Marketing as Exchange

Author(s): Richard P. Bagozzi

Source: Journal of Marketing, Vol. 39, No. 4 (Oct., 1975), pp. 32-39
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1250593
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 Richard P. Bagozzi

Marketing as Exchange
The exchange concept is a key factor in understanding
the expanding role of marketing.

created, resolved, or avoided? The domain for the

T HE exchangeuseful
framework paradigm has emergedmar-
for conceptualizing as a subject matter of marketing is assumed to be
keting behavior. Indeed, most contemporary quite broad, encompassing all activities involving
definitions of marketing explicitly include ex- "exchange" and the cause and effect phenomena
change in their formulations.' Moreover, the cur- associated with it. As in the social and natural
rent debate on "broadening" centers on the very sciences, marketing owes its definition to the out-
notion of exchange: on its nature, scope, and come of debate and competition between diver-
efficacy in marketing. gent views in an evolutionary process that Kuhn
This article analyzes a number of dimensions of terms a "scientific revolution."3 Although the de-
the exchange paradigm that have not been dealt bate is far from settled, there appears to be a
with in the marketing literature. First, it attempts growing consensus that exchange forms the core
to show that what marketers have considered as phenomenon for study in marketing. Whether the
exchange is a special case of exchange theory that
specific instances of exchange are to be limited to
focuses primarily on direct transfers of tangibleeconomic institutions and consumers in the tradi-
entities between two parties. In reality, marketing
tional sense or expanded to all organizations in
exchanges often are indirect, they may involve in-
the broadened sense deserves further attention by
tangible and symbolic aspects, and more than marketing scholars and practitioners. Significant-
two parties may participate. Second, the media ly, the following principles apply to exchanges in
and meaning of exchange are discussed in order
both senses.
to provide a foundation for specifying underlying
mechanisms in marketing exchanges. Finally, so- The Types of Exchange
cial marketing is analyzed in light of the
In general, there are three types of exchange:
broadened concept of exchange.
restricted, generalized, and complex.4 Each of
The following discussion proceeds from the as- these is described below.
sumptions embodied in the generic concept of
marketing as formulated by Kotler, Levy, and Restricted Exchange
others.2 In particular, it is assumed that market-
Restricted exchange refers to two-party recip-
ing theory is concerned with two questions: (1)
rocal relationships which may be represented
Why do people and organizations engage in ex-
diagrammatically as A++B, where "++" signifies
change relationships? and (2) How are exchanges
"gives to and receives from" and A and B repre-
1. See, for example, Marketing Staff of The Ohio State sent social actors such as consumers, retailers,
University, "A Statement of Marketing Philosophy," JOUR-salesmen, organizations, or collectivities.5 Most
NAL OF MARKETING, Vol. 29 (January 1965), pp. 43-44; E.
Jerome McCarthy, Basic Marketing, 5th ed. (Homewood, Ill.:
treatments of, and references to, exchange in
Richard D. Irwin, 1975); Philip Kotler, Marketing Manage-
ment, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1972), p. 3. Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolu-
12; and Ben M. Enis, Marketing Principles (Pacific Palisades, tions, 2nd ed. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press,
Calif.: Goodyear Publishing Co., 1974), p. 21. 1970).
2. Philip Kotler, "A Generic Concept of Marketing," 4. The distinction between restricted and generalized ex-
JOURNAL OF MARKETING, Vol. 36 (April 1972), pp. 46-54; and change was first made by anthropologist Claude Levi-
Philip Kotler and Sidney J. Levy, "Broadening the ConceptStrauss in The Elementary Structures of Kinship (Boston:
of Marketing," JOURNAL OF MARKETING, Vol. 33 (JanuaryBeacon Press, 1969). An extended critical analysis of re-
1969), pp. 10-15. stricted and generalized exchange may be found in Peter P.
Ekeh, Social Exchange Theory: The Two Traditions (Cam-
bridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1974), Chap. 3.
Journal of Marketing, Vol. 39 (October 1975), pp. 32-39. 5. Ekeh, same reference as footnote 4, p. 50.

