Book Review: Marketization: Theory and Evidence from Emerging Economics by Himadri Roy Chaudhuri and Russell W. Belk

Marketization: Theory and Evidence from Emerging Economics by Himadri Roy Chaudhuri and Russell Belk provides a broader view on ‘marketization,’ that is, insights that will enable marketers to better understand the intersectionality of commoditization and markets. Broadly speaking, the term ‘marketization’ demonstrates the process of transforming a well-planned economic system towards a more market-oriented approach. This is in terms of liberalizing its activities, outsourcing elements of its provision, encouraging competition among its players, decreasing its regulation, and opening it for market-based allocation of resources (Jane 2015). It indicates the expansion of the market into the life-world and the commodification of the natural surroundings. This is in terms of both the social setting to accomplish the objectives of growth and profit required by the market and its stockholders (Jane 2015). In this book, ‘marketization’ is defined as “the promotion of market ideologies and the expansion of the market into areas traditionally beyond its purview” (Belk 2020, p. 31). The editors have focused on exploring the boundaries of marketization and offer a comprehensive framework for marketization. The idea for this edited book was initiated in 2017 when both editors met together and identified the necessity of providing a discussion on ‘marketization’ in front of marketers and academicians. The ongoing dialogue on marketization between both editors. This resulted in this edited volume about marketization. All chapter contributors are renowned researchers in the field of macromarketing and also well versed in conventional marketing.

Marketization is a compact, edited volume consisting of 13 chapters. These chapters are sorted into three parts: conceptualizing and problematizing marketization, case studies of marketization, and implications for human well-being. The main focus of these chapters is to offer a critical analysis of the nature of relationships and interactions between markets, consumers, and institutions from a sociohistorical perspective. This perspective is used to thoroughly explain the concept of marketization at the organizational level, highlighting its intellectual roots, portraying its historical legacy, and drawing attention to the conceptual and behavioral sides of this phenomena. This extends from the Global North to the Global South standpoints. In addition, this book critically analyzes marketization and draws attention to the ways in which marketization unfolds and create new economic arrangements as well as sociocultural interaction. This book could be an absolute delight for the readers, and an ideal resource for academicians, practitioner, and policy-marketers who are interested in understanding, devising, and implementing the appropriate marketization strategies.

Part One begins with providing an overview about conceptualizing marketization which certainly helps the readers who are not familiar with the concept. Overall, Part One aims to provide a comprehensive discussion, conceptualization, and ideas in the area of marketization. It focuses on the geographic expansion of marketization, the nature of modern marketization, and the commodification of marketization.

Part One consists of three chapters. Chapter 1, authored by Mark Tadajewski (an honorary visiting Professor at University of York) traces the historical development of marketization and market ideology. After providing an overview of marketization in this chapter, the author highlights its roots and provides its historical narrative. In doing so, he discusses Adam Smith's classical economic theory. He explains the idea of the German Historical School (GHS) and continues to explain the economic and cultural turbulence, which occurred during World War II and the Cold War. He also explains how the changes in economic, political, and social structure during these different stages pointed to the need for social marketing. The author concludes that marketization and market ideology became part and parcel of the whole world.

Chapter 2 authored by Fuat Fırat (a Professor of Marketing at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valle) is a continuation of the ideas delivered in the first chapter. Particularly, chapter 2 discusses the nature of modern marketization, highlighting its historical development and exploring its consequences for contemporary humanity. In addition, this chapter discusses the dire consequence of relying on one dimension of culture which may create an imbalance in modern marketization. Thus, the author suggests that transcending the separation of culture into its domains s helps understand the complex integrity of culture.

Chapter 3 was written by Russell Belk (a Distinguished Research Professor at Schulich School of Business), who focuses on marketization's behavioral and perceptual phenomena by highlighting commodification and distinguishing it from commoditization. Throughout this chapter, Belk provides an explanation of the implications and impacts of commodification on the daily life of consumers. He also emphasizes its importance for marketization. Belk views commodification as fungible, which is equivalent to and interchangeable with an identically appearing equivalent.

