Beyond “I Have a Dream”

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On Martin Luther King day, 2013, we look back at the Business & Society December 2008 issue for insights on what management scholars and practitioners can learn from Dr. King:

Jeanne M. Logsdon of the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque and Audrey J. Murrell of the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania published “Beyond ‘I Have a Dream’ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Contributions to Management Scholarship and Practice“:

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is regarded by many as one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century. He challenged the status quo of racial discrimination by using America’s historic ideals of freedom and opportunity to create and strengthen support for social change through brilliant rhetoric and courageous actions. As some of the worst practices of racial discrimination began to be dismantled in the mid-1960s, he focused attention on economic justice for all disadvantaged groups. His role as social activist committed to nonviolent confrontation earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

Dr. King is rightfully honored as an eminent historical figure of a significant social movement, whose life was tragically cut short at age 39 when he was assassinated in 1968. But do his life and legacy have relevance today? In particular, what does his work have to say to the business-and-society field and for management in general?

Darryl D. Roberts of Emory University, Laura Morgan Roberts of Harvard University, Regina M. O’Neill of Suffolk University, and Stacy D. Blake-Beard of Simmons College published “The Invisible Work of Managing Visibility for Social Change Insights From the Leadership of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr“

James R. Jones of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, David C. Wilson of the University of Delaware, and Peggy Jones of the University of Nebraska at Omaha published “Toward Achieving the ‘Beloved Community’ in the Workplace Lessons for Applied Business Research and Practice From the Teachings of Martin Luther King Jr.“

Video: Building Partnerships With Social Marketing

How can you develop successful partnership efforts that help your organization become one that others seek to engage?

In this video Q&A, Social Marketing Quarterly (SMQ) co-editor Lynne Doner Lotenberg and Darcy Sawatzki, both of Hager Sharp, talk about bringing ‘Best Bones Forever’ — a national bone health campaign targeting U.S. tween girls — to life through partnership building. They explain why partnerships are so important to such programs, which aim to be catalysts for change.

Read their article, “Building Partnerships to Build the Best Bones Forever! : Applying the 4Ps to Partnership Development,” co-authored with Ann Abercrombie of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in SMQ’s March 2012 edition. To learn more about Social Marketing Quarterly, please follow this link.

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Marketing For a Better World

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The first SAGE-published issue of Social Marketing Quarterly (SMQ) offers plenty of tangible advice for marketing scholars and practitioners who want to create change for the greater good. Click here to view the Table of Contents.

The issue’s closing piece, “Insightful Social Marketing Leadership,” excerpts the keynote speech given by SMQ Associate Editor François Lagarde at the U.K. Social Marketing Conference in Brighton, England. Dr. Lagarde reflects on the power of social marketing to transform society, the role of leadership in creating change, and the ways in which social marketing can “evolve and unleash its full potential to take up some of the planet’s and humanity’s greatest challenges.”

An excerpt from the essay:

The beauty with social marketing is that it is a confluence of both marketing and many social sciences each bringing complementary theories, techniques, expertise, and skills (French & Blair- Stevens, 2007, p. 17; Truss, Marshall, & Blair-Stevens, 2010, p. 23). It is also a field of practice that attracts people with diverse backgrounds and talents. In this period of ongoing ecological, demographic, technological, economic, political, and social turbulence and opportunities, I cannot think of a better field of practice.

To learn more about Social Marketing Quarterly, please follow this link.

Are you interested in receiving email alerts whenever a new article or issue becomes available online? Then click here!

Going Green: Do Consumers Buy It?

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The greening of corporate America often has less to do with environmental concern and more to do with perceived influence on consumers, who are hungry for environmentally friendly products and services. But a survey released this month by global business communications firm Gibbs & Soell found that only 21 percent of American consumers actually believe businesses are committed to going green.

In Part Two of our series highlighting the first SAGE-published issue of Social Marketing Quarterly (SMQ), we present a new study which finds that green efforts are impacting consumers–but not necessarily in the ways we would expect. David Raska and Doris Shaw, both of Northern Kentucky University, published “Is the Greening of Firms Helping Consumers to Go Green?” in the SMQ March 2012 edition. Click here to view the Table of Contents.

The abstract:

Although research supports the notion that consumers look favorably upon firms that implement popular social behaviors like ‘‘going green,’’ little is known about how such practices impact the consumer’s own social attitudes and behaviors. In two experiments, the authors explore this underresearched area in social marketing by examining how a firm’s stated motive for its environmentally friendly behaviors as well as brand loyalty influence consumer attitudes toward, and intentions for, similar behaviors. Implications for social marketers are provided regarding the development of effective social marketing programs. These results suggest that society may best be served when marketers integrate more honesty and transparency into socially responsible claims since consumers are more likely to model their behavior under these circumstances.

Read the full article here, and bookmark Management INK to get more upcoming highlights from Social Marketing Quarterly. You can find Part One of our series, which discussed the intersection of political and social marketing, here.

