Abstract
In this article we build on the program of research in well-being marketing by further conceptualizing and refining the conceptual domain of the concept of consumer well-being (CWB). We then argue that well-being marketing is a business philosophy grounded in business ethics. We show how this philosophy is an ethical extension of relationship marketing (stakeholder theory in business ethics) and is superior to transactional marketing (a business philosophy grounded in the principles of consumer sovereignty). Additionally, we argue that well-being marketing is based on duty ethics concepts, specifically the duty of beneficence and non-maleficence. Subsequently, we show how the well-being concept guides marketing decisions for consumer goods firms.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aiello A. Jr., Czepiel J. A. and Rosenberg L. J. (1977) Scaling the Heights of Consumer Satisfaction: An Evaluation of Alternative Measures. In R. Day (ed.), Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and Complaint Behavior. (Bloomington, IN, Indiana University School of Business), pp 43–50
Andrews F. M. and Withey S. B. (1976) Social Indicators of Well-Being: America’s Perception of Life Quality. (New York, NY, Plenum Press)
Armstrong G. and Philip K. (2002) Marketing. (6th edn) (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall)
Bettman J. R., Payne J. W. and Staelin R. (1986) Cognitive Considerations in Designing Effective Labels for Presenting Risk Information, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing 5:1–28
Belk R. W. (1985) Materialism: Trait Aspects of Living in the Material World. Journal of Consumer Research 12:265–280 (December)
Beauchamp T. L.: 1999, `Ethical Theory and Bioethics: Contemporary Issues in Bioethics'. In T. L. Beauchamp, L. W. Belmont, (eds.) (Wadsworth Publishing Company, CA)
Campbell A., Converse P. E. and Rodgers W. L. (1976) The Quality of American Life: Perceptions, Evaluations, and Satisfactions. (New York, NY, Russell Sage Foundation)
Carroll A. B. (1989) Business and Society: Ethics and Stakeholder Management. (Cincinnati, OH, South Western Publishing)
Cespedes F. V.: 1993, `Ethical Issues in Distribution: Ethics in Marketing', in N. C. Smith, J. A. Quelch, (eds.), Ethics in Marketing (Homewood, Illinois, Irwin) pp. 473–490
Chonko L. B. (1985) Ethical Decision Making in Marketing. (Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications)
Collins M. (1993) Global Corporate Philanthropy-Marketing beyond the Call of Duty?. European Journal of Marketing 27(2):46–58
Day R. L. (1978) Beyond Social Indicators: Quality of Life at the Individual Level. In F. D. Reynolds, H. C. Barksdale, (eds.), Marketing and the Quality of Life. (Chicago, IL, American Marketing Association) pp. 11–18
Day R. L. (1987) Relationship Between Life Satisfaction and Consumer Satisfaction. In A. C. Samli (ed.), Marketing and Quality-of-Life Interface. (Westport, CT, Greenwood Press) pp. 289–311
Drucker P. F. (1969) Preparing Tomorrow’s Business Leaders Today. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall)
Dunfee T. C., Smith N. and William T. R. Jr. (1999) Social Contracts and Marketing Ethics. Journal of Marketing 63(2):14–32
Dunne P. M., Robert F. L. and David A. G. (2002) Retailing. (4th edn) (South-Western: Mason OH)
Dwyer F. R., Paul H. S. and Sejo O. (1987) Developing Buyer-Seller Relationship. Journal of Marketing 51(2):11–27
Evan W. M. and Edward F. R. (1988) A Stakeholder Theory of the Modern Corporation: Kantian Capitalism. In: T. L. Beauchamp, N. E. Bowie (eds), Ethical Theory and Business. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall) pp. 97–106
