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Are Marketers Egoists? A Typological Explication

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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explicate the idea of egoism in the context of marketing. The idea of egoism is reviewed and contextualized into a framework for interpreting different marketer types. Marketers’ potential trade-offs with consumers and competitors are examined. Four types of marketers are explicated: extremely egoistic marketer, moderately egoistic marketer, moderately altruistic marketer, and extremely altruistic marketer. The framework offered in the paper is of relevance to marketers, media, and agencies rewarding marketing performance. The framework may help in assessing the ethical quotient in marketers’ preferences and behaviors. Studies recognizing the pertinence of egoism in marketing are scarce, and the typological framework discussed in the paper is a contribution to the marketing ethics literature.

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Notes

  1. For example, in India these courts are referred to as Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum which operate at three different levels: District (known as District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum), State (known as State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission), and National (known as National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission) (sources: http://admis.hp.nic.in/himpol/Citizen/LawLib/C066.HTM; http://ncdrc.nic.in/; and http://ncdrc.nic.in/bare_acts%5C1_1_2.html: accessed on September 8, 2016).

  2. http://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/dipika-pallikal-wins-consumer-case-against-axis-bank-114032400993_1.html and https://indiankanoon.org/search/?formInput=consumer%20complaint%20cases (accessed on September 8, 2016).

  3. Lynch and Walsh (2003) refer to similar types using the following terms: lucrepath, strong lucrephile, weak lucrephile, and lucrephobe.

  4. https://www.ama.org/AboutAMA/Pages/Definition-of-Marketing.aspx (accessed on January 6, 2017).

  5. The analytical approach adapted here is inspired by the invitation in Sober (1989, p. 102).

  6. Although self-sacrifice is taken as the essential condition for identifying an altruistic preference structure, the motivations for such a self-sacrifice may be several such as contentment, empathy, and mercy. A question such as ‘why would any marketer do this?’ is beyond the scope of this study.

  7. For examples of such agencies, refer: http://contentmarketingawards.com/; https://www.b2bmarketing.net/en/events/awards; and http://fortune.com/businessperson-of-the-year/ (accessed on September 8, 2016).

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments received from George Brenkert (Professor Emeritus, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University) on an earlier version of this manuscript. The authors further acknowledge the constructive comments received from the three anonymous reviewers and the section editor. Any errors in the manuscript are solely that of the authors.

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  1. Indian Institute of Management Indore, Prabandh Shikhar, Rau-Pithampur Road, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, 453556, India

    Jayasankar Ramanathan & Biswanath Swain

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  1. Jayasankar Ramanathan
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Correspondence to Jayasankar Ramanathan.

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Jayasankar Ramanathan declares that he has no conflict of interest. Biswanath Swain declares that he has no conflict of interest.

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Ramanathan, J., Swain, B. Are Marketers Egoists? A Typological Explication. J Bus Ethics 155, 611–621 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3515-5

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