Social Marketing Quarterly, peer-reviewed and published quarterly, is a scholarly, internationally circulated journal that covers theoretical, research and practical issues confronting social marketers. Published in association with FHI360, SMQ is the only journal exclusively focused on social marketing issues. SMQ targets social marketers and other public health, communication, marketing, and social science professionals with research studies, case studies, conference notices, essays, editorials, book reviews, and other relevant news regarding social marketing efforts around the world. To learn more about the journal, please click here.

Are you interested in receiving email alerts whenever a new article or issue becomes available? Then follow this link!

“Eclectic, Timely, and Targeted”: Philip Kotler and Bill Novelli on Social Marketing

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As the U.S. election season heats up, political marketing is everywhere. How does it interface with social marketing, which aims to change the behavior of individuals?

Management INK is pleased to announce the first SAGE-published issue of Social Marketing Quarterly (SMQ), which answers this question and more. This week, we present a special series to highlight the March 2012 edition, offering fresh perspectives on eclectic topics from the effectiveness of green marketing to the impact of a Facebook fan page. Click here to view the Table of Contents.

In the introduction, “American Politics and Social Marketing,” SMQ Editor Bill Smith talks with Philip Kotler, author of the worldwide bestseller “Marketing Management” and S.C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at Northwestern University; and Bill Novelli, Distinguished Professor of the Practice at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. The experts discuss the “intersecting circles” of political and social marketing and what we can learn from them:

Americans are getting ready to purchase a new set of politicians. The two great competing companies have pilot tested their products, even as new competitors are threatening to eat into the market share of the brand leaders. Segmentation research is guiding each party’s marketing strategy while continuous polling and focus grouping are keeping both campaigns agile. Ten of millions are being spent on new media and old media in the race to price and promote the two dominant product extensions.

As we inaugurated a new publisher for the Quarterly, this seems like a good time to reflect with two of social marketing’s iconic figures, Phil Kotler and Bill Novelli, on the interface between political and social marketing.

We’re not interested in picking the winners and losers, or which political party is doing better than the other. We want to talk about the process of modern political marketing and what we can learn from it that might be useful to us in social marketing.

Read the whole conversation here—and stay tuned for more highlights from SMQ on Management INK.

Social Marketing Quarterly, peer-reviewed and published quarterly, is a scholarly, internationally circulated journal that covers theoretical, research and practical issues confronting social marketers. Published in association with FHI360, SMQ is the only journal exclusively focused on social marketing issues. SMQ targets social marketers and other public health, communication, marketing, and social science professionals with research studies, case studies, conference notices, essays, editorials, book reviews, and other relevant news regarding social marketing efforts around the world. To learn more about the journal, please click here.

Are you interested in receiving email alerts whenever a new article or issue becomes available? Then follow this link!

Social Marketing and Healthy People

Did you know that social marketing objectives have been added to Healthy People 2020?

Healthy People, the program of national health promotion goals set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, aims to improve the health of all Americans with 10-year national objectives. For the first time, the index now includes measures to increase social marketing in health promotion and disease prevention.

To support this historic achievement, the 22nd Annual Social Marketing Conference in Clearwater Beach, Florida, will include two plenary sessions on strategies for initiating instruction about social marketing, social entrepreneurship, and related social change at universities and improving existing educational endeavors in these institutions.

Included are two “collaboratories” devoted to academic interests, giving people working in and with universities a chance to discuss and expand upon the ideas presented during these plenary sessions.

Healthy People 2020 objectives directed at incorporating social marketing include:

• “Increase the proportion of schools of public health and accredited master of public health (MPH) programs that offer one or more courses in social marketing.

• Increase the proportion of schools of public health and accredited MPH programs that offer workforce development activities in social marketing for public health practitioners.” (Source: Healthy People 2020, US Department of Health and Human Services)

If you have ideas on how to realize these Healthy People 2020 objectives, we welcome your abstracts for short oral presentations or posters. We also invite you to join us for a productive and purposive conversation about the future of social marketing in academia.

For more information about this year’s conference, visit us on the web at: http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/csm/scc.htm

Online registration for the 22nd Annual Social Marketing Conference: Ideas Beyond Borders is now available! To register, please click here. To view detailed information and download a conference brochure, please follow this link.

Training Academy: June 13-14, 2012
Main Conference: June 15-16, 2012
Sheraton Sand Key Resort
Clearwater Beach, FL
Sponsored by USF Health

Are You Reaching Your Audience?

The University of South Florida’s 22^nd Annual Social Marketing Conference: Ideas Beyond Borders, sponsored by USF Health, kicks off this summer with The Social Marketing Training Academy, a two-day workshop to be held June 13-14 at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater Beach, FL.

Social marketing has potential applications in a wide array of fields such as environmental studies, sustainability, transportation, financial literacy, education, not-for-profit management, labor relations, engineering, public health, and healthcare. All of these and others can benefit from social marketing’s consumer centered, strategic approach to influencing change.

