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The purpose of this paper is to propose a fundamentally new extension of the marketing paradigm. This is theoretically and practically necessary since in the authors' view there is an insufficient balance between customer and brand thinking.

While the marketing paradigm is focused on customers, marketing strategy focuses on both the demand and supply side of the market. The authors suggest bringing the paradigm and strategy more in line by adding the brand identity into a new, more balanced, marketing paradigm, called identity based marketing.

The brand identity can be considered the representative of the resource based view since identity will be based on competences and capabilities. Although branding is widely accepted as a marketing issue it has until now not been dealt with within the scope of the marketing paradigm.

Adding branding to the highest level in the marketing theory hierarchy (marketing as concept/paradigm, strategy, and tactics), has important implications for marketing practice and leads to a research agenda with more emphasis on the relation between (changes in) brand identity and customer perceptions and needs.

Over the years, nearly eight marketing paradigms have been recognised. Yet, what really is the extent of the changes/paradigms adopted by firms in India? What changes have the forces of challenges brought in, in the marketing management of Indian firms? The purpose of the present study is to find answers to these questions.

Expert opinion method has been adopted, wherein CEOs/Heads of marketing department have been personally interviewed.

Content analysis of the responses gathered shows that, Indian firms are now coming forward to accepting professional management. Conflict paradigm, where primary emphasis is on competition has been greatly acknowledged. Social constructionism, with its strong emphasis on consumers’ view, is also reflected in the responses. From being inward‐looking, the respondent firms are becoming outward‐looking due to the pressures of the market. It is “quality” which is the paradigm that has gained a new momentum, in the form of customer‐specific quality to gain market, quality to withstand competition and quality pressure from world market.

Coverage of many more industrial cities like Mumbai and Delhi has not been included due to insufficient response to the mailed questionnaires. Hence the study has been to the extent of personal interviews in selective cities.

For academicians and marketing professionals, the study provides a practical insight into the changes in business practices among Indian firms. Policy makers and trade associations should on the basis of the changes identified, take steps to provide the necessary structural adjustments and supportive framework. If need be, they can carry out the relevant studies mentioned in the future scope of research and base their decisions.

Discusses the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of relationship marketing (RM) to show that RM is but one, albeit perhaps a major, manifestation of the ongoing paradigm shift in business and marketing. The rapid revolutionary changes in the economic and technological environment of business (such as the information revolution) made simultaneously both possible and necessary the changes that can be summarized as a fundamental paradigm shift. Further, it can be argued that this paradigm shift itself is a logical end result of two phenomena: the perennial quest to get closer to the customer and the ever widening scope of business and marketing towards a holistic view of the processes. The external and internal forces that led to the paradigm shift in business and marketing were manifested early in service marketing for natural reasons. Thus it is understandable that the concept of RM was first conceived of in service marketing but it is by no means limited to it. The parallel development in business is often labelled partnering (strategic alliances and partnerships).

Discusses the nature and sometimes negative consequences of the dominating marketing paradigm of today, marketing mix management, and furthermore discusses how modern research into, for example, industrial marketing and services marketing as well as customer relationship economics shows that another approach to marketing is required. This development is supported by evolving trends in business, such as strategic partnerships, alliances and networks. Suggests relationship marketing, based on relationship building and management, as one emerging new marketing paradigm of the future. Concludes that the simplicity of the marketing mix paradigm, with its Four P model, has become a strait‐jacket, fostering toolbox thinking rather than an awareness that marketing is a multi‐faceted social process, and notes that marketing theory and customers are the victims of today’s mainstream marketing thinking.

Discusses the nature and sometimes negative consequences of the dominating marketing paradigm of today, marketing mix management, and furthermore discusses how modern research into, for example, industrial marketing and services marketing as well as customer relationship economics shows that another approach to marketing is required. This development is supported by evolving trends in business, such as strategic partnerships, alliances and networks. Suggests relationship marketing, based on relationship building and management, as one emerging new marketing paradigm of the future. Concludes that the simplicity of the marketing mix paradigm, with its Four P model, has become a straitjacket, fostering toolbox thinking rather than an awareness that marketing is a multi‐faceted social process, and notes that marketing theory and customers are the victims of today′s mainstream marketing thinking. By using the notion of a marketing strategy continuum, discusses a number of consequences of a relationship‐type marketing strategy for the focus of marketing, pricing, quality management, internal marketing and intraorganizational development. Briefly comments on the possibility of developing a general marketing theory based on the relationship building and management approach.

States that marketing theory experienced a scientific crisis 30 years ago and a new paradigm of “functionalism” emerged, however, current thinking in marketing reflects the older paradigm of “normal science”. Suggests a research agenda rooted in the “functionalist” paradigm. Concludes that the “functionalist” paradigm provides a general analytical framework for the study of marketing in which the firm is placed in the hierarchy of marketing systems, which can be used to guide research in marketing.

