The module aims to provide students with a broad perspective of the role of marketing in society. The module will also provide students with the tools to analyse and reflect on their own consumption behaviour in relation to sustainability and broader societal implications. Specifically, students will be able to examine the current trends and challenges facing society, including sustainability, social responsibility, poverty, ethics and other social-economic related issues. Ultimately, the students will be able to develop a deeper appreciation of the role and impact of marketing and business practice on today's society. Sessions in this module will cover concepts such as:
• Concepts, theories and debates about the roles and responsibilities of marketing in society
• Societal and green marketing - definitions and frameworks.
• Pillars of sustainability
• Designing, implementing and evaluating social marketing programmes
• Transformative consumer research
• Subsistence and 'Bottom of the Pyramid' marketing
• Macro- and critical marketing
• Ethical issues emerging in marketing
The module will be taught by lectures, seminars and private study.
Total Contact Hours: 21
Private Study Hours: 129
Main assessment method:
100% coursework
Individual Report – 4000 words: 80%
Group Presentation: 20%
In order to pass the module as a whole and ensure all learning outcomes are met, students must achieve a pass mark of 40% for the group presentation.
Reassessment Method:
100% Coursework
Core Text:
Emery B. (2011) Sustainable Marketing, Pearson
Additional reading:
Bloom, P.N. and Gundlach, G.T. (eds) (2001) Handbook of Marketing and Society London: Sage Publications
Eagle, L., Dahl, S., Hill, S., Bird, S., Spotswood, F., & Tapp, A. (2013). Social Marketing (1st ed.). Harlow: Pearson Education.
Lee, N. R., & Kotler, P. (2015). Social marketing: Changing Behaviors for Good (5th ed.) London: Sage Publications, Inc.
Martin D. and Schouten J (2013) Sustainable Marketing, New International Edition, New York: Pearson Prentice Hall
Peterson, M. (2012). Sustainable enterprise: A macro marketing approach. London: Sage.
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
The intended subject specific learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
- Demonstrate a systematic understanding of the link between marketing and society
- Identify and critically evaluate the different forms of consumption behaviour and their impact on society
- Evaluate the pillars of sustainability and in particular, the intersection of the 'triple bottom line' (people, planet, profit)
- Understand the use of social marketing for planning and implementing behavioural change to develop more sustainable practices
- Critically evaluate the universal guiding principles on social responsibility and marketing ethics, and the contributions of societal and green marketing approaches to societal welfare
- Assess the role of marketing in poverty alleviation and the economic development of subsistence economies
The intended generic learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
- Demonstrate self-management and time-management skills
- Synthesise, and critically evaluate arguments and assumptions from a variety of sources and competing perspectives
- Demonstrate problem solving and decision making skills
- Demonstrate effective teamwork skills and ability to work with others
- Acquire, evaluate, organise, analyse and communicate information effectively through oral presentations and written tests
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