ABSTRACT
This chapter is an adapted version of a journal article 1 summarizing the results of a major project we undertook to address the topic: “What does marketing contribute to society?” We originally chose to study the field of marketing because we found it to be among the most stimulating, complex, and intellectually challenging of academic areas in a university. In contrast to its general reputation as a “soft” area, we have found that the marketing field welcomes insights from many disciplines, including economics, psychology, history, mathematics, sociology, law, political science, communications, anthropology, and the creative arts. It combines objectivity and subjectivity, demands both quantitative and qualitative insights, requires persistence yet rewards creative leaps, and allows imaginative freedom yet grounds its efforts in actions with measured consequences.