32

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 Marketing as Exchange 33

the marketing actors,

literature have
for instan
with restricted exchanges;
represented as th
A
dealt with customer-salesman,
"gives to." In ge w
or other such dyadic exchanges.
tors form a sys
Restricted exchanges
another exhibit
but rece t
tics: whom he gave. F
First, there iscompany (B) ask
a great deal of
(A) to donate or
maintain equality. This is es
bus company. Su
case with repeatable social ex
partment
Attempts to gain store a
advantage c
bus company
of the other is [sic] minimized (B),
the breach of benches
the rule atofbus
equ
riders (C). Finall
leads to emotional reactions. .
there is a quidriders
pro (C)
quo see
men th
benches
stricted exchange by the
activities. T
later patronize
in mutual reciprocities are cu t
sure. This
there is an attempt to seque
balan
known
and exchange items as
as gener
part of
conform to the
reciprocal relations.6
certainly constit
The "attempt to
terest. maintain equa
dent in
restricted marketing exc
for Complex Exchange
example, know that they w
peat purchases Complex
if exchange
the consume
refers to a system of mutual
tage of and deceived. The
relationships between at least "breach
three parties. Each
equality--whichsocial
is ais involved
actor central in at least onetene
direct ex-
ing concept-has
change,led
while the to picketin
entire system is organized by
even rioting. Finally, the
an interconnecting web fact th
of relationships.
keting exchanges must involve
Perhaps the best example of complex exchange a
tion (something of is value
in marketing in ex
the channel of distribution. Let-
thing of value) has
ting A represent abeen
manufacturer, Bat th
a retailer, and
criticism of broadening the co
C a consumer, it is possible to depict the channel
ing.' However, as as will
A++B++C. besequences
Such open-ended develoof direct
are important exchanges
exceptions tochain
may be designated complex th ex-
quirement in many
changes. marketing ex
But many marketing exchanges involve rela-
Generalized tively closed sequences of relationships. For
Exchange
example, consider the claim made by Kotler that
Generalized exchange denotes
a "transaction takes
rocal relationships place ... when a person at
among de- lea
cides to watch a television program."' Recently,
the exchange situation. Univoc
Carman and Luck have criticized this assertion,
curs "if the reciprocations invo
actors and if maintaining
the that it may not exhibit
actors do annot ex- b
change.'0 The differences stem from: (1) a dis-
directly but only indirectly."8
agreement on whether exchange must consist of
6. Ekeh, same reference as footnote 4, pp. 51-52. transfers of tangible (as opposed to intangible)
7. David J. Luck, "Broadening the Concept of things of value, and (2) a neglect of the possibility
Marketing-Too Far," JOURNAL OF MARKETING, Vol. 33 of systems of exchange. Figure 1 illustrates the
(January 1969), pp. 10-15; and Luck, "Social Marketing:
Confusion Compounded," JOURNAL OF MARKETING, Vol. 38 exchange between a person and a television pro-
(October 1974), pp. 70-72. gram and how it may be viewed as a link in a
8. Ekeh, same reference as footnote 4, pp. 48 and 50.
system termed complex circular exchange." In this

* ABOUT THE AUTHOR. 9. Kotler, same reference as footnote 2, p. 48.

Richard P. Bagozzi is a doctoral candidate in the 10. James M. Carman, "On the Universality of Market-
Marketing Department of the Graduate School of ing," Journal of Contemporary Business, Vol. 2 (Autumn
1973), p. 5; and Luck, "Social Marketing," same reference as
Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, Il- footnote 7, p. 72.
linois.
11. A form of circular exchange in primitive societies was

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 34 Journal of Marketing, October 1975

Entertainment, enjoyment,
product information, etc.
_ _Television:
Person Programs and
Commercials
Attention, support, potential
for purchase, etc.

