G. (2010). The Cambridge companion to Utopian literature, Gregory Claeys (ed.),
Cambridge University Press.
Cronin, J., Hadley, C. and Skandalis, A. (2022), “Plastic: a passengerial marketplace icon,”
Consumption Markets & Culture, 25(5), 485-497, DOI:
10.1080/10253866.2022.2030319
Davis. J. C. (2010). Thomas More’s Utopia: sources, legacy and interpretation. In: The
Cambridge companion to Utopian literature, Ed. Gregory Claeys (ed.), Cambridge
University Press, 28-50.
Denegri‐Knott, J. and Molesworth, M. (2010) “Concepts and practices of digital virtual
consumption,” Consumption, Markets and Culture, 13(2), 109-132, DOI:
10.1080/10253860903562130
Dermody, J., Koenig-Lewis, N., Zhao, A. L., and Hanmer-Lloyd, S. (2021), “Critiquing a
Utopian idea of Sustainable Consumption: A Post-Capitalism Perspective,” Journal of
macromarketing, 41(4), 626-645. https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146720979148
Dutton, J. (2010), ‘Non-western’ utopian traditions. In: The Cambridge companion to Utopian
literature, Gregory Claeys (ed.), Cambridge University Press, 223- 258
Eco, U. (2013). The Book of Legendary Lands. Translated by Alastair McEwen. London:
MacLehose Press.
Fisher, M. (2009). Capitalist Realism. Is there no alternative? Zero books.
Foucault, M. (1984 [1967]). Of other spaces: Utopias and Heterotopias. Architecture
/Mouvement/ Continuité. Translated from the French by Jay Miskowiec (“Des Espace
Autres,” March 1967), 1-9. https://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/foucault1.pdf (accessed: 9
January, 2023)
Fukuyama, F. (1992). The End of History and the Last Man. New York: Macmillan, Inc.
Humphreys, A. (2010), “Semiotic Structure and the Legitimation of Consumption Practices: The
Case of Casino Gambling,” The Journal of consumer research, 37(3), 490-510.
https://doi.org/10.1086/652464
Kozinets, R. V. (2001), “Utopian Enterprise: Articulating the Meanings of Star Trek's Culture of
Consumption,” The Journal of consumer research, 28(1), 67.
https://doi.org/10.1086/321948
321
Kozinets, R. V. (2002), “Can Consumers Escape the Market? Emancipatory Illuminations from
Burning Man,” The Journal of consumer research, 29(1), 20-38.
https://doi.org/10.1086/339919
Kozinets, R. V. (2007), “Technology/Ideology: How Ideological Fields Influence Consumers’
Technology Narratives,” The Journal of consumer research, 34(6), 865-881.
https://doi.org/10.1086/523289
Levitas, R. (2011). The Concept of Utopia. Oxford: Peter Lang.
Llamas, R., and Belk, R. (2011), “Shangri-La: Messing with a Myth,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 31(3), 257-275. https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146711406549
Maclaran, P., and Brown, S. (2005), “The Center Cannot Hold: Consuming the Utopian
Marketplace,” The Journal of consumer research, 32(2), 311-323.
https://doi.org/10.1086/432240
Parrinder, P. (2010). Utopia and romance. In: The Cambridge companion to Utopian literature,
Gregory Claeys (ed.), Cambridge University Press, 154-173.
Pohl, N. (2010), “Utopianism after More: the Renessaince and Enlightenment,” In: The
Cambridge companion to Utopian literature, Gregory Claeys (ed.), Cambridge University
Press, 51-78
Popper, K. (1945). The Open Society and Its Enemies. Abingdon-on-Thames, United Kingdom:
Routledge.
Prothero, A., and Fitchett, J. A. (2000), “Greening Capitalism: Opportunities for a Green
Commodity,” Journal of macromarketing, 20(1), 46-55.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146700201005
Roemer, K., M. (2010), “Paradise transformed: varieties of nineteenth-century utopias,” In: The
Cambridge companion to Utopian literature. Gregory Claeys (ed.), Cambridge University
Press, 79-106.
Rokka, J., and Canniford, R. (2016), “Heterotopian selfies: How social media destabilizes brand
assemblages,” European journal of marketing, 50(9/10), 1789-1813.
https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-08-2015-0517
Roux, D., and Belk, R. (2019), “The Body as (Another) Place: Producing Embodied
Heterotopias Through Tattooing,” The Journal of consumer research, 46(3), 483-507.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucy081
Said, E. W. (1978), Orientalism, London: Routledge & Keegan Paul Ltd
Sargent, L. T. (2010), Colonial and postcolonial utopias. In: The Cambridge companion to
Utopian literature, Gregory Claeys (ed.), Cambridge University Press, 200-222
Vieira, F. (2010). The concept of utopia. In: The Cambridge companion to Utopian literature,
Gregory Claeys (ed.), Cambridge University Press, 3-27
Visconti, L. M., Sherry, J. F., Borghini, S., and Anderson, L. (2010), “Street Art, Sweet Art?
Reclaiming the “Public” in Public Place,” The Journal of consumer research, 37(3), 511-
529. https://doi.org/10.1086/652731
322
Systemic Integration of the Sacred and the Secular: Template for Sustainable Peace,
Prosperity, Humanity and Well-Being
Clifford J. Shultz, Loyola University Chicago, United States of America
Nicholas Santos, SJ, Creighton University, United States of America
Dominic Chai, SJ, Boston College, United States of America
The purpose of this presentation is to introduce a template for collaborative research that
explores the awareness and impact of two recent Encyclicals by Pope Francis, and the extent to
which markets, marketing, consumption, policy -- and the catalytic institutions that
drive/regulate them -- can contribute to their actualization in the forms of sustainable peace,
prosperity and well-being.
The authors introduce the purpose and evolution of this project; consider key issues, constructs
and measures; and they discuss plans/players going forward, and plausible outcomes. Key
constructs include: Interconnectedness of all things, with some emphasis on social and
environmental issues that are intrinsically connected; the familial relationship between/among all
human beings; love, humanity and inclusive marketing systems as foundational for building a
culture of encounter; need for global response to systemic challenges such as racism, poverty,
exploitation, environmental degradation; a call for constructive engagement with these issues and
the people and institutions affecting them – in other words, “Macromarketing”. This work builds
on seminal models that assist the diagnosis, policies and practices, which in turn shape the
constituents, actions and outcomes of marketing systems (DeQuero et al. 2020; Laczniak and
2009: Shultz 2015; Shultz et al. 2012; Shultz Rahtz and Sirgy 2017; Shultz, Sirgy and Rahtz
2022).
Key objectives include the assembly of a team of scholars, around the world, development of an
instrument vis-à-vis sacred and secular constructs; a pilot study to check reliability/validity of the
instrument; data collection on a larger scale, with global representation; report/publish initial
findings; track and assess trends, over time; potentially other initiatives that may become
apparent during the presentation and discussion.
References
De Quero-Navarro, Beatriz, Karine Aoun-Barakat, Clifford Shultz, Rafael Araque-Padilla, and
Maria José Montero-Simó (2020), “From Conflict to Cooperation: a Macromarketing
View of Sustainable and Inclusive Development in Lebanon and the Middle East,”
Environmental Management, 66, 232-247.
Santos, Nicholas and Gene Laczniak (2009), “Marketing to the Poor: An Integrative Justice
Model for Engaging Impoverished Market Segments,” Journal of Public Policy &
Marketing, 28(1), 3-15.
Shultz, Clifford (2015), “The Ethical Imperative of Constructive Engagement in a World
Confounded by the Commons Dilemma, Social Traps, and Geopolitical Conflicts,”
323
Handbook on Ethics in Marketing, A. Nill, ed., Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 188-
219.
Shultz, Clifford, Rohit Deshpandé, C. Bettina Cornwell, Ahmet Ekici, Prabakar Kothandaraman,
Mark Peterson, Stanley Shapiro, Debabrata Talukdar, and Ann Veeck (2012), “Marketing
and Public Policy: Transformative Research in Developing Markets,” Journal of Public
Policy & Marketing, 31 (2), 178-184.
Shultz, Clifford, Don Rahtz, and M. Joseph Sirgy (2017), “Distinguishing Flourishing from
Distressed Communities: Vulnerability, Resilience, and a Systemic Framework to
Facilitate Well-Being,” Handbook of Community Well-Being, R. Phillips and C. Wong,
eds. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer, 403-422.
Shultz, Clifford, M. Joseph Sirgy, and Don Rahtz (2022), “Community, Economy and COVID-
19: A Primer for Lessons from Multi-Country Analyses of a Global Pandemic,”
Community, Economy, and COVID-19: Lessons from Multi-Country Analyses of a Global
Pandemic, C. Shultz, D. Rahtz and M. J. Sirgy, eds. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 1-30.
324
Sustainability and Climate Change Track
Co-Chairs:
Sabrina Helm, University of Arizona, United States of America
Joya Kemper, University of Auckland, New Zealand
Victoria J. Little, RMIT Vietnam, Vietnam
325
Packaging System Transformation for A Sustainable Future: A Macromarketing Agenda?
Joya Kemper, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Vicki Janine Little, RMIT University Vietnam, Vietnam
Sabrina Helm, University of Arizona, United States of America
Introduction
The environmental impact of plastics is becoming increasingly clear. Seventy-eight million
metric tons of plastic packaging is produced worldwide annually (Royte 2019), but only nine
percent is recycled (Geyer, Jambeck, and Law 2017). Most escapes the system, into landfill, or
into waterways and oceans; particularly single-use plastic packaging which has the largest
environmental impact of all (Hardesty et al. 2021). Furthermore, plastics are petrochemicals,
which break down and enter the food chain as micro-plastics, which have been implicated in
immune diseases and infertility (Kumar and Laskar 2019). The raw materials for petrochemicals
are fossil fuels, a non-renewable resource, and the prime culprit in climate change. The problems
associated with petrochemicals and systems leakages have created serious negative externalities,
all of which reflect the outstanding utility of plastic. For example, in food provisioning systems
plastic packaging provides valuable cost saving and value creating benefits including safety,
hygiene, efficiency, quality, consumer convenience and reduced food waste (Parsons 2021).
However, the negative impacts of petrochemicals must be addressed. We must radically reduce
the amount of plastic used, find alternative technologies, and capture valuable resources rather
have them pollute or add to landfill i.e., establish a circular economy model for (single-use)
plastics (Grodzińska-Jurczak et al. 2022; MacArthur 2017). In order to achieve these essential
and urgent goals, we need a more nuanced understanding of: (1) How plastic permeates food
provisioning systems; and (2) How we might rethink those systems in order to support transition
into a circular economy.
In support of that goal, this paper is a call to macromarketers to explore the role of plastic
packaging technologies in food provisioning systems. On the supply side, we build on Williams,
Davey, and Johnstone’s (2021) suggestion that we need to investigate transformation
possibilities in the packaging system, including conventional and bio-based (e.g., compostable,
biodegradable) packaging. Previous work in industries such as textiles (Ekström and
Salomonson, 2014) are likely to provide some direction. On the demand side, Rhein and Schmid
(2020) note that consumers feel helpless to effect meaningful change given the power of (retail)
corporations; forced to buy what is presented to them. On the other hand, retailers feel
constrained by government regulation and the demands of shoppers (Lee, Little and Nair 2019).
While we agree that consumer responsibilisation distracts attention from a damaging system, we
also consider unreflective overconsumption is part of the problem. We therefore need to question
the nature, form and significance of consumption and disposal in our lives (De Coverly et al.,
2008). Some examples of demand side solutions include reusable packaging product-service
systems (PSS) that allow consumers to refill from bulk dispensers (e.g., bulk bins), parent
packaging (e.g., milk bottles), and returnable packaging (e.g., Loop) (Zhu et al. 2022). However,
these systems are not as yet widespread. Making reusable packaging solutions the default in food
326
provisioning systems will require a sea change in mindsets and behaviours for all stakeholders –
producers, manufacturers, retailers and consumers (Coelho et al. 2020). To support that
transition, further work is required interrogating the nature of that system, and how we might
usefully intervene.
System Level Change
Several streams of research have examined the challenge of implanting circular economy
principles into food provisioning systems. One stream examines package-free grocery shopping
behaviours (Fuentes et al. 2019) and use of reusable packaging (Greenwood et al. 2021). Studies
have identified barriers to purchase of zero-packaging (Bentham et al. 2022), including time
(Beitzen-Heineke et al. 2017), inconvenience and accessibility (Lofthouse et al. 2009), safety
concerns, and issues of trust and quality due to products being unbranded (Minami et al. 2010),
lack of assortment (Hörisch and Marken 2019) as well as concerns over price (Lofthouse et al.
2009; Long et al. 2022). New store types such as specialist refilleries and zero waste stores are
emerging, however shopping is more time intensive as the assortment is limited, and consumers
must remember and bring the correct number of containers (Rapp et al. 2017). ‘Responsible’
shopping requires consumer investment before, during and after; including planning, time spent
in-store and post-shopping materials management (Fuentes et al., 2019). In short, for consumers,
“doing the right thing” is more troublesome and more expensive (Bentham et al. 2022). Some
researchers, especially those investigating consumer attitudes, perceptions and behaviours,
suggest promoting sustainable packaging stores and engaging in targeted social marketing
campaigns to reduce plastic usage. However, systems and practice researchers (e.g., Little, et al.
2019; Shove 2003) argue the comfort, cleanliness and convenience of plastic-intensive modes of
shopping easily available in supermarkets and hypermarkets provide little incentive for change.
Furthermore, packaging confers hidden consumer benefits. For example, Evans et al. (2020)
found consumers rejected more sustainable packaging as the hedonic benefits (in this case the
crackling of a regular crisp packet), failed to provide expected sensory value. This example
highlights that care should be taken to untangle the benefits and costs consumers associate with
packaging if we are to transition to forms that are both more sustainable and equally if not more
satisfying.
Approaches that responsibilize consumers are therefore only part of the solution, we need
systems-wide responses (Wooliscroft 2021). However, path dependency restricts the propensity
for change at the supplier and supermarket level (Duffy and Layton 2018). Economic gains and
consumer preferences motivate retailers; and single-use plastic packaging is cheap, easy and
appealing to shoppers (Gustavo et al. 2018; Little et al. 2019). Reusable packaging is none of
those things. Tracking reusable packaging creates logistics and supply chain challenges, such as
the need for digital passports to track and trace reusable packaging (Ellsworth-Krebs et al. 2022).
Previous macromarketing research has touched on these systems lock-in mechanisms around
plastics. For example, Little et al.’s (2019) study of a failed plastic bag tax identified the
mechanisms reinforcing an unsustainable marketing system, and Williams et al. (2021)
emphasise the role of regulation and legislation. Plastic bag bans and taxes are a global policy
norm (Clapp and Swanston 2009), and similar approaches are now being taken to single-use
plastic packaging and utensils (e.g., plates, straws). Yet, there is still a lack of research focusing
on how the system might move beyond current plastic packaging technologies (Evans et al.
327
2020; Williams et al. 2021). Work is also required focusing on how cultural and social norms
legitimize the continuation of a single-use plastic packaging system.
Unanswered Questions to Move Us towards a Circular Economy
While valuable work has contributed to understanding, many important questions remain
unanswered about the role of plastic packaging technologies in the food provisioning system, for
example:
1. France is banning single use packaging for 30 types of fruit and vegetables, while the
draft EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive aims for 40% of takeaway food
packaging to be reusable by 2040. How do policy initiatives such as these affect retailer
and manufacturer decision making around switching to plastic-free shopping and
alternative packaging modes? How does regulation spur companies into action?
2. Wegmans, a grocery retailer operating in the United States, set a goal to reduce in-store
plastic packaging and other single-use plastics, by 10 million pounds by 2024. Many
other retailers focus on the issue of environmental impacts from single-use plastic bags
(e.g., Walmart, Target, and Kroger). How can stakeholders in the system work together
to implement new packaging systems? How do supply chains react to such changes?
Are the most visible interventions also the most impactful? How can we ensure we
tackle the most impactful areas of resource waste first, instead of the most visible (e.g.,
plastic bags)? How can consumers and activists encourage companies to switch to more
sustainable value propositions around in-store and take-out options, particularly in
countries with little or no legislation on reducing plastic waste?
3. How can we legitimise and normalise alternative and reusable packaging systems that
may be less ‘clean’, convenient and comfortable? For example, can nostalgia (re)create
preferences for the ‘milk man’ and other forms of reusable packaging systems? How
do we avoid continued inconsistencies, opacity and obfuscation in package labeling?
For example “biodegradable” suggests to consumers that it is safe to use such a bag
and no behavior change is needed. However, these bags can contaminate the waste
stream and compromise processing due to local waste management constraints.
4. How do food provisioning practices support, enhance or block transitions towards the
circular economy? What artefacts, skills and meanings are implicated, and how do we
draw on the ideas of macrosocial marketing to implant change? How are issues of food
waste and plastic waste intertwined, and how do consumer practices around food
acquisition, preparation, consumption, and disposal affect single-use plastic waste?
5. How does sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI) integrate with the idea of food
provisioning practices? How can SOI support transitions towards the circular
economy?
We implore and encourage macromarketers to take up these research challenges.
328
References
Bentham, Catherine, Joya Kemper, and Roderick Brodie, (2022), “Adoption of reusable
packaging: How do motivators and barriers vary?.” ANZMAC 2022, Perth, Australia,
p.621.
Clapp, Jennifer, and Linda Swanston (2009), "Doing Away with Plastic Shopping Bags:
International Patterns of Norm Emergence and Policy Implementation." Environmental
Politics, 18 (3), 315-32.
Coelho, Patricia Megale, Blanca Corona, Roland ten Klooster, and Ernst Worrell (2020),
"Sustainability of Reusable Packaging–Current Situation and Trends." Resources,
Conservation & Recycling: X, 6 100037.
De Coverly, E., McDonagh, P., O'Malley, L., & Patterson, M. (2008). Hidden mountain: the
social avoidance of waste. Journal of Macromarketing, 28(3), 289-303.
Ekström, K. M., & Salomonson, N. (2014). Reuse and recycling of clothing and textiles—A
network approach. Journal of Macromarketing, 34(3), 383-399.
Ellsworth-Krebs, K., Rampen, C., Rogers, E., Dudley, L., & Wishart, L. (2022). Circular
economy infrastructure: Why we need track and trace for reusable packaging. Sustainable
Production and Consumption, 29, 249-258.
Evans, D. M., Parsons, R., Jackson, P., Greenwood, S., & Ryan, A. (2020). Understanding
plastic packaging: The co-evolution of materials and society. Global Environmental
Change, 65, 102166.
Geyer, Roland, Jenna R Jambeck, and Kara Lavender Law (2017), "Production, Use, and Fate of
All Plastics Ever Made." Science advances, 3 (7), e1700782.
Grodzińska-Jurczak, M., Krawczyk, A., Akhshik, A., Dedyk, Z., and Strzelecka, M. (2022)
“Contradictory or complementary? Stakeholders’ perceptions of a circular economy for
single-use plastics.” Waste Management, 142, 1-8.
Gustavo Jr, J. U., Pereira, G. M., Bond, A. J., Viegas, C. V., & Borchardt, M. (2018). Drivers,
opportunities and barriers for a retailer in the pursuit of more sustainable packaging
redesign. Journal of Cleaner Production, 187, 18-28.
Hardesty, Britta Denise, Lauren Roman, George H Leonard, Nicholas Mallos, Hannah Pragnell-
Raasch, Ian Campbell, and Chris Wilcox (2021), "Socioeconomics Effects on Global
Hotspots of Common Debris Items on Land and the Seafloor." Global Environmental
Change, 71 102360.
Laskar, Nirban, and Upendra Kumar (2019), "Plastics and Microplastics: A Threat to
Environment." Environmental technology & innovation, 14 (100352), 1-8.
Layton, Roger, and Sarah Maree Duffy (2018), "Path Dependency in Marketing Systems-Where
History Matters and the Future Casts a Shadow." Journal of Macromarketing, 38 (4),
400-14.
329
Little, Vicki Janine, Christina Kwai Choi Lee, and Sumesh Nair (2019), "Macro-Demarketing:
Unlocking Unsustainable Production and Consumption Systems " Journal of
Macromarketing, 39 (2), 166-87.
MacArthur, Ellen 2017 "Beyond Plastic Waste." 843-43: American Association for the
Advancement of Science.
Parsons, Rorie (2021), "The Role of Plastic Packaging in Transforming Food Retailing." British
Food Journal.
Rapp, Amon, Alessandra Marino, Rossana Simeoni, and Federica Cena (2017), "An
Ethnographic Study of Packaging-Free Purchasing: Designing an Interactive System to
Support Sustainable Social Practices." Behaviour & Information Technology, 36 (11),
1193-217.
Rhein, S., & Schmid, M. (2020). “Consumers’ awareness of plastic packaging: More than just
environmental concerns.” Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 162, 105063.
Royte, Elizabeth. "Is Burning Plastic Waste a Good Idea." National Geographic 2019.
Shove, Elizabeth (2003), "Converging Conventions of Comfort, Cleanliness and Convenience."
Journal of Consumer Policy, 26 (4), 395-418.
Wooliscroft, Ben (2021), "Macromarketing and the Systems Imperative." Journal of
Macromarketing, 41 (1), 116-23.
Zhu, Zicheng, Wei Liu, Songhe Ye, and Luciano Batista (2022), "Packaging Design for the
Circular Economy: A Systematic Review." Sustainable Production and Consumption.
330
The Forest and Its Role in the Move Towards a Sustainable Society: Should I Stay or
Should I Go?
Karin M. Ekström, University of Borås, Sweden
Introduction
The forest can be associated with a variety of values such as economic value (market value),
affectional value (feelings), nostalgic value (longing for the past), historical value (an
appreciation of the past), experiential value (how it is experienced), place value (how it is
experienced depending on location and surroundings such as different trees, wind power etc) and
functional value (how it is used, for wood products, textiles etc.). In a society dealing with
severe climate change, the forest is expected to contribute to the transition towards
environmental sustainability according to the Paris agreement (unfccc.int). The forest’s ability to
stores carbon dioxide makes it preferable to maintain the forest or even increase the number of
trees to compensate for emissions of greenhouse gases from other sectors. The goal of the Paris
agreement is to limit global warming to well below 2 Celcius, preferably to 1,5 Celcius
(unfccc.int). There are conflicting opinions whether the forest should be kept or not. By not
harvesting the forest, carbon dioxide is stored in the soil. At the same time, material from the
forest is expected to be used instead of cement and fossil-based raw material and hence it needs
to be harvested. In addition to different opinions on whether the forest should be harvested or
not, there are also different opinions on the practices of managing a forest, including the trees to
plant and the type of forest harvesting.
The role of the forest in the move towards a sustainable society needs to be understood in
relation to contemporary consumer culture. The purpose of this paper is to highlight different
consumption practices that are related to the forest by presenting different logics representing
different views on the forest and its relation to consumption. Throughout the paper, examples are
given from Sweden that represents a country of trees. Different actors have different views on
forest governance and management in Sweden over time (e.g., Mårald et al. 2017).
Macromarketing researchers emphasize the importance of sustainability and consumption (e.g.,
Assadourian 2010; Kilbourne, McDonagh and Prothero 1997). A macromarketing perspective of
the role of the forest in the move towards a sustainable society is important in that it recognizes
the complexity of different values and power relations in logics co-existing in contemporary
consumer culture.
The Forest and Consumption Practices
The IPCC (the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report on climate
change from 2021 states that human activities are responsible for historical climate change.
Emissions of carbon dioxide based on human activities represent +1.1 degrees Centigrade
between the years 1850-1900 and in the next twenty years the global temperature is estimated to
rise by 1.5 or 2 C if nothing is done. The situation has not improved lately (IPCC 2022). Climate
change is strongly connected to consumption and as mentioned above, the forest is expected to
contribute to the transition towards environmental sustainability according to the Paris agreement
(unfccc.int). An understanding of consumption practices (e.g., Pantzar, Shove, and Watson 2012;
331
Ward 2005) related to the forest, including consumption of wood products, is not only vital, but
crucial in contemporary consumer culture. Different logics representing different views of the
forest and its relation to consumption practices are discussed next.
A Cultural Logic of Consumption
Wood products from the forest has, from a historical perspective, played a major role in the
transition towards a welfare society in Sweden. Industrialization allowed mass production of
wood furniture at lower prices. After the Second World War and during the 1950s, there was a
strong belief in the future. Consumers had more money to spend on consumption as well as more
time. In 1951 a law stating the right to have three weeks holidays was implemented and in 1957,
the number of hours worked per week was reduced to 48 hours (Eriksson 1999). Shopping
developed to become a leisure activity. Design became more popular during the 1950s and exotic
wood products such as teak, mahogany and jacaranda was fashionable as well as traditional
pinewood that was heavily used. Ingvar Kamprad started the first furniture department store in
Älmhult, Sweden in 1953 and IKEA later established department stores all over Sweden and
world-wide. IKEA has played a major role in launching the chip board as a major component in
furniture making. The business idea of selling wood furniture at reasonable prices has been
successful for IKEA and other department stores. It has contributed to more people being able to
afford to buy new furniture. The low prices have also led to that people in contemporary
consumer culture replace their furniture at a much faster rate than earlier in history. Hence, the
average age for furniture has been significantly reduced. In general, old hand-crafted wood
furniture is not found attractive in contemporary consumer culture even though it is sold a low
price. One reason is the old-fashioned design and the fact that such furniture sometimes require
space that present day houses or apartments lack. Newly produced handcrafted wood furniture
with modern design is sold a high price, but with limited demand.
Apart from increased welfare and lower prices, fashion plays a role for changing consumption
patterns of wood products. Campbell (1987/2018) describes the importance of consumer dreams
in his historical description of consumption over time. Fashion is highly prevalent in today’s
popular culture as well as social media. Also, an aestheticization of society in general (e.g.,
Löfgren and Willim 2005) illustrates a stronger fascination for fashion. A strong driving force
for consumption as well as fashion is novelty. Campbell (2015) discusses how the accelerating
pursuit of the new is driving hyper-consumption.
Furthermore, consumption is important in the construction of identity (e.g., Gianneschi and
Sörum 2022). Social comparison is yet another driving force for consumption. Bauman (1998)
argues that consumption has replaced work as a social marker (Bauman 1998). Consumers are
influenced by other consumers, and it can result in an increase in consumption and debts (Frank
2007, 2011). Frank (2007) called the fact that the American middle class copies the American
upper class for luxury fever. It leads to that the upper class update their consumption to stay
unique which in turn leads to that consumption accelerate. He gives the example of the barbeque
grill. In Sweden, barbeque grills, but also wood decks have become important status symbols
over time. It appears as if building a wood deck attached to a house has developed into a cultural
norm. It is relevant to ask to what extent the consumer’s choices of wood products are dependent
on ideas and knowledge of the forest and its wood products. Wood can be considered as genuine
332
material, but it can also be interpreted as a waste of resources to use wood if trees are considered
to be kept growing in the forest.
In contemporary consumer culture, it is generally considered better to purchase new wood
products for building and restoring rather than reusing old wood. One reason is the relatively low
prices of new wood products. Will consumption patterns change if prices increase? Will more
information about forests and its relation to climate change lead to changing consumption
patterns? Several studies have over the years focused on the attitude-behaviour gap in trying to
understand why people consume as they do and for promoting environmental behaviour (e.g.,
Park och Lin 2020). The role of consumption in constructions of identity and as a social marker
makes it necessary to adopt a cultural logic of consumption (e.g., Arnould and Thompson 2005)
that provides a more in-depth understanding of consumption patterns and lifestyles related to
wood products and their origin in the forest. Furthermore, the responsibility of sustainable
consumption is not only that of consumers (e.g. Moisander 2007), but all actors in society.
A Mythological Logic
A mythological logic of the forest is represented in art and literature throughout the years. For
example, a Swedish painter, John Bauer illustrated fairy, trolls, and folk tales in his paintings.
Spiritual discovery is also discussed in relation to the forest. For example, Henry David Thoreau
described his life in the forest in the United States in the book Walden published in 1854. The
relation to the forest sometimes resembles some sort of religion. A professor in religious studies,
David Thurfjell (2020) discusses how nature has been considered religion throughout history as
well as today when Sweden can be considered a secularized nation.
The tranquility among trees is attracting people to find the calmness in the forest. One example is
“forest baths” which is a new way to experience the forest with all senses (SVT Nyhter 2023).
According to the forest bath guide, Lars Åström, it is about smelling the moss, feeling the tree
trunks, and to move slowly with a wide field of view of the forest. He argues that it is, in
particular, old forests that provide relaxation and soothing. Forests over 70 years old offer a
special calmness. They have wood wide web which means mykorrhiza and insects under the
ground. The German forester Peter Wohlleben (2016) writes in the book The hidden life of trees
how trees communicate with each other.
A Social Logic
Increased welfare and urbanization have probably contributed to that the forest has became more
important for recreation and social exchange. In Sweden, the Right of Public Access or Outdoor
Access Rights was established after the Second World War. It gives people the right to walk,
ride, ski, bicycle, or camp on any land except for private gardens, near a dwelling house or land
under cultivation. It also gives people the right to pick flowers, berries, and mushrooms in the
forest. More organized expeditions to the forest were intiated and arranged during the 1950s, for
example, expeditions to pick and learn about mushrooms. In 1957, an organization,
Friluftsfrämjandet, started to arrange meetings in the forest for young children. Play and
imagination is encouraged and a character, Skogsmulle, is dressed as a troll singing and telling
stories about the nature. Friluftsfrämjandet also arranges field trips for the family. Other
organizations encouraging interest in the forest are, for example, Fältbiologerna (Field
biologists) established in 1947.
333
A Production Logic
The forest has for a long time been important for production. People have relied on wood
products for building houses and wood has been used to heat houses. Farmers and industries
have historically also been dependent on wood for production. For example, glass factories in
Sweden were located in areas with larges forests. Industrialization introduced chain saws, horses
were replaced with tractors, sawmills and paper mills were developed and expanded. Forest
machines and timber trucks have become bigger and more efficient, but are also causing
environmental damage. The dependency of fossil fuel in the forest industry is problematic.
Fertilizers and pesticides are controversial issues. Discussions on efficiency and how long it
takes for trees to grow and be harvested are on-going.
It is important to better understand how forest owners think of and relate to production, but also
to consumption of wood products. Industrialization led to a separation between forest owners and
consumers (e.g., Campbell 2005), but they influence each other in the way they value, think of
and act in relation to the forest and its products.
An Economic Logic
The focus on economic growth has been highlighted parallel to the development of consumer
culture. The economic system is dependent on GDP that is connected to growth, and this
explains why politicians for a long time have been interested in increasing consumption. The
forest represents a large share of Swedish exports and the forest industry as well as the Swedish
state is therefore concerned about the revenue. Furthermore, the revenue is a concern for most
forest owners. Many private forest owners have small forests that are important for their
businesses as it has become more difficult to run a small agricultural farm. The economic logic is
also highly prevalent in discussions of consumption of wood products and buildings. In general,
low prices have been given high priority and led to accelerated consumption over time. Even
though it has been argued that increased consumption is not sustainable in the long run (e.g.,
Jackson 2009), the economic logic is highly prevalent in contemporary society.
A Political Logic
Over the years, a political logic has become even more visible in Swedish forests parallel to the
membership in the European Union (EU). The EU’s opinions about the role of the forest for
combatting climate change and promoting biodiversity is drawing attention among all actors
interested in the forest. Issues of concern are to what extent the European Union’s opinions about
the forest should be legislative or non-legislative for its member states. Politicians have different
opinions about the role of the forest as well as owners and producers of wood products. In 2020,
in Sweden, 48 percent of the forest is owned by private owners, including sole traders
(Skogsstyrelsen 2020). Persons who run a limited liability company own about 24 percent of the
forest. The state and companies run by the state own about 21 percent. The remaining 7 percent
is owned by the state and private owners. Even though there are laws regulating how forestry is
practiced with consideration to the climate change and economic incentives as well as
informative campaigns, education and research, the political discussion in Sweden has to a large
extent focused on freedom with responsibility.
334
Previously, Dolan (2002) expressed: “Essentially, the goal of sustainable consumption needs to
be seen as a political project, recognizing the power relations between social groupings (capital
and labor, the state and sectional interests and alliances, business and consumers) and between
cultural value systems (environmentalism and consumer sovereignty, capitalism and socialism,
collectivism and individualism).” The complexity of different values and power relations among
all actors interested in the role of the forest needs to be recognized and researched.
Conclusion
The forest and its products can be looked upon in different ways in the move towards a
sustainable society. One way is to consider it as a repository for human development in a similar
way as the ocean has been regarded over time. This means that the forest should be used for
consumption of wood products, as a source of energy, for building houses and wood decks,
biofuel for driving cars, producing paper, packages or knitting yarn. To what extent are
innovations based on the forest seen as a solution to climate problems? Another way is to leave
the forest as it is and let the trees stay in the forest. These two paths can be seen as opposite
routes, but there are also cross-paths and sideways to consider in the complex discussions of the
role of the forest. Different actors may have different interpretations of whether the paths are
leading forward or backwards.
The role of the forest in the move towards a sustainable society is relevant and important to
discuss at times when we are facing severe climate change. Different logics representing
different views of the forest and its relation to consumption practices are important to understand
in a consumer culture where climate change is strongly connected to consumption. It is important
to critically ask how consumption practices become legitimate over time.
Studies with a macromarketing perspective is necessary in that they illustrate the complexity of
the different views, negotiations, and power relations between different actors interested in the
forest and its products. Overall, the role of the forest and its products in our society, historically,
today and for generations to come need more attention in macromarketing research.
References
Arnould, Eric J and Craig Thompson (2005), “Consumer Culture Theory (CCT): Twenty Years
of Research,” Journal of Consumer Research 31(March), 868-882.
Assadourian, Erik (2010), ‘‘Transforming Cultures: From Consumerism to Sustainability,’’
Journal of Macromarketing, 30 (2), 186-191.
Bauman, Zygmunt (1998), Work, Consumerism and the New Poor. Buckingham: Open
University Press.
Campbell, C. (2005) “The Craft Consumer: Culture, craft and consumption in a postmodern
society,” Journal of Consumer Culture, 5(1), 23-42.
Colin Campbell (1987/2018), The Romantic Ethic and the Spirit of Modern Consumerism,
Oxford: Blackwell/London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Colin Campbell (2015), “The curse of the new: how the accelerating pursuit of the new is
driving hyper-consumption,” in Waste Management and Sustainable
335
Consumption, Reflections on consumer waste, Karin M. Ekström, ed. London and
New York: Routledge, 29-51.
Dolan, Paddy (2002), ‘‘The Sustainability of “Sustainable Consumption,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 22 (2), 170-181.
Ekström, Karin M. (2007), “Creation and Transformation of Value”, in Little Monster. (De)
Coupling Assemblages of Consumption, Helene Brembeck, Karin M. Ekström and
Magnus Mörck, eds. Wien: LIT, 107-127.
Eriksson, Thomas (1999), Älskade pryl! Reklam- och prylhistoria för rekordårens barn (Beloved
gadget! Advertising and gadgethistory for the children of record years), Stockholm:
Bokförlaget Prisma.