Ferrell O. C. and Larry G. G. (1986) A Contingency Framework for Understanding Ethical Decision Making in Marketing. Journal of Marketing 49:87–96 (Summer)
Fisher J. (2001) Lessons for Business Ethics from Bioethics. Journal of Business Ethics 34:15–24
Fisk G. (1971) New criteria for Evaluating the Social Performance of Marketing. In G. Fisk (ed), New Essays in Marketing Theory. (Boston, Mass, Allyn and Bacon) pp. 440–441
Frankenna W. (1973) Ethics. (2nd edn) (Engelwood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall)
Fornell C. (1992) A National Customer Satisfaction Barometer: The Swedish Experience. Journal of Marketing 56:6–21 (January)
Fornell C., Michael D. J., Eugene W. A., Jaesung C. and Barbara E. B. (1996) The American Customer Satisfaction Index: Nature, Purpose, and Findings. Journal of Marketing 60: 7–18 (October)
Freeman R. E. (1984) The Politics of Stakeholder Theory: Some Future Directions. Business Ethics Quarterly 4(4):409–21
Friedman M. (1962) Capitalism and Freedom. (Chicago, University of Chicago Press)
Friedman M.: 1970, ‹The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits’, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, September 13
Galbraith J.K.: 1956, American Capitalism: The Concept of Countervailing Power, Revised Edition (Houghton Mifflin, Boston)
Galbraith J. K. (1973) Economics and the Public Purpose. (Boston, Houghton Mifflin)
Galbraith J. K. (1977) The Age of Uncertainty. (Boston, Houghton Mifflin)
Galbraith J. K. (1985) The New Industrial State. (4th edn) (Boston, Houghton Mifflin)
Ganesan S. (1994) Determinants of Long-term Orientation in Buyer-Seller Relationships. Journal of Marketing, 58:1–19 (April)
Goodpaster K. E. (1991) Business Ethics and Stakeholder Analysis. Business Ethics Quarterly 1(1):53–73
Grzeskowiak S. M., Joseph S., Dong-Jin Lee and Claiborne C. B. (2006) Housing Well-being: Developing and Validating a Measure. Social Indicators Research 79:503–541
Hunt S. D. and J. V. Scott (1986) `A General Theory of Marketing Ethics', Journal of Macromarketing, 5–16
Hunt S. D. and Scott J. V. (2006) The General Theory of Marketing Ethics: A Revision and Three Questions. Journal of Macromarketing 26(2):143–153
Jackson G. C. and Morgan F. W. (1988) Responding to Recall Requests: A Strategy for Managing Product Withdrawals. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing 7:152–165
Jacobs R. M.: 1988, ‹Product Liability: A Technical and Ethical Challenge’. Quality Progress, December 27–29
Jap S. D. (1999) Pie-Expansion Efforts: Collaboration Processes in Buyer-Supplier Relationships. Journal of Marketing Research, 36:461–75 (November)
Kalwani M. U. and Narakesari N. (1995) Long-Term Manufacturer-Supplier Relationships: Do They Pay Off for Supplier Firms. Journal of Marketing 59:1–16 (January)
Kelley E. J. (1974) Integrating Social Feedback into Business Decisions: Value System Conflicts and Corporate Planning. In R. L. Clewett, J. C. Olson (eds.), Social Indicators and Marketing. (Chicago, American Marketing Association) pp. 129–145
Kotler P. (1979) Axioms for Societal Marketing. In G. Fisk, J. Arndt, K. Gronharg (eds), Future Directions for Marketing. (Boston, Marketing Science Institute) pp. 33–41
Kolter P. (1986) Principles of Marketing. (3rd edn) (Engelwood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall)
Kolter P. (1987) Humanistic Marketing: Beyond the Marketing Concept. In A. Firat, N. Dholakia, R. Bagozzi (eds.), Philosophical and Radical Thought in Marketing. (Lexington, MA, Lexington Book) pp. 271–288
Kolter P. (2003) Marketing Management. (11th edn) (Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice Hall)
Kolter P., Roberto N. and Lee N. (2002) Social Marketing: Improving the Quality of Life. (2nd edn) (Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications)
