Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University

Knowledge Horizons - Economics

Volume 5, No. 3, pp. 154156
P-ISSN: 2069-0932, E-ISSN: 2066-1061
2013 Pro Universitaria
www.orizonturi.ucdc.ro

The Evolution of the Marketing Concept

Irina NICOLAU
The Faculty of International Business and Economics, Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University, E-mail: nicolau.irina@yahoo.com
Abstract

Definitions are part of marketing management texts and courses; however, some
representatives of the social and humanistic sciences tend to regard them cautiously. The
simple definition of a process is a discipline in itself (Heilbrun, 1996), which leaves open a lot of
alternatives. The concern that marketing definitions could be contested can be quickly dispelled
if we refer to the fact that it is an academic field, at the same time the concern for defining this
field persisted over approximately 80 years.

1. Introduction
The American Marketing Association (AMA) is a key
component of the institutional infrastructure for the
study of marketing. AMA is probably the most famous
association involving a high academic profile and is
extremely influent in setting the directions for marketing
studies by regularly updating the definitions. Since
2007, the definition of marketing is as follows:
Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and
processes for creating, communicating, delivering and
exchanging offers that have value for consumers,
customers, partners and society in general. (AMA,
2007)

2. The evolution of the marketing concept in

the literature
It is obvious that, over time, the definition of marketing
has changed under the new economic and social
conditions, through other three forms until the latter,
which most certainly will not be the last.
The forms undergone by the definition of marketing are
summarized in Table. 1 as follows:
Table 1.The evolution of the marketing definition
between 1935 - 2007 (AMA)
Year
1935
1985

Definition
Marketing aims to achieve the economic activities which govern the
flow of goods and services from producer to consumer.
Marketing is the process of planning and execution product, price,
promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create
exchanges that satisfy the consumer and the organization
demands.

2004

2007

Key words:
Marketing concept, American
Marketing Association,
marketing evolution, European
marketing.
JEL Codes:
M31

Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for

creating, communication and distribution of value to the consumer
and the management of consumer relationship, so as to bring profit
for the organization and its partners.
Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for
creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offers that
have value for consumers, customers, partners and society in
general.

AMA definitions define the marketing firmly as an

administrative activity rather than a social or a statistical
science. AMA is not just a marketing association for
academics but also for professionals, so perhaps it is
no surprise that managerial factor is central to the
definition text.
American Marketing Association also represents a
great of marketing chronology history through these
definitions that have been modified over the course of
more than 80 years. Periodic review by AMA of these
definitions reflects the desire to be constantly aware of
the criticism and new schools of thought in marketing,
although all definitions have as a focal point the
managerial component.
Tadajewski and Brownlie (2008) argue that the study
proposed by Wilkie and Moore (2006) on the AMA
definitions of marketing over the years, underlined that
there was a trend to progressively remove "marketing
and society issues from these definitions ". In this case,
the first theoretical concerns related more to the social
development of marketing has been somewhat
neglected under the pressure of academics who
watched the efficientization of strategic orientation, of
segmentation, positioning, retail and techniques of
making profit.

Knowledge Horizons - Economics

Volume 5, No. 3, pp. 154156, 2013 Pro Universitaria

In 1935, marketing was defined as having a single

direction - from companies to consumers. Up through
1985, the focus has changed slightly, reflecting a twoway exchange process, which includes intangible
assets such as ideas and tangible characteristic not
only to certain companies, but to any type of
organization.
In 2004, the concept of value was introduced and
transactional marketing ceded his place to the
relationship marketing. The role of marketing of creating
value for society, the individual and the organization is
highlighted in the 2007 the definition.
The assumption that marketing is a discipline ruled and
based on priorities, values and interests of managers in
organizations still remains in all definitions and also in
the choice of subjects treated in the articles published
in the Journal of Marketing (Day & Montgomery, 1999)
(Stewart, 1999).
The cyclic re-evaluation of marketing definitions (M.
Baker, 2000), (Grnroos C., 2006) and domain (Day
and Montgomery 1999) is a distinctive feature of
marketing research, which probably reflects the
permanent tension from the management marketing
projects.
Wroe Alderson was one of the first theorists in the
marketing development from microeconomics to the
discipline that began to develop in the 1950s. Alderson
(1957), which published many of his ideas in a
customer newsletter, believes that classical economics
does not explain how markets work. He looked at
marketing as an economic system driven by
heterogeneous consumers, not homogeneous.
Consumers had individual needs and desires and you
could not expect them to be satisfied with the same
types of products and services. Not only that all
consumers were different after Alderson, but their
purchasing decisions were not motivated solely by
money or practical considerations.
Economists believe that the markets fulfilled their
mission with the sale quite high of all godson the
condition that the price was low and practical value
quite high. Alderson saw that fashion trends and
personal preferences, cultural differences, they all had
a role in determining the demand for certain products
and services.
Therefore, Alderson saw that marketing was necessary
as independent discipline, to understand the role that
demand plays in various markets, and help to discover
how this heterogeneous demand could be managed.
Alderson has positioned his own marketing theories In
the 'structuralist-functionalist " approach. His work
famous for the inaccessible style (Wooliscroft, Tamil, &
Shapiro, 2005) was exceeded in popularity in the late
1950s by the more direct and practical approach of
Kotler, Peter Drucker and others. Although Alderson