Frank, Robert H (2007), Falling Behind; How Rising Inequality Harms the Middle Class,
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Frank, Robert (2011), “Relative Deprivation, Inequality and Consumer Spending in the United
States,” in Beyond the Consumption Bubble, Karin M. Ekström och Kay Glans, eds.
London New York: Routledge, 165-173.
IPCC (the United Nations Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change) (2021), Last Accessed
2021-12-20, https://www.ipcc.ch/2021/08/09/ar6-wg1-20210809-pr/.
IPCC (the United Nations Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change) (2022), Last Accessed
2022-11-11, https://www.ipcc.ch/reports/.
Jackson, Tim (2009), Prosperity without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet. London,
England: Earthscan.
Kilbourne, William, Pierre McDonagh, and Andrea Prothero (1997), “Sustainable Consumption
and the Quality of Life: A Macromarketing Challenge to the Dominant Social
Paradigm,” Journal of Macromarketing, 17 (1), 4-24.
Moisander, J. (2007), “Motivational complexity of green consumerism,” International Journal of
Consumer Studies, 31, 404-409.
Mårald, Erland, Camilla Sandström, Annika Nordin and contributing authors (2017), Forest
Governance and Management Across Time – Developing a New Forest Social Contract.
Abingdon and New York: Routledge.
Park, Hyun Jung and Li Min Lin (2020), “Exploring attitude-behaviour gap in sustainable
consumption: comparison of recycled and upcycled fashion products,” Journal of
Business Research, (117), 623-628.
Shove, Elizabeth, Mika Pantzar and Matt Watson (2012), The Dynamics of Social Practice –
Everyday Life and How it Changes. London: Sage.
Skogsstyrelsen (2021), Fastighets- och ägarstruktur i skogsbruk 2020 (Property and ownership
structure in forestry 2020), Statistiska meddelanden från Skogsstyrelsen 1, JO1405 SM
2001, updated 2021-10-13.
Sörum, Niklas and Marcus Gianneschi (2022), ”The role of access-based apparel in processes of
consumer identity contruction,” Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management,
https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-03-2021-0062.
Thurfjell, David (2020) Granskogsfolk: hur naturen blev svenskarnas religion (People from
Spruce forest: how nature became the religion of the Swedes), Stockholm: Norstedts.
United Nations Climate Change, The Paris Agreement, https://unfccc.int/process-and-
meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement, downloaded 2023-02-13
336
Warde, Alan (2005), Consumption and Theories of Practice, Journal of Consumer Culture, 5:2,
131-153.
SVT Nyheter (2023), https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/vasternorrland/skogsbadaren-lars-i-
sundsvall-luktar-pa-mossan-det-ar-skont, accessed 2023-04-20, SVT Nyheter,
Västernorrland.
337
Consumer Preferences and Circular Economy: The Case of Reusable Packages
Hossein Eslami Dizeje, Lebanese American University, Lebanon
Dia Bandaly, Lebanese American University, Lebanon
Circular economy (CE) paradigm has gained much attention recently. Implementing a CE in the
Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) market requires the buy-in from consumers who are the
key players on the demand side buying environmentally friendly products and as well as in the
reverse logistics returning used products to the manufacturers. Our first objective is to
understand consumers’ preferences in the context of reusable packages. We specifically focus on
the case of beverages such as soft drinks. To this end, we use an online survey together with a
Conjoint choice-based experiment to measure consumers’ preference and willingness to pay for
the drinks sold in reusable packages. Moreover, we investigate the heterogeneity in preferences
and contrast the self-reported and actual behavior of consumers. The second objective is to
measure the effectiveness of different incentive schemes for post-consumer package return.
According to our results, while the price of product is a major factor affecting the choice of
consumers, they prefer reusable packages over the disposable ones. Based on this, we could
analyze the delicate trade-offs that manufacturers are facing in introducing reusable packages.
The insights from our study would have implications for the manufacturers and policy makers in
moving to the direction of circular economy in the FMCG market.
Introduction
Under continuous depletion of natural resources and high levels of environment pollution, it is
imperative for businesses to take initiatives to achieve profitability while protecting the
environment. Firms are under increasing pressure from the public and governments to become
more environmentally-responsible and to adopt sustainable business practices (Raj et al. 2020).
Circular economy (CE) paradigm has gained much attention recently (Calzolari et al. 2022). The
aim of CE is incorporating sustainability into the economic structures resulting in social and
environmental benefits (Mishra et al. 2022). While the top-down role of government is vital in
transition towards CE, bottom-up efforts by supply chain managers are also essential (Bressanelli
et al. 2019). One of the emerging sustainability initiatives, under the umbrella of CE, is product
recovery or reverse logistics (Hazen et al. 2021; Wang et al. 2017). This practice, not only
reduces the amount of waste, some of which contains hazardous material ending up in the
landfills, but also saves the natural resources by either reusing or recycling the recovered
products (Minunno et al. 2020).
In the FMCG market, using reusable glass containers instead of plastic ones reduces solid-waste
generation and environmental impacts by at least 50% and reduces the eco toxicological and
greenhouse gas emissions of the bottle production process (Ponstein et al. 2019). To be
implemented successfully, there is a need to understand consumers’ preferences in order to see to
what extent they would be favorable of such reusable packages and how much they are willing to
pay extra for those (Ketelsen et al. 2020). This becomes more important given the higher price of
reusable containers as compared to the conventional packages (Rausch et al. 2021). In most of
the markets, there is a need for some form of incentives to motivate consumers to take part in
sustainability initiatives (Mogale et al. 2022).
338
In this paper, we study consumers’ preferences for reusable packages. We specifically focus on
the case of beverages such as soft drinks or beers in the FMCG market. To this end, we use an
online survey together with a Conjoint choice-based experiment to measure consumers’
preference and willingness to pay for the drinks sold in reusable packages. Moreover, we
investigate the heterogeneity in preferences and contrast the self-reported and actual behavior of
consumers. Lastly, using the results of the Choice-Based Conjoint experiment, we measure the
effectiveness of different incentive schemes for post-consumer package return.
Literature Review
This paper spans two streams of literature. Due to the focal role of the consumers in the success
of sustainability initiatives pertaining to product packages, we survey the past studies on
consumers’ willingness to pay for green packaging. Secondly, we review the literature on
incentive mechanisms and their impact on the sustainable sopping behavior of consumers.
Consumers play a major role in the success of sustainability initiatives by the business to
consumer companies. There is a rich literature on the pro-environmental behavior of consumers
and its antecedents (Rausch et al. 2021). It has been shown that eco-friendliness is desired by
consumers in general. However, since price is usually an important factor for consumers, there is
a need to study the interrelationship between price and other product attributes such as packaging
(Orlowski et al. 2022). Moreover, Zhang et al. (2019) claim that there is a gap between intention
and actual behavior of consumers. As such, there is a need for a research methodology to
incorporate these discrepancies in consumer behavior in the context of green packaging.
Implementing a CE using reusable packages requires the utmost collaboration between the firms
in the supply chain and the consumers who are the key players in the reverse logistics (Gaur and
Mani 2018). While the forward flow is triggered upstream by the suppliers of raw material, the
reverse flow is initiated downstream by consumers. Companies may be reluctant to invest in the
CLSC if consumers are not keen to take part in this sustainable initiative (Roca et al. 2020).
Therefore, it is imperative for the supply chain managers to incorporate sound incentive
mechanisms into the design of the CE (Mogale et al. 2022).
This paper contributes to the literature in few ways. It aims to shed light on the factors affecting
consumers’ pro-environmental purchasing behavior in the context of green packages (Hao et al.
2019). We answer the call to measure consumers’ willingness to pay in a realistic setting by
utilizing the choice-based conjoint method (Rausch et al. 2021). Besides, to fill the gap in the
literature, we contrast the self-reported behavior and the actual behavior of consumers (Martinho
et al. 2015). Finally, we investigate the impact of monetary and non-monetary incentive
mechanisms on the return of empty reusable packages which has implications for supply chain
managers and policy makers (Nocolau et al. 2022).
Methodology
Considering the central role of consumers in the green initiative, we designed an online survey
coupled with the choice-based conjoint experiments conducted to understand the preference of
beer consumers when it comes to reusable packages. In the survey, respondents were asked about
their sustainability-related habits and their willingness to pay for sustainable products in addition
339
to their socio-demographic characteristics. The items used in the survey were based on Tully and
Winer (2014). In the choice-based conjoint experiments, we ask the participants to indicate their
preferred choice among the realistic beer options. Based on the opinion of the local retail experts
and in line with the previous studies (Muggah and Mcsweeney 2017; Spence et al. 2020), the
main relevant factors identified include brand name, type of bottle, bottle return incentives, and
retail price
5
. For each factor, three realistic levels were selected. The conjoint design is presented
in Table 1.
Table 1: The Design of Choice-Based Conjoint Experiment
Attributes /
Levels
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Brand
Local Beer
A
Local Beer B
Imported Beer
Bottle
Disposable
Reusable
Reusable
Incentive
-
Get Back LBP 250
Deposit
Receive 10 Reward Points
Price (LBP)
1500
1750
2000
The next task was to combine the levels of each factor and to come up with a list of hypothetical
conjoint profiles to be evaluated by the respondents. In order not to put a burden on the
respondents, we used the orthogonal array method to reduce number of profiles to 9 (Addelman
1962). The subsequent issue is to group those profiles into choice bundles to be used in the
choice based conjoint method. Given the conjoint design above, and using the cyclic method
under the balanced incomplete block (BIB) designs to restrict the number of choice sets
(Louviere et al., 2008), we end up with 9 choice sets each having three profiles (i.e. 3
3
/3/9
design). This design has the three desirable properties of level balance, orthogonality, and
minimal overlap (Huber and Zwerina 1996). For illustration, one of the choice sets used is shown
in Figure 1
6
.
5
Since our focus is on the type of beer bottles (reusable or not), we abstract away from other factors like beer flavor
or color.
6
The brand names are masked here. In the choice experiments, respondents could see the band names.
340
Figure 1: An example of the administered CBC choice expriments
The sample includes 245 students and staffs of a major university in the MENA region. The
respondents had to be beer drinkers to participate in the study. The survey was administered
online via Google Forms.
Results
Based on the survey results, on average respondents have high sustainability concerns and
actively practice in recycling or sustainable purchasing behaviors. On average, respondents have
positive attitude toward buying recyclable and reusable packages. In contrary, respondents have
reported low involvement in bringing reusable shopping bags to supermarkets. When it comes to
willingness to pay for sustainable products, respondents on average are willing to pay 30% more
to buy products that environmentally friendly and sustainable. This is in line with the findings in
the extant literature (La Fuente et al. 2022). While the results of the survey show consumers’
positive attitude towards sustainable products and their willingness to pay higher prices to buy
those products, it may not predict what consumers do when shopping for products in reality. To
this end, we used Choice-Based Conjoint analysis as an established tool to complement the
results of the survey results.
341
After cleaning the data of the conjoint experiment, the choices made by each respondent were
fed into a multinomial logit model to estimate the parameters of the choice model. The results of
the estimation are given in Table 2. The results show that the respondents are price sensitive in
general. In other words, increasing the price of beer by one unit, would decrease the choice
probability by -0.001 units. As per the bottles, the respondents prefer the reusable bottles to the
disposable ones. While the respondents in general prefer local brands to the imported beer, the
brand effect is not significant.
Table 2: Coefficient estimates of the conjoint experiment.
Variables / Coefficient
estimates
Coefficient
estimates
Standard
deviation
t-
statistic
250 LBP Deposit-Refund
1.581
0.076
20.684
10 Shopping Points
1.077
0.068
15.772
Price
-0.001
0.000
-12.247
Local Beer B
0.231
0.063
3.666
Local Beer A
0.883
0.058
14.981
Imported Beer
n/a
n/a
Pseudo R Square
0.168
AIC
4080
Note: Coefficients in bold are statistically significant.
Based on the results, respondents were willing to pay between 50% to 73% more to buy reusable
bottles instead of reusable bottles. These were considerable higher than the WTP numbers based
on stated preferences. Our results indicate that females are in general more concerned about the
environment. So, despite the high cost of the reusable bottles, manufacturer can sell them at
higher price, benefiting from an additional demand attributed to consumers who support eco-
friendly packages. This is a good news for the managers planning to implement CE as they can
be more environmentally sustainable without challenging their bottom line.
In terms of incentives, using the reusable bottle with a returnable deposit would increase the
likelihood of choice by 1.58 units. Similarly, using a reusable bottle with 10 shopping points
incentive would increase the choice likelihood by 1.07 units. As such, the bottle deposit policy
outperformed the reward points policy. Although we have used two incentives, namely deposit-
refund and reward points, the model can accommodate more incentive schemes. The
manufacturers together with retail managers should decide which incentive shall be implemented
in each market depending on the type of consumers served.
Conclusion
According to our results, while the price of product is a major factor affecting the choice
consumers, they prefer reusable packages over the disposable ones. This underlines the delicate
trade-offs that manufacturers are facing with, when they want to increase the price of reusable
packages for the final consumers. In this regard, our prosed method is able to answer such
342
questions by allowing managers to perform what if analysis on the impact of final price on
demand.
Our results show the possibility of increase in profitability of the supply chain under the reusable
package initiative. This is in line with the findings in the literature (Lopes Silva et al. 2013). This
improvement is due by the additional demand from consumers attracted by the eco-friendly
product and a return policy that motivates them to return the empty bottles. If planned properly,
this will enable the FMCG supply chain managers to achieve profitability and environmental
sustainability at the same time.
Besides, our results highlight the importance of selecting the incentive mechanism for the
consumers to return the post-consumption packages back to the supply chain. Setting low
incentive prevents the implementation of CE by reducing the returned post-consumer packages
and setting high incentives may make this initiative unprofitable for the manufacturers. This
underlines that the success of such CE initiatives would require sound government policies and
incentive programs (Khosroshahi et al. 2021).
References
Addelman, S. (1962), “Orthogonal Main-Effect Plans for Asymmetrical Factorial Experiments,”
Technometrics, 4, 21-46.
Bressanelli, G., Perona, M., and Saccani, N. (2019), “Challenges in supply chain redesign for the
Circular Economy: a literature review and a multiple case study,” International Journal
of Production Research, 57:23, 7395-7422.
Calzolari, T., Genovese, A., and Brint, A. (2022), “Circular Economy indicators for supply
chains: A systematic literature review,” Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, 13,
100160.
Gaur, J., and Mani, V. (2018), “Antecedents of closed-loop supply chain in emerging economies:
a conceptual framework using stakeholder’s perspective,” Resour. Conserv.
Recycl. 139, 219-227.
Goucher-Lambert, K., and Cagan, J. (2015), “The Impact of Sustainability on Consumer
Preference Judgments of Product Attributes,” J. Mech. Des. 137(8), 081401.
Hao, Y., Liu, H., Chen, H., Sha, Y., Ji, H., and Fan, J. (2019), “What affect consumers’
willingness to pay for green packaging? Evidence from China,” Resources, Conservation
and Recycling, 141, 21–29.
Hazen, B.T., Russo, I., Confente, I., and Pellathy, D. (2021), “Supply chain management for
circular economy: conceptual framework and research agenda,” The International
Journal of Logistics Management, 32(2), 510-537.
Huber, J., and Zwerina, K. (1996), “The Importance of Utility Balance in Efficient Choice
Designs,” J. Mark. Res. 33(3), 307-317.
Khosroshahi, H., Dimitrov, S., and Hejazi, S.R. (2021), “Pricing, greening, and transparency
decisions considering the impact of government subsidies and CSR behavior in supply
chain decisions,” J. Retail. Consum. Serv. 60, 102485.
343
La Fuente, C.I.A., Tribst, A.A.L. and Augusto, P.E.D. (2022), “Knowledge and perception of
different plastic bags and packages: A case study in Brazil,” J. Environ. Manag. 301,
113881.
Lopes Silva, D.A., Santos Renó, G.W., Sevegnani, G., Sevegnani, T.B., and Serra Truzzi, O.M.
(2013), “Comparison of disposable and returnable packaging: a case study of reverse
logistics in Brazil,” Journal of Cleaner Production, 47, 377-387.
Louviere, J.J., Street, D., Burgess, L., Wasi, N., Islam, T., and Marley, A.J. (2008), “Modeling
the choices of individual decision-makers by combining efficient choice experiment
designs with extra preference information,” J. Choice Model. 1(1), 128-164.
Martinho, G., Pires, a., Portela, G., and Fonseca, M. (2015), “Factors affecting consumers’
choices concerning sustainable packaging during product purchase and recycling,”
Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 103, 58-68.
Mishra, A., Dutta, P., Jayasankar, S., Jain, P., and Mathiyazhagan, K. (2022), “A review of
reverse logistics and closed-loop supply chains in the perspective of circular
economy,” Benchmarking: An International Journal, https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-11-
2021-0669.
Mogale, D.G., De, A., Ghadge, A., and Aktas, E. (2022), “Multi-objective modelling of
sustainable closed-loop supply chain network with price-sensitive demand and
consumer’s incentives,” Computers & Industrial Engineering, 168, 108105.
Muggah, E.M., and McSweeney, M.B. (2017), “Females' attitude and preference for beer: a
conjoint analysis study,” Int. J. Food Sci Technol. 52, 808-816.
Nicolau, J.L., Stadlthanner, K.A., Andreu, L., and Font, X. (2022), “Explaining the willingness
of consumers to bring their own reusable coffee cups under the condition of monetary
incentives,” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 66, 102908.
Orlowski, M., Lefebvre, S., and Back, R.M. (2022), “Thinking outside the bottle: Effects of
alternative wine packaging,” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 69,103117.
Ponstein, H. J., Meyer-Aurich, A., and Prochnow, A. (2019), “Greenhouse gas emissions and
mitigation options for German wine production,” Journal of Cleaner Production, 212,
800-809.
Raj, A., Agrahari, A., and Srivastava, S.K. (2020), “Do pressures foster sustainable public
procurement? An empirical investigation comparing developed and developing
economies,” Journal of Cleaner Production, 266, 122055.
Rausch, T.M., Baier, D., and Wening, S. (2021), “Does sustainability really matter to
consumers? Assessing the importance of online shop and apparel product attributes,”
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 63, 102681.
Roca, M., Ayuso, S., Bala, A., and Fullana-i-Palmer, P. (2020), “What factors determine
attitudes towards the implementation of a packaging deposit and refund system? A
qualitative study of the perception of Spanish consumers,” J. Environ. Manag. 270,
110891.
Sandra, N., and Alessandro, P. (2021), “Consumers’ preferences, attitudes and willingness to pay
for bio-textile in wood fibers,” J. Retail. Consum. Serv. 58, 102304.
Spence, C., Betancur, M. I., Velasco, C., and Motoki, K. (2020), “Factors influencing the choice
of beer: A review,” Food Res. Int. 137.
Tully, S.M., and Winer, R.S. (2014), “The Role of the Beneficiary in Willingness to Pay for
Socially Responsible Products: A Meta-analysis,” J. Retail. 90 (2), 255-274.
344
Neo-Liberal Governmentality as Marketing System Failure: Case of Stubble Burning in
India
Sujit Raghunathrao Jagadale, Indian Institute of Management Amritsar, India
Javed M. Shaikh, Indian Institute of Management Amritsar, India
This work-in-progress paper explores how governmentality as policy framework fails to
reconcile the conflicting aims of agricultural input cost reduction by individual market actors
(i.e., farmers) and the government's aim to control the practice of stubble burning in the
Northwestern province of India. We argue that it leads to the marketing system failure through
undesirable system outcomes like environmental degradation and consequent reduction in the
well-being of people due to the poor air quality, which poses a severe threat to climate and public
health.
Marketing systems are ubiquitous - from the evolutionary tribal society to ultramodern western
economies (Layton 2011). Marketing systems have multilayered, multiagent, and multi-
participatory complex structures (Davey, Johnstone, and Williams 2021). Though marketing
systems play an incessantly significant role in societal well-being and are considered pivotal in
macromarketing studies, they are susceptible to macrolevel failure on account of ineffective
regulatory policies (Carman and Harris 1983; Raymond 2018) governed by neoliberalism (e.g.,
Jagadale and Roy-chaudhuri 2021). Neoliberalism is the concept of governmentality par
excellence which seeks to encourage governance through free market mechanisms and minimum
intervention (Berry 2014; Foucault 2007; Belk, Skalen, and Varman 2012). Although freedom is
its central rhetorical argument, neoliberalism encourages entrepreneurialism to control the
conduct of citizens (Belk, Skalen, and Varman 2012). Furthermore, this established discourse of
neoliberalism promotes welfare aligned to privatization and a free market economy (Varman,
Skalen, and Belk 2012). Few researchers have commented that neoliberal discourse has been
bulldozing those institutions which promote egalitarian distributive measures (Harvey 2007).
Moreover, it has been argued that the state has shrunk its role as a stakeholder of common
welfare for the last twenty years in developing economies like India (Belk, Skalen, and Varman
2012; Patnaik 2006; Patnaik 2007). We explore this neo-liberal governmental paradox between
state and private market actors to show how it leads to the marketing system failure.
Drawing from Layton's (2015) theoretical framework of mechanisms, actions, and structure
(MAS), we extend our argument concerning neoliberal discourse and marketing system failure.
From Layton's theory perspective, the marketing system is an inclusive and more prosperous
concept than the neoliberal notion of economic exchange (Chakraborty, Jagadale, and Kadirov
2018; Polanyi 2001). Moreover, three components of MAS theory, which are social mechanism,
action fields, and structures, together exhibit formation, growth, and adaptive change in
marketing systems on account of economic exchange in and between human communities
(Layton 2015). However, the influence of neoliberalism results in deformed marketing systems
leading to the failure of the marketing system as a whole. It is on account of the lack of a robust
policy framework from the government and the lack of participation by market actors to resolve
the issues, both challenging the basic assumption of neoliberal ideology. Arguably,
governmentality is required to bridge the competing aims of the actors involved, like the state
345
and market. In this case of stubble burning the state's goal is to control it while independent
actors (farmers) aim to reduce the farming costs by burning stubble. This quandary leads to
marketing system failure in the form of undesirable output like environmental degradation and
reduced well-being.
We undertake a qualitative study in the northwestern province of Punjab in India bordering
Pakistan. We plan to conduct semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders, including
farmers, government officials, policymakers, etc., in the province of Punjab. India is considered
a farming nation with extensive cropping patterns i.e., diversity of crops and intensive cropping
where land is generally not kept fallow throughout the year. These provinces, including Punjab,
follow the monoculture of harvesting wheat and rice in rotation from May- June till the end of
the winter season every year (i.e., March). These provinces, particularly Punjab, are infamous for
burning straw and stubble at the end of the harvesting cycle (Porichha et al. 2021) to prepare the
field and reduce the next cropping cycle's turnaround time. About 83Mt of stubble which is
23.86% of the total stubble, is burnt immediately after the harvest resulting in a layer of haze in
the environment in the winter season in northern India (Abdurrahman, Chaki and Saini 2020).
During this time, major north Indian cities, especially Delhi, the national capital region (NCR),
experience severe air pollution with an air pollution index greater than 400 (severe category). It
causes severe injury to public health and the environment (Abdurrahman, Chaki, and Saini,
2020). For instance, stubble burning causes acute air pollution, deadly diseases (like cancer,
asthma, bronchitis, etc.), high mortality rates, reduced soil fertility, public health crises, and
negative impacts on climate and economic development, which leads to macro-level marketing
system failure (Abdurrahman, Chaki, and Saini 2020; Williams, Davey, and Johnstone 2021). In
order to control the effect of stubble burning on external factors like the environment and public
health and well-being, many activists have suggested cash reparation and crop diversification as
judicious solutions; however, the government is working in a different direction (Gupta 2022).
Our initial discussion with the farmers leads to our understanding that farmers have no incentives
and wherewithal in the form of scientific and market resources to dispose of the stubble. It is
because of reduced productivity over the years, and indirect price controls of farm produce
(especially staples like wheat and rice) by the government. Farmers get minimum support price
(MSP) for these crops (wheat and rice). Thus, they continue to grow similar crops for
generations. They have minimum incentives to diversify the cropping pattern. Thus,
unfortunately, stubble burning in north provinces of India is currently back with concerns for
citizens, government authorities, and policymakers. Finally, we draw theoretical implications of
how neo-liberal governmentality leads to the marketing system failure. Here, conflicting
governance aims like MSP on one side (that assures farmers of minimum income) and
scientifically disposing stubble (which requires resources e.g., time and money from farmers)
create undesirable system outcome in the form of environmental degradation. We based on the
findings provide policy implications for enabling policy intervention to control the menace of
stubble burning.
346
References
Abdurrahman, Muhammad I., Sukalpaa Chaki, and Gaurav Saini (2020), "Stubble Burning:
Effects on Health & Environment, Regulations and Management
Practices," Environmental Advances 2: 100011.
Berry, Mike (2014), "Neoliberalism and The City: Or the Failure of Market
Fundamentalism," Housing, Theory and Society, 31 (1), 1-18.
Foucault, Michel (2007), "Security, Territory, Population: Lectures at the Collège de France,"
1977-78. Springer.
Gupta, Vivek (2022), "Stubble Burning is Back, Smothering North India with Concerns for the
Upcoming Winter," (accessed January 15, 2023) [Available at
https://india.mongabay.com/2022/10/stubble-burning-will-north-india-smother-again-
before-winter].
Harris, Robert G. and James M. Carman (1983), "Public Regulation of Marketing Activity: Part
I: Institutional Typologies of Market Failure," Journal of Macromarketing, 3 (1), 49-58.
Harvey, David (2007), "Neoliberalism and The City," Studies in Social Justice 1 (1), 2-13.
Jagadale, Sujit R., Djavlonbek Kadirov, and Debojyoti Chakraborty (2018), "Tackling the
Subaltern Quandary: Marketing Systems of Dignity," Journal of Macromarketing, 38 (1),
91-111.
Layton, Roger A. (2011), "Towards a Theory of Marketing Systems," European Journal of
Marketing, Vol. 45 (1/2), 259-276.
Layton, Roger A. (2015), "Formation, Growth, and Adaptive Change in Marketing
Systems," Journal of Macromarketing, 35 (3), 302-319.
Patnaik, Utsa (2006), "The Agrarian Crisis and Importance of Peasant Resistance," People's
Democracy, 30 (5).
Patnaik, Utsa (2007), "Neoliberalism and Rural Poverty in India," Economic and Political
Weekly, 42 (30), 3132-3150.
Polanyi, Karl (2001), The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our
Time, Beacon Press, 2-301.
Porichha, Gaurav K., Yulin Hu, Kasanneni Tirumala Venkateshwara Rao, and Chunbao Charles
Xu (2021), "Crop Residue Management in India: Stubble Burning vs. Other Utilizations
Including Bioenergy," Energies, 14 (4281), 1-17.
Redmond, William (2018), "Marketing Systems and Market Failure: A Macromarketing
Appraisal," Journal of Macromarketing, 38 (4), 415-424.
Roy Chaudhuri, H., and Sujit Raghunathrao Jagadale, (2021), "Normalized Heterotopia as a
Market Failure in a Spatial Marketing System: The Case of Gated Communities in
India," Journal of Macromarketing, 41 (2), 297-314.
Varman, Rohit, Per Skalen, and Russell W Belk (2012), "Conflicts at the Bottom of the Pyramid:
Profitability, Poverty Alleviation, and Neoliberal Governmentality," Journal of Public
Policy & Marketing, 31 (1), 19-35.
Williams, Janine, Janet Davey, and Micael-Lee Johnstone (2021), "Marketing System Failure:
Revisioning Layton's Marketing System Model," Journal of Macromarketing, 41 (2),
411-426.
347
Buying Utopia: An Exploratory Study of Sustainable Fashion
Xubei Jin, Department of Marketing, Monash University, Australia
Jeff Wang, Department of Marketing, Monash University, Australia
Introduction
Promoting sustainable consumption has become a critical concern for various stakeholders,
including activists, policymakers, and marketers (Gonzalez-Arcos et al. 2021). Despite concerted
efforts to address the negative impacts of the fashion industry, such as environmental pollution,
labor exploitation, and resource depletion, sustainability remains elusive (Atik and Ertekin
2020a; Johannsdottir and Thorisdottir 2020). The challenge is further exacerbated by the strong
demand for fast fashion from mainstream consumers, which hinders the growth of sustainable
fashion brands and their advocates (Atik and Ertekin 2020b). Despite these obstacles, a small
segment of consumers remains steadfast in their commitment to sustainable fashion. This study
aims to explore the drivers of their persistence and determination.
Sustainable fashion refers to a practice that seeks to minimize the negative impact of fashion
products on ecological integrity, society, and human wellbeing (Mukendi et al. 2020). Existing
studies examine the impact of advertising attractiveness (Reich and Soule 2016), social trends
(Coulter, Salnikova, and Strizhakova 2022), brand resonance (Habib, Hamadneh, and Khan
2021), brand attachment (Chen et al. 2017) and brand community (Kim and Park 2015).
However, little is known about how consumers form their belief and make their choice in
sustainable fashion vis-à-vis prevailing social norms and peer pressure. The objective of this
study is to uncover why this group of consumers persist in prioritizing sustainability in their
fashion choices.
This study uses the theoretical lenses of utopia and heterotopia to analyze the focal phenomenon
of sustainable fashion. Utilizing these concepts not only aids in comprehending consumers’
relationships with sustainable fashion, but also serves as a macro-level framework that connects
individual actions with broader societal and market trends. Utopia describes a “good place” of
spiritual existence but “no place” of physical nonexistence (Atanasova 2021; Foucault 1986, p.
24). Heterotopia refers to “places outside of places” in the real hegemonic society (i.e.,
heterogeneous space), which has a “curious property of being in relation with all the other sites,
but in such a way as to suspect, neutralise, or invert the set of relations that they happen to
designate, mirror, or reflect” (Chen 2021; Foucault 1986). By incorporating utopia and
heterotopia, this study aims to effectively explain the paradox and presence of sustainable
fashion.
The context of our study is sustainable fashion in China. The Chinese fashion market has
experienced rapid growth, with a projected revenue of 310 billion USD by 2023 (Statista 2022b).
A small number of sustainable fashion brands have emerged and gained attention from Chinese
consumers. This presents an ideal opportunity to examine our main research question: How do
consumers engage with sustainable fashion through purchase, consumption, and relationship
building in a market characterized by fast change, low price, and unsustainability?
348
We employed semi-structured in-depth interviews in this study. We conducted interviews with
14 individuals between the ages of 20 and 34, who represented different stakeholders within the
Chinese fashion industry. The first five participants were recruited through personal contacts and
advertisements on social media, with subsequent participants being recruited via snowball
sampling. Some informants were interviewed more than once, which allowed us to address
follow-up questions. The interviews were conducted in Chinese by the first author and ranged
from 45 to 95 minutes. Participants were given an e-gift card from a sustainable fashion brand.
All the interviews were transcribed, resulting in a total of 209 pages of double-spaced text.
Our findings highlight the role that consumers’ idealized visions of sustainable fashion, both in
terms of utopian and heterotopic perspectives, play in reinforcing and advancing their sustainable
consumption habits. Consumers are able to align personal values with purchasing decisions,
thereby furthering their commitment to environmentally and socially responsible fashion
choices. We identify the functions of utopia, the themes of heterotopia, and the subsequent
behavioural outcomes (Figure 1).
Figure 1. The functions of utopia, themes of heterotopia, and subsequent behavioural
outcomes
349
Utopia
Previous studies have identified utopia’s functions as change (Kozinets 2001; Levitas 1990),
criticism (Boldero and Francis 2002; Sherry 1998) and compensation (Fernando et al. 2018;
Levitas 2011). In addition to these three functions, the current research identifies a new function:
lighthouse.
The term “lighthouse” is used to symbolize sustainable fashion brands, as they serve as guiding
lights for consumers towards a more sustainable future. These brands embody consumers’
optimistic aspirations and beliefs in the future of sustainable fashion, while also reminding
consumers to stay vigilant against unsustainable practices and resist the influence of
unsustainable market forces. The lighthouse symbolizes the collective efforts being made to
foster a more responsible and sustainable fashion industry.
Heterotopia
The study of heterotopia in the marketing discipline concentrates predominantly on its
fundamental principles, which identify the specific environment that can be designated as a
heterotopia. Six principles have been recognized, including (1) ubiquity, (2) historicity, (3)
heterogeneity, (4) temporality, (5) porosity, and (6) dialogical/relational function (Roux,
Guillard, and Blanchet 2018). However, it is still unknown about heterotopia’s intrinsic nature
and its significance to consumers. By analysing consumers’ touchpoints of sustainable fashion
brands, such as physical stores, brand autobiographies, websites, and online communities, we
uncover the key characteristics of heterotopia in the context of sustainable fashion.
Heterotopia’s characteristics include: (1) A place of subjective illusion, where consumers
experience the brand’s interpretation of sustainability in a unique and personal manner; (2) A
marginalized place that challenges the dominant norms of the current fashion market and
subverts its order; (3) An episodic space of sustainable consumption that transcends time and
place and allows consumers to temporarily escape unsustainable practices; and (4) A place of
compensatory escape that provides refuge from unsustainable practices and shields consumers
before they return to the dominant fashion market. These findings provide valuable insights into
the role that sustainable fashion heterotopias play in shaping and reinforcing sustainable
consumption.
Substantiating (from Utopia to Heterotopia)
Sustainable fashion heterotopia serves a dual role for consumers, functioning not only as a place
for them to learn about and engage with sustainable fashion brands, but also as a tangible
embodiment of their utopian aspirations. As consumers already have an idealized vision of
sustainable fashion, heterotopia offers them a touchstone to connect with their fantasy and bring
it closer to reality. It serves as a bridge between the unattainable ideal of utopia and the
suboptimal realities of the world, offering consumers a solution that aligns with their values and
aspirations.
Extending (from Heterotopia to Utopia)
Our research indicates that even those with limited prior knowledge of sustainable fashion can
benefit from experiencing heterotopia. By exposing individuals to the unique features of
sustainable fashion, heterotopia can help raise consumer awareness and understanding of the
350
differences between sustainable fashion brands and other fashion brands. Through their
experiences in heterotopia, consumers can begin to formulate their own framework for
sustainable fashion, serving as a steppingstone towards the ultimate realization of their utopian
vision. This process of meaning transfer involves active engagement and reflection on the part of
the consumer, as they engage in interpretive dialogues and critically examine their relationship
with consumer society and unsustainable consumption practices. Heterotopia therefore plays a
crucial role in guiding consumers towards more responsible and sustainable consumption habits.
Contributions in Brief
First, our research contributes to the theory of utopia and heterotopia. We illuminate the utopian
functions and identify a new function (lighthouse) in our study. These functions provide insights
into how sustainable fashion consumers experience a sense of belonging and empowerment,
despite feeling marginalized by both the market and society. By incorporating the functions of
utopia, we deepen the understanding of how sustainable fashion ignites consumers’ passion,
imagination, and aspiration. In terms of heterotopia, we illuminate its four characteristics to
supplement the existing literature.
