Moral Stages of Marketing Practice
Djavlonbek Kadirov, Eastern Institute of Technology, dkadirov@eit.ac.nz
Richard Varey, University of Waikato, rvarey@waikato.ac.nz
Keywords; marketing practice, morality, cognitive moral development, sustainability.
Abstract1
The sustainable society problem remains to be solved for the marketing discipline - that is
how to enhance well-being and quality of life by designing the evolution from a consumerist
mindset that promotes ever expanding consumption, to a social business ethos of sufficiency,
sustenance, and generativity. Sustainable marketing creates and communicates value by
preserving and enhancing natural and human capital. This is founded on a humanistic
disposition to help the next generation flourish, as observed by Erik Erikson (1959), and
requires aspirations for operation at Maslow's level of self-actualisation, i.e. psychological
maturation in that the real self transcends the social self. We outline stages of maturation
toward sustainable practice.
Marketing Practice and Morality
In this investigation, the unit of analysis is marketing practice. Here we refer to marketing as
a societal process; a distinct self-reproducing societal system, among many other similar
systems in society (e.g. politics, law, education) (Luhmann, 1995). We accept 'market-ing' as
practice in the sense that is advocated by theories of practice (Reckwitz, 2002; Schatzki,
1996; Warde, 2005; Schau, Muniz Jr., & Arnould, 2009). Practices comprise linked and
coordinated ways of understandings, sayings, and doings (Schatzki, 1996; Warde, 2005).
Practices refer to “a temporally unfolding and spatially dispersed nexus of doings and
sayings” which in short represent practical activities and their representation (Schatzki, 1996,
p. 89). Practices are routinised and conventionalised; they are continually reproduced, while
containing a multitude of micro-actions (Reckwitz, 2002). Reproduction requires actors to
differentiate between practices that are taken to be right and wrong (i.e. relevant good and
bad), which necessitates requisite moral judgment.
Following the theories of practice perspective, we see marketing as a set of practices
imbued with morality assumptions. To highlight, morality refers to a normative sense of what
is right or wrong. Marketing practice, in its many different forms, cannot steer away from
morality considerations (Crane, 2000; Crane & Desmond, 2002). One of the useful
frameworks in examining the morality of marketing practice is Kohlberg’s theory of moral
development (Goolsby & Hunt, 1992; Ho, Vitell, Barnes, & Desborde, 1997; Thompson,
1995).
Tenets of Cognitive Moral Development Theory
The theory of cognitive moral development (CMD) is based on the assumption that the moral
reasoning that individuals display is of varying degrees (Kohlberg, 1981, 1984). These
differences are captured via CMD’s three levels of moral development: pre-conventional,
conventional, and post-conventional. These levels comprise the three definitions of what is
considered to be good (i.e. right practice): the good is what is good a) for the acting agent
only (egoism); b) for the referenced group (ethnocentrism); and c) for all (universalism) - for
1
This is an abbreviated version of a full-paper submitted for approval into the Proceedings of the
ANZMAC2011 Conference.
the pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional levels, respectively. In turn, each of
these levels is divided into two distinct stages (Table 1).
Table 1. The six stages of moral development (Source: Thompson,1995, p. 179)
Stage
Preconventiona)
Conven onal
t
'
i
Postconventional
General Orientation
Psychological Motivations
Underlying Metaphor
[
Obediance and punishment
Maximization of self-interest
2
Fairness of exchange
Egocentric reciprocity
Self-centered pragmatism
3
Social conformity
Desire to avoid conflict and to
please others
The "good boy"
4
Maintenance of social order
Following rules and laws is necessary
for the good of society
Law abiding citizen
5
Contractual, legalistic reasoning
Adhering to the social contract
creates fairest outcomes for all
persons in society
Impartial judge
6
Deontological reasoning
Duty to universal moral principles that
are prior to society
The rigorous, "objective
minded" scientist
Ego-centric child
Cognitive Moral Development and Marketing Practice
At a general societal level, we see marketing practice evolving through different stages of
moral development. Our view is not historical, although some elements of historical
development could affect this process of gradual maturation. Rather, we scrutinise current
dominant practices to assess their position and advance within Kohlberg’s framework.
