Abstract
This dissertation rethinks one of the most exciting socio-economic phenomena of the emerging 21st century: the concept and reality of marketing. Since 1946, marketing scholars have been trying to capture the field with a comprehensive general theory as a consistent framework of analysis. This study advances this ongoing project by theorizing and defining marketing as a unique form of social system. To conceptually and coherently define, situate, and legitimate marketing as an organizational function, research domain, and linguistic expression, the thesis chose Luhmannian social systems theory as the key conceptual framework. The approach enabled an inquiry into the reasons for society to develop and proliferate marketing systems and unveiled their basal operations, codes, programs, and structures. The study rigorously employed historical and hermeneutical content analysis as well as rhetorical methods. Data was derived from five sources; extensive literature research, an interview-study with 5 lead ng global companies, a content analysis of 500 marketing job descriptions, 51 consumer interviews, and a qualitative study on brand systems. Findings unveil marketing as a social system that communicates through and about brands to influence observers' preferences on behalf of a host system. Preferences are ephemeral orders of desires that refer to observers' budgets of money, time, or attention. A brand is defined as a form in the medium of brands that is manifested in the dimensions of output, value, access, and marking. Brand systems are conceptualized as social systems that embed brand-related communications and enrich, for an observer, the brand with meaning. The primary code of all marketing systems is "preference/no preference towards a brand." A secondary constituting code of marketing systems is adopted from the particular host system, for instance, "payment/no payment" if the host is an economic organization or "truth/no truth" in a science context. The basal operation which marketing systems utilize to induce preferences is brandrelated communication. It comprises communication through brands in the medium of money, and communication about brands in the medium of meaning. As budgets are spent, preferences are manifested, e.g., in payments for brands and acceptance of brand systems. For the first time in marketing history, this thesis consistently defines the boundaries, codes, and basal operations of marketing systems, structures marketing theories in a coherent framework, and provides researchers with a macro-level mode of observation, the marketing systems analysis.
Originalsprache | Englisch |
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Erscheinungsort | Wiesbaden |
Verlag | Deutscher Universitats Verlag |
Seitenumfang | 191 |
ISBN (elektronisch) | 9783835091313 |
ISBN (Print) | 3835003046, 9783835003040 |
DOIs | |
Publikationsstatus | Veröffentlicht - 2006 |
Extern publiziert | Ja |