This article builds on a program of research in quality-of-life (QOL) marketing by reviewing the research literature dealing with this construct and proposing a set of antecedents and consequences of that construct. QOL marketing is defined as marketing practice designed to enhance the well-being of customers while preserving the well-being of the firm’s other stakeholders. The authors refer to the dimension pertaining to the enhancement of customer well-being as the beneficence component of QOL marketing, while the preservation of the well-being of the firm’s other stakeholders is referred to as the nonmaleficence component. The authors propose that the consequences of marketing beneficence and nonmaleficence are high levels of customer well-being, customer trust and commitment, and positive corporate image and company goodwill. They also propose that the beneficent and nonmaleficent components of QOL marketing are influenced by a set of environmental factors, organizational factors, and individual factors.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Aaker, David A. 1991. Managing brand equity. New York: Free Press.
2.
Aiello, A., Jr., J. A. Czepiel, and L. J. Rosenberg. 1977. Scaling the heights of consumer satisfaction: An evaluation of alternative measures. In Consumer satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and complaint behavior, edited by R. Day, 43-50. Bloomington: Indiana University School of Business.
3.
Andrews, Frank M., and S. B. Withey. 1976. Social indicators of well-being: America’s perception of life quality. New York: Plenum.
4.
Campbell, A., P. E. Converse, and W. L. Rodgers. 1976. The quality of American life: Perceptions, evaluations, and satisfactions. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
5.
Carroll, Archie B. 1979. A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate social performance. Academy of Management Review4 (4): 497-505.
6.
Carroll, Archie B. 1989. Business and society: Ethics and stakeholder management. Cincinnati, OH: South Western.
7.
Cespedes, Frank V. 1993. Ethical issues in distribution. In Ethics in marketing, edited by N. C. Smith and J. A. Quelch, 473-490. Homewood, IL: Irwin.
8.
Collins, Marylyn. 1993. Global corporate philanthropy—Marketing beyond the call of duty? European Journal of Marketing27 (2): 46-58.
9.
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. 1997. Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. New York: Basic Books.
10.
Day, Ralph L. 1978.Beyondsocial indicators: Quality of life at the individual level. In Marketing and the quality of life, edited by F. D. Reynolds and H. C. Barksdale, 11-18. Chicago: American Marketing Association.
11.
Day, Ralph L. 1987. Relationships between life satisfaction and consumer satisfaction. In Marketing and the quality-of-life interface, edited by A. C. Samli, 289-311. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.
12.
De George, Robert T. 1993. Competing with integrity in international business. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
13.
Donaldson, Thomas.1989. The ethics of international business. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
14.
Drumwright, Minette E. 1993. Ethical issues in advertising and sales promotion. In Ethics in marketing, edited by N. C. Smith and J. A. Quelch, 607-625. Homewood, IL: Irwin.
15.
Dwyer, F. Robert, Paul H. Schurr, and Sejo Oh. 1987. Developing buyer-seller relationship. Journal of Marketing51 (2): 11-27.
16.
Evan, William M., and R. Edward Freeman. 1988. A stakeholder theory of the Modern Corporation: Kantian Capitalism. In Ethical theory and business, edited by Thomas L. Beauchamp and Norman E. Bowie, 97-106. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
17.
Ferrell, O. C., and Larry G. Grasham. 1985. A contingency framework for understanding ethical decision making in marketing. Journal of Marketing49 (Summer): 87-96.
18.
Ferrell, O. C., Larry G. Grasham, and John Fraedrich. 1989. A contingency framework for understanding ethical decision models for marketing. Journal of Macromarketing11 (Fall): 55-64.
19.
Folkes, Valerie S. 1984. Consumer reactions to product failure: An attribution approach. Journal of Consumer Research14 (March): 398-409.
20.
Forsyth, Donelson R. 1980.A taxanomy of ethical ideologies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology39 (1): 175-184.
21.
Forsyth, Donelson R. 1992. Judging the morality of business practices: The influences of personal moral philosophies. Journal of Business Ethics11 (May): 461-470.
22.
