Revisiting the Concept of a Societal Orientation: Conceptualization and Delineation

Gi-Du Kang () and Jeffrey James ()

Journal of Business Ethics, 2007, vol. 73, issue 3, 318 pages

Abstract: Marketers have traditionally evaluated products and practices on the basis of whether something could be sold. It is also important to evaluate products and practices from a societal perspective, “Should a product be sold?â€\x9D The first idea reflects a managerial orientation and what must be done to sell a product; the second idea reflects a societal orientation and the impact of selling a product. In relation to the second idea, the societal marketing concept was introduced in 1972. There has been little advancement in our understanding of a societal orientation since that time. The current study presents a conceptualization of a societal orientation based on a review of literature and qualitative interviews. The construct was conceptualized as “attention to the long-term well-being of individuals and society at large by enhancing positive impacts from and reducing negative effects associated with production and consumption of a product.â€\x9D Five domains comprising a societal orientation are proposed: physical consequences, psychological well-being, social relationships, economic contribution, and environmental consciousness. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2007

Keywords: business ethics; quality of life; social responsibility; societal orientation; societal marketing; corporate citizenship (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-006-9208-0

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