works are rarely cited in today textbooks many

academics consider his ideas as relevant to
contemporary marketing development (Hulthn &
Gadde, 2007).
The conflicting nature of marketing studies was noticed
by Levy (2003) who understood it as a contested field,
given its status as cultural and ideological phenomenon
(Heath, 2007). Marketing is an area that meets the
aspirations and influences the distribution of wealth and
goods. This makes people rich and happy, but it does
not change them.
We cannot look at the definition of marketing and not
also relate to other specialists who, over time, have
defined this field in on their own terms:

"Marketing is a whole system of interconnected
economic activities on programming, pricing, promotion
and distribution of products and services designed to
meet current and potential customers demands." WJ
Stanton (1981);

"Marketing signifies the sum of all efforts directed by
a company to meet its customers with a profit" - EJ W.D
McCarthy and Perrault (1987);

"Marketing includes continuous analysis of demand,
on the one hand and, on the other hand, establishing
and putting into action the means to satisfy it, in the
terms of optimal profit." In other words, "marketing =
satisfying the demand + profit" - A. Denner (1971)

"Marketing is a societal process by which individuals
and groups obtain what they need and want through
creating, offering and freely exchanging products and
services carrying value" - Philip Kotler (2008)
As one can easily notice the special interest for this
concept has resulted in a multitude of definitions, which
reflect the view of great diversity, and evolution over
time. As noted and MJ Baker, the researched
definitions look at marketing: as a process, as a
philosophy and as a present orientation both to the
producer and the consumer (M. Baker, 1996).
According to Professor Johan Arndt, one of the first
theorists of marketing for the marketing concept there
are three main periods:
Marketing concept;
Broadened concept of marketing;
The new institutionalized concept.
This new acceptation of marketing stated in the postwar
period is the result of long efforts to generalize the
theoretical and practical experience to which have
made important contributions prestigious specialists
(Americans, English, French) also from other developed
countries of the world who have managed to highlight
the characteristics, functions, motives and purpose of
the new economic activity guidelines.
Also, the concept of marketing activity does not reflect a
type that seeks philanthropic entity at the expense of
customer satisfaction. A company that adopts this
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Knowledge Horizons - Economics

Volume 5, No. 3, pp. 154156, 2013 Pro Universitaria
13. Stanton, W. (1981). Fundamentals of Marketing, Sixth
Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co.
14. Stewart, D. W. (1999). Beginning Again: Change and
Renewal in Intellectual Communities. Journal of Marketing,
63(4), 2-4.
15. Wooliscroft, B., Tamilia, R., & Shapiro, S. (2005). A
Twenty-First Century Guide to Aldersonian Marketing
Thought. New York: Springer.

concept must not only satisfy consumer needs whom

they are addressed, but also its own (Pride & Farrel,
2012).
3. Conclusions
In order to evolve as a discipline and as a practice, any
marketing activity should be directed towards the
emotional area, providing the consumers with the
chance to do marketing under the supervision of
marketers.
As shown, the marketing concept has received over the
years special attention, being in the sphere of interest
of researchers worldwide. The excellent contributions to
American school - through representatives and J.
McCarthy, WJ Stanton or Ph. Kotler, or the European
one-M Baker, A. Payne, M. McDonald, E. Gummesson
et al.
If marketing concepts took "birth" - as we have
mentioned, specifically - in the U.S. -, we can say that
today the future of marketing belongs to Europeans
also, which had a decisive contribution to the
conceptualization of notions as relationship marketing
or euromarketing.

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