Stage 1: Savage Marketing
We call marketing practices that correspond to the first stage in CMD savage marketing
(refer to Table 2). Different variations of fraud, lying, false product and advertising claims,
hard selling techniques, unethical marketing research, and misleading consumer information
are symptoms which signal the existence of broader encompassing morality assumptions that
correspond to Stage 1. In New Zealand, the Fair Trading Act addresses legal and illegal
practices including some extreme cases of pro-forma invoicing, inertia selling, bait-andswitch techniques, and ‘pyramid marketing’ schemes. A prominent example is the case of
GlaxoSmithKline’s use of false advertising, which they admitted, under scrutiny, misled
consumers about the vitamin C content of their popular brand Ribena. Discussing
marketing’s contribution to society, Wilkie and Moore (1999) mention the companies that
literally “create a consumer want” by altering products and then offering to fix them or
creating fear about fictional risks of currently owned products. They give an example of the
Holland Furnace Company, with 5000 employees in 500 offices in the U.S., which was
“merciless” in its fear selling tactics (p. 215). There are cases which are considered to be
marginally unethical, such as advertising creativity and puffery that borders on deception
(Stern, 1992; Thompson, 1995). Such detected practices are simply the tip of an exploitation
iceberg; these are simply indicators of what goes on in general practice at the base. Savage
marketing has the lowest level of moral foundation – the focus is on conforming to the law
(i.e. guidelines, expectations) and avoiding punishment. It is assumed that a practice is good
(enough) as long as punishment is avoidable and/or absent. In other words, practices are
moral so long as it is not proven that the practices violate the law. Here, punishment might
come in different forms: negative publicity and Word of Mouth, consumer boycotts, penalties
and fines, bad reputation, personal embarrassment, etc., yet the biggest punishment (as
assumed within this morality stage) is the loss of potential revenue, and consequently, failure
to attain the end. Assessing the field of marketing ethics, Gaski (1999) argued that all ethical
propositions can be classified into two axioms: “obey the law” and “pursue self-interest”.
Similarly, Milton Friedman (1962) wrote that “there is one and only
one social responsibility of business – to use it resources and engage in activities designed to
increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game…” (p. 133) (also, see the
“agency theory” of management). The situation is increasingly seen as a win-lose situation and
consumers are regarded as resources and competitors. Some call this stage blind egoism.
Consumers are seen as dupes who can be manipulated [see Holt’s (2002) description of
Cultural Authority Model] or as “rational decision-making machines” (Crane, 2000). At the
extreme, some argue that consumers are a kind of masochist who enjoys being duped and
expects a certain degree of hucksterism on the part of marketers (Brown, 2001).
Table 2. The moral development of marketing practice
Marketing
Practice
(Stage
according to
Kohlberg’s
CMD
Procedures
Explicit rules,
principles, precepts,
and instructions,
discursive “know-that”
knowledge
Understandings
Knowledge of what to say and do;
skills and projects, “knowhow”
(i.e., tacit cultural templates for
understanding and action).
Emotional
engagements
Ends and
purposes, which
are emotionally
charged
View of others
Specifically, the
attitude towards or
perspective on
consumers or
consumption
Savage
Marketing
(Stage 1)
obey the law to avoid or
minimise punishment;
never repeat practices
which have drawn
punishment; constantly
test the boundaries of
the law;
the road to profitability
is the satisfaction of
consumer needs and
wants; use consumers as a
source of information,
value creation, and
creativity
maintain good “citizen”
reputation;
communicate about good
intentions; manage
business image and
reputation
experimenting to trade off between
what is best for profit maximisation
and what is possible under the law
might yield good results; the law
can be given different
interpretations; the authority might
not always bother to interfere;
applying orthodox marketing-mix
tools and practices; use scientific
approaches to calibrate marketing
programmes
profit
maximization
from “consumers are
dupes” to “rational
machines” to
“masochists” who
enjoy/want/expect
hucksterism
self-interest
(mostly defined
as maximum
consumption)
consumers pursue
satisfaction of their
immediate individual
desires; consumers
are a means to the
end
improve the “greenness” of existing
marketing techniques; make them
“fairer” for broader community;
image management and skillful
communication about purportedly
good intentions is as important as
marketing products
infinite exploitation of natural and
societal resources is impossible and
may harm the business’s survival;
supporting right societal institutions
equals to supporting the existence
of the current business;
old social order, specifically,
consumerist, eco-harmful, dogmatic
practices can be replaced with
morally superior practices through
democratic processes;
good reputation
and image;
authenticity
consumers buy from
authentic marketers
(i.e. “good guys”)
long-term
sustainable
revenue
consumers act on
immediate desires
and may not be
aware of long-term
wellbeing
considerations
consumers are our
equal market
partners; consumer
values might be
different but are
equally important;
party to negotiate
laws, practices, systems even if
constructed through a democratic
process, might not always serve
universal justice;
justice
Orthodox
Marketing
Concept
(Stage 2)
Fair-Play
Marketing
(Stage 3)
Societal
Marketing
(Stage 4)
PostConventional
Marketing I
(Stage 5)
PostConventional
Marketing II
(Stage 6)
do your best to support
an existing societal
order; make sure that
your business is
sustainable in the longterm;
enter into ongoing
dialogue, relationships,
and collaboration with
consumers; follow
transparent democratic
procedures to build
alternative business
schemes and realities;
apply Kantian
principles of universal
justice; assume “veil of
ignorance” before
acting;
Source: The template borrowed and adapted from Schau et
al.