Opportunity
$10.00 Book $.80 to place ad
on program

$1.00

PAdvertising
Publisher , Agency
Exposure of product in
mass media

FIGURE 1. An example of complex circular exchange.

system of exchange, the person experiences there is an overt coordination of activities and
a di-
rect transfer of intangibles between himselfexpectations,
and which Alderson called an organized
the program. That is, he gives his attention, behavioral
sup- system and which he reserved for the
port (for example, as measured by the Nielsen household, the firm, and the channel of distribu-
ratings), potential for purchase, and so on, and However, it should be evident that the
tion.12
receives entertainment, enjoyment, product in-
designation "organized" is a relative one and
formation, and other intangible entities. Thethat
per-other exchange systems, such as the one
son also experiences an indirect exchange shown
with in Figure 1, also evidence aspects of overt
the television program via a sequence of direct,
coordination in an economic, social, and sym-
bolicof
tangible exchanges. Thus, after being informed sense.
the availability of a book through an exchange
Generalized and complex exchanges are also
with the television program and its advertising, a in relatively unconscious systems of social
present
person may purchase it for, say, $10.00. The and economic relationships. Thus, a modern
book's publisher, in turn, may purchase the ser- may experience a covert coordination of
economy
vices of an advertiser, paying what amounts to a
activities through exchanges that occur when
percentage of each sale, say, $1.00. Finally, theindividuals, groups, and firms pursue their
many
advertiser receives the opportunity to place ownaself-interest. This is what Adam Smith
commercial on the air from the television net- meant by his reference to an "invisible hand."
work in exchange for what again amounts toSimilarly, a in his analysis of primitive societi
percentage of each sale, say, $.80. In this particu-
and marketing systems, Frazer has shown th
lar example, the occurrence of the direct intangi- exchange and the pursuit of self-interest can
ble exchange was a necessary prerequisite for the
the foundation for the web of kinship, economic
development of the series of indirect tangible ex-
and social institutions.14 The recent exchang
changes. Thus, an exchange can occur betweentheories
a of Homans and Blau are also based on
person and a television program. this individualistic assumption of self-interest." It
Complex chain and complex circular exchanges
involve predominantly conscious systems of so-12. Wroe Alderson, Dynamic Marketing Behavior
cial and economic relationships. In this sense,
(Homewood, Ill.: Richard D. Irwin, 1965), Chap. 1.
13. For a modern treatment of Adam Smith's contribu-
tion to exchange theory, see Walter Nord, "Adam Smith and
Contemporary
first suggested by Bronislaw Malinowski in Argonauts of the Social Exchange Theory," The American
Western Pacific (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1922),
Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 32 (October 1974),
p. 93; but in his concept the same physical items werepp. 421-436.
transmitted to all parties, while in complex circular 14.
ex-Sir James G. Frazer, Folklore in the Old Testament,
Vol.
change as defined here different tangible or symbolic en-2 (London: Macmillan & Co., 1919).
tities may be transferred. 15. George C. Homans, Social Behavior: Its Elementary