This year’s theme – “Getting Better at Doing Good” – reflects the global reality that government institutions, not-for-profit groups, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), universities and colleges, and businesses are searching for better ways to improve people’s health, the environment, infrastructures, and social welfare.

The Social Marketing Training Academy will continue its 20-year tradition of training professionals and students new to social marketing and others who want to enhance their understanding of the basic social marketing model.

Upon completion of the Training Academy, participants should be able to:

• Define and list five distinctive features of social marketing;
• Describe the six steps that comprise the social marketing process;
• Articulate the major tasks to be accomplished during the initial planning phase;
• List at least two types of research used to design a social marketing campaign;
• Describe at least two decisions that must be made in developing a campaign strategy; and
• List at least three new professional contacts.

Online registration for The Training Academy and the 22nd Annual Social Marketing Training Academy & Conference: Ideas Beyond Borders is now available! To register, please click here. To view detailed information and download a conference brochure, please follow this link.

Training Academy: June 13-14, 2012
Main Conference: June 15-16, 2012
Sheraton Sand Key Resort
Clearwater Beach, FL
Sponsored by USF Health

Kickstart Your Social Marketing Strategy

Kickstart your social marketing strategy this summer with the Social Marketing Field School’s Introduction to Social Marketing course!

Sponsored by USF Health, the Social Marketing Field School is a carefully crafted selection of courses offered in an intensive five-day format. It is organized specifically for motivated students and busy professionals to acquire skills in an intense, exciting and highly interactive format with some of social marketing’s leading professionals and instructors.

Upon completion of the Introduction to Social Marketing course, students will be able to:

• Define social marketing and identify appropriate uses of social marketing in public health;
• Identify the appropriate methods for use in conducting social marketing research;
• Implement a 10-step model for developing, implementing and evaluating a social marketing campaign;
• Design a social marketing plan, with a 4-5 person team, to ameliorate a public health problem;
• Apply the social marketing mindset to develop, implement/manage, and evaluate social marketing programs; and
• Discuss ethical principles that guide social marketing practice

The Introduction to Social Marketing course will be offered June 10 – 14, 2012 in Tampa, FL at the University of South Florida. Course may be taken for university credit. To register,  visit http://www.cme.hsc.usf.edu and click on Course Calendar, then June 2012, and scroll down to “Introduction to Social Marketing.”

The course will be offered in the days preceding the 22nd Annual Social Marketing Training Academy & Conference: Ideas Beyond Borders. Online registration now available at www.cme.hsc.usf.edu!

Training Academy: June 13-14, 2012
Main Conference: June 15-16, 2012
Sheraton Sand Key Resort
Clearwater Beach, FL
Sponsored by USF Health

Organization & Environment: Climate Change, Adaptation, and Vulnerability

Paul McLaughlin, State University of New York–Geneseo, published “Climate Change, Adaptation, and Vulnerability: Reconceptualizing Societal-Environment Interaction Within a Socially Constructed Adaptive Landscape” in the September 2011 issue of Organization & Environment.

The abstract:

This article reconceptualizes current analyses of adaptation and vulnerability to climate change within an evolutionary theory of social change premised on the concept of a socially constructed adaptive landscape. The latter describes a negotiated and contested fitness terrain. Individual and corporate actors simultaneously adapt to and actively manipulate this terrain by using alternative collective action frames, mobilizing resources, and creating or exploiting political opportunities in order to legitimate or delegitimate social structures and their associated technologies at various levels of analysis. Adaptation is conceptualized as occurring through homeostatic, developmental, rational choice, and populational mechanisms. Vulnerability results from the adaptive failure of social structures sustaining individual and collective health, livelihood, and well-being. This framework combines organizational sociologists’ insights into structure–environment interaction; constructionists’ attention to agency, language, culture, and values; and political ecologists’ concerns with power, inequality, and processes of marginalization.

If you would like to learn more about Organization & Environment, please click here.

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Child Labor and Responsible Consumers

In honor of Labor Day, Management Ink would like to highlight an article that has just appeared on OnlineFirst for Business & Society.

Jérôme Ballet, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Augendra Bhukuth, Fonds pour la Recherche en Ethique Economique, and Aurélie Carimentrand, Université de Bordeaux, published “Child Labor and Responsible Consumers: From Boycotts to Social Labels, Illustrated by the Indian Hand-Knotted Carpet Industry” on August 25th.

The abstract:

The basic strategy for the fight against child labor has been boycotting efforts followed by labeling practices. This article reviews the development of these practices and their impact on the hand-knotted carpet industry in India. The authors highlight the fact that though labeling has responded to many of the criticisms of boycotts, labeling too has shortcomings related to its trustworthiness in situations where information is highly asymmetrical among stakeholders. The labeling may lack credibility and, thus, arguably, has limited impact on the hand-knotted carpet industry. The article discusses why and how labeling may lack credibility. Since the article is a conceptual assessment and not an empirical study, it draws on other sources for relevant empirical information.

To view other articles in Business & Society‘s OnlineFirst section, please click here. Or follow this link to view the most recent issue.

Happy Labor Day!