Journal of Macromarketing

Drawing on the model of goal-directed behavior, our study examined how buying second-hand clothing (SHC) influences desire and the conditions influencing this phenomenon. Using an experimental design targeting 398 United States and New Zealand respondents, our study found that attitude and anticipated emotions shape shopping behavior at SHC stores, and desire mediates these factors in terms of behavioral expectations. The effects were more notable for respondents concerned about others’ welfare rather than being materialistic. We provide theoretical insights into the socio-psychological mechanisms explaining how and when shopping at SHC stores shapes consumers’ desire to purchase SHC and their decisions to do so. The contingency approach in testing the moderating effects of the social material self and other-concerning values contributes to establishing boundary conditions for the main effects. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

This paper contributes to our understanding of the relationship between consumption and wellbeing through the lens of voluntary simplicity (VS). While research suggests that VS and wellbeing are positively related, the dimensions and moderators of this relationship are not fully understood. Results from a representative sample of New Zealand consumers, provide empirical support for the relationship between VS and both hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing, and for the moderating role of age, income, and gender. These results provide the first validation of the most recent scale development in this area and show that it is the psychological and achievement fulfilment of VS, derived from the social connections and community involvement, that positively impact wellbeing. Given the calls for changes to consumption behaviours and concerns with human wellbeing, the research suggests that lifestyles such as VS offer a way to address both.

Plant-based meat alternatives (PBMA) are gaining traction worldwide as a novel food category, yet it is struggling to establish a strong foothold in a few countries. Food habits are not confined to individuals but to societies, and it is unclear if PBMA products are a non-vegetarian alternative or another vegetarian add-on, especially in Hindu societies like India. With changing dietary behaviour and a more conscious lifestyle, especially after COVID-19, it is important to understand the factors determining the adoption of novel foods like PBMA. Comprehending the acceptance of PBMA among food neophiliacs and neophobic people in emerging markets will give an alternate perspective from dominant Western literature regarding food consumption. We explored various reasons for acceptance and resistance using structured observation and focus group discussions. We use the theory of consumption values to find the barriers and drivers of consuming PBMA among Indian consumers. In this exploratory study, we found that vegetarian consumers are hesitant to try PBMA mainly due to its delusional positioning with the use of the word chicken/meat on the label. For non-vegetarian consumers, the idea that one is eating veg chicken but not actually eating nonveg is itself deceitful. The delusion amongst the groups could be ratified by positioning it as a separate vegetarian category and not terming it as an alternative to meat. The findings from this work will enable more targeted marketing strategies and enhance the food neophobia literature, offering novel insights into sustainable food consumption.

Sustainable consumption should foster ethical deliberation among audiences to effectively address socio-environmental crises. However, studies on current sustainable communication approaches reveal their insufficiency in transforming marketing systems. In response, we conceptualize moral dramas as a novel sustainable communication genre with the potential to facilitate ethical deliberation. Moral dramas are narrative texts that expose environmental and social breaches, evoke strong emotional responses, and offer pathways for redemption and ethical transformation. Focusing on ethical online marketplaces—an emerging sustainable enterprise—we critically examine the conditions under which moral dramas can serve as a normatively appropriate genre for sustainable communication. Finally, we discuss the implications for scholarship on sustainable communication and transformative marketing.

Marketing—when administered responsibly, inclusively, justly, and systemically over place and time—holds extraordinary promise to unlock humanity's potential for a better world, capable of pulling millions of people from poverty, protecting our environment, and creating and sustaining peace, prosperity and well-being. This Macro Ethos is illuminated in an article shared by Macromarketing scholars with interests in scholarly contributions, which impact in ways that enhance the well-being of people, societies and the fragile biosphere we inhabit, on a large scale. Key foci include happiness and its measures; bridging divides via training for collaboration, critical thinking, and a sustainable future; marketing during wartime, with insights from Ukraine and implications for resilience, adaptation and peaceful prosperity; public marketing, Macromarketing, activism and constructive engagement; and developing more responsible, harmonic, and supportive societies in Brazil and beyond. The authors conclude with some discussion, including opportunities for further collaboration and impactful research.

This paper discusses how the author has, over the years, used imaginative literature—novels, short stories, science fiction—in his classes to highlight macromarketing themes. The argument is that imaginative literature can be used as powerful sources to educate in ways that traditional lectures, textbooks, journal articles and case studies cannot. Imaginative literature sticks where the traditional teaching approaches do not. Sources for help in identifying literature that can be used, for those unfamiliar with the literature portraying business, are suggested.

