Practiced since the earliest human trade
Practiced since the earliest human trade, marketing research however have its roots since the late XIX/early XX century with the evolvement of mass market in United States (Baker and Saren 2010 p.4; Powell 1910 in Ludicke 2006 p.3; Ludicke 2006 p.3; O’Shaughnessy 1990 p. 3).
As academics began to understand the relation and impact of marketing to society (Dawson 1971 in Hunt p.9; Ohio State University 1965 in Hunt 2010 p.8; Lazer 1969 in Hunt 2010 p.8; Kotler and Levy 1969 in Hunt 2010 p.8, journal of marketing 1971 in Hunt 2010 p.9), marketing has become since then, a subject of even further undergoing intense study, reexamined and revised over the course of time coinciding with economic growth and development (Baker and Saren 2010 p.4). Due to its evolvement and extension, marketing however became further complex, bringing debates and confusion of what marketing really is and what marketing is not.
The essence and central core concept of marketing helps to understand the complex and vast meaning that marketing envelopes.
As it origins indicates, marketing was first referred as a strictly business discipline for profit-oriented purposes built though business activities (American Marketing Association 1985 in Hunt p.8) with primarily goal of “market transaction” (Luck 1969 in Hunt 2010 p.8-9) and “exchange process” (Kotler and Zaltman 1971 p.4; Newman 1993 p.8) of goods and/or services practiced between a producer/seller and consumer/buyer. Over time, authors noticed that marketing had been practiced and beneficial to as well for non-business/non-profit oriented organizations (Kotler and Levy 1969 in Hunt 2010 p.8).
As a result, academic authors determined marketing’s core essence to lay therefore on a “general idea of exchange” (Kotler and Levy 1969 in Hunt 2010 p.9) and then on “transaction” (Kotler 1972 in Hunt 2010 p.9) that should not only involve activities such as transportation, buying and selling (Lavidge 1970 in Hunt 2010 p.8) but rather on strategies focused on “how transactions are created, stimulated, facilitated, and valued” – Kotler (1972 in Hunt 2010 p.9-10). In this sense, marketing is preferably referred today as a professional discipline (Hunt 2010 p. 52) with essential core concept referred as “the establishment of mutually satisfying exchange relationships” (Baker and Saren 2010 p.3) archived through separate but closely related practices, components and occupations (identified today likewise as professions) that marketing’s profession envelopes such as; pricing, sales management, distribution, retailing, advertising, market research, wholesale management, distribution management, marketing management, retail management (O’Shaughnessy 1990 p. 3; hunt 2010 p.55).
This truly gave reason for marketing concept be attributed as a social process (Ohio State University 1965 in Hunt 2010 p.8) and so result to emerge new terms such as “societal marketing” and “social marketing” (Kotler and Zaltman 1971 in Hunt 2010 p.9)
