This chapter examines the philosophical shifts over the marketing school of thoughts known as marketing scholarship since early twentieth century. The discussion in this chapter spans across the marketing paradigms that are influenced by the marketing scholarship over the years. Marketing has evolved through four stages: 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0, which focus on market competition, innovation and design to market paradigms, stakeholder values, and digital experiences. Marketing scholarship today has moved out of Marketing 1.0 phase of conventional marketing. However, some companies practice is still serving the niche markets with Marketing 2.0 with manufacturer’s controlled strategy, while most companies have settled with the Marketing 3.0 philosophy that emphasizes customer-centric marketing strategies and customer value creation. The marketing scholarship has advanced to Marketing-4.0 in the twenty-first century, wherein companies are focused on digital marketing, co-creation, community marketing, and building long-term customer value. This chapter discusses the attributes of transgenerational shifts of the marketing scholarship and their impact on marketing over time and space from niche to global markets.
Epistemological Debate on Marketing
Marketing had been considered as a need for living in early civilization. Exchange of goods, barter, and negotiation have been the historical milestones of human civilization. Such social dynamics existed in the community for a long time but has not been considered as marketing. It was defined as a social art of livelihood. However, it became an international tool for exchange of commodities and services to improve the economy of developing countries. Social conventions on barter exchange needed to be replaced gradually by the power and mobility of money, to transform unorganized economy in society. The process of such socioeconomic transformation and commoditization has slowly developed scientific perspectives on production of consumer goods, consumption patterns, and consumption levels in the society. In the development process of organizing and managing production, consumption has also created commodity exchange system, which has made academics and managers to realize that marketing is a part of management science. The concept of marketing as a scientific philosophy appeared in the 1950s through the emphasis on relationship marketing as a new paradigm. The theoretical vigor of marketing appeared in academics, as business organizations increasingly fostered closer relationships with their customers and developed new form of business–customer interaction (Tadajewski 2009). However, segmenting the history of marketing into the classical and neo-classical schools of thought are based on reflection on the literature (Shaw and Jones 2005), while the advanced levels of marketing scholarship (Marketing 1.0 thru 4.0) focuses on the detailed and methodical research contributions and the magnitude of applied managerial perspectives.
The marketing scholarship and the modern school of thought have evolved over the debate throughout the decade of 1950s to classify whether marketing is an art or science. This perspective was stimulated by Converse (1945), while many offered an implicit affirmation of the idea that marketing was a science (Alderson and Cox 1948; Bartels 1951). Many academics still questioned the arguments against marketing being treated as a science. The development of advertising, and product innovation and planning required creative flair and artistic sensibilities (Stainton 1952; Cannon 1980). However, marketing has been accepted as a management science in view of the robust quantitative research carried out in diverse fields of marketing, and several inductive theories that emerged out of qualitative research. Marketing has been argued also as a process for managing customer relationships to benefit the organization and stakeholders (Keith 1960).
In the process of driving production and exchange, consumption has also created currency, an instrument that dominates the whole consumption process and commodity exchange (Wu 2011). However, commodity exchange is still considered as an economic booster for the trade and economy of the developing countries. For several developing countries, barter trade holds several potential advantages. First, for a country like Sudan, which relies heavily on the unstable cotton market to provide the wherewithal for purchasing capital goods, barter trade permits a certain degree of planning (Kaikati 1976).
In the early twentieth century, marketing was understood as an integrated element of business to improve competitiveness and profitability of the companies along with delivering customer value. Over time, marketing activities were explained as drivers of not only business growth but also of socioeconomic change . Thus, marketing was defined as an agent of social-economic transformation driven by the monetary system, after it significantly overcame the stage of barter. The epistemological evolution and research on marketing in the early twentieth century argued that marketing has been instrumental in increasing sales. However, this notion remained segregated as the domains of marketing and sales were separated in the mid-twentieth century (Taran 2015).
Marketing scholarship further advanced to justify the act of selling as a part of marketing science, which helped managers to derive more strength by integrating marketing and sales domains in business and develop sales strategies. Selling products to customers at home or niche markets helped in protecting businesses from competitive pressures. However, arguments on historical evolution of marketing scholarship continued to refine over time. The marketing theory and thought-development process were focused on wide perspectives in a global direction. Marketing as a scholarly discipline among other social sciences continued to provide the logical constructs and rationale for refining the marketing scholarship at various levels (Tamilia 2009).