Part Two of this edited book presented five cases of marketization based on Turkey, New Zealand, Poland, India, and Ghana. Chapter 4, written by Aybegüm Güngördü Belbağ (an Associate Professor at Bartin University) looked at the gift-giving rituals based in the Turkish culture. The author provides a variety of insights concerning these rituals and the factors that affect these rituals in a Muslim society such as Turkey. These factors include the gift-giver's income and identity, the recipient's characteristics, the perceived degree of the relationship between the gift-giver and the recipient, as well as the religiosity, and childhood memories. The author concludes that the gift-giving ritual is accepted and appreciated among family, friends and well-wishers. It is considered to be a symbol of care, love and importance among middle-class consumers in Turkey.

Chapter 5, written by Djavlonbek Kadirov (a Senior Lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington) offers some valuable insights about the marketization processes of the energy supply market in New Zealand. Based on the author's perspective, this market failed to satisfy the population's need for accessible, sustainable, and constant energy. However, this industry is evaluated by the government which is a stakeholder based on its economic efficiency and profit-generation capacity. As such, it seems to be market-efficient, rather than well-being-efficient. Therefore, the author views it as “failing to accomplish its macro-societal role.”

Chapter 6 was written by Bartosz Żerebecki (a Junior Lecturer at Erasmus University, Rotterdam), and Suzanna Opree (a Senior Assistant Professor at Erasmus University, Rotterdam). This chapter describes the changes in materialist and humanist life values driven by marketization in Bye, Poland. The authors explore the life experiences of twenty Polish respondents who had experiences in living and working during two different economic systems i.e., communism and capitalism. The authors conclude that marketization gives fuel to materialism while humanism is reduced.

Chapter 7 has been provided by Janine Dermody (a Professor at Oxford Brookes University) who investigated the urban middle-class Indian consumers’ ‘materialism and sustainability consumption’ experiences. The author describes the marketization of India from several perspectives, including a worldview, materialism and environmental concerns. The data revealed that the world view that emerged represented reflexivity, spirituality and the consideration of wealth. Materialism was found to be embedded in respondents’ cultural values, while environmental concerns are considered to be societal and political problems. Thus, in this analysis, the worldview fails to influence respondents’ sustainable buying behavior.

Chapter 8 was written by Samuelson Appau (an Assistant Professor at RMIT University) and Samuel Bonsu (a Professor at Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration). They explore the role of religious agents who operated in the market as spiritual consultants in Ghana. Such consultants offer their services to consumers for a fee which is a common practice in many African countries. The authors sought to address the kind of specific services and the value that the spiritual consultants offer to their consumers and how they attempt to authenticate their role in the marketization as agents of the Supreme power. The data suggest that, in Ghana the spiritual agents succeed because they engage local historical motifs and cultural heritage to their advantage.

Part Three of this edited book consists of five chapters that provide implications for a different aspect of human well-being. Chapter 9, written by Forrest Watsonand (an Assistant Professors at Middle East Technical University and Bilkent University) and Ahmet Ekici (an Associate Professors at Bilkent University) examine the role of shared commitments in improving the overall life satisfaction of consumers in Turkey, an emerging economy. These authors argue that the marketization of emerging economies facilitate economic development but pays less attention in advancing societal well-being. The empirical evidence presented in this chapter reveals that reconnecting consumers and producers through shared commitments can encourage power equality and improve life satisfaction.

Chapter 10, written by Jie Fowler (an Associate Professor at Valdosta State University), Rongwei Chu (an Associate Professor at Fudan University), and Aubrey Fowler (an Associate Professor at Valdosta State University) provide an overview of the hukou system and its impact on migrant workers in China. The authors also discuss the role of marketization that mobilized the institutional changes which pushed approximately 280 million rural Chinese to move to urban China for seeking job opportunities. The authors conclude that, if the hukou system continues to be successful, it can lead to negative consequences on China's cultural, political, and economic systems.

