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Evaluating social marketing’s upstream metaphor: does it capture the flows of behavioural influence between ‘upstream’ and ‘downstream’ actors?
journal contribution
posted on 2016-01-01, 00:00 authored by Joshua NewtonJoshua Newton, F J Newton, S RepMetaphors 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.
History
Journal
Journal of marketing managementVolume
32Issue
11-12Pagination
1103 - 1122Publisher
Taylor and FrancisLocation
London, Eng.Publisher DOI
ISSN
0267-257XeISSN
1472-1376Language
engPublication classification
C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2016, Westburn PublishersUsage metrics
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