Stage 2: Orthodox Marketing Concept
negotiated and
co-created
value; welfare;
habitat health
(2009).
consumers are us,
our children, our
families, our
community; mutual
respect
The orthodox marketing concept satisfies the premises of Stage 2. The assumption is that the
action is morally right if marketers pursue self-interest by taking into account the interests of
others (i.e. consumers). The focus is on fair exchange: consumer desires are satisfied while
marketers make profit. Avoiding “marketing myopia” (Levitt, 1960) and becoming
“consumer centric” are emphasised (Kohli & Jaworski, 1990; Webster Jr., 1992) as strategies
that ultimately will serve marketers’ self-interest. Crane and Desmond (2002) analysed
orthodox marketing conceptions which they collectively called the “Harvard” tradition and
concluded that this tradition embraces psychological egoism (which assumes that self-love
and self-interest is the way of being morally good). Crane and Desmond (2002) say that “this
presupposes that one can get what one wants by giving other people what they want” (p.
554). Moreover, this stage is grounded on the stronger conceptual foundation of neo-classical
economics that advocates that the interests of everyone are served as long as economic agents
are uninhibited to pursue their own self-interests (Varey, 2005, 2010a). The ultimate end is
happiness and the only way to happiness is through material ownership and consumption
(Kilbourne, McDonagh, & Prothero, 1997). Consumers satisfy their desires via consumption
while marketers serve consumption to accumulate wealth that would allow them to indulge in
even more consumption (de Graaf, Wann, & Naylor, 2005).
In this and the previous stage, marketers do not act or speak as members of society.
Rather they behave as independent units without regard to societal issues. In the following
stages, they increasingly realise the importance of values and interests of wider communities
and society.
Stage 3: Fair-Play (Green) Marketing
At this stage of moral maturation, marketers realise the importance of acting and/or being
judged as doing “good” business. The emphasis is increasingly on maintaining strong
reputation and corporate image which can be said to be the indication of increasing
acknowledgment of societal concerns. The authority of relevant stakeholders and immediate
publics is recognised through initiating well planned corporate social responsibility and
corporate citizenship programmes. Such programmes already have a significant role in
influencing and guiding marketing practices (Carroll, 1999; Lindgreen & Swaen, 2005).
Marketing practice is considered to be moral as long it contributes to the positive image of a
business within the wider community. To achieve this, the emphasis is put on making
existing micromarketing techniques “fairer” and “greener” (Crane, 2000). The approach
neither challenges the appropriateness nor morality of specific marketing practices nor does it
offer alternative practice, it rather attempts to make existing practices better in terms of
societal responsibility. With growing public concern about such controversial issues as
greenwashing (Polonsky, et al., 1998; Smith, 1998), managing the authenticity of purported
corporate image is viewed to be crucial (Beverland, 2005, 2009). Basically, businesses realise
that marketing products must be accompanied with well-planned management and marketing
of business reputation. Moreover, morality is understood as projecting original goodwill,
good motives and intentions, while, for example, cases of notable societal and environmental
failures are simply interpreted as one-off ‘slip-ups’.
Stage 4: Societal Marketing
The higher level of morality that marketers exercise is the concern for existing social order.
