Principles of Marketology, Volume 2: Practice

741 Pages·2017·23.735 MB·English

by  Hashem Aghazadeh (auth.)

Principles of Marketology, Volume 2
Practice
Hashem Aghazadeh
Principles of
Marketology, Volume 2
Practice
Hashem Aghazadeh
University of Tehran
Tehran, Iran
ISBN 978-1-137-57980-5 ISBN 978-1-137-54833-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-54833-7
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015019821
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To my diligent father,
Khodaverdi Aghazadeh
To my compassionate mother,
Hajar Hajiloo
To my wise and entrepreneur wife,
Dr. Mina Mehrnoosh
P
reface
Ultimately marketology as a ‘science of market’ terminates
the identity crisis of marketing.
Market-related theoretical and practical problems in a business context were
the key issues that encouraged me to write Principles of Marketology. In this
book, marketology is perceived as a theory and practice of market in a business
context. It also shows that marketology can be regarded in a social, as well as
a business, context.
From a theoretical perspective, the book represents marketology as a perva-
sive concept that can ensure business competitive success in creating and deliver-
ing superior value to key stakeholders as complementary to marketing, market
research and other market-related concepts. From a practical perspective it con-
siders the hyper-function of marketology as a dynamic system that accomplishes
business competitive success and performance management by supporting mar-
ket-related decisions and actions of business by providing market data, infor-
mation, knowledge, intelligence and insight (DIKII) and serving identification,
generation, dissemination, exploitation and evaluation (IGDEE) in the form of
marketology organizational contribution (MOC) relying on marketology orga-
nizational design (MOD) and marketology organizational behavior (MOB). The
book presents practical tools and techniques to assist those in business in practic-
ing the hyper-function of marketology across their enterprise. Finally, it maps the
future of marketology, thus concluding an integrative handbook on marketology.
It became clear to me while writing this book that the concept of market-
ing and, more generally, the issue of market have serious philosophical and
practical problems/causes for debate both in business and beyond business
contexts—far more than I have investigated here. The hyper-function of marke-
tology, which has been re-formed and represented as a theoretical and practical
solution to such problems of marketing, may not be sufficient and should be
expanded and developed further (Aghazadeh 2015, 2016; Sato 1959, 1960;
vii
viii PrEFACE
Komatsu 2006). In this regard, first, several problems of marketing (mostly
theoretical) are reviewed in brief based on related literature; then a framework
is advised for more deepening in this matter and paving the way for building
marketology theory (beyond marketing, beyond business, and beyond practice).
Marketing identity crisis
After much time and extensive academic and professional debate, the question
continues to be asked whether marketing is an art or a science, and it has yet to be
answered decisively. Some believe it is not a science because a unique marketing
theory has yet to be developed, marketing does not conform to the basic charac-
teristics of a science, marketing studies could not fulfill the objectives of science;
and marketing men have not looked to evolve a science of marketing. Biggadike
(1981) claims that marketers are not scientists who build theory but technicians
who solve problems at the brand or product level. By contrast, others believe that
marketing has many—though not all—of the requisite characteristics of a science.
Marketing, which is rarely regarded as a philosophy, may be an art (with technical,
professional and applicative aspects), discipline (the academic side of the subject)
or science (a body of knowledge of distribution). The technical aspects of market-
ing are now a distinct field of study and application which is characterized more
as a trade or profession than a science. In fact marketing mostly seems to be an art
in which the findings of many sciences, such as economics (in particular), man-
agement, sociology and psychology are applied (Brown 2001; Demirdjian 1976;
Bartels 1968, 1974, 1976; Biggadike 1981; Ketchen and Hult 2011; Hutchinson
1952). Initially it was economic theory that provided explanations to guide deci-
sion-making for business and government actions. By the mid-1950s, marketing
had become the main philosophy of business management. However, it had no
strong theory to define such philosophical grounding adequately and the theo-
retical developments were so limited that later it was claimed that marketing is not
a science, and so it faced an identity crisis (Halbert 1964; Bartels 1944, 1951a;
Morgan 1996). This lack of clear identity persists and should be resolved by build-
ing marketing theory and shaping marketing science (Brown 2001; Demirdjian
1976; Bartels 1951a, 1965, 1974; Halbert 1964; Morgan 1996; Biggadike 1981;
Ketchen and Hult 2011; Hutchinson 1952; Converse 1945).
