Nicholas J. C. Santos

Marketing to the poor: An integrative justice model for engaging impoverished market segments

The relatively recent entry of multinational corporations (MNCs) into low-income markets, particularly in developing countries, affords the opportunity for the more inclusive capitalism envisioned by globalists. Alternatively, an expansion of MNC marketing in less developed economies might foreshadow the greater exploitation of disadvantaged consumers predicted by many critics of expanded free trade. To diffuse the charge of “exploitative” marketing, it is imperative that corporate marketing efforts seeking to engage impoverished segments be grounded in a strong ethical framework. This article unveils one such framework—the “integrative justice model” (IJM). The IJM is an aspirational model that outlines how to market ethically to disadvantaged consumers in both developed and developing countries. The authors derive the elements of this model from frameworks of moral philosophy and management theory. Although the IJM is normative in nature, the authors connect it to real-world examples, which provides MNCs that market to the poor practical benchmarks for conducting their business operations with fairness and equity. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the IJM for public policy.

Managing the Tensions at the Intersection of the Triple Bottom Line: A Paradox Theory Approach to Sustainability Management

Corporate sustainability management encompasses multiple dimensions: environmental, social, and economic. Companies are increasingly evaluated within the public sphere, and within their own organizations, according to the degree to which they are perceived to simultaneously promote this nexus of virtues. This article seeks to explore the tensions frequently faced by organizations that strive to manage these dimensions and the role of public policy in that pursuit. A multiple–case study approach is utilized in which the authors selected case organizations according to whether they were attempting to manage the three dimensions of sustainability. The authors utilize paradox theory and a typology provided by previous research to understand the nature of the tensions that emerge in the selected case study organizations. They extend this previous work by examining the role of public policy in providing the situational conditions to make these paradoxical tensions salient, and they examine organizational responses to these conditions. Directions for firms, policy makers, and future researchers are provided on the basis of this studys findings.

Marketing to the Base of the Pyramid: A Corporate Responsibility Approach with Case Inspired Strategies

The economic and political outcomes of market globalization continue to be complex. As international corporations engage developing markets, they increasingly find consumers who lack market sophistication, meaningful purchasing options and economic leverage. Such conditions are ripe for the exploitation of these market segments but also can be mitigated by enlightened managers willing to thoughtfully consider their ethical and professional obligations to vulnerable consumers. This paper builds on a normative ethical framework, labeled the integrative justice model (IJM) for impoverished markets that was introduced in the marketing and public policy literature. Specifically, the paper will extend the normative ethics of the IJM by proposing logically reasoned decision principles for managers, particularly in MNC subsidiaries, that might better shape ethical business strategy when targeting impoverished segments. Additionally, numerous case examples are given to illustrate how a number of these decision principles are already being applied by companies around the world. Such an approach can serve as a counterweight to the difficulty of crafting global regulations for market development.

Fostering fair and sustainable marketing for social entrepreneurs in the context of subsistence marketplaces

Abstract In recent years, in-depth, on-the-ground research has generated many insights into the nature and functioning of subsistence marketplaces and the people who operate in them. Such knowledge is bound to be useful to various companies and organisations, as they seek to engage such marketplaces, particularly for marketing managers, who quite likely have not had education or experience in marketing in such impoverished settings. This paper complements these practical insights with a normative ethical framework, presented in the marketing literature and labelled the integrative justice model (IJM) for impoverished markets, so as to synthesise a new framework for fair and sustainable marketing for social entrepreneurs in the context of subsistence marketplaces.

Gross National Happiness (GNH): Linkages to and Implications for Macromarketing

This theoretical commentary explores the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) and connects it with several central macromarketing concepts such as QoL, ethics, the common good, the purpose of market activity as well as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The paper portrays GNH as a normative concept that captures collective well-being; it categorizes GNH, at least from the standpoint of Western moral philosophy, as most closely aligned with classical utilitarianism, and it distinguishes GNH from QoL on the basis of its predominantly aspirational and subjective orientation. It asserts that GNH can be seen as one manifestation of the common good, and, in that manner can be perceived as a ‘more ethical’ conception of the purpose of business activity. Finally, it links GNH to promising areas of Macromarketing scholarship. One essential contribution of this commentary is that it differentiates subjective community happiness from more objective measures of QoL familiar to macromarketing studies.

Religion-motivated Enterprises in the Marketplace A Macromarketing Inquiry

This exploratory essay identifies and examines a variety of religiously affiliated or inspired enterprises operating in otherwise secular marketplaces. While explicitly recognizing that some marketplace manifestations of religion can be controversial, even dysfunctional, it argues for the evident macromarketing relevance of this project. The approach for analyzing what this paper refers to as “religion-motivated enterprises” (RMEs) consists of (1) a nominal classification scheme to illustrate and categorize the diversity of RME examples; (2) some foundational principles shared among major faith traditions that provide a basis for an RME ethos; and (3) basic propositions that, with future empirical testing, may explain the contributions of these organizations to improved market performance. Our commentary includes environmental factors that prompted the establishment of many RMEs, the nature of their sustainability, and the importance of mission statements to their operations. Finally, we identify opportunities for additional research and summarize the macromarketing contributions of this article.

Assessing Perceptions of the Integrative Justice Model Propositions A Critical Step Toward Operationalizing a Macro Model

Propositions underlying the theoretical tenets of the Integrative Justice Model (IJM), a normative, ethical framework for engaging in impoverished markets, are investigated for reliability in application. Santos and Laczniak provide numerous decision principles to help the marketer to evaluate fairness in the marketplace exchange, yet which are most reflective of the core tenets and most useful in application? Managerial perceptions of the extent to which the propositions reflect the core tenets of the IJM are evaluated in this critical step toward operationalizing the model. Factor analysis is implemented with a relatively small sample, a challenge particularly common in research with the impoverished or marginalized, to evaluate the decision principles most reflective of the core tenets, from the perspective of the marketer/manager. Normality is not considered a critical assumption of factor analysis where groups of like variables are clustered into underlying constructs. This work articulates a critical step in macromarketing research methods, exemplifying an approach resilient to micro samples under macro frameworks.