Second, previous consumer studies often conflate the concepts of utopia and heterotopia,
exemplified by the cases of Burning Man and its community (Kozinets 2002), festival shopping
centers (Brown and Maclaran 2005), and theme parks (Belk and O'Guinn 1989). Although these
authors examine the phenomena as utopian, it is important to recognize that their
conceptualization of space/environment aligns more closely with heterotopia. By situating the
concepts of utopia and heterotopia within our research context, we provide a nuanced
understanding of these two concepts. We delineate their definitions, principles, and functions in
the sustainable consumption context.
Third, marketing research often examines sustainable consumption as a micro-level single-actor
phenomenon, either by encouraging consumers to adopt specific behaviors or by changing
retailers’ marketing strategies (Claudy Peterson and O’Driscoll 2012; Ekström and Salomonson
2014; Joy et al. 2012). However, through our interviews with individuals who play multiple roles
(consumer-designer, consumer-producer, etc.) in the fashion system, we find that sustainable
fashion needs a macromarketing perspective to mobilize changes across societal entities. Our
analysis of macromarketing practices is divided into two distinct time periods for discussion.
In the short term, while the Chinese government has introduced circular economy policies,
financial subsidies, and social awareness initiatives to promote sustainable fashion in the market,
these interventions have primarily benefited larger sustainable fashion corporations (The World
Bank 2022). Small start-ups and their supporters have been marginalized and neglected within
the market. To address this inequality, we propose that the current market structure needs to be
reconfigured to align with utopian ideals (e.g., decentralization and equality). This practice could
foster greater public interest in sustainable fashion and create a conducive environment for the
further and deeper consumer engagement.
Over the long term, our findings highlight the duality of sustainable fashion, encompassing both
idealistic (utopia) and practical (heterotopia) aspects. Given that people’s understandings of the
utopia and heterotopia are influenced by their individual perceptions of brand culture and social
351
norms, it is evident that sustainable fashion engagement cannot be considered as a singular task
for consumers. Instead, it is imperative to recognize sustainable fashion as a collective effort
involving various stakeholders in the fashion system—including supply, demand, and
regulation—to share the responsibility and foster sustainable practices.
Finally, we suggest that marketers can capitalize on the meaning of heterotopia in the minds of
consumers. By elevating the overall experience of physical stores through a curated atmosphere
that brings together diverse cultural, historical, and geographical elements, sustainable fashion
brands can effectively enhance the perception of heterotopia. In addition, the use of virtual
spaces can serve to strengthen consumer engagement with the brand. To maximize the potential
of these spaces, sustainable fashion brands should strive to create a unique “inverted space” that
distinguishes the brand from other fashion brands. This sense of inversion, or difference from the
outside world, will increase consumer engagement and strengthen their connection to the brand.
References
Atanasova, A. (2021). Re-examining utopia in contemporary consumption: conceptualization
and implications for marketing. AMS Rev 11, 23–39 (2021).
Boldero, J., & Francis, J. (2002). Goals, Standards, and the Self: Reference Values Serving
Different Functions. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 6(3), 232–241.
Chen, Y. S., Hung, S. T., Wang, T. Y., Huang, A. F., & Liao, Y. W. (2017). The influence of
excessive product packaging on green brand attachment: The mediation roles of green brand
attitude and green brand image. Sustainability, 9(4), 654.
Chen, Z. T. (2021). Poetic prosumption of animation, comic, game and novel in a post-socialist
China: A case of a popular video-sharing social media Bilibili as heterotopia. Journal of
Consumer Culture, 21(2), 257-277.
Claudy, M. C., Peterson, M., & O’Driscoll, A. (2012). I like it, but I won’t buy it”: Exploring the
attitude-behaviour gap for renewable energy adoption. In 37th Macromarketing
Conference (Vol. 324).
Ekström, K. M., & Salomonson, N. (2014). Reuse and recycling of clothing and textiles—A
network approach. Journal of Macromarketing, 34(3), 383-399.
Ertekin, Z. O., & Atik, D. (2020a). Institutional constituents of change for a sustainable fashion
system. Journal of Macromarketing, 40(3), 362-379.
Ertekin, Z. O., & Atik, D. (2020b). Sustainable markets: Motivating factors, barriers, and
remedies for mobilization of slow fashion. Journal of Macromarketing, 35(1), 53-69.
Fernando, J. W., Burden, N., Ferguson, A., O’Brien, L. V., Judge, M., & Kashima, Y. (2018).
Functions of Utopia: How Utopian Thinking Motivates Societal Engagement. Personality
and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44(5), 779-792.
Foucault, M. (1986). Of other spaces. Diacritics, 16(1), 22.
The World Bank. (2022). China’s Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy and Climate Resilience
Needs Shifts in Resources and Technologies. Retrieved 15 October 2022, from
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2022/10/12/china-s-transition-to-a- low-
carbon-economy-and-climate-resilience-needs-shifts-in-resources-and-technologies
352
Gonzalez-Arcos, C., Joubert, A. M., Scaraboto, D., Guesalaga, R., & Sandberg, J. (2021). “How
do I carry all this now?” Understanding Consumer Resistance to Sustainability
Interventions. Journal of Marketing, 85(3), 44-61.
Habib, S., Hamadneh, N. N., & Khan, M. A. (2021). Influence of electronic word of mouth
(Ewom) and relationship marketing on brand resonance: a mediation
analysis. Sustainability, 13(12), 6833.
Joy, A., Sherry Jr, J. F., Venkatesh, A., Wang, J., & Chan, R. (2012). Fast fashion, sustainability,
and the ethical appeal of luxury brands. Fashion theory, 16(3), 273-295.
Kozinets, R. V. (2001). Utopian Enterprise: Articulating the Meanings of Star Trek’s Culture of
Consumption. Journal of Consumer Research, 28(1), 67-88.
Kozinets, R. V. (2002). Can consumers escape the market? Emancipatory illuminations from
burning man. Journal of Consumer research, 29(1), 20-38.
Levitas, R. (1990). Educated hope: Ernst Bloch on abstract and concrete utopia. Utopian
Studies, 1(2), 13-26.
Levitas, R. (2011). The concept of utopia. Oxford: Peter Lang.
Maclaran, P., & Brown, S. (2005). The center cannot hold: consuming the utopian
marketplace. Journal of Consumer Research, 32(2), 311-323.
Mukendi, A., Davies, I., Glozer, S., & McDonagh, P. (2020). Sustainable fashion: current and
future research directions. European Journal of Marketing.
O'Guinn, T. C., & Belk, R. W. (1989). Heaven on earth: consumption at Heritage Village, USA.
Journal of Consumer Research, 16(2), 227-238.
Park, H., & Kim, Y. K. (2015). Can a fashion brand be social?: The role of benefits of brand
community within social network sites. Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, 6(2), 75-86.
Salnikova, E., Strizhakova, Y., & Coulter, R. A. (2022). Engaging Consumers with
Environmental Sustainability Initiatives: Consumer Global–Local Identity and Global Brand
Messaging. Journal of Marketing Research, 59(5), 983-1001.
Reich, B. J., & Soule, C. A. A. (2016). Green Demarketing in Advertisements: Comparing “Buy
Green” and “Buy Less” Appeals in Product and Institutional Advertising Contexts. Journal
of Advertising, 45(4), 441-458.
Roux, D., Guillard, V., & Blanchet, V. (2018). Of counter spaces of provisioning: reframing the
sidewalk as a parasite heterotopia. Marketing Theory, 18(2), 218-233.
Sherry, J. F., Jr. (1998) (Ed), Servicescapes, Chicago, NTC Books.
Statista. (2022a). Topic: Apparel market worldwide. Statista. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from
https://www.statista.com/topics/5091/apparel-market-worldwide/
Statista. (2022b). Fashion - china: Statista market forecast. Statista. Retrieved January 11, 2023,
from https://www.statista.com/outlook/dmo/ecommerce/fashion/china#revenue
Thorisdottir, T. S., & Johannsdottir, L. (2020). Corporate social responsibility influencing
sustainability within the fashion industry. A systematic review. Sustainability, 12(21), 9167.
353
Climate Change in The Classroom: We’ll Get By With A Little Help From Our Friends
Vicki Janine Little, RMIT University Vietnam, Vietnam
Sabrina Helm, University of Arizona, United States of America
Catherine Frethey-Bentham, University of Auckland, New Zealand
Background to the study
Our climate is changing at an accelerating rate as a result of human activities (IPCC, 2021). As
we write, somewhere in the world extreme weather will likely be demolishing infrastructure,
devastating lives, and destroying people’s sense of security. Hail Mary solutions such as
sunscreens made from moondust (Milman 2023) will not save humanity from the worst effects of
a take-make-waste society that destroys natural capital (IPCC 2021; Science Media Centre
2021). We must transition urgently to a net zero emissions, circular economy. This paper is a
first attempt to evaluate marketing educators’ support in this transition.
Marketing is in the hot seat. Climate change results from overconsumption, in turn a result of
logics of growth, competition, and individual choice, taught to generations of marketers (Cabrera
and Williams 2014). Those logics are under pressure as business schools adopt Principles for
Responsible Management (PRME) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For
marketing to walk that particular talk, we must carefully scrutinize what and how we teach in
order to support urgent transition (Helm and Little, 2022; Parvatiyar and Sheth 2021).
Understanding how marketing faculty collectively approach that transition is an important first
step. Building on Kemper, Ballantine, and Hall’s (2020) research on sustainability worldviews,
this study provides an initial benchmark for tracking change in marketing education practice with
respect to climate change.
While casual observation reflects little change in regular marketing curricula, macromarketing
educators are having a moment. Pedagogy was a highlight of the 2019 Cleveland
macromarketing conference (Shapiro et al. 2021). Sustainability-oriented education approaches
also featured in a recent special issue of the Journal of Marketing Education, with the editors
making a strong argument for overhauling what we teach (Kemper et al., 2022). However,
innovating standalone courses is one thing (e.g., Brocato et al. 2022; Shapiro et al. 2021), and
innovating fundamentals courses is another. For example, we applaud Watson et al.’s (2021)
creative design incorporating both micro and macro components in an ambitious weekly
schedule of materials, activities and visiting faculty. However, is a complex delivery doable for
less experienced faculty? How might students might respond to the workload? As the more
experimental among us will attest, innovative deliveries can backfire, leading to poor teaching
evaluations and upset students. Also, how might change become programmatic?
We make these observations not as a critique, but as an illustration of the challenges of
transforming core curriculum and pedagogy. We also observe that apart from recent
contributions (e.g., Kemper et al. 2020), the literature does not offer much insight into whether
marketing educators perceive a need to transform. We wonder: (1) To what extent do colleagues
outside our macromarketing bubble appreciate the need for change?; and (2) How are marketers
collectively addressing this diffuse, multi-disciplinary, fast changing and paradoxical topic in
354
view of relative silence in the marketing literature on climate change in general, and education
practice around climate change in particular? We address these questions, building on Kemper et
al. (2020).
Research design
As we are seeking a broad understanding of marketing education practice, we conducted an
online survey of marketing academics, focusing on climate change and marketing education. We
sampled every top 100 university, and every second other university from the list of AACSB
accredited business schools (AACSB, 2022). We scraped email addresses for marketing faculty
(300 universities and 2876 email addresses total, average 10 per school). The survey was made
available online March to July 2022. We received n = 170 completed surveys which we boosted
using a snowball sampling technique, sending the link to our academic networks and receiving
an additional n = 30 completed surveys (Table 1).
355
Table 1: Respondent demographics
Total Number
Percent
Gender
Male
Female
Other
Prefer not to say
94
69
2
35
47.0%
34.5%
1.0%
17.5%
Age
18-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65+
Prefer not to say
20
38
45
37
25
35
10.0%
19.0%
22.5%
18.5%
12.5%
17.5%
Geographic Location
North America
Europe
Australia/Pacifica
Asia
South & Central America
Middle East
Africa
Prefer not to say
58
42
34
26
3
1
0
36
29.0%
21.0%
17.0%
13.0%
1.5%
0.5%
0.0%
18.0%
Position
Permanent
Temporary
Tenured
Other
Prefer not to say
103
32
27
4
34
51.5%
16.0%
13.5%
2.0%
17.0%
Role
Full Professor
Associate Professor
Assistant Professor
Senior Lecturer
Lecturer
Adjunct Lecturer
Other
Prefer not to say
42
53
26
16
14
7
8
34
21.0%
26.5%
13.0%
8.0%
7.0%
3.5%
4.0%
17.0%
Total
200
100%
The questionnaire was administered in English and contained four sections: Teaching
experience, Teaching practice and climate change, Instructors’ views on climate change, and
Socio-demographics. With respect to respondents’ status of integrating climate change (CC) into
teaching practice, we developed a set of five items (e.g., “ I am planning to integrate more CC-
356
related content into my marketing courses”); ten items on possible obstacles preventing teaching
about climate change (e.g., “CC is too complex a topic to integrate into a marketing course”),
and ten statements on the connections between marketing education, sustainability, and CC (e.g.,
“My students attach a lot of importance to matters related to CC”). Three expert judges evaluated
the items and scales. Ten colleagues from diverse language backgrounds reviewed the revised
instrument for ability to formulate a response (Collins 2003; Tourangeau 1984). Space precludes
detailed technical description, however descriptive statistics identified overall respondent
demographics and worldviews. Cluster analyses, using Ward’s method (squared Euclidean
distance) followed by K-means (Punj and Stewart, 1983, Hair et al., 2014), was conducted using
the enablers and barriers to teaching climate change as clustering variables. The cluster analysis
demonstrated a three-cluster solution which satisfied stability and reproducibility conditions (Joe
and Qiu 2009). We used NVivo 12 to code the open-ended responses to derive categories and
themes (Saldana 2012).
Results
In view of space limitations, we provide ‘top line’ results. We identified three clusters of
marketing faculty: Engaged (34%), Passives (49%) and Unconcerned (18%) (Table 2).
357
Table 2: Three clusters of marketing faculty
Clusters
a
1
2
3
ANOVA
(F)
7
X1
I believe that climate change needs to be addressed in
marketing courses.
6.6
6.1
3.2
117.250
X2
I believe that marketing students who learn about climate
change will benefit from this in their future careers.
6.7
6.1
3.2
146.741
X3
I believe we should offer required courses on climate
change.
5.8
5.2
2.0
90.081
X4
I believe that marketing industry and practice will benefit
from hiring graduates who know more about climate
change.
6.7
6.1
3.5
116.256
X5
I believe that society in general will benefit from
marketing students knowing more about climate change.
6.7
6.4
3.8
97.069
X6
I have thought about how to best address climate change
in my marketing courses.
6.3
4.5
2.3
100.290
X7
I already integrate climate change-related content into my
marketing courses.
6.2
4.2
2.2
104.548
X8
I am willing to integrate more climate change-related
content into my marketing courses.
6.3
5.8
2.8
112.991
X9
Climate change is NOT a priority topic in a marketing
course relative to other content that I have to cover.
2.8
4.9
6.3
64.264
X10
Dealing with climate change in a marketing class is NOT
of interest to my students.
1.9
3.4
4.2
33.350
X11
Dealing with climate change in a marketing class is NOT
of interest to my institution/department.
2.2
3.5
3.8
15.339
X12
Climate change is too complex a topic to integrate into a
marketing course.
1.6
3.7
4.1
48.956
X13
I do not want to add to my students' worry about their
future by addressing climate change.
1.4
2.4
2.9
17.910
X14
I do NOT feel qualified/prepared to talk about climate
change in my marketing courses.
2.0
4.6
4.0
56.232
X15
The topic of climate change is too controversial to
integrate into marketing courses.
1.4
2.9
3.9
28.762
X16
There's a lack of industry priority on climate change.
3.7
5.0
4.6
7.784
X17
There's a lack of suitable teaching materials on climate
change.
3.8
5.6
4.7
19.854
X18
There's a lack of time/resources to add new/change course
content.
3.6
5.5
5.0
27.873
a
Cluster centers based on overall scores where 1 = strongly disagree and 7 = strongly
agree. 1 = Engaged, 2 = Passives, 3 = Unconcerned.
7
P=0.000 for all measures except X16 (0.001)
358
Cluster profiling revealed no differences between clusters in terms of position type and gender;
however, supporting Kemper et al. (2020), we found a relationship between cluster membership
and age: Engaged 55-64 and Unconcerned 65+, which translated to more teaching experience.
The Engaged were most likely to agree that marketing curricula at business schools should
incorporate the topic of climate change, followed by the Passives and finally the Unconcerned.
Comparatively, Engaged faculty are more likely to integrate climate change (CC) into marketing
courses, and less likely to consider there are barriers to doing so (e.g., lack of industry
prioritization, suitable teaching materials and time to revise course content). Passives believe CC
needs to be addressed and are reasonably willing to do so, but are less likely to take action;
noting barriers (industry priorities, lack of teaching materials and time). They are less concerned
about adding to students’ worry levels and CC being too controversial. The Unconcerned have
lower mean scores for all attributes relating to integrating CC into courses. They are less
concerned about adding to students’ worry levels, and averagely concerned about CC being too
controversial or their qualifications to teach CC related topics. The Unconcerned, on average, are
neutral around industry priorities, suitable teaching materials and time for innovating course
content.
In terms of personal beliefs about climate change, one-way ANOVA models and Tukey intervals
demonstrate that the Passives are less likely than the other segments to perceive that global
climate change will harm them personally at some point in their lifetime, and impact their
country and community. In comparison, the Unconcerned, on average, perceive the threat of
climate to be more remote. Interestingly, the Unconcerned are most likely to agree that their
university attaches importance to matters of sustainability, while the Engaged are more likely to
believe that their university and students attach importance to matters of climate change. The
Unconcerned are also less likely to agree that there is a need for climate change-related content
in marketing curricula and that the wider business system is the cause of climate change. Open-
ended responses allowed respondents to provide additional insights on their views and practices.
Analysis produced seven themes, Systems intransigence, B-Schools under pressure, Discipline
under pressure, Soldiering on (research, teaching, service), “I’d do more BUT” (Disclaimers and
deficits), Encouragement and inspiration (vs haranguing students) (Table 3).
359
Table 3: Open ended responses - summary of codes, categories and themes
Themes
Categories
Codes
MACRO – WIDER SYSTEM
Systems
intransi-
gence
Ideology,
geography
growth/
overconsumption
Global capitalism, false consciousness, CC ignored,
geographic differences, greenwashing, political agendas,
growth orientation, overconsumption, UN SDGs
B-Schools
under
pressure
Student trends
Role of B-
schools
Faculty
expectations
Student sensitivities & preferences, international students, B-
school action, B-school inaction, greenwashing, UN SDGs,
responses to local concerns (e.g. sea level rise) and global
concerns (e.g. diversity vs CC).
MESO – ACADEMIC PRACTICE
Discipline
under
pressure
Disciplinary
trends
Curriculum
change
Internal conflict
Need for change
Complexity, crowded curriculum, growth in digital,
fundamentals (creating & communicating value), finding
solutions, profit and greed vs ESG, lack of attention to CC/
ESG, CSR/ ESG, relationship of marketing to society
MICRO – INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS
Soldiering
on
(research,
teaching,
service)
Core ethics and
values
Research &
curriculum topics
- consumer/ firm/
systems centric
Students – UG &
PhD
Institutional
service
Importance of ethics and values, social responsibility, need to
incorporate CC; Sustainability and consumption,
collaboration, behavioural spillovers, overconsumption,
carbon labelling, CC and competitive advantage, luxury,
tourism, technology, green building, new energy, MNCs/
transnationals, water, sanitation; Curriculum – circular
economy, SDGs, ESG industry practices, greening vs
transformation, industry engagement, supply chain
disruptions, carbon footprint, mindful/ responsible
consumption, overconsumption, recycling, waste reduction;
research informed teaching
Disclaimer
s and
deficits
(I would
like to do
more
BUT)
Deficits - time,
skills,
confidence,
teaching
materials,
knowledge;
Sustainability-
CC relationship,
Faculty knowledge and skills, time pressure, lack of CC
materials, perceived technical hurdles, reality of CC, linkages
between consumers/marketing/ CC, lack of textbooks,
complexity of academic papers, need for change, opaque
concepts (overconsumption), student defensiveness (US),
360
student
sensibilities and
sensitivities
Encouragi
ng and
inspiring
vs
haranguin
g students
Pedagogy,
topics, industry
engagement,
industry skills
required, current
events, relevant
cases, enquiry vs
advocacy,
student
engagement
Speakers, discussion, simulation (Green Business Lab),
sharing, circular economy, graduate students, media reports,
top journal papers, SDGs, industry engagement, case studies,
vs brainwashing/ greenwashing, encourage critical thinking,
macromarketing, choice of topics, textbook lack, Belz &
Peattie, stakeholder marketing, research projects, importance
of examples and cases, CSR, vs diversity, Youtube videos,
controversial materials (Story of Stuff), triple bottom line,
consumer biases, sustainability skills required (derived
demand)
A sample of indicative comments: “no marketing on a dead planet” [Associate Professor, 55-
64]; “staff must take it as a social responsibility [to teach] about major challenges of our time.”
[Professor, 65+]. And a reality check: “I’m interested in enfolding more sustainability-related
content into my teaching but … a large barrier is the time to create new materials, and to fit
these materials into what are already very dense courses with a lot of important content.”
[Lecturer, 25-34].
Conclusions and Implications
While the rather low response rate needs consideration, it is not surprising in view of our attempt
to reach a global sample of busy marketing educators via their email inboxes. Nonresponse and
our snowball sampling approach may have resulted in some response bias. In this case, our
results are likely to overstate educator concerns about climate change, and the size of the
Engaged cluster. Additionally, non-English speakers are excluded. Despite these concerns, our
results provide a window into wider marketing education practice in English speaking
universities, and some sobering evidence. We were encouraged that more than a third of
respondents (34%) were in the Engaged group of active and responsible marketing educators. Of
the remainder, nearly half (Passives 49%) are not resistant. They are open to change, if the
conditions are right. Furthermore, the Unconcerned are approaching the end of their careers
given their high average age (65+). We were troubled that Passives and Unconcerned were
relatively less worried about adding to students’ anxieties. From a mental health perspective,
existential threats must be introduced to pedagogy gently (Armstrong et al. 2018). Engaged
educators have taken this challenge in their stride.
The message we would like to leave with readers is the conference theme: “With a little help
from our friends.” Our findings suggest that around one third of us are already addressing
climate change in our education practice, and 50% are open to change. While it will take a lot of
help from colleagues, together we can develop and share practical and approachable instructional
materials that will inspire and encourage students in a shared mission of addressing the most
critical global issue facing humankind.
361
References
AACSB (2022), “AACSB-Accredited Schools. Accessed 3 March, 2022.
https://www.aacsb.edu/accredited?F_Country=United+States.
Armstrong, Anne K, Marianne E Krasny, and Jonathon P Schuldt. 2018. Communicating
Climate Change: A Guide for Educators. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing
Associates.
Brocato, E Deanne, Antje RH Graul, Jacob Huff, Alysa Hu, and Jeremy K Harms (2022),
"Understanding How Stand-Alone Sustainability Courses Are Taught in Marketing: A
Global Baseline Analysis." Journal of Marketing Education, 44 (3), 337-61.
Cabrera, Sergio A, and Christine L Williams (2014), "Consuming for the Social Good:
Marketing, Consumer Citizenship, and the Possibilities of Ethical Consumption." Critical
Sociology, 40 (3), 349-67.
Collins, Debbie (2003), "Pretesting Survey Instruments: An Overview of Cognitive Methods."
Quality of life research, 12 229-38.
Hair Jr, Joe F, Marko Sarstedt, Lucas Hopkins, and Volker G. Kuppelwieser (2014), "Partial
Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (Pls-Sem) an Emerging Tool in Business
Research." European Business Review, 26 (2), 106-21.
Helm, Sabrina and Vicki J Little (2022), “Macromarketing Our Way to a Zero-Carbon Future.”
Journal of Macromarketing, 2 (42), 262-66.
IPCC (2021), "Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, Summary for
Policymakers." Accessed 4 September, 2022.
https://report.ipcc.ch/ar6wg2/pdf/IPCC_AR6_WGII_SummaryForPolicymakers.pdf.
Kemper, Joya A., Emily Moscato and Anne-Marie Kennedy (2022), “Hacking the Marketing
Education System: Using Macromarketing and the Circular Economy to Make a Better
World.” Journal of Marketing Education, 44 (3), 311-21.
Kemper, Joya A., Paul W Ballantine, and C Michael Hall (2020), “Sustainability Worldviews of
Marketing Academics: A Segmentation Analysis and Implications for Professional
Development.” Journal of Cleaner Production, 271 (122568), 1-11.
Milman, Oliver. "A Solution to the Climate Crisis: Mining the Moon, Researchers Say." The
Guardian, online, Wednesday 9 February 2023, 1.
Punj, Girish, and David W Stewart (1983), "Cluster Analysis in Marketing Research: Review
and Suggestions for Application." Journal of Marketing Research, 20 (2), 134-48.
Qiu, Weiliang, and Harry Joe (2009), "Random Cluster Generation (with Specified Degree of
Separation)." R package version 1.2.7 https://cran.r-
project.org/web/packages/clusterGeneration/clusterGeneration.pdf
Saldaña, Johnny (2012) The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage Publications Limited.
Science Media Centre (2021), “Expert Reaction to the Ipcc’s Working Group 1 Contribution to
the Sixth Assessment Report.” Accessed 10 August, 2021.
https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-the-ipccs-working-group-i-
contribution-to-the-sixth-assessment-report/.
Shapiro, Stanley, Stefanie Beninger, Christine Domegan, Alexander Reppel, Julie Stanton, and
Forrest Watson (2021), "Macromarketing Pedagogy: Empowering Students to Achieve a
Sustainable World." Journal of Macromarketing, 41 (1), 104-15.
362
Sheth, Jagdish N, and Atul Parvatiyar (2021), "Sustainable Marketing: Market-Driving, Not
Market-Driven." Journal of Macromarketing, 41 (1), 150-65.
Soule, Catherine Anne Armstrong , and Tejvir Singh Sekhon (2022), "Signaling Nothing:
Motivating the Masses with Status Signals That Encourage Anti-Consumption." Journal
of Macromarketing, 42 (2), 308-25.
Tourangeau, Roger (1984), "Cognitive Science and Survey Methods." In Cognitive Aspects of
Survey Methodology: Building a Bridge between Disciplines, ed. Thomas B Jabine,
Miron L Straf, Judith M Tanur and Roger Tourangeau. Washington DC: National
Academic Press, 73-100.
Watson, Forrest, Julie Stanton, Stefanie Beninger, Christine Domegan, Alexander Reppel, and
Stanley Shapiro (2021), "Teaching What Society Needs:“Hacking” an Introductory
Marketing Course with Sustainability and Macromarketing." Journal of Marketing
Education, 44 (375-389).
363
Informational and Educational Interventions and Waste Sorting: Institutional Rigidity
Perspective
Dario Miocevic, University of Split, Republic of Croatia
This study aims to uncover the effectiveness of informational and educational interventions in
waste sorting. These interventions aim to complement infrastructural interventions, raise
awareness, and impact behavioral change in waste sorting. Nevertheless, the extant literature
offers countervailing insights into their effectiveness. By drawing from institutional theory and
through a mixed-methods approach (quasi-experimental, cross-sectional, and qualitative), our
empirical triangulation shows that EU-funded waste sorting interventions are, at best, mediocre
in achieving their goal. We use a unique sample of EU-funded waste prevention projects in 100
cities and municipalities in Croatia. Our analyses uncover that program design fails to address
local governments' unique characteristics and needs and thus fails to impact the significant
increase in waste sorting in the long term. While our cross-sectional analysis shows that some
interventions are more effective than others, post-hoc interviews further reveal the deficiencies
evidenced by the need for a user-centric approach and institutional rigidity in frameworks and
policies that orchestrate the funding and provision of these interventions.
Introduction
Waste sorting is one of the priorities in the sustainable development agenda. Recent strategic
documents at the supranational level indicate that increasing the rate of waste sorting is one of
the critical goals in increasing the recycling of valuable materials and consequently achieving the
sustainable development goals (SDGs) (UNECE Online 2022). Henceforth, the benefits brought
about by this approach are environmental, social, and economical. That said, while sorting and
recycling are on top of the agenda, the global rates, especially in developing countries, still need
to be higher and much capacity of municipal solid waste ends up in landfills. According to EU
statistics, annual waste generated through various aspects of economic activity amount to around
2.5 billion tonnes, meaning five tonnes per capita waste generation a year, with each citizen
directly responsible for producing half a tonne of municipal waste per year (European
Commission 2021). Managing waste has become very serious in low-income and low-middle-
income countries, where the majority of waste is still in landfills, and there needs to be adequate
infrastructure for proper waste management (Jain and Sharma 2020).
To raise awareness and increase the sorting and recycling behaviors among citizens, national
governments and supranational institutions (e.g., the EU) introduce various interventions and
programs to help local governments deal with this burning issue. Waste sorting has been a
thriving area of scholarly interest, and up to date, several systematic reviews and meta-analyses
have been conducted on this matter (Geiger et al. 2019; Knickmeyer 2020; Sewak et al. 2020;
Spagnolli and Varotto 2017). Within this literature, researchers were interested in how
individuals and households make decisions about waste sorting (Wang et al. 2020) and what
motivates them to increase waste sorting (Sewak et al. 2020). While the dominant focus is on the
behavioral aspects that promote sorting (Geiger et al. 2019), this literature needs to be more
comprehensive in studies analyzing the impact of contextual factors on waste sorting and
recycling (Geiger et al. 2019). In addition, minimal attention has been devoted to analyzing the
364
effectiveness of waste-sorting intervention programs and policies (Spagnolli and Varotto 2017;
Tian et al. 2022). Studies show that different interventions increase sorting and recycling
outcomes (Wadehra and Mishra 2018) and complement behavioral drivers in increasing waste
sorting and recycling. However, this literature has some open issues and gaps that must be
resolved.
First, the impact of informational and educational interventions on waste sorting is unclear since
insights provide some contradictory findings regarding their impact and effectiveness
(Liobikienė and Matiiuk 2021; Chu, Gu and Wang 2021). Consequently, the current level of
knowledge accumulation creates ambiguity among decision-makers about how effective these
interventions are. From an academic standpoint, the inconsistencies likely stem from various
methodological issues (Kim et al. 2020). Corral-Verdugo (1997) has shown that self-reported
recycling levels did not correlate strongly with an actual and objective assessment of recycling
behaviors. Another issue the scholars raises is an exclusive focus on measuring these
interventions' instant and short-term impact (Spagnolli and Varotto 2017). Recent literature also
makes a bold critique that these interventions, to become beneficial, need time that will allow
benefits to surpass the overall costs of investment (Alachevic et al. 2021).
Second, the waste sorting and recycling literature have dominantly focused on descriptive
designs and cross-sectional analyses, whereas causal and experimental design studies still need
to be available. A situation can inherently create a self-selection bias in which subjects that
implement these interventions select themselves into a group, causing a biased sample that can
provide wrong estimates of their actual impact. Up till now, only a few studies tapped into an
experimental approach to reveal the actual contribution that waste sorting policies have on actual
sorting outcomes (Ling and Xu 2021; Tian et al. 2022; Van der Werff et al. 2019).
Third, while the literature shows how certain personal, social, and contextual factors affect waste
sorting and recycling, a dearth of discussion exists regarding whether waste-management
policies and interventions are effective (Sewak et al. 2020). Notably, there need to be more
studies that would take on the focus user's perspective on whether such interventions are meeting
their inherent needs (Sewak et al. 2020). Since most such interventions are funded by national or
supranational institutions and are guided by specific frameworks, addressing this gap would be
of prime interest to scholars and decision-makers at the highest institutional levels. By building
on the preceding gaps, this paper aims to provide the answer to the following research questions:
1) Are the waste sorting informational and educational interventions effective in achieving
their goals (increase in waste sorting)?
2) In what way could these interventions become more effective?
To provide answers to these research questions, we conduct three studies. We use a unique
dataset of 100 city- and municipal-level waste sorting intervention projects funded through EU
grants. This dataset is complemented with actual sorting and municipal waste statistics in each
city or municipality. By drawing from institutional theory and mixed-methods design, this paper
offers empirical triangulation that uncovers the actual performance of waste sorting
informational and educational intervention programs. First, with a propensity score matching
(PSM) technique, we test whether educational and information interventions contribute to waste
365
sorting increase by juxtaposing cities and municipalities from our dataset with a control group of
cities and municipalities that have not used such interventions. Second, using a cross-sectional
analysis of the funded programs, we find that the cities and municipalities that used intervention
programs decreased (increased) the share of sorted waste if they pursued more mandatory
(recommended) educational and informational activities. Finally, we conducted post-hoc
interviews with ten project officers implementing these interventions to illuminate the potential
reasons why this occurred. Overall, our study brings novel insights to the literature on waste
sorting and the effectiveness of waste sorting intervention programs and consequently brings
recommendations to policymakers on making such programs and frameworks that guide them
more effective. On the side, we also contribute to the literature methodologically by using
empirical triangulation, which gives us more precise indications when intervention programs that
aim to change behavior are providing better results.
Literature Review on Waste Sorting Interventions
Over the years, the literature concerning waste sorting has developed within two essential
research streams. The first stream was focused on studies investigating individuals’ (households')
attitudes, norms, intentions, and behaviors to recycle and sort waste (Pieters 1991), whereas the
other stream is focused on external stimuli that enhance waste sorting behaviors (Spagnolli and
Varotto 2017). The first stream of literature was dominantly shaped around theories of planned
behavior (TPB) which have been a frequently used theoretical lens in studying pro-
environmental behaviors in general (Yuriev et al. 2021). The studies within this domain focused
on attitudes as a crucial starting point influencing an individual's willingness to engage in sorting
and recycling behaviors (Biswas et al. 2000; Taylor and Todd 1995; Wang et al. 2020; Zhang et
al. 2016; Zhang et al. 2019). Next to attitudes, pro-environmental norms are also found to
influence recycling behavior (Videras et al. 2012), meaning that the rates would be higher in
communities and regions where recycling and sorting are normal social behaviors. Studies using
experimental settings prove that social norms such as a nudge drive increased waste sorting
(Dupre and Meiner 2016).
However, scholars became critical of models focusing solely on personal and social factors
predicting waste sorting outcomes over time. A comprehensive meta-analysis by Geiger et al.
(2019) shows that personal factors better predict intentions rather than actual behaviors. A study
by Setiawan, Afiff and Heruwasto (2021) show that more than attaining social norms is required
per se and that external interventions are needed to improve waste sorting outcomes. Similarly,
Stoeva and Arliksson (2017) argue that attitudes and norms are essential predictors but can not
guarantee higher waste sorting if no proper contextual circumstances are met. A similar
conclusion can be drawn from Zhang et al. (2019), who argue that the gap between intention and
actual behavior can be attributed to the lack of external stimuli in the form of interventions to
drive desirable actions.
