Microenvironment of business represents a unique filed of relations influenced by all stakeholders of a company. From a micro point of view, a company’s distribution decisions are designed to combine, supplement and modify those of other corporations, in order to form channels of distribution that achieve the most effective distribution. Suppliers and intermediaries determine the marketing channels and relations with the end consumers (Hollensen, 2007).
Since modern markets are dynamic, the opportunity for new combinations is continuously available. Suppliers and intermediaries are now being challenged, by public concern for many market situations, to sharpen their vision and take a major role in resolving some of the problems of social change. The corporation on its own has not been too successful in meeting such problems as adequate housing and jobs for the hard-core unemployed, and is turning to business.
Suppliers and intermediaries are now in the marketing domain of private enterprise and through creativity and innovation may prove to be economically profitable. Social profit can be consonant with corporate profit. Increased social involvement can be achieved by blending government and business perspectives in the desire to maintain a business climate and also “do the right thing.” This requires the acceptance of new social commitments and responsibilities on the part of business. Yet the indispensable role of business and marketing in securing social progress and in improving the quality of life has not been widely studied or understood (Doyle and Stern 2006).
For instance, suppliers and intermediaries of IBM Corporation are confronted with a crisis of legitimacy. Their power does not emanate from a coherent body of accepted social thought. Rather, there exists a gap between business with its aims, power, and quest for profit, and society with its goals. In trying to bridge this gap by assuming greater social responsibility, management may gain increasing social approval of their status and so gain legitimacy. Suppliers and intermediaries of such giants as Toyota and Ford appear to be in a new phase of development, one emphasizing its contributions to the social system. It is progressing from the entrepreneurial and decision focus to that of social concern and hence, a more professional orientation (Kotler and Armstrong 2006).
The role of suppliers and intermediaries are evolved from simple market actors to market doers who have a great impact on marketing relations and distribution. Marketing is becoming more conscious of ethical considerations and societal responsibilities — its humanistic domain. It is enriching its scientific and technical approaches to problem solving with a humanistic thrust of social concern, social roles, and social values. Marketing management is turning some of its capabilities to problem solving in the public sector. Some social problems it is approaching alone, others in partnership with the government.
Social critics do not depict the role of marketing as one of consumer problem solving and the satisfaction of wants and needs, as we have done (Fill, 2007). Rather, they tend to see it as one of confusing, manipulating, controlling, and dominating consumers. This is especially true of the criticism of advertising and subliminal perception, where the consumer is viewed as a controlled rather than a controlling or guiding influence in the economy. The person who devises an item for nonexistent needs will certainly not be able to sell it regardless of the kind or the amount and quality of promotion. Unless consumer needs, recognized or unrecognized, actually exist, a good or service will be rejected in the marketplace. Otherwise modern companies and retailers would not have to suffer losses from new products; additional promotion would solve their problem.
Bibliography
Doyle, P., Stern, Ph. 2006, Marketing Management and Strategy. Financial Times/Prentice Hall; 4 edition.
Fill, C. 2007. Marketing Communication: Contexts, Contents, and Strategies 2 edn. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Hollensen, S. 2007, International Marketing: A Decision-Oriented Approach. Financial Times/ Prentice Hall; 4 edition.
Kotler, Ph., Armstrong, G. 2006, Principles of Marketing. Prentice Hall; 11th edition.