Positive Marketing’s Implications on Property Rights and Social Welfare
“Macromarketing approaches to thought development in positive marketing: Two perspectives on a research agenda for positive marketing scholars” by John D. Mittelstaedt, William E. Kilbourne, and Clifford J. Shultz II is an academic article discussing the potential approaches to positive marketing; a market in which the welfare of all components are maximized and therefore leave transactions with gained value. Macromarketing is the macro picture of a market which allows for the evaluation of the total welfare effects of a market. The researchers believe that through positive marketing strategies, all constituents of a market will have maximized their payout. By dissecting the two prevalent theories of macromarketing, many topics discussed in class were touched. Property rights and regulation stand out as the only similarity between these two theories. The article intimates that a true “free market” would collapse in a “tragedy of the commons” manner.
The strategies and considerations discussed throughout this article bring up and relate many of the topics we have covered in class. The institution of property rights as they apply to markets such as consumerism is a particularly interesting application of this institution. Although markets are not necessarily an existing good or resource; they are shared by all consumers and firms and effect social welfare. Thus, run into the same issues as the ‘commons’. Since markets can be controlled by the government, they can be thought of as publicly owned and in turn run into the same issues as the tragedy of the commons. Additionally, these markets can be regarded in the same was as we did earlier this semester with matching markets. To maximize social welfare, we needed to develop market clearing prices. These prices can be expanded to be viewed as a privatized control of a market share and thus creates the most efficient use of the market’s assets. Regulations from a ruling body on price controls in the market ensures market clearing prices are truly established and not solely firm determined which can negatively affect the consumers in the market and consequently decrease social welfare.