RM&C - t1 responsibility issues in markets and marketing

responsibility issues in markets and marketing

market, marketing, society & morality; ‘a market society’; moral limits of markets; responsibility & responsibilisation issues; PACT framework (responsibilisation)

market, marketing, society & morality

morals: basic values/beliefs/norms/ideals within social contexts, define right & wrong, provide action-guidance (Crane et al 2019, Brenkert 2008); markets: economic view - self-interested, uncoordinated exchanges that reach equilibrium prices, value-neutral, assumptions: exchanges voluntary, C = rational & autonomous + have choice, markets = competitive

‘a market society’

market economy: where markets are tools for economic exchange, market society (Sandel 2013): market values govern all aspects of life; everything for sale: carbon emission permits, life insurance, uni, queue skip; consequences: markets become all-pervasive, commodification of social life, inequality (markets benefit privileged), market values crowd out non-market values, monetisation of relationships, depersonalisation (anonymous, neutral exchanges)

moral limits of markets

some goods lose value when commodified (health, education, family life, nature, art); morality: markets facilitate exchange but don’t judge what should be traded, economics = value neutral = removes moral debate, social institutions lose influence over value-setting; responsibility: duty/accountability/moral obligation to act appropriately; corporate & market responsibility issues: corporate power abuse, harm from ordinary business decisions, declining C trust; CSR (Crane & Matten 2007): economic, legal, ethical, philanthropic responsibilities; voluntary v compulsory CSR: voluntary codes = guide standards or PR; CSR = structurally limited (Banerjee 2008): markets can’t ensure socially beneficial outcomes, corporations prioritise shareholder value, CSR serves corporate interests over social justice

responsibility & responsibilisation issues

responsibilisation: responsibility shifts: institutions - individuals, C become moral agents of social change through consumption (behavioural change emphasised, market-based solutions, moral pressure on individuals); assumptions (problematic): C = rational/autonomous, market solutions replace regulation, competition = freedom, individuals = morally responsible to collective; implications: C carry burden of social problems, individuals framed as equally powerful as institutions, governments support markets instead of regulating, shared responsibility but individuals dominate; types of responsible C: bottom-of-the-pyramid (poverty), green (environmental crisis), health-conscious (chronic illness), financially literate (financial stability); outcomes (responsibilisation): positive - awareness, ethical effort, sense of agency, negative - physical discomfort, psychological guilt & anxiety, philosophical discomfort

PACT framework (responsibilisation)

personalisation, authorisation, capabilisation, transformation; P: social problems framed as individual ethics, emotional engagement, good v bad C, A: expert & scientific justification, data & metrics, C: market provides tools & products, ethical behaviour requires consumption, T: ethical C identity = formed