Towards a Theory of Marketing Systems as the Public Good

The Marketing-Systems-as-the-Public-Good framework proposed in this article outlines the general principles of interpreting change in marketing systems. The framework advances a view of purposeful temporal change based on collective practices that a) identify, develop and maintain key common resources; b) initiate public-private asset transitions; c) facilitate contributory participation of market actors in marketing system processes; and d) perpetuate attenuating mechanisms. These processes construct the system as the public good with non-excludable and non-subtractable (dis)benefits. The drive for further change arises when the system’s overarching structures infuse value creation practices with macromotive-based meaningfulness (e.g. the justice motive) which differentially resonates in market actors’ lived experiences, who through ongoing localized socio-political discourses and contestation undertake to correct perceived justice digressions. The case of the historical evolution of the Uzbek Bozor Marketing System illustrates the key elements of the proposed framework