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 Marketing as Exchange 35

should be stressed,
anticipating future -however,
needs, and these activities do t
tradition developed by
not necessarily entail Levi-Str
attempts to influence or
persuade.
dividualistic one but rather is bu
To illustrate the multivariate nature
lectivistic assumptions of media
associat
ized exchange.16 These differe
in marketing exchanges, consider the example of
more apparent the when social
channel of distribution, mark
a complex chain ex-
below. change. The firms in a channel of distribution are
engaged in an intricate social system of be-
The Media and Meaning of Exchange havioral relationships that go well beyond the vis-
In order to satisfy human needs, people and ible exchange of products and money.19 Typically,
organizations are compelled to engage in social the traditional channel achieves its conscious
and economic exchanges with other people and coordination of effort through the mutual expec-
organizations. This is true for primitive as well as tations of profit. In addition, each firm in the
highly developed societies. Social actors obtain channel may influence the degree of cooperation
satisfaction of their needs by complying with, or and compliance of its partners by offering in-
influencing, the behavior of other actors. They do ducements in the form of services, deals, or other
this by communicating and controlling the media benefits or by persuading each link in the channel
of exchange which, in turn, comprise the links that it is in its own best interest to cooperate. A
between one individual and another, between one firm may also affect the behavior or decisions of
organization and another. Significantly, market- another firm through the use of the power it may
ing exchanges harbor meanings for individuals possess. Wilkinson has studied five bases of power
that go beyond the mere use of media for obtain- in the channel of distribution-reward, coercive,
ing results in interactions. legitimate, referent, and expert power-and has
tested aspects of these relationships between
The Media of Exchange firms.20 Finally, a firm may remind a delinquent
The media of exchange are the vehicles with member in the channel of its contractual obliga-
which people communicate to, and influence, tions or even threaten the member with legal ac-
others in the satisfaction of their needs. These tion for a breach of agreement. This influence
vehicles include money, persuasion, punishment, medium is known as the activation of commit-
power (authority), inducement, and activation of ments.
normative or ethical commitments.17 Products
The Meaning of Exchange
and services are also media of exchange. In con-
sumer behavior research, marketers have exten- Human behavior is more than the outward r
sively studied the effects of these vehicles on be- sponses or reactions of people to stimuli. Man n
havior. Moreover, it has been suggested that a only reacts to events or the actions of others b
number of these vehicles be used in conjunction he self-generates his own acts.21 His behavio
with sociopsychological processes to explain the purposeful, intentional. It is motivated. Man is a
customer-salesman relationship.18 It should be information seeker and generator as well as
noted, however, that marketing is not solely con- information processor. In short, human behav
cerned with influence processes, whether these is a conjunction of meaning with action and rea
tion.
involve manufacturers influencing consumers or
consumers influencing manufacturers. Marketing Similarly, exchange is more than the me
is also concerned with meeting existing needs and transfer of a product or service for money. To
sure, most marketing exchanges are characterize
Forms, rev. ed. (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
1974); and Peter M. Blau, Exchange and Power in Social Life
19. See, for example, Louis W. Stern, Distribution Cha
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1964). nels: Behavioral Dimensions (New York: Houghton Miff
16. Levi-Strauss, same reference as footnote 4. See
Co.,also,
1969).
Ekeh, same reference as footnote 4, Chaps. 3 and 4.
20. Ian Wilkinson, "Power in Distribution Channels,
17. Talcott Parsons, "On the Concept of Influence," Public
Cranfield Research Papers in Marketing and Logistics, Sess
Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 27 (Spring 1963), pp. 37-62; and Par- (Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield, B
1973-1974
sons, "On the Concept of Political Power," Proceedings of the
fordshire, England); and Wilkinson, "Researching the D
American Philosophical Society, Vol. 107 (June 1963), pp.
tribution Channels for Consumer and Industrial Goods:
232-262. See also, Richard Emerson, "Power DependencePower Dimension," Journal of the Market Research Socie
Relations," American Sociological Review, Vol. 27 (February
Vol. 16 (No. 1, 1974), pp. 12-32.
1962), pp. 31-40.
21. This dynamic, as opposed to mechanistic, image
18. Richard P. Bagozzi, "Marketing as an Organized Be- behavior is described nicely in R. Harre and P.
human
havioral System of Exchange," JOURNAL OF MARKETING, Vol.
Secord, The Explanation of Social Behavior (Totawa, N.J
38 (October 1974), pp. 77-81. Littlefield, Adams & Co., 1973).

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 36 Journal of Marketing, October 1975