Primary interventions that are used to promote waste sorting can be broadly classified into
economic (e.g., policies such as taxes and subsidies), convenience (e.g., waste sorting
infrastructure), and informational and educational (Kirakozian 2016) (Liobikienė and Minelgaitė
2019). The responding incentives work in concert and should be combined to provide the best
result (Recshovsky and Stone 2019) within the so-called intervention packages (Nisa et al.
2019). In this line of reasoning, Stern (2020) also argues that behavioral and other interventions
366
should be coupled to generate higher waste-sorting outcomes. Behavioral interventions have
significant but small effect sizes, and when the intervention stops, there are no evident lasting
effects in behavioral change related to sustainable behaviors (Nisa et al. 2019). In terms of
convenience, the main idea is to get close to users and to provide the necessary infrastructure for
users to recycle and sort waste (Bernastad 2014). The essence of economic interventions is to
foster recycling by increasing fees and penalties for solid waste collection so that more
significant opportunity costs arise if the households decide not to sort and recycle (Huang et al.
2011).
Studies have found that knowledge and informedness are significant facilitators of increased
sorting and recycling; therefore, investments should be made in this regard (Chu, Gu and Wang
2021; Ng 2020; Wang et al. 2020; Xiao, 2018; Zhang et al. 2017). Informational and educational
interventions are instruments through which policymakers can disseminate knowledge and
information among the population to foster behavior change related to waste sorting (Chu, Gu
and Wang 2021; Kirakozian, 2016; Wang and Zhang 2020). As Stern (2020) argues, these
interventions are non-coercive and tend to be perceived as less intrusive than economic
(dis)incentives. A study by Cudjoe, Han and Yuan (2020) showed that although people can be
aware of the benefits of recycling, the perceived obstacles are also essential to consider. These
were especially evident in the need for educational programs to lessen the barriers to increased
recycling and sorting.
The provision of information increases awareness by increasing knowledge among the
population and is an instrument of fostering a culture built around recycling and sorting
(Knickmeyer 2020; Pegels et al. 2022). Also, information interventions help activate the norms,
which have been shown to predict waste sorting and recycling behavior strongly (Van der Werff
et al. 2019). As such, there are two modules for spreading the information: educational
(educating individuals on how and why they should sort waste) and persuasive (promotion and
communication). Studies show that waste sorting outcomes increase by increasing citizens'
informedness (Wang et al. 2020; Wang et al. 2020b). Sewak et al. (2020) review identifies that
the most common informational strategies were public relations (events), print media, mass
media, and social media.
The insights on the effectiveness of these programs are, at best, equivocal, although generally,
they show a positive correlation with recycling and sorting behaviors (Brandt and Miafodzyeva
2013). Some recent studies (Ng, 2020; Tian et al. 2022) show that implementing a waste
management policy promotes higher waste sorting outcomes via users' enhanced knowledge.
While some studies find a positive association between informational and educational
interventions and waste-sorting outcomes (e.g., Page and Sharp 2012), some authors directly
question the effectiveness of such interventions. For instance, in her meta-analysis, Bernstad
(2014) found that informational interventions resulted in a mediocre increase in waste sorting. In
their meta-analysis, Osbaldiston and Schott (2012) show that convenience and financial fees are
the most effective interventions to boost recycling and sorting, whereas informational and
educational interventions do not have such a significant effect. Liobikiene and Matiiuk (2021)
find that informational interventions insignificantly determined the level of waste sorting results.
Henceforth, from the initial literature review, the findings regarding how informational and
367
educational interventions impact waste sorting remain equivocal. Consequently, the literature
must include arguments on why these interventions fail or are not reaching their goal.
Waste sorting and recycling are crucial social challenges in which decision-makers are prone to
use social marketing (Sewak et al. 2020). Social marketing surpasses the traditional notion of
marketing used in a commercial setting (Issock Issock, Mpinganjira and Roberts- Lombard,
2021) and is a unique form of marketing used to design instruments aimed at changing or
maintaining people’s behavior to improve their well-being and society as a whole (Andreasen
1994). Governments use social marketing instruments to create systemic change (Wymer 2011).
Hence, the social marketing approach would aim to institutionalize behavioral change (Kennedy
2015) and, in this special case, foster responsible waste management behavior. Institutions must
take a proactive stance toward resolving critical societal challenges that have an overarching
impact on the world (Shultz et al. 2022). For these reasons, we analyze these interventions'
effectiveness by focusing on the waste prevention program in the Republic of Croatia through
the lens of institutional theory.
Theoretical Framework
Institutions are formal and informal rules that organize social, political, and economic relations
(Hodgson 2006; North 1990). Institutions provide norms, rules, and schemes that shape and
guide social behavior (North 1990). According to North (1990), institutions can be formal and
informal. Formal institutions are codified and thus comprise constitutions, contracts, and forms
of government. On the other hand, informal institutions include customs, values, religious
beliefs, and other norms of behavior that have endured through time. According to Scott’s (1995)
definition, institutions can be regulatory, normative, and cognitive. The regulatory pillar includes
rules, laws, and structures that constrain behavior and are similar to the North’s notion of formal
institutions.
Institutions tend to become persistent since they reassure constituents of the" rules of the game"
and simplify their conduct in society. However, the stability of institutions only sometimes
creates benefits and comes at a cost if institutions are static and underlying rules, structures, and
norms fail to follow the actual changes in institutions and the broader society (Thelen 2009). As
a concept that addresses this anomaly, institutional rigidity represents the achievement of a
relatively stable institutional setting without the ability to adapt to changing societal needs,
which questions its value-added to the economy and society (Ross 1920). The concept has been
bred in the tradition of new institutionalism (DiMaggio 1998), which has been a standard lens for
studying the impact of institutions on economic processes. Consequently, institutional rigidity
interchanges with the term "institutional ossification" (Hodgson 1989). Institutional rigidity was
often viewed through evolutionary theory (Lustick 2011). By building on these ideas, rigid
institutions would be trapped at a “local maximum” and thus suboptimal, serving the needs of
elites rather than the changing needs of society (Lustick et al. 2011).
Given that studies strongly advocate that waste prevention policies and frameworks are often
expert-driven and lack the user-centric approach (Sewak et al. 2021), it hints at the possibility
that formalized institutions that govern these processes are inert and rigid, thus preventing more
significant steps forward in waste sorting. However, no studies in extant literature adopt
institutional theory to investigate how underlying institutional design influences the effectiveness
368
of waste sorting interventions. Consequently, we focus on the institutional framework that
defines waste sorting as codified as a formal directive at the level of the EU acquis. EU is a
supranational institution that governs and provides its member states with rules, procedures, and
norms. Eventually, the directives are translated into national laws and regulations. We thus
analyze the policy framework for waste sorting at the EU level to get a fine-grained view of its
formal institutional background.
Overview Of Studies
Overall, we used three study designs to shed more light on the effectiveness of educational and
informational interventions. Study 1 examines the impact of educational and informational
interventions on waste sorting outcomes in a quasi-experimental design. The treatment group
comprised 100 information and educational intervention projects in Croatian cities and
municipalities that started the implementation stage during the 2018-2019 period. We design a
control group by using the propensity score matching technique. We used secondary data on
intervention programs and annual municipal waste and sorting statistics to measure the waste
sorting outcomes between the two groups. In Study 2, we use the same dataset to gain a deeper
look into the waste separation programs by applying cross-sectional analysis on the sample of
100 programs to understand how selected interventions impact the waste sorting results. In the
end, the third study adopted a qualitative approach, and through interviews with project
managers in charge of implementing these intervention programs, we uncovered more details on
the effectiveness of interventions and the overall funding program framework.
Method
Research context
The overall strategy of the EU recognizes the sustainable management of resources as one of the
primary goals. Thus, the central aspect of EU policy is the transition from the existing linear to
the circular economy model. In this model, waste management occupies a vital role by dealing
with necessary infrastructure to lower the efforts necessary to take part in sorting from the
consumer side (availability of containers for separate waste collection). Public waste
management is generally organized and governed directly by constituents (city/municipality), or
they delegate it to be private or public companies.
EU’s waste management framework directive introduces measurable and attainable goals tied to
different timeframes (2020, 2025, 2030, 2035) related to an increase in sorting, recycling, and re-
use of various materials (Eur-LEX ONLINE, 2008). The Directive is set at the EU level, and
Member States establish waste management plans, environmental policies, economic incentives,
and waste prevention programs that should be implemented to fulfill the designated goals set by
the EU framework. Waste prevention, a focal activity in the circular economy, envisions
programs to rethink product design, production, distribution, and consumption stages to create
more sustainable ecosystems. Among these, the measures that affect the consumption and usage
phase envision the importance of infusing information and knowledge to the general public about
the importance and necessity of waste prevention schemes (Eur-LEX ONLINE, 2008).
In our study, we focus on the context of waste prevention in the Republic of Croatia, an EU
member state, since 2013. Between 2018 and 2019, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable
Development (MESD) published a public call for grants, "Implementation of the educational
369
and informational programs for sustainable waste management ."The total available grants from
the EU’s Cohesion Fund for allocation under this call was 6.260 000,00 €. Eligible applicants for
this call were local self-government units of the Republic of Croatia (cities or municipalities) that
aim to apply educational and informational activities of sustainable waste management in an area
with more than 10,000 inhabitants. The public call also envisioned individual or collective
applications from cities and municipalities.
The funding call envisioned two types of interventions: mandatory and recommended. The
interventions are defined and presented in the Programme of educational and informational
activities for sustainable waste management published by MESD. Mandatory interventions
included: leaflets, brochures, posters, specialized radio and tv broadcast shows, and the
establishment of websites, forums, and roundtables open to the public. On the other hand,
recommended interventions included: activities aimed at preschool and school children
(workshops, game shows, picture books, and educational material), marking the celebration of
environmental events, radio and tv commercials, Internet banners, paid ads in various electronic
media, awards and contests and leaflets for tourists. The applicants were asked to choose a
specific number of mandatory and recommended activities based on their size. For example,
cities and municipalities with a population between 10.000 and 40.000 inhabitants had to choose
at least three mandatory and two recommended activities.
Methodological strategy
We applied a mixed methods approach to gain a more comprehensive overview of the
effectiveness of informational and educational interventions for waste sorting (Tashakkori and
Teddlie 2003). The mixed methods approach combines qualitative and quantitative research
strategies to gain more detailed insights into the problem under investigation within a single
study setting (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie 2004). Compared to single-use approaches, the mixed
methods perspective is pragmatic and utilizes both interpretivism and positivist approaches to
research (Morgan 2007). As such, it enables higher data accuracy and allows for data
triangulation. Consequently, researchers can gain a deeper understanding of the phenomena
under investigation, thus increasing the validity of inference and making it more relevant for
practitioners (Creswell and Plano Clark 2007). As Molina-Azorín and López-Gamero (2016)
noted, the mixed methods approach is especially suitable to address complex real-world
phenomena such as sustainability. We follow a procedure where we conduct quantitative
analysis and then proceed with qualitative analysis to gain a more profound meaning of the
results.
Data and measures
While the survey methods have been dominantly used to capture the essence of the reasoning
behind waste sorting behavior, they are often criticized for lacking objectivity. In their study,
Gamberini et al. (2014) show potential social desirability effects when comparing implicit and
explicit data collection on waste sorting. The importance of using measurable behavioral
outcomes on waste prevention and reporting these measures have been raised by previous studies
(Kim, Rundle-Thiele and Knox 2019; Rundle-Thiele et al. 2019a). Nonetheless, quantitative
methodologies based on secondary data represent a valuable toolbox to inform policymakers in
all stages of designing effective policies and frameworks (Pauwels and Perry 2022). For these
370
reasons, we have decided to utilize secondary data on actual waste sorting behavior. The MESD
offers complete waste sorting statistics at the level of cities and municipalities.
Data on the interventions were collected through the search engine of the Waste prevention
portal (http://sprjecavanjeotpada.azo.hr/index.htm), which enables easy navigation through
funded projects from this call. We have filtered and analyzed 100 projects funded from 2018-
2019. We have decided to focus on this period because of two reasons. First, most projects have
been initiated during this period, while only a tiny portion of them have been funded during 2016
but only in the form of individual activities rather than projects. Second, it allows us to match the
project characteristics with waste sorting outcomes in an extended period (2018-2021). By doing
so, we respond to concerns raised by scholars that long-term perspective should be embraced if
the actual impact of pro-environmental interventions is to be manifested (Allcot and Roger
2012). Critical statistics regarding the 100 funded projects can be found in Table 1.
Table 1. Statistics regarding the funding projects
Indicator
Average funded amount
678.129,00 HRK
The average duration of the project
17 months
Applicants (city/municipality)
Cities = 69, Municipalities = 31
The average number of mandatory activities
7,02
The average number of recommended
activities
7,88
Single applicants or consortia
Single = 41, Consortia = 59
Data on waste sorting statistics have been drawn from a public database of the MESD’s
Directorate for environmental and natural protection (source: https://www.haop.hr/hr/tematska-
podrucja/otpad-registri-oneciscavanja-i-ostali-sektorski-pritisci/gospodarenje-otpadom). The
statistical data is published yearly (with a one-year time lag) and provides a quantity of
municipal waste produced as well as exact percentages on sorted waste for each city and
municipality in Republic of Croatia.
Analyses and Findings
Study 1 – Evaluating the Impact Of Interventions
Up till now, only a few studies tapped into a quasi-experimental approach to reveal the actual
contribution that waste sorting policies have on actual sorting outcomes (Ling and Xu, 2021;
Tian et al. 2022; Van der Werff et al. 2019). Among them, propensity score matching (PSM) was
used the least (Wang and Zhang 2020). The role of PSM is to determine the efficacy of applied
treatment and helps in removing selection and endogeneity biases. PSM is an extensively used
method to estimate causal effects by matching treatment with control cases based on a set of
covariates (Rosenbaum and Rubin 2022). Using PSM, researchers want to compare the outcomes
between a treatment and control group by ensuring that both groups have similar characteristics
on the observables. In our case, by using PSM, we can evaluate the effect of informational and
educational interventions by considering the cities and municipalities that received funding as the
treated group and those that have not as the control group.
371
Findings
In our dataset, 289 cities and municipalities conducted interventions, while the remaining 267
cities and municipalities did not. Due to the limited pool for sourcing control group subjects, we
decided to focus only on cities and municipalities that were project leaders, so eventually, there
were 100 cities and municipalities that were project leaders, and the rest 189 of them were
consortia members. After the 1:1 allocation, 100 cities and municipalities were put into treatment
and control groups.
We used PSM Python-based extension for SPSS. PSM entails two critical stages. In the first
stage, the extension calculates propensity scores for each observation unit. Preselected covariates
were: the size of the city/municipality (proxied through the amount of municipal waste in the
base year), the status of waste sorting in the city/municipality (proxied through a percentage of
waste sorting in the base year), and the region of the city/municipality (0 – non-tourist region, 1-
tourist region). In the second stage, the PSM model compares the outcome (waste sorting
increase) of cities/municipalities with similar (matched) propensity scores across the treated and
control group.
The extension generates propensity scores through a logistic regression model by balancing the
set of covariates and using a caliper width set to 0.07. Results of the PSM procedure indicate that
85 cases were fuzzy-matched to the control group counterpart, whereas 15 cases did not have
matches. The unmatched cases were the largest cities for which it is tough to secure a proper
match, so we excluded them from the PSM analysis. The baseline characteristics of cities and
municipalities along key covariates (size, the status of waste sorting, and regional affiliation
before and after applying the PSM procedure are presented in Table 2.
Table 2. Baseline characteristics for cities and municipalities before and after PSM
application
Before PSM
After PSM
Treatment
(N = 100)
Control
(N = 267)
t-test
p-value
Treatment
(N = 85)
Control
(N = 85)
t-test
p-
value
Amount of
municipal
waste
(base year
= 2018)
6832,96
1332,98
- 3.88
0.000
5018,75
2341,53
- 1.04
0.298
372
Status of
waste
sorting
(base year
= 2018)
12,83%
5,83%
- 6.62
0.000
12,09%
10,78%
- 0.77
0.437
Regional
affiliation
0.25
0.27
- 0.29
0.766
0,42
0,38
- 0.94
0.346
After applying the PSM, the differences between the treatment and control group along
covariates became insignificant, suggesting that the procedure yielded satisfactory matching
quality. To test the differences in main outcome variables (short and long-term increase in waste
proportion), we used the student t-test for independent samples (see Table 3). We again compare
the results before and after the PSM procedure to neutralize the self-selection bias.
Table 3. The impact of interventions on waste sorting outcomes before and after PSM
application
Before PSM
After PSM
Treatment
(N = 100)
Control
(N =
267)
t-test
p-value
Treatment
(N = 85)
Control
(N =
85)
t-test
p-value
Short-
term
change in
waste
sorting
increase
(2019-
2018)
2,76%
1,06%
- 3.14
0.002**
2,83%
1,05%
- 2.14
0.033*
Long-
term
change in
waste
sorting
increase
(2021-
2018)
8,83%
6,11%
- 2.54
0.011*
8,81%
5,89%
- 1.88
0.061
Notes: ** p < 0.01, * p < 0.05
373
The findings in Table 3 indicate that before applying PSM, the treatment group exhibited much
better performance in both short- and long-term waste sorting increase. However, the findings
after applying the PSM procedure indicate that informational and educational interventions only
impact short-term waste sorting increase outcomes while the impact on long-term outcomes is
only marginally significant.
Discussion
The application of PSM in analyzing the effectiveness of implemented informational and
educational interventions shows that their impact on waste sorting outcomes diminishes in the
longer term. These findings echo previous works in waste management that found these
interventions' impact insignificant or mediocre at best and that impact lasts only for a limited
period. However, to dive deep into potential reasons why these campaigns were not reaching
their full potential, we embark on study 2 to investigate the impact specific interventions might
have on waste sorting outcomes.
Study 2 – How Specific Types of Interventions Impact Waste Sorting Outcomes.
We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using ordinary least squares regression (OLS) to reveal
the most effective interventions. Since the project envisioned two groups of interventions
(mandatory and recommended), we decided to analyze their impact on changes in waste sorting
percentages (short- and long-term). Additionally, we controlled for the following factors: the
percentage of people with higher education degrees living in the city/municipality, the amount of
budget spent on environmental management (county-level data), the level of economic
development (GDP pc, county-level), the number of funds spent in the project and the project
duration. In Table 4, we present the results regarding our OLS model.
Table 4. The impact of interventions on waste sorting outcomes in long-term
DV = Waste sorting (long-term)
Predictors
Model 1
Model 2
Controls
% people with an HE degree
-.06
-.01
Environmental budget
.01
-.00
GDP pc
-.02
-.09
Project funds
.17
.18
Project duration
.23*
.25*
Main effects
Mandatory interventions
-.37**
Recommended interventions
.30*
R
2
.07
.17
ΔR
2
.07
.09**
F-value
1.45
2.53
ΔF
1.45
4.89**
374
Notes: ** p < 0.01, * p < 0.05
Findings show that mandatory and recommended interventions have significant but
countervailing effects on the change in waste sorting percentage (long-term).
8
We provide partial
plots in Figure 1. Regarding control variables, only project duration significantly affects waste
sorting in the long term.
Figure 1. Influence of interventions on waste sorting outcomes (partial regression plots)
Additional Analyses
First, we operationalized interventions in alternative ways to check whether alternative models
yield better explanations for waste sorting outcomes. First, we divided all interventions into main
groups: mass media advertising (printed, tv and radio), digital advertising, events and publicity,
and educational interventions aimed at preschool and school children. The waste management
literature presents fine-grained operationalization of educational and informational interventions
similarly (Bernstad 2014; Deng et al. 2022; Knickmeyer 2020; Xiao et al. 2018; Wang et al.
2020). However, we found no statistically significant results regarding short- and long-term
waste sorting percentages.
Discussion
According to findings from OLS regression analysis, the findings show the countervailing
impact of mandatory vs. recommended educational and informational interventions on waste
sorting outcomes. Mandatory interventions lower long-term waste sorting, but the recommended
interventions have increased the long-term percentage of sorted waste. We conducted post-hoc
interviews with project managers implementing these interventions to illuminate further why this
occurred.
8
The effect on short-term changes is not statistically significant, so these are not shown in Table
4.
375
Study 3 – Reflection of Cities/Municipalities On The Project Framework And Implemented
Interventions
We conducted a follow-up interview to dive deep into the potential reasons why mandatory and
recommended activities showed countervailing influence on waste sorting. A total of 10 project
managers in charge of funded projects were recruited via e-mail invitation. In table 5, we
showcase the profile of the informants, which exhibit high diversity and enable us to reach
theoretical representativeness.
Table 5. Profile of the informants
Responden
t #
City/municipalit
y
Area
Size
(Amount
of
municipa
l waste)
Status
of
waste
sortin
g (%)
in
2018
(%)
Mandatory/
Recommende
d activities
Increase/decreas
e in waste sorting
(%) in 2021
(compared to
base year - 2018)
A
Coastal
4022
10,5
10/0
18,4
B
Continental
2037
13,7
7/3
28,7
C
Island
1066
0
5/5
1,0
D
Coastal
10852
17,0
7/11
41,0
E
Continental
9507
35,8
5/9
55,4
F
Continental
16351
9,6
7/10
14,5
G
Coastal
6580
3,6
5/8
11,5
H
Continental
1865
8,3
11/1
5,7
I
Continental
3431
16,4
7/11
43,9
J
Island
6038
0
6/5
44,3
The respondents were asked to assess the effectiveness of mandatory and recommended
educational and informational activities they implemented in their cities and municipalities in an
open-end question fashion. We followed a thematic analysis and analyzed the data inductively by
seeking themes from the interview data (Braun and Clarke, 2006). Since we only focused on one
question, the data collection and analysis were simplified and focused. The interviews were
recorded and then transcribed to be later used for the analysis.
Findings
The participants agreed that recommended activities yielded much better effects in the field since
they can be effectively and creatively designed to adjust to local needs and thus reach target
goals. Recommended activities allowed participants to choose from the palette of interventions
that would best fit their context and align with their area's current waste-sorting culture. Another
beneficial aspect of recommended activities is that they are more diverse and could complement
the current activities in the city/municipality.
376
"I assume this is because the recommended activities leave the possibility of adjusting or
selecting exactly those activities that can better impact the specific environment in which they
are carried out, i.e., the end users in that environment. The program's users can best recognize
this, i.e., people who live and work in that (local) environment." (Respondent A)
“Our experience confirms that only the recommended interventions were meaningful and
effective, especially those aimed towards preschool and school children. They left room for
creativity and were fun for the children, so I guess the ideas stuck with them.” (Respondent B)
“I think we did not have a good foundation for implementing this project, so we would not have
succeeded in raising awareness and waste separation. That is why I think there is a big
difference in the results precisely because each city and municipality is not the same in terms of
development, people's habits, educational system, level of waste sorting, etc. That is why
recommended interventions could generate a better impact. We could choose needed and
currently lacking activities, or in which we have deficiencies, or else we know that the
population would recognize that activity as useful.” (Respondent H)
“From our perspective, I can say that the recommended interventions were most effective. Here I
would outline the activities that targeted the younger population (kindergartens and schools),
considering that they managed to get a little animated and interested in the culture of waste
sorting and recycling.” (Respondent D)
On the other hand, the utility of mandatory activities was highly questioned since they left very
little room for creativity, and in some ways, they were yielding counterproductive results.
Noteworthy was also that respondents questioned the return on investment in certain mandatory
activities, which was easily achieved by some alternative recommended activities.
“Mandatory activities that included the "promotional materials" (flyers, guides, brochures) were
money waste and contributed to creating additional waste (I hope they at least threw them in the
paper bin). I firmly believe that if applicants could freely choose their interventions, most would
certainly not choose to make leaflets and guides or make TV shows." (Respondent B)
“Now, considering that we are an island municipality, we, therefore, have a specific population,
and I believe each municipality tries to choose interventions according to the knowledge of the
psychology of its community. The project’s requirement is 100% coverage of the population
according to the census. This is always a problem because it is not realistic data; many islanders
only have a part-time residence (summerhouse) and live in cities or outside the Republic of
Croatia. To achieve 100% coverage, I was forced to print a flyer and send it by mail to every
address, which had no effect because the islanders do not like orders and to be told what to do.
Also, even though I worked exclusively on recycled paper and environmentally friendly colors,
again, printing generated waste. Second, radio or TV content for the islanders makes no sense
because it is an older population and is too expensive, so there would be no funds left for other
activities. Of all the activities, I believe that public meetings and events were the best way to
377
achieve that our target population gets answers to everything they are interested in and that you
explain to them how your project will work.” (Respondent C)
“A big plus for the recommended activities is that some of them are very effective, such as radio
advertising, because they are more frequent and more straightforward than radio broadcast
shows (paradoxically, ads are recommended, and the broadcast shows are mandatory, that is,
for example, wrong) and per today's times, banners and articles on Internet portals are also a
better option. Communication through them is far more effective than with many other
interventions. Let us take the brochures, for example, we sent one to each household, and the
question is who in the household found it in the mailbox and whether they read it and gave it to
other household members to read. On the other hand, most people surf the Internet individually
and will come across banners and articles by themselves, even without the assistance of others.
The same applies to campaigns on social networks, which are easily spread. In summary,
brochures and television broadcast shows on prominent channels are undoubtedly excellent but
costly. Similarly, postal services when sending brochures are also costly, while a few thousand
HRK does wonders on Facebook.” (Respondent I)
“So, the printed materials (leaflets, brochures, and posters) are unnecessary and outdated and
do not reach the target groups even though they may physically reach them. They thought we
were to reach at least the older population that does not use the Internet - but the population on
the island again does not pay much attention to such materials. That is why the recommended
activities were more useful because we could be more creative following local needs, and that
local moment is the most important - it is okay to have TV shows in big cities, but not on islands.
Alternatively, posters in the sense of billboards, we do not have space to place them on the
island.” (Respondent J)
In addition, the respondents showed significant reservations about how the project call was
envisioned. This was manifested in restricted budgeting rules, which severely hampered the
ability of cities and municipalities to implement mandatory activities in sufficient capacity and
scope. The respondents argued that project controlling and rigidity was a source of many burdens
that exploited their resources, time, and effort. This was especially evident in trying to justify the
effectiveness of some mandatory interventions.
"I had a tiny budget for organizing the public meetings and events, and we are talking about 11
settlements on the island, so I have a problem at the start because, in nature, I would need to go
to each settlement personally, and I do not have the funds for that. With the fact that in some
settlements you have only around 20 inhabitants. That is why I made only three public events in
three settlements, two in the south of the island in larger settlements and one in the north where
the number of inhabitants is smaller.” (Respondent C)
“From our standpoint, the mandatory interventions were seen as less effective. For instance,
printing paper leaflets and brochures was a waste of money since much of it remained in the
stock because, realistically, what are you going to do with it - the citizens are not interested in it,
and it is a must, and that is where the biggest financial corrections took place. Not because of
the users themselves, but because of questionable controllers obliged to authorize every output
document due to mandatory visibility elements." (Respondent E)
378
“In my opinion, the posters and flyers were superfluous because the public was constantly
informed about the activities through the media and social networks, and in the end, there were
many posters and flyers left unallocated.”(Respondent G)
Discussion
Respondents have evaluated the recommended activities to be more effective than mandatory
ones. One of the main reasons is that recommended activities left much room for creative
responses that might provide citizens a better educational and informational boost. Here, the
main benefit was seen in the ability of respondents to contextualize interventions to reach a
greater audience and increase waste sorting. On the other hand, the mandatory activities were
mostly seen as not being able to justify the underlying investment, unlike the recommended
activities. In the end, the respondents had significant reservations about the project framework
since it needed to be more flexible and left a small space for customizing the set of interventions
that would best fit the user's needs.
General Discussion
By drawing on institutional theory, this study aimed to uncover the effectiveness of educational
and informational interventions in driving increased waste sorting outcomes. Through employing
a mixed-methods approach, we were able to show that the increase in waste sorting due to these
interventions is mediocre at best. A possible explanation might be that some interventions were
fixed (mandatory) while some offered cities and municipalities more freedom to choose the most
effective means of increasing waste sorting (recommended). Fixed and strict terms upon which
the funding call was envisioned represented a significant burden for users that steered the waste
prevention strategy appropriation and, indirectly, the waste sorting outcomes. Compared to the
rest of the literature, ours is the first study to inspect upstream institutional arrangments in waste
prevention policy by connecting the waste sorting framework and the actual performance of
interventions. Below we discuss the contributions of our study in light of the extant literature.
First, our study's main reasoning is countervailing evidence on whether educational and
informational interventions effectively achieve waste prevention goals (Chu, Gu and Wang
2021). Studies so far have been thoroughly conducted from the end user's perspective, where
theories such as TPB have been utilized (Cudjoe, Han and Yuan 2020; Zhang et al. 2019).
However, our study's findings indicate that the waste prevention policy's effectiveness is highly
contingent on how users in charge of its implementation assess the appropriateness of specific
educational and informational interventions in addressing waste challenges in their specific city
and municipality. Our studies indicate that the contribution of these interventions is limited,
contrary to what previous studies showed (Tian et al. 2022; Van der Werff et al. 2019). Although
the recorded impact was positive, our PSM model shows that the long-term increase attributed to
the impact of these interventions is marginally significant. Our study findings thus align with
insights from Minelgaitė and Liobikienė (2019), who find that educational and informational
interventions work only for a smaller number of communities. Second, our findings align with
previous studies' insights that long-term effects can diminish without a sound economic
incentives system that would increase waste sorting (Osbaldiston and Schott 2012).
Consequently, our results align with the prior discussion that educational and informational
interventions should be complemented with other interventions, such as the ones focusing on
379
convenience and economic incentives (Bernstad 2014; Czajkowski, Kadziela and Hanley 2014;
Li et al. 2020).
Second, findings from our cross-sectional analysis prove that mandatory interventions drive a
decrease, whereas recommended interventions drive an increase in waste sorting. On top of this,
post-hoc interviews with project managers showed that recommended activities left more space
for customizing the set of interventions that would work best in a specific area. The respondents
indicated that interventions aimed at (pre)school children were mainly practical. These insights
tie well with previous findings that argue that proper segmentation and targeting are essential
predecessors for successfully customizing the interventions (Varotto and Spagnolli 2017). The
studies so far show that different segments (based on demographics) might be reacting
differently to information and educative content (Li et al. 2020) and could nurture divergent
waste-sorting attitudes (De Feo and DeGisi 2010) and norms (Setiawan, Afiff and Heruwasto
2021). The qualitative evidence shows that remote (islands) and coastal areas vastly differ from
the context of large urban and continental areas. Here we tie well to prior waste management and
social marketing literature that mandates the user-centric orientation and inclusion of
stakeholders in formulating these interventions to achieve success (Hurley et al. 2019; Jesson
2009; Kim et al. 2020a; Sewak et al. 2020).
Third, unlike previous studies that exclusively focus on the nature of interventions, we analyze
the policy effectiveness vertically, i.e., how users in charge of implementing these interventions
see the effectiveness of guiding institutional framework manifested through funding calls.
According to the findings obtained through interviews, the “one size fits all” approach
(envisioned by the framework) is not the best way to tackle the idiosyncratic needs of program
users. Thus, we show a considerable discrepancy between expert and user perspectives on how
the practical framework should be designed and implemented (Kim et al. 2020b). While the
project framework ties specific types of interventions with the idiosyncratic needs of target
groups (Pearson and Perera 2018), the rigidity and inflexibility of the project funding framework
(the predetermined rule for selecting the number and type of interventions in each category), has
impaired waste sorting potential. The fund dissemination mechanism showcased in this paper
confirms that public contracts that underlie such mechanisms are rigid and burden users more
(Spiller 2009). This was also manifested in cases where some mandatory activities were seen as
really effective means of reaching the target population, but the inflexibility in budget plans and
reporting to higher instances could have improved their performance. On the whole, our study
corroborates earlier concerns that the effectiveness of policies addressing grand social challenges
necessitates simultaneous influence on both upstream (influencing legislation and policy
frameworks) and downstream (influence on behavioral change of citizens) (Kennedy 2015),
espousing a more comprehensive stakeholder approach (Mesiranta et al. 2022). Hence, the case
analyzed in our study confirms the existence of institutional rigidity and ossification in the
upstream part of waste management system, making the institutional arrangements suboptimal
compared to societal needs and performance (Lustick et al. 2011).
Conclusion
Theoretical and Policy Implications
The SDG topics underlie waste sorting and recycling (responsible production and consumption
and fighting climate change) remain a top priority for academicians and practitioners (Scott,
380
Hassler and Martin 2022). Municipal waste leads to the exploitation of resources and represents
a major problem to sustainable development, especially in developing nations. The significant
negative impact comes from the production, consumption, and post-consumption phases (ref-
EU). To lessen these negative impacts, governments introduced various policy interventions.
They are transforming everyday human activities into environmentally-friendly ones that
necessitate creative approaches from policymakers (Taylor and Todd 1995). As a form of
sustainable behaviors, sorting and recycling need support by providing educational and
informational interventions, which can help increase the awareness and knowledge capacity of
the citizens and the general public (Green et al. 2019). We envisioned our study as a response to
gaps by answering two overarching questions: 1) how effective are educational and
informational interventions, and 2) in which ways can they be improved?
Our study contributes to the literature investigating the intersection between public policy and
marketing. Our approach focuses on specific educational and informational activities as
intervention packages supported through the EU funding scheme. Through a mixed-methods
approach, we find that users' perception of policy rigidity (blanket approach) contributed to the
suboptimal performance of the implemented interventions. As the evidence from three studies
shows, the informational and educational interventions show varying and heterogeneous effects.
For some cities and municipalities, the designed program interventions worked well, but for the
majority, there were severe obstacles because there needed to be a closer fit between what users
wanted to implement and what the actual options were. While intrinsically, these interventions
might be beneficial in some cases, making them a mandatory requirement for every context
suggests that the lack of user involvement and co-design perspective in preemptive stages is a
critical limitation (Kim et al. 2020a). Consequently, our study bridges perspectives from both
social marketing (Dietrich et al. 2016; Kim et al. 2020a; Kim et al. 2020b; Trischler et al. 2019)
and mainstream environmental management pieces of literature in addressing the suboptimality
in current waste management policies and interventions (Lange et al. 2014; Shen and Wan 2013;
Shen, Yu, and Wan 2014). By focusing on the upstream part of waste management policy, we
could detect institutional rigidity as one explanation for why educational and informational
interventions might fail to reach their goal, although their nature and design might follow the
“best practice” principle. We fill the gap in extant public policy and marketing literature, which
shows opposition and resistance to implementing incentive policies in social programs
(Bolderdijk et al. 2017). Our study aligns with this view and informs that responses to
information- and education-based interventions might go in the same direction if they are not
made relevant for the target audience and coordinated with other stakeholders (Mesiranta et al.
2022).
