Journal of Macromarketing current issue

Ad Hoc Reviewers--September 2008

Twede, D., Thompson, C. J. — 2008-07-31

In this Issue

Shultz, C. J., Witkowski, T. H., Kilbourne, W. — 2008-07-31

The Search for a Dominant Logic: A Macromarketing Perspective

Layton, R. A. — 2008-07-31

This paper suggests an extension to the Vargo and Lusch (2004) proposal where the fundamental unit of analysis is not the exchange itself but a marketing system within which the service dominant exchange is embedded. The relevant marketing system could range from a micro-system in which the reciprocal creation of value through a single transaction between a buyer and seller is considered, to purposeful, structured, or emergent systems (such as supply chains, business ecosystems, or shopping malls), to the aggregate marketing system. Five criteria are suggested that should be met by any proposed dominant logic or world view. The system-embedded service-dominant (SESD) logic meets all five criteria and may reverse the growing fragmentation occurring in both micro- and macromarketing. It redefines the relationship between micro- and macromarketing and in focusing attention on a meso level of analysis it opens up new horizons for research. In a multidisciplinary setting it highlights what is intrinsic to marketing—exchange within a marketing systems framework.

Rethinking Macro-level Theories of Consumption: Research Findings from Nazi Concentration Camps

Klein, J. G., Hill, R. P. — 2008-07-31

This research seeks to inform the developing macromarketing theme of restricted consumer behavior. Nazi concentration camps were selected because they provide an extreme example of external control and constraint. Multidisciplinary scholarship is reviewed, with an emphasis on relevance to the understanding of consumer restrictions. A brief description of the qualitative methodology follows, and the results as thematic categories come next. The thematic categories of forced dispossession, survival strategies, reconfiguration of the self, and reemerging into society are used to provide implications for the majority of world citizens who face significant limitations in their lived experiences as consumers. Closing remarks discuss the opportunities such a shift in emphasis may have on the viability of theoretical constructions about consumption.

An Extension and Further Validation of a Community-based Consumer Well-being Measure

2008-07-31

The goal of this study is to extend the research and further validation of Lee and colleagues' measure of community-based consumer well-being. The measure is based on the notion that consumers experience well-being to the extent that they are satisfied with local marketplace experiences related to (1) shopping for desired consumer goods and services in the local area, (2) preparing locally purchased consumer durables for personal use, (3) consuming locally purchased goods and services, (4) owning consumer durables purchased in the local area, (5) using repair and maintenance services in the local area, and (6) using selling, trading-in, and disposal services in the local area. Data were collected from ten localities in nine countries/states (California, Minnesota, Canada, Australia, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, Egypt, and China) using the mall intercept method. The data provided support for the predictive/nomological validity of the measure by providing empirical support for the relationship between the consumer well-being construct and other well-being constructs such as life satisfaction.

A Rose by Any Other Name? The Influence of Brand Name versus Chemical Differences in the Prescription of Antidepressants: The Role of Expertise

Ward, S., Pecotich, A., O'Cass, A., Julian, C. C. — 2008-07-31

The effect that marketing has had on the prescription decisions of the medical profession is an area of great social and governmental concern and has been the subject of substantial international debate. In this study, the importance of brand name as a factor influencing the prescription habits of general practitioners and psychiatrists is examined. Data on antidepressant prescriptions supplied by the Australian Governments Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme and results derived from MANOVA and ANOVA analyses suggest that the brand name as much as chemical differences influenced the prescription of choice of antidepressants by both general practitioners and psychiatrists. The use of a well-promoted brand name may be an important evaluation shortcut by both groups regardless of detailed training resulting in medical practices, which may undermine the social imperative of affordable medical care for all. The authors suggest that clinical appropriateness of prescriptions for antidepressants by brand name needs further investigation.

Frankincense, Myrrh, and Spices: The Oldest Global Supply Chain?

Hull, B. Z. — 2008-07-31

Frankincense, myrrh, and spices were highly coveted and highly expensive necessities of life in the ancient world. They were transported from distant corners of the world to their Mediterranean customers, and their routes crossed the Arabian Peninsula by camel caravan. An Arabian tribe, the Nabataeans, monopolized this trade nearly two thousand years ago. Their supply chain, with a hub-and-spoke structure, partnerships, value-added services, innovative packaging, and early adoption of technology, bears striking resemblance to those of today. It differed though, in its elaborate and painstaking security precautions. This tight security was mandated by the lawlessness of the era and the high value of the merchandise. The Nabataean supply chain maintained its competitive advantage for more than five centuries. This article compares it with those of today and examines the Nabataeans, a nomadic tribe that shaped the basic concepts of supply chain management.

Hidden Mountain: The Social Avoidance of Waste

de Coverly, E., McDonagh, P., O'Malley, L., Patterson, M. — 2008-07-31

This article considers the neglected area of disposition, the nature of our relationship with waste. Marketing tactics are complicit in a throwaway culture, so how can we better theorize our relationship to waste? The authors submit that to maintain control, we are encouraged to keep waste in its place—out of sight and out of mind. This is achieved through systemic smoothing mechanisms such as our socialization against waste, the role of trash cans, and the work of garbage collectors. By exposing the detritus of consumption, the "waste mountain," a macromarketing analysis helps us confront the systemic avoidance of waste. As such, this constitutes an initial contribution to marketing as social engagement and also to future policy development. We connect the rendering invisible or hidden aspect of waste to what Bauman has termed the economics of deception prevalent within consumer society.

Gregory T. Gundlach, Lauren G. Block, and William L. Wilkie, Editors. Explorations of Marketing in Society. Mason, OH: Thomson, 2007

Shapiro, S. J. — 2008-07-31

Special Issue on Environmental Sustainability: Journal of Macromarketing June, 2010

Kilbourne, W. E. — 2008-07-31