Macro-Definition of Marketing Hafis Bello; hafisbello@gmail.com 2011 1.

0 INTRODUCTION Marketing is multidisciplinary in nature (Baker, 1983) and multidimensional in s cope. Consequently, there are several definitions of marketing (Baker et al, 199 8). Marketing has strong foundation in related fields of human endeavors such as eco nomics, sociology, psychology, and derives some of its concepts from statistics and the management sciences as well as from subjects like anthropology. Thus, ma rketing is defined and practiced from many distinct points of view, with varying means and towards different ends (Baker et al, 2001). As achievable in other fields of social sciences especially economics, marketing definitions have been classified into two namely micro-marketing and macro-mark eting; to capture the broad approaches to the discipline. While micro-marketing mainly deals with the firm, its products and product prici ng towards meeting consumer needs profitably; macro-marketing which was evident early in the 20th century, deals with the problems and potential of marketing ac tivities from a more societal perspective. 2.0 DEFINITIONS OF MACRO-MARKETING Hunt (1981: 8) viewed macro-marketing as a multidimensional construct which refe rs to the study of: marketing Systems the impact and consequence of Marketing system on society the impact of society on marketing systems In effect, the concept of macro-marketing takes as its primary unit of analysis, the market or marketing system, rather than the firm or individual customer. According to George Fisk, past Editor of the Journal of Macro-Marketing, macro-m arketing is generally defined as: the impact and consequences of micro-marketing actions on society- marketing e xternalities; the impact and consequences of society on marketing systems and actions- social sanctions; and the understanding of marketing systems in their aggregate dimensions- macro syst ems analysis Fisk (1981) further added that macro marketing should be viewed as a social proc ess: A life support system provisioning technology. A focus on quality and quantity of life goals served by marketing. A technology for mobilizing and allocating resources. A discipline concerned about the consequences of marketing, that is, the spill-o ver effects of marketing for those who may not seek or be aware of the intended or unintended activities of marketers. Macro marketing focuses on aggregations and systems, and the way marketing proce sses within them affect and are affected by those systems, and the society in wh ich they function. It tends to emphasize social, cultural or policy orientations (Wikipedia, 2011) Bartels and Jenkins (1977) suggested that Macro marketing should connote an aspe ct of marketing which is larger than what is otherwise considered. They viewed m

acro-marketing as the: systems and groups of macro institutions such as; conglomerates, industries, an d associations in contrast to their individual component units marketing process in its entirety uncontrollable environment of micro firms Macro-marketing could also be viewed as a social process that directs an economy 's flow of goods and services from producers to consumers in a way that effectiv ely matches supply and demand and accomplishes the objectives of society in a fa ir and efficient manner. The macro-level focuses on the productive output of the entire economy, as it mo ves from all producers to all consumers. The focus is not on the output and con cerns of individual firms or on the concerns of individual consumers. 3.0 DISCUSSIONS From the definitions of macro-marketing above, macro marketing as defined by Hun t (1981:8) and George Fisk has to do with interactions that not only cut across marketing systems but also checks out the impact of marketing on the society and the impact of the society on marketing. Macro marketing can be likened to a Venn diagram in set where the universal set is the society, while Macro marketing, micro marketing and other systems are sub sets in the diagram below in Figure 1 Hence, the key is focus on aggregations, systems and ultimately, the way marketi ng processes within them affect and are also affected by those systems and the s ociety in which they function. It is a social process that directs an economys flow of goods and services from p roducers to consumers in a way that matches demand and supply and hence, meets t he objectives of the society. 4.0 SUMMARY This paper has critically examined the various definitions of macro-marketing. T he main component of the definition is that macro-marketing deals with broad mar keting systems and the various interrelated units towards achieving efficient ma rketing activities for the firm, the households and society at large. 5.0 CONCLUSION In conclusion, the importance of the study of macromarketing is an important mec hanism to study both opportunities and shortcomings of marketing, and both its i ntended positive effects and unintended deleterious effects. Macromarketing ther efore includes an optimistic perspective; it seeks functional mechanisms to enha nce marketing processes and systems, to the benefit of the largest number of sta keholders, the world over. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Baker, Michael J. (1983): Marketing: An Introductory Text; Third Ed., The MacMil lan Press. Ltd Baker, Michael J. (1989): Marketing a New Philosophy of Management; The Quarterl y Review of Marketing, Vol. 14, No.2, Winter, pp. 1-4. Baker, Michael J. (1998): Marketing Managerial Functions; MacMillan Publishers, Australia Crosier, K. (1975): What Exactly is Marketing?, Quarterly Review of Marketing, V ol. 1, No. 2, Winter, pp. 21-25 Gunay (2001): The Marketing Concept; Ege Akademik Bakis, Sayi Kotler, Phillip (1991): Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control, Seventh Ed. Prentice-Hall, Inc Levitt, Theodore (1960): Marketing Myopia; Harvard Business Review; Vol. 38, No.

4; July-August, pp 45-56. Bartel R. and Jenkins R. (1977) Macromarketing, Journal of Marketing, Vol.44, No. 4 Pp17-20. Fisk, George (1981) An Invitation to Participate in Affairs of the Journal of Mac romarketing, Journal of Macromarketing, Vol.1, No.1 p3. Hunt Shelby(1981) Macromarketing as a Multidimensional Concept, Journal of Macrom rketing,Vol. 1,No.1 pp7-8. Mittelstaedt, John D.,William E. Kilbourne and Robert A. Mittelstaedt. (2006) Mac romarketing as Agorology: Macromarketing Theory and the Study of the Agora, Journ al of Macromarketing, Vol. 26, No.2, pp131-142 Perreault, William, D. Jr. and McCarthy, E. Jerome (1997) Essential of Marketing , 7th Ed. Chicago: Irwin. (http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/macromarketing)