havior thatthe
by such a transfer. But assumes many
reasonsof the featuresbehind
of
exchange--the explanation
economic man.24 Hisof its
model is based onoccurrenc
the theory
in the social and psychological significance
of purposive action, which posits that each "actor of
experiences, feelings, will
and choose meanings
that action which accordingof to his
the par
estimate will leadmarketing
in the exchange. In general, to an expectation of the mostexchan
may exhibit one of three classes
beneficial consequences."25 ofthings,
Among other meanin
utilitarian, symbolic, the
or mixed.
theory may be used to predict the outcomes
and degree
Utilitarian Exchange. A utilitarianof control social actors have for a set
exchang
of collective actions
an interaction whereby goods are given in retin an exchange system.
for money or other goods Symbolic Exchange.
and Symbolic
the exchange refers
motivation
to thethe
hind the actions lies in mutual transfer of psychological, social, use
anticipated or or
gible characteristics other intangible entities between
commonly two or more
associated
parties. Levy was one ofThe
the objects in the exchange. the first marketers to
utilitarian
recognize this aspect
change is often referred to ofas behavior,
an which is com-
economic
mon to many everyday
change, and most treatments ofmarketing exchanges:
exchange in m
keting implicitly rely on this usage. As Ba
notes with regard to the S. . identity
symbol is a general term for all in- in ma
crisis
ing:
stances where experience is mediated
rather than direct; where an object, action,
Marketing has initially and generally been word, picture, or complex behavior is un-
associated exclusively with the distributive derstood to mean not only itself but also
part of the economic institution and function. some other ideas or feelings.
The less concern there is with the con-
The question, then, is whether marketing is crete satisfactions of a survival level of exis-
identified by the field of economics in which tence, the more abstract human responses
the marketing techniques have been de- become. As behavior in the market place is
veloped and generally applied, or by the so- increasingly elaborated, it also becomes in-
called marketing techniques, wherever they creasingly symbolic. This idea needs some
may be applied. examination, because it means that sellers
If marketing relates to the distributive of goods are engaged, whether willfully or
function of the economy, providing goods and not, in selling symbols, as well as practical
services, that physical function differentiates merchandise. It means that marketing
it from all other social institutions.22 managers must attend to more than the rel-
Most marketers have traditionally conceptualized atively superficial facts with which they
the subject matter of the discipline in these terms, usually concern themselves when they do
and they have proceeded from the assumptions not think of their goods as having symbolic
embodied in utilitarian exchange. significance.... People buy things not only
In general, utilitarian exchange theory is built for what they can do, but also for what they
mean. 26
on the foundation of economic man.23 Thus, it is
assumed that:
Mixed Exchange. Marketing exchanges involve
1. Men are rational in their behavior. both utilitarian and symbolic aspects, and it is
2. They attempt to maximize their satisfaction often very difficult to separate the two. Yet, the
in exchanges. very creation and resolution of marketing ex-
changes depend on the nature of the symbolic
3. They have complete information on alterna-
and utilitarian mix. It has only been within the
tives available to them in exchanges. past decade or so that marketers have investi-
4. These exchanges are relatively free from ex-
gated this deeper side of marketing behavior in
ternal influence.
their studies of psychographics, motivation re-
Coleman has developed an elaborate mathemati- search, attitude and multiattribute models, and
cal framework for representing exchange be- other aspects of buyer and consumer behavior.

22. Robert Bartels, "The Identity Crisis in Marketing," 24. James S. Coleman, "Systems of Social Exchange,"
JOURNAL OF MARKETING, Vol. 38 (October 1974), p. 75. Em- Journal of Mathematical Sociology, Vol. 2 (December 1972).
phasis added. 25. James S. Coleman, The Mathematics of Collective Ac-
23. For a modern treatment of economic man, see Harold tion (Chicago: Aldine-Atherton, 1973).
K. Schneider, Economic Man (New York: The Free Press, 26. Sidney J. Levy, "Symbols for Sale," Harvard Business
1974).
Review, Vol. 37 (July-August 1959), pp. 117-119.

