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This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/eb014665. When citing the article, please cite: Gavin E. Staude, (1987), “The Physical Distribution Concept as a Philosophy of Business”, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Materials Management, Vol. 17 Iss: 6, pp. 32 - 37.

The physical distribution concept is a customer‐oriented business philosophy supported by integrated physical distribution activities aimed at generating customer satisfac‐tion as a means of satisfying fundamental organisational goals, of which profit is perhaps the most important. It can therefore be expected that those companies whose chief executives support this business philosophy and who consequently ensure that their organisations are physical distribution oriented, will perform better financially than similar organisations which are not physical distribution oriented.

It is commonly held that there are four economic utilities which need to be created in relation to a product before it has any value to the ultimate consumer. These are form, time, place and possession utilities. The creation of form utility, or the conversion of raw materials into finished products, is traditionally the responsibility of the production function. The creation of possession utility, on the other hand, is the responsibility of marketing which does this by identifying the needs and wants of consumers and by informing consumers both of the availability of products, as well as of their merits.

The purpose of this paper is to propose that the choice of marketing tactics is influenced by the company's external environment. It aims to illustrate the marketing tactics suggested for a complex, turbulent environment, when marketing and the environment are viewed through a complexity lens.

A marketing mix model, derived from complexity literature, was assessed via a multiple case study to identify the type of marketing mix suggested for a complex, turbulent environment. The study was exploratory, using in‐depth interviews with two companies in the IT industry.

The results tentatively confirmed that the more successful company used a destabilizing marketing mix, and suggest that using complexity theory to develop marketing tactics could be helpful in turbulent environments.

The findings are limited by the study's exploratory, qualitative nature and the small sample. Generalizing should be done with care and therefore further research with larger samples and in different environments is recommended.

The paper will benefit marketers by emphasizing a new way to consider future marketing activities of their companies. The model can assist marketers to identify the tactics to use, dependent on the nature of their environment.

Most work on complexity in marketing has concentrated on strategy, with little emphasis on tactics and the marketing mix. Therefore, the paper is an important contribution to the understanding of marketing mix choices, of interest to both practising marketers and marketing academics.

Compares South Africa's dualistic economy of two economic subsystems — one is an industrialised system, the other a subsistence one. Discusses the four main population groups in the heterogeneous systems, Bantu, Whites, Coloureds and Asians, using tables to show these fully. Looks further at media and its growing availability to both White and African markets — this includes TV and radio as well as newspaper and magazines. Chronicles that, because the average African income per capita is low, owing to most Africans living in rural areas and non‐participation in a formal monetary economy, and because the average wage is also low, this does not preclude them in global terms from spending. Submits that even though Africans have low average income per capita their propensity to consume (willingness to buy) is high. Investigates African buyer behaviour and the influence the White man brought to bear following contact between the two races. Views the marketing mix and illustrates with the use of tables, different products and user profiles. Looks at promotion and its utmost importance to stimulate Africans to purchase products. Specifies the importance of distribution and price to Africans. Acknowledges that aggressive marketing to the African segment of South Africa may achieve large volume sales lowering costs — even prices may be brought within scope of households at last.