With the advancement of commercialization in the society and growth of industries, the contextual definitions of marketing have been transforming. During mid-1930s, the definition changed from marketing being the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producers to consumers, to marketing as the process of planning and implementation of local commerce (Wilkie and Moore 2006). After the introduction of marketing mix concepts by Philip Kotler in mid-twentieth century, marketing has been defined as a function of product, pricing, promotion, and distribution for goods and services to create exchanges that achieve individual and organizational objectives. Later, marketing was comprehended as an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers. Table 1.1 shows the growth of marketing philosophy on various dimensions since the end of nineteenth century.
Table 1.1
Evolution of marketing philosophy and research (1900–2020)
Evolution | Critical focus | Dominant philosophy | Market players | Mass marketing | Market segmentation | Consumerism | Loyalty | Relevance and convergence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1900–1930 | Commodity- and money exchange | Explaining barter and money- exchange philosophy | Manufacturer to buyer, direct marketing, need-based selling | The classical school of thought focused on manufacturing and sales | Confined to niche. No scientific classification of consumers | Need-based and subsistence, no thoughts on premium products and services | Loyalty parameters were not laid and no theories to support | Social and personal |
1931–1950 | Manufacturing | Production economics, sales, and markets | Manufacturers, small retailers in local markets, and salespeople | Competition has not been addressed epistemologically | Mass market with low turnovers and interventions | Need-based and community-centric | Thoughts on branding and communication emerged | Social and market oriented |
1951–1960 | Marketing | Fundamental elements of marketing mix, profiteering, and customer relationship | Manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and service providers | Products and services, competition analysis, branding | Geo-demographic segmentation, market taxonomy | Communication- and promotion-based, push strategy to redefine consumerism | New models on business continuum, consumer behavior, trust, and loyalty | Consumers and markets |
1961–1970 | Enabling technology | Operations- and supply chain management | Suppliers, logistics and inventory functions | Mass marketing, focus on consumer research | Identified bottom of the pyramid segment | Up-market, luxury trends, and conspicuous consumption | Loyalty, networking, and word-of-mouth effects | Consumer welfare, mass marketing |
1971–1980 | Marketing performance | Market share, sales, CRM | Local, regional, and multinational companies | Focus on mass- and premium markets for consumer-centric products and services | All segments of consumers | Up-market, luxury trends, and conspicuous consumption | Conceptualizing brand loyalty, competitive branding | Industry attractiveness and consumer marketing |
1981–1990 | Competition and marketing strategy | Innovation and technology, marketing research | Distribution channels, marketing communication | Mass-market development, cosmopolitan markets | Reinforcing bottom of the pyramid segment along with up-market segments | Technology- and communication-led consumption pattern, social consciousness on consumption | Product and brand-oriented loyalty, destination market loyalty | Innovation, technology, and consumption behavior |
1991–2000 | Marketing research and modeling | Enterprise development, and customer value | Distributors and retailers, referral, and social media | Focus on mass marketing, niche development | Society as unit for marketing, undivided market segment | Value-based consumption, trend-follower pattern | Brand, company, and product loyalty | Corporate goals and stakeholder values |
2001–2010 | Consumerism and loyalty | Consumer lifetime value, social networks, and psychodynamics | Brick-and-mortar retailers and e-commerce enablers, hybrid companies | Mass marketing, niche market, and development of specialized markets | Universe of market, all geo-demographic segments | Innovation, technology, convenience, and value-driven consumerism | Consumer communities, brands, and loyalty for destination markets | Corporate value, and customer value |
2011–2020 | Innovation, technology, and servitization | Customer value, social value, and lifestyle, next-generation markets | Dominance of e-commerce, digital marketing strategies | Mass Marketing, local–global market development | Boundaryless marketing, marketing 4.0, process automation | Innovation, technology, health, sustainability, convenience, and value-driven consumerism | Digital communities and brands | Marketing technology, innovation, and customer value |
Marketing sc...