Author(s): B. Keith Murray
This article proposes that the singular, distinctive purpose of the business discipline of marketing can and should be used to encourage, foster, and then strategically manage all pro-social endeavors of the organization to the mutual benefit of society and the enterprise, all in a way that parallels other, more conventional “products” of the firm. This approach is predicated on conceiving of the pro-social actions of the firm as “product offerings” to be managed as elements of mutual “value” to both the enterprise and, at the same time, various stakeholders and, hence, strategically managed. The case is made that strategically overseeing the prosocial activities of the enterprise promotes the well-being of the firm’s (external and internal) stakeholders and at the same time benefits the organization. Distinctive marketing paradigms to be employed include research and analysis in terms of various stakeholder groups, the new product development process, and portfolio management.