The results of our study provide valuable insight to policymakers in charge of designing waste
prevention policies and responding to intervention packages. Inherently, interventions should be
co-designed with actual users to meet the target population's needs. Focusing on the user’s
perspective should therefore exceed the mere understanding of what the target group requires
and envision participatory modes of conduct where users co-design interventions that aim to
foster behavioral change in their area of living (Kim, Knox, and Rundle-Thiele 201; Kubacki et
al. 2015; Sewak et al. 2020). Ours is the first study that indirectly addresses the potential
problems that might arise in the upstream channel of waste prevention programs, i.e., the policies
and frameworks that guide overall waste prevention approaches in the field. From the practical
381
standpoint, our findings inevitably pinpoint that the main problem is not in the interventions but
in a framework that orchestrates which ones should be implemented. By revealing this anomaly,
our study adds to the literature discussing suboptimal public resource allocations due to
institutional rigidities (Lustick et al. 2011). In other words, the lack of co-design principles and
providing a "one size fits all" approach in guiding the choice of educational and informational
intervention and implementation makes some of these interventions a waste of effort, time, and
resources.
Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research
Besides offering novel insights, our study also bears some limitations that must be
acknowledged. First, we focus on a single case study from the Croatian context, and the results
should be interpreted with contextual caution. Moreover, our PSM analyses can be seen as a
limitation since the original pool to extract control group subjects needed to be narrower
compared to populations used in other areas. For example, business studies can rely on a larger
population of firms to find matched samples and medicine studies when creating a control group
of patients.
Second, we focused only on educational and informational interventions and how they impact
waste sorting awareness which is a necessary precursor for behavioral change in the long term.
The limitation of our study pertains to not investigating other essential variables that designate
behavioral change. This would require using the primary data from users to analyze the abilities
and motivations that are basic premises of behavioral change models (e.g., Fogg’s model of
behavioral change).
Third, we only scratched the surface and did not investigate the potential differences that might
emerge from comparing specific educational and informational interventions. Our study
investigates the boundary conditions surrounding the upstream policy design and framework,
thus detecting ineffectiveness due to poor design. However, we refrain from stating that these
could be the only drawback in waste sorting policy. For instance, previous studies show that
variance in waste sorting and recycling behavior could be attributed to appeals used in
communication material (Mukhopadhyay, Patrick, and Wang 2017). Moreover, Miafodzyeva
and Brandt (2013) indicate that these different educational and informational interventions can
influence either concrete or abstract knowledge generation among users. On top of this, very
little is known about the background of these informational and educational interventions. For
instance, regarding what type of persuasion strategy they used, one might argue that the
difference in waste sorting outcomes might be explained by whether the city or municipality
endorsed pure persuasion or social comparison (Dupré and Meineri 2016). Therefore, future
studies are encouraged to dive deep into potential differences in the structure and impact of
specific educational and informational interventions.
Fourth, the literature acknowledges that more holistic programs should be implemented (Kim,
Rundle-Thiele and Knox 2019). In such cases, the educational and informational interventions
would work in concert with other interventions (i.e., convenience and economic incentives).
Many studies corroborate that complementarity between interventions might bring more
significant benefits in waste prevention (Aadland et al. 2005; Kirakozian 2016). The
infrastructure per se does not increase the recycling rates solely (Haghighatjoo, Noroozi , and
382
Tahmasebi 2020; Wan et al. 2014) but in combination with other interventions. Consequently,
future studies are encouraged to investigate the potential complementarities between different
interventions.
References
Andreasen, A. R. (1994), “Social marketing: Its definition and domain,” Journal of public policy
and marketing, 13(1), 108-114.
Bernstad, A. (2014), “Household food waste separation behavior and the importance of
convenience,” Waste Management, 34(7), 1317–1323.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2014.03.013
Bolderdijk, J. W., Steg, L., Woerdman, E., Frieswijk, R., and De Groot, J. I. M. (2017),
“Understanding Effectiveness Skepticism,“ Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 36(2),
348–361. https://doi.org/10.1509/jppm.16.118
Cudjoe, D., Yuan, Q., and Han, M. S. (2020), “An assessment of the influence of awareness of
benefits and perceived difficulties on waste sorting intention in Beijing,” Journal of Cleaner
Production, 272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123084
Czajkowski, M., Kadziela, T., and Hanley, N. (2014), “We want to sort! Assessing households’
preferences for sorting waste,” Resource and Energy Economics, 36(1), 290–306.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reseneeco.2013.05.006
De Feo, G., and De Gisi, S. (2010), “Public opinion and awareness towards MSW and separate
collection programmes: A sociological procedure for selecting areas and citizens with a low
level of knowledge,” Waste Management, 30(6), 958–976.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2010.02.019
Deng, J., Tang, J., Lu, C., Han, B., and Liu, P. (2022), “Commitment and intergenerational
influence: A field study on the role of children in promoting recycling in the family,”
Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 185(October), 106403.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106403.
Dupré, M., and Meineri, S. (2016), “Increasing recycling through displaying feedback and social
comparative feedback,” Journal of Environmental Psychology, 48, 101–107.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2016.07.004
Eur-LEX (2008), “Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19
November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives,” Available at: https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02008L0098-20180705 (Dec 01
2022).
European Comission (2021), “European Green Deal: Commission adopts new proposals to stop
deforestation, innovate sustainable waste management and make soils healthy for people,
nature and climate,” Available at:
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_5916 (Dec 12 2022).
Geiger, J. L., Steg, L., van der Werff, E., and Ünal, A. B. (2019), “A meta-analysis of factors
related to recycling,” Journal of Environmental Psychology, 64, 78–97.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2019.05.004
Haghighatjoo, S., Tahmasebi, R., and Noroozi, A. (2020), “Application of Community-Based
Social Marketing (CBSM) to Increase Recycling Behavior (RB) in Primary Schools,”
Social Marketing Quarterly, 26(4), 297–308. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524500420962789
383
Issock Issock, P. B., Mpinganjira, M., and Roberts-Lombard, M. (2021), “Investigating the
relevance of the traditional marketing mix across different stages of change: Empirical
evidence from household recycling,” Journal of Social Marketing, ahead-of-p(ahead-of-
print). https://doi.org/10.1108/jsocm-11-2020-0221
Johnson, R. B., and Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004), “Mixed methods research: A research paradigm
whose time has come,” Educational researcher, 33(7), 14-26.
Kennedy, A. (2015), “Macro-social Marketing,” Journal of Macromarketing, 36(3), 354-365.
Kim, J., Rundle-Thiele, S., and Knox, K. (2019), “Systematic literature review of best practice in
food waste reduction programs,” Journal of Social Marketing, 9(4), 447–466.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JSOCM-05-2019-0074
Kim, J., Rundle-Thiele, S., Knox, K., Burke, K., and Bogomolova, S. (2020a), “Consumer
perspectives on household food waste reduction campaigns,” Journal of Cleaner
Production, 243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118608
Kim, J., Rundle-Thiele, S., Knox, K., and Hodgkins, S. (2020b), “Outcome Evaluation of an
Empirical Study: Food Waste Social Marketing Pilot,” Social Marketing Quarterly, 26(2),
111–128. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524500420918690
Kirakozian, A. (2016), “One Without the Other? Behavioural and Incentive Policies for
Household Waste Management,” Journal of Economic Surveys, 30(3), 526–551.
https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12159
Knickmeyer, D. (2020), “Social factors influencing household waste separation: A literature
review on good practices to improve the recycling performance of urban areas,” Journal of
Cleaner Production, 245, 118605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118605
Li, W., Jin, Z., Liu, X., Li, G., and Wang, L. (2020), “The impact of mandatory policies on
residents’ willingness to separate household waste: A moderated mediation model,” Journal
of Environmental Management, 275(May), 111226.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111226
Ling, M., and Xu, L. (2021), “Incentivizing household recycling crowds out public support for
other waste management policies: A long-term quasi-experimental study,” Journal of
Environmental Management, 299(August), 113675.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113675
Lustick, I. S. (2011), “Taking evolution seriously: Historical institutionalism and evolutionary
theory,” Polity, 43(2), 179-209.
Matiiuk, Y., and Liobikienė, G. (2021), “The impact of informational, social, convenience and
financial tools on waste sorting behavior: Assumptions and reflections of the real situation,”
Journal of Environmental Management, 297(July).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113323
Mesiranta, N., Närvänen, E., and Mattila, M. (2022), “Framings of Food Waste: How Food
System Stakeholders Are Responsibilized in Public Policy Debate,” Journal of Public
Policy and Marketing, 41(2), 144–161. https://doi.org/10.1177/07439156211005722
Minelgaitė, A., and Liobikienė, G. (2019), “The problem of not waste sorting behaviour,
comparison of waste sorters and non-sorters in European Union: Cross-cultural analysis,”
Science of the Total Environment, 672, 174–182.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.342
Morgan, D. L. (2007), “Paradigms lost and pragmatism regained: Methodological implications
of combining qualitative and quantitative methods,” Journal of mixed methods research,
1(1), 48-76.
384
Ng, S. L. (2020), “Knowledge–intention–behavior associations and spillovers of domestic and
workplace recycling,” Social Science Journal, 00(00), 1–20.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03623319.2020.1735857
Osbaldiston, R., and Schott, J. P. (2012), “Environmental sustainability and behavioral science:
Meta-analysis of proenvironmental behavior experiments,” Environment and Behavior,
44(2), 257–299. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916511402673
Page, B., and Sharp, A. (2012), “The contribution of marketing to school-based program
evaluation,” Journal of Social Marketing, 2(3), 176–186.
https://doi.org/10.1108/20426761211265177
Pauwels, K., and Perry, V. G. (2022), “Models That Matter: How Quantitative Marketing
Research Can Impact Public Policy,” Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 41(3), 206–
210. https://doi.org/10.1177/07439156221098388
Pearson, D., and Perera, A. (2018), “Reducing Food Waste: A Practitioner Guide Identifying
Requirements for an Integrated Social Marketing Communication Campaign,” Social
Marketing Quarterly, 24(1), 45–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524500417750830
Pegels, A., Castañeda, J. L., Humphreys, C., Kötter, C., Negre, M., Weidner, C., and Kutzner, F.
(2022), “Aligning recycling behaviors and the recycling system – Towards a full cycle of
materials and behavioral methods,” Waste Management, 138(August 2021), 1–7.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2021.11.021
Reschovsky, J. D., and Stone, S. E. (2018), “Market Incentives to Encourage Household Waste
Recycling: Paying for What You Throw Away,” The Economics of Residential Solid Waste
Management, 13(1), 233–252. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315240091-15
Rosenbaum, P. R., and Rubin, D. B. (2022), “Propensity scores in the design of observational
studies for causal effects,” Biometrika.
Scott, M. L., Hassler, C. M. K., and Martin, K. D. (2022), “Here Comes the Sun: Present and
Future Impact in Marketing and Public Policy Research,” Journal of Public Policy and
Marketing, 41(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1177/07439156211058423
Setiawan, B., Afiff, A. Z., and Heruwasto, I. (2021), “The role of norms in predicting waste
sorting behavior,” Journal of Social Marketing, 11(3), 224–239.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JSOCM-05-2020-0088
Sewak, A., Kim, J., Rundle-Thiele, S., and Deshpande, S. (2021), “Influencing household-level
waste-sorting and composting behaviour: What works? A systematic review (1995–2020) of
waste management interventions,” Waste Management and Research, 39(7), 892–909.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242X20985608
Shultz, C., Hoek, J., Lee, L., Leong, W. Y., Srinivasan, R., Viswanathan, M., and Wertenbroch,
K. (2022), “JPPandM’s Global Perspective and Impact: An Agenda for Research on
Marketing and Public Policy,” Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 41(1), 34–50.
https://doi.org/10.1177/07439156211049216
Sharma, K. D., and Jain, S. (2020), “Municipal solid waste generation, composition, and
management: the global scenario,” Social Responsibility Journal, 16(6), 917–948.
https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-06-2019-0210
Stern, P. C. (2020), “A reexamination on how behavioral interventions can promote household
action to limit climate change,” Nature Communications, 11(1), 10–12.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-14653-x
Stoeva, K., and Alriksson, S. (2017), “Influence of recycling programmes on waste separation
behavior,” Waste Management, 68, 732–741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.06.005
385
Tashakkori, A., and Creswell, J. W. (2007), “Exploring the nature of research questions in mixed
methods research,” Journal of mixed methods research, 1(3), 207-211.
Taylor, S., and Todd, P. (1995), “Understanding Household Garbage Reduction Behavior: A
Test of an Integrated Model,” Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 14(2), 192–204.
https://doi.org/10.1177/074391569501400202
Tian, J., Gong, Y., Li, Y., Chen, X., Zhang, L., and Sun, Y. (2022), “Can policy implementation
increase public waste sorting behavior? The comparison between regions with and without
waste sorting policy implementation in China,” Journal of Cleaner Production, 363(May),
132401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132401
Trischler, J., Dietrich, T., and Rundle-Thiele, S. (2019), “Co-design: from expert- to user-driven
ideas in public service design,” Public Management Review, 21(11), 1595–1619.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2019.1619810
Van der Werff, E., Vrieling, L., Van Zuijlen, B., and Worrell, E. (2019), “Waste minimization by
households – A unique informational strategy in the Netherlands,” Resources, Conservation
and Recycling, 144(November 2018), 256–266.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.01.032
Varotto, A., and Spagnolli, A. (2017), “Psychological strategies to promote household recycling.
A systematic review with meta-analysis of validated field interventions,” Journal of
Environmental Psychology, 51, 168–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2017.03.011
Wadehra, S., and Mishra, A. (2018), “Encouraging urban households to segregate the waste they
generate: Insights from a field experiment in Delhi, India,” Resources, Conservation and
Recycling, 134(June 2017), 239–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.03.013
Wan, C., Shen, G. Q., and Yu, A. (2014), “The moderating effect of perceived policy
effectiveness on recycling intention,” Journal of Environmental Psychology, 37, 55–60.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2013.11.006
Wang, T., Mukhopadhyay, A., and Patrick, V. M. (2017), “Getting consumers to recycle now!
When and why cuteness appeals influence prosocial and sustainable behavior,” Journal of
Public Policy and Marketing, 36(2), 269–283. https://doi.org/10.1509/jppm.16.089
Wang, H., Liu, X., Wang, N., Zhang, K., Wang, F., Zhang, S., Wang, R., Zheng, P., and
Matsushita, M. (2020), “Key factors influencing public awareness of household solid waste
recycling in urban areas of China: A case study,” Resources, Conservation and Recycling,
158(January), 104813. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104813
Wang, Q., Long, X., Li, L., Kong, L., Zhu, X., and Liang, H. (2020), “Engagement factors for
waste sorting in China: The mediating effect of satisfaction,” Journal of Cleaner
Production, 267, 122046. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122046
Wang, S., Wang, J., Yang, S., Li, J., and Zhou, K. (2020), “From intention to behavior:
Comprehending residents’ waste sorting intention and behavior formation process,” Waste
Management, 113, 41–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2020.05.031
Wang, Y., Long, X., Li, L., Wang, Q., Ding, X., and Cai, S. (2021), “Extending theory of
planned behavior in household waste sorting in China: the moderating effect of
knowledge, personal involvement, and moral responsibility,” Environment, Development
and Sustainability, 23(5), 7230–7250. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-00913-9
Wang, C., Chu, Z., and Gu, W. (2021), “Participate or not: Impact of information intervention on
residents' willingness to sort municipal solid waste,” Journal of Cleaner Production,
318(February), 128591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128591
386
Xiao, S., Dong, H., Geng, Y., and Brander, M. (2018), “An overview of China’s recyclable
waste recycling and recommendations for integrated solutions,” Resources, Conservation
and Recycling, 134(February), 112–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.02.032
Yuriev, A., Dahmen, M., Paillé, P., Boiral, O., and Guillaumie, L. (2020), “Pro-environmental
behaviors through the lens of the theory of planned behavior: A scoping review,”
Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 155(November 2019), 104660.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.104660
Zhang, B., Lai, K. hung, Wang, B., and Wang, Z. (2019), “From intention to action: How do
personal attitudes, facilities accessibility, and government stimulus matter for household
waste sorting?,” Journal of Environmental Management, 233(February 2018), 447–458.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.12.059
Zhang, H., Liu, J., Wen, Z. guo, and Chen, Y. X. (2017), “College students’ municipal solid
waste source separation behavior and its influential factors: A case study in Beijing, China,”
Journal of Cleaner Production, 164, 444–454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.224
Zhang, S., Zhang, M., Yu, X., and Ren, H. (2016), “What keeps Chinese from recycling:
Accessibility of recycling facilities and the behavior,” Resources, Conservation and
Recycling, 109, 176–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2016.02.008
Zhang, Z., and Wang, X. (2020), “Nudging to promote household waste source separation:
Mechanisms and spillover effects,” Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 162(March),
105054. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105054
387
Sustainable Marketing of Metals: A Case Study of Steel
Venkatapparao Mummalaneni, Virginia State University, United States of America
Sustainability has been recognized as a megatrend by competing schools of thought in
macromarketing (Mittelstaedt et al. 2014). While marketing contributes to societal welfare
through customer satisfaction, its effects also include environmental degradation, thereby
negatively impacting long-run societal welfare (Kadirov 2011). Degradation of the natural
environment arising out of marketing transactions imposes economic costs on the society and
such negative externalities must be addressed to sustain social welfare (Varadarajan 2020).
To support sustainable business practices, marketing must re-orient itself and promote
sustainable marketing practices (Parvatiyar and Sheth 2021). In recent years, climate change has
emerged as an existential threat that needs an urgent response from consumers, businesses and
governments. C-suite executives consider it to be a “top three” issue impacting their strategies
and operations and are responding by increasing their sustainability investments (Deloitte 2023).
Holm and Little (2022) declared that “climate change represents both an opportunity and a threat
to marketing and marketing practice” and called macromarketers to take up the challenge to
champion sustainable marketing in their practice and research.
Recognizing the crucial role of co2 emissions in climate change, this article examines steel
industry, one of the largest contributors of co2 gas worldwide. In the rest of the paper, sources of
co2 in the steel industry are analyzed and following the framework proposed by Sheth and
Parvatiyar (2021), solutions are identified in the form of corporate actions and government
actions. The mechanisms, actions and structure (MAS) theory proposed by Layton (2015)
provides a conceptual framework to understand the roles of the participants, their actions and the
formation of new groups and networks in the emerging sustainable steel marketing system.
Greenhouse gas emissions were estimated to have reached 57.8 gigatons (co2 equivalent) in
2022, the highest level ever, in human history (World Emissions Clock 2023). To meet climate
goals, significant changes are needed in the industrial sector. Steel industry contributes about 7%
of the co2 emissions due to its reliance on coal in the production process according to the
Climate TRACE report (Ben M’barek et al 2022) and 28% of industrial emissions. Steel industry
is also highly concentrated, with China accounting for over 50 per cent of global production and
the other advanced economies like EU, U.S., India, Japan and South Korea accounting for over a
quarter of world production.
Given the lack of reliable statistics on co2 production in various sectors, Climate TRACE, a non-
profit organization started tracking emissions using a sophisticated methodology (Zhong 2022).
Climate TRACE has compiled data on the emissions of 800 steel plants around the world that
can be analyzed at the individual plant or country level. They make a distinction between two
ways steel is produced. The traditional manufacturing of steel includes a blast furnace (BF) and
basic oxygenation furnace (BOF) whereas the alternative route involves the electric arc furnace
(EAF). Data show that co2 emissions per ton of steel are consistently lower in the EAF method.
Further, variations are observed across countries in terms of co2 production. This leads to the
388
conclusion that co2 emissions can be reduced by adoption of more effective technologies by
countries at the high end of co2 emissions and the shifting of steel production from the BF/BOF
method to the EAF route where possible.
Table 1: Top 20 Steel Producing Countries and Co2 Emissions
Count
ry
To
tal
ass
ets
Satellit
e-
monito
red
Assets
(Produ
ction
Units)
Total
asset
produc
tion
(Mt)
Satellit
e-
monito
red
produc
tion
(Mt)
Total
asset
emissi
ons
(MtC
O
2
)
Satelli
te-
monit
ored
emissi
ons
(MtC
O
2
)
Total
asset
capa
city
(Mt)
Satelli
te-
monit
ored
capaci
ty
(Mt)
Satellit
e
Monit
ored
Emissi
ons
per
Ton of
Steel
Emissi
ons
per
Ton of
Steel
China
33
2
198
(60%)
818.3
672
1225.
1
1042
1170.
5
911.0
(78%)
1.5506
1.4971
Japan
39
15
(38%)
87.7
65.5
131.3
122.7
119.1
88.2
(74%)
1.8732
8
1.4971
United
States
72
9 (12%)
85.8
22.9
49.9
34.4
116.2
36.7
(32%)
1.5021
8
0.5815
India
45
17
(38%)
71.2
43.8
144.2
95.8
123.8
89.8
(72%)
2.1872
1
2.0252
Russia
26
8 (31%)
66.1
49.1
72
66.1
84.4
62.4
(74%)
1.3462
3
1.0892
South
Korea
15
3 (20%)
64.1
50.1
85.6
82.6
84.5
57 (67%)
1.6487
1.3354
Turke
y
25
3 (12%)
40.4
10.5
21.3
16.2
53.7
13.3
(25%)
1.5428
6
0.5272
Germa
ny
18
8 (44%)
35.4
28.4
42.9
41.4
48.1
36.3
(75%)
1.4577
5
1.2118
Brazil
22
7 (32%)
32.8
21.5
43.1
35.5
47.1
31.1
(66%)
1.6511
6
1.3140
Iran
18
2 (11%)
28.5
3.2
10.3
4.2
38.5
6.3 (16%)
1.3125
0.3614
Italy
23
1 (4%)
22.6
4.1
11.3
7
34.2
11.5
(34%)
1.7073
2
0.5
Mexic
o
14
2 (14%)
18.5
7
12.5
6.7
25.7
12 (47%)
0.9571
4
0.6756
Vietna
m
14
2 (14%)
18.5
9.3
26.2
18.4
24.9
13.1
(53%)
1.9784
9
1.4162
Ukrain
e
11
7 (64%)
17.1
13
32.7
26.6
42.3
34.4
(81%)
2.0461
5
1.9122
389
Taiwa
n
5
2 (40%)
15.5
5
21.8
6.8
19
7.1 (37%)
1.36
1.4064
Spain
14
1 (7%)
14.2
0.9
7.6
1.3
19.1
1.2 (6%)
1.4444
4
0.5352
Indone
sia
6
2 (33%)
13.7
6.5
17.7
10.6
13.7
6.5 (47%)
1.6307
7
1.2919
France
10
2 (20%)
13.1
9
17
16
19.8
11.9
(60%)
1.7777
8
1.2977
Canad
a
8
3 (38%)
11.1
6.3
10.5
8.3
15.5
9.8 (63%)
1.3174
6
0.9459
Egypt
7
1 (14%)
10.3
0.3
2.9
0.5
14.9
2.1 (14%)
1.6666
7
0.2815
Source: Climate TRACE. Last two columns are calculated by the author.
Implementation of the marketing actions suggested by Sheth and Parvatiyar (2021) will help the
cause of sustainable development. Sheth and Parvatiyar (2021) proposed sustainable marketing
for sustainable development, involving corporate actions as well as government actions.
Corporate actions include redesign of products & services, promotion of responsible
consumption, repurposed marketing-mix and reorganized marketing function. Regulatory
policies, reform measures, promotional programs and participative partnerships are proposed as
appropriate government actions.
Layton (2015) integrated insights from social sciences and macromarketing into the MAS theory
to explain the formation and growth of marketing systems. The forces driving the production and
marketing of sustainable steel and the emergence of new actors and networks can be seen more
clearly through the lens of MAS theory. Structure and functions of marketing systems are the
product of social mechanisms including cooperation, specialization and emergence as well as co-
evolution of beliefs and behaviors of participants. Further, actions involving incumbents,
challengers and governance units lead to the formation of emergence of institutional
entrepreneurs, networks and regulatory agencies. Various changes being made in the steel
industry or being proposed at this time point to the emergence of a new system at the macro
level.
On the corporate side, redesigning products for sustainability is a feasible option. Researchers at
the University of Birmingham, U.K. recently announced that use of ‘perovskite’ would not only
reduce co2 emissions by 88% in the BF/BOF production of steel by recycling co2, it would also
reduce costs and recoup the investments in two years (Khan 2023). Promoting ‘reconsumption’
of steel by recycling it to produce new steel through the EAF method would lead to significant
reductions in co2 emissions.
New actors in the form of Swiss Church Aid that sued Holcim, a Swiss Cement maker on behalf
of Indonesian islanders (Ballard 2023B) and Friends of the Earth, an environmental non-profit
group that won a court case involving reduction of carbon emissions in a Dutch court
(McFarlane 2021) are emerging as players in the sustainability system. Intermediaries such as
Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) are developing new methods such as Sectoral
390
Decarbonization Approach (SDA) for a network of large steel companies across continents
(Science Based Targets 2022).
Governmental actions would similarly contribute to the lowering of co2 emissions in the steel
industry. This is especially relevant since significant parts of the steel industry are state-owned in
countries such as China and India. Regulatory policies such as setting emissions standards, when
coordinated across countries, can yield results. If the countries with high levels of emissions such
as China and India can bring the levels down to the levels observed in NAFTA countries,
significant reductions would occur. The injection of $120 million by AncellorMittal into
Bostonmetal, a firm co-founded by MIT researchers (Davey 2023) is an example of participative
partnership strategy.
The need for curtailing the co2 emissions in the steel industry, one of the largest contributors to
the global greenhouse gases, is clearly recognized by corporations and governments. Considering
that the U.N. process that relies on consensus among member countries is too slow to produce
action, countries such as China, India, U.S., and Japan, the largest steel-producing economies
should take responsibility for implementing swift action to decarbonize steel production. Further,
advanced countries should commit to purchasing steel produced with the lowest levels of carbon
emissions, at higher prices if necessary, to prod the industry toward decarbonization (Ballard
2023A). Following the suggestion of Deloitte and RMI (2023), a system-aligned approach with
coordinated policies and programs across supply chains is recommended to speed up the
decarbonization of steel production.
Future macromarketing research must evaluate the results of current decarbonization efforts to
identify the most effective strategies. Industry-focused studies covering sectors such as cement
and chemicals should be conducted to assess and identify effective decarbonization strategies
across major industries contributing to global warming.
References
Ballard, Ed (2023a), “Does Climate Diplomacy Need to Be About Finger-Pointing and
Gridlock?”, Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2023.
Ballard, Ed (2023b), “Fight Over Cement Maker’s Emissions Target Shows Following the
Science Isn’t Easy”, Wall Street Journal, Februay 8, 2023.
Ben ’m barek, Badr, Mason Phillpott and Clement De Daniloff (2022), “Mannufacturing Sector:
Steel”, Accessed at https://climatetrace.org
Davey Ed (2023), “US firm gets $120 million to make ‘green steel’”, Richmond Times-Dispatch,
January 28, 2023, page A-13.
Deloitte (2023) “Deloitte 2023 CxO Sustainability Report.”
Deloitte and RMI (2023) “Systems Change for a Sustainable Future.”
Holm, Sabrina and Vicki Little (2022) “Macromarketing Our Way to a Zero-Carbon Future”,
Journal of Macromarketing, Vol. 42(2), 262-266.
Kadirov, Djavionbek (2011) “Macro-Systems Role of Marketing: Do We Trade Environment for
Welfare?” Journal of Macromarketing, Vol. 31(4), 359-375.
391
Khan, Yusuf (2023), “Steelmaking is Trying to Make ITSELF Greener and Researchers MAY
Have Found a Way”, Wallstreet Journal, January 25, 2023.
Layton Roger A. (2015), “Formation, Growth, and Adaptive Change in Marketing Systems”,
Journal of Macromarketing, Vol. 35(3), 302-319.
McFarlane, Sarah (2021), “Shell Ordered by Dutch Court to Cut Carbon Emissions”, Wallstreet
Journal, May 26, 2021.
Mittelstaedt, John D., Clifford J. Shultz II, William E. Kilbourne and Mark Peterson (2014)
“Sustainability as Megatrend: Two Schools of Macromarketing Thought”, Journal of
Macromarketing, Vol. 34(3), 253-264.
Science Based Targets (2022), “Steel Science-Based Target Setting Guidance”, accessed at:
https://sciencebasedtargets.org/resources/files/SBTi-Steel-Guidance-draft.pdf
Sheth, Jagdish N. and Atul Parvatiyar (2021) “Sustainable Marketing: Market-Driving, Not
Market-Driven”, Journal of Macromarketing, Vol. 41(1), 150-165.
Varadarajan, Rajan (2020) “Market Exchanges, Negative Externalities and Sustainability”,
Journal of Macromarketing, Vol. 40(3), 309-318.
World Emissions Clock (2023) Accessed at worldemissions.io
Zhong, Raymond (2022) “Who’s Driving Climate Change? New Data Catalogs 72,000 Polluters
and Counting”, New York Times, November 9, 2022.
392
Anti-Consumption for Macromarketers: A Systematic Literature Review and Research
Agenda of Consumer, Brands and Sustainability
Olavo Pinto, University of Minho, Portugal
Beatriz Casais, University of Minho, Portugal
This study provides a systematic literature review of anti-consumption, highlighting
sustainability, consumer attitudes towards consumption and brand relationships as the three main
themes in the anti-consumption literature. The paper displays the available theories and methods
of the literature to date and shows a comparative analysis of citation records, uncovering the
extant thematic that emerge as sustainability and relationship marketing. The authors explored
micro, meso, and macro approaches to marketing systems, identifying the themes and focus of
each level of analysis. Analyzing how avoiding or subverting consumption creates individual,
shared or structural opportunities, anti-consumption is studied in multiple orientations
(Balderjahn et al. 2018; Chatzidakis and Lee 2013; Iyer and Muncy 2009; Makri et al. 2020).
Initially related to attitudinal study common on psychology (Zavestoski 2002), anti-consumption
has since been subjected to an impressive and extensive theoretical research (Arnould 2007;
Cherrier 2009; Varman and Belk 2009).
The ability to understand and act on consumer behavior has since opened opportunities to
develop and analyze further stages of the consumption chain, and the attention to other
stakeholders, including producers, policymakers, managers, researchers, and the public. Social
issues care for holistic approaches to understand complex systems of change in macromarketing,
with social sustainability and warnings relating to human impact on the environment like climate
change (He, Pan, and Deng 2018; Lewandowska et al. 2018; Liu et al. 2020). Environmental
oriented and sustainable anti-consumption literature reveal many basis of macro level approaches
that this research highlights and validates by analyzing the main themes, keywords and citation
links that show sustainability, alongside consumer-brand relationships research, as key topics of
interest when approaching anti-consumption (Albinsson and Yasanthi Perera 2012; Black and
Cherrier 2010; García-de-Frutos, Ortega-Egea, and Martínez-del-Río 2018; Perera, Hewege, and
Mai 2020; Sekhon and Armstrong Soule 2020).
Considering the macro implications of anti-consumption explained above, extant research is
increasingly interested in uncovering applications such as sustainability, ecology, and waste
reduction (Black and Cherrier 2010; Chatzidakis, Maclaran, and Bradshaw 2012; García-de-
Frutos, Ortega-Egea, and Martínez-del-Río 2018; Seegebarth et al. 2016). Concepts from
different orientations on green preference and reduction of waste already uncover
macromarketing relevance and integrative opportunities from macro level perspective that relies
on the understanding and awareness of micro and meso studies (Albinsson and Yasanthi Perera
2012; Black and Cherrier 2010; García-de-Frutos, Ortega-Egea, and Martínez-del-Río 2018;
Ozanne and Ballantine 2010; Perera, Hewege, and Mai 2020; Sekhon and Armstrong Soule
2020).
Within the anti-consumption literature, the importance of sustainability in a macro perspective is
highlighted through the analysis conducted in this study. The employed methods uncover the
393
contribution and future paths for macromarketing to investigate the underlying goals that
motivate behavioral and branding studies, exploring marketing roles and interactions on anti-
consumption phenomena. A systematic literature review provided a categorization of what
themes compose the literature, and in which and how different levels of analysis are present. A
cluster analysis of the citation links and keywords used in the literature of anti-consumption
provides an overview of these interactions.
Methodology and Results
This systematic literature review on anti-consumption literature follows the PRISMA model for
selecting the included literature (Moher et al. 2009). Conducting a search on the databases Web
of Science (WoS) and Scopus, collected 250 articles from the first, adding 45 unique items with
the late search. Editorials were removed (12), totaling 283 articles until 2021. The themes of
analysis that were categorized and found to be relevant are presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Conceptual orientation of the studies from WoS and Scopus.
Conceptual
Orientation
Nr.
Comment
Consumer
93
Explores consumer behavior towards consumption, including the impact
on consumer wellbeing, and environmental and social influences on
consumer decision.
Sustainability
47
Examines sustainable consumption and production activities from both
the consumer and company perspective, including green marketing
strategies and corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Consumer-
Brand
Relationships
(C.B.R.)
38
Investigate the relationship between consumers and brands, exploring the
impact of brand identity and marketing on consumer behavior and
decision-making.
Alternative
Market
25
Explores alternative markets, such as sharing economy, creative sharing,
car-sharing, land-sharing, dumpster diving, and different alternatives to
traditional practices.
Healthcare
22
Examine the relationship between consumer behaviors, marketing, and
health outcomes, and the initiatives to change consumption or production
practices.
Simplicity
20
Explores the voluntary simplicity movement and other similar approaches
that focus on consuming less and examines their potential benefits
including environmental and individual wellbeing.
394
Policy
16
Examines the role of policies and regulations in shaping consumer
behavior and consumption and production practices.
Boycott
14
Explores the use of boycotts as a tool consumer action to demand change,
usually with social, environmental or sustainable implications.
Country of
Origin (C.O.O.)
8
Explores how countries of origin can imply a detrimental use of some
products examining consumer attitudes towards anti-consumption.
Editorial
12
Articles pertaining to editorials.
These themes constitute an overview that are present on micro meso and macro levels of anti-
consumption. Uncovering the relationship between methods and thematic orientations in the
literature provide future research and extant knowledge about how different empirical testing in
micro studies can be relevant for future macro considerations on policy and environmental
sustainability. Simultaneously, macromarketing can provide an understanding on how gaps in
micro research can be developed with further applications. The level of analysis was further
described and exemplified in Table 2.
Table 2: Level of Analysis and Examples of Studies
Conceptual
Orientation
Level Occurrence in
Literature
Description of Relevant Articles
Consumer
Most of these articles pertain
to the Micro level, with
some applying Meso and
Micro analysis. There are on
a smaller scale some Macro
analysis.
This topic has a lot of Micro analysis where the
individual actions and experiences, as the
consumer behavior, is explored (Amine and
Gicquel 2011; Helm, Moulard, and Richins 2015;
Nixon 2020). Regarding meso analysis there is
some articles regarding Individual response to
advertising (Muralidharan 2016) , relationship
with brands (Bettany and Kerrane 2011) while
Kuanr et al. (2021) explores the impact of culture
and group on anti-consumption based on
sustainability. Some examples of macro in this
section contextualizes consumer culture and major
implications ( Coulter and Strizhakova 2019) and
the analysis of consumer discourse towards the
structures ( Díaz, Merino, and Valor 2017).
Sustainability
Sustainability has most of
it's papers on Macro Level,
following by some that
combine Macro and Micro
and some that are Micro.