Kolter P. and Lee N. (2005) Corporate Social Responsibility: Doing the Most Good for Your Company and Your Cause. (Hoboken, NJ, Wiley)
Kripalani M. (2005) Asking the Right Questions: These Indian Companies Realized Western Models Won’t Work’, Business Week, August 22/29, 2005, 64–66
Kumar N., Scheer L. and Kotler P. (2000) From Market Driven to Market Driving. European Management Journal 18(2):129–142
Laczniak G.R. (1983) A Framework for Analyzing Marketing Ethics. Journal of Macromarketing 3(1):7–18
Laczniak G. R. and Murphy P. E. (2006) Normative Perspective for Ethical and Socially Responsible. Journal of Macromarketing 26(2):154–177
Lee D.J. and Sirgy M.J. (1995) Determinants of Involvement in the Consumer/Marketing Life Domain in Relation to Quality of Life: A Theoretical Model and Research Agenda. In H. L. Meadow, M. J. Sirgy, D. R. Blacksburg (eds), Developments in Quality of Life Studies in Marketing. (Virginia, Academy of Marketing Science) pp. 13–18
Lee D. J., Sirgy M. J. Larsen V. andWright N. D. (2002) Developing a Subjective Measure of Consumer Well-Being. Journal of Macromarketing 22(2):158–169
Leelakulthanit O., Day R. and Walters R. (1991) Investigating the Relationship Between Marketing and Overall Satisfaction with Life in a Developing Country. Journal of Macromarketing 11: 3–23 (Spring)
Mattsson J. and Rendtorff J. D. (2006) E-marketing Ethics: A Theory of Value Priorities. International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 3(1):35–45
Meadow H. L. (1988) The Satisfaction Attitude Hierarchy: Does Marketing Contribute?. Proceedings of the 1988 American Marketing Association Winter Educators’ Conference, edited by S. Shapiro and others (eds.), (American Marketing Association, Chicago) 482–483
Meadow H. L.: 1983, `The Relationship between Consumer Satisfaction and Life Satisfaction for the Elderly', Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University)
Morgan R. M. and Hunt S. D. (1994) The Commitment-Trust Theory of Relationship Marketing. Journal of Marketing 58:20–38 (July)
Naidu G. M., Parvatiyar A., Sheth J. N. and Westgate L. (1999) Does Relationship Marketing Pay? An Empirical Investigation of Relationship Marketing Practices in Hospitals. Journal of Business Research 46(3):207–219
Nakano N., MacDonald M. and Douthitt R. (1995) Toward Consumer Well-Being: Consumer Socialization Effects of Work Experience. In M. J. Sirgy, H. L. Meadow, D. Rahtz, A. C. Samli (eds.), Developments in Quality-of-Life Studies in Marketing, 4. (Blacksburg, VA: Academy of Marketing Science) pp. 107–111
Nelson P. (1970) Information and Consumer Behavior. Journal of Political Economy 78:311–329 (March-April)
Oliver R. L. (1997) Satisfaction: A Behavioral Perspective on the Consumer. (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill)
Park C. W., Jaworski B. J. and MacInnis D. J. (1986) Strategic Brand Concept-Image Management. Journal of Marketing, 50:135–145 (October)
Parvatiyar A. and Sheth J. N. (1994) Paradigm Shift in Marketing Theory and Approach: The Emergence of Relationship Marketing. In J. Sheth, A. Parvatiyar (eds.), Relationship Marketing: Theory, Methods, and Applications. (Atlanta, GA, Center for Relationship Marketing, Emory University)
Reidenbach R. E. and Robin D. P. (1990) Toward the Development of Multidimensional Scale of Improving Evaluation of Business Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics 9(8):639–653
Robin D. P. and Reidenbach R. E. (1987) Social Responsibility, Ethics, and Marketing Strategy: Closing the Gap between Concept and Application. Journal of Marketing 51: 44–58 (January)
Ross W. D. (1930) The Right and The Good. (Oxford: Clarendon Press)
Scherer F. M. (1971) Industrial Market Structure and Economic Performance. (Chicago, Rand McNally)