Building Marketing theory
Marketing by having many of the requisite characteristics of a science as well
as through the emergence of social interests in marketing beyond its tech-
nical aspects now seems prepared more than ever to build unique theories
and to be regarded as a science. An appropriate marketing theory and science
should comprise systematically related themes, laws and principles with empiri-
cal testability; should be developed in terms of its scientific content, managerial
perspective and meta-theoretical foundations; and should consider business/
management, economics, psychology, sociology and other social science pro-
fessions (Bartels 1941, 1951b, 1962, 1970; Drucker 1954; Morgan 1996;
PrEFACE ix
Kotler and Sidney 1969; Hult 2011; Johanson and Vahlne 2011; Ketchen and
Hult 2011; McCarthy 1960; Layton 2011; Keith 1994; Deng and Dart 1994;
Levitt 1960, 1984; Bennett and Cooper 1981; Houston 1986; Kotler 1972;
Enis 1973; Foxall 1989; Grönroos 1990; Mueller-Heumann 1986; Ferrell and
Lucas 1987; Baligh and Burton 1979; Narver and Slater 1990; Jaworski and
Kohli 1993; Kohli et al. 1993; Alderson and Cox 1948; Harris 1996a; Jones
and Monieson 1990; Law 1984; Webster 1988; Day and Wensley 1983).
To improve theory-building for marketing it would be helpful to note that
marketing is a context-driven discipline: the context is changing drastically so
the well-accepted principles and laws of marketing should constantly be ques-
tioned and challenged and consequently updated (Sheth and Sisodia 1999;
Webster 1992a, b). Marketing theory can be viewed from three perspectives:
the theory of marketing (explains marketing), the theory in marketing (explains
phenomena that marketing is concerned with) and the theory with marketing
(contains marketing when explaining something else). Marketing is related and
based on a combination of other disciplines and sciences: philosophy, econom-
ics, psychology, sociology, politics and public policy, law, management, finance,
production, engineering and so on. All of these should be taken into account as
sources for a building marketing theory (Ludicke 2006; Moyer 1967; Fisk 1967;
Adler 1967; Halbert 1964, 1965; Parsons and Toby 1977; Parsons 1951, 1971;
Marx 1946; Habermas 1984; Durkheim 1933; Luhmann 1995; Hughes 2005;
Alderson 1954; Fullerton 1988; Wilkie and Moore 2003; Alderson and Cox
2006; Bartels 1965; Sidorchuk 2015; Drucker 1954; Bagozzi 1984; El-Ansary
1979; Morgan 1996; raymond and Barksdale 1989; Dixon and Diehn 1992;
Lazer 1967; Dholakia et al. 1987; Brownlie et al. 1994; Hunt 1971, 1983,
1994, 1993; Peter 1992; Anderson 1982; Howard 1983; Hunt et al. 1981;
Zaltman et al. 1982; Deshpande 1983; Sheth et al. 1988; Cox and Alderson
1950; Howard and Jagdish 1969; Hotchkiss 1938; Fisk and Donald 1967).
Definitions of Sciences/Disciplines Related to Marketing and Marketology
Sociology: Sociology is “the study of society; a social science involving
the study of the social lives of people, groups, and societies; the study of
our behavior as social beings, covering everything from the analysis of
short contacts between anonymous individuals on the street to the study
of global social processes; the scientific study of social aggregations, the
entities through which humans move throughout their lives; an overarch-
ing unification of all studies of humankind, including history, psychology,
and economics” (ASA 2016).
Psychology: Psychology is a science of the psychic, mind, behavior, soul
and conscious; it “is the study of the mind and behavior. The discipline
embraces all aspects of the human experience—from the functions of the
(continued)
x PrEFACE
(continued)
brain to the actions of nations, from child development to care for the
aged. In every conceivable setting from scientific research centers to men-
tal healthcare services, the understanding of behavior is the enterprise of
psychologists” (APA 2016).
