Introduction to the Special Section on Stakeholder Marketing

Abstract

Traditional marketing strategy tends to be predomi nantly firm centric , with profit maximization as the primary objective; scant attention is paid to the myriad social actors who (intentionally or otherwise) influence and are influenced by companies’ actions. However, recent realities such as climate change, obesity crises , and human rights violations , among others, as well as pressure from various stakeholders , including employees, investors , regu lators , and activists , are prompting companies to look beyond customers as the sole target of marketing activities and firms as the primary intended beneficiary. To better understand the full impact of marketing on society, there is an urgent need for new research that adopts a broader and more inclusive stakeholder orientation. Sensing this trend, with support from Boston University and the Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program, I started the “Stakeholder Marketing Consortium, ” an ongo ing convening of academics and practitioners whose goal is to draw the research community’s attention to a host of new questions about the design, implementation , and evaluation of marketing initiatives so as to maximally benefit all stake holders —customers, employees, and shareholders who operate in the business domain as well as cause beneficia ries, nonprofits, the environment , and society in general. Although stakeholder theory (Freeman 1984) has been around for a while and is an extremely useful starting point, it is my belief that marketing, more than any other business discipline , is uniquely poised to help both companies and the broad spectrum of stakeholders benefit from this move ment toward a more symbiotic relationship between busi ness and society.