Sheth J. D., Newman B. I. and Gross B. L. (1991) Consumption Values and Market Choice. (Cincinnati, OH, South Western Publishing)
Sirgy M. J. (2001) Handbook of Quality-of-Life Research: An Ethical Marketing Perspective. (The Netherlands, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordecht)
Sirgy M. J. (2002) Measuring Corporate Performance by Building on the Stakeholders Model of Business Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics 35(3):143–162
Sirgy M. J., Lee D. J., Larsen V. and Wright N. (1998) Satisfaction with Material Possessions and General Well-Being: The Role of Materialism. Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior 11:103–118
Sirgy M. J., Lee D. J. and Kresssman F. (2006) A Need Based Measure of Consumer Well Being (CWB) in Relation to Personal Transportation: Nomological Validation. Social Indicators Research 79:337–367
Sirgy M. J. and Su C. (2000) The Ethics of Sovereignty in the Age of High Tech. Journal of Business Ethics 28:1–14
Smith, A.: 1776, 1971, The Wealth of Nations. (Everyman, London)
Smith N. C. (1995) Marketing Strategies for the Ethics Era. Sloan Management Review 36:85–97 (Summer)
Smith N. C. (2001) Ethical Guidelines for Marketing Practice: A Reply to Gaski and Some Observations on the Role of Normative Marketing Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics 32(1):3–18
Smith N. C. and Quelch J. A. (1993) Ethics in Marketing. (Homewood, IL, Irwin Publishers)
Stigler G. J.: 1971, `The Theory of Economic Regulation'. Bell Journal of Economics and Management Science, Spring
Sweeny J. C. and Souter G. N. (2001) Consumer Perceived Value: The Development of a Multiple Item Scale. Journal of Retailing 77:203–220
Szymanski D. M. and Henard D. H. (2001) Customer Satisfaction: A Meta-Analysis of the Empirical Evidence. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 29(1):16–35
Thorelli H. B. and Thorelli S. V. (1977) Consumer Information Systems and Consumer Policy. (Balinger, Cambridge, Massachusetts)
Thurau T. H. and Hansen U. (2000) Relationship Marketing: Gaining Competitive Advantage through Customer Satisfaction and Customer Retention. (Berlin, Springer, Verlag)
Trevino L. (1986) Ethical Decision Making in an Organization: A Person-Situation Interactionist Model. Academy of Management Review 11:601–617
Udell G. G. andLaczniak G. R. (1981) Marketing in an Age of Change: An Introduction. (New York, NY, John Wiley)
Wasik J. F. (1996) Green Marketing and Management: A Global Perspective. (Cambridge, MA, Blackwell Publishers Inc.)
Wheeler D. andSillanpaa M. (1997) The Stakeholder Corporation: A Blue Print for Maximizing Stakeholder Value. (London, Pitman Publishing)
Williams O. F. andMurphy P. E. (1990) The Ethics of Virtue: A Moral Theory for Marketing. Journal of Macromarketing 10(1), 19–29
Wilkie W. L. and Moore E. S. (1999) Marketing’s Contributions to Society. Journal of Marketing 63:198–218 (Special issue)
Woodruff R. B. (1997) Customer Value: The Next Source for Competitive Advantage. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 25(2), 139–153
Wortuba T. R. (1990) A Comprehensive Framework for the Analysis of Ethical Behavior with a Focus on Sales Organizations. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management 10, 29–42
Zeithaml V. A. and Bitner M. J. (2000) Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus across the Firm. (2nd edn) (McGraw Hill, Boston, MA, Irwin)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sirgy, M., Lee, DJ. Well-being Marketing: An Ethical Business Philosophy for Consumer Goods Firms. J Bus Ethics 77, 377–403 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9363-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9363-y