Frederick, W. C., K. Davis, and J. E. Post. 1988. Business and society: Corporate strategy, public policy, and ethics, 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
23.
Freeman, R. Edward. 1984. The politics of stakeholder theory: Some future directions. Business Ethics Quarterly4 (4): 409-421.
24.
Ganesan, Shankar. 1994. Determinants of long-term orientation in buyer-seller relationships. Journal of Marketing58 (April): 1-19.
25.
Garbarino, Ellen, and Mark S. Johnson. 1999. The different roles of satisfaction, trust, and commitment in customer relationships. Journal of Marketing63 (April): 70-87.
26.
Gilligan, Carol. 1982. In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
27.
Goodpaster, Kenneth E. 1991. Business ethics and stakeholder analysis. Business Ethics Quarterly1 (1): 53-73.
28.
Gummesson, E. 1999. Total relationship marketing. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.
29.
Hofstede, Geert. 1980. National cultures in four dimensions: A research based theory of cultural differences among nations. International Studies of Management and Organization13 (1/2): 46-74.
30.
Hofstede, Geert. 1991. Cultures and organizations: Software of mind. New York: McGraw-Hill.
31.
Hunt, Shelby, and Lawrence B. Chonko. 1984. Marketing and Machiavellianism. Journal of Marketing48 (Summer): 30-42.
32.
Hunt, Shelby, and Scott Vitell. 1993. The general theory of marketing ethics. Journal of Macromarketing8 (Spring): 5-16.
33.
Jap, Sandy D. 1999. Pie-expansion efforts: Collaboration processes in buyer-supplier relationships. Journal of Marketing Research36 (November): 461-475.
34.
Kalwani, Manohar U., and Narakesari Narayandas. 1995. Long-term manufacturer-supplier relationships: Do they pay off for supplier firms? Journal of Marketing59 (January): 1-16.
35.
Kohlberg, Lawrence. 1973. The claim to moral adequacy of highest stage of moral judgement. Journal of Philosophy70: 630-646.
36.
Kohlberg, Lawrence. 1976. Moral state and moralization: The cognitive-developmental approach to socialization. In Handbook of socialization theory and research, edited by D. A. Goslin. Chicago: Rand McNally.
Laczniak, G. R., and P. E. Murphy. 1993. Ethical marketing decisions—The higher road. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
40.
Larsen, Val, M. Joseph Sirgy, and Newell D. Wright. 1999. Materialism: The construct, measures, antecedents, and consequences. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal3 (2): 75-107.
41.
Lee, Dong-Jin, and M. Joseph Sirgy. 1995. Determinants of involvement in the consumer/marketing life domain in relation to quality of life: A theoretical model and research agenda. In Developments in quality of life studies in marketing, edited by H. Lee Meadow, M. Joseph Sirgy, and Don Rahtz, 13-18. Blacksburg, VA: Academy of Marketing Science.
42.
Lee, Dong-Jin, and M. Joseph Sirgy. 1998. The effect of moral philosophy and ethnocentrism on quality-of-life orientation in international marketing: A cross-cultural comparison. Journal of Business Ethics18 (1): 73-89.
43.
Lee, Dong-Jin, M. Joseph Sirgy, Val Larsen, and Newell D. Wright. 2002. Developing a subjective measure of consumer well-being. Journal of Macromarketing22 (2): 158-169.
44.
Lee, Dong-Jin, M. Joseph Sirgy, and Chenting Su. 1998. International quality-of-life (IQOL) orientation: The construct and possible predictors. Research in Marketing14: 151-184.
45.
Leelakulthanit, Orose, Ralph Day, and Rockney Walters. 1991. Investigating the relationship between marketing and overall satisfaction with life in a developing country. Journal of Macromarketing11 (Spring): 3-23.
46.
Macneil, Ian R. 1980. The new social contract. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
47.
Mandell, Lewis. 1975. Economics from the consumer’s perspective. Chicago: SRA.
48.
Maynes, E. Scott. 1976. Decision-making for consumers. New York: Macmillan.
49.
Meadow, H. Lee. 1983. The relationship between consumer satisfaction and life satisfaction for the elderly. Ph.D. diss., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.