The assumption is that dominant societal processes and the environment need to be
maintained in a good order mostly through sustainability-directed practices. Marketers may
voluntarily agree to follow and go beyond the laws, regulations, and ethical guidelines
because they realise that the survival of a business directly depends on the current state of
affairs in society. Crane and Desmond (2002) show that the suggested concept of societal
marketing (i.e. focus on long-term well-being of customers) is morally superior despite being
the extension of the orthodox marketing concept where the focus is on immediate desires
(wants) of customers. However, they labeled societal marketing as ethical egoism. That is,
long-term well-being initiatives are activated when these clearly serve business interests.
Alternatively, only institutions that promote business causes are supported. Although the
focus is holistic (i.e. societal issues), sustainability initiatives, as interpreted by marketers, do
not clearly challenge orthodox institutions and lifestyles. At this level, marketing practice is
moral if it promotes the institutional foundations of a society, even though it has been shown
that in Western societies these societal structures nurture consumerism, materialism, and
wealth accumulation (Kilbourne, et al., 2009).
One might question so-called “sustainability” initiatives where the emphasis is on
keeping typical marketing systems functioning infinitely, since this might mean consistent
assault on universal morality assumptions, alternative systems, and “other” societies. The
sustainability of existing industrial relations and consumerism may not be adequate or “good”
in itself, as “sustainable” does not always equal “moral”.
Stage 5: Post-conventional Marketing I
We imagine the greater level of morality in which marketers would emphasise the absolute
necessity of entering into ongoing dialogue, committed relationship, and close collaboration
with consumers to challenge and change orthodox consumerist institutions (Varey, 2010b).
They would follow transparent democratic procedures to build alternative business systems,
marketscapes, and realities that are eco-efficient, preservative and restorative, as well as
rehumanised and welfare focused. The “democratised” form of marketing would involve all
market participants in transforming marketing practice and society from amoral to moral,
from wealth-producing to health-producing, from growth-centered to holistic quality-of-life
centered (i.e. that is not defined merely as ownership of material goods), from capitalist and
market fundamentalism to welfare marketing (Varey, 2010b).
Stage 6: Post-conventional Marketing II
At this fully matured stage, marketing practice is inherently ethical (Varey, 2011). The
ultimate purpose of the practice of marketing in a sustainable society would be to attain just
welfare for all. This is to be achieved through the Rawlsian “veil of ignorance” procedure
(Rawls, 1971). In the tradition of social contract thinking, society is thus refashioned by
thinking about society from the perspective of all members. Such an ‘eco-logical’ mindset is
deeply associative, mutual, and collaborative. A ‘service’ conception of marketing leads to
inherently more ‘embedded’ ethical practice. Dialogical, communicative learning is a central
intent and capability in the alternative purpose and form of marketing. Perhaps we see this
today in the characteristics of the emerging ‘Inter-net’ of social connections (echoing
McLuhan’s “global village”).
Potential for maturation
The maturation of marketing is paralleled by the story of Jekyll & Hyde. Vastly different in
moral character, the interplay of good and evil is an expression of the duality of human
nature. Evil is the absence of good and bad ‘goods’ are evils, obtained when positive value is
exceeded by negative value. Sustainable society would persist through wisely not
undermining physical and social support systems. Morally mature marketing practice is
crucial to this. Most marketing remains locked in Stage 2 morality, with some advancement
to Stages 3 and 4. There is much potential for progress in integrating marketing into
sustainable society.
References
Beverland, M. B. (2005). Crafting brand authenticity: The case of luxury wines. Journal of
Management Studies, 42(5), 1003-1029. Beverland, M. B. (2009). Building brand
authenticity: Seven habits of iconic brands.
Houndmills, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. Brown, S. (2001). Torment your customers
(they'll love it). Harvard Business Review, 79(9),
82-88. Carroll, A. B. (1999). Corporate Social Responsibility. Business & Society,
38(3), 268-295. Crane, A. (2000). Marketing and the Natural Environment: What Role for
Morality?
[Article]. Journal of Macromarketing, 20(2), 144-155. Crane, A., & Desmond, J.
(2002). Societal Marketing and Morality. [Article]. European
Journal of Marketing, 36(5/6), 548-569. de Graaf, J., Wann, D., & Naylor, T. H.
(2005). Affluenza: the All-Consuming Epidemic (2nd
ed.). San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler. Erikson, E. (1959). Identity and the Life
Cycle. New York: International University Press. Gaski, J. F. (1999). Does Marketing Ethics
Really Have Anything to Say? – A Critical
Inventory of the Literature. Journal of Business Ethics, 18(3), 315-334. Goolsby, J.