Simultaneous large forest fires started throughout Türkiye (Turkey) in the summer of 2021. The wildfires were a major challenge at the Dilek Peninsula-Great Menderes Delta National Park in an international tourism city. Fortunately, the wildfires did not affect the national park. However, stakeholders and officials (e.g., the national park manager, the governor of the city) demonstrated diverse tendencies, perspectives, and behaviours. For instance, local communities and non-governmental organisations worried about the initiative to keep the national park partially open. The main argument of this teaching case study is that decision-making during a crisis requires a multi-dimensional approach that considers both supporting and opposing forces. The case content satisfies a two-part purpose: (1) helping students experience decision-making in a crisis setting that intersects with the macromarketing–public policy interface and (2) providing students with insight into the tensions among tendencies, perspectives, and behaviours during decision-making (according to the tri-component attitude model). To do so, the author collected primary qualitative data, used a version of Bloom's taxonomy as the learning model, tested the case study, and clarified the text. The high clarity score and the precision it brings make the information in the case study drawable in research models. The contribution of the teaching case study is that it strengthens the idea that teaching case studies can give students near-professional or near-academic experiences. For instance, educators can use the case study in macromarketing discussions and consumer behaviour courses. Practitioners such as human decision-makers can exercise the case content to improve decision-making skills. Policymakers can utilise the case content to enhance stakeholder engagement.

This position paper presents ‘holixec education,’ a groundbreaking model in higher education that merges holistic instruction with execution-oriented learning strategies. The term ‘holixec’ is a blend of ‘holistic’ and ‘execution.’ This innovative approach, particularly pertinent in business schools, enhances learners’ readiness for the workplace. The model is operationalized through the MECCDAL Method, a seven-pillar educational framework explicitly crafted for business schools. It necessitates a comprehensive reevaluation of the student's learning journey, the higher education system, and the academic culture in light of significant industry transformations. Holixec education aligns with students’ diverse developmental needs and addresses workforce demands and environmental challenges. It offers a theoretically grounded and practical educational framework that promotes balanced personal growth, enhances well-being, and cultivates relationships among students and various stakeholders. The paper posits that holixec education has the potential to transform academic teaching and learning, heralding a new epoch in business schools and higher education at large. It extends Bourdieu's theory of human development capital by broadening the dimensions of cultural capital to include artistic and media elements, and by introducing a novel form known as well-being capital. Also, the holixec paradigm enriches Miller's holistic education theory by integrating the execution approach at the heart of business sciences. Moreover, it provides a theoretical underpinning for the seven-pillar MECCDAL education model through the holixec paradigm. The contributions of this article underscore the potential of the holixec education model for rethinking the current higher education system.

This commentary reflects on the valuable ideas presented by Dr. Batat, particularly her recognition that business education requires a new paradigm to remain relevant in the face of rapidly changing technologies. One of the key ideas in her paper is the shift from “interpretation” to “action,” where learners play a more active role in their educational journey. This focus on execution is increasingly important as the rise of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) allows computers to handle much of the data analysis, shifting the human role toward understanding, contextualizing, and executing the insights derived from that analysis. We agree that business education must evolve to emphasize doing—encouraging students to apply an execution mindset and leverage AI to analyze data. With AI's growing ability to identify patterns and perform complex analytics, students should focus on the critical implementation of these insights, turning them into actionable outcomes. While the ability of computers to process and analyze data is growing, humans need to bridge the gap between insights and real-world application. While the need for this paradigm shift is evident, several obstacles must be addressed to make it a reality with measurable benefits. One challenge is that business schools must move beyond prioritizing publications in top-tier disciplinary journals and recognize interdisciplinary contributions that may not always align with traditional disciplinary boundaries. We propose that embracing a broader recognition of scholarship and contributions can foster connections between research and the larger, more complex human challenges that business education needs to address. We also propose that business schools will need to provide support to faculty as they update their teaching pedagogy with strategies for including AI and experiential learning opportunities for students.

This commentary reflects on the ‘holixec’ education framework proposed by Batat (2024) in relation to macromarketing scholarship, especially the wider marketing pedagogy literature. We suggest that holixec education codifies rather than revolutionizes current practice and is applicable to work within existing educational structures (rather than critiquing, challenging, or transforming them), thus resonating with the developmental school of macromarketing through (rather than the critical school). Further, ‘holixec’ education remains largely grounded at the individual level without concrete guidance to address systemic complexities. On a broader level, we identify what we see as perhaps the most obvious challenge ‘holixec’ education and similar models must overcome—that they are of little practical use without empirical scrutiny, while such scrutiny can go against the ethos of holistic education. This challenge leaves instructors with little guidance to navigate and manage the messiness that arises from systemic complexities.