Chapter 11, written by Cristian Sepulveda (Assistant Professor at Fort Lewis College), Clifford Shultz (Professor at Loyola University Chicago), and Mark Peterson (Professor at the University of Wyoming), examine Chile's development as an emerging economy of the Andean Region. Using the Sustainable Society Index (SSI), the authors assess and compare the countries of Andean Region (i.e., Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela) on dimensions that coincide with the triple-bottom-line and project the sustainability of development in Chile and the Region. This chapter suggests that though inequality is a concern, Chile is well-positioned in the region for sustainable development and care for societal well-being.

Chapter 12, written by Veronika Kadomskaia (Postdoctoral Researcher at Monash University), Jan Brace-Govan (Associate Professor at Monash University), and Angela Gracia Cruz (Senior Lecturer at Monash University) discuss volunteer tourism as a neo-colonial marketization practice. They explore volunteer tourism as a form of alternative tourism, appealing to individuals who want to ‘make a difference’ whilst traveling. By using critical visual analysis technique, they illustrate how provider-generated and consumer-generated visual representations of volunteer tourism are inflected by four neo-colonial discourses. This involves making a difference, helplessness, sentimentality, and power asymmetry. The authors contribute to the understanding that a volunteer tourism industry provides an opportunity for morally conscious consumers to assist others.

Chapter 13, written by Paromita Goswami (Professor at Shiv Nadar University) and Anindita Chaudhuri (Associate Professor at Calcutta University) explores the issue of marketization involving antidepressant use in India. Using in-depth interviews, the authors revealed that along with marketization, socioeconomic infrastructural issues like the stigma around mental health, the inability to afford psychotherapy, and shortages in licensed healthcare professional that put pharmacotherapy at an advantage over psychotherapists, drives the unnecessary over-usage of antidepressants. The authors also highlight the issues related to prestige hierarchy in medicine and its subsequent effect on the diagnosis of mental illness. Lastly, the authors propose a model that outlines the interaction of factors that lead to over-prescriptions.

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. We found this book informative and generally enjoyable, useful and well written. It provides readers with a theoretical foundation of marketization with frameworks and case studies that demonstrate how marketization affects consumer behaviors in this modern era. The concepts and theories that are discussed in this book are applicable to the context of emerging economies as well as advanced economies. It also addresses and explains how three major factors (i.e., market, institution and consumer consumption practices) intertwine and interact with each other to influence the phenome of marketization. Furthermore, the chapters systematically, critically, and thoroughly analyze marketization from different cultural perspectives. Undoubtedly, this book presents readers with a new perspective on the dynamics of market, and the organizations that control consumption practices.

Although this book offers valuable insights and can significantly be of benefit for practitioners and researchers who are interested in knowing about marketization and its mechanisms, some of its chapters are hard to digest. Mainly, the first three chapters are very philosophical and theoretically oriented, making it difficult for the readers to easily understand the content. In the next volume, we suggest that editors and the chapter contributors consider making the book applicable and reachable to a larger number of readers rather than targeting a specific group of scholars. Another issue pertains to the connection between different stages of development of marketization. Especially, how the development and issues inherent in each stage, this are affecting the next stage, this was not articulated clearly. The next volume can probably address this issue helping the readers to have a better and more comprehensive understanding of the different stages of marketization, both historically and geographically. Although there are five cases (based on Turkey, New Zealand, Poland, India and Ghana) highlighted in this book, it does not provide a wider range of cultural diversity, such as southeast Asia and Arabic countries. For the next volume, we recommend that the editors consider cases from countries like Indonesia and Egypt.

In a nutshell, the chapters compiled in this book are interesting and appealing for both academicians and practitioners alike. For academicians, the book explores and extends different theories in marketization. For practitioners, the book provides an understanding of the impact of marketization in various cultures. Overall, this book has a refreshing view on market ideology and is sure to become the core read for those who are interested in the broader macro-level issues such as marginality, consumer identity, consumer culture, sociology of markets, and consumer research. Overall, this book provides an amazing range of insights, thoughts, and extensive examples from a global perspective.