R., & Hunt, S. D. (1992). Cognitive Moral Development and Marketing. Journal
of Marketing, 56(1), 55-68. Ho, F., Vitell, S., Barnes, J., & Desborde, R. (1997).
Ethical correlates of role conflict and
ambiguity in marketing: The mediating role of cognitive moral development. Journal
of the Academy of Marketing Science, 25(2), 117-126. Holt, D. B. (2002). Why
Do Brands Cause Trouble? A Dialectical Theory of Consumer
Culture and Branding. Journal of Consumer Research, 29(1), 70-90. Kilbourne, W.
E., Dorsch, M. J., McDonagh, P., Urien, B., Prothero, A., Grünhagen, M., et
al. (2009). The Institutional Foundations of Materialism in Western Societies. Journal
of Macromarketing, 29(3), 259-278. Kilbourne, W. E., McDonagh, P., & Prothero, A.
(1997). Sustainable Consumption and the
Quality of Life: A Macromarketing Challenge to the Dominant Social Paradigm.
Journal of Macromarketing, 17(1), 4-21. Kohlberg, L. (1981). The philosophy of
moral development. San Francisco, CA: Harper &
Row. Kohlberg, L. (1984). The Psychology of Moral Development: The Nature
and Validity of
Moral Stages. San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row. Kohli, A. K., & Jaworski,
B. J. (1990). Market Orientation: The Construct, Research
Propositions, and Managerial Implications. [Article]. Journal of Marketing, 54(2), 1-18.
Levitt, T. (1960). Marketing Myopia. [Article]. Harvard Business Review, 38(4), 45.
Lindgreen, A., & Swaen, V. (2005). Corporate Citizenship: Let not Relationship Marketing
Escape the Management Toolbox. Corporate Reputation Review, 7(4), 346-363.
Luhmann, N. (1995). Social Systems. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Polonsky, M. J., Bailey, J., Baker, H., Basche, C., Jepson, C., & Neath, L. (1998).
Communicating Environmental Information: Are Marketing Claims on Packaging
Misleading? [Article]. Journal of Business Ethics, 17(3), 281-294. Rawls, J. (1971). A
theory of justice. Harvard: Harvard University Press. Reckwitz, A. (2002). Toward a Theory
of Social Practices: A Development in Culturalist
Theorizing. European Journal of Social Theory, 5(2), 243-263. Schatzki, T. (1996). Social
practices: A Wittgensteinian approach to human activity and the
social Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Schau, H. J., Muniz Jr., A. M., & Arnould, E. J. (2009). How Brand Community Practices
Create Value. Journal of Marketing, 73(5), 30-51. Smith, T. M. (1998). The Myth
of Green Marketing: Tending Our Goats at the Edge of
Apocalypse. Toronto: Toronto University Press. Stern, B. B. (1992). "Crafty
Advertisers": Literary versus Literal Deceptiveness. Journal of
Public Policy & Marketing, 11(1), 72-81. Thompson, C. J. (1995). A Contextualist
Proposal for the Conceptualization and Study of
Marketing Ethics. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 14(2), 177-191. Varey, R. J.
(2005). Adam Smith's Moral Philosophy for the Free Market and Commercial
Relationships. Paper presented at the ANZMAC, Perth, Australia. Varey, R. J.
(2010a). The Economics Basis of Marketing. In M. J. Baker & M. Saren (Eds.),
Marketing Theory: A Student Text (2nd ed., pp. 101-120). London: Sage Publications.
Varey, R. J. (2010b). Marketing Means and Ends for a Sustainable Society: A Welfare
Agenda for Transformative Change. Journal of Macromarketing, 30(2), 112-126. Varey,
R. J. (2011). Ethical Marketing Practice: The Ethical Strength of the Service-Dominant
Logic for Marketing. Paper presented at the Strengthening Our Ethical
Practices: The 18th Annual AAPAE Conference, University of Tasmania, Hobart.
Warde, A. (2005). Consumption and theories of practice. Journal of Consumer Culture, 5(2),
131-153. Webster Jr., F. E. (1992). The Changing Role of Marketing in the
Corporation. Journal of
Marketing, 56(4), 1-17. Wilkie, W. L., & Moore, E. S. (1999). Marketing's
Contributions to Society. [Article].
Journal of Marketing, 63(4), 198-218.