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A Historical Review and Reconceptualization of Commodity Marketing

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Commodity Marketing

Abstract

This review of the historical foundation of commodity marketing provides an overview of the development of this school of thought in marketing education. Marketing has been driven by management of the product. More recently, the idea of a product has been expanded to include intangible attributes associated with services or ideas that impact relevant stakeholders. We provide a framework to show that marketing strategies are used to change a core good or service into a differentiated product with unique benefits, preferences, and equity. Commoditization occurs when products become indistinguishable, from a consumer perspective, and are no longer viewed as differentiated by consumers. Commoditization is a significant challenge today due to the level of consumer information and knowledge forcing businesses to match benefits, quality, and prices. Once commoditization occurs, price becomes the key marketing variable that consumers use for decision making. Therefore, intangible attributes and resources emerge as a way to differentiate products. This history of commodity marketing covered in our review helps to highlight the contributions of early scholars who pioneered the commodity school of thought and the contributions it provides to contemporary marketing strategy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Professor of Marketing and Bill Daniels Professor of Business Ethics, Anderson School of Management MSC05 3090, University of New Mexico, 1 University of New Mexico, 87131-0001, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    O. C. Ferrell Ph. D. & Linda Ferrell Ph. D.

  2. Program Specialist Anderson School of Management, University of New Mexico, 1 University of New Mexico, 87131-0001, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Jennifer Sawayda

Authors
  1. O. C. Ferrell Ph. D.
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  2. Linda Ferrell Ph. D.
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  3. Jennifer Sawayda
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Correspondence to O. C. Ferrell Ph. D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Lehrstuhl für Marketing und Internationalen Handel, Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Germany

    Margit Enke

  2. Fachgebiet Marketing, Technische Universität Ilmenau, Ilmenau, Germany

    Anja Geigenmüller

  3. Juniorprofessur für BWL, insb. Marketing Intelligence, Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany

    Alexander Leischnig

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Ferrell, O., Ferrell, L., Sawayda, J. (2014). A Historical Review and Reconceptualization of Commodity Marketing. In: Enke, M., Geigenmüller, A., Leischnig, A. (eds) Commodity Marketing. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-02925-8_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-02925-8_22

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  • Publisher Name: Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-658-02924-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-658-02925-8

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