Evaluating social marketing’s upstream metaphor: does it capture the flows of behavioural influence between ‘upstream’ and ‘downstream’ actors?
Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: Metaphors are powerful forms of communication that can both facilitate and constrain disciplinary discourse, so the choice of metaphor used to explain concepts of disciplinary importance should not be undertaken lightly. A single case study methodology involving an ‘upstream’ firm considering whether to manufacture products with environmental attributes was consequently used to test three previously unexamined assumptions associated with the upstream/downstream metaphor, a metaphorical distinction that continues to have sway within the social marketing discipline. Contrary to these assumptions, the flows of behavioural influence between ‘upstream’ and ‘downstream’ actors were found to be bidirectional (rather than unidirectional), interactive (rather than independent), and distinctive (rather than non-distinctive). These findings suggest the need for alternative models that can better reflect the complex, multidirectional relationships responsible for the emergence of many social issues.
Source: Journal of Marketing Management
Institutions: Deakin University, Monash University
Language: English
Subfield: Marketing
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2433347162