Extending the Vision of Social Marketing through Social Capital Theory: Marketing in the Context of Intricate Exchange and Market Failure

In: Marketing theory, Volume 3, Issue 3, p. 323-343

Abstract

Broadening the conceptual boundaries of marketing in the late 1960s led to a significant paradigm shift. Social marketing emerged under the auspices of this extended concept. It is not surprising, therefore, that social marketers have tended to apply conventional marketing tools, albeit within a vastly different context. Thisarticle argues that social marketers, operating in an environment that is characterized by amplified market failure brought about by externalities, may be ill-equipped to foster change utilizing conventional marketing tools. The article proposes that social capital is a useful and appropriate theory to supplement traditional notions ofmarketing to further enhance the field of social marketing.