A Statement of Marketing Philosophy

Author(s): Marketing Staff of the Ohio State University

Source: Journal of Marketing, Vol. 29, No. 1 (Jan., 1965), pp. 43-44
Published by: American Marketing Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1248780
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Journal of Marketing

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A Statement of

Marketing Philosophy
MARKETING STAFF OF
THE OHIO STATE

UNIVERSITY

BASIC to a philosophy of marketing is one's concept of the

nature of marketing itself. We have felt it imperative to

reexamine and clarify our concept of the nature and purpose of
marketing in order to determine whether our views were adequate
to advance our goals as marketing educators. These goals involve
striving for higher levels of sophistication in marketing knowledge and facilitating socially useful and self-fulfilling careers for
marketing students. Plans for the attainment of such goals are
clearly related to the nature of marketing itself.
Certainly there is no lack of divergent viewpoints concerning
the nature of marketing. It has been described by one person
or another as a business activity; as a group of related business
activities; as a trade phenomenon; as a frame of mind; as a

This statement is a sum-

mary of the basic ideas or

convictions about marketing

which are shared by the

marketing faculty of The

Ohio State University.
It was formulated by them

in order to provide the faculty with a formally stated

sense of purpose . . . a

means of unifying individual

efforts ... a tool for achiev-

ing consistency ... a guideline for maintaining charted

courses ... a basis for evalu-

coordinative, integrative function in policy making; as a sense

of business purpose; as an economic process; as a structure of
institutions; as the process of exchanging or transferring ownership of products; as a process of concentration, equalization, and
dispersion; as the creation of time, place, and possession utilities;
as a process of demand and supply adjustment; and as many
other things. Each of the foregoing concepts may be appropriate
for a given person, at a given time, when examining marketing
problems from a given point of view. We have felt it necessary
to conceive of marketing in a manner sufficiently comprehensive
to encompass other viewpoints which may be narrow or more
specialized. Accordingly, we have formulated a definition of marketing as follows:

Marketing is the process in a society by which the demand

structure for economic goods and services is anticipated or
enlarged and satisfied through the conception, promotion,
exchange, and physical distribution of such goods and services.

When so viewed as a composite process, marketing is clearly

ating marketing educational

a subject of much broader scope than the compilation of func-

a prerequisite to the devel-

responsibilities in individual companies. It includes the continuous

inter-action of original producers, middlemen, facilitating agencies, governments, and consumers. As such, marketing possesses
a dynamic quality and a sense of purpose.
For some purposes, marketing may appropriately be defined
as an area of management responsibility within the business firm,
or as a technology by means of which action in the marketing
process is planned, organized, and controlled. We hold, however,

and research programs ...

opment of a formally stated

philosophy of marketing

education . . . and a statement to clarify their views

to the academic and business community.
Journal of Marketing, Vol. 29 (January,
1966), pp. 43-44.

tions or managed activities commonly identified as marketing

that such views are partial and can properly be understood and
evaluated only with reference to the broader process of which
they are a part.
43

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4444Journal

of

Marketing,

Marketing can also be conceived as an area of

knowledge involving both scientific and disciplinary
study and research. As a subject, its scope may be
broadly coextensive with our definition of market-

ing as a social process or, for more restrictive

purposes, equated to its technological or managerial
aspects.

Convictions About Marketing

Some of our most basic ideas or convictions about

marketing are summarized as follows:

1. Whether marketing is more of a science or

more of an art is debatable, but it is certainly
an area in which considerable scientific progress is being made, both in the sense of the

expansion of a body of classified and systematized knowledge and also with respect
to increasing application of scientific methods
to basic research and in decision making
processes within firms.
2. Marketing is both a formative influence and
an adaptive aspect of our culture. It is adaptive in the sense that business firms in the

Journal of Marketing,1965
January, 1965

January,

5. Marketing is an integral part of

productive process, in the sense th

values to goods and services throug
ation of time, place, possession, and
tion utilities. A positive approach t
ing as a part of our productive pro
for changes in certain common con
as the meaning of product, product
productiveness of the labor force a
factors of production.

6. Taking a broad view of marketing

process does not preclude functiona
zation nor does it diminish the imp
managerial competence in marketin
of business firms. On the other hand, such a
broad view gives to managerial marketing a

sense of purpose, clearly calling for high degrees of efficiency in functional responsibilities
and for the utilization of the most advanced
problem-solving methods so that the firm may
deliver to customers what they most want in
the best manner.

7. Because the scope of marketing is broader

marketing process must be responsive to the
than marketing management per se, there is
changing wants and circumstances of dymuch need for:
namic markets if they are to survive and
grow. Marketing is also a formative influence
a. An understanding of the entire marketing
in our culture in the sense that the aggregate
system, its historical development, and the
impact of product offerings, marketing comforces within it that spell its dynamics,

munications and institutions contribute to

the formulation of attitudes or values.

which may be useful for purposes of mak-

ing appropriate choices and decisions, recognizing its contribution to the social
marketing knowledge by such fields as ecoorder, or developing the knowledge and
nomics, psychology, sociology, anthropology,
perspective.
cultural ecology, demography, political scib. An understanding of the environment
ence, and history. Scholars and technicians
within which the marketing process is
from such disciplines, contributing new conbeing performed as illuminated by other
cepts, viewpoints, and methods to the study
social
disciplines.
and practice of marketing, have made notable
c.
Duly
considering
all points of view, with
contributions to marketing thought. At the
emphasis
on
consumer
or social welfare,
same time, marketing has had a significant
on the maximization or optimization of
impact upon the content and methods of
profit or efficiency in individual enterprises,
cognate disciplines.
and on relationships between social and
4. With expected continuing increases in popuacquisitive efficiency.
lation, productive capacity and living standards, marketing will become increasingly significant, by developing better means of
* ABOUT THE AUTHORS. This article is the result of the comenlarging and servicing markets, thereby enposite efforts of the following full-time marketing faculty of the
abling our economy to produce more and
Ohio State University: Robert Bartels, Theodore N. Beckman,
better goods and services. The ends served
W. Arthur Cullman, William R. Davidson, James H. Davis, Alton
by the marketing process are, hopefully, the
F. Doody, James F. Engel, Jimmie L. Heskett, Rate A. Howell,
more complete satisfaction of human, busi- Robert B. Miner, William M. Morgenroth, Louis W. Stern, and
James C. Yocum.
ness, and public wants, and at the same time
The material reproduced here was originally published as a
provision for the highest attainable degrees
pamphlet by the Bureau of Business Research in cooperation with
of utilization of our technological and human
the Department of Business Organization, College of Commerce

3. Significant contributions have been made to

resources.

and Administration, The Ohio State University.

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