50.
Meadow, H. Lee. 1988. The satisfaction attitude hierarchy: Does marketing contribute? In Proceedings of the 1988 American Marketing Association Winter Educators’ Conference, edited by S. Shapiro, 482-483. Chicago: American Marketing Association.
51.
Menezes, M. A. J. 1993. Ethical issues in product policy. In Ethics in marketing, edited by N. C. Smith and J. A. Quelch, 283-301. Homewood, IL: Irwin.
52.
Morgan, Robert M., and Shelby D. Hunt. 1994.The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing58 (July): 20-38.
53.
Naidu, G. M., Atul Parvatiyar, Jagdish N. Sheth, and Lori Westgate. 1999. Does relationship marketing pay? An empirical investigation of relationship marketing practices in hospitals. Journal of Business Research46 (3): 207-219.
54.
Nakano, Noriyuki, Maurice MacDonald, and Robin Douthitt. 1992. Toward consumer well-being: Consumer socialization effects of work experience. In Developments in quality-of-life studies in marketing, vol. 4, edited by M. Joseph Sirgy, H. Lee Meadow, Don Rahtz, and A. C. Samli, 107-111. Blacksburg, VA: Academy of Marketing Science.
55.
Oliver, Richard L. 1997. Satisfaction: A behavioral perspective on the consumer. New York: McGraw-Hill.
56.
Ortmeyer, G. K. 1993.Ethical issues in pricing. In Ethics in marketing, edited by N. C. Smith and J. A. Quelch, 3889-3404. Homewood, IL: Irwin.
57.
Peck, Helen, A. Payne, M. Christopher, and M. Clark. 1999. Relationship marketing: Strategy and implementation. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.
58.
Prilleltensky, Isac. 1997. Values, assumptions, and practices: Assessing the moral implications of psychological discourse and action. American Psychologist52 (May): 517-535.
59.
Reichheld, F. F. 1990. The loyalty effect. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
60.
Reidenbach, R. Eric, and Donald P. Robin. 1991. A conceptual model of corporate moral development. Journal of Business Ethics10 (4): 273-284.
61.
Robertson, Diana, and Bodo Schlegelmilch. 1993., Corporate institutionalization of ethics in the United States and Great Britain. Journal of Business Ethics12 (4): 301-312.
62.
Robin, DonaldP., and R. Eric Reidenbach.1987.Social responsibility, ethics, and marketing strategy: Closing the gap between concept and application. Journal of Marketing51 (January): 44-58.
63.
Rogers, Hudson P., Alphonso O. Ogbuehi, and C. M. Kochunny. 1995. Ethics and transnational corporations in developing countries: A social contract perspective. Journal of Euromarketing4 (2): 11-38.
64.
Schlegelmilch, Bodo. 1998. Marketing ethics: An international perspective. Boston: International Thomson Business Press.
65.
Schlegelmilch, Bodo, and Diana C. Robertson. 1995. The influence of country and industry on ethical perceptions of senior executives in the US and Europe. Journal of the International Business Studies26 (4): 859-881.
66.
Schlenker, Barry R., and Donelson R. Forsyth. 1977. On the ethics of psychological research. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology13 (4): 369-396.
67.
Sheth, Jag, and Atul Parvatiyar, eds. 1994. Relationship marketing: Theory, methods, applications. Atlanta, GA: Center for Relationship Marketing, Emory University
68.
Shultz, Clifford J., II., and Morris B. Holbrook.1999.Marketing and the tragedy of the commons: A synthesis, commentary, and analysis for action. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing18 (2): 218-229.
69.
Singhapakdi, Anusorn, Kiran Karande, C. P. Rao, and Scott Vitell. 2001. How important are ethics and social responsibility? A multinational study of marketing professionals. European Journal of Marketing35 (1/2): 133-152.
70.
Singhapakdi, Anusorn, Kenneth L. Kraft, Scott J. Vitell, and Kumar C. Rallapalli. 1995. The perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility on organizational effectiveness: A survey of marketers. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science23 (1): 49-56.
71.
