One more time – what is marketing? 15
outsourcing of manufacturing by the wealthier
economies to the newly industrializing coun-
tries has tended to exaggerate rather than reduce
the unequal distribution of wealth between
these economies. But, at the same time, it has led
to unemployment in these wealthier economies,
stagnating demand and recession – a recession
that is global in its impact.
This gloomy scenario is compounded
when one recognizes that the concentration of
much of the world’s wealth in the hands of a
minority of the world’s population was
undoubtedly a factor in the horrific events of
September 11th. 2001. While it would be overly
simplistic to attribute these events solely to
envy and resentment of the disproportionate
consumption of resources by the American
people, it is clear that Americans, and others,
are having difficulty in adjusting to the fact that
such win–lose situations engender such feel-
ings among the ‘losers’.
What is needed is a proper appreciation of
the true marketing concept of exchange based
onmutually satisfying relationshipsin which both
parties get what they want – a true win–win
situation. Such a concept reflects the ‘Golden
Rule’ central to most religious ideologies – ‘Do
unto others as you would be done by’. While it
would be unrealistic to expect those enjoying
high standards of living to reduce these radi-
cally overnight, it should not be impossible to
promote a more equitable global society by
encouraging the win–win outcomes advocated
by the marketing concept and its emphasis on
mutually satisfying relationships.
In our view, implementation of this con-
cept/orientation demands the existence of a
marketing function and the management of the
marketing mix. The remainder of The Marketing
Bookdraws on the expertise of leading thinkers
and practitioners to see how we might achieve
this desired state.
References
Albert, M. (1991) Capitalisme contre Capitalisme,
Seuil, L’Historie Imm ́ediate, Paris.
Ames, C. (1970) Trappings versus substance in
industrial marketing, Harvard Business
Review, July–August, 93–103.
Dussart, C. (1994) ‘Capitalism versus Capi-
talism’, in Baker, M. J. (ed.) Perspectives on
Marketing Management, Vol. 4, John Wiley &
Sons, Chichester.
Hayes, R. and Abernathy, W. (1980) Managing
our way to economic decline, Harvard Busi-
ness Review, July–August, 67–77.
King, S. (1985) Has marketing failed or was it
never really tried?, Journal of Marketing Man-
agement, 1 (1), Summer, 1–19.
Kotler, P. (1967) Marketing Management: Analy-
sis, Planning and Control, Prentice-Hall, Engle-
wood Cliffs, NJ.
Levitt, T. (1960) Marketing myopia, Harvard
Business Review, July–August, 45–60.
Mattsson, L.-G. (1997) ‘Relationship marketing’
and the ‘markets-as-networks approach’ – a
comparative analysis of two evolving
streams of research, Journal of Marketing
Management, 13 , 447–61.
M ̈oller, K. and Halinen-Kaila, A., (1997) ‘Rela-
tionship Marketing: Its Disciplinary Roots
and Future Directions’, Helsinki School of
Economics and Business Administration,
Helsinki:Working Papers, W-194.Further reading
Baker, M. J. (2000) ‘Marketing – Philosophy or
Function?’, Chapter 1 in Baker, M. J. (ed.)
Encyclopedia of Marketing, 2nd edn, ITP,
London.