This category has many examples of macro level
of analysis, including historical, political and
social implications of anti-consumption
(Witkowski 2020) developing subculture
categorizations (Hewege, Mai, and Perera 2020)
and implications of macro implications that affect
individual (Chatzidakis and Shaw 2018). There are
also examples of meso Chatzidakis et al. (2012)
395
and micro focused research in this topic like Philp
and Nepomuceno (2020).
Consumer-
Brand
Relationships
(C.B.R.)
The vast majority of these
articles pertain to Meso and
Micro analysis.
The majority are of meso orientation, where the
analysis is the consumer behavior in his relation
with brands, brand controlled environments,
products or services (Atwal and Bryson 2018;
Chou, Liao, and Lin 2015)
Alternative
Market
This category, despite
focusing mainly on Micro,
Meso and a combination of
both, also presents some
articles of Macro or in
combination with Meso and
Micro.
For example there are studies in macro and micro,
like Ozanne and Ozanne (2016) who analyses a
method of alternative market that solves global
social issues, while also explores ethnographic
analysis of micro experiences. For micro Bardhi
and Eckhardt (2012) analyses consumers and and
their relation with brands. Examples of meso are
especially on research on collaborative markets,
like P2P and land share, where those communities
are analyzed (McArthur 2015; Philip, Ozanne, and
Ballantine 2015)
Healthcare
These category has a
balanced distribution of
Micro, Macro and Meso
levels of analysis.
This theme contains articles with macro
approaches to vaccination (Chaney and Lee 2022;
Demirbag Kaplan and Cem Kaplan 2011) drinking
(Fry 2010, 2011; Hackley et al. 2015; Piacentini
and Banister 2009) but also includes meso levels
of analysis on the relationship with the marketing
system or organization (Armstrong Soule and
Sekhon 2019; Nayal, Pandey, and Paul 2021).
Micro approaches are mainly focused in the
consumer behavior according to food and nutrition
like (Allen, Goddard, and Farmer 2018;
Muhammad et al. 2020).
Simplicity
The vast majority of these
are on Micro, following by
those who combine Meso
and Micro, and then Macro.
The orientation towards simplicity comes with
many studies of micro approaches, including the
individual assessment of psychological factors
(Nepomuceno and Laroche 2015) and consumer
attitudes (Lee 2019). Some studies include some
meso dimensions, like the relationship with the
management of social activities (Chugani, Peifer,
and Roos 2020) and the relationship with the
markets (Shaw and Moraes 2009).
Policy
These category has a
balanced distribution of
Macro and Meso levels of
analysis, with few items on
Micro.
Policy has examples of studies on meso about
advertising (Walter 2013) and relationship with
brands (Cova and D’Antone 2016). Most are
related to macro approaches like policy impact and
effects on society (Ahamad, Omar, and Zen 2013)
discourse analysis (Gao 2018) subcultures
396
exploration (Anderson, Hamilton, and Tonner
2018) and other macro analysis of anti-
consumption implications.
Boycott
This category focus mainly
on Meso, Micro and a
combination of both.
This theme focus on the consumer behavior and
intention to boycott brands, and studies like
Yuksel et al. (2020). Others pertain more to a
meso level of analysis on the interaction with the
organizations and brands (Hutter and Hoffmann
2013; Sandıkcı and Ekici 2009).
Country of
Origin
(C.O.O.)
Most of this articles are on
Meso and Maco levels of
analysis.
Country of origin has both macro studies that
interpret many dimensions of social and economic
activity like Varman and Belk (2009) and
subcultures that implement anti-consumption
practices as Sandlin and Milam (2008). Some are
meso oriented with specific C.O.O. cases (Pérez-
Mesa, Sánchez-Fernández, Serrano-Arcos 2018)
with focus on specific brands and countries
(Ashraf, Khan and Malik 2019) and other like
Antonia Russell et al. (2011) focusing on specific
industries like cinema.
Editorial
N/A
To highlight the major connections of anti-consumption themes, citations, and keywords in
scientific publications on the Web of Science database were analyzed using VOSViewer. It
provides a visualization of relationships by citations that links publications, while determines
clusters publications by defining the targeted size (van Eck and Waltman 2010). This method
creates a visual representation of the three main clusters, presented in figure 1, where blue
represents negative consumer-brand relationship, green sustainability, and red the anti-
consumption theory and consumer core literature. To retrieve the three main clusters in the
literature, it was determined to use the document citation links of all the documents with 10
citations or more. This used a total of 157 articles that had citation links between them. To
achieve the 3 major clusters, the minimum number of cluster size was set to 30, that were then
analyzed.
The first cluster identified in the anti-consumption literature , is ‘anti-consumption and consumer
behavior’, marked in red, where theoretical and general approach to the consumer behavior is the
highlight. This cluster has some publications that are near, or sometimes, overlapping
sustainability themes, but has a whole they are theory defining of anti-consumption behaviors in
individuals (Zavestoski 2002) or cultural identities (Cherrier 2009). This first broad cluster
overlaps and is near the second cluster, ‘Environmental and Sustainable Anti-consumption’,
which is represented in green. It includes studies based on market and economic systems that can
contribute to anti-consumption (Bardhi and Eckhardt 2012), cultural identities and activities that
have an underlying sustainable goals and ethical implications ( Bradshaw, Chatzidakis, and
Maclaran 2012). Last, the wellbeing and welfare of lifestyle and consumer choices with
397
sustainable implications (Seegebarth et al. 2016). The third cluster called ‘Consumer Brand-
Relationships’ is the smallest and is represented in blue, with and emphasized distance from the
others. It focuses on marketing and negative branding interactions, like brand hate and negative-
brand relationships (Atwal, Bryson, and Hultén 2013; Delzen, Fetscherin, and Hegner 2017).
Figure 1: The 3 Main Clusters in Anti-Consumption Literature
Author keywords most linked by citations offered an additional perspective over these defined
clusters. By choosing keywords with a frequency of at least 3, in different publications, the
clusters were created with a resolution of 1.0 and a minimum cluster size of 10. The results
clearly reveal similar patterns to those that were analyzed in citation links. Also identified is the
link between the Anti-Consumption and Consumer Behavior in red, with Consumer-Brand
Relationship keywords in blue, with the same overlapping from previous analysis.
Environmental and Sustainable Anti-consumption remains in the green cluster of keywords in
figure 2.
398
Figure 2. The 3 Main Clusters in Keywords Used by Anti-Consumption Literature
Conclusion
The potential of anti-consumption is vast and can be applied across different levels of application
and its integrative models (Iyer and Muncy 2009). With successful implementations in macro
approaches, the opportunities that anti-consumption research can create are twofold. One, for the
role of anti-consumption in sustainable and positive outcomes, positioning marketing as a macro
tool that aims research and policy to improve society; and two, as an integrative opportunity to
inform further research that overtakes multiple levels of research.
Macro avenues that highlighted from the Environmental and Sustainable Anti-consumption
cluster show how anti-consumption can improve sustainability through innovations on circular
economy (Bardhi and Eckhardt 2012), alternative markets, and sharing (Ozanne and Ballantine
2010; Philip, Ozanne, and Ballantine 2015). It also relate to public policies interact with
399
consumption and production by contributing to sustainability, for example, by regulating product
life spans (Scott and Weaver 2018). Another avenues are on the implications from social and
economic contribution to anti-consumption with sustainability and environmental purposes and
goals, manifested in society in different cultural phenomena and groups (Moraes, Szmigin, and
Carrigan 2010; Perera, Auger, and Klein 2018) generating a purpose of wellbeing and welfare in
the search for sustainability (Hüttel, Balderjahn, and Hoffmann 2020; Seegebarth et al. 2016).
Finally, longitudinal studies can bring interesting avenues of research to further investigate how
anti-consumption is impacting sustainability, and also how specific applications are impacting
industries and business (Sharp, Høj, and Wheeler 2010).
References
Albinsson, Pia A. and B. Yasanthi Perera (2012), “Alternative marketplaces in the 21st century:
Building community through sharing events: Alternative marketplaces in the 21st
century,” Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 11 (4), 303–15.
Allen, Shannon, Ellen Goddard, and Anna Farmer (2018), “How knowledge, attitudes, and
beliefs impact dairy anti-consumption,” British Food Journal, 120 (10), 2304–16.
Amine, Abdelmajid and Yohan Gicquel (2011), “Rethinking resistance and anti‐consumption
behaviours in the light of the concept of deviance,” European Journal of Marketing, 45
(11/12), 1809–19.
Anderson, Stephanie, Kathy Hamilton, and Andrea Tonner (2018), “‘They Were Built to Last’:
Anticonsumption and the Materiality of Waste in Obsolete Buildings,” Journal of Public
Policy & Marketing, 37 (2), 195–212.
Antonia Russell, Cristel, Dale W. Russell, and Peter C. Neijens (2011), “Consumption
expressions of ideological resistance,” European Journal of Marketing, 45 (11/12),
1715–24.
Armstrong Soule, Catherine Anne and Tejvir Sekhon (2019), “Preaching to the middle of the
road: Strategic differences in persuasive appeals for meat anti-consumption,” British
Food Journal, 121 (1), 157–71.
Arnould, Eric J. (2007), “Should Consumer Citizens Escape the Market?,” The ANNALS of the
American Academy of Political and Social Science, 611 (1), 96–111.
Balderjahn, Ingo, Mathias Peyer, Barbara Seegebarth, Klaus-Peter Wiedmann, and Anja Weber
(2018), “The many faces of sustainability-conscious consumers: A category-independent
typology,” Journal of Business Research, 91, 83–93.
Bardhi, Fleura and Giana M. Eckhardt (2012), “Access-Based Consumption: The Case of Car
Sharing: Table 1.,” Journal of Consumer Research, 39 (4), 881–98.
Bettany, Shona and Ben Kerrane (2011), “The (post‐human) consumer, the (post‐avian) chicken
and the (post‐object) Eglu: Towards a material‐semiotics of anti‐consumption,” European
Journal of Marketing, 45 (11/12), 1746–56.
Black, Iain R. and Helene Cherrier (2010), “Anti-consumption as part of living a sustainable
lifestyle: daily practices, contextual motivations and subjective values,” Journal of
Consumer Behaviour, 9 (6), 437–53.
Bryson, Douglas and Glyn Atwal (2018), “Brand hate: the case of Starbucks in France,” British
Food Journal.
400
Bryson, Douglas, Glyn Atwal, and Peter Hultén (2013), “Towards the conceptualisation of the
antecedents of extreme negative affect towards luxury brands,” Qualitative Market
Research: An International Journal, 16 (4), 393–405.
Chaney, Damien and Michael SW Lee (2022), “COVID‐19 vaccines and anti‐consumption:
Understanding anti‐vaxxers hesitancy,” Psychology & Marketing, 39 (4), 741–54.
Chatzidakis, Andreas and Michael S. W. Lee (2013), “Anti-Consumption as the Study of
Reasons against,” Journal of Macromarketing, 33 (3), 190–203.
Chatzidakis, Andreas, Pauline Maclaran, and Alan Bradshaw (2012), “Heterotopian space and
the utopics of ethical and green consumption,” Journal of Marketing Management, 28 (3–
4), 494–515.
Chatzidakis, Andreas and Deirdre Shaw (2018), “Sustainability: Issues of Scale, Care and
Consumption: Sustainability: Issues of Scale, Care and Consumption,” British Journal of
Management, 29 (2), 299–315.
Cherrier, Hélène (2009), “Anti-consumption discourses and consumer-resistant identities,”
Journal of Business Research, 62 (2), 181–90.
Cova, Bernard and Simona D’Antone (2016), “Brand Iconicity vs. Anti-Consumption Well-
Being Concerns: The Nutella Palm Oil Conflict,” Journal of Consumer Affairs, 50 (1),
166–92.
Demirbag Kaplan, Melike and Yusuf Cem Kaplan (2011), “Anti‐consumption of public services:
vacci(not)ion for Swine Flu,” Management Research Review, 34 (3), 353–63.
van Eck, Nees Jan and Ludo Waltman (2010), “Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer
program for bibliometric mapping,” Scientometrics, 84 (2), 523–38.
Fry, Marie-Louise (2010), “Countering consumption in a culture of intoxication,” Journal of
Marketing Management, 26 (13–14), 1279–94.
Fry, Marie-Louise (2011), “Discourses of Consumer’s Alcohol Resistant Identities,” Journal of
Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 23 (4), 348–66.
Gao, Zhihong (2018), “Mapping the official discourse of frugality in China between 1979 and
2015,” Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 10 (2), 151–74.
García-de-Frutos, Nieves, José Manuel Ortega-Egea, and Javier Martínez-del-Río (2018), “Anti-
consumption for Environmental Sustainability: Conceptualization, Review, and
Multilevel Research Directions,” Journal of Business Ethics, 148 (2), 411–35.
Hackley, Chris, Andrew Bengry-Howell, Christine Griffin, Isabelle Szmigin, Willm Mistral, and
Rungpaka Amy Hackley (2015), “Transgressive drinking practices and the subversion of
proscriptive alcohol policy messages,” Journal of Business Research, Special Issue on
Problem Gambling, Drinking, and Smoking, 68 (10), 2125–31.
He, Qijun Pan, and Zhongqiang Deng (2018), “Product carbon footprint for product life cycle
under uncertainty,” Journal of Cleaner Production, 187, 459–72.
Hegner, Sabrina M., Marc Fetscherin, and Marianne van Delzen (2017), “Determinants and
outcomes of brand hate,” Journal of Product & Brand Management, 26 (1), 13–25.
Helm, Amanda E., Julie Guidry Moulard, and Marsha Richins (2015), “Consumer cynicism:
developing a scale to measure underlying attitudes influencing marketplace shaping and
withdrawal behaviours: Consumer cynicism: developing a scale,” International Journal
of Consumer Studies, 39 (5), 515–24.
Hüttel, Alexandra, Ingo Balderjahn, and Stefan Hoffmann (2020), “Welfare Beyond
Consumption: The Benefits of Having Less,” Ecological Economics, 176, 106719.
401
Hutter, Katharina and Stefan Hoffmann (2013), “Carrotmob and Anti-consumption: Same
Motives but Different Willingness to Make Sacrifices?,” Journal of Macromarketing, 33
(3), 217–31.
Iyer, Rajesh and James A. Muncy (2009), “Purpose and object of anti-consumption,” Journal of
Business Research, 62 (2), 160–68.
Khan, Muhammad Asif, Rohail Ashraf, and Aneela Malik (2019), “Do identity-based
perceptions lead to brand avoidance? A cross-national investigation,” Asia Pacific
Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 31 (4), 1095–1117.
Kuanr, Abhisek, Duraipandian Israel, Debasis Pradhan, and Himadri Roy Chaudhuri (2021),
“Can we anti-consume our way to sustainability? Finding answers at the intersection of
cultural values,” Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 20 (5), 1051–64.
Lee, HeeJung (2019), “The effect of anti-consumption lifestyle on consumer’s attitude and
purchase intention toward commercial sharing systems,” Asia Pacific Journal of
Marketing and Logistics, 31 (5), 1422–41.
Lewandowska, Anna, Joanna Witczak, Pasquale Giungato, Christian Dierks, Przemyslaw
Kurczewski, and Katarzyna Pawlak-Lemanska (2018), “Inclusion of Life Cycle Thinking
in a Sustainability-Oriented Consumer’s Typology: A Proposed Methodology and an
Assessment Tool,” Sustainability, 10 (6), 1826.
Liao, Shuling, Cindy Yunhsin Chou, and Tzu-Han Lin (2015), “Adverse behavioral and
relational consequences of service innovation failure,” Journal of Business Research, 68
(4), 834–39.
Liu, Yang, Yingfeng Zhang, Shan Ren, Miying Yang, Yutao Wang, and Donald Huisingh
(2020), “How can smart technologies contribute to sustainable product lifecycle
management?,” Journal of Cleaner Production, 249, 119423.
Makri, Katerina, Bodo B. Schlegelmilch, Robert Mai, and Katharina Dinhof (2020), “What we
know about anticonsumption: An attempt to nail jelly to the wall,” Psychology &
Marketing, 37 (2), 177–215.
McArthur, Ellen (2015), “Many-to-many exchange without money: why people share their
resources,” Consumption Markets & Culture, 18 (3), 239–56.
Moher, David, Alessandro Liberati, Jennifer Tetzlaff, Douglas G. Altman, and The PRISMA
Group (2009), “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses:
The PRISMA Statement,” PLOS Medicine, 6 (7), e1000097.
Moraes, Caroline, Isabelle Szmigin, and Marylyn Carrigan (2010), “Living production‐engaged
alternatives: An examination of new consumption communities,” Consumption Markets
& Culture, 13 (3), 273–98.
Muhammad, Syed, Hormoz Ahmadi, Gary Mortimer, Harjit Sekhon, Husni Kharouf, and Charles
Jebarajakirthy (2020), “The Interplay of Positive and Negative Emotions to Quit
Unhealthy Consumption Behaviors: Insights for Social Marketers,” Australasian
Marketing Journal, 28 (4), 349–60.
Muralidharan, Sidharth (2016), “Spoofing: social commentary or effective marketing tool?
Testing promotion vs. prevention message frames in college students’ fight against
obesity,” Social Influence, 11 (3), 151–65.
Nayal, Preeti, Neeraj Pandey, and Justin Paul (2021), “Covid-19 pandemic and consumer-
employee-organization wellbeing: A dynamic capability theory approach,” Journal of
Consumer Affairs, n/a (n/a).
402
Nepomuceno, Marcelo Vinhal and Michel Laroche (2015), “The impact of materialism and anti-
consumption lifestyles on personal debt and account balances,” Journal of Business
Research, 68 (3), 654–64.
Nixon, Elizabeth (2020), “The fool, the hero, and the sage: narratives of non-consumption as role
distance from an urban consumer-self,” Consumption Markets & Culture, 23 (1), 44–60.
Ozanne, Lucie K. and Paul W. Ballantine (2010), “Sharing as a form of anti-consumption? An
examination of toy library users,” Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 9 (6), 485–98.
Ozanne, Lucie K. and Julie L. Ozanne (2016), “How alternative consumer markets can build
community resiliency,” European Journal of Marketing, 50 (3/4), 330–57.
Peifer, Jared L., Sunaina Chugani, and J. Micah Roos (2020), “The ethical underpinnings of
nonmaterialistic values and voluntary simplicity behavior in the United States,”
Psychology & Marketing, 37 (2), 232–49.
Perera, Chamila, Pat Auger, and Jill Klein (2018), “Green Consumption Practices Among Young
Environmentalists: A Practice Theory Perspective,” Journal of Business Ethics, 152 (3),
843–64.
Perera, Chamila R., Chandana R. Hewege, and Cai V. C. Mai (2020), “Theorising the emerging
green prosumer culture and profiling green prosumers in the green commodities market,”
Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 19 (4), 295–313.
Philip, Heather E., Lucie K. Ozanne, and Paul W. Ballantine (2015), “Examining temporary
disposition and acquisition in peer-to-peer renting,” Journal of Marketing Management,
31 (11–12), 1310–32.
Philp, Matthew and Marcelo Vinhal Nepomuceno (2020), “When the frugal become wasteful:
An examination into how impression management can initiate the end‐stages of
consumption for frugal consumers,” Psychology & Marketing, 37 (2), 326–39.
Piacentini, Maria G. and Emma N. Banister (2009), “Managing anti-consumption in an excessive
drinking culture,” Journal of Business Research, 62 (2), 279–88.
Sandıkcı, Özlem and Ahmet Ekici (2009), “Politically motivated brand rejection,” Journal of
Business Research, 62 (2), 208–17.
Sandlin, Jennifer A. and Jennifer L. Milam (2008), “‘Mixing Pop (Culture) and Politics’:
Cultural Resistance, Culture Jamming, and Anti-Consumption Activism as Critical Public
Pedagogy,” Curriculum Inquiry, 38 (3), 323–50.
Scott, Kristin A. and S. Todd Weaver (2018), “The Intersection of Sustainable Consumption and
Anticonsumption: Repurposing to Extend Product Life Spans,” Journal of Public Policy
& Marketing, 37 (2), 291–305.
Seegebarth, Barbara, Mathias Peyer, Ingo Balderjahn, and Klaus-Peter Wiedmann (2016), “The
Sustainability Roots of Anticonsumption Lifestyles and Initial Insights Regarding Their
Effects on Consumers’ Well-Being,” Journal of Consumer Affairs, 50 (1), 68–99.
Sekhon, Tejvir S. and Catherine A. Armstrong Soule (2020), “Conspicuous anticonsumption:
When green demarketing brands restore symbolic benefits to anticonsumers,” Psychology
& Marketing, 37 (2), 278–90.
Serrano-Arcos, M. Mar, Juan Carlos Pérez-Mesa, and Raquel Sánchez-Fernández (2018),
“Product-country image and crises in the Spanish horticultural sector: Classification and
impact on the market,” Economía Agraria y Recursos Naturales, 18 (1), 111.
Sharp, Anne, Stine Høj, and Meagan Wheeler (2010), “Proscription and its impact on anti-
consumption behaviour and attitudes: the case of plastic bags,” Journal of Consumer
Behaviour, 9 (6), 470–84.
403
Shaw, Deirdre and Caroline Moraes (2009), “Voluntary simplicity: an exploration of market
interactions,” International Journal of Consumer Studies, 33 (2), 215–23.
Strizhakova, Yuliya and Robin Coulter (2019), “Consumer cultural identity: local and global
cultural identities and measurement implications,” International Marketing Review, 36
(5), 610–27.
Valor, Carmen, Estela M. Díaz, and Amparo Merino (2017), “The Discourse of the Consumer
Resistance Movement: Adversarial and Prognostic Framings through the Lens of Power,”
Journal of Macromarketing, 37 (1), 72–84.
Varman, Rohit and Russell W. Belk (2009), “Nationalism and Ideology in an Anticonsumption
Movement,” Journal of Consumer Research, 36 (4), 686–700.
Walter, Carla Stalling (2013), “Dancing around Anti Consumption Social Marketing – A
Theoretical Approach,” in Research in Consumer Behavior, R. W. Belk, L. Price, and L.
Peñaloza, eds., Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 245–62.
Witkowski, Terrence H. (2020), “Broadening Anti-Consumption Research: A History of Right-
Wing Prohibitions, Boycotts, and Resistance to Sustainability,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 0276146720983420.
Yuksel, Ulku, Nguyen T. Thai, and Michael S. W. Lee (2020), “Boycott them! No, boycott this!
Do choice overload and small‐agent rationalization inhibit the signing of anti‐
consumption petitions?,” Psychology & Marketing, 37 (2), 340–54.
Zavestoski, Stephen (2002), “The social-psychological bases of anticonsumption attitudes,”
Psychology and Marketing, 19 (2), 149–65.
Zen, Irina Safitri, Rahmalan Ahamad, and Wahid Omar (2013), “No plastic bag campaign day in
Malaysia and the policy implication,” Environment, Development and Sustainability, 15
(5), 1259–69.
404
FIFA’s Greenest Football Club: Delivering and Disseminating Social Innovations at Forest
Green Rovers
Dr Anthony Samuel, Cardiff University Business School, United Kingdom
Cathy McGouran, University of Liverpool Management School, United Kingdom
Robert Thomas, Cardiff University Business School, United Kingdom
Gareth R.T. White, Cranfield University School of Management, United Kingdom
Forest Green Rovers (FGR) has emerged in the English Football League as a champion of social
innovation. It has been hailed as ‘The World’s Greenest Football Club’ by FIFA, and the club
has disrupted how a football club can be managed and radically changed the game-day
experience. This paper examines how a suite of social innovations at FGR has been introduced,
embedded, shared, and adopted by others. The study follows a multi-phase qualitative approach
and demonstrates FGR’s successful implementation of a wide range of social innovations that
have proved crucial in imbuing social actors to make positive social changes. The paper
concludes by proffering an extended conceptual framework of the critical elements that enable
the successful implementation of social innovations in a professional sporting context.
Introduction
Embedded in the heart of social discourse and with its origins linked to community, industry, and
urban revolution (Hardy et al. 2012; Shrives and Slack 2008), football is considered the
“undisputed, pre-eminent team sport in the world” (Schyns et al. 2016). It is the ‘king’ of sports
(Araujo, de Carlos, and Fraiz 2014), with half the world’s population actively supporting the
game (Nielson Sports 2018). Football is both entertainment and big business (Blumrodt et al.
2013; Clowes and Tapp 2002).
Football is never far from scrutiny and critique (Brunzell and Söderman 2012), with Lee (1998,
p.32) suggesting that the English game ‘displays all the symptoms of inequality, short-termism
and greed’. However, the football literature indicates that the sport is shedding its atavistic,
profit-centric approach and acknowledging the necessity of engagement with multiple external
actors (Megheirkouni et al. 2018). A significant area of change for football has been its
immersion into socially responsible and sustainable practices (Kolyperas et al. 2015).
Consequently, the following study aims to investigate Social Innovation as a driver for Social
Change in the context of professional football. However, such changes demand new
organisational actors (Anagnostopoulos & Shilbury 2013), such as Forest Green Rovers Football
Club. Following unprecedented access and three years of research at FGR, this paper is the first
to empirically explore the application of social innovations in professional football. In doing so,
it seeks to address the following research question ‘How can social innovations be introduced
and embedded within a professional sporting institution’?
Introducing a New Actor
Forest Green Rovers (FGR) has been an integral part of the small town of Nailsworth since 1889.
In 2017, it was promoted to League Division Two, but the wave of media attention that followed
had little to do with its footballing success. Instead, the media was attracted to the club’s
chairman - entrepreneur, Dale Vince and the sustainable practices he has championed since
405
taking over the club in 2010. Headlines and reports included ‘Forest Green Rovers- the club
where meat is off the menu, and the pitch is fed seaweed’ (The Times, 2017). More recently, the
‘Vegan Football Club Unveils Its Sustainable Uniform Made from Bamboo’ (Plantbasednews
2019).
From the organic seaweed-fed pitch, the solar panel-charged floodlights, recycled water systems,
energy-saving heating systems, and charging points for electric cars to the more novel practices
of players’ kit being made from bamboo, championing family and feminist values, and all staff
(including the professional football players) and visitors (fans and dignitaries) only being served
vegan food, FGR demonstrates a radical shift from the traditional football club (FGR
Sustainability, 2017).
In recognition of these achievements, in July 2018, The United Nations officially certified FGR
as ‘the world’s first carbon-neutral football club’ and recruited Dale Vince as a UN Climate
Change ambassador (The Guardian 2018). In addition, the club became the world’s first
accredited vegan football club (Vegan Society 2015), and FIFA, the sport’s governing body,
labelled it as the ‘world’s greenest football club’ (BBC 2018).
The FT (2019) suggest that FGR’s sustainability initiatives are a ‘big winner’, and in 2018 the
club reached a turnover of £4,921,685, which is approximately 19% higher than other clubs
playing at the same level (FGR Footprint Report 2019). FGR continue to advance their
sustainability credentials, and in 2018 reported a 16% reduction in carbon emissions, a 44%
reduction in individual spectator’s carbon footprint, a 40% reduction in energy use and a 57%
reduction in water consumption (IBID). Furthermore, the club is now building the world’s first
all-wooden 5,000-capacity Eco Park stadium that is set to be ‘the greenest football stadium in the
world.’ (The Guardian B 2018).
FGR is singular among clubs in a traditionally masculine sporting environment. Globally
recognised as a champion of sustainability and social innovation, it represents a unique landscape
to study how SIs may be employed in the world’s most popular professional sport and embedded
within a professional sporting institution.
Literature Review
Social Innovation and Sustainability
Social innovation is about developing new ideas that successfully meet social objectives. It
consists of “innovative activities and services motivated by the goal of meeting a social need”
(Mulgan, 2007, p. 8). SI is increasingly seen as a tool for addressing environmental, economic
and social challenges, such as restructuring markets towards sustainability and reimagining
cities, transport systems and housing to reduce carbon emissions (Phillips et al. 2015; Repo and
Matschoss 2019).
Social Innovation
Social and environmental issues have become increasingly salient to sport (Kolyperas et al.,
2015). Team sports, such as football, are particularly influential in this shift as they are more
likely to influence social behaviours (Breitbarth et al. 2015). Football’s desire to distance itself
from unethical behaviours has grown. It is now overwhelming (Jessel and Mendelewitsch 2007).
406
However, it remains unclear whether this transition is simple compliance or a genuine epiphany
predicated upon values that are shared with society (Freeman et al., 2004).
Social Innovations (SI) that reduce the deleterious impacts of business (Phillips et al., 2019;
Carvalho et al. 2018; Yao et al. 2019) should result in what Rennings (2000) refers to as the ‘two
positive externalities’ of reducing negative impact and creating positive knowledge that might be
beneficial to others. Windrum et al. (2016) note that a broad spectrum of organisation
stakeholders can be engaged in SI, and when these are aligned, they can better seek and address
societal challenges. Rogers (2003) suggests that the most efficient way to disseminate innovation
of any kind is to adopt or create an environment that is ‘homophilous’. That is, where
stakeholders share a common connection as ‘innovations are in constant tension between the
innovation itself and the surrounding systems necessary for or to facilitate adoption’ (Hitz and
Katsanis 2014).
A few attempts have been made to develop conceptual frameworks to further academic studies of
SI. For example, Saji and Ellingstad’s (2016) model captures the different social actors and their
communication levels when engaged in SI projects. Aksoy et al. (2019) developed a framework
for SI in service offerings, while Ziegler (2017) captured the collaborative processes in SI.
Cajaiba-Santana’s (2014) research proffers a novel and comprehensive conceptual framework to
investigate SI as a driver for social change (Figure 1).
Operationalising this framework in the context of professional football, the ‘footballing
institutions’ that are of immediate influence are FGR, as the landscape in which SIs are
implemented, and FIFA, which has recognised the club’s endeavours. Other ‘non-footballing
institutions’ that are also influential comprise the wider society within which FGR and football
operate and the United Nations that recognised Dale Vince’s personal commitment to
sustainability (Guardian 2018). The ‘intra-group’ is conceptualised as the practices of the staff
and supporters of FGR. The ‘inter-group’ represent football stakeholders, such as visiting fans
and other clubs, and the ‘extra-group’ represent stakeholders not immediately concerned with the
footballing aspects of FGR, such as the residents of Nailsworth and Forest Green.
407
Figure 1. A Schematic Conceptual Model of the Social Innovation Process in Cajaiba-
Santana, G. (2014). Social Innovation: Moving the field forward. A conceptual framework.
Technology Forecasting & Social Change, 82, p.48.
Methodology
This study adopted a multi-phase approach comprising an extended period of case study research
comprising participant observation, triangulated with three focus groups and a series of 61 semi-
structured interviews, see Table 1: Data Sets Collected and Analysed. This design constituted
what Benkwitz and Molnar (2012) refer to as the ‘self-immersion’ approach that also enabled the
triangulation and confirmation of findings (Cain, Chamberlain, Dupuis, and Sheridan 2011). All
fieldwork and data analysis were conducted by (withheld for reviewing purposes) following
ethical approval from (withheld for reviewing purposes) and ratification by FGR’s board of
directors.
408
Table 1: Data Sets Collected and Analysed
Data sets
Data
Matches attended as an FGR supporter
27 Matches attended over three seasons in
Division 2 of The English Football League.
Field Notes of 27,852 words of data, plus 64
photographs.
Invitations to FGR Run Events: 9 in total
Interviews with FGR Management &
Workforce:
25 in total, all conducted at the New Lawn
FGR
32.5 hours of interviews in total were
captured, resulting in transcripts of 76,889
words.
Interviews with FGR Supporters:
23 in total, all conducted at The New Lawn
FGR
Interviews with FGR’s Local Community
17 in total, all conducted in the Villages of
Nailsworth/Forest Green
Focus Groups with UK Football Fans:
3 in total conducted at The New Lawn FGR
and The Egypt Mill Hotel, Nailsworth.
2.4 hours of recordings, approximately 7,235
transcribed words and 36 photographs.
409
Participant Observation
The lead researcher (Withheld for reviewing purposes) engaged in the everyday practices and
events at FGR over three years. During this period, the ‘life’ of FGR was witnessed through
deliberate and unplanned ‘fortunate encounters’ with the people, events and artefacts of which it
is comprised. Through this, the research captured the meanings of things through the eyes of
those that live them (Peattie and Samuel 2016).
Focus Groups
Focus groups were incorporated to invoke extended discussions of the participants’ perceptions
of FGR (Hamlin et al. 2017). Each group member was asked to photograph interesting or
important aspects of FGR and its grounds, which were used to initiate group discussions
(Bettany and Kerrane 2018).
Interviews
Semi-structured interviews averaging around 53-minute duration were conducted with 61
stakeholders to garner rich insight into the social innovations implemented at FGR and their
resultant influence on individuals (Denscombe 2010). These were conducted at FGR around
Nailsworth and The Arkell community centre in Forest Green during match day.
The interview questions were open-ended and operationalised from the literature (Charmaz
2006) to explore the social initiatives, agents and institutions identified in the research
framework.
Events that were observed and attended during the PAR, the focus group discussions and the
semi-structured interviews were recorded in the form of field notes (Hames and Paolisso 2010)
or on Dictaphone as conditions and participant consent allowed (Duclos 2017): verbal consent
was obtained and participants have been anonymised in all instances (Van den Hoonard, 2003).
The field notes, and recordings were used reflexively to guide the development of further
questions and emergent research themes (Davidson and Halcomb 2006).
Data Analysis
The data sets in Table 1 were thematically analysed according to Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-
stage process. Four key social innovation themes emerged from this analysis; Cleaning Up, Food
for Thought, Personification, and Don’t Forget the Football, all unpacked in the analysis and
discussion below. See Table 2 for further description.
410
Table 2: Six-Stage Thematic Analysis
Stage
ACTIONS
1. Familiarising yourself with the data:
Throughout Phase 1 of the fieldwork the lead
researcher familiarised the other researchers
with the FGR research environment and
shared salient observations and excerpts
from field notes.
After the fieldwork was complete, all three
researchers read the transcripts and
photographs of the focus groups and
interviews in conjunction with the lead
researcher’s field notes.
2. Generating initial codes:
Each researcher independently coded the
data sets, broadly guided by the research
framework Figure 1).
3. Searching for themes:
Each researcher grouped their initial codes
into logical themes.
4. Reviewing themes:
The researchers compared and contrasted
their interpretations of the dominant themes.
Inter-rater reliability was calculated during
this phase to assess the degree of
concordance among the research team.
Discussions continued until a satisfactory
degree of concordance was achieved.
5. Defining and naming themes:
The researchers collectively agreed upon the
naming convention for the dominant and
emergent themes.
6. Producing the report:
The ‘Data Analysis’ section was crafted.
Analysis and Discussion
This section presents the study’s findings according to the four dominant themes identified
through the analyses. Within these themes are accounts of the SIs implemented, which have
imbued a sense of legitimacy among the key club and social stakeholders due to their concurrent
application. The section then discusses each in terms of Cajaiba-Santana’s (2014) theoretical
framework. It proposes extending the framework to recognise the emergent themes of
‘Personification’ and ‘Don’t Forget About the Football’.
