A. Fuat Firat

Marketing in a postmodern world

Begins with the premiss that we are living through an epochal change from the modern to the postmodern era and that marketing organizations have to reconsider their conceptions of the market, the consumer and marketing practice accordingly. Following a brief discussion of the themes of postmodernity, explores some of the key assumptions of modern marketing that are challenged by the transformation to postmodernity. Finally, presents the implications of postmodern culture for marketing, arguing that consumers are not driven by needs but have needs which are driven by external forces, that consumers have become customizers, that marketing organizations′ offerings will increasingly become processes rather than finished products, and that consumers who will increasingly become integrated into the production systems will have to be conceptualized as producers. Concludes by re‐emphasizing that marketing and post‐modernity are greatly intertwined, arguing that consumers are not driven by needs but have needs whi...

From segmentation to fragmentation

Attempts to contribute to the growing literature on postmodernism and marketing by addressing the changes in the market and the corresponding changes that have to take place in marketing strategies. Assesses the implications of postmodernism for marketing managers and other marketing practitioners, and proposes the marketing strategies that are needed to respond to the changes in the market with the growing influence of postmodernity. Discusses directions for future research.

Postmodernity: The age of marketing

Abstract This paper investigates the much discussed phenomenon of postmodernity as it relates to and influences marketing. The major conditions of postmodernity are discussed as hyperreality, fragmentation, reversal of consumption and production, decentering of the subject, and paradoxical juxtapositions (of opposites), with the caution that marketing may already be a postmodern institution.

Theoretical and philosophical implications of postmodern debates: some challenges to modern marketing

Buffeted by the twin forces of postmodern cultural shifts and momentous technological developments, the conceptual structure of marketing that had crystallized during the 1960s and 1970s is being strained. This article analyses the impact of postmodernism and of new information technologies on the conceptual foundations of marketing. Six main areas of challenge are identified. Cases that illustrate the technology-driven cultural shifts, affecting the very foundation of marketing, are presented.

The organisation of integrated communications: toward flexible integration

Purpose – Marketing organisations increasingly talk about the importance of integrating their communications, of aligning symbols, messages, procedures and behaviours across formal organisational boundaries. Often this implies tighter central control over communications and other organisational processes. This paper sets out to discuss potential negative consequences of such tight control in terms of organisational incapability to react to market changes in increasingly fluid environments due to a loss of sufficient corporate complexity and diversity.Design/methodology/approach – In response, a flexible integration approach that draws attention to the handling of difference and variety within the context of an integrated communications project is articulated. The paper proposes a framework that balances centralisation and decentralisation through attention to dimensions of endogenous control, tight and loose couplings, networks, and common process rules.Findings – The paper demonstrated that, in order to ...

New tensions and challenges in integrated communications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how tensions and challenges associated with the implementation of integrated communications in practice have intensified in recent years under the impact of two conflicting trends: new social and organizational “drivers” towards integration; and the appearance of savvy and sophisticated audiences.Design/methodology/approach – Taking the point of departure in now classical discussions of structural “barriers” to integration, today more fundamental difficulties limit the implementation of integrated communications – difficulties rooted in epistemological issues of organization and communication are argued.Findings – Integrated communications present a paradox to contemporary communication management. On the one hand, integration seems to be the most logical and sensible way of managing communications in a complex world of multiple and critical audiences. On the other hand, its prescriptions are essentially at odds with what is known today about organizat...

Postmodernism, marketing and the consumer

The timing of these two special issues on Postmodernism, Marketing and the Consumer (Vol. 10, No. 3 and Vol. 11, No. 4) is, indeed, curious. On the one hand, postmodernism is just becoming a recognized discourse within business disciplines, and these special issues represent the first concerted effort within the consumer research and marketing disciplines to treat the subject. On the other hand, postmodernism, as a term and concept, is already beginning to encounter either opposition or indifference because critics feel that it represents too much, thus losing the ability to have a clear message, or that it has taken on the character of a faddish, overused, over-abused signifier. Thus, they feel it can no longer excite or provoke meaningful and insightful discourse regarding the human condition. Clearly, debates and discussions regarding postmodernism, postmodern culture, and postmodernity have created some of the most prolific, heated and exciting publications and productions in, especially, the last decade. This is true for practically all humanities and social science disciplines. A simple count of books published on the topic will provide sufficient evidence of the fact, as

Consumption Choices at the Macro Level

Macro phenomena in the sphere of consumption have not been the focus of inquiry in marketing or other disciplines. Consumption patterns are the main analytical categories for macro level studies of consumption. The concept and dimensions of consumption patterns are explored in this article. It is argued that the formation and transformation of consumption patterns at a societal level are central phenomena in the domain of macromarketing.

From social psychology to political economy: A model of energy use behavior

Abstract Multiple and complex factors determine peoples energy use behavior. However, policies designed to affect individual energy use behavior focus mostly on a limited number of micro, short-run and easily manipulable variables. These have produced limited response. A theoretical framework is proposed in this paper that attempts to provide a comprehensive and integrative view of energy use behavior. The framework examines variables that create and maintain particular types and intensities of energy use behavior. Based on this framework, implications for energy policies and their potential effectiveness have been drawn.

Postmodernism and the Marketing Organization

It seems that postmodernism is no longer a theory or a philosophical stance but a reality which impacts upon many facets of life in, specifically, Western societies. It is represented in world views which are increasingly becoming prominent, and also in the conditions, such as, hyperreality, fragmentation, decentring of the subject, reversal of production and consumption, paradoxical juxtaposition of opposites, and non‐commitment to meta‐narratives, which seem omnipresent in postmodern culture. Under the circumstances, organizations can no longer continue with business as usual. They will have to develop an understanding of their markets and employees under the conditions of postmodernity.