This paper comments on Wided Batat's thought provoking article on holixec education. Batat's framework offers numerous insights about the integration of holistic practices with execution-oriented strategies and I praise its innovation, iconoclasm, and broad scope. However, my commentary raises concerns about the potential limitations of neglecting theoretical knowledge and the significant demands placed on both instructors and students. Furthermore, my commentary questions the emphasis on secular humanism as a pedagogical philosophy, particularly in the context of spiritual development and individual empowerment. It explores the implications of the Dunning-Kruger Effect for self-directed learning and the potential for incorporating hybrid models that blend theory and practice. Finally, my commentary calls for an increased critical engagement with the broader social and environmental context of business education, advocating for “meta-education” that challenges the status quo and empowers future leaders to address pressing global challenges.

Macromarketing puts business activity in context. Accordingly, this commentary seeks to put Wided Batat's MECCDAL Method of holixec education into context. Unlike the fine arts and design study programs which highly value innovation, business schools value innovation less so. Accordingly, a compelling case needs to accompany Batat's proposal to win early adopters to the MECCDAL Method of holixec education. One path for doing this might be to more strongly position the MECCDAL Method as a means for business schools to more effectively focus on sustainability education in order to stem global warming in a timely manner. Batat would do well to shift the theoretical grounding of holixec education away from the writings of Bourdieu (which emphasize the exclusionary aspect of academic qualifications) to those of Becker's human capital development theory in economics. In this way, holixec education would be aligned more closely with social mobility in society. Such alignment would lead developers of holixec education to focus on practical deliverables to students and their families, such as improved employability for those graduating from holixec education programs. Questions for the development of holixec education, such as what students are best suited for holixec education, what institutions are most ready to embrace holixec education, what are the role of accounting and finance learning in holixec education, and what are the role of quantiative disciiplines (economics, statistics, and consumer behavior) in holixec education and in faculty research? Answering these questions will help many holixec learning trees take root and form a forest of holixec learning trees in the future.

The proposed “holixec” education model of Wided Batat is critiqued in this commentary. While it has a strong general aim, and provides considerable basis for continued pedagogical innovation in macromarketing, its arguments miss what is already being done by macromarketing educators. The model's underpinnings also miss elements of what macromarketing represents. As a guide for educators, however, it asks important questions that should not be ignored.

The Commentary that follows is a collective effort. The opening assessment of Dr. Batat's “Introducing” paper is the work of Stan Shapiro, now long retired, but over a span of fifty years first the product and then an unquestioning career-long practitioner of the kind of atomistic education that Dr. Batat considers incomplete and inadequate. From that perspective, he found much of merit in the Batat paper, not only in the advocacy of executing skills but also the presentation of educational outcomes as various forms of learning capitals and the emphasis on adult development. On the other hand, the complete absence of any discussion of the role of research and the governing assumption, one with which Stan could not accept, that academia would quickly and willingly adopt the revolutionary approach Dr. Batat advocates were seen as weaknesses in the paper. Stan's overall conclusion: the right direction but “too much, too soon.” But was there any midway position that could gain widespread acceptance at this time? This is where Dr. Burnett makes her contribution. She is currently the Senior Vice-President of the Acsenda School of Management, a privately owned, teaching-focused, and provincially regulated undergraduate degree-granting institution. Located in Vancouver, Canada, Acsenda has a student body made up almost entirely of international students. Shortly after joining Acsenda, Dr. Burnett was instrumental in that School adopting both the Learning Methodology and the Workforce Readiness model she describes in the closing paragraphs of this Commentary. This material is being presented as an example of the significant pedagogical change that could be made even within the framework of research-focused universities.

Batat (2024a) introduced Holixec education as a transformative framework for higher education, emphasizing its human-centric, execution-driven, adaptive, and interdisciplinary learning model designed for the evolving phygital workplace, where physical and digital learning experiences and business models seamlessly integrate. In response, six commentaries critically examined Holixec education, offering perspectives that either advocate for its transformational potential or highlight structural barriers to its adoption. This rejoinder paper synthesizes these commentaries, clarifies points of agreement and divergence, and refines key themes based on their insights. Specifically, I categorize the perspectives into two overarching viewpoints—those supporting systemic change (“planting Holixec learning trees”) and those emphasizing institutional resistance (“the rocky soil hindering Holixec learning trees”). By providing a structured roadmap for overcoming resistance, this paper advances discussions on Holixec education's implementation, examines institutional feasibility, and explores key adaptation strategies. Additionally, it investigates the shift from atomistic and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven learning to Holixec Intelligence (HI) as a foundation for human-centric leadership in the phygital age, and the broader transformation of higher education to meet future demands.