Dominant Themes: “Cleaning Up” and “Food for Thought”
The theme ‘cleaning up’ is based on three distinct findings from the study. First, cleaning up
considered from the perspective of the tangible sustainable and social innovations that reduce the
club’s environmental/ecological impact to become the world’s first carbon-neutral, greenest
football club (Guardian 2018):
411
‘It’s run differently with sustainability and being eco-friendly. When I think of Forest Green
Rovers, that’s the biggest thing I think about’ (FGR Employee).
Second, the theme expresses FGR’s commitment to changing the often ‘toxic macho dominated’
social environment ‘normally experienced’ when attending and engaging with the sport of
professional football:
‘The people all look out for you. They are not just in it for themselves’ (FGR Academy Player).
Third, cleaning up is considered from the position of understanding and determining the pursuit
of club sponsorship and promotion at FGR being regulated to ‘fit’ with the social and
environmental ethos of the chairman and the club:
‘We are very picky about our sponsorship, and if we can green them up a little bit more, imagine
what they are going to be like in ten years’ (FGR Management).
The fourth dominant theme, “Food for Thought”, highlights FGR’s decision to limit food
consumption to exclusively Vegan. This has resulted in much chatter and controversy but has
been one of the more successful SIs introduced at FGR.
Cleaning Up Your Own Backyard:
The entrance to FGR’s football stadium is dominated by two novel (at a football ground)
physical symbols that comprise the Ecotricity electric car charging ports in the car park and an
array of solar panels. While it is uncommon to see these at football grounds, their presence in our
urban landscapes is now not unusual. It is among the most accepted symbols of clean/sustainable
energy production and consumption. Consequently, the solar panels were more of an inter-group
indicator, or a ‘reassurance’, that the club endeavoured to improve its environmental
performance.
The novelty of the electric car charging points was not lost on the attendees at match days and
had a much more profound influence. These have had a material effect on visitors since they are
frequently fully booked in advance of match days. Observations often captured people gathering
nearby and partaking in informal discussions around the practicality and apprehensions of
electric car ownership, specifically regarding cost and range reliability. These discussions were
also captured during the focus groups, with participants expressing a desire to learn more about
electric cars while also agonising over their ‘newness’ and the fear of limited supporting
infrastructure:
‘They have the power points where you plug your car in. I’m not sure everyone is ready for this
change yet’ (FGR Staff).
Visitors frequently remarked upon the thought that had gone into the sustainability of every
aspect of the club. For instance, the mention of vegan-only menus, biodegradable containers and
food packaging, and Fairtrade tea, coffee and cola was prevalent in all the data sets. Similarly,
the unique ‘organic and vegan’ approach to managing and maintaining FGR’s playing surface
412
emerges from the data as a constant source of pride, complex intrigue and a means to share
sustainability expertise:
‘Trying to have a healthier pitch… they’re real trailblazers’ (Local Journalist).
Recognition for this key ‘complex’ operational practice has moved beyond stakeholder group
understanding/reaction and empathy to become a positive symbol of sustainable disruption and
entrepreneurship from which extra-groups in the sporting world have been keen to learn. FGR’s
desire to share its sustainability knowledge and expertise has resulted in its hosting the leaders of
several world-renowned sporting institutions seeking to implement or advance their playing
surface. For example, Wembley, Wimbledon Tennis Club, Real Bettis Football Club, and Aston
Villa have all been educated by the club’s groundsman and are now in the process of changing
their playing surface management systems:
‘A lot of clubs talk to us about how we manage our pitch. Our groundsman, in particular, talks to
a lot of other groundsmen about what he is doing” (FGR Management).
Cleaning Up the Social Experience:
In a sport recognised for its machismo and a host of unsocial behaviours, many were keen to
express their observations of an entirely different experience at FGR. They described it as
respectful, family-friendly, and suitable for children and parents to enjoy all the experiences
involved in watching football:
‘We are also very strong on our family values. We have a sense of kindness about how we
approach things’ (FGR Management).
The club’s commitment to creating a safe environment is reflected in its ‘young ambassadors’
program and its capacity to bring local children’s voices and activities into the club. There was a
strong sense of pride and value in the programme, and recognition of the club’s values and
respect for children is expressed through its dedicated spaces in match day programmes and the
club’s official website to ‘ambassador blogs’ and other forms of communication:
‘The positives are lots of children. We don’t seem to have many of the hardcore noisy fans
behind the goal’ (FGR Supporter).
At the start of every season, the club gifts five hundred football kits to local children and gives
children free entry to games. This, along with the strong links that have been developed with
local schools through players and staff visits, sustainability education days and vegan cooking
sessions, were all recognised as positive strides in developing the ‘family values’ and friendly
environment:
‘It is very family orientated’ (FGR Supporter).
A substantial proportion of the data emphasises FGR’s attempts to develop community links.
Despite residents’ complaints about traffic and parking congestion on match day, the club’s
commitment to the local economy and stance on social, economic and ecological sustainability.
This was often communicated in the data through a sense of ‘local pride’ and ‘doing the right
413
thing’ as FGR pushed the boundaries of sustainability in an arena that many see as riddled with
multiple layers of hostility. Thus, FGR’s links with local schools and its proactive community
engagement appear to have developed a social foundation of a ‘friendly respectful club’ where
several wicked problems and grand challenges can be questioned, communicated and addressed:
‘By having groups come and enjoy the community stand, they’ll enjoy the food, see all the
charge points, they might become intrigued, so even those little touch points have quite a big
impact’ (FGR Employee).
Some expressed these operational and cultural shifts as the promotion of ‘feminist values’ in a
toxic, male-dominated industry:
‘Talking to away fans, one thing they notice is that we are approachable and friendly. It’s also
the players; they go out to a lot of school visits’ (FGR Staff).
However, despite the number of positives associated with these practices and belief systems, a
word of caution was still present in the data. For example, some said these changes have led to a
less vociferous atmosphere at games than at other football grounds in the same league. This has
led to the club’s friendly and welcoming stance being considered as possibly ‘detrimental’ to
creating the hostility that is considered necessary to give teams a home advantage in a very
competitive sport:
‘Funnily enough, the manager complains…normally when you go to a football match, there’s a
hell of a racket going on behind the goal, and there’s a lot of perhaps loose language and all that
sort of thing. We’re a bit too namby-pamby and too many kids there.’ (FGR Supporter)
The above observation was considered a significant behavioural modification and predicated on
what the ground meant symbolically regarding FGR’s approach to the game. Realistically,
FGR’s home ground should not hold any contemporary relevance or pertinence to an away fan
(beyond the fixture), and arrival in a car park at a sporting event should result in a cacophony as
tensions and excitement build. However, on this occasion, the opposite was manifest and
observed. This marks a considerable change in what may be regarded as the hallowed inter-
group practice of singing, chanting and slogans of rival football fans.
Cleaning Up Sponsorship Affiliation:
The data reveal several significant points relating to FGR’s governance and the resulting
sponsorship on display. The sponsorship from products and services that are either local or
related to sustainability is recognised and perceived to dominate FGR’s landscape. This
‘sponsorship code of conduct’ is recognised by many stakeholders as an authentic demonstration
of the chairman and club’s commitment and holistic approach to sustainability. Sponsorship
brands that are visible and available to try, for example, Quorn and Oat Ly (both available from
the food stall) and Faith in Nature (hand wash in the toilets), are noticed and commented upon.
There is a suggestion in the data that by ‘having no real choice other than these products’, some
stakeholders have felt forced to try certain brands for the first time. However, they have
gradually started to enjoy them and have since introduced them into their ‘family and our
shopping’. Thus, these brands, like vegan food, are also showcased by FGR and, as such, are
tried by their stakeholders in a safe place:
414
‘We’ve learnt that there’s such a thing as Quorn vegan chunks. So, we have gone out and looked
for them’ (FGR Supporter).
Arguably, while these sponsors are identified as a positive, it could also be viewed as nothing
more than a basic brand alignment strategy where both FGR and the sponsor work symbiotically
to ‘authentically’ project both the organisation’s and the brand’s sustainability credentials.
Worthy of particular note is the attention given to the clean energy company Ecotricity, which is
FGR’s main sponsor, and the club’s holding company. For some, the prevalence of Ecotricity
symbols at FGR was a little distasteful and a reminder of the ‘crass commercialisation of the
game’.
However, following exposure to the Ecotricity brand, many visitors engaged in post-match
research into the company’s consumer proposition, with views to transfer from traditional
mainstream energy companies to the ‘greener and cleaner Ecotricity’. Many saw the adverts as a
reminder that clean domestic energy is now ‘easily available’ and ‘worth consideration if the
price was right’. Some expressed their sense of pride by living a more sustainable lifestyle by
switching their energy consumption to a ‘local green company that is both a vital part of the
region and FGR’s infrastructure:
‘Well, we’re now signed up with Ecotricity’ (FGR Supporter).
Last, there were contrasting emotions regarding the other sponsors encountered at the ground.
For example, some recognised and approved the link between FGR’s vision and Sea Shepherd’s
commitment to protecting the world’s oceans:
‘Sea Shepherd, they make Greenpeace look like pussycats don’t they? They’re pretty radical’
(FGR Supporter).
Others questioned the legality of sponsoring a ‘political organisation’ that has ‘nothing to do
with the football’ while some had no idea what the Sea Shepherd’s symbol was (displayed on the
back of FGRs shirt, flags around the ground and later the inspiration for FGRs 3rd playing kit):
‘I don’t know what Sea Shepherd is all about, a kind of angry Greenpeace I think’ (FGR
Supporter).
In summary, the novelty of seeing ‘different brands and products that are ‘good for the
environment’, along with those that are potentiality controversial, does not go unnoticed and
indeed has resulted in several exciting outcomes:
• There is the unquestionably synergistic value of brand alignment in play at FGR.
• ‘Testable’ brands have gained the benefit of being available to try in a ‘safe’ place, and
there is a recognition that this has tipped over into personal consumption for some.
415
• As the primary sponsor, Ecotricity is overwhelmingly viewed with a sense of pride and
social/ecological relevance and is suggested to be a ‘seamless’ relationship that has
tipped many into either enquiring or becoming Ecotricity customers.
Food for Thought:
FGR’s unique stance to choice editing food consumption to an exclusive Vegan menu has proved
to be the most talked about, controversial and possibly successful SI idea the Football club has
implemented:
‘The good thing with this club is that everything around the club and the stadium is vegan but it
gives you the choice it’s not like strict rules and boundaries’ (FGR Team Captain).
How FGR has enacted policies and procedures to adopt and promote this form of food
consumption was an important subject for the focus groups and the interviewees:
‘There seems to be a growing awareness about veganism, but I think our awareness of that has
been enhanced by the fact that we see it every week here’ (FGR Supporter);
‘When you told me it was vegan only food I was a bit concerned that I wouldn’t like it, but I
tried their veggie pie and it was fantastic. I would have no fears in the future to try this food.
(Casual Visitor)
Significant recognition and novelty were attributed to the food and drink that was available, both
to buy and sample (for example, a free Vegan based bag of food samples and advice was
distributed at the Morecambe game on 28th October 2017) while at FGR.
The club environment provided the opportunity to sample different vegan brands, aided by
removing typical food and drink options, such as cows’ milk, meat-based food and big brands
such as Coca-Cola and Cadbury from any food outlets. Thus, trying ‘new and different things
such as soya milk in my tea’ shows how visiting FGR can create a new consumption experience
and acts as a vehicle for consumer learning. As such, the findings point to creating a ‘safe place’
where people can experiment and try different types of vegan food. The vegan philosophy has
been received as an affirmative act that FGR stakeholders are keen to indulge in, support and
share. There is also significant evidence to suggest that it has acted as a gateway to changing
attitudes to this ‘type of food’; subsequently, many of FGR’s stakeholders recognise their ‘food
consumption’ interaction while at the club has operated as a tipping point into reducing meat
consumption. Many are now following full or part-time vegan diets both as individuals and as a
family unit in their home life:
‘I’m not a converted vegan or anything, but definitely eat less meat you know and probably shop
a bit more ethically as well’ (Local Journalist);
‘I eat a lot less meat than I use to, being at the stadium and at the training ground it has just
gradually progressed coming into my home life’ (FGR Team Player).
The message that a vegan diet is ‘good for the environment’ also appears to be gaining traction
416
across FGRs stakeholders. The data indicated that many now understand the link between their
‘diet’ and climate change:
‘I’m not a vegan or agree with all this stuff, but I buy into all the stuff about the greenness, I
think that’s great, I think it’s fantastic’ (FGR Supporter).
However, despite the overwhelmingly positive influence, reactions to vegan/ethical food and
drink may also be adverse. Some participants felt the club’s stance on this was a ‘step too far’
and were resentful that it was becoming ‘more important than the football’. As such, many had
no intention of changing their diet and actively subverted the symbol by ‘eating elsewhere’:
‘I don’t touch it myself. I never have. I’m still a meat man. Yeah the only vegan days that we
have are here’ (FGR Supporter).
While vegan-only food appears to be a critical tipping point for influencing new social practices,
it also plays a role in the club and some stakeholders’ identity construction. Externally, FGR fans
are often referred to as ‘vegans’ and ‘tree huggers’, which is a label many are willing to accept
and even embrace. This moniker provided a soundbite that projects the club’s uniqueness and is
argued to have ‘helped put our small club firmly on the map’ and legitimised the SI to the
broader world of visiting football clubs and their fans. It shows how this is reinforced at the
ground as fans enter the stadium:
‘I think often it attracts a lot of criticism and cynicism from fans in other clubs but they’re
talking about us. I don’t mind being a bit different. We’re always on the news and people turning
up to try the food and stuff like that. Famous people. Vegans from all over the country come
here.’ (FGR Supporter)
Additionally, when hosting FGR as a visiting team, many football clubs have been known to
change their food offerings on match day. This is a surprising and significant change, furthering
the intra-group social practice of veganism to other football clubs and their wider stakeholder
community:
‘When we got into league two our very first game away was at Mansfield and they put on this
huge vegan spread and that started to get repeated wherever we went’ (FGR Management).
Summary
The two aforementioned themes indicated the array of initiatives that FGR have implemented in
transforming the football experience beyond the 90 minutes of the game itself. In some respects,
the transition may be viewed as ideologically authoritarian, and this is further discussed in the
following section. However, this is different from the dominant paradigm within the data, and
even the most ardent football fans recognise and appreciate the more significant social issues that
the club has been able to address.
FGR presents a family-friendly environment, encouraging broader stakeholders to witness,
experience and learn (Rennings, 2000) about a suite of interconnected SIs. The combinatorial
effect of these multiple initiatives lends credence to the authenticity of FGR’s commitment to SI,
resulting in the adoption of modified social practices (Gallouj et al. 2016). These include the
417
intra- and inter-group practices of clean energy and experimentation with vegan food, extra-
group practices such as feeding and managing playing surfaces, and, once again, experimentation
with vegan food. The significance of vegan food must not be overlooked. Just as the media were
more concerned with FGR’s vegan menus than their footballing success, so are the data sets
littered with references to how its influence has shaped the social practices of individuals and
institutions.
Emergent Themes
While the above observations provide empirical support for the transition of Cajaiba-Santana’s
(2014) SI conceptual framework to professional sport, the data also point to two novel themes
that need to be integrated into the conceptual framework to fully understand the implementation
of SI in a professional sports club. These are labelled ‘Personification’ and ‘Don’t forget about
the football’ and are discussed in the following section.
Personification:
The leadership and personal influence of Sustainable Entrepreneur Dale Vince have been
identified as a critical, inspirational and respected driver for FGR to introduce SIs and operate a
novel and authentic ‘sustainability’ value system in the world of professional football. The
lifestyle choices and commitment FGR’s Chairman has shown in his personal life towards
living/championing and ‘developing opportunities for people to live more sustainably’ is often an
important reference point for stakeholders. Dale Vince thus emerges in the data as a go-to
reference point synonymous with ‘green values’, ‘veganism’, and ‘sustainability’ and with a
‘strong personal conviction to save the world:
‘I suppose that’s all in tune with his beliefs he’s very principled. I suppose he’s a bit militant
about his own values, and good luck to him as well. I mean obviously, having Dale Vince is a
different type of owner that is much more hands-on than a lot of clubs. So that does have positive
affects and negative effects. A lot of people don’t like him because he comes across as preachy,
but he’s preaching about something good, so I don’t care’ (FGR Supporter).
This has resulted in many indicating that FGR has been built as a ‘personification’ of Dale
Vince, without whom the SIs would never have been conceived and nurtured. His commitment
to developing the club into ‘the world’s greenest football team’ is well respected and admired by
most, with many commentating with a sense of pride on the value of the message the club is
sending out to the world of football, sport and business:
‘Not everybody has sort of bought into his vegan values, but it’s got to be better than having one
of these Chairmen that’s get rich quick. He’s got a long-term plan here’ (FGR Supporter);
‘Without Dale, it wouldn’t be where it is now, would it?’ (Local Journalist).
Don’t forget about the football:
FGR’s achievements in improving its social and environmental impact are widely respected
among its fans, residents and global institutions. The range of initiatives that have been
employed has engendered the movement with substantial momentum to the extent that it is
sometimes perceived to have taken precedence over the club’s primary and historical purpose:
418
‘Forest Green Rovers is changing the face of sports sustainability. What this club and Dale are
doing is probably bigger than the football club’ (FGR Staff).
This is an important dimension to explore since every interviewee and focus group member was
keen to express the importance of not forgetting that the number one priority of FGR is playing
football:
‘We are connected with the UN now for climate change, but it’s still the football that counts’
(Local Journalist)
‘As a football club, the most important thing is to play football, isn’t it?’ (FGR Staff)
Thus, the data suggest that the on-pitch activity is the first thing FGR must get right. The club’s
promotion to League Division One in 2022 has undoubtedly aided in affirming its new direction,
and one may speculate how further successes will cement the various initiatives. However,
should its sporting success not match the acclaim that it receives for its off-pitch endeavours, this
would be the litmus test that would confirm the perdurability of any changes that had been
brought about in inter- and extra-group social practices:
‘We do send out a global message about being ethical, but for me, it’s still the football’ (FGR
Supporter).
Discussion
The data suggest that the impact of seeing FGR’s multiple commitments to sustainability helps
ease the worries of some visitors regarding FGR possibly ‘over-egging their commitment’ and
engaging in the well-known process of greenwashing. Positive comments were made around
FGR’s holistic application of sustainable practices, with many indicating a surprise to ‘the extent
the club has taken it’. This is reflected in the modified conceptual framework (Figure 2) whereby
‘New Idea’ is replaced by a list of the individual SIs that FGR had implemented.
In assessing how Social Innovation can drive Social Change in the context of professional
football and considering the research question, ‘How can social innovations be introduced and
embedded within a professional sporting institution’? we must consider such ‘new ideas’. Each
was instigated through material changes in the institution that is FGR, thereby directly shaping
the intra- and inter-group practices of those employed directly by the club, the club’s supporters,
and visitors and opposing teams’ fans. In turn, and in time, these practices became diffused
through the other social systems that agentic actors inhabit. For instance, FGR’s team players,
although constrained to adopt a vegan diet while at the club, had voluntarily adopted vegan
practices, to different degrees, in their home life. A similar pattern emerged among other club
staff, supporters and visitors.
The diffusion of SIs, and concomitant modified social practices, occurred within the club and
through the wider social sphere of football, for instance, in the provision of vegan food by host
football adversaries. Occasions such as the UN’s recognition of FGR as the world’s first carbon-
neutral football club strengthen the validity of the club’s SIs. However, football does not exist in
isolation and operates within a wider social context (Kolyperas et al. 2015; Anagnostopoulos and
419
Shilbury 2013; Brunzell and Söderman 2012). Hence, while under pressure to exhibit socially
acceptable and sustainable behaviours, FGR’s suite of SIs is seen to be responding to these
pressures. Notably, the club’s SIs were adopted beyond the world of football by other sporting
institutions, and Dale Vince’s recognition as a UN ambassador also legitimises the club’s
actions. In turn, these aid in further substantiating the legitimacy of FGR’s SIs; hence they are
indicated within the concentric social spheres that operate around FGR in Figure 2.
Finally, among the many continuous and transient agentic actors involved with FGR who serve
to modify, adopt and diffuse the social practices, Dale Vince, a changemaker and champion of
sustainable entrepreneurship, is a key presence. He has successfully followed his dreams and
aspirations as a Social Innovator. Just as FGR has been described as ‘the personification of Dale
Vince’ in the data, by “engineering the deep affects and passions of the self” (Arvidsson and
Bandinelli 2013), he may arguably be conceptualised as a brand or institution in his own right.
This perspective is credible as the owner of Ecotricity, the holding company of FGR and the
primary sponsor within FGR’s grounds. To maintain the canon of Cajaiba-Santana’s (2014)
framework, Figure 2 depicts the agentic actors as exiting within a hierarchy of influence, the
apex inhabited by Dale Vince.
In summary, FGR has successfully implemented a wide range of SIs that have been adopted as
modified social practices within the immediate environment of the club, the intermediate world
of football, and society at large. Among these initiatives, vegan food is a pervasive initiative that
has transcended the interconnected social systems. Implementing the suite of initiatives has been
crucial in imbuing social actors with a sense of the club’s credible commitment to making
positive social changes. However, the ability of the club to make material alterations to the
practices and infrastructure of the club and the environment for playing and experiencing
football by choice-editing staff and visitors’ options has been of the utmost importance in
gaining momentum in support of the changes (Rogers 2003). As is so often seen in football, a
single person is heralded as a champion, saviour or leader of the club, be they the new manager,
incumbent manager (if successful) or new owners who promise to reinvigorate a club with a
supply of money. Dale Vince is similarly championed by FGR and its supporters and
stakeholders who endorse his and the club’s social and environmental initiatives (Freeman et al.
2004). However, just as the tide of support may turn for unsuccessful managers of teams, it
seems that FGR’s social and environmental endeavours will need to be accompanied by
continued success on the pitch to maintain their impact.
420
Figure 2. A Schematic Conceptual Model of the Social Innovation Process in Forest Green
Rovers
Conclusion
This work contributes to the field by presenting evidence of a changing dynamic beyond
commercialisation and commodification, with success built on behavioural evolution and a
transformation of what value is within the game. Importantly it does not find the traditional
paradox associated with SI and profit maximisation. On the contrary, the vision at FGR is firmly
about building a successful team but under the umbrella of sustainability, changing the social
conditions within which it is produced.
421
In addition, the study indicates that sports, particularly those that are significant parts of the
fabric of society, can be vehicles for the initialisation and diffusion of impactful SIs. Football is
ideal for propagating SIs, as it is a homophilous environment (Hitz and Katsanis 2014) with
connected stakeholders displaying certain affinities. The need for audience identification and to
be part of what is deemed universal at the club highlights this. Considering FGR as a marketing
system, stakeholders are also connected by actions, interactions and exchanges over time and
space (Domegan et al. 2019). However, clubs must be mindful that FGR’s success has depended
on the ability to implement coherent, interlocking ideas and initiatives single-mindedly and
largely exclude competing practices through an ambitious moral argument. Importantly we
concluded that the continued success of such SI endeavours might also be contingent on
sustained sporting achievement.
References
Aksoy, L., Alkire, L., Choi, S., Kim, P. B., & Zhang, L. (2019). Social innovation in service: a
conceptual framework and research agenda. Journal of Service Management, 30(3), 429-
448
Anagnostopoulos, C., & Shilbury, D. (2013). Implementing corporate social responsibility in
English football: Towards multi-theoretical integration. Sport, Business and
Management: An International Journal, 3(4), 268-284.
Araújo, N., de Carlos, P. & Antonio Fraiz, J. (2014). Top European football clubs and social
networks: a true 2.0 relationship? Sport, Business and Management, 4(3), 250-264.
BBC. (2018). Forest Green Rovers Named’ Greenest Football Club in World’. Retrieved from
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire 45677536, [29th October 2018].
Bandinelli, C., & Arvidsson, A. (2013). Brand yourself a changemaker!. Journal of
macromarketing, 33(1), 67-71.
Benkwitz, A., & Molnar, G. (2012). Interpreting and exploring football fan rivalries: an
overview. Soccer & Society, 13(4), 479–494.
Bertuzzi, N. (2020). The individualisation of political activism: A reflection on social
movements and modernisation, starting from the case of Italian animal advocacy.
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, In-Press.
Bettany, S., & Kerrane, B. (2018). Figuring the pecking order: Emerging child food preferences
when species meet in the family environment. European Journal of Marketing, 52(12),
2334-2355.
Blumrodt, J., Desbordes, M., & Bodin, D. (2013). Professional football clubs and corporate
social responsibility. Sport, Business and Management, 3(3), 205 225.
Braun, V., & Clark, V. (2008). Using thematic analysis in psychology, Qualitative Research in
Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
Breitbarth, T., Walzel, S., Anagnostopoulos, C., & van Eekeren, F. (2015). Corporate social
responsibility and governance in sport: “Oh, the things you can find, if you don’t stay
behind!” Corporate Governance, 15(2), 254-273.
Brunzell, T., & Söderman, S. (2012). Board evaluation in the top Nordic football clubs”, Sport,
Business and Management, 2(3), 210-224.
422
Cajaiba-Santana, G. (2014). Social Innovation: Moving the field forward. A conceptual
framework. Technology Forecasting & Social Change, 82, 42-51.
Carvalho, A., Zarelli, P., & Dalarosa, B. (2018). Eco-innovation typology for incubators. World
Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 14(3), 291-308.
Chamberlain, K., Cain, T., Sheridan, J., & Dupuis, A. (2011). Pluralisms in Qualitative
Research: From Multiple Methods to Integrated Methods. Qualitative Research in
Psychology, 8, 151–169.
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative
Analysis, London: SAGE Publications.
Delgado, F. (2014). Flawed heroes and great talents: the challenges associated with framing
soccer legends in the NASL. Soccer & Society, 15(5), 780-793.
Denscombe, M. (2010). The good research guide: For small‐scale social research projects (4th
edn), Berkshire, UK: McGraw‐Hill Education.
Domegan, C., McHugh, P., Flaherty, T., & Duane, S. (2019). A dynamic stakeholders’
framework in a marketing systems setting. Journal of Macromarketing, 39(2), 136-150.
Duclos, D. (2017). When ethnography does not rhyme with anonymity: Reflections on name
disclosure, self-censorship and storytelling. Ethnography, In-press.
FGR Footprint Report. (2019). Forest Green Rovers to Compensate Carbon Emissions Related to
Fan Travel. Retrieved from https://sustainabilityreport.com/2019/07/31/forest-green-
rovers-to compensate-carbon-emissions-related-to-fan-travel/ [12th October 2019]
FGR Sustainability. (2017). A Truly Sustainable Club. Retrieved from
https://www.fgr.co.uk/our-ethos/greening-up-football [12th October 2019]
Freeman, E, R., Wicks, A, C., and Parmar, B. (2004). Stakeholder Theory and “The Corporate
Objective Revisited”. Organization Science, 15(3), 364-369.
FT (2019). Green Credentials Prove Big Winner for Tiny English Football Team.
https://www.ft.com/content/d66ba036-763a-11e9-be7d-6d846537acab.
Halcomb, E. J., & Davidson, P. M. (2006). Is verbatim transcription of interview data always
necessary? Applied Nursing Research, 19, 38–42.
Hamlin, R., Gin, M., Nyhof, F., & Bogue, J. (2017). Package graphic design development: An
experimental test of the validity of focus groups as a consumer research input. British
Food Journal, 119(9), 1953-1968.
Hardy, S., Norman, B., & Sceery, S. (2012). Toward a history of sport branding”, Journal of
Historical Research in Marketing. 4(4), 482-509.
Hitz, A., & Katsanis, L. P. (2014). A consumer adoption model for personalised medicine: an
exploratory study. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing,
8(4), 371-391.
Hockerts, K. and Wüstenhagen, R. (2010), “Greening Goliaths versus emerging Davids –
theorising about the role of incumbents and new entrants in sustainable
entrepreneurship”, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 25 No. 5, pp. 481-492.
Hoeber, L., Doherty, A., Hoeber, O., & Wolfe, R. (2015). The nature of innovation in
community sport organisations. European Sport Management Quarterly, 15(5), 518-534.
Jessel, J. & Mendelewitsch, P. (2007). La face cachée du foot business. Flammarion, Mesnil-sur-
l'Estrée.
Kolyperas, D., Morrow, S., & Sparks, L. (2015). Developing CSR in professional football clubs:
drivers and phases. Corporate Governance, 15(2), 177–195.
423
Lee, S. (1998). “Grey Shirts to Grey Suits: The political Economy of English Football in the
1990s,” In Brown, A (Eds.) Fanatics, Power, Identity and Fandom in Football (pp. 32-
49). London, Routledge.
Martinez, D. P. (2008). Soccer in the USA: ‘holding out for a hero’? Soccer & Society, 9(2),
231-243.
Megheirkouni, M., Amaugo, A., & Jallo, S. (2018). Transformational and transactional
leadership and skills approach: Insights on stadium management. International Journal of
Public Leadership, 14(4), 245-259.
Meier, M., Tan, K., Lim, M., & Chung, L. (2019). Unlocking innovation in the sport industry
through additive manufacturing. Business Process Management Journal, 25(3), 456-475.
Mulgan, G., Tucker, S., Ali, R., & Sanders, B. (2007). Social innovation: What it is, why it
matters, how it can be accelerated. Oxford, UK: Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship.
Napoli, J., & Ouschan, R. (2020) Vegan Stories: revealing archetypes and their moral
foundations. Qualitative Market Research, 23(3), in-press.
Nielson Sports, (2018) World Football Report Retrieved from
https://www.nielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/04/world-football-report-
2018.pdf. [18th May 2021]
Paolisso, M., & Hames, R. (2010). Time diary versus instantaneous sampling: A comparison of
two behavioural research methods. Field Methods, 1–21.
Phillips, W., Lee, H., Ghobadian, A., O’regan, N. and James, P., (2015). Social innovation and
social entrepreneurship: A systematic review. Group & Organization Management, 40(3),
pp.428-461.
Plantbasednews (2019) Vegan Football Club Unveils its Sustainable Uniform Made From
Bamboo. Retrieved from: https://www.plantbasednews.org/culture/vegan-football-club-
sustainable uniform [20th May 2020]
Repo, P. and Matschoss, K., (2019). Social innovation for sustainability challenges.
Sustainability, 12(1), p.319.
Rennings, K. (2000) Redefining innovation: eco-innovation research and the contribution from
ecological economics, Ecological Economics, 32(2), 319 332.
Ringuet-Riot, C. J., Hahn, A., & James, D. A. (2013). A structured approach for technology
innovation in sport. Sports Technology, 6(3), 137-149.
Rogers, E, M. (2003) Diffusion of Innovations, Free Press, New York.
Saji, B. S., & Ellingstad, P. (2016). Social innovation model for business performance and
innovation. International Journal of Productivity and Performance, 66(2) 256-274.
Samuel, A., & Peattie, K. (2016). Grounded theory as a macromarketing methodology: Critical
insights from researching the marketing dynamics of fairtrade towns. Journal of
Macromarketing, 36(1), 11–26.
Sanday, PR (1979). The Ethnographic Paradigm(s). Administrative Science Quarterly, 24(4),
527-538.
Scarpellini, S., Portillo-Tarragona, P., & Marin-Vinuesa, L. (2019). Green patents: a way to
guide the eco-innovation success process? Academia Revitas Latinoamericana de
Administración, 32(2), 225-243.
Schyns, B., Gilmore, S., & Dietz, G. (2016). What Lessons Can We Learn from Football about
Leadership and Management? Leadership Lessons from Compelling Contexts,
Monographs in Leadership and Management, 8, 95-127.
424
Slack, RE, & Shrives, PJ (2008). Social disclosure and legitimacy in Premier League football
clubs: The first ten years. Journal of Applied Accounting Research 9(1), 17-28.
Svensson, per G., Hambrick, M.E. (2019) Exploring How External Stakeholders Shape Social
Innovation in Sport for Development and Peace. Sport Management Review, 22, 540-
552.
Svensson, per G., Andersson, F.O., Mahoney, T.Q., Ha, J. (2020) Antecedents and Outcomes of
Social Innovation: a global study of sport for development and peace organisations. Sport
Management Review, 23, 657-670.
Tapp, A., & Clowes, J. (2002). From “carefree casuals” to “professional wanderers”:
Segmentation possibilities for football supporters. European Journal of Marketing,
36(11/12), 1248-1269.
The Guardian. (2018). Forest Green Rovers Named World’s First UN Certified Carbon-Neutral
Football Club. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jul/30/forest-
green-rovers-named worlds-first-un-certified-carbon-neutral-football-club [10th June
2019].
The Guardian B. (2018). Forest Green Rovers Granted Planning Permission for All Wooden
Stadium. Retrieved fromhttps://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/dec/29/forest-green-
rovers granted-planning-permission-for-all-wooden-stadium [21st January 2020]
The Times. (2017). Forest Green Rovers – the club where meat is off the menu and the pitch is
fed seaweed. Retrieved from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/forest-green-rovers-the-
club-where-meat is-off-the-menu-and-the-pitch-is-fed-seaweed-kp2zkw35d [10th
October 2019]
Tjondaal, A. (2017) Sport Innovation: developing a typology. European Journal for Sport and
Society, 14(4), 291-310.
Van den Hoonard, W. C. (2003). Is anonymity an artefact in ethnographic research. Journal of
Academic Ethics, 1(2), 141–151.
Vegan Society. (2015). Green Football Club is First to Receive the Vegan Trademark. Retrieved
from https://www.vegansociety.com/whats-new/news/green-football-club-first-receive-
vegan-trademark [14th October 2019]
Whyte, W.F. (1989). Advancing Scientific Knowledge Through Participatory Action Research.
Sociological Forum, 4(3), 367-385.
Windrum, P., Schartinger, D., Rubalcaba, L., Gallouj, F., & Toivonen, M. (2016). The Co-
creation of Multi-Agent Social Innovations: a bridge between service and social
innovation research. European Journal of Innovation Management, 19(2), 150-166.
Yao, Q., Liu, J., Sheng, S., & Fang, H. (2019). Does eco-innovation lift firm value? The
contingent role of institutions in emerging markets. Journal of Business & Industrial
Marketing, 34(8), 1763-1778.
Ziegler, R. (2017). Social innovation as a collaborative concept. Innovation: The European
Journal of Social Science Research, 30(4), 388-405.
425
How Provisioning Systems Analysis Adds to Marketing Systems Understanding: Exploring
the Connections Between Macromarketing and Provisioning Systems Thinking
Michelle Renton, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Introduction
Fanning et al.’s (2020) concept of provisioning systems has recently been used as a framework
for explaining formal, informal, and collaborative market exchange. (Domegan et al. 2019;
Fanning et al. 2020; Layton and Domegan 2021; Layton, Domegan, and Duffy 2022; O’Neill et
al. 2018). Provisioning systems analysis offers a useful means for marketing systems research to
contribute beyond community-based issues or macro social marketing problems and move into
contexts that examine the supply of essential resources (Fanning et al. 2020; Kennedy 2017;
Layton, Domegan, and Duffy 2022; Sredl et al. 2017; Williams et al. 2020). This paper aims to
deepen the connections between macromarketing systems research and provisioning systems
research by investigating one such provisioning system.