Economics: Economics as a discipline is “the study of scarcity, the study of
how people use resources, or the study of decision-making”. “Economic
study ranges from the very small to the very large.” Economics is “a
much broader discipline that helps us understand historical trends, inter-
pret today’s headlines, and make predictions for coming decades. One of
the central tenets of economics is that people want certain things and will
change their behavior to get those things—in other words, people will
respond to incentives.” “The study of choices by individuals … is called
microeconomics.” “The study of governments, industries, central bank-
ing, and the boom and bust of the business cycle is called macroeconom-
ics. Much of economics involves using data gathered by governments,
businesses, or in the laboratory to test hypotheses about whether a cer-
tain program, event, or incentive will have the expected effect. Another
branch of economics focuses on using economic theory to make predic-
tions about how people and markets will behave” (AEA 2016).
Technology and information technology: Technology as a science
of craft is the knowledge of techniques, processes, skills and methods
used in the production of goods or services or in the accomplishment
of objectives (Wise 1985; Arthur 2011; Wright 1996; Goggin 1980;
Teich 1972; Marquit 1995). Information technology (IT) as an aca-
demic discipline which encompasses all aspects of computing technol-
ogy is “concerned with issues of users and meeting their needs within
an organizational and societal context through the selection, creation,
application, integration and administration of computing technologies”
(ACM 2008).
Marketing and marketing research: “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” (AMA, Approved July 2013). “Marketing research is the
function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer
through information—information used to identify and define market-
ing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing
actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding
of marketing as a process. Marketing research specifies the informa-
tion required to address these issues, designs the method for collecting
information, manages and implements the data collection process, ana-
lyzes the results, and communicates the findings and their implications”
(AMA, Approved October 2004).
PrEFACE xi
Marketing, Marketing Men and Market research
to Be renaMed: Marketology and Marketologist
The concept of marketing has been changed in many ways, including the fol-
lowing: distribution of products, economics of distributive enterprise, man-
agement of the distributive process, distributive managerial decision-making,
social process, and a generic function applicable to both business and non-
business institutions. The following challenging questions about marketing
identity have yet to be answered clearly:
• Is marketing a specific function with general applicability or a general
function that is specifically applied?
• Is the identity of marketing determined by the subject matter dealt with
or by the technology with which the subject is handled?
• Is marketing the application of certain functions, activities or techniques
to the dissemination of economic goods and services, including the satis-
factions they provide?
• Is marketing the application of those functions and techniques to the dis-
semination of any ideas, programs, or causes—non-economic as well as
economic, non-business as well as business?
Thus it is clear that the identity of marketing is still in crisis. To define a
dignified identity for marketing as a scientific field which contemplates both
economic and non-economic fields of application, perhaps marketing needs
another name (Bartels 1974).
Much like marketing, which has yet to be determined a science, there
is no pervasive consensus on the position of people who work in the field
of marketing. Using the term “marketing man” might imply that one sells
some kind of good/service. rarely is the term understood as professional,
as with “physician” (as a medicine man) or “lawyer” (as a law man). When
considering marketing as a profession, the proposed alternatives to “mar-
keting man” include “marketor”, “marketer”, “marketist”, “marketrician”,
“marketmetrician”, “mercatus” and “marketologist” (Millican 1964; Bartels
1959).
Bartels (1959) proposed “marketologists” as the title for people who are
engaged in the development of scientific aspects of marketing and who assist
in solving marketing problems (Bartels 1959), similar to sociologists, who
attempt to contribute to solving social problems.
In response to the questions “Is marketing a science or an art?” and “Is
marketing a technology/business activity or a social process?”, Demirdjian
(1976) suggested that marketing should be categorized into two types: “mar-
ketology”, a conceptual science that studies marketing as a social process; and
“marketry”, an art (applied technology) that applies the knowledge generated
by marketology to the activities of business and non-business organizations
(Demirdjian 1976).