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 Marketing as Exchange 37

Bartels recently muddiedtradition

Out of this research the waters with still h
ture of man in a new
hisdefinition that
trueis vastly different from
comple
both economic and
those previously symbolic
suggested. For him, social mar-
see the emergence of ofmarket
keting designates "the application marketing
based on the following assump
techniques to nonmarketing fields."30 Since these
1. Man is sometimes rational, sometimes irra- definitions cover virtually everything in market-
tional. ing and even some things outside of marketing, it
is no wonder that one author felt compelled to
2. He is motivated by tangible as well as intan-
express his "personal confusion" and "uncom-
gible rewards, by internal as well as external
forces.27 fortable" state of mind regarding the concept.31
But what is social marketing? Before answering
3. He engages in utilitarian as well as symbolic this question, we must reject the previous defini-
exchanges involving psychological and so- tions for a number of reasons. First, we must re-
cial aspects.
ject the notion that social marketing is merely the
4. Although faced with incomplete informa- "use" or "application" of marketing techniques or
tion, he proceeds the best he can and makes skills to other areas. A science or discipline is
at least rudimentary and sometimes uncon- something more than its technologies. "Social
scious calculations of the costs and benefits marketing" connotes what is social and what is
associated with social and economic ex- marketing, and to limit the definition to the tools
changes. of a discipline is to beg the question of the mean-
5. Although occasionally striving to maximize ing of marketing. Second, social marketing is not
his profits, marketing man often settles for solely the study of marketing within the frame of
less than optimum gains in his exchanges. the total social system, and it is even more than
6. Finally, exchanges do not occur in isolation the subject matter of the discipline. Rather, the
but are subject to a host of individual and meaning of social marketing-like that of market-
social constraints: legal, ethical, normative, ing itself-is to be found in the unique problems
coercive, and the like. that confront the discipline. Thus, as the
philosopher of science, Popper, notes:
The important research question to answer is:
What are the forces and conditions creating and The belief that there is such a thing as
resolving marketing exchange relationships? The physics, or biology, or archaeology, and that
processes involved in the creation and resolution these "studies" or "disciplines" are distin-
of exchange relationships constitute the subject guishable by the subject matter which they
matter of marketing, and these processes depend investigate, appears to me to be a residue
on, and cannot be separated from, the fundamen- from the time when one believed that a
tal character of human and organizational needs. theory had to proceed from a definition of its
own subject matter. But subject matter, or
Social Marketing kinds of things, do not, I hold, constitute a
basis for distinguishing disciplines. Disci-
The marketing literature is replete with con- plines are distinguished partly for historical
flicting definitions of social marketing. Some have reasons and reasons of administrative con-
defined the term to signify the use of marketing venience (such as the organization of teach-
skills in social causes,28 while others have meant
ing and of appointments), and partly because
it to refer also to "the study of markets and mar- the theories which we construct to solve our
keting activities within a total social system."'29 problems have a tendency to grow into
unified systems. But all this classification and
27. It should be stressed that man is motivated by the distinction is a comparatively unimportant
hope or anticipation of future rewards, and these may con-
sist of classes of benefits not necessarily experienced in the and superficial affair. We are not students of
past. See Homans's individualistic exchange theory, a learn- some subject matter but students of problems.
ing perspective, same reference as footnote 15; Levi- And problems may cut right across the bor-
Strauss's collectivistic, symbolic perspective, same refer-
ence as footnote 4; and Ekeh, same reference as footnote 4, ders of any subject matter or discipline.32
pp. 118-124, 163.
28. Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman, "Social Marketing:
An Approach to Planned Social Change," JOURNAL OF MAR- 30. Same reference as footnote 22. Emphasis added.
KETING, Vol. 35 (July 1971), p. 5.
31. Luck, "Social Marketing," same reference as footnote 7,
29. William Lazer and Eugene J. Kelley, eds., Social Mar- p.70.
keting: Perspectives and Viewpoints (Homewood, Ill.: Richard 32. Karl R. Popper, Conjectures and Refutations (New
D. Irwin, 1973), p. 4. Emphasis added. York: Harper & Row, 1963), p. 67.

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 38 Journal of Marketing, October 1975

The Needy and Dependent in S

Elderly ( .Handicapped
/ DUnemployed

/ 6 Service I
# ,I
Authority, sala
information, etc.Social
Government ok I
Worker I

Social
i nsurance

Taxes,
authority, etc.

The Rest of Society

FIGURE 2. Social marketing and exchange.

Social marketing, then, addresses a particular that there is most definitely an exchange in social
type of problem which, in turn, is a subset of the marketing relationships, but the exchange is not
generic concept of marketing. That is, social mar- the simple quid pro quo notion characteristic of
keting is the answer to a particular question: Why most economic exchanges. Rather, social market-
and how are exchanges created and resolved in ing relationships exhibit what may be called
social relationships? Social relationships (as op- generalized or complex exchanges. They involve
posed to economic relationships) are those such the symbolic transfer of both tangible and intan-
as family planning agent-client, welfare agent- gible entities, and they invoke various media to
indigent, social worker-poor person, and so on.33 influence such exchanges.
Social marketing attempts to determine the Figure 2 illustrates a typical social marketing
dynamics and nature of the exchange behavior in exchange. In this system, society authorizes
these relationships. government-through its votes and tax pay-
But is there an exchange in a social relation- ments-to provide needed social services such as
ship? Luck, for example, feels that "a person who welfare. In return, the members of society receive
receives a free service is not a buyer and has con- social insurance against common human
ducted no exchange of values with the provider of maladies. Government, in turn, pays the salaries
the service."34 It is the contention in this article of social workers, gives them authority to provide
social services, and so on. It also distributes wel-
33. For a conceptual framework comparing marketing fare payments directly to the needy.. These rela-
and other social relationships, see Richard P. Bagozzi, tively contemporaneous transfers make this mar-
"What is a Marketing Relationship?" Der Markt, No. 51,
1974, pp. 64-69. keting system one of generalized exchange. In
34. Luck, "Social Marketing," same reference as footnote 7, addition, a number of symbolic and delayed trans-
p.71.
fers occur that make the system also one of complex