The purpose of this paper is to trace the emergence of a dominant paradigm from within which academics and practitioners alike currently describe and otherwise explain urban destination marketing. The paradigm has been dubbed the “theory of marketing competitive advantage (CA)” by the author, and by others as the “4P’s marketing paradigm”. To effectively market themselves as tourism destinations, this paradigm requires towns and cities to differentiate themselves through the provision of more or less unique products, based on which they subsequently undertake branding, market positioning, distribution and other activities through bespoke destination marketing organisations (DMOs).

The paper summarises the findings of: first, a review of the academic and practitioner literature on urban destination marketing; second, an online investigation of urban destination marketing in 62 European towns and cities, consulting the corporate and consumer pages of the relevant DMO website; and third, in-depth interviews with 20 senior DMO departmental executives. Each interview was recorded digitally for subsequent transcribing, and was conducted on the basis of a semi-structured interview schedule.

Theory, as enshrined in the “4P’s marketing paradigm” rarely holds up in practice. Irrespective of whether or not a town or city possesses CA (and few do), DMO marketing gravitates almost inexorably towards a “marketing of everything”. Moreover, much the greater part of urban destination marketing is ineffective, failing to create visitors and deliver the commercial and economic returns on which it is premised. Against a backdrop of DMO marginality and ineffectiveness and a reluctance by them to market what is special and different about places, the continued existence of DMOs and the destination marketing they undertake is thrown into serious question.

Interpretation is unavoidably subjective in parts, drawing on personal experience as well as research undertaken.

This paper is intended to give the reader an understanding of why success is so problematic in urban destination marketing, serving as an antidote to the prevailing idealised, normative and unproblematic picture of the DMO world as this is depicted from within the prevailing “4P’s marketing paradigm”. The research method provides a basis on which to unite theory and practice in the field of urban destination marketing in a more systematic and verifiable manner than has hitherto ever been the case.

The purpose of this paper is to unlock positions regarding the goods/services dichotomy in service marketing and to offer an argument that treats goods and services on an ontologically equal basis.

A close reading of influential texts that argue in favor of a service‐dominant logic (SDL) and new paradigms in service marketing.

Both the SDL proposal and calls for new service paradigms can be understood as ad hoc solutions that serve to reproduce and even strengthen the asymmetry between goods and services. A post‐paradigmatic analysis opens up new possibilities for service marketing research and practice.

By showing how goods and services can be positioned equally, hitherto invisible sites of value creation become potential subjects for analyses in service marketing.

Service marketing practices are situated so as to explain the value creating interactions between service providers and customers in a more transparent way than is usual.

An ontologically grounded critique of the ad hoc nature of contemporary service marketing theory.

The purpose of this paper is to suggest a shift in the tourism marketing paradigm away from economic profit priorities toward sustainability. The sustainability approach adopts a holistic, integrated view of marketing, considering social equity, environmental protection, and economic livability. The paper seeks to examine the evolving model for the tourism marketing environment.

The paradigm shift naturally occurs by tracing the evolution of marketing approaches from production, sales, and a consumer orientation toward marketing alternatives such as societal, causal, green, responsible, and relationship marketing. Adapting a living system theory to tourism marketing, a sustainable tourism marketing model integrates tourism into a larger holistic context and focuses on marketing a quality of life for all stakeholders in the system.

While alternative approaches to tourism marketing include societal consideration such as tourism impacts and environmental segmentation strategies, this paper considers the triple bottom line as more sustainable objectives in tourism marketing and adopts an integrated view on tourism marketing.

The model suggests a paradigm shift that needs to be explored further.

The paper illustrates how tourism marketing can be integrated into more sustainable urban marketing strategies.

Instead of viewing tourism as a separate for profit industry, the model suggests an integration of tourism into a holistic, sustainable, quality of life marketing approach of living communities.

The purpose of this paper is to present an alternative view of marketing that Donald F. Dixon spent much of his distinguished career developing – a paradigm that we refer to as the Dixonian systems perspective of marketing. It is a paradigm that presents marketing as a phenomenon that reaches far beyond the micro/managerial marketing mix paradigm.

Analysis and interpretation of Donald F. Dixon's and colleagues' scholarly work to distill the essence of Dixon's view of marketing, which we refer to as the Dixonian systems perspective of marketing.

The Dixon's systems perspective of marketing offers a framework for the analysis of macromarketing issues that is not provided by the conventional marketing mix micro/managerial paradigm.

The paper provides a concise overview of the macro/systems ideas and concepts of marketing contained in Donald F. Dixon's and his colleagues' extensive writings that to date has not been available from any other source.