The context for this paper, New Zealand’s (NZ’s) electricity supply system, while somewhat
atypical for a marketing systems study, was chosen for three reasons. Firstly, NZ’s electricity
supply is a long-term, infrastructure heavy system, and offers the potential for in-depth, nuanced
research into long-term path dependency, stability, and change within a provisioning context
(Duffy and Layton 2018). Secondly, logics of market-based competition and efficiencies
replaced those of public utility in 1996, when provisioning was transformed from an
authoritarian state controlled prescriptive supply system into a fully-fledged market system. This
watershed change offers an opportunity for observing the “in between”, the tensions arising at
the nexus between prescriptive supply and marketing system, as participants jostle for power and
control (Miller and Scott 2007; Domegan and Layton 2021). Thirdly, now at a time of advanced
technological and environmental change, questions arise over the current structure and design of
the electricity markets (and therefore the marketing systems in use) and their fitness for
transforming the country into a fully decarbonised economy (Davis 2023; Upton 2023). This
research project focuses attention on these core issues.
Literature Review
Provisioning systems
O’Neill et al. (2018) explains the theories of provisioning as derived from ecological economics.
In O’Neill et al.’s (2018) terms, provisioning systems are the instruments through which
countries apportion, allocate and distribute their biophysical resources to satisfy both basic
(energy, education, social support, equality, democratic quality and employment) and wellbeing
needs (life satisfaction, and healthy life expectancy). Fanning et al. (2020), explains
provisioning system elements as comprised of technologies, including the material stocks built
and techniques applied, and the institutions of the state, the commons, households, and markets.
As markets and marketing systems are embedded within these broader provisioning contexts,
marketing systems of exchange become only one of the many instruments available for
provisioning, echoing the work of early macromarketing scholars (Fisk 1981 cited in Benton Jr.
2021).
426
Provisioning systems and Marketing Systems
Marketing systems reflect the social, cultural, political, physical environments, economic and
historical legacies of their communities. They exist to create and deliver assortments, and
through exchange, enhance the quality of life of their communities while providing economic
benefits for system participants, (Layton 2007, 2015; Wooliscroft 2021). While provisioning
system research centres on the meeting of basic and wellbeing needs within sustainable limits,
Layton and Domegan (2021) blend Fanning et al.’s (2020) concepts with marketing systems,
linking formal, informal and collaborative exchange systems with highly structured, top-down,
often public networks of provisioning, which they term prescriptive supply. Key divergences
between the two streams include marketing systems’ primary focus on exchange and the creation
of assortments, while provisioning systems main concern is with the environmental impact of
resource allocation and the social outcomes resulting from the use of biophysical resources. For
Layton and Domegan (2021) the incorporation of provisioning systems into marketing systems
research offers an opportunity to focus on prescriptive supply systems and their relationship with
marketing exchange systems. This paper’s major contribution therefore is to explore how
marketing systems research fits with provisioning systems and consider what provisioning
system analysis adds to marketing systems research. The paper’s major research question is:
1. What contributions can be made to marketing systems research based on a full
provisioning systems analysis of New Zealand electricity system?
The paper furthers Layton and Domegan’s (2021) definitions of prescriptive supply systems as
hierarchical, top down, publicly structured systems by incorporating Fanning et al.’s (2020)
provisioning systems networks of institutional (state, community, household and market) and
technological (materials and techniques) elements, and identifies patterns of resource allocation,
changing power balances, feedback loops and resulting social outcomes.
Methods
This paper draws upon historical approach methodologies (Golder 2000; Thompson 2010),
identifying a comprehensive range of secondary sources that provide both descriptive detail and
data saturation of critical events in the development of New Zealand’s electricity supply. These
are reinterpreted using a provisioning system lens (Saunders et al. 2018). The author
collaborated with industry experts to ensure all major events punctuating system development
were included and to create more diverse understandings of these (Pederson 2016). Using tables,
cycles of categorisation, interpretation and analysis was undertaken to identify the distinct
elements of the provisioning and marketing systems, the relationships arising between these
elements, feedback loops and outcomes. These analyses are reported below as findings with the
full list of secondary sources included in the reference list.
Findings
Within the pre-market era of New Zealand’s electricity system significant relationships between
provisioning system elements existed, for example, in the early period (pre 1920), a simple
system structure saw the state become the country’s sole provisioner of electric power (Martin
1991). By designating municipal authorities as responsible for reticulation, the state effectively
built a system based on public utility logics, excluded private entrepreneurs and created a
centralised provisioning network. Demand and supply feedback loops between government,
427
municipal authorities and customers (households, industry and communities), saw demand
almost continuously outstripping supply, the result of vigorous load building advertising
campaigns encouraging consumers to purchase ever greater numbers of electric appliances
(Reilly 2008). The effects of strong networked relationships between state, market, household
and technologies gave rise to the need for a national electricity provisioning system which
modernised both the economy and lives of early and mid 20
th
century New Zealanders (Martin
1991).
The period from the 1980s to the present is marked by logics of market efficiencies and
competition, greatly increased complexity within the provisioning system, many new participant
roles, and separation between financial trading and the physical supply of electricity. The most
powerful members within the provisioning system are now meso level regulators and incumbent
generating retailers (gentailers), driven by commercial interests (The EA 2022). These gentailers
develop their own marketing systems selling electricity on the wholesale and ancillary services
markets. Their retail arms along with independent retailers offer assortments for consumers and
industry through pricing plans and bundled offerings, improving customer quality of life, and
creating financial benefits for their shareholders, conforming to Layton’s (2007) description of a
marketing system. From a provisioning system analysis however, these powerful incumbents
appear less aligned to the long-term interests of households, communities and industry alike (i.e.
the commons). For example, ministerial reviews of market performance periodically consider
poor social outcomes relating to electricity affordability and supply continuity (MBIE 2022) and
recent commentary suggests that the pricing mechanisms used within the market system continue
to create benefits for fossil fuel use, disincentivising investment in additional renewable capacity
(Davis 2023, Upton2023). From a provisioning system perspective, market logics appear to
effectively decouple the system from long-term interests of the state, households and the
commons, with resource allocation decisions focused primarily on profitability rather than
minimising biophysical resource use and maximising social good.
Discussion
The analysis examines the pre and post market development of a longstanding provisioning
system, one that conforms to Layton and Domegan’s (2021) description of prescriptive supply,
as top down, authoritarian and slow to change. The key aim of this paper is to initiate a
discussion of how marketing systems research fits within infrastructure based provisioning
systems, and to consider how provisioning system analysis adds to marketing systems research.
To examine the first of these points, Fanning et al.’s (2020) provisioning systems lens is used to
observe the system’s early pre-market configuration, with high levels of integration between
institutional elements (state, municipal authorities, household, and the commons) while post
1996, market logics and the development of gentailer marketing systems significantly lessened
alignment between the institutional elements of market, state, households and the commons at
both the macro (decarbonisation aims) and micro (social outcomes) levels. For the second point,
provisioning systems analysis adds to market systems research by aiding understanding of
Layton and Domegan’s (2021) prescriptive supply systems, explaining these as technological
and institutional elements of long-term, complex, socially networked relationships existing
between the macro (state), the meso (regulators, incumbents, market exchange), and micro
(household and community) levels.
428
Conclusions, Limitations and Future directions.
This paper achieves its overall aim of unpacking Layton and Domegan’s (2021) concept of
prescriptive supply systems using a provisioning systems lens and offers an initial contribution to
thinking about marketing systems in an atypical context, that is, as a long term provisioning
system that combines institutional and technological elements. Defining linkages between
marketing and provisioning systems under future transformation is a matter of great urgency and
further research is needed to explore adaptation within provisioning systems due to climate
change and social equity pressures. Marketing systems work dealing in this space can contribute
a valuable perspective.
References
Benton, Raymond Jr (2021), “Our Obsolete Marketing Mentality: George Fisk, Meet Karl
Polanyi” Journal of Macromarketing, 41 (1), 88-103,
https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146720973725
Davis, Peter (2023), Sombre mood among world's elite at annual Davos conference. (Accessed
28 January 2023), https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/300793621/sombre-mood-among-
worlds-elite-at-annual-davos-conference.
Domegan, Christine, Patricia McHugh, Tina Flaherty, and Sinead Duane (2019), "A dynamic
stakeholders’ framework in a marketing systems setting." Journal of Macromarketing 39
(2), 136-150, https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146719835287
Engineering New Zealand (2023). Single Wire Earth Return. (Accessed 25 January 2023),
https://www.engineeringnz.org/programmes/heritage/heritage-records/single-wire-earth-
return-swer/.
Fanning, Andrew L., Daniel W. O'Neill, Milena Büchs (2020), “Provisioning systems for a good
life within planetary boundaries” Global Environmental Change 64, September,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2020.102135
Golder, Peter N. (2000), “Historical Method in Marketing Research with New Evidence on
Long-Term Market Share Stability.” Journal of Marketing Research, 37 (2), 156-172
https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.37.2.156.18732
Kennedy, A-M. (2017), “Macro-Social Marketing Research: Philosophy, Methodology and
Methods.” Journal of Macromarketing, 37(4), 347–355.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146717735467
Layton, Roger A. (2007), "Marketing systems—A core macromarketing concept." Journal of
Macromarketing 27 (3), 227-242. https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146707302836
Layton, Roger. A. (2015), “Formation, Growth, and Adaptive Change in Marketing Systems.”
Journal of Macromarketing, 35(3), 302–319. https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146714550314
Layton, Roger A. and Sarah Duffy (2018,) “Path Dependency in Marketing Systems: Where
History Matters and the Future Casts a Shadow.” Journal of Macromarketing, 38(4) 400-
414 https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146718787012
Layton, Roger A. and Christine Domegan (2021), “The Next Normal for Marketing – The
Dynamic of a Pandemic, Provisioning Systems and the Changing Patterns of Daily Life.”
Australasian Marketing Journal, 29(1), 4-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/1839334921998514
429
Layton, Roger., Christine Domegan and Sarah M Duffy (2022), “Getting Things Right;
Diagnose and Design in The Evolution of Community Provisioning Systems.” Journal of
Macromarketing, Online first. https://doi.org/10.1177/02761467221109136
Martin, John E. (1991), People, Politics and Power stations: Electric Power generation in New
Zealand 1880-1990. Bridget Williams Books, Wellington.
Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (2015) Chronology of New Zealand
Electricity Reform. Energy Markets Policy Energy & Resources Branch. [Accessed
25/0123] https://www.mbie.govt.nz/assets/2ba6419674/chronology-of-nz-electricity-
reform.pdf.
Miller, John H., and Scott E. Page. (2007) Complex Adaptive Systems: An Introduction to
Computational Models of Social Life. Princeton Studies in Complexity Book 14,
Princeton University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7s3kx
O’Neill, Daniel W., Andrew L. Fanning, William F. Lamb, and Julia K. Steinberger (2018), “A
good life for all within planetary boundaries.” Nature Sustainability, Vol. 88 (1), 88-95
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-018-0021-4
Pedersen, David B. (2016) Integrating social sciences and humanities in interdisciplinary
research. Palgrave Communications 2, 16036 https://doi.org/10.1057/palcomms.2016.36
Reilly, Helen (2008). Connecting the Country: New Zealand’s National Grid 1886-2007. Steele
Roberts Publishers, Wellington.
Saunders, Benjamin, Julius Sim, Tom Kingstone, Shula Baker, Jackie Waterfield et al.,
(2018) Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and
operationalization. Qual Quant 52, 1893–1907 doi: 10.1007/s11135-017-0574-8.
Clifford J. Shultz, & Ružica Brečić, R. (2017), “The Arizona Market: a Marketing Systems
Perspective on Pre- and Post-War Developments in Bosnia, with Implications for
Sustainable Peace and Prosperity”, Journal of Macromarketing, 37(3), 300–316.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146717712359
Thompson, Anee-Marie K. (2010), “Golder's historical method in research in marketing.”
Journal of Business Research, 63 (12) 1269-1272.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2009.09.005
Upton, Simon (2023), “National energy strategy taking too long, environment commissioner tells
minister.” https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/483397/national-energy-strategy-taking-
too-long-environment-commissioner-tells-minister (accessed 2/2 23)
Williams, J., Davey, J., & Johnstone, M-L. (2021). “Marketing System Failure: Revisioning
Layton’s Marketing System Model.” Journal of Macromarketing, 41(2), 411–426.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146720961454
Wooliscroft, B. (2021). “Macromarketing and the Systems Imperative.” Journal of
Macromarketing, 41(1), 116–123 https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146720980521
430
Social Marketing for Global Change: Aligning Social
Marketing with the UNSDGs Track
Co-Chairs:
Christine Domegan
University of Galway, Ireland
Ann-Marie Kennedy
University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Josephine Previte
The University of Queensland, Australia
431
Driving Delegitimation in the Marketing System
Ann-Marie Kennedy, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Anna Earl, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Irina Balog, Gothenburg University, Sweden
Wicked problems such as obesity, environmental degradation, and fast fashion are bound up in a
failing marketing system, where self-organized stakeholder action, along with policy and
regulations can be used to intervene (Williams, Davey, and Johnston 2021). Macro-social
marketing helps to analyse the above mentioned. That is to say, macro-social marketing.
According to a macro-social marketing perspective however, intervention would aim to change
the underlying institutional norms that perpetuate the wicked problem driving system failure
(Kennedy 2016). Self-organisation within a system is needed to “generate patterns leading to
evolution of norms, conventions, rules, structures and institutions” (Layton 2015, p7). However
current literature does not focus on explaining how individuals or macro-social marketers might
group together and ‘self-organise’ to drive system change through changing institutional norms
within the marketing system. Neither does it provide an understanding of the dynamic change
process of institutional norms so that Macro-social marketers might intervene. We posit that such
a process would deliver delegitimation of existing institutional norms, and creation of new or
blended norms to replace them. As such, the aim of this study is to propose how delegitimization
of institutional norms can bring about marketing system change – with the use of self-
organisation. To do this we combine marketing systems literature with institutional theory and
use examples from the Fashion Revolution organisation in its quest to change the fast fashion
system. This paper adds to the existing scholarly conversation by providing a conceptual
framework of how macro-social marketers can drive delegitimation of institutional norms in the
marketing system. The same institutional norms perpetuating wicked problems in the marketing
system, causing marketing system failure.
Society is a set of systems responding to problems (Dixon 1984). These problems may include
knowledge and skill attainment (e.g. education); regulation and governance (e.g.
law/government); and resource distribution (e.g. supply chains and marketing) – each forming
institutions. Social systems are structured around actors and their relations and interactions with
each other (Dixon 1984). Among social systems, marketing systems’ key task is creation and
delivery of value by way of “goods, services, experiences, and ideas” (Layton 2015, p. 4) and are
somewhat of a mediator between cultural and other social systems. Social marketers are part of
these systems. Previous work in marketing systems has expanded systems thinking within the
marketing and social marketing disciplines (Biroscak et al. 2014; Kennedy and Parsons 2012;
Kennedy 2016; Truong, Saunders, and Dong 2018; Venturini 2016; Zurcher, Jensen, and
Mansfield 2018). Moving from a neoliberal “market system” viewpoint of economic exchanges
(Jagadale, Kadirov, and Chakraborty 2018) to the dynamic and evolving contrast of “marketing
systems” which “are emergent, acting and reacting to changes in technology, culture, norms,
customs, institutional logics, and disruptions…over time” (Domegan et al. 2020, p. 380).
In many contexts however, we find marketing system failures, resulting in negative externalities
(Wooliscroft and Ganglmair-Wooliscroft 2018) such as with plastic packaging effects (Williams,
432
Davey, and Johnston 2021); obesity (Kemper and Ballantine 2017), smoking (Kennedy and
Parsons 2012) and fast fashion contexts (Kennedy 2016). Such failures occur when negative
externalities are unforeseen and no protection is given, and imperfect competition and lack of
consumer choice locks in a path to destruction (Williams et al. 2021). Those authors have
identified areas where intervention may occur to resolve marketing system failure, and state that
self-organized stakeholder action, along with policy and regulations can be used to intervene.
That is to say, macro-social marketing. However, there discussion does not explicate on self-
organized stakeholder action beyond commercial collaboration such as with circular supply
changes and horizontal/vertical integration.
According to a Macro-social marketing perspective however, intervention in a marketing system
in wicked problem contexts might also be instigated by Macro-social marketers, community
groups, and consumers (Kennedy 2016). From Kennedy’s (2016) perspective, intervention
would occur to change the underlying institutional norms that are perpetuating a wicked problem
and driving system failure. However, the Macro-social marketing framework proposed by
Kennedy (2016) does not provide clear explanation of this dynamic change process beyond
citing “social mechanisms” from Layton (2015), nor does it expand on the self-organisation
process and role within system change.
Layton’s (2015) seminal Mechanism, Action, Structure (MAS) theory focuses on the key
constructs that make up marketing systems and interactions within the system. As such, social
mechanisms that can create change include co-evolution, cooperation, scale, and emergence
which is referred to “the way in which self-organisation in complex systems generates patterns
leading to evolution of norms, conventions, rules, structures and institutions” (Layton 2015, p.7).
The latest work in the area has focused on which dynamic processes can be leveraged for change
(Domegan et al. 2020; Layton 2015; Kennedy 2016), identifying the need for further
understanding of actors and the change processes within social action fields (Layton and Duffy
2018). Literature working towards this aim provides clear methods for researching collaborative,
multistakeholder approaches to change, to explain the role of agency and interrelationships and
interdependencies (e.g. Domegan et al. 2020). Other work analyses the motivations of actors
(Kennedy et al., 2017) and the effects of the marketing system on the actors in the form of
negative externalities (Duffy, Northy, and van Esch 2017; Wooliscroft and Ganglmair-
Wooliscroft 2018) through marketing system failures (Williams et al., 2021) and community
involvement in alternative provisioning system creation (Layton and Domegan 2021; Layton,
Domegan, and Duffy 2022).
The Dynamic Stakeholder Framework (Domegan, McHugh, Flaherty, and Duane 2019), which
combines MAS theory and Coleman’s boat, provides a further eight propositions that explain
some of these causal dynamics between stakeholders. Each stakeholder has a frame which guides
their actions and is made tangible through market offerings and exchanges that epitomise these
values (e.g. value based exchanges). However, it is self-organisation of stakeholder groups that
can then be used to drive collective actions and forge creation or destruction of what constitutes
valuable marketing exchanges and outputs from a marketing system. It is this self-organisation
within a system that can “generate patterns leading to evolution of norms, conventions, rules,
structures and institutions (Layton 2015, p7). But as per calls from Layton (2016) and following
the work of Domegan et al. (2019) and Domegan et al. (2020), gaps remain in understanding
433
what causes broader systems change in such a way and how we might leverage that knowledge
to drive positive social change as macro-social marketers.
Institutional theory is appropriate to combine with marketing systems theory as it shares many of
the same premises and is useful in expanding our knowledge of actor influences in marketing
system change (Wiebe and Mitchell 2023). It also allows for more specific conceptualisations of
practices beyond patterns of behaviour change provided in some current marketing systems work
(Hampel, Lawrence, and Tracey 2018; Wiebe and Mitchell 2023). Essentially, institutional
theory can help further explain actors’ roles and processes in marketing system construction, and
destruction (Coleman, Zayer, and Karaca 2020; Dolbec and Ficher 2015). Considering
institutional norm change, Kemper and Ballantine (2017) present an approach for Macro-social
marketers to plan for such change and list multiple strategies. These include Adaptive capacity
(e.g. research, service provision); Landscape pressures (e.g. communications/marketing, media
advocacy, social movements); Downstream social marketing (e.g. service provision, social
marketing); Midstream social marketing (e.g. service provision); and Upstream social marketing
(e.g. regulation, social/environmental planning). However, they do not explicate the process by
which implementation of these would drive change.
One such area that can contribute to understanding the change process is that of institutional
entrepreneurs who aim to change markets or create institutional change (Battilana et al. 2009;
DiMaggio 1988). The activities they do to drive change are labelled ‘institutional work’
(Lawrence and Suddaby 2006). Such actors are understood here as (macro-social) marketers or
consumers, who purposefully mobilize resources to support self-interests and drive change in
existing institutional structures (DiMaggio and Powell 1983; Maguire et al. 2004).
Macromarketing literature focusing on institutional theory has recently focused on the State’s
role in market change for Uber and Lyft (Wiebe and Mitchell 2023). Others the use of
institutional work by brands to legitimize themselves and contested markets (Coskuner-Balli,
Pehlivan, and Hughes 2021), along with its use by advertising professionals to deal with
conflicting institutional logics (Coleman, Zayer, and Karaca 2020). However, while Coskuner-
Balli et al. (2021) and Coleman et al.’s (2020) work provides context specific actions being
undertaken and links them to macro themes, they do not provide theoretical explanations for the
underlying processes of change. This leaves the call for further research on the processes
catalysts might use to instigate change, unanswered (Coleman et al. 2020). Especially with
regards to institutional norms because norms are challenging to change as they are influenced by
social and historical development.
Consumers can also do such institutional work if they co-ordinate themselves (King & Pearce
2010; Rao 2009) such as with boycotts (Khan et al. 2007). However, specific tactics to obtain
change have not been examined in the literature (Slimane et al. 2019). Previous marketing
literature using institutional theory has considered market and logic creation (Dolbec and Fischer
2015; Kjeldgaard et al. 2017; Scaraboto and Fischer 2013;), even with the use of consumers as
institutional entrepreneurs (Morrish and Earl 2020; Nguyen et al. 2020; Scaraboto and Fischer
2013), but has not considered delegitimation and the potential for institutional entrepreneurs to
drive this. Consumer research on delegitimation, which is embedded in the concept of
deinstitutionalisation, has looked at some of the pressures for change (Oliver 1992). Prior studies
have examined what drives market change and disruption. For example, Baker et al. (2019)
434
found that for field disruption to occur, there is a need for market decline and market creation.
Several studies also emphasised the importance of consumers in being change agents (see
Dolbec and Fischer 2015; Scaraboto and Fischer 2013; Thompson and Coskuner-Balli 2007).
Consumers therefore can play a crucial role in challenging prevailing logics that support the
status quo (Martin and Schouten 2014). However, challenging the status quo in some marketing
systems (e.g. fast fashion or fast moving consumer goods) can prove to be difficult due to social
recourse and cultural construction. This in turn, creates values and norms that different audiences
accept and see as legitimate (Tuncay, Zayer, and Coleman 2015), amounting in market shaping.
Wiebe and Mitchell (2023) examined market shaping practices using an institutional work
perspective and proposed three perspectives on change in institutional theory – collaboration,
conflict, and control. The article took a collaborative change model approach and states that
previous work in marketing systems dynamics, also takes this approach (e.g. Domegan et al.
2019; 2020; McHugh and Domegan 2013). In that approach “change [arises] from interactive,
shared decision-making, with disparate views and interests being accommodated simultaneously
(Lawrence, Hardy, and Phillips 2002; Reay and Hinings 2009)” (Wiebe and Mitchell 2023, p19).
Our proposed framework takes an alternative approach using a conflict perspective. Whereby we
view groups mobilizing and asserting their alternative institutional norms by negotiation, and
construction of structures and mechanisms which aid to shift and change the marketing system
(Wiebe and Mitchell 2023). This is supported by recent articles on delegitimization using
message framing which also takes a conflict-based perspective (Koch and Ulver 2022; Valor,
Lloveras, and Papaoikonomou 2021). Koch and Ulver (2022) identify markets as “institution[s]
in transformation” (248). The use of conflict framing in message rhetoric can contribute to
delegitimization of one product (cow’s milk) and drive legitimization of another (plant-based
milks). The authors found that problematization of market-driven conflict implies interactions
between oppositions and delegitimization is driven by market-industry boundary spanners, as
opposed to insiders and outsiders. While, Valor, Lloveras and Papaoikonomou (2021) find that
consumer practices can be delegitimized using emotional prototypes within pathic
stigmatization, using emotion to drive delegitimization. In both cases, they explore
delegitimization strategies, but delegitimation is also a process and delegitimation of marketing
systems needs to be examined over time. We include and expand on this work to go beyond
message framing/rhetoric use as one strategy to drive delegitimization, and instead focus on
exploring the overall process from a marketing systems perspective of delegitimizing
institutional norms, starting with self-organization and finishing with alternative, legitimized
institutional norms, that drive fundamental marketing system change.
Current literature does not focus on explaining how individuals or Macro-social marketers might
group together and ‘self-organise’ to drive system change through changing institutional norms
within the marketing system. Neither does it provide an understanding of the dynamic change
process of institutional norms so that Macro-social marketers might intervene. We posit that such
a process would deliver delegitimation of existing institutional norms, and creation of new or
blended norms to replace them. As such, the aim of this work is to propose how delegitimization
of institutional norms can bring about marketing system change – with the use of self-
organisation. To do this we combine marketing systems literature with institutional theory and
use examples from the Fashion Revolution organisation in its quest to change the fast fashion
system. This paper adds to the existing scholarly conversation by providing a conceptual
435
framework of how Macro-social marketers can drive delegitimation of institutional norms in the
marketing system. The same institutional norms perpetuating wicked problems in the marketing
system, causing marketing system failure.
References
Baker, Jonathan J., Kaj Storbacka, and Roderick J. Brodie (2019), “Markets changing, changing
markets: Institutional work as market shaping,” Marketing Theory, 19 (3), 301-328.
Battilana, Julie, Bernard Leca, and Eva Boxenbaum (2009), “2 how actors change institutions:
towards a theory of institutional entrepreneurship,” Academy of Management Annals, 3
(1), 65-107.
Biroscak, Brian J., Tali Schneider, Anthony D. Panzera, Carol A. Bryant, Robert J. McDermott,
Alyssa B. Mayer, Mahmooda Khaliq et al. (2014), “Applying systems science to evaluate
a community-based social marketing innovation: a case study,” Social Marketing
Quarterly, 20 (4), 247-267.
Coleman, Catherine A., Linda Tuncay Zayer, and Özlem Hesapci Karaca (2020), “Institutional
logics, gender, and advertising within a culture in transition: Examining strategies of
Advertising professionals in turkey for managing institutional complexity,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 40 (4), 510-527.
Coskuner-Balli, Gökçen, Ekin Pehlivan, and Mine Üçok Hughes (2021), “Institutional Work and
Brand Strategy in the Contested Cannabis Market,” Journal of Macromarketing, 41 (4),
663-674.
DiMaggio, Paul J (1988), "Interest and Agency in Institutional Theory," In L. G. Zucker (Ed.).
Institutional patterns and organizations, 3-21. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
DiMaggio, Paul J., and Walter W. Powell (1983), “The iron cage revisited: Institutional
isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields,” American Sociological
Review, 48 (2), 147-160.
Dixon, Barbara (1984), “Reading: mysterious or meaningful beginnings?” Reading, 18 (3), 168-
172.
Dolbec, Pierre-Yann, and Eileen Fischer (2015), “Refashioning a field? Connected consumers
and institutional dynamics in markets,” Journal of Consumer Research, 41 (6), 1447-
1468.
Domegan, Christine, Dmitry Brychkov, Patricia McHugh, Áine McNamara, Katharine Harkin,
Christine Fitzgerald, and Diarmuid O’Donovan (2020), “Marketing systems: a listen,
learn, leverage framework,” Journal of Macromarketing, 40 (3), 380-395.
Domegan, Christine, Patricia McHugh, Tina Flaherty, and Sinead Duane (2019), “A dynamic
stakeholders’ framework in a marketing systems setting,” Journal of Macromarketing, 39
(2), 136-150.
Duffy, Sarah Maree, Gavin Northey, and Patrick van Esch (2017), “Iceland: how social
mechanisms drove the financial collapse and why it’sa wicked problem,” Journal of
Social Marketing, 7 (3), 330-346.
Hampel, Christian E., Thomas B. Lawrence, Paul Tracey (2018), “Institutional Work: Taking
Stock and Making It Matter,” in The SAGE Handbook of Organizational Institutionalism,
R. Greenwood, C. Oliver, T. Lawrence, et al, eds. London, UK: Sage Publications, 558–
590.
436
Jagadale, Sujit Raghunathrao, Djavlonbek Kadirov, and Debojyoti Chakraborty (2018),
“Tackling the subaltern quandary: marketing systems of dignity,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 38 (1), 91-111.
Kemper, Joya A., and Paul W. Ballantine (2017), “Socio-technical transitions and institutional
change: addressing obesity through macro-social marketing,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 37 (4), 381-392.
Kennedy, Ann-Marie (2016), “Macro-social marketing,” Journal of Macromarketing, 36 (3),
354-365.
Kennedy, Ann‐Marie, and Andrew Parsons (2012), “Macro‐social marketing and social
engineering: a systems approach,” Journal of Social Marketing, 2 (1), 37-51.
Kennedy, Ann-Marie, Sommer Kapitan, Neha Bajaj, Angelina Bakonyi, and Sean Sands (2017),
“Uncovering wicked problem’s system structure: seeing the forest for the trees,” Journal
of Social Marketing, 7 (1), 51-73.
Khan, Farzad R., Kamal A. Munir, and Hugh Willmott (2007), “A dark side of institutional
entrepreneurship: Soccer balls, child labour and postcolonial impoverishment,”
Organization Studies, 28 (7), 1055-1077.
King, Brayden G., and Nicholas A. Pearce (2010), “The contentiousness of markets: Politics,
social movements, and institutional change in markets,” Annual Review of Sociology,
36, 249-267.
Kjeldgaard, Dannie, Søren Askegaard, Jannick Ørnstedt Rasmussen, and Per Østergaard (2017),
“Consumers’ collective action in market system dynamics: A case of beer,” Marketing
Theory, 17 (1), 51-70.
Koch, Christian H., and Sofia Ulver (2022), “PLANT VERSUS COW: Conflict Framing in the
Ant/Agonistic Relegitimization of a Market,” Journal of Macromarketing, 42 (2), 247-
261.
Layton, Roger A (2015), “Formation, growth, and adaptive change in marketing
systems,” Journal of Macromarketing, 35 (3), 302-319.
Layton, Roger A (2016), “There could be more to marketing than you might have thought! An
invited paper, by Professor Roger Layton,” Australasian Marketing Journal, 24 (1), 2-7.
Layton, Roger, and Sarah Duffy (2018), “Path dependency in marketing systems: Where history
matters and the future casts a shadow,” Journal of Macromarketing, 38 (4), 400-414.
Layton, Roger A., and Christine Domegan (2021), “The next normal for marketing—The
dynamics of a pandemic, provisioning systems, and the changing patterns of daily
life,” Australasian Marketing Journal, 29 (1), 4-14.
Layton, Roger, Christine Domegan, and Sarah Maree Duffy (2022), “Getting Things Right;
Diagnose and Design in The Evolution of Community Provisioning Systems,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 02761467221109136.
Lawrence, Thomas B., Cynthia Hardy, and Nelson Phillips (2002), “Institutional effects of
interorganizational collaboration: The emergence of proto-institutions,” Academy of
Management Journal, 45 (1), 281-290.
Lawrence, Thomas B., and Roy Suddaby (2006), Institutions and Institutional Work. In Clegg,
Stewart R., Thomas B. Lawrence, and Cynthia Hardy (Eds.), The Sage handbook of
organization studies, (2nd ed.), 215-254). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Maguire, Steve, Cynthia Hardy, and Thomas B. Lawrence (2004), “Institutional entrepreneurship
in emerging fields: HIV/AIDS treatment advocacy in Canada,” Academy of Management
Journal, 47 (5), 657-669.
437
Martin, Diane M., and John W. Schouten (2014), “Consumption-driven market emergence,”
Journal of Consumer Research, 40 (5), 855-870.
McHugh, Patricia., and Christine Domegan (2013), “From Reductionism to Holism: How Social
Marketing Captures the Bigger Picture Through Collaborative System Indicators,” in
Contemporary Issues in Social Marketing 2, K. Kubacki and S. Rundle-Thiele, (eds.)
London: Cambridge Scholars, 78–94.
Morrish, Sussie. C., annd Earl, Anna. (2020), “Networks, institutional environment and firm
internationalization,” Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 36 (11), 2037-2048.
Nguyen, Long Thanh, Jake An, and Liem Viet Ngo (2020), “Transforming social capital into
performance via entrepreneurial orientation,” Australasian Marketing Journal, 28 (4),
209-217.
Oliver, Christine (1992), “The antecedents of deinstitutionalization,” Organization Studies, 13
(4), 563-588.
Rao, Hayagreeva (2009), “Market Rebels: How Activists Make or Break Radical Innovations,”
Princeton University Press.
Reay, Trish, and C. Robert Hinings (2009), “Managing the rivalry of competing institutional
logics,” Organization Studies, 30 (6), 629-652.
Scaraboto, Daiane, and Eileen Fischer (2013), “Frustrated fatshionistas: An institutional theory
perspective on consumer quests for greater choice in mainstream markets,” Journal of
Consumer Research, 39 (6), 1234-1257.
Slimane, Karim Ben, Damien Chaney, Ashlee Humphreys, and Bernard Leca (2019), “Bringing
institutional theory to marketing: Taking stock and future research directions,” Journal of
Business Research, 105, 389-394.
Thompson, Craig J., and Gokcen Coskuner-Balli (2007), “Enchanting ethical consumerism: The
case of community supported agriculture,” Journal of Consumer Culture, 7 (3), 275-303.
Truong, V. Dao, Stephen Graham Saunders, and X. Dam Dong (2018), “Systems social
marketing: A critical appraisal,” Journal of Social Marketing, 9 (2), 180-203.
Tuncay Zayer, Linda, and Catherine A. Coleman (2015), “Advertising professionals’ perceptions
of the impact of gender portrayals on men and women: A question of ethics?” Journal of
Advertising, 44 (3), 1-12.
Valor, Carmen, Javier Lloveras, and Eleni Papaoikonomou (2021), “The role of emotion
discourse and pathic stigma in the delegitimization of consumer practices,” Journal of
Consumer Research, 47 (5), 636-653.
Venturini, Roberto (2016), “Social marketing and big social change: Personal social marketing
insights from a complex system obesity prevention intervention,” Journal of Marketing
Management, 32 (11-12), 1190-1199.
Wiebe, Jeffrey, and Alexander I. Mitchell (2023), “Government at (Institutional) Work: The
State and Market Dynamics,” Journal of Macromarketing, 43 (1), 17-31.
Williams, Janine, Janet Davey, and Micael-Lee Johnstone (2021), “Marketing system failure:
revisioning layton’s marketing system model,” Journal of Macromarketing, 41 (2), 411-
426.
Wooliscroft, Ben, and Alexandra Ganglmair-Wooliscroft (2018), “Growth, excess and
opportunities: Marketing systems’ contributions to society,” Journal of
Macromarketing, 38 (4), 355-363.
Zurcher, Kathleen A., Jon Jensen, and Ann Mansfield (2018), “Using a systems approach to
achieve impact and sustain results,” Health Promotion Practice, 19(1_suppl), 15S-23S.