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 Marketing as Exchange 39

exchange. For 1. Why do marketing

example, as exchanges
shownemerge? How by
in the figure, do people and
many in organizations the
cases satisfy their
needy
dent have needs through exchange?
given to the government
since they may have paid taxes and voted. 2. Why do some marketing exchanges persist
Moreover, members of society anticipate that in ongoing relationships while others fall
they, or a number of their members, will become apart?
dependent and that social services represent an 3. What are the processes leading to changes in
investment as well as an obligation. Hence, in one marketing exchange relationships? How do
sense there is a mutual exchange between society the social actors or third parties influence or
and the needy separated, in part, by the passage control an exchange?
of time. Finally, it should be noted that there are 4. What are the consequences of imbalances in
other tangential exchanges and forces occurring power, resources, knowledge, and so on, in a
in this social marketing system that, depending marketing exchange? What is an equitable
on their balance, give it stability or promote exchange?
change. The system achieves stability due, first, to
5. What are the relationships between conflict,
the presence of the exchanges described above,
cooperation, competition, and exchange?
which create mutual dependencies and univocal
6. At what level may marketing exchanges be
reciprocities; and, second, to symbolic exchanges,
which reinforce the overt transfers. For example, analyzed? What are the consequences of
the social worker gives to the needy but also re- viewing exchanges as single dyads or com-
ceives back gratitude and feelings of accomplish- plex systems of relationships? What are the
ment. The system undergoes change due to the consequences of employing the individualis-
tic reductionism of Homans versus the col-
dynamics of competing interests, as is exemplified
lectivistic orientation of Levi-Strauss for un-
in the efforts of lobbies and pressure groups to
derstanding exchange behavior?
bring their needs to bear on the legislative pro-
cess. 7. Is the exchange paradigm universal? Does it
apply toof
Thus, social marketing is really a subset the free-enterprise
the countries of the
generic concept of marketing in that itwestern
deals world,
with the planned economies of the
communist
the creation and resolution of exchanges in social countries, and the primitive
economies of the third world?
relationships. Marketers can make contributions
to other areas that contain social exchanges
8. How well doesbythe exchange paradigm meet
providing theories and techniques for the under-
the requirements for theory as. specified by
standing and control of such transactions.
philosophyThey
of science criteria?
do not usurp the authority of specialists in areas
Although
such as social work, but rather they aid marketing seems to defy simple
and com-
definition and
plement the efforts of these social scientists. It circumscription,
is it is essential that
marketers
not so much the fact that the subject matter oflocate the distinctive focus (or foci) of
marketing overlaps with that of otherthe discipline.
disciplinesFailure to do so impedes both the
growth of the
as it is that the problems of marketing are univer- discipline and the character of its
performance.
sal. In answer to Bartels's query, "Is marketing Exchangea is a central concept in
marketing,
specific function with general applicability or a and it may well serve as the founda-
tion for that
general function that is specifically applied?"35 elusive "general theory of market-
ing." This article
-one may state that it is neither. Rather, market- has attempted to explore some
of the key concepts
ing is a general function of universal applicability. in the exchange paradigm.
Future research
It is the discipline of exchange behavior, and it and discussion must search for
specific
deals with problems related to this behavior. social and psychological processes that
create and resolve marketing exchanges.
Conclusions and Implications
A number of broad research questions
The authormay
wishes be
to acknowledge his gratitude to Profes-
posed: sors Clewett, Kotler, and Levy and Associate Dean Westfall
of Northwestern University, and to the reviewers, for the
35. Same reference as footnote 22, p. 73. exchange of ideas that led to this article.

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