Sirgy, M. Joseph. 1996. Strategic marketing planning guided by the quality-of-life (QOL) concept. Journal of Business Ethics15 (March): 241-259.
72.
Sirgy, M. Joseph. 2001. Handbook of quality-of-life research: An ethical marketing perspective. Dordecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer.
73.
Sirgy, M. Joseph. 2002. Measuring corporate performance by building on the stake-holders model of business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics35(3): 143-162.
74.
Sirgy, M. Joseph, David E. Hansen, and James E. Littlefield. 1994. Does hospital satisfaction affect life satisfaction? Journal of Macromarketing14 (Fall): 36-46.
75.
Sirgy, M. Joseph, and Dong-Jin Lee. 1995. The evolution of the quality-of-life concept in marketing thought. In Developments in quality-of-life studies in marketing, vol. 5, edited by H. Lee Meadow, M. Joseph Sirgy, and Don R. Rahtz, 19-24. DeKalb, IL: Academy of Marketing Science.
76.
Sirgy, M. Joseph, and Dong-Jin Lee. 1996. Setting socially responsible marketing objectives: A quality-of-life approach. European Journal of Marketing30 (5): 20-34.
77.
Sirgy, M. Joseph, Dong-Jin Lee, Rustan Kosenko, H. Lee Meadow, Don Rahtz, Muris Cicic, Guang Xi Jin, Duygun Yarsuvat, David Blenkhorn, and Newell Wright. 1998. Does television viewership play a role in the perception of quality of life? Journal of Advertising27(Spring): 125-142.
78.
Sirgy, M. Joseph, Michael Morris, and A. Coskun Samli. 1985. The question of value in social marketing: Use of a quality-of-life theory to achieve long-term life satisfaction. American Journal of Economics and Sociology44 (April): 215-227.
79.
Sirgy, M. Joseph, A. Coskun Samli, and H. Lee Meadow. 1982. The interface between quality of life and marketing: A theoretical framework. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing1: 69-84.
80.
Smith, N. C., and J. A. Quelch. 1993. Ethics in marketing. Homewood, IL: Irwin.
81.
Sutherland, Edwin, and D. R. Cressy. 1970. Principles of criminology. Chicago: J. B. Lippincott.
82.
Szymanski, David M., and David H. Henard. 2001. Customer satisfaction: A meta analysis of the empirical evidence. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science29 (1): 16-35.
83.
Tretise, Debbie, Michael F. Weigold, Jenneane Conna, and Heather Garrison. 1994. Ethics in advertising: Ideological correlates of consumer perceptions. Journal of Advertising23 (3): 59-69.
84.
Vardi, Yoav. 2001. The effects of organizational and ethical climates on misconduct at work. Journal of Business Ethics29: 325-337.
85.
Victor, Bart, and John B. Cullen. 1987. A theory and measure of ethical climate in organizations in research. In Corporate social performance and policy, edited by William C. Frederick and Lee E. Preston, 51-77. Greenwich, CT: JAI.
86.
Victor, Bart, and John B. Cullen. 1988. The organizational bases of ethical work climate. Administrative Science Quarterly33: 101-125.
87.
Vitell, Scott J., Kumar C. Rallapalli, and Anusorn Singhapakdi. 1993. Marketing norms: The influence of personal moral philosophies and organizational ethical culture. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science21 (Fall): 331-337.
88.
Webster, C., ed. 1974. The intellectual revolution of the seventeenth century. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
89.
Weeks, William A., and Jacques Nantel. 1992. Corporate code of ethics and sales force behavior: A case study. Journal of Business Ethics11 (10): 753-760.
90.
Wheeler, David, and Maria Sillanpaa. 1997. The stakeholder corporation: A blue print for maximizing stakeholder value. London: Pitman.
91.
Wilkie, William L., and Elizabeth S. Moore. 1999.Marketing’s contributions to society. Journal of Marketing63 (Special Issue): 198-218.
92.
Zey-Ferrell, M. K., M. Weaver, and O. C. Ferrell. 1979. Predicting unethical behavior among marketing